Driving K1 to school today showed me yet again how amazing children can be. Also how frustrating schools can be. Follow me below the dingledoodlesquiggliedKosagnocchidividerthingie fold after a word from our sponsor...
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Tomorrow is 8th grade Science MCAS testing, so our drivetime chat was all about that subject. The three 8th grade science teachers (one per team) have been rotating through the teams teaching particular specialties of theirs. K1 told us about the teacher she had yesterday, then casually said I wish I had Ms. Smith all the time. I thought she liked her regular science teacher, Ms. Jones, so I asked just that. Her reply (paraphrased here) was interesting:
Mom, I liked Ms. Jones at the beginning of the year because she was fun. But, it's May now, and... she's still fun. So she's not managing the class well and kids disrupt it and totally make it hard for us kids who want to learn, and when I have a question I have to chase her all over the room 'cause she never sits still but wanders to all the stations seeing if we're doing our work, and then when I catch her she either tells me the answer without explaining it, or gives me the answer to a different question. Ms. Smith wasn't as fun, but we learned a lot.
Jaw, meet lap. Next time you hear about how kids "don't want to be learning and want to goof off all day" remember my daughter and her friends, who are frustrated that their teacher won't provide a learning environment where they can learn.
I asked her if there was any chance for her to review her teacher, or to otherwise give nonidentifiable feedback. She said no. So basically the reason my daughter will not be Left Behind on her science MCAS is because she's tenacious, willing to learn on her own, and has a biologist for a mother.
So what would you do in this case? What instances of classroom difficulty have you, your kids, or kids you have known had? Educators, what's been your experience with the kids you teach... mostly good apples, or a room full of disruptive class clowns?
Back to school, everyone, after the Three R's Tops...
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From expatjourno:
The Teabagger Logic Award goes to Troubador, for claiming that heavily researching something and providing links to back up your claims only shows how nefarious you are. Book learnin', that thar's the problem.
From commonmass:
This comment thread in pictures started by kestrel9000 in this morning's Cheers and Jeers shows a rare moment of sharing between two beasts of prey. Beverage spew danger: high.
From Steveningen:
In Meteor Blades' diary Thesis that Republicans are the problem doesn't even get half a minute on the Sunday talk shows, coffeetalk has a lovely dream.
From Yours Truly, brillig:
Hunter snarked shared more of Mitt's diary. grover actually DID snark, and it was good.
Joan McCarter brings us another James O'Keefe debunking. The thread begun by Steveningen provided a range of acceptable titles for him.
Top Mojo for yesterday, May 14th, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
mik for the mojo magic!
1) WTF?? Words fail. by mrsgoo — 163
2) Important Diary by frandor55 — 128
3) Response by Twist and Shout — 121
4) Iceland is beginning to recover by FishOutofWater — 118
5) Well done. by weatherdude — 106
6) ... and then he moved it closer by Dallasdoc — 104
7) Increments by joanneleon — 101
8) yes, it's kind of frightening how support for... by joe shikspack — 98
9) Act Blue by tcdup — 98
10) If Wisconsin goes down, so should every by glorificus — 92
11) Speaking as a vet by Mannie — 91
12) Buchanan and King by commonmass — 88
13) Believe it or not by quaoar — 85
14) As Ezra Klein said on Morning Joe: by Calouste — 85
15) I'm not so patient, so here's my cancellation: by StevenevetS — 83
16) The "we don't want to be seen as by commonmass — 82
17) This is such a powerful ad by SneakySnu — 77
18) I really wonder where we will be in 6 months by tsackton — 77
19) Always Wondered Why the 1% is Trying to Kill SS by howd — 76
20) Sent them $50 this afternoon by Dallasdoc — 76
21) Good point about Iceland by tsackton — 75
22) Progress is never completely even... by Mets102 — 73
23) That is such a fantasy. by dkmich — 73
24) and the news barely mentions it by Keith930 — 67
25) Yep Obama Ran for Election in 08 Repeatdly Terming by Gooserock — 65
26) asdf by grrr — 64
27) Wrote them, got canned response by bglv — 63
28) Today, life without Walker is more important than by Murphoney — 63
29) Education by joanneleon — 61
30) It is a good ad. by TomP — 61
31) Well... by Addison — 61
Top Pictures for yesterday, May 14th. Click any image to be taken to the full comment. Thank you
jotter for the image magic!