Worksheets are the devil

So, I went teacher shopping today because I realized that I needed some posters and other cool stuff. I am realizing that I really like teacher stores and that there are NONE left (except Lakeshore) but that's another post altogether... Anyway, I was looking for a book I had seen online about active learning strategies and/or how to teach History in a not-so-boring way. Out of about ten rows of books, I saw nothing but reproducibles and worksheets. No books explaining how to teach an interesting lesson... just worksheets. I bet there are students somewhere drowning in worksheets. I could plan my whole yearly cirriculum on worksheets alone. But worksheets don't grow dendrites (that's a book btw). I just couldn't believe how many books there were to photocopy for your class. Don't get me wrong, worksheets are good in moderation and for reviewing concepts, but NOT for teaching concepts. What do you think? Do you use a lot of worksheets? Did you actually like doing worksheets as a kid? I didn't. xxOOxx

Facebook and Teaching

Okay. I have a serious question for you...

Would you send a friend request to your child's teacher?

...

...

Weird, huh?

I thought so. I got a friend request from a parent I met at back to school night about a month ago. I was kind of shocked. I had never met this person before and wondered why she wanted to be my friend on Facebook. I let the request sit in my inbox, in fact, it's still there.

I don't want to be rude, but at the same time, she doesn't need to know what I did over the weekend or that I played hooky from work to go to the beach. I post random stuff and I don't think its professional to befriend students OR their parents (apparently) on social websites. I mean, do they REALLY need to see me dressed up as a lion for halloween? I don't think so.

What do you think?

xxOOxx

In my Opinion

One shouldn't use certain things as a punishment. Some of these things include reading, writing, and physical exercise. I'm also not limiting this to the classroom. I believe that the types of punishments where a child must write standards, read silently, run a lap, or do push ups are counter-productive to their development.

As teachers, we spend our entire lives trying to get our students not only to read and write but to LOVE reading and writing. We want them to WANT to read books and write stories. However, by using these as punishment, they begin to believe that theses tasks are boring, monotonous, and a punishment (go figure). The same goes with physical exercise... we want kids to learn to LOVE exercise, to enjoy the feeling of physical exertion. But when we tell them to "go do a lap" and are surprised when they are in fifth grade and despise PE. C'mon people, I'm just asking for a little common sense!

*sigh*

xxOOxx

Status Update

I feel like I am running in circles with no destination. No, more like a cook without a kitchen. A cowboy without a horse. An actor without a stage..? Well you get the idea. I have been applying to jobs for almost a year now- ummm, yeah, don't get me started.

Aaaannyyyyway, I went on a fantastic interview two weeks ago. It was great. The principal was fabulous. We laughed. I had superb answers to all of her questions. The school was nice and had a family atmosphere. It was the perfect interview. As I left the office, I actually did a little hop and skip routine! Well, as you can tell the ending isn't a happy one. I got an email stating that there were over 500 applicants for the position and (of course) I wasn't chosen. 500 teachers applying to a Catholic school. Of course they were exaggerating right?!? Until I got this from the South Pasadena USD:

Dear Ashley,

Thank you for submitting your application to our district for one of the elementary teaching positions. We were overwhelmed by the response as we received over 1,000 applications. For us, this is a mixed blessing... blabittyblahblah...

Personally, I don't like those odds. How am I even supposed to compete? Things don't look good. So, I've done the only thing that a sane person would do. I sold out. Yup, I took an office job at a preschool. I guess it'll have to do. For now.

xOOxx

Rubrics are for Everyone!

Through my credentialing program I had this one professor... she knows who she is... who used to make us practice writing rubrics. She would make us do it over and over until we got it right, and then we would have to include on in EVERY lesson plan. She kept telling us to use them and claimed that they were the only way to salvation. haha. Okay, so a little dramatic, but she used to say that they were the only fair way to grade everyone. To tell you the truth, I used to think she was overexaggerating a little. Then I realized she wasn't. Go figure.

A while ago I met a teacher who had never made friends with grading rubrics. One day this teacher asked me if a paper looked like a B paper. I don't know WHAT a B paper looks like! According to my standards or yours?? Geeze people. I didn't even know what to say. I was flabberghasted that a teacher would actually grade like that.

All I can say is "Thank you Dr. PB for enlightening us and not letting me be one of those teachers!!"

xxOOxx

Over it

I'm over
...the search engines.
...the lack of openings.
...the "in-house only" openings.
...the "we regret to inform you..."
...the unanswered e-mails.
...waiting.
...hoping.
...dreaming.
...job hunting.

I am over it and I want no part of it. I guess I'm going to live on the street now. I'll make a sign that says: "Will teach for food" or maybe "I'm here because of budget cuts" I'll probably get more money with that one!

xxOOxx

Caution: Hard Hat Area

I don't think that non-teachers truly realize the hazards of the teaching profession. No, I'm not talking about crazy parents or insane students bringing guns to school. Yes, these are very real but I was talking more about the daily risks that we take.

You're laughing. I know you're thinking... "What do teachers do that is so hazardous? Get glue in their hair?" Well, YES! and glitter under my nails! Haha. Okay, but seriously, I almost broke my neck today tripping over a five year old! They have this way of getting underfoot and seriously causing accidents. One of my colleagues almost had her nose broken when a little boy bashed his head into it. Another shattered her ankle after falling off a chair while trying to hang up artwork. I've had a couple of serious stapling incidents and a few massive bruises from tricycles. Maybe we should wear shinguards...Okay, so it's not THE MOST dangerous job in the world, but I'm tired of people laughing when I tell them I got injured at work ;P

xxOOxx

Ok, Just Rub it In...

So I was job hunting...again... and I was so lost as to where else I could look for a job. So, as in all situations where I don't know what to do, I googled it. I typed teaching in California (Nice right) into the search engine. Well, I didn't get any new sites for job hunting but I did find this article on the CA Dept. of Education website: http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr10/yr10rel34.asp

It was dated April 7, 2010 and is all about me! Haha. Not really but almost. It's about budget cuts and the impending shortage of teachers. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O'Connell basically restates everything that I am living right now. He said that the budget cuts are pushing the dedicated and true teachers away from the profession and are discouraging new, brilliant, and fantastic teachers from even wanting to enroll in a credentialing program.

O'Connell said that we have to come up with a better strategy to deal with our issues:
"To get out of this recession and for California's economy to thrive we must have an education system that helps all students gain the critical skills necessary to compete in the global economy, to reach this goal, we must find a stable, long-term solution that will encourage the best and the brightest to become teachers and to keep them in the classroom."

Although it seems like O'Connell was restating the obvious, maybe someone will listen for a change. Hey! A girl can dream can't she?!

xxOOxx

It's like a retail job...but not...

On my quest for a career, I have filled out EVERY online application I can find (which isn't many to begin with). These positions range from part time preschool teachers to full time sixth grade teachers. I hadn't gotten any calls back until last week.

I was called to interview for a preschool lead teacher position. I bring my portfolio, print out my resume on pretty paper, make sure I'm a little early for the interview just to have my hopes crushed and then stomped on... There was a form to fill out with the regular interview info (name, prior experiences, references etc.). When it came to that little box where it says "How much do you expect to make?" I put a good figure, because they always try to pay you less anyway. The director took it and started laughing. She said, and I quote, "HaHa! I make waaay less than that. Like waaaay!" Following this, I was regailed with her life story and it turns out that she has a BA and works two jobs because she can't find a job that pays more than $12 hr. Geeze. I make more than that subbing!

I am going to have to start asking how much these places pay before actually going on an interview from now on!!

xxOOxx

Our Children First..JUST KIDDING!!

"The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children."

-Deitrich Bonhoeffer

I don't know who Deitrich Bonhoeffer is but his statement rings true in my mind. I am currently contemplating just how much we TRULY value our children today. While I could probably write a dissertation on this subject, for this purpose I'll reflect solely in regards to education...

According to Delaine Easton, the Superintendent of Schools in CA, we are one of the bottom states when it comes to per pupil spending- compare our $6,500 to New York's $11,000...geeze, that's almost double! In 2004, one district in the San Fransisco area has already had to cut $28 MILLION! This resulted in NO sports programs, closed libraries, and over 200 teachers being fired! This was all over 5 years ago! Nothings gotten better and it seems as if we are slowly spinning down an ever-flushing toilet.

If we can judge morality by how we treat children, how do our current circumstances reflect upon our society? It seems as if education is one of the first things that is cut and the last to be reinstated. The dreaded budget cuts have become a shadow that is ever-looming over our children's education. Do we really not care about the quality of our children's education? Do we just ship them off to school because it's mandated? Do we even care what they do there? I do. I know you do. I'm not so sure if our society/polititians do. I'm upset because if we don't take care of our children now, they won't take care of our future and our morality is most definately doomed according to Mr. Bonhoeffer.

Applications, Cover Letters, and Resumes OH MY!!

In the past month I have filled out more applications than I can even count. No, not for teaching jobs but for menial things like substituting, tutoring, and summer positions. Although these jobs will undoubtedly provide me with great experiences, it's just not what I went to school for... I think I have only found two full-time in the classroom teaching jobs to apply for. The catch is that I have ZERO years of teaching experience and there are sooo many teachers with tons of experience that are applying for these same jobs. Poo. I know.

Although, in the process of looking for a career-type job, I have found some other fun jobs to apply for. One of these being a science summer camp which I just finished phone-interviewing for. SUUUPER FUN! I think spending the summer with crazy kids doing exciting science experiments will be fabulous, don't you?! Although I think phone interviews are awkward, this one sounded promising- I hope I sold myself well enough! I should find out in a couple weeks.

Anyway, the job hunt continues as I am constantly and consistently checking up on openings online. Everyday I check three sites:

• edjoin.com: The official website for job availabilities in LAUSD and many many other districts.
• craigslist.com: yeah, cliche but there are many openings posted everyday- go figure! You can also find many part-time and tutoring jobs here.
• la-archdiocese.org: Where the LA Archdiocese posts any openings. I haven't found much there yet, but I'm still hoping!

When I am feeling a bit more hopeful, I'll check a few dozen specific district websites that don't post on edjoin.com such as Burbank Unified, Simi Valley Unified, Pasadena Unified, and Glendale Unified- to name a few. I've also tried Monster.com and careerbuilder.com but there's not much there. If anyone has more ideas, leave a comment and let me know!

Despite all the trials, I know that my classroom is out there somewhere! Certain unnamed sources tell me that more openings are sure to arise after March as that is when teachers report their returning status. Wish me luck and happy hunting!

xxOOxx

A Disgruntled Teacher

I have studied.
I have worked.
I have taken contless units.
I have taken rediculous classes.
I have jumped through hoops.
I have jumped backwards through those same hoops.
Then, I FINALLY got my credentials and to my dismay realized that there was not even a glimmer of hope for a career anytime soon.

So... I've started this blog to vent and to share some of my funny/frustrating/entertaining experiences in job hunting and substitute teaching. Hopefully one day(soon) I'll be able to blog about my first year teaching :)

Enjoy!

xxOOxx