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As a teacher, what advice would you give to a public high school senior whose math teacher isn't the sharpest tool in the shed? (she often gets confused about what she's teaching...it's insane).

You're in n. va right? What do you like about living in this state?
 
tiny dancer said:
How long have you been a teacher? And what grades do you teach?
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10 Years this year....

I have taught 3rd, 4th, 5th.....

I am currently looping with my class....so the poor little kids have suffered for two years.........
 
Macfistowannabe said:
Do any of your fellow teachers enjoy U2?
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Of the almost sixty staff members I am still close to being the youngest person on staff.....only three below me.

I am known as the U2 stalker on staff......Most are not fans like you would find here in interference....of the young pups....there is one other fan.
 
U2democrat said:
As a teacher, what advice would you give to a public high school senior whose math teacher isn't the sharpest tool in the shed? (she often gets confused about what she's teaching...it's insane).
Click to expand...

How many years has she been teaching?

If she is a young teacher...two years in....she should not be brought back. If it is a teacher that has reached professional status, it takes approximately two years to remove a bad teacher. In either case, the administration should be taking steps not to remove the teacher but to give the teacher all of the assistance they can to succeed. If that does not help...see ya.

If you kids are noticing it, you can bet that the teaching staff is aware of it, and trust me, no one wants to be working with teachers that are NOT producing quality students.

the problem is, math teachers are not easy to come by....As a matter of fact, many are trying to break into the profession without teaching credentials.....which may actually be what the problem is in this case.....
 
u2bonogirl said:
How long did it take you to get certified and working?
And have you ever wanted to just strangle a student? :wink:
Click to expand...

it varies from state to state....

You must first pass the communications and literacy portion of the MA Teachers test before most colleges will let you into their program.

In MA for elementary certification you need a double major in a content area and in education.

Then you taqke the content specific portion of the teachers test.

Then you are granted a provisional license.

After you have completeted this process....

You must get your master's degree within five years of your date of hire or your teaching credentials are gone and you can no longer teach.

Then you are granted the professional license.

After that.....you must fulfill the certification process every five years. This means basically you must demonstrate that you have taken steps to maintain yourself as being current with the issues facing education. It is about the equivalent of taking four courses in five years, every five years for your career.

Currently I am sitting here with the equivalent of almost two master's degrees because I am in the process of getting my prinicpal's certificate.
 
deep said:
Did you leave a child behind?
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My own yes.....

I find that the demands of the job cause me to spend an inadequate amount of time with my own children. Thank goodness for vacations where I try to make it up.
 
I taught English and drama for 5 years before going back full time to school for my PhD. I want to go back to teaching when I'm finished--peace education.

Yes, I did have fellow U2 fans--teachers and students. :D :up:

U2 dem: Can you switch classes? Yes, I'm serious. I had to do this for a flaky physics teacher who told us flat out he didn't like teaching. :down: How are your folks with math? :wink:

I enjoy VA mostly--many of the counties, especially up north, are well funded and well equipped with technology, new books, etc. Not enough bang for the buck, as far as I'm concerned, but you asked what I liked. :D

I was lucky to be at an undergrad program which certifies teachers (that's unusual--it's typically a grad school thing) so it took me the 4 years of college.

Yes I have wanted to strangle a student. :p And some parents.....

and finally:
A Treatise on Avoiding Senioritis:
Be sure you get out and have fun! Study with friends, if this works for you. Find things to reward yourself once you get a task done. :) You're almost there! :yes:

And a thought for the day, since I always had one for my kids

"Avoiding war is the work of politicians. Establishing peace is the work of educators" ~Maria Montessori
 
unfunded.....and rediculous to think that there are 50 different standards for NCLB.
 
Have you ever had to get involved when you knew, or sensed, that a student had serious problems at home that required some kind of intervention?
 
joyfulgirl said:
Have you ever had to get involved when you knew, or sensed, that a student had serious problems at home that required some kind of intervention?
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The system is broken in my opinion. Your question makes it seem so simple. It has to be so incredibly bad for the intervention to actually happen.
 
Oh, weekly! There were kids who were high, or pregnant, or who I knew were abused but couldn't prove it. You talk to the kid, talk to home if that's appropriate, get guidance involved. I was never satisfied with the options available to me. Dread's right. That system is broken. Then some kid comes in with a (legal!) gun and kills 7 or 8 other kids, and we're shocked! If we supported lower income families, if we halved our class sizes, if we put enough resources into our poor-community schools, perhaps we'd get a handle on this. We also, I would say, need to bring peace education into every school, for every kid, but I get called a commy when I say that to the wrong folks. :wink:
 
Dreadsox said:


it varies from state to state....

You must first pass the communications and literacy portion of the MA Teachers test before most colleges will let you into their program.

In MA for elementary certification you need a double major in a content area and in education.

Then you take the content specific portion of the teachers test.

Then you are granted a provisional license.

After you have completeted this process....

You must get your master's degree within five years of your date of hire or your teaching credentials are gone and you can no longer teach.

Then you are granted the professional license.

After that.....you must fulfill the certification process every five years. This means basically you must demonstrate that you have taken steps to maintain yourself as being current with the issues facing education. It is about the equivalent of taking four courses in five years, every five years for your career.

Currently I am sitting here with the equivalent of almost two master's degrees because I am in the process of getting my prinicpal's certificate.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I have a few questions:

You have to sit for an exam prior to teachers college? Is this on top whatever High School exams you have to do?

In Australia, we would sit for final exams (given various names depending upon which state you live in but all basically the same thing). The score then determines which University courses you will be able to get into.

What is MA? And you said for Elementary Certification. Is this for Primary School (teaching 4-12year olds) or something else?

Teachers in Aus either become primary school teachers or high school teachers (where they would specialise in a single subject area).

Then when they take the content program after the provisional test, how long have they been studying?

When you get the provisional license do you have a Bachelor Degree at this stage or is the Master's and Bachelor degree all rolled into one? In Australia you would do a four year course (I think it is four years) with practical classes throughout but wouldn't be able to teach until you have finished getting the degree. After that all the course work is in house unless ofcourse you want to get a Master's or PhD etc.

Do you think doing all the additional work has helped you as a teacher or do you feel that teachers are born and the education is just an opportunity to develop resources for use in the classroom?
 
Dreadsox said:


The system is broken in my opinion. Your question makes it seem so simple. It has to be so incredibly bad for the intervention to actually happen.
Click to expand...

I would not assume it would be simple at all. On the contrary.
 
joyfulgirl said:
Have you ever had to get involved when you knew, or sensed, that a student had serious problems at home that required some kind of intervention?
Click to expand...

I've reported situations to Child Protective Services before. It's a legal requirement of my job. If I suspect abuse or neglect I must report it. If I report it in good faith, and it turns out to be untrue, I can't be held liable.

But like Sherry says, so many kids come from seriously fucked up homes, and usually it's a case of really appalling parenting. There's nothing to do about that. We have interns doing counseling in my district, but that's only with parental permission, and it sure doesn't take the place of the serious family counseling these people need. So many times my tongue has bled because I've had to bite it and not jsut scream at these losers "Look how completely fucked-up your child is because you're such a [controlling, drunk, shitty, negligent, stupid] person."
 
Tania said:

Do you think doing all the additional work has helped you as a teacher or do you feel that teachers are born and the education is just an opportunity to develop resources for use in the classroom?
Click to expand...

Yes. The more I learn about the craft of teaching, the better I get. Some have natural talent, but no one would want a physician who was untrained, would they?

I get some student teachers who think they know everything they need to know about teaching because they're "naturals", but they usually crash and burn due to the difficultly of the job.
 
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