Everything Is Interrelated

“What the heck is in that backpack, bricks?” I recently thought to myself after being slammed in the side by an oversized backpack. 

That thought, and the buffeting I endure every time I step into a crowded hallway at McAuliffe, got me wondering: What really is in those backpacks?

Think about it - we don’t have textbooks, the vast majority of students don’t read books unless required to do so, most of the subject binders stay in the classroom, most of the kids are also carrying a lunchbox…..so what the heck is in those backpacks?

Well, after months of careful research, I believe I have the answer, and it ties into a problem our scholars have with the most basic element of student-hood - bringing a writing implement to class. When students ask to borrow a pencil, I usually roll my eyes and say things like:

“Really? You don’t have a pencil?”

“You’ve been here for three hours; how can you not have a pencil?”

“It’s like a carpenter showing up to the job-site without a hammer.”

“It’s something you just need to have on you at all times at school.” 

I keep saying everything we study is interrelated and interconnected, and it really is true. Math is intertwined with science, science is supported by ELA, ELA blends into social studies, social studies is interwoven with math and so on. 

And, now I know the answer to two questions:

Why don’t you have a pencil? and What on Earth is in those backpacks?

The answer to the first question is obvious - they do have a pencil, they just don’t know it. 

The answer to the second question is equally obvious - the backpacks are filled with all the misplaced, borrowed-and-never-returned, and lost pencils. 

See? I told you everything was interrelated.

Taking The Test, Again And Again

A couple of weeks before the February break, I gave my math students a mini-assessment.

When I create an assessment, I start by devising or finding just the right kind of problems to include. 

Once I have the problems I think I want to include, I do each one to make sure it is rigorous enough and lines up exactly with with I am trying to assess - and to see what solving the problem will be like for the students. Then, I put them all together and, voila, I have an assessment. 

I print it, do all the problems one more time to create my answer key complete with all the work, then make copies for all the kiddos.

So, a few weeks ago, after the students took the test, I brought all the completed assessments home to correct.

Lo and behold, I did not have the answer key. I had lost it.

What did that mean?

It meant I had to take the test - again - for the second time (which really means it’s probably my third time doing each of these problems)….just to give myself a key from which to correct the tests.

Soooooo, next time you’re feeling overburdened by one of my five-problem mini-assessments, just remember, I’ve already taken it - probably a few times….and, if I don’t hang on to my key, I’ll have to take it again.

Maybe I should just keep the key in the “I Can’t Trust Myself Drawer.”

Apparently, I Have A Lot To Say

This post is a bit of a landmark for me. This is the 150th post of this blog. Apparently, I have a lot to say. 

I started this blog on a challenge from my teaching partner at my old school, The Hellenic American Academy in Lowell, Mass. We both blogged every day about our lives as teachers. Our audience was and is our students but lots of other people seem to have picked up the habit of reading it. 

Thank you Mrs. Minaker for getting me started on this.

To mark this nice round number, (As a culture, we do seem to really like commemorating numbers that end in 5s and 0s - with 16 and 21 being exceptions), I thought I’d share my favorite posts over the past two years.

With 149 other posts to choose from, it's hard to find just a handful that are my "favorites." 

I enjoy writing. I enjoy expressing myself and I get a huge kick out of people reading what I have written.  I looked over all the posts on my blog, and selected a few that I really enjoyed sharing with my students: 

The Biggest Mistake I’ve Made as a Teacher

In Praise of the Boring Stuff

If it’s Monday, the Sixth Grade is Freaking Out

Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned From the Rocky Movies

You Know We Root For You, Right?

Your Brain Might Melt

So, enjoy my favorites and keep reading, I usually post every Saturday morning. Who knows what I'll say next???