Back to school

And I'll admit it. I'm a little nervous. This will be the first time
I'm expected to be UP all day. Since the accident I've always been able
to stop as necessary and put my foot up so it would stop swelling. It's
teacher work week with lots of in-service and some decent work in the
classroom time, and I've got tons to do. I should've been working on
some of it the last few weeks, but I didn't. Instead I read a ton of
books, and MOST of them were amazing.
DD says she's heard they added
an extra period to the day. We begged for that last year, but the
school board promptly shut us down because a few uninformed teachers
staged a parent complaint campaign that ended with the district on the
front page of the paper again. If we have the extra class period, I'll
be one happy camper. It sounds strange I know, but the expectations on
today's students are impossible to accomplish in the same old schedule
we've been using since the 60s. I'm not sure why that's hard to
understand. I mean, it's in black and white. Today's kids are expected
to take 4 years of math (the last is expected to be Pre-Cal or better),
4 sciences (including Physics and Chem), 4 social studies and 4
English. Plus 2-3 years of foreign language, communications, PE, Fine
Arts and fit in a couple electives. Many students enroll in AP classes
for the higher GPA credit and because they have Ivy dreams. Involved
students take choir and band or newspaper and football and they serve
on student council, United Way and Spanish Club. When I was in school,
I had one real class senior year: Civics. Everything else was elective.
I wasted a lot of time. Over the years I've watched all the wasted time
whittled out of the schedule. My students are constantly stressed and
they never have time. If they're in the Val / Sal race, they're faced
with giving up editor's positions in order to pick up an extra AP
elective. It's crazy. IF they're the other type of student, the one who
struggles, today's administrators and teachers have been told ALL
students will learn, and we're expected to make sure that happens. Now,
I know a lot of people say that's an impossibility. And I understand.
ALL students will never take and pass the TAKS test, but ALL students
CAN learn if teachers and students are given the time to put research based intervention strategies in place.
So yeah, if they added an extra period, I'll be thrilled for my kids.
Speaking of kids, they won't be there until next Monday. Bummer.