"Every 15 Minutes" a teenager is killed from a drug or alcohol related incident. We can't remind our kids enough the consequences of drinking or substance abuse. We have buried one or more students every year I have been an administrator here... now eight years. Our students acted in this powerful program for their fellow students and produced the video below:
Royal High School - Every 15 Minutes from Morgan Lott on Vimeo.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
3-20-09 - The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day!
Before I finished my teaching credential I had the opportunity to substitute teach in my home town of Ashdown, AR. The experience was one that I consider one of the most valuable of my career, as it allowed me to sample all levels of world of teaching from kindergarten to high school. It didn't take me long to realize I was better suited for secondary education because I did not have the patience for the "It's my turn to be first today because I have a bear in my folder," "Miss, he's touching me" and " Little Johnny is throwing up on my book." High School is easy... no little bears and kids are pretty much mortified to allow any bodily function to occur. When I was teaching, if a kid misbehaved I would simply point to the door like the Grim Reaper and everyone knew what I meant... GET OUT NOW! Problem solved.
During my short tenure as a substitute teacher, I remember a book that I read to a 2nd grade class, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day! by Judith Viorst. In midst of life's chaos, this children's book has often come to mind. Today was one of those days! You know, the sort of days you know the minute the alarm sounds in the morning that you just want to pull the covers over your head and hide. I walked in the administrative building this morning and you could cut the tension with a knife. With pink slips floating around and fear of that the worst is yet to come everyone was on edge.
I trotted to my boss's office for a 9:00 management meeting. Arriving early I began to share my frustration that our time was wasted by giving a placement exam for one of the state universities. Surely, I remarked, they should be able to administer their own exams... this lead to a heated discussion regarding how we prepare our students to attend universities and honestly I really don't remember the rest. All I know about mid-way through yelling match for no apparent reason we started laughing and stated the obvious... I'm not mad, you're mad... No, I'm not mad you're mad. Which lead to, "Well... you are the most stubborn person I know!" No, you're the most stubborn person I know! " The fact of the matter is that both of us are scared to death not knowing what the future holds now facing huge cuts to the education budget. We knew that we were "safe" yelling at each other.
While our colleagues hid in the secretaries office lest they get pulled into the madness, I snuck to the ladies room to dry the tears seem to always roll down my face when I get frustrated. While attempting to restore my eye makeup I heard staff members in the lounge honoring our Computer Tech for all the incredible services he performs for our school family. Now too late to shift my focus... the tears began rolling again. All I could think about was that stupid budget and if the state cuts SIP "site" funding how would we be able to pay his salary... what would he do? Who would fix our computers and classroom technology? I attempted a second time to adjust my makeup and finally made it back to the meeting.
We had just shared some funny stories when my colleague's secretary walked in and summoned her out of the meeting. She shortly returned to share that a girl had reported that her parents had struck her arm and left a mark. As Mandated Reporters, we needed to interview the student and contact the authorities. This was a problem today, as all five of our Counselors were out... one had jury duty, two had comp days, and two had pre-paid for a conference. I suggested someone get our incredible School Nurse, forgetting how buried she was at the moment herself. I stepped out of the meeting to check on the situation to find our bubbly Nurse (aka patron saint of the down-trodden student) having a crisis of her own.
Although we "disciplinarians" do not always make the best comforters, I found my colleague with all under control. I returned to the meeting for the dim budget overview. I learned that any stimulus funds given to our state by the federal government has already been sucked up by the state and none made it to help the education crisis, the outlook for passage of the props in the May special election looks dim, and if they don't pass our $8 billion education shortfall will become $13.4 billion dollars. (Try saying that without a breath!) If this happens, our "worst scenario" will become the "best scenario." Surely the voters will come to aid of our schools... RIGHT?
It was now 1 pm and head hung low I walked to my office... only to find a referral on my desk. I called an irate campus supervisor to my office who had been cussed out by Truman. (You may remember Truman for Summer School blogs. ) Apparently today he opted to throw food at a visiting choir as they boarded their buses. This incident was reported to the Campus Supervisor who immediately went to him and asked for his ID. He refused to hand it over and told him, "Go F--K Yourself" and began flipping him not one, but two birds in the air! The Campus Supervisor demanded, "You have to do something with this kid"! So... I summoned "The Kid" to my office. Truman thought it was quite funny and chuckled that he didn't do anything wrong. I had him get his father on the phone and the minute I told his father he was suspended he jumped up out of his chair, slammed his fist into my door window, ran of the the office began kicking walls and cussing at the top of his lungs. I followed him out, and yelled for the secretaries to call the police and the principal . I demanded that he come back in the office lest the police "take him away." He walked back toward the office, then began kicking the golf cart and the brick wall. He then attempted to push the golf cart over. Now concerned for his safety, I knew I needed to restrain him. I had put my foot in position and grabbed his shoulder when my boss, who is a former college football player walked out of the office. Now out numbered, he began to calm down. With three police officers waiting in the hall, for the next hour and half I talked this kid through a maze of family issues that would make a trained therapist cry. His Dad was "too busy" to come get him.
It was now 2:30 and I walked down to my boss's office to eat my lunch. He thought he was funny as he announced me as the WWF champion. I had just walked out when the front desk informed me that a kid had their cell phone confiscated for the fifth time. (We suspend them after the third violation.) I had already suspended this kid twice and she wasn't getting the message. Her mother came and signed for it, I told her that if she was my daughter, she probably wouldn't be getting it back. Obviously, it didn't stick because she handed it back to her before she left my office. Come on Mom... make the kid do without for at least 24 hours!!!
I finally walked out the door, anxious to start the weekend and to end this awful day only to call my mother and argue with her about the benefits of becoming a member of Facebook... I hung up the phone angry. Good Grief! I realized the safest place for me is back in my bed with the covers pulled over my head... where I wanted to be in the first place!!!!
Is it Saturday yet?
During my short tenure as a substitute teacher, I remember a book that I read to a 2nd grade class, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day! by Judith Viorst. In midst of life's chaos, this children's book has often come to mind. Today was one of those days! You know, the sort of days you know the minute the alarm sounds in the morning that you just want to pull the covers over your head and hide. I walked in the administrative building this morning and you could cut the tension with a knife. With pink slips floating around and fear of that the worst is yet to come everyone was on edge.
I trotted to my boss's office for a 9:00 management meeting. Arriving early I began to share my frustration that our time was wasted by giving a placement exam for one of the state universities. Surely, I remarked, they should be able to administer their own exams... this lead to a heated discussion regarding how we prepare our students to attend universities and honestly I really don't remember the rest. All I know about mid-way through yelling match for no apparent reason we started laughing and stated the obvious... I'm not mad, you're mad... No, I'm not mad you're mad. Which lead to, "Well... you are the most stubborn person I know!" No, you're the most stubborn person I know! " The fact of the matter is that both of us are scared to death not knowing what the future holds now facing huge cuts to the education budget. We knew that we were "safe" yelling at each other.
While our colleagues hid in the secretaries office lest they get pulled into the madness, I snuck to the ladies room to dry the tears seem to always roll down my face when I get frustrated. While attempting to restore my eye makeup I heard staff members in the lounge honoring our Computer Tech for all the incredible services he performs for our school family. Now too late to shift my focus... the tears began rolling again. All I could think about was that stupid budget and if the state cuts SIP "site" funding how would we be able to pay his salary... what would he do? Who would fix our computers and classroom technology? I attempted a second time to adjust my makeup and finally made it back to the meeting.
We had just shared some funny stories when my colleague's secretary walked in and summoned her out of the meeting. She shortly returned to share that a girl had reported that her parents had struck her arm and left a mark. As Mandated Reporters, we needed to interview the student and contact the authorities. This was a problem today, as all five of our Counselors were out... one had jury duty, two had comp days, and two had pre-paid for a conference. I suggested someone get our incredible School Nurse, forgetting how buried she was at the moment herself. I stepped out of the meeting to check on the situation to find our bubbly Nurse (aka patron saint of the down-trodden student) having a crisis of her own.
Although we "disciplinarians" do not always make the best comforters, I found my colleague with all under control. I returned to the meeting for the dim budget overview. I learned that any stimulus funds given to our state by the federal government has already been sucked up by the state and none made it to help the education crisis, the outlook for passage of the props in the May special election looks dim, and if they don't pass our $8 billion education shortfall will become $13.4 billion dollars. (Try saying that without a breath!) If this happens, our "worst scenario" will become the "best scenario." Surely the voters will come to aid of our schools... RIGHT?
It was now 1 pm and head hung low I walked to my office... only to find a referral on my desk. I called an irate campus supervisor to my office who had been cussed out by Truman. (You may remember Truman for Summer School blogs. ) Apparently today he opted to throw food at a visiting choir as they boarded their buses. This incident was reported to the Campus Supervisor who immediately went to him and asked for his ID. He refused to hand it over and told him, "Go F--K Yourself" and began flipping him not one, but two birds in the air! The Campus Supervisor demanded, "You have to do something with this kid"! So... I summoned "The Kid" to my office. Truman thought it was quite funny and chuckled that he didn't do anything wrong. I had him get his father on the phone and the minute I told his father he was suspended he jumped up out of his chair, slammed his fist into my door window, ran of the the office began kicking walls and cussing at the top of his lungs. I followed him out, and yelled for the secretaries to call the police and the principal . I demanded that he come back in the office lest the police "take him away." He walked back toward the office, then began kicking the golf cart and the brick wall. He then attempted to push the golf cart over. Now concerned for his safety, I knew I needed to restrain him. I had put my foot in position and grabbed his shoulder when my boss, who is a former college football player walked out of the office. Now out numbered, he began to calm down. With three police officers waiting in the hall, for the next hour and half I talked this kid through a maze of family issues that would make a trained therapist cry. His Dad was "too busy" to come get him.
It was now 2:30 and I walked down to my boss's office to eat my lunch. He thought he was funny as he announced me as the WWF champion. I had just walked out when the front desk informed me that a kid had their cell phone confiscated for the fifth time. (We suspend them after the third violation.) I had already suspended this kid twice and she wasn't getting the message. Her mother came and signed for it, I told her that if she was my daughter, she probably wouldn't be getting it back. Obviously, it didn't stick because she handed it back to her before she left my office. Come on Mom... make the kid do without for at least 24 hours!!!
I finally walked out the door, anxious to start the weekend and to end this awful day only to call my mother and argue with her about the benefits of becoming a member of Facebook... I hung up the phone angry. Good Grief! I realized the safest place for me is back in my bed with the covers pulled over my head... where I wanted to be in the first place!!!!
Is it Saturday yet?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
3-13-09 - PINK FRIDAY!
Twenty-six years ago I graduated from high school on Friday the 13th. Even at that time, I knew I wanted to be an educator, even though at the time I was going to college as a psychology major it wasn't long before I came back to my first love, education. I say without hesitation that this week has been the worst of my professional career. My heart aches for those who have just entered our profession or have been in the classroom for less than three years.
Today was labeled as PINK FRIDAY by the CTA, the California Teacher's Association. Labeled appropriately, March 15 is the deadline that districts could present (postmark) thousands of teachers all over the state with pink slips. In our district alone, over two hundred teachers were given pink slips. I watched my principal fight tears himself all day as he gave notice to 20+ teachers that they too would find heart-break in their mailboxes. This week has been hell for all of us... those who anticipated the worst, the survivor guilt of those who have tenure as well as those of us who provided Kleenex to the steady stream of tears that flowed all week. Some of them new families with babies with both parents given "notice."
As administrators, we could provide little comfort, as we ourselves do not know what the future will hold. This current year's budget was only approved weeks ago, the Governor's revision is not expected until June/July, and the fate of our state educational system lay in the hands of voters in the May special election. Concerned that voters will not choose to increase their taxes in during these tough economic times we fear the current worse scenario will become the best. Not only do teachers have to fear being cut themselves, but becoming a victim of seniority "bumping" by other teachers in the district that was originally put in place as a safe-guard for professionals. As we enter into the spring semester, making scheduling decisions for the upcoming year are next to impossible as we have no idea what our faculty will look like for the upcoming year. I am sickened and angry that our society pays professional athletes millions, while unpaid educators are given a pink slips. WAKE UP AMERICA!
In our profession, this is truly the worst of times...
http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/dennert/archives/2009/03/pink-friday-ral.html
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
3-7-09 - Raising a Generation of Clones?
Last week I could bear the constant stomach pain no more, so I actually kept an appointment with my Gastrontologist to perform an endoscopy. Now to most folks this is no big deal, but please bear in mind I still have my gall bladder, appendix, tonsils and wisdom teeth. The thought of "being cut on" and "put under" has always caused me much alarm. To the point I have advised those around me that when I croak I do not want to be pumped fill of formaldehyde and gawked at in a coffin. After all I am quite sure they will not get my hair just right anyway. Just throw me in a pine box and dump me in the ground!
OK... now that I have chased that rabbit down a morbid hole, let me follow up by saying I was not at all thrilled about being "put out" and having a camera stuck down by throat! My friend, Judie shuttled me to the surgical center... not only because they told me I couldn't drive afterward, but my boss thought I might back out of it and spend the day at the beach. Judie is almost as ornery as I am and he knew she'd make me follow through! We arrived early... too early because we both got a bad case of the sillies! We would watch good people being called back, but no one was coming out! I became quite convinced that they were piling up bodies in the back room and advised Judie to take a look at the map posted on the desk (not quite sure why it was there) and come grab me if she heard screaming! She would hit me every time the nurse called a name and I followed with a "Run Don Run" or "Tom is still standing at the door... do you think he's gonna make a run for it"? There was a gentleman wandering around the parking lot when we arrived who came in who later entered the waiting room and asked a man for a bottle of water. When I looked at her in the eyes and said... "See what I mean, look what they did to him, that boy just ain't right," it was more than she could take and had to go outside for a smoke!
When she came back, she giggled and told me to behave myself and think of something serious. So... I did! The night before I couldn't sleep and about midnight found an interesting program on the Science Channel (yeah I know I'm a nerd!) According to this program, the Japanese are contemplating building a huge pyramid. (the size of 55 Luxor hotels) in the ocean. This open-air mega-pyramid would contain a number of skyscrapers and a series of pods which would contain a mass transit system so people could more quickly from place to place. They are now consulting with environmentalists and engineers from all over the globe to work out the bugs in the project. The reason for the feat of architecture is to alleviate the population explosion which has occurred in Tokyo and excessive pollution that goes along with the dense population.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimizu_Mega-City_Pyramid
I watched in awe of how the Japanese were looking to the future of their country much like our grandparents did following the Great Depression. The single generational focus was "How can we make our nation a better place for our kids and their future." As a student of sociology, I am afraid that our country has lost that vision! I remember when I was in the classroom, being frustrated watching kids who I knew could perform much better, being quite content with their "C."
One day during a lecture on intrinsic motivation, I asked my psych students, "How many of you would like to ride with a pilot that lands a plane safely 70% of the time"? Or "How many of you would like to be operated by a surgeon who has a success rate of 70%."? They all laughed and said "No way," but that is exactly what we are perpetuating within our society. It seems the new American dream is to do the very least to make the most money for recreation. It grieves my heart that we are not fostering the work ethic of our grandparents. With the exception of a few scholars at MIT is there anyone seriously thinking about the America of the future?
I declared to Judie... "We are raising a generation of clones"! In the near future will our kids be building pyramids for the Japanese because they lack the intrinsic motivation to better their own society? After all someone will surely come along and bail us all out, won't they? With China being forced to dump billions of dollars in the American economy, is this our wake up call? Is it time to teach our children the value of hard work rather than hoping for the lottery?
As we enter into the most dreaded of weeks with thousands of teachers getting pink slips in our state, I have to stop and reflect... how did we get here? And do we have the ability to crawl out of this black hole which was created by our own hands? The future is in the hands of our children...
OK... now that I have chased that rabbit down a morbid hole, let me follow up by saying I was not at all thrilled about being "put out" and having a camera stuck down by throat! My friend, Judie shuttled me to the surgical center... not only because they told me I couldn't drive afterward, but my boss thought I might back out of it and spend the day at the beach. Judie is almost as ornery as I am and he knew she'd make me follow through! We arrived early... too early because we both got a bad case of the sillies! We would watch good people being called back, but no one was coming out! I became quite convinced that they were piling up bodies in the back room and advised Judie to take a look at the map posted on the desk (not quite sure why it was there) and come grab me if she heard screaming! She would hit me every time the nurse called a name and I followed with a "Run Don Run" or "Tom is still standing at the door... do you think he's gonna make a run for it"? There was a gentleman wandering around the parking lot when we arrived who came in who later entered the waiting room and asked a man for a bottle of water. When I looked at her in the eyes and said... "See what I mean, look what they did to him, that boy just ain't right," it was more than she could take and had to go outside for a smoke!
When she came back, she giggled and told me to behave myself and think of something serious. So... I did! The night before I couldn't sleep and about midnight found an interesting program on the Science Channel (yeah I know I'm a nerd!) According to this program, the Japanese are contemplating building a huge pyramid. (the size of 55 Luxor hotels) in the ocean. This open-air mega-pyramid would contain a number of skyscrapers and a series of pods which would contain a mass transit system so people could more quickly from place to place. They are now consulting with environmentalists and engineers from all over the globe to work out the bugs in the project. The reason for the feat of architecture is to alleviate the population explosion which has occurred in Tokyo and excessive pollution that goes along with the dense population.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimizu_Mega-City_Pyramid
I watched in awe of how the Japanese were looking to the future of their country much like our grandparents did following the Great Depression. The single generational focus was "How can we make our nation a better place for our kids and their future." As a student of sociology, I am afraid that our country has lost that vision! I remember when I was in the classroom, being frustrated watching kids who I knew could perform much better, being quite content with their "C."
One day during a lecture on intrinsic motivation, I asked my psych students, "How many of you would like to ride with a pilot that lands a plane safely 70% of the time"? Or "How many of you would like to be operated by a surgeon who has a success rate of 70%."? They all laughed and said "No way," but that is exactly what we are perpetuating within our society. It seems the new American dream is to do the very least to make the most money for recreation. It grieves my heart that we are not fostering the work ethic of our grandparents. With the exception of a few scholars at MIT is there anyone seriously thinking about the America of the future?
I declared to Judie... "We are raising a generation of clones"! In the near future will our kids be building pyramids for the Japanese because they lack the intrinsic motivation to better their own society? After all someone will surely come along and bail us all out, won't they? With China being forced to dump billions of dollars in the American economy, is this our wake up call? Is it time to teach our children the value of hard work rather than hoping for the lottery?
As we enter into the most dreaded of weeks with thousands of teachers getting pink slips in our state, I have to stop and reflect... how did we get here? And do we have the ability to crawl out of this black hole which was created by our own hands? The future is in the hands of our children...
Saturday, March 7, 2009
3-6-09 - Pink Friday
Due to incredible cuts to the state budget, next week teachers will be given pink slips all over the state of California. Please join us in wearing pink on 3/13/09, now named "Pink (Slip) Friday" to protest this travesty.
Education is now only allocated 40% of the state budget and it is getting cut an additional 60%. Surely our kids deserve more attention. California now ranks 50th in the nation in funding per/student:
http://www.pinkfriday09.org/
http://www.pinkfriday09.org/
Monday, March 2, 2009
3-2-09 - Helicopter Moms
OK... I learned a new term today. I was sitting in my allergist's office attempting to look like I had something to do... you know no one is allowed to "just sit" anymore. I was fumbling for my Palm when I looked up and noticed an interesting story on the TV "health channel" in the waiting room... as I said, no one is allowed to just sit in the peace and quiet any more! The anchor was interviewing a "Helicopter Mom." I took a double take because I was totally out of the loop. I wrinkled my forehead and figured nothing good could be associated with this term. According to ABC news, a "Helicopter Mom" is a mother of the new Millennium Generation that constant "hovers" attempting to help (aka control) every aspect of their child's life.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=1237868
Now this goes far beyond June Cleaver being home for her boys, this mother emails to do lists, constantly checks on school work and even bank balances. I knew we'd seen some bizarre behavior at the high school level, but according to the university administrator's in this report, they are experiencing this nonsense as well. These mom's offer to come take notes for their college-age students, they ask who will be doing their child's laundry, and make multiple wake up calls to ensure their children do not miss class. At the University of Vermont, the phenomena has gotten so bad, they have now have classes for parents and send them home with refrigerator magnets that reinforce their hands off parent policy. Good Grief!
It is quite amusing to watch our staff attempt to work after 5pm each day while running to hide from the sight of parents who repeatedly bang on the windows demanding to get their child's confiscated cell phone that they can not possibly live without for 24 hours. Or... observe the line of parents who left work because their child texted them to pick them up from school immediately because they did not want to stay in school to watch the sixty minute video during a standardized testing break.
Last Friday I had my first experience with a "Copter Dad." Little Megan was in my office for the fourth time for a cell phone violation. I had just suspended her for a third violation, but it obviously did not impact her actions (or her fathers.) I was quite upset when I learned that she refused to give the phone up to the teacher, "because she would need it on the weekend." When I called her father to report the incident, his response took me by surprise... "It's my fault." I look a deep breath and asked, "How"? He replied that he calls his daughter between each class to remind her to get to class on time. Without thinking I responded, "You do what"? I had little success explaining to him the idiocy of this practice. After about ten minutes of "nonsense" I told him that it was her fourth offense and if she was my daughter I would seriously consider taking the phone away. He would have no part of that.
So... I suspended them both! Of course he was quite upset with the idea, but this time I would not budge. I dare not think of what shape this child will be in by the time she graduates. How do these parents think these children will ever learn coping skills to survive in the real world? Parent, please hear me...If you find yourself "hovering" over your child I have but one to say to you, KNOCK IT OFF! Or... you will wake up one morning and find a 39 year old unemployed moron perched on your sofa . Who would want to marry or even employ someone like this... for heavens sake folks, do it for the kids!!!!
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=1237868
Now this goes far beyond June Cleaver being home for her boys, this mother emails to do lists, constantly checks on school work and even bank balances. I knew we'd seen some bizarre behavior at the high school level, but according to the university administrator's in this report, they are experiencing this nonsense as well. These mom's offer to come take notes for their college-age students, they ask who will be doing their child's laundry, and make multiple wake up calls to ensure their children do not miss class. At the University of Vermont, the phenomena has gotten so bad, they have now have classes for parents and send them home with refrigerator magnets that reinforce their hands off parent policy. Good Grief!
It is quite amusing to watch our staff attempt to work after 5pm each day while running to hide from the sight of parents who repeatedly bang on the windows demanding to get their child's confiscated cell phone that they can not possibly live without for 24 hours. Or... observe the line of parents who left work because their child texted them to pick them up from school immediately because they did not want to stay in school to watch the sixty minute video during a standardized testing break.
Last Friday I had my first experience with a "Copter Dad." Little Megan was in my office for the fourth time for a cell phone violation. I had just suspended her for a third violation, but it obviously did not impact her actions (or her fathers.) I was quite upset when I learned that she refused to give the phone up to the teacher, "because she would need it on the weekend." When I called her father to report the incident, his response took me by surprise... "It's my fault." I look a deep breath and asked, "How"? He replied that he calls his daughter between each class to remind her to get to class on time. Without thinking I responded, "You do what"? I had little success explaining to him the idiocy of this practice. After about ten minutes of "nonsense" I told him that it was her fourth offense and if she was my daughter I would seriously consider taking the phone away. He would have no part of that.
So... I suspended them both! Of course he was quite upset with the idea, but this time I would not budge. I dare not think of what shape this child will be in by the time she graduates. How do these parents think these children will ever learn coping skills to survive in the real world? Parent, please hear me...If you find yourself "hovering" over your child I have but one to say to you, KNOCK IT OFF! Or... you will wake up one morning and find a 39 year old unemployed moron perched on your sofa . Who would want to marry or even employ someone like this... for heavens sake folks, do it for the kids!!!!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
2-27-09 -- An 8th Grade Final Exam
What it took to get an 8th grade education in 1895... Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS - 1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.
Orthography (Time, one hour) [Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.
Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!
Author- Unknown
This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina, Kansas, USA. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.8th Grade Final Exam: Salina, KS - 1895
Grammar (Time, one hour)
1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters.
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run.'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.
Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)
1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt
U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)
1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.
Orthography (Time, one hour) [Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks and by syllabication.
Geography (Time, one hour)
1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S.
7. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.
Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete. Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!
Author- Unknown
Monday, February 23, 2009
2-23-09 - Generation Y
Hmm, I've always wondered this myself. Now I know.
*The Silent generation, people born before 1946.
*The Baby Boomers, people born between 1946 and 1963.
*Generation X, people born between 1964 and 1979.
*Generation Y, people born between 1980 and 1995.
Why do we call the last one generation Y? I did not know, but a caricaturist explains it eloquently below...Learned something new!
Author Unknown
Friday, February 20, 2009
2-20-09 - Where are all the Homies?
Now let me begin by saying that when I refer to a "Homie" I am NOT using a racial slur. I have come to learn that today's teen uses the word, "Homie," short for "homeboy/girl" as a replacement for the word, "friend." The members of the discipline office Frequent Flyer Club know this word drives me crazy, so they use it in my presence every chance they get to hear me reply, "HOMIES? THERE ARE NO HOMIES HERE, THIS IS ..."
In my humble opinion, if you want to find "Homies" you need to travel to south LA and be careful to move quickly so you can dodge any stray bullet that might be fired between two groups of folks who prefer to wear different color handkerchiefs. Suburbia is NOT the place to find Homies! As a matter of fact, I have invested the last eight years of my life to rid our school of any illusion of "hominess."
Artist, Dave Gonzalez, has created a cute line of characters named "Homies" to celebrate street life. (http://www.homies.tv/homies2008/) These cute characters however are not allowed to adorn the notebooks of our students! Hard as I may try, there has always been a sub-group of the herd who are referred to as "the Homies" right along with the Jocks, Punks, and Skaters. Unfortunately, last week the "Homies" fell under some poor leadership and decided to "jump" a couple cop's kids for mad dogging them. NOT GOOD FOR THE HOMIES!
It is a pretty good rule of thumb, if you are going to assault someone, make sure that they are not related to the "Po Po." Needless to say, before the school day ended there were four "Homies" in handcuffs headed for juvenile hall. After a failed attempt earlier to disperse the group, they thought they could beat the system and settle the score by throwing the cop's kids on the ground and kicking them in front of their lockers. One of the boys ended up in the hospital.
INCIDENT REPORT:
XXXXX HIGH SCHOOL
STATEMENT OF
Pam Castleman, Assistant Principal
Re: Leader Homie, Smiley Homie, Angry Homie, and I Didn't Do It Homie
On February 13, 2008 at the beginning of 1st lunch (approximately 11:45 a.m.) I was alerted by Campus Supervisor, XXXXX, that Leader Homie and Cop's Son had faced off. According to the report, Leader Homie and his friends walked by Cop's Son and “mad-dogged” him. Cop's Son asked Leader Homie why they were giving him (and his friends) dirty looks and a verbal confrontation followed which the Campus Supervisor broke up and sent Leader Homie and his friends away.
A few minutes after I noticed Leader Homie and a large group of Latino males who were all wearing black and white begin walking south in the direction of Cop's Son and his friends, who were standing on the west side of the 8-building. The boys positioned themselves along the wall next to Cop's Sons' friends. I pulled the cart up in front of them so they knew they were being watched. When the bell sounded, I directed the boys to move to class. The group then dispersed.
Following lunch, I entered the Administration building and saw three students visibly injured sitting on the discipline bench. I later identified the boys as Cop's Son #1, Good Friend in Wrong Place, and Cop's Son #2. Cop's Son was unable to speak due to being kicked and hit in the stomach. During individual interviews the boys stated that Smiley Homie and Angry Homie approached them at their lockers on the west side of the 5-building and challenged them to fight after school. At that time Leader Homie and other Latino males approached, threw them on the ground and began hitting and kicking them. Teacher, XXXXXX and Campus Supervisors broke up the fight and escorted some of the students to the office.
We immediately called the police who arrested Leader Homie, Smiley Homie, Angry Homie and I Didn't Do It Homie who were identified by witnesses as those responsible for the boys’ injuries. the Police later transported the Homies to Juvenile Hall.
Respectfully Submitted,
Pam Castleman
Now as scary as this incident was, the humor of it all actually surfaced this week when we realized everyone was OK. My colleague walked by three lone Homies who were not incarcerated or suspended before school Tuesday and over heard one say, "I gonna mess him up." This was followed by his buddy stating the obvious, "You better not, or there won't be any Homies left"!!!! This one phrase has been my source of entertainment for the entire week! My boss was not at all amused when I asked if I could begin the expulsion hearing with a round of "Where have all the Homies gone... when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn"?
During lunch supervision today we were as jumpy as chihuahuas on caffeine when we couldn't find our three remaining Homies. We looked high and low, but could not find them anywhere. Their prime real estate (corner of Library) was as deserted as a ghost town. Now after a good laugh, I concluded that today must have been "Homie Ditch Day." I know I should not laugh at these young men's plight, however their ability to constantly raise my blood pressure coupled with their poor decision-making skills has left me a bit jaded for their well-being. I have no idea how I will spend my time now that we are "Homieless." But, hopefully I can find something to do... perhaps some "INSTRUCTUAL LEADERSHIP"?
(This one is for you Ana!)
Homies is © 2007 HomieShop LLC, MIJOS is TM HomieShop LLC, Hoodrats is TM HomieShop LLC
In my humble opinion, if you want to find "Homies" you need to travel to south LA and be careful to move quickly so you can dodge any stray bullet that might be fired between two groups of folks who prefer to wear different color handkerchiefs. Suburbia is NOT the place to find Homies! As a matter of fact, I have invested the last eight years of my life to rid our school of any illusion of "hominess."
Artist, Dave Gonzalez, has created a cute line of characters named "Homies" to celebrate street life. (http://www.homies.tv/homies2008/) These cute characters however are not allowed to adorn the notebooks of our students! Hard as I may try, there has always been a sub-group of the herd who are referred to as "the Homies" right along with the Jocks, Punks, and Skaters. Unfortunately, last week the "Homies" fell under some poor leadership and decided to "jump" a couple cop's kids for mad dogging them. NOT GOOD FOR THE HOMIES!
It is a pretty good rule of thumb, if you are going to assault someone, make sure that they are not related to the "Po Po." Needless to say, before the school day ended there were four "Homies" in handcuffs headed for juvenile hall. After a failed attempt earlier to disperse the group, they thought they could beat the system and settle the score by throwing the cop's kids on the ground and kicking them in front of their lockers. One of the boys ended up in the hospital.
INCIDENT REPORT:
XXXXX HIGH SCHOOL
STATEMENT OF
Pam Castleman, Assistant Principal
Re: Leader Homie, Smiley Homie, Angry Homie, and I Didn't Do It Homie
On February 13, 2008 at the beginning of 1st lunch (approximately 11:45 a.m.) I was alerted by Campus Supervisor, XXXXX, that Leader Homie and Cop's Son had faced off. According to the report, Leader Homie and his friends walked by Cop's Son and “mad-dogged” him. Cop's Son asked Leader Homie why they were giving him (and his friends) dirty looks and a verbal confrontation followed which the Campus Supervisor broke up and sent Leader Homie and his friends away.
A few minutes after I noticed Leader Homie and a large group of Latino males who were all wearing black and white begin walking south in the direction of Cop's Son and his friends, who were standing on the west side of the 8-building. The boys positioned themselves along the wall next to Cop's Sons' friends. I pulled the cart up in front of them so they knew they were being watched. When the bell sounded, I directed the boys to move to class. The group then dispersed.
Following lunch, I entered the Administration building and saw three students visibly injured sitting on the discipline bench. I later identified the boys as Cop's Son #1, Good Friend in Wrong Place, and Cop's Son #2. Cop's Son was unable to speak due to being kicked and hit in the stomach. During individual interviews the boys stated that Smiley Homie and Angry Homie approached them at their lockers on the west side of the 5-building and challenged them to fight after school. At that time Leader Homie and other Latino males approached, threw them on the ground and began hitting and kicking them. Teacher, XXXXXX and Campus Supervisors broke up the fight and escorted some of the students to the office.
We immediately called the police who arrested Leader Homie, Smiley Homie, Angry Homie and I Didn't Do It Homie who were identified by witnesses as those responsible for the boys’ injuries. the Police later transported the Homies to Juvenile Hall.
Respectfully Submitted,
Pam Castleman
Now as scary as this incident was, the humor of it all actually surfaced this week when we realized everyone was OK. My colleague walked by three lone Homies who were not incarcerated or suspended before school Tuesday and over heard one say, "I gonna mess him up." This was followed by his buddy stating the obvious, "You better not, or there won't be any Homies left"!!!! This one phrase has been my source of entertainment for the entire week! My boss was not at all amused when I asked if I could begin the expulsion hearing with a round of "Where have all the Homies gone... when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn"?
During lunch supervision today we were as jumpy as chihuahuas on caffeine when we couldn't find our three remaining Homies. We looked high and low, but could not find them anywhere. Their prime real estate (corner of Library) was as deserted as a ghost town. Now after a good laugh, I concluded that today must have been "Homie Ditch Day." I know I should not laugh at these young men's plight, however their ability to constantly raise my blood pressure coupled with their poor decision-making skills has left me a bit jaded for their well-being. I have no idea how I will spend my time now that we are "Homieless." But, hopefully I can find something to do... perhaps some "INSTRUCTUAL LEADERSHIP"?
(This one is for you Ana!)
Homies is © 2007 HomieShop LLC, MIJOS is TM HomieShop LLC, Hoodrats is TM HomieShop LLC
Saturday, February 14, 2009
2-12-09 - RIP
He had a smile that would light the night... and a personality to match. He left us from an overdose of Xanax and the stupidity of his friends. I know how hard you tried my man, you will be missed.
We got that dipolma didn't we?
Love you,
Ms C
Saturday, February 7, 2009
2-6-09 - The Return of Diego
Troubled teenagers and poison ivy have much in common, just about the time you think you are cured, another bump crops up! Diego came into our life two years ago (previous blogs 12/13/07, 1/24/08, 2/12/08) as a cocky belligerent freshmen. If the rules read move right, he was sure to move left then argue that you were out of step with him. He marched to his own drum and added a number of new gray hairs to my collection until he was expelled. We tried everything to reach this young man... attempted to interest him in the Marines, tried tough love, counseling, good cop/bad cop everything we could possibly think of, but always failed. He finally accrued enough suspensions that the School Board expelled him last spring.
Following his expulsion, he enrolled in a Los Angeles school district so we thought we had passed along our headaches to our neighbors over the hill. Hurricane Diego could now blow freely amongst the mass of other gang-banger wannabees along with the real deals. This lasted a couple months until... he was arrested for gun possession and was placed in Juvenile Hall.
After learning this, you can imagine how thrilled we were that he had now petitioned our own School Board and had convinced them that he was now "a changed man" and wanted to get an education. Last week his petition was granted. Now before we start judging our School Board, I have earnestly seen kids spend time in the hall or boot camps and come back more mature and ready to learn. After all a former student, Ming, re-enrolled last year after a period of time in a boot camp in the Central Coast, and graduated last year. Upon his return he presented a teacher with $50 that he had stolen from her classroom the year before, apologized to everyone he had wronged and he was a model to us all!
Unfortunately, this was not the case with Diego! Now in 11th grade, he had only been enrolled a couple days when his true "colors" came shining through. Yesterday a staff member turned in his notebook with tagging on it... this time a harder gang from over the hill. Before my colleague could call him in to discuss it, I found myself writing the following Incident Report:
Following his expulsion, he enrolled in a Los Angeles school district so we thought we had passed along our headaches to our neighbors over the hill. Hurricane Diego could now blow freely amongst the mass of other gang-banger wannabees along with the real deals. This lasted a couple months until... he was arrested for gun possession and was placed in Juvenile Hall.
After learning this, you can imagine how thrilled we were that he had now petitioned our own School Board and had convinced them that he was now "a changed man" and wanted to get an education. Last week his petition was granted. Now before we start judging our School Board, I have earnestly seen kids spend time in the hall or boot camps and come back more mature and ready to learn. After all a former student, Ming, re-enrolled last year after a period of time in a boot camp in the Central Coast, and graduated last year. Upon his return he presented a teacher with $50 that he had stolen from her classroom the year before, apologized to everyone he had wronged and he was a model to us all!
Unfortunately, this was not the case with Diego! Now in 11th grade, he had only been enrolled a couple days when his true "colors" came shining through. Yesterday a staff member turned in his notebook with tagging on it... this time a harder gang from over the hill. Before my colleague could call him in to discuss it, I found myself writing the following Incident Report:
XXXXXXXXX HIGH SCHOOL
STATEMENT OF
Pam Castleman, Assistant Principal
Re: "Diego"
DOB – X/XX/92
On Friday, February 06, 2009 at approximately 11:40 p.m., I received a radio call from a campus supervisor who stated that he needed an administrator for assistance. I looked up and noticed the campus supervisor attempting to stop student "Diego." According to the Campus Supervisor he had noticed that "Diego" had a drawing of a marijuana leaf on his notebook with the words “High Life” he had asked "Diego" to just tear that part off. He stated that "Diego" refused, said “F--k You” and attempted to walk away from him while he was speaking to him.
I asked "Diego" for the notebook and removed the paper myself. When I flipped the page over I noticed gang graffiti “XXX-13” on the back of the paper. I then asked "Diego" to step aside with me and asked him if I needed to contact his probation officer. He then remarked to me, “Don’t threaten me” and walked off. Under his breath he began cussing. I heard him being belligerent and told him that I was not threatening I was promising him that I would contact his P.O and we continued to exchange words. Once again he told me, “Don’t threaten me.”
I then asked a campus supervisor to escort him to the office for his defiance. In the office I asked him about the tagging and he stated that it stood for “XXXXX.” I also showed him additional tagging on his notebook that had been presented to my colleague the previous day by another school employee. Since I had many conversations with him prior to his expulsion for tagging on his notebooks and defiance to school officials I suspended him for three days.
Later that afternoon another campus supervisor came in my office to report yesterday "Diego" asked if “Robo Cop” (referring to another campus supervisor) still worked here, then commented… “I am going to kill the f--ker.”
Respectfully Submitted,
Pam Castleman
STATEMENT OF
Pam Castleman, Assistant Principal
Re: "Diego"
DOB – X/XX/92
On Friday, February 06, 2009 at approximately 11:40 p.m., I received a radio call from a campus supervisor who stated that he needed an administrator for assistance. I looked up and noticed the campus supervisor attempting to stop student "Diego." According to the Campus Supervisor he had noticed that "Diego" had a drawing of a marijuana leaf on his notebook with the words “High Life” he had asked "Diego" to just tear that part off. He stated that "Diego" refused, said “F--k You” and attempted to walk away from him while he was speaking to him.
I asked "Diego" for the notebook and removed the paper myself. When I flipped the page over I noticed gang graffiti “XXX-13” on the back of the paper. I then asked "Diego" to step aside with me and asked him if I needed to contact his probation officer. He then remarked to me, “Don’t threaten me” and walked off. Under his breath he began cussing. I heard him being belligerent and told him that I was not threatening I was promising him that I would contact his P.O and we continued to exchange words. Once again he told me, “Don’t threaten me.”
I then asked a campus supervisor to escort him to the office for his defiance. In the office I asked him about the tagging and he stated that it stood for “XXXXX.” I also showed him additional tagging on his notebook that had been presented to my colleague the previous day by another school employee. Since I had many conversations with him prior to his expulsion for tagging on his notebooks and defiance to school officials I suspended him for three days.
Later that afternoon another campus supervisor came in my office to report yesterday "Diego" asked if “Robo Cop” (referring to another campus supervisor) still worked here, then commented… “I am going to kill the f--ker.”
Respectfully Submitted,
Pam Castleman
I released him to his parents, who once left the school told him he could not return home. We watched him walk down the street (opposite his parents) in the rain. Understanding that any tagging would be a direct violation of his probation, I tried for 45 minutes, and eventually got through to his probation officer in LA who wanted the incident report and tagging faxed to their office.
After I finished the report, I sat there sick to my stomach thinking of what was down the road for the young man. Once I got him to the office, he cried as he plead for me not to suspend him. As much as I knew that this young man was drowning in a chaos of his own making, my heart still ached for him. After a brief silent prayer in my head, I knew that I had to sacrifice the one for the good of the whole. Diego had returned to us the same way he left, and if I enabled him once again there would be no telling how many he would take along with him for his wild ride. I had a narrow opportunity to remove a cancer from our campus and I had no choice but to take action.
My prayers are still with this young man, for I fear the paths in which he is choosing is leading him to a place in which he will not be able to return.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
1-28-09 - Staffing Reassignments
With all the rumors surrounding the budget crisis everyone is now fearful of their job. My lead Campus Supervisor (who I can not live without!) walked in my office this morning and handed me a piece of paper with a "proposal for staffing reassignments." The trusty rumor mill had our security crew expecting to be next on the chopping block and she wanted to provide me with a real vision of life without them:
Staffing Reassignments to deal with the loss of Campus Supervisors :
OCS (On Campus Suspension) - Use teachers on a rotating schedule during their prep periods. Of course the contract will have to be re-negotiated, but perhaps the increase in salary benefits will only be a few thousand more than Campus Supervisors are paid by the hour!
Gates -Maintenance will need to lock all gates once school starts and open them at the end of the day, including the bike rack. They will take calls every period for kids leaving school for various reasons to lock and unlock. Hopefully the potties will not overflow or kids do not get sick in classrooms during this time!
7 & 30 Gates - Leave side gates closed all day – send all 2800 students to front to enter or exit campus through the administration building- Admin will need to rotate 2 hour shifts.
Front gate - Have admin do another 2 hour shift to handle everyone coming or going from the school including yellow passes, lunch passes, free 5 & 6 stickers, Work 5 & 6 stickers, sports passes, deliveries, and all the adults that want to come on campus for one reason or another. Not sure what will happen to kids who fight, take drugs, etc, but we will save money.
Front Desk - We will need to require parents to go on campus and retrieve their students from class or where ever they may be (wrestling room, baseball field, P.E. etc.). They will probably want to use the golf cart so you better raise the liability insurance.
Drop Offs - Due to the lack of staffing we will be unable to except the 50 thousand items a day that our darling children are unable to survive the day with out.
Lunch Supervision - Say a Prayer????
Secretaries - Will have to fetch students for their V.P.’s and do the locker searches. They will also need to escort them down to OCS. When a teacher needs a student removed from their classroom the secretary must retrieve them. You better sign them up for yoga classes because they are not accustomed to dealing with the verbal abuse along the way.
Games - Coaches must sell and take tickets – no coverage inside.
Traffic - Pam (after my fender-bender this week... yeah right!)
Escorts - The Administrator who assigns the non-sense
Medical - Nurses office will need to respond to any calls of injury or illness with the cart. Staff will have to prioritize importance such as head injury in Room 2-10 vs weighing wrestlers for meet.
911 Calls - The Principal will need to go out in the street and wave down the Emergency personnel, and AP's can wait on the southeast corner of the building to escort them to the nurse’s office.
Bathrooms - Bathrooms will remain closed except during passing periods when the counselors will monitor them.
Lockers - Forgot your key? Sorry!
ASD (After School Detentions) - Teachers must do their own.
Football Security - Hire an additional 10 – 12 more security people at triple the rate we work an hour. Or... perhaps negotiate with a local gang to monitor athletic events, we could barter with confiscated drugs and save a few bucks.
I prepared my resignation letter the same day!
Staffing Reassignments to deal with the loss of Campus Supervisors :
OCS (On Campus Suspension) - Use teachers on a rotating schedule during their prep periods. Of course the contract will have to be re-negotiated, but perhaps the increase in salary benefits will only be a few thousand more than Campus Supervisors are paid by the hour!
Gates -Maintenance will need to lock all gates once school starts and open them at the end of the day, including the bike rack. They will take calls every period for kids leaving school for various reasons to lock and unlock. Hopefully the potties will not overflow or kids do not get sick in classrooms during this time!
7 & 30 Gates - Leave side gates closed all day – send all 2800 students to front to enter or exit campus through the administration building- Admin will need to rotate 2 hour shifts.
Front gate - Have admin do another 2 hour shift to handle everyone coming or going from the school including yellow passes, lunch passes, free 5 & 6 stickers, Work 5 & 6 stickers, sports passes, deliveries, and all the adults that want to come on campus for one reason or another. Not sure what will happen to kids who fight, take drugs, etc, but we will save money.
Front Desk - We will need to require parents to go on campus and retrieve their students from class or where ever they may be (wrestling room, baseball field, P.E. etc.). They will probably want to use the golf cart so you better raise the liability insurance.
Drop Offs - Due to the lack of staffing we will be unable to except the 50 thousand items a day that our darling children are unable to survive the day with out.
Lunch Supervision - Say a Prayer????
Secretaries - Will have to fetch students for their V.P.’s and do the locker searches. They will also need to escort them down to OCS. When a teacher needs a student removed from their classroom the secretary must retrieve them. You better sign them up for yoga classes because they are not accustomed to dealing with the verbal abuse along the way.
Games - Coaches must sell and take tickets – no coverage inside.
Traffic - Pam (after my fender-bender this week... yeah right!)
Escorts - The Administrator who assigns the non-sense
Medical - Nurses office will need to respond to any calls of injury or illness with the cart. Staff will have to prioritize importance such as head injury in Room 2-10 vs weighing wrestlers for meet.
911 Calls - The Principal will need to go out in the street and wave down the Emergency personnel, and AP's can wait on the southeast corner of the building to escort them to the nurse’s office.
Bathrooms - Bathrooms will remain closed except during passing periods when the counselors will monitor them.
Lockers - Forgot your key? Sorry!
ASD (After School Detentions) - Teachers must do their own.
Football Security - Hire an additional 10 – 12 more security people at triple the rate we work an hour. Or... perhaps negotiate with a local gang to monitor athletic events, we could barter with confiscated drugs and save a few bucks.
I prepared my resignation letter the same day!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
1-27-09 -- How Many Chances?
How many chances do you give a drug dealer? None? One? Two? What if they are only in 9th grade? What if they only sold to one person? What if they have a supportive family that promise to help them change? Should you kick them out of school? Should you lock them up? Should you just believe that they are young and they can change? What message will your discipline send to their friends and other who contemplate the same offense?
Tonight I am angry. I am mad. I am frustrated. At this moment I feel that we are fighting a losing battle that is doomed to get worse and we are helpless to make change. Tonight we took two students before the School Board who both were selling drugs to their peers. Two kids with the same offenses but with very different situations... or are they?
Before the holidays a young man walked into my colleagues office and said, Tio has drugs in his pocket today. He followed the statement with, "how much is the reward from the police department? My colleague was already late for a meeting so I agreed to search Tio. When I brought him into my office he immediately confessed he had drugs and handed to me from his pocket. He stated that he had gotten it for a friend. I also noticed he had $75 in his wallet. I looked up at him and asked, "How long have you been selling drugs on campus"? He replied. "Only a couple days." Now under California law selling drugs is against the law and ground for an expulsion. He was cited by the police department and we began the paper trail for the expulsion hearing.
Two doors down from my office another colleague had just gotten information that Stewart had a strong odor of marijuana. She had escorted him to the office and after searching found pot hidden in his shoe. When she asked him where he got it, after changing his story a number of times he finally said, "I found it on the way to school." (Yeah Right!) While they were discussing the issue, his phone buzzed with a text message from a couple of non students asking if he would walk over to the fence and sell them the drugs. He too was informed that he was suspended pending an expulsion hearing.
Tonight was the big night, both boys had to face the music and testify to the School Board for their actions. Now to most folks these case are no brainers... give them the boot! But to the good folks to sit on the School Board, know they must carefully navigate this insanity we call a legal system and arrive at a decision that is not only good for the student, but the safety of the school as well as legally compliant.
For the most part I have agreed with the current Board's decisions as I understand they are extremely limited in their jurisdiction. For instance, the most a kid can be expelled is for only one year. Then... the district must provide an alternative placement such as a county school that has transportation to and from the site which happens to be about 30 miles from our city. And, in California there is always a stipulation that the kid must get some sort of counseling (we really like the rehab stuff here) then reappear to the Board at the end of the term for a re admittance hearing.
Typically this means that if a kid is expelled, he is out of school for about a month pending the hearing... during that time the school is responsible for providing homework for Little Johnny Delinquent. If he/she is expelled, it is usually for only one semester and often the expulsion is suspended so basically the kid only misses a month of school while he/she is allowed to do all their make up work. Now granted the kid is told that if they have any additional infractions the expulsion will be back in effect. This process creates a "revolving door" for those who are repeat offenders. Many times school officials do not recommend disciplinary issues for expulsion, because there is simply no teeth involved.
In some states when kids are expelled the only option they have is to return to a continuation school, but not here. In as little as one month a drug dealer can return to a comprehensive school campus to covertly resume their source of income. This was the case with both Tio and Stewart tonight. Although our Board attempted to instruct the parents that they could not return to our school, Stewart's family kept pressing the issue and now plan to return to our school at the end of the year. What has happened to our society? I sit and shake my head in wonder of the absolute nonsense that we are forced to tolerate.
I am dedicated to my battle field, but I must admit it is quite demoralizing when you are shooting with rubber bullets.
Tonight I am angry. I am mad. I am frustrated. At this moment I feel that we are fighting a losing battle that is doomed to get worse and we are helpless to make change. Tonight we took two students before the School Board who both were selling drugs to their peers. Two kids with the same offenses but with very different situations... or are they?
Before the holidays a young man walked into my colleagues office and said, Tio has drugs in his pocket today. He followed the statement with, "how much is the reward from the police department? My colleague was already late for a meeting so I agreed to search Tio. When I brought him into my office he immediately confessed he had drugs and handed to me from his pocket. He stated that he had gotten it for a friend. I also noticed he had $75 in his wallet. I looked up at him and asked, "How long have you been selling drugs on campus"? He replied. "Only a couple days." Now under California law selling drugs is against the law and ground for an expulsion. He was cited by the police department and we began the paper trail for the expulsion hearing.
Two doors down from my office another colleague had just gotten information that Stewart had a strong odor of marijuana. She had escorted him to the office and after searching found pot hidden in his shoe. When she asked him where he got it, after changing his story a number of times he finally said, "I found it on the way to school." (Yeah Right!) While they were discussing the issue, his phone buzzed with a text message from a couple of non students asking if he would walk over to the fence and sell them the drugs. He too was informed that he was suspended pending an expulsion hearing.
Tonight was the big night, both boys had to face the music and testify to the School Board for their actions. Now to most folks these case are no brainers... give them the boot! But to the good folks to sit on the School Board, know they must carefully navigate this insanity we call a legal system and arrive at a decision that is not only good for the student, but the safety of the school as well as legally compliant.
For the most part I have agreed with the current Board's decisions as I understand they are extremely limited in their jurisdiction. For instance, the most a kid can be expelled is for only one year. Then... the district must provide an alternative placement such as a county school that has transportation to and from the site which happens to be about 30 miles from our city. And, in California there is always a stipulation that the kid must get some sort of counseling (we really like the rehab stuff here) then reappear to the Board at the end of the term for a re admittance hearing.
Typically this means that if a kid is expelled, he is out of school for about a month pending the hearing... during that time the school is responsible for providing homework for Little Johnny Delinquent. If he/she is expelled, it is usually for only one semester and often the expulsion is suspended so basically the kid only misses a month of school while he/she is allowed to do all their make up work. Now granted the kid is told that if they have any additional infractions the expulsion will be back in effect. This process creates a "revolving door" for those who are repeat offenders. Many times school officials do not recommend disciplinary issues for expulsion, because there is simply no teeth involved.
In some states when kids are expelled the only option they have is to return to a continuation school, but not here. In as little as one month a drug dealer can return to a comprehensive school campus to covertly resume their source of income. This was the case with both Tio and Stewart tonight. Although our Board attempted to instruct the parents that they could not return to our school, Stewart's family kept pressing the issue and now plan to return to our school at the end of the year. What has happened to our society? I sit and shake my head in wonder of the absolute nonsense that we are forced to tolerate.
I am dedicated to my battle field, but I must admit it is quite demoralizing when you are shooting with rubber bullets.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
1-23-09 - So What Do We Do Now?
Part of the job as a high school administrator is to be able to think quickly on one's feet and make decisions that will impact lives hopefully for the better. For eight years I have prided myself in my ability to do this fairly well. When my colleague walked into my office with the following question, all my arrogance flew right out the door.
She said, "I have a student in my office who is 16 years old, she is a young mother, does not speak a word of English was dumped here by the baby's father and is now living in a group home and oh yeah... she only has a 4th grade education from Mexico. How do I schedule her classes????"
OK... this was a new one for me. I sat in a room full of professionals, two assistant principals, the school nurse and a counselor and none of us could produce a workable answer. After a brief moment of chanting "INS" I came to my senses and realized we were bound by law to provide this young lady an education.
Now before you label me cold-hearted keep in mind that California schools are now facing the worst budget crisis in decades. Our district alone faces 15 million dollars in cuts if the trained monkeys we elected to lead this state do not produce a budget, which is now months overdue. In order to meet payroll, school districts were forced to submit "bare bones" budgets for approval so that they can borrow to simply meet payroll... forget about operating expenses or purchasing expensive textbooks we are mandated to update. This week I watched my principal hand out 22 pink slips to veteran teachers based upon whether they were credentialed to teach non-English speakers. Other than the now diagnosed one, this dilemma produced a knot in my stomach so big it produced a lump in my throat.
The LA Times ran an article this morning that the trained monkeys have are now producing a "bail out plan" to the tune of 11 million dollars to present to the federal government. Heck, if the bankers and auto makers can sell their deal in order to give million dollar bonuses to their CEOs surely the poor children of California are entitled to be bailed out too??? Right??
So... what do we do with our young mother? The minor parent program at the continuation school refused to take her because she does not speak enough English, the adult education program refused to take her because she is not old enough... so this poor soul is left with her 4th grade education to try to muddle through the murky waters of the comprehensive high school.
We finally opted to place her in a two-hour block of English with other students learning English and pay for a home teacher for the remaining courses. My only prayer is that after we manage to educate those who do not have to prove their citizenship that we can afford to pay the electric bill so they can actually see to read their newly adopted textbooks that we had to borrow money to purchase and we have enough paper to print the IOUs to pay their teachers who had to obtain special credentials to teach them.
She said, "I have a student in my office who is 16 years old, she is a young mother, does not speak a word of English was dumped here by the baby's father and is now living in a group home and oh yeah... she only has a 4th grade education from Mexico. How do I schedule her classes????"
OK... this was a new one for me. I sat in a room full of professionals, two assistant principals, the school nurse and a counselor and none of us could produce a workable answer. After a brief moment of chanting "INS" I came to my senses and realized we were bound by law to provide this young lady an education.
Now before you label me cold-hearted keep in mind that California schools are now facing the worst budget crisis in decades. Our district alone faces 15 million dollars in cuts if the trained monkeys we elected to lead this state do not produce a budget, which is now months overdue. In order to meet payroll, school districts were forced to submit "bare bones" budgets for approval so that they can borrow to simply meet payroll... forget about operating expenses or purchasing expensive textbooks we are mandated to update. This week I watched my principal hand out 22 pink slips to veteran teachers based upon whether they were credentialed to teach non-English speakers. Other than the now diagnosed one, this dilemma produced a knot in my stomach so big it produced a lump in my throat.
The LA Times ran an article this morning that the trained monkeys have are now producing a "bail out plan" to the tune of 11 million dollars to present to the federal government. Heck, if the bankers and auto makers can sell their deal in order to give million dollar bonuses to their CEOs surely the poor children of California are entitled to be bailed out too??? Right??
So... what do we do with our young mother? The minor parent program at the continuation school refused to take her because she does not speak enough English, the adult education program refused to take her because she is not old enough... so this poor soul is left with her 4th grade education to try to muddle through the murky waters of the comprehensive high school.
We finally opted to place her in a two-hour block of English with other students learning English and pay for a home teacher for the remaining courses. My only prayer is that after we manage to educate those who do not have to prove their citizenship that we can afford to pay the electric bill so they can actually see to read their newly adopted textbooks that we had to borrow money to purchase and we have enough paper to print the IOUs to pay their teachers who had to obtain special credentials to teach them.
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