towndrunk:

christopherangel

:

girlwithalessonplan

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lifewithboys

:

I wrote a few quick posts last month giving some tips that I have learned over the years. Having four kids in school (grades-2, 7, 10, and 12) we have dealt with a lot of teachers over a lot of years. And in those years, I have heard the same requests from teachers, but as a parent I have one for…

Okay.  Thanks for the feedback. Now. How should I say this? GIVE YOUR KIDS MORE FRIGGIN’ CREDIT. Shakespeare wrote his plays for the illiterate masses that stood in front of the stage.  If they can get it, your 8th grader can get it. Chaucer wrote bawdy stories for entertainment and moral value.  As long as it’s not Middle English, one is not asking much for a 10th or 12th grader to follow along with a story about a guy getting a hot poker in the rear end. And here’s the other thing:  I AM NOT A READING TEACHER.  I did not go to college to teach kids how to read.  I’m a literature and writing teacher.   I don’t know how to make a kid read at a certain level.  What I do know is there is not a discernible difference 10th and 12th grade reading level.  If you look at the Indiana Approved Reading List, you will notice something:  It’s not by grade level.  All the titles are merely approved for “high school.” I can make my freshmen get through the Odyssey just as I can make my twelfth graders to do it.  Don’t tell me what I can’t get a child to read. Also, did you ever stop to think that maybe making a child to read above grade level and CONQUER it in some way may actuallyâ€"GASPâ€"

help him? And here is where I point out a flaw in your argument of grade levels.  What if freshman student who reads at a 6th grade level writes a really good paper? (I have those kind of kids sometimes.)  I’m going to give that kid an A.  Don’t tell me not to.  It’s likely the best work that kid has ever done. But if my at-level freshman writes a paper of THAT sixth-grade level paper, I’m going to give that kid a C. And as for college and work force?  One, there are no grades in the works force.  Two, what makes you think every single kid is going to college? I don’t know what type of magic, multi-foot-noted text your kids have, but I can tell you my students are reading the entire Fitzgerald Odyssey without a single footnote.  Nor will Oedipus Rex, or Othello, or Inferno, or the Bible.  If they want to know what a word means, they LOOK IT UP.  Because knowing WHERE TO FIND AN ANSWER is just as important as “gleaning.” (Also, to add, how can a child glean the meaning of one word if he’s below grade level?  The other words in the paragraph may be above level too.  TO THE DICTIONARY!) And there is nothing wrong with writing “Y R U?” if a kid is privately message his friends.  WHO CARES? Also, IT’S NOT MY JOB TO POLICE YOUR CHILD’S CASUAL LANGUAGE. He is being efficient with his time.  The key is knowing when to code-switch, and students who can easily code-switch between their informal language they share with friends to the formal language expected in schools is demonstrating a complex cognitive ability. How dare you belittle my profession to think Iâ€"or any teacherâ€"doesn’t spend time to teach a “coherent paragraph.”  Really?  REALLY. It’s this kind of opinion of teaching that gives me the biggest case of the angries.  What makes you think that we’re all flailing our hands over standardized tests ignoring “the basics”? And here’s my last point: You and Roy learned “the basics”.  Awesome. But did you ever stop to think that the basics for you are not the same as basics for your children?

***APPLAUDS***

I wrote a few quick posts last month giving some tips that I have learned over the years.  Having four kids in school (awkward phrasing, replace with “Because I have four kids in school,” or “As I have four kids in school,”) (grades- (replace with “grades:”) 2, 7, 10, and 12) we (antecedent pronoun not previously established) have dealt with a lot of teachers over a lot (wordy, replace with “…we have dealt with a lot of teachers over the years,”) of years.  And in those years, (do not begin a sentence with “and,”) I have heard the same requests (“requests” not previously established) from teachers, but as a parent (insert comma here) I have one for them. PLEASE make sure your students can read at their grade level!  If they can’t (insert comma here) give parents some idea of what can be done!  A tenth grader that (“A tenth grader

who…” tenth graders are people, not objects) can only read at an 8th grade (parallelism - if you spelled out “tenth grader” earlier in the paragraph, spell out “eighth grader” here) level is going to have problems with Hamlet.  A 12 grader (“twelfth grader”) reading at a 10th grade (“tenth grade”) level isn’t going to grasp Canterbury Tales (“The Canterbury Tales” - if you’re going to cite literature, cite it by its correct name) well enough to write a paper on it (not without a lot of help anyways!). (“anyways” is not a word - also, is the punctuation inside or outside of the parenthesis?) And writing! (Sentence Fragment) PLEASE don’t give a student an “A” on a paper if it is only “C” work just because that student is sweet and tries really hard.  You aren’t doing them any favors and in fact (insert comma here) you are hurting them, as high school, college and the work force is going to be a nasty wake up call. (Run-on Sentence) One they will have to work hard to overcome, but because they haven’t been given the knowledge on how to do that they are going to struggle that much more. (Awkward phrasing, run-on sentence, comma splices - try, “High school, college, and the workforce are going to be a nasty wake-up call; one they will have to work hard to overcome because they haven’t been given the knowledge…”) I don’t think all teachers do this, please understand that, (awkward phrasing - try, “Please understand that I don’t think all teachers do this”) but I have seen it enough over the past 12 years that I do think it is an issue. (Too colloquial - try, “to think it is an issue,”) I just can’t stress reading comprehension enough.  Students (Choppy - try, “I just can’t stress reading comprehension enough because students…”) don’t just read in English.  History, Science, even math (capitalize) and PE (health class and driver’s ed is (subject-verb agreement - “are taught”) taught in conjunction with PE here in Virginia) require strong reading comprehension skills.  Students these days don’t seem to be able to use skills that Roy and I learned in school. For instance- (replace dash with comma) If (does not need capitalization) a student doesn’t understand a word, we (Antecedent not previously established - “We” as students, or “we” as you and your husband?) were taught to continue reading and try and (Idiomatic disagreement - “try to”) glean the meaning from the surrounding sentences and paragraphs.  These days ANY word remotely new (Awkward phrasing - try, “ANY remotely new word,”) will have a footnote in it, (Awkward phrasing - How does a word have a footnote in it? A footnote can be attached to it.) and the definition at the bottom of the page! (Awkward phrasing - read this again and it sounds as though the word with the footnote “in” it and the definition are both at the bottom of the page.)  Come on! (Sentence Fragment) That (What exactly?) doesn’t happen in real life.  How often do you read a magazine article that comes with its own little dictionary?  Kids need to learn this stuff! (Again, what “stuff?”) Now, I am NOT saying parents, guardians, etc (improper usage - “etc.,”)don’t play a key role here.  We need to make sure kids know how important reading comprehension is.  We need to remind them that being able to write a coherent paragraph is important, (Choppy - try, “We need to make sure kids know how important reading comprehension is by reminding them of how to write a coherent paragraph,”) because “Y R U?” doesn’t cut it in the real world.  They MIGHT actually need to know how to write out a complete sentence-and really (awkward phrasing - try, “because how hard is it…”) how hard is it to write “Why are you?” I get that many states have these damn standardized tests.  I get what that means for teachers, and schools.  You are worried about benchmarks and all that jazz. (Colloquialism) I understand it, but the basics can NOT be ignored. Thank you, A Concerned Mother (Move this part to the right margin if this is a letter.) Side Note: I am a University student who is going to be working in the teaching profession when I graduate next semester. I will be teaching English. As a teacher, I can only work so much magic; it takes the combined, concentrated efforts of the teachers, parents, and the students in order to help a student succeed - but of course, we still encounter parents who expect us to turn their children into geniuses and Poet-Laureates when it is obviously apparent (as in the above letter) that they themselves don’t know as much as they claim.

LOL…Thank you!  Again, if you know anything about my blog, you would know that my husband, sweet man that he is, is wonderful about helping me with my punctuation.  But like I told a previous poster, this was a short post I wrote in frustration.  So, thank you for editing it for me. That was very nice of you. What’s funny is you seem to think I am bashing teachers, that I expect you to work miracles, I don’t.  I expect you to do your jobs!  Just as you expect parents to do their jobs. Maybe I’m not as intelligent as you, but I AM an intelligent person.  And I can get my point across without insulting someone, as you just did. I can even see the humor in a post from someone that was trying to be petty and nasty.  (just in case you missed it, yes I am talking about you.) I do have to say, I hope you are not seeking a job in our school district.  NOt sure I want my kids taught by the “town drunk.” Parents are on tumblr and facebook too.

buntsfromaleftcoastgirl:

girlwithalessonplan

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lifewithboys

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I wrote a few quick posts last month giving some tips that I have learned over the years. Having four kids in school (grades-2, 7, 10, and 12) we have dealt with a lot of teachers over a lot of years. And in those years, I have heard the same requests from teachers, but as a parent I have one for…

Okay.  Thanks for the feedback. Now. How should I say this? GIVE YOUR KIDS MORE FRIGGIN’ CREDIT. Shakespeare wrote his plays for the illiterate masses that stood in front of the stage.  If they can get it, your 8th grader can get it. Chaucer wrote bawdy stories for entertainment and moral value.  As long as it’s not Middle English, one is not asking much for a 10th or 12th grader to follow along with a story about a guy getting a hot poker in the rear end. And here’s the other thing:  I AM NOT A READING TEACHER.  I did not go to college to teach kids how to read.  I’m a literature and writing teacher.   I don’t know how to make a kid read at a certain level.  What I do know is there is not a discernible difference 10th and 12th grade reading level.  If you look at the Indiana Approved Reading List, you will notice something:  It’s not by grade level.  All the titles are merely approved for “high school.” I can make my freshmen get through the Odyssey just as I can make my twelfth graders to do it.  Don’t tell me what I can’t get a child to read. Also, did you ever stop to think that maybe making a child to read above grade level and CONQUER it in some way may actuallyâ€"GASPâ€"

help him? And here is where I point out a flaw in your argument of grade levels.  What if freshman student who reads at a 6th grade level writes a really good paper? (I have those kind of kids sometimes.)  I’m going to give that kid an A.  Don’t tell me not to.  It’s likely the best work that kid has ever done. But if my at-level freshman writes a paper of THAT sixth-grade level paper, I’m going to give that kid a C. And as for college and work force?  One, there are no grades in the works force.  Two, what makes you think every single kid is going to college? I don’t know what type of magic, multi-foot-noted text your kids have, but I can tell you my students are reading the entire Fitzgerald Odyssey without a single footnote.  Nor will Oedipus Rex, or Othello, or Inferno, or the Bible.  If they want to know what a word means, they LOOK IT UP.  Because knowing WHERE TO FIND AN ANSWER is just as important as “gleaning.” (Also, to add, how can a child glean the meaning of one word if he’s below grade level?  The other words in the paragraph may be above level too.  TO THE DICTIONARY!) And there is nothing wrong with writing “Y R U?” if a kid is privately message his friends.  WHO CARES? Also, IT’S NOT MY JOB TO POLICE YOUR CHILD’S CASUAL LANGUAGE. He is being efficient with his time.  The key is knowing when to code-switch, and students who can easily code-switch between their informal language they share with friends to the formal language expected in schools and demonstrating a complex cognitive ability. How dare you belittle my profession to think Iâ€"or any teacherâ€"doesn’t spend time to teach a “coherent paragraph.”  Really?  REALLY. It’s this kind of opinion of teaching that gives me the biggest case of the angries.  What makes you think that we’re all flailing our hands over standardized tests ignoring “the basics”? And here’s my last point: You and Roy learned “the basics”.  Awesome. But did you ever stop to think that the basics for you are not the same as basics for your children?

GWALP Tumblr Post of the Year right here.  **applauds**

I wrote the original post, and while this young lady is indeed entitled to her opinion, she didn’t understand much of what I was saying.  And instead of asking me to clarify things she completely glossed over (which is what I figured someone that is an educator might do), she decided to belittle me.  Which is strange seeing as she got upset when she assumed I was belittling her or her profession. Interesting…

missescargotpudding:

girlwithalessonplan

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lifewithboys

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I wrote a few quick posts last month giving some tips that I have learned over the years. Having four kids in school (grades-2, 7, 10, and 12) we have dealt with a lot of teachers over a lot of years. And in those years, I have heard the same requests from teachers, but as a parent I have one for…

Okay.  Thanks for the feedback. Now. How should I say this? GIVE YOUR KIDS MORE FRIGGIN’ CREDIT. Shakespeare wrote his plays for the illiterate masses that stood in front of the stage.  If they can get it, your 8th grader can get it. Chaucer wrote bawdy stories for entertainment and moral value.  As long as it’s not Middle English, one is not asking much for a 10th or 12th grader to follow along with a story about a guy getting a hot poker in the rear end. And here’s the other thing:  I AM NOT A READING TEACHER.  I did not go to college to teach kids how to read.  I’m a literature and writing teacher.   I don’t know how to make a kid read at a certain level.  What I do know is there is not a discernible difference 10th and 12th grade reading level.  If you look at the Indiana Approved Reading List, you will notice something:  It’s not by grade level.  All the titles are merely approved for “high school.” I can make my freshmen get through the Odyssey just as I can make my twelfth graders to do it.  Don’t tell me what I can’t get a child to read. Also, did you ever stop to think that maybe making a child to read above grade level and CONQUER it in some way may actuallyâ€"GASPâ€"

help him?

So much this. Reading comprehension is a big problem in my class of entirely remedial students. These students read below grade level, but not to a point that they are pulled out and

taught reading (which only happens if they basically CAN’T read).  I’m not a reading teacher. I can’t take the time in my class every single day to go back to 4th and 6th grade reader books and teach my 11th and 12th graders the basics. Maybe if their PARENTS had read to them at home, helped them at home, supported and supplemented their learning at home (which, surprise people, is a part of birthing another human being and raising them to be a competent adult) they wouldn’t have these problems. I have to teach your child Shakespeare. I’m going to make it fun. I’m going to make it accessible. But I HAVE to teach this. I can’t read your child The Boxcar Children because you were too busy watching Friends and Seinfield to read to them or flash some phoneics cards. Plus, what do I do as a teacher when my students are listed as having a 3rd grade reading level and a 1st grade writing comprehension level when their 17, but then turn in the BEST writing sample of any student I have, because the topic interested them? What do I do when the special education department at my school shrugs their shoulders and says that they know this student can perform on grade level, but that we have to provide remedial services because they flunked one assessment test? What do I do when I show a parent their child’s outstanding, level appropriate work, and they get that deer in headlights look on their face and get upset at me for trying to get their child out of a special education program that they obviously don’t need to be in? Because they’ll stop receiving checks for their child’s ‘disability’ every month? Students with a gap in reading comprehension levels high enough to seriously impede their understanding and ability to participate are usually always already in a SPED program or have negligence at home on some level. If your 12th grader is reading on a 9th or 10th grade level, its not that big a deal. They read Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade, and Hamlet in 12th….there is not that much of a difference, I promise. And if you’ve spent the proper time with them to make sure they have all the additional skills they need to succeed, they should be fine. I’m always irritated at parents who try to give teachers advice on how to teach their children. I’m trained to do this, this is what I love - I really don’t need you telling me how to do my job. The interesting thing is that most of the advice that parents try to shove on to teachers is not actually about teaching - its about the million other things we do inside the classroom that should technically be the parents job. Maybe I should foist some advice on to you about reading to your child, teaching them organization skills, teaching them to manage their time, teaching them to be self-sufficient, teaching them manners, mentoring them, providing emotional support, etc. etc. etc. If YOU did your job as a parent half as well as you tell yourself you do, teachers’ jobs would be a lot easier, and there’d be a lot less complaining. But I forgot. We can’t do that. Because teachers are the scapegoats for all social and moral deficiencies in this country.

Hmm…yet another problem here.  Ok, as a parent, YES, if you THINK I should read to my children more…SAY SO! IF you think my son is disorganized and I need to address it…SAY SO!  If my son is rude…TELL ME!  IF he can’t manage his time, and get his work done in a timely fashion…SAY SO!  YES, tell me, tell me, tell me!  That is the whole point of this! BUT, working on reading comprehension and writing skills IS a part of teaching.  Or at least it is here in Virginia. And while it IS your job to teach, it IS what you are trained to do, perhaps you don’t know EVERYTHING there is to know about MY child. Maybe you are worried about your own family and miss something that I happened to catch, because I only have to worry about MY kids and you have to worry about maybe 100+ (if you teach at a high school or middle school level and have multiple classes). It’s funny…I thought teachers wanted parents to be involved, and yet if we say ANYTHING that could even REMOTELY be taken as you aren’t doing the greatest job in the world, we are bad people?  Again, maybe THAT is the problem.  Working together means we are supposed to do just that..work TOGETHER.  If I have questions about what you are doing, I should be able to ask them without you jumping all over me and accusing me of attacking you. Then again, I was pretty clear in my original post…I said I didn’t think ALL teachers forgot the basics in their classrooms, so if you didn’t, this doesn’t apply to you, and there really isn’t ANY need to get upset over someone expressing an opinion based on what they see every day.

adventuresinlearning:

lifewithboys

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For instance-If a student doesn’t understand a word, we were taught to continue reading and try and glean the meaning from the surrounding sentences and paragraphs.  These days ANY word remotely new will have a footnote in it, and the definition at the bottom of the page!  Come on!  That doesn’t happen in real life.  How often do you read a magazine article that comes with its own little dictionary?  Kids need to learn this stuff!

I just wanted to make a comment on this part of your post. But most magazine now do have little dictionaries on them, because most magazines today are either web based or viewed via a ipod app. Reading comprehension has little with knowing the definition of every word and everything to do with being able understand the meaning. I actually think people you struggle with reading can be better readers in the end, because they have to look up words and have to glean the understanding. A boy I work with is a brilliant reader, but hardly understands what he is reading but he only reads the words, and does not think about what they mean… he is 7… just to broadening the discussion, what do you think the purpose of school is and why do you hold so much sway in “grade level” and such. I have been studying education for the last two years and still have little understanding of why they decided the standards for reading… and I have studied it. In relationship to your own sons, what have you done to encourage critical reading and critical writing?

Excellent point in regards to magazines being web based, BUT while many magazines do have websites, etc…they also have print magazines.  And many of them do NOT have dictionaries within them.  I am not saying that kids/adults can’t read an article and then turn around and go look up a word they don’t understand, BUT there are also ‘tricks of the trade’ that can be used to help kids get a better understanding of what they just read without googling every other word. And while I understand what you are saying, it isn’t just people that have problems with reading that can become better readers by educating themselves, it’s anyone!  I love to read-fiction, non-fiction, biographies, etc, etc, and I come across words every day that I don’t understand.  I look them up or ask my husband, and in doing so I feel like I learned something that day. And in doing so, I think I am a better reader than I was BEFORE I knew a new word, or phrase or fact. I am not saying I hold 'grade level’ in great regards, but as a parent I use it as an easy benchmark, for lack of a better term.  My oldest son is a senior.  He is taking an AP English class that in reality is taught to Sophomores in college.  If he is reading Othello in this class, and has NO CLUE what the story is about, if he doesn’t understand what Shakespeare is trying to say, then he is in a class that MIGHT be above his level of understanding.  In the school district we live in, Julius Cesear is taught to the tenth grade honor students.  If they are in that class, it is expected they will understand the material being taught. What do I think the purpose of school is?  Wow!  Broad question.  I think school serves a number of purposes-one is to teach the basics.  Now, a few teachers that have read my posts seem to have a problem with this.  They want to imply that the basics have changed since Roy (my husband) and I were younger-sorry, i disagree.  Reading, writing and arithmetic are still basics.  What has changed, IMO, is what kids are expected to know and when they are expected to know it.  When I was in school we learned to identify letters and numbers in Kindergarten, today (our schools districts) kids are expected to already know this coming in to kindergarten.  However, kids are still expected to learn their letters and numbers aren’t they?  We still teach kids to read.  We teach them to write, and math is still taken.  I think school teachers kids how to interact with others, be it teachers, school officials, or other students.  I think school teaches kids that there is a world beyond their home.  To put it simply kids go to school to get an education, and as they get older their strengths are identified and they find their passions in life, which often leads to them choosing a specific field to go in to for a career. In regards to my sons.  I think one of the best things I can do for them is to show them that reading can be fun!  I read myself, a little something every day-a magazine, the newspaper, or a book.  With my older sons (17 and almost 16) if I read a book I think they will like, I pass it on to them and we discuss it as they read it.  With my 12 year old, we make sure he knows we are always open to buying him a new book, or going to the library.  Our 12 year old is required to read for school and then take tests on what he has read-the program is called “Accelerated reader”-we make sure he understands that it is an assignment and is to be done, but we also make sure he understands that he has control over what he reads.  The school has thousands of books on which he can take tests, pick one you enjoy. We will often read the book along with him, and then discuss what we have read, so that we know he understands what he is reading.  We read to our 7 and 3 year old.  We try to do it every night. As for critical writing-simple.  The older boys have phones, I don’t care how they text their friends, but when they text their dad and I, I ask them to use proper English.  When they send an email to their grandparents, same thing.  Again, friends…use slang, abbreviations, whatever.  But take the opportunity to use proper English and writing skills when it is presented to you.  When they have papers due in school, we familiarize ourselves with the material so that when they ask us to edit their papers we know what they are talking about.  We encourage them to talk to their teachers if there is a problem, and yes, we encourage them to question their teachers if they think something was unfairly graded, etc, etc. I am by no means saying that I am the perfect parent, nor am I a teacher.  On the other hand, last time I checked NO one was perfect, and that includes teachers.