Some Children Need to be Left Behind

Entitlement

2007-06-15T08:54:00.001-05:00

After some recent reflection, I’ve decided on another single word that accurately addresses one of the largest problems with students (and people in our society in general for that matter): Entitlement (the other word would be accountability). Because of our relatively affluent culture and the decadent lifestyles that our societal heroes flaunt, it is my opinion that too many of us have come to feel that we are automatically entitled to a life of riches and fame.

I actually worry that even I am not immune to this inherent character trait instilled by living in American society. After all, I certainly believe that I am more intelligent than most people (roughly 99.9%). I also have confidence that I will succeed in life due to a strong work ethic, willingness to accept and overcome challenges, and numerous other positive qualities. Yes, I have an inflated ego, but at least my 4.0 GPA and list of successes so far partially backs that up. I don’t feel entitled to anything; however, I do feel that I can EARN anything and ACCOMPLISH anything with a little tenacity and hard work.

My gripe stems from the fact that far too many people, for the purposes of this blog I will focus on students, feel that they are entitled to anything simply because…well…simply because. These days EVERY student NEEDS to have a cell phone, an MP3 Player, a PSP, and other techno-gadgets that I probably don’t understand. Regardless of their family’s income and regardless of their own performance/behavior/attitude, they have these valuable items, for they are entitled to them—or so they have come to believe. As the semester winds down, I realize that roughly 17 students will be failing my classes. How many of them spend their spare time IMing on their own personal computers, talking and texting on their $150 phones, or playing their $500 PS3s? Roughly 17. What have they done to earn all of these amenities? Jack shit. What does this teach them in the long run? “I will always have all the cool stuff I’ll ever want, and all I need to do is…JACK SHIT!” Somehow they will all magically become millionaires and we will all get to see their totally kick-ass houses on “MTV Cribs” and drool over their pimped rides.

Of course, some of them might make millions playing sports. For example, one young lad with the body of a coat rack plans on playing in the NFL. He doesn’t need English class, which explains his 34% average. Honestly, the kid looks like a strong breeze or a violent sneeze could be the end of him. However, he knows that he is entitled to greatness on the gridiron because…well…because.

Sadly, such students are in for a rude awakening when they realize that the only thing they are entitled to is a minimum wage job greeting people as they enter Wal*Mart. They are entitled to sheer wonder, bewilderment, and stupor when they are forced to ask, “How am I supposed to afford ANYTHING on $7.50/hr?!?!”

More on public (government) education

2007-06-09T00:55:00.000-05:00

I thoroughly enjoyed (I'm not sure if enjoyed is the right word though...) the article posted in response to my previous posting. Sadly, I could easily envision our public schools adopting the policy of "No raising your hands" because god forbid some studnets feel "invisible" or left out. Well, then those little fuckers should get their hands up! Our school system fails to recognize the fact that all people are NOT created equal. To quote one of the greatest American novels of all time: "Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal...There is a tendency for certain people to use this phrase out of context, to satisfy all conditions. The most ridiculous example I can think of is that the people who run public education promote the stupid and the idle along with the industrious--because all men are created equal, educators will gravely tell you, the children left behind will suffer terrible feelings of inferiority. We know all men are not created equal in the sense some people would have us believe--some people are smarter than others, some people have more opportunity because they're born with it, some men make more money than others, some ladies make better cakes than others--some people are born gifted beyond the normal scope of most men" (Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird 205). Although this novel is taught in most likely every public high school in the country, and Atticus is commonly hailed as one of the most noble characters in all of literature, his logical statement (written by Harper Lee in 1960!) fails to go noticed by those in charge of our school systems. Rather, the trend in education these days is to minimize the number of "levels" within the school systems. In other words, all students will either be in an Honors or an Academic level class as opposed to the Honors, Academic, Standard, and Low Standard levels.

This absurdly idiotic notion stems from the idea that all students should receive the same education, thereby ensuring that "no child is left behind." Sadly, not all students have the same cognitive ability, and placing the "lower" functioning students in upper level classes is unfair to them, the upper level students, and the teachers. For a fantasitc satire of what happens when equality is forced on a society, read Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron." This story satirically points out how absurd it is to expect the upper level students to basically be handicapped by not allowing them to surpass their peers (see the article about not raising hands!). Furthermore, when "lower" level students are placed in more rigorous courses, 504s become typical. This means that every student in the class will come with a legal list of accomodations (see pervious posting to fully grasp the stupidity of some of these accomodations) that the teacher must make. So, the teacher now has a class of 30 students, each with a completely different capacity for learning; it then becomes the teacher's job to come up with 30 different lesson plans--one for each student, a lesson that meets each individual's needs. Ultimately, the smart kid who does the intense literary analysis and the dumb ass who draws a picture because that is all he can do both end up reciving "As" for the course. Where is the fairness in that? Do colleges or, perhaps more importantly, "real world" jobs cut down on the amount of work each individual has to complete? No! So why not prepare kids for the harsh reality of the "real world" and make them actually WORK for and EARN their grades?

My Plagiarism

2007-05-28T18:43:00.000-05:00

The following posting is stolen from one of my student's blogs. He is a brilliant young man, and I allowed him to keep a blog instead of a physical journal. Amazing that a fifteen year old can so eloquently identify the malady of lack of accountability.

"Not my fault.

Children are being raised by not being raised.

It took me at least four or five tries to figure out how to explain my sentiments, and that is exactly what I'm trying to say. Parents always try to blame someone else for their own child's wrongdoings, because they can't accept the fact that their little angel is in fact, not quite an angel. For the most part, this is probably because having a kid who fails out of classes because they don't do a damned thing, or don't show up at all, might reflect poorly on their ability to be a parent.

Or maybe they're just trying to teach their child "independence." *Stifled laugh*

No, they're not. Teaching your child to be independent usually implies that they're learning how to succeed on their own. Getting (and keeping) a job, managing your own money, taking care of a car; these are the kinds of things that we need to learn for the real world. Saying "I let my child do what he wants so he can learn to be independent," in response to his being arrested for drug possession and underage drinking is just bad parenting. Yes all you parents of delinquent children, none of whom are reading this blog anyway, I'm calling you a BAD PARENT. If you're too lazy to raise a kid, the least you can do is not be too lazy to use protection."

Harsh sentiments that I couldn't agree with more. Accountability, or absolute refusal to take accountability, has become a huge trend in our society. While there are glaring examples of this in our government, this "plague" has permeated the everyday familial unit. In our growing enthusiasm to make everything as simple and as quick as possible, it becomes far easier to simply blame some one else for any short comings we see in ourselves or those we are responsible for. Relentless unwillingness to accept reality is another epidemic. This is what results of childrens' feelings being overly catered to in schools--not to mention sports, where now everyone gets a big trophy because everyone is a winner. The sooner kids, or I should say people in general, learn that there are "losers" and that it is possible that you--yes even though your mother tells you you are special--can become one of them if you don't take responsibility for your own actions and undestand that actions have consequences.

General State of Public Education

2007-05-28T18:42:00.000-05:00

The following posting is not driven by specific students’ idiocy for a change; rather, this is a rant about the current state of public education. This has been spurred on by the comment below posted by a fellow teacher (woohoo, I have a reader!) as well as various conversations I’ve had with people over this fine Memorial Day Weekend.

The comment posted by the fellow teacher is an all too apt satirical comment based on the current educational trends. Yes, our department head has recently been urging us to come up with “new, original, unique” types of final exams—as always she claims this directive is “coming down the pipeline from central office.” Think back to your last English exam. What was it like? A few short answer questions. Probably an essay or two based on what you read during the semester. Perhaps you even had to remember main characters names and some key plot points. God forbid you may have had to synthesize information from a variety of readings and write a well-organized and coherent argument based on your semester course work. Shit…that sounds like some sort of exam that tests you on everything you were supposed to have learned (a final?!). Well, rather than continue this logical trend—you know, testing students on what they learned throughout the semester—our department looking for the “new, original, unique” manner of testing. What could this be? Sadly, interpretive dance, yoga, or some other “what are you feeling” bullshit will likely be the answer. We have been overtly forbidden to ask specific questions about books on the final exam. I don’t mean questions like “what is the third word on page 203,” but things like “what are the main characters’ names in To Kill a Mockingbird.” After all, that might require that students study the material prior to taking the FINAL EXAM; also, it would unjustly hold them accountable for the work they should have been completing all semester long. Besides, it’s not like we want to prepare them for college or anything. The two ten-fifteen page papers I wrote as finals for my two graduate courses recently required me to re-read course material, conduct background research, compose a lucid and intelligent argument, and most of all THINK! Perhaps my graduate professors are just behind the times and don’t realize that they should want to hear about (literally hear or possibly watch me perform) how I felt about Moby-Dick and Paradise Lost and what does Ishmael’s character mean to me.

What’s wrong with public education? We say we want to “increase the rigor” and “raise the standards,” yet bullshit like proves the opposite to be true. The real problem with public education lies in the word P-U-B-L-I-C. The “public” is largely constituted by morons, retards, and assholes. Go to Wal*Mart anytime after 8PM to see for your self (warning: don’t look at any one person for too long or you might go blind). Stupid parents who do not value education have stupid kids who don’t give a shit either. Everyone has the potential to rise above his/her poor circumstances in life, but most people just don’t want to. It would be too hard and require too much work. Work—a word that is becoming foreign to most quick-fix, don’t-give-a-shit Americans. Yes, everyone deserves a free education. Yes, everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed. However, success only comes from hard work and real effort. The kids who are completely unwilling to put forth any effort deserve to fail. You can’t shin shit, and people do have a right to refuse opportunity. Sadly, those are the same people that will have five kids by the time they are twenty. Those kids will likely follow in their parents’ pathetic footsteps, and the vicious cycle will continue.

So what’s the solution? A fellow teacher had the best idea when she once suggested a switch that is implanted in all babies and must be turned on in order to allow breeding.

Too Difficult Tests?

2007-04-30T21:55:00.000-05:00

As the title of this post indicates, I worry that I may be giving tests that are unfair because they are simply too difficult. Perhaps, as the English teacher with a love for literature, I have been biased and not seen the injustice of my tests. I present you with two recent cases; you be the judge:

1) Students were given a month and a half to read Of Mice and Men independently. Then they were given a predominantly multiple choice test to prove whether they read it or not--you know, general plot questions like "Does Lennie like rabbits?" not stuff like "What is the 53rd word on page 62?". There was also a matching section in which students were expected to pair up a character name and a description of said character. Characters even included "Mice," which some students matched with "The strong worker with the mind of a child who likes to pet soft things." Perhaps "Furry animals that Lennie likes to pet" was not specific enough. Anyway, the average grade for my two classes of roughly 30 students each was about a 27% (Yep, we are talking out of 100%). The lowest grade was a zero despite the fact that "Name:" was clearly labeled "5 Points." The only six students who admitted to reading the novella (Yep, it's only about 100 pages long) scored well into the 90s.
Oh yeah, one last thing--the test was open notes. Aren't I cruel! First of all that presupposes that they would actually take notes; however, even that works on the false assumption that reading, oh say, two pages a night wouldn't be too much to ask. Shit, these fucks were too lazy to even read a summary of the book on sparknotes! Assholes!

2) Test on Edgar Allan Poe.
Part I. 25 multiple choice questions worth two points each. Directions: Decide which ELEMENT of the STORY is described below A- Plot B-Setting C- Character D- Theme

Samples
1) The dark and gloomy House of Usher
2) Dupin, the detective who solves the case
3) The moral/lesson that you should expect the unexpected
4) The beginning of the story when Fortunato is lured into the catacombs

Part II: Four short answer questions worth ten points each. Students must write AT LEAST TEN SENTENCES for each answer.
Sample
1) Which was your favorite story? Why? Describe some of the exciting, mysterious, or grotesque events.

And other such very open-ended question.

Oh yeah, writing your name on this one was worth ten points. In addition, the test was open book and if you did not finish it in class you could take it home to work on it. Finally, there was a ten point extra credit question.

One student scored a 45. He left three of the four short answer questions blank. Had he written "I like trucks" or simply "Duh," perhaps I could have given him some points. I didn't take off points for not capitalizing his name either.
Alas, have a I asked too much of this JUNIOR in HIGH SCHOOL? Well, you can at least rest easy with the knowledge that he WILL pass due to his 504/IEP (as discussed in a previous post). Yes, in only two years he will join the working world and be a great benefit to all of society. Just don't ask him to spell "society"...or to capitalize his name...or, just to be on the safe side, to complete task that requires even the most infinitesimal amount of cognitive ability--like breathing and doing something else at the same time.

To return to my initial question: Aren't I such a despot when it comes to grading?!

Vignettes

2007-04-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

When it rains it pours. After that long post about 504s, here are some short examples of student intelligence.

-Bonus Question on Freshmen Vocab Quiz: What is the normal human body temperature?

Various Answers: 64, 156, and, I kid you not, 1.96

Also, many students were unable to define: “Hilarious,” “Massive,” and “Ignite” despite the fact that we reviewed the words together numerous times, they knew to study for a quiz, AND my six year old cousin could define these words.

-After a week of conducting background research on Shakespeare, Elizabethan England, and the Globe Theater, a student raised his hand in class:

Student: “Is Shakespeare still alive?”

Me (amidst the snickering of other students): “Yes, yes he is.”

Student: “Oh.”

Me (realizing he is serious and has believed me): “You know he was born in 1564, right?”

Student (still not catching on): “Ok.”

Me: “Do you realize that that makes him the oldest person alive…Ever!”

Student: “Wow.”

Me: “Put your head down and go to sleep,”

-Lowest grade on a recent Lord of the Flies test: 14%. Having never read the book, someone could have scored higher. Most of it was either true and false, multiple choice or matching. The student decided to leave most of it blank. After receiveing her grade, she could not understand how I could fail her nor why I would not let her make it up.

Special Needs

2007-04-04T12:29:00.000-05:00

Special Needs
Although it has been some time since my last post, that certainly does not mean that kids have actually been acting intelligently; I've just been busy. After all, the arrival of spring brings with it the arrival of the busiest time of year: 504 review time! A 504 is a list of accommodations that legally must be granted to a student based on his/her disability. Before I go off on a rant, let me say that I certainly think that students with genuine disabilities should be catered to to a certain degree; for example, in gym I would not require a wheelchair bound student to complete the same number of jumping jacks as everyone else. However, 99% of the 504s that come my way state that the student has ADHD/ADD. In short, they have trouble concentrating. Well tough shit! When I am not wholly interested in something, I also find it a bit more difficult to pay attention--that's life! I don't get out of it via some absurd modifications. In case you still think I'm callous, here are actual modifications that I have been required by law to grant students in my English class:

-Preferential seating (front and close to teacher). *When there are 28 students all with this modification, how do I satisfy it? Not to mention, I don't want the little fuckers "close" to me.

-Teacher will check student for understanding directions. *This is what we do for ALL students; we do not have time to individually ensure that each student understands.

-Reminders to focus. *How about: when I'm teaching you pay attention! I can't stop my lesson every five minutes to tell little Mikey to get his fingers out of his nose or ass or whatever!

-Modified tests. *IE make the test easier so that the student is sure to pass it. If he fails, the test was too hard and you did not follow the 504.

-Oral testing. *Yeah, Fuck writing, I mean what is this, an English class?!

-No penalty for late work. *So...once the student realizes he/she has missed the deadline that all of the others in the class were expected to meet and after we have gone over the answers in class, he/she can then turn in the work for no late penalty.

-Provide lecture notes. *Here's an idea: Take your own goddamn notes. This is school!

-Provide lots of praise, positive attention. *Now this one I like, I mean it does work with my new puppy, which, consequentially, is smarter than many of my students.

-Check work in progress. *Yes, for every student I will sit by his/her side to watch as he/she completes the work. Perhaps I will even hold the pencil for him/her and then maybe wipe his/her ass at the end.

-No spelling penalty. *Brilliant! This will teach them!

-No handwriting penalty. *If I can't read your chicken scratch, it's an automatic "A"!

-Allow him to doodle as it helps him listen. *Ahhhh, I didn't realize those various sketches of skulls and cross bones were an integral part of Mikey's understanding of our lesson on the beautiful imagery in the poem.

-Homework should be reduced by 50% for the student. *Ok, read the first half of To Kill A Mockingbird; forget about the rest it's not important anyway.

I'm sure as soon as I post this, I'll think of more and be pissed that I didn't add them, but these speak for themselves. By diagnosing every student with ADD and providing such modifications, we are only lowering the bar for said student and doing a very poor job in preparing him/her for college or, more likely, the "real world." Even when working at Taco Bell, these students are going to be held accountable for the work that they need to do--they won't get 50% less work because they have trouble focusing.

Finally, such modifications are completely unfair to the other students in the room. One student has to read 50 pages, take a written test on it, and is penalized for grammar and spelling errors (oh my god, just like a real class!); however, the ADHD student sitting next to him reads 25 pages, doesn't have to write shit, and has months to complete the work. Is this fair when they both get "A"s? Colleges don't know that one student did significantly LESS work because these disabilities are kept confidential.

Some kids are dumber than others. Face it. Some children need to be left behind. By lowering the standard we are doing an injustice to those students and to their peers.

On a lighter note:
Q- How many ADD kids does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A- Who cares, let's go ride bikes.

My Busiest Day

2007-01-31T14:50:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, the busiest day of the year for me--the day that I have to make a list of all the students who failed my first semester class. Today records were broken and stupidity reached new bounds. I actually had to make a copy of the "Failure" sheet that was given to us because there was not enough room for my exorbitantly high number of names. Okay, Okay, I will prolongue this no longer. The final number came to a whopping 20 students. Yes, 20 young men and women (mostly freshmen) failed first semester English with Mr. F. "How is this possible?" you might wonder. "Is he the strictest, hardest, most unfair son of a bitch ever to lead an English class?" To these valid concerns I can only answer with a simple statement and a brief anecdote. First, let it be said that feces could pass my class, honest to god feces. In fact, when I think back on former students I do believe that this has literally transpired. Now the anecdote:

To teach students about "Allegory," I make use of Dr. Seuss' book The Butter Battle Book, which is, in fact, an allegory for the cold war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. After reading the children's book (I stress the word C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N-'S) aloud to them, I ask them to write a brief summary of it as they would explain it to a five year old--no symbolism or anything fancy, just what happens in the children's book. I even give them sentence starters: "The Yooks and the Zooks are fighting because... They keep making... In the end...". For the purpose of this discussion, I won't even get into the allegory part of the lesson which comes later; I will skip to the punch line. One young man who has the physical appearance of a sneeze personified summarized the book thusly: "this bok is about how peole in china don't like to put butter on there bread upside down."

Alas, perhaps my expectations are far too high. Can you believe I actually expected them to be able to understand a children's book? The nerve!

Classic Journal

2007-01-04T16:25:00.000-05:00

After writing about the most recent journal gems, I became nostalgic for some of the past few. During my first year teaching, one particular student actually donated his journal to me for posterity’s sake. Here are some of the more salient entries (be thankful that I cannot type in chicken scratch):

[NOTE: This student is very friendly, sociable, and funny. He is not a special ed student despite what his writing may indicate]

Why this school should be torn down. First of all you weren’t here last year when they shut down your room and five others plus the Autitroumim beccuse they found asbpestits. In there and they shut it down. Other than that the school school smells if you have ever been in the gym locker room you would understand why I complain. I school get about 400 degrees in the school [illegible] in June the school is about ten degress hotter inside that outside. There are all valid complaints. This school needs to be torn down. You need to take a different job.

What is the story of my life I was born a blue baby then I was a very slow kid was poddy strained in one day people said that was the accomplishment of my life I used to go a private school for kindergarden to third grade. Then I went to [here he misspells the name of his town] when I was in forth grade. Then I went to middle shool in six grade I was a very special kid. I went to high school last uear and my school story. My family story is my mom and dad ar split up my brother lives in Colorado i have a twin and a little sister.

Why I hate the the O.C. with a passion. I am sick and tired of hearing about that stupid show all people talk about is how much the O. C. is great. I gave it one chance and I watched five minuts of it and saw it and said to myself this is the stupid show I have ever seen. My neaber who is the same in the same grade and is obsessed with that stupid show talkes abot is all the time. I just want to punch the kid soo badly.

Why I do not like Canada. Just to clear the air I am not a racist. I just don’t like Canada. To start off the don’t know the difference between bacon and sausage. You go to a resterant in Canada and ask for sausage and you will get bacon. Second Canada has been lacking on to the Usa since they have been created. They [illegible] never went to war and I don’t think they even have a army I believe they apect the Usa to get their back we should take over canda and there Hocky.

[Other great topics from this young man include “Why am I sick and tired of freshman” in which he proposes we send all freshmen to Japan and “Why I would not want to be a teacher” which asserts that teachers apparently have very low health coverage]

The Fascinating World of a Ninth Grader

2007-01-03T17:11:00.000-05:00

Students are required to write ten pages a month in a journal; they are free to write about anything (Note: this is the one assignment not graded for spelling or grammar). Here are samples from one of my favorites:

Collecting
I’ve always wanted to collect something for some realy odd reason. So, I finaly decided to colect can tabs. I know, its ingenious. I only have like 5, or 6 so far. I’m gonna get more though, because my friend collects cans, and she takes off the can tabs any ways, so she’s gonna give me those, and then I’ll have tons.

Angry
OK, so I’ve been raising both my failing grades, and now my other grades are going down! It makes me so mad!!! I should just go by the modo “Never try never fail.” Maybe I’ll just flunck out, and go buy a double wide mobile home. Get a bunch of cats, and earn the nickname “Cat Woman.” Not because I’m half cat half woman, because I have so many cats that they live in the cabinets.

Demon Child
My little sister has unseen powers. She’s an angel around the parents, and when she gets around me and my older sister and were all alone at home she turns into a demon…

Beauty
I love dressing up my cat Beauty. She is so cute! I get little sister’s baby doll cloths, and stuff her into them, then I put like a little hat on her, and slap on some nail polish. Then I point and laugh. When I get my camera I can acutly capture the moments instead of it being a whisp of a memory.

Beauty Again
Beauty (my cat) is soooooo… smart. For example, when it was around homecoming time I asked her to rate my dress with her tail mind you. It was 1-10, and I got an 8. My older sister, however, got a big FAT 1. It was rather amusing I thought.

My Trophy
[Might I note here that this student is known for sitting the bench the entire game and digging holes in the dirt and playing with grass.]
I got a magnificent 2 in. trophey for soccer. I was so proud of it. Then a trajoody occurred. It broke! The little female kicking the ball broke her ankles…off. So in honer of her I’m going to write a ulagey…if I spelt that correctly.
[The humorous “ulagey” follows]

I personally think the girl atop the trophy was not broken, no no no she was dun dun dun…Murdered! Yes, murdered indeed. Possibly a jealous classmate, or an unworthy teammate. Oh no, not at all. I believe it was don don don…The Demon Child!!! Yes yes of coarse she always does random fickl acts of evil! I shall investigate this further, but until then, Rest in peaces my dear trophey.

Not Guilty?!?
So, I questioned the accused, and she didn’t seem guilty. No sign of sweating, kept eye contact, and she didn’t fidget. This would lead me to believe she is not guilty, or she’s just a very good lyer. She sucks at lieing, so I think she is……..NOT GUILTY

Another Stellar Book Report

2006-12-11T17:27:00.000-05:00

Maybe giving freshmen in high school three months to read a book and answer nine detailed questions about it was too much to ask. OR maybe this is what happens when the middle school refuses to hold students back...no matter how ridiculously inferior their abilities are...

1) Change this all into font size 12 Times New Roman and double space it.

Plot- In the high school the boys (what boys?) attend, called youngsters carry knives and guns,
finding ways to dodge the metal detectors they must pass through when they enter the campus. (This sentence doesn’t make sense)
There was a small group of kids that they called themselves "homeys"
and that they deny that they all were a gang struggle to survive amid poverty, drug abuse,
and they also fear of the deadly violence around their neighborhood. (Reword this!) They tried to become
good kids like to be honest and just in case having a gun or knife for protection. When they
see a drug dealer running and hiding from the cops they think that they will always get in
trouble cuz they look like they are thugs. (This summary makes almost no sense. The sentences are unclear and there is very little detail. I can’t understand the full plot of your book after reading this)

Setting- The setting takes place in a city called "Babylon" meaning where a place where evil
things happen. The setting is based in Oakland, California. It seems like the story takes place in
the late 1800's. (Proofread this. Also, the “setting” doesn’t take place; the story takes place. DESCRIBE the setting—add details).

Characters- The main Character in this story called Dante. Another Character is named Pook hes a
good friend of Dante.

(Write a full paragraph description of each and use textual evidence—events from the story—to prove your answer)

Title- The title is named "Babylon Boyz" For me it means that they are kinda scared of other people
and that they live in the getto.

(Proofread! All of those red and green lines under your words means they’re wrong! That isn’t a decoration! Also, come up with an alternate title and explain it. Write more)

Reality- I think some of the events in the story seemed believable. Like when they were walking
down a street and when they saw that the drug dealer was running and that happens most of the
time.

(Add detail. This is way too short)

Interest- What keeped me interested was that the book had awsome slang ways to talk in and this
story was one of my favorite because like the story got even better and better by there personalitys
and their acting.

(Proofread for spelling!!!! Also, quote specific passages from the story to prove/support your points!)

Where are the remaining three questions????

This looks like it was very rushed and clearly not proofread. This needs MAJOR revision before the final draft or you’ll be looking at a MAJOR F.

Rough Draft Grade: D-

9th Grade Student Book Report

2006-12-07T16:58:00.000-05:00

Students were given roughly three months to read a book independently and prepare a book report consisting of nine in depth questions to answer. Here is what I received...

Question 1: Plot-- In a well written summary please tell me everything that happens in your book. Include all of the important details, even the ending.

Student Answer--"Roy moves to Coconut Cove. Roy sees strange running boy with no shoes. Roy punches mean bulloy so he can follow running boy. Dumps out bag of shakes. Running boy saves Roy and leaves him at the golf corse. Police man Mr. Diliclo looks at vandulisum at mother palas all american pancake House. Roy goes to see the running boy he isen'tt here he goes on his bike home he talks to Betris the bear. Mullet fingers the running boy got bit by a dog they had to take him to the hosptil. They go to the mothers palas all american pancake house and they save brourring owls."

Question 5: Reality-- Did the events in the book seem believable to you or did you have to suspend your disbelief? Please choose a few major incidents and describe how realistic you found them to be.

Student Answer-- "This story was real every thing was real like they use buildozers and school buses. they bild a pancake house yea preaty realistic if you ask me."

Personally, I was hoping he would tackle the "Mullet fingers running boy" issue in his reality section, but oh well.

Terrible. F

Bondage & Butt Pirates

2006-12-07T14:50:00.000-05:00

Enhancing students' vocabulary helps prepare them for the SATs, makes them sound sophisticated, and helps to kill the first five-ten minutes of every class. For these reasons, and because it is mandated by our pathetic excuse for a curriculum, I go over a few words a day from the Vocab unit we are working on. Today we began unit six; the first four words were Atone, Bondage, Credible, and Defray. As always, I go through the words one by one and ask if anyone can tell me what they mean. As always, I am greeted with vacant stares. A few students usually try to guess, which is good, but they generally could not be more wrong, which is not good. For example, today a student told me that "You go to the gym to get atone body." Luckily I did not need to correct her because another virulent young lady corrected her as follows: "You're such an idiot. It doesn't mean that. Atone is like what you hear...you know like you can even download different ones for your cell phone." After a five minute discussion of who had what ring tones and which ones were "gay" and which were "hot," I was able to move on to the next word.
At least with the word Bondage I expected some snickering, remembering the box of secret videos that my uncle always kept in his closet. However, I was wholly unprepared for the answer given by a sweet, blond haired, blue eyed, straight "A" student when she proudly announced that "Bondage means butt pirate." Even the boy sitting next to her, one of the ones that I expected to chuckle at the word, gaped at her in wide eyed astonishment. Not believing my ears, I said, "What?!" This wasn't the wisest response because she sweetly repeated, "You know a B-U-T-T P-I-R-A-T-E" being sure to enunciate. She was shocked when I sternly told her that that was unacceptable, and it quickly became obvious that she had no idea whatsoever the term "butt pirate" means. (Note: it did not take long for the boy sitting next to her to lean over and whisper it into her ear, causing her to blush and ashamedly apologize).
I am left wondering what on earth she thought that term could possibly mean and am curious to see which future vocab words she defines as "pillow biter," "fudge packer," or maybe "ass jockey."

p.s. A student in ninth grade spells "dirt" "D-U-R-T"

Defining Rape

2006-11-27T21:31:00.000-05:00

Today, being the first day back from Thanksgiving break, was a day that I expected the students to be a bit lethargic--both physically and mentally (even more so than normal). As such, my lesson plans were catered to the intellectual stupor that I expected. In fact, the first eight minutes of my plans were devoted to the following activity: "Let students find seats." Yes, my classroom is in the same place it always was and no major renovations has, as of yet, affected my end of our construction-ridden school. However, I knew that I would be adding to the impending confusion of the day by doing the unthinkable: I rearranged the desks. Rather than six rows of five desks, students are now expected to maneuver a room with desks set up in concentric semi-circles; ideally this will facilitate discussion, ideally...but I digress.
The class of most interest today, and I have a feeling that this will often be the case, was my basic level juniors. Despite the fact that there are only ten students in that class, more than one had trouble finding a place to sit. In fact, one student entered the class, looked around in bewilderment, sighed, and exited the classroom clearly befuddled. (He did arrive five minutes tardy with no explanation, but he didn't miss anything since the other nine were still playing musical chairs). After that part of the lesson--they got "C"s at best--it was on to part two: a discussion of how I did not grade their papers over the weekend because I was simply too busy playing the new Nintendo Wii. This is the only thing they have understood all semester. Then it was back to utter confusion as we jumped into Beowulf--yes the version that reads like "See Spot Run" and contains fabulous pictures of the epic Anglo-Saxon hero...err...I mean the "tough dude from back then."
Since I finished reading aloud to them and telling them what answers to write down early, I decided they could just "chill" for the rest of class as long as they stayed seated and relatively quiet. So as they all noisily walked around the room, I overheard snippets of conversation that boiled down to the fact that a few guys were making fun of one of the young ladies for hanging out with a twenty-four year old guy. She was getting aggravated, so I told the two males to shut up and be nice. At that point, one of them raised his hand, although he was standing right in front of me, announced, "I have a question." His eyes widened and I could tell that the rusty gears in his head were turning. Slowly and deliberately, he asked a question that was clearly of grave importance to him: "Mr. F., isn't it rape when a twenty four year old talks to a seventeen year old?"

*Sigh