Improving...Schools, Discipline, Gangs
Today after our mandated one-hour (twice per week) grade-level meeting to discuss reading strategies (and nothing else), a handful of the board members came to meet with the teachers at my school. The assured us they were not there to place blame, and proceeded to tell us that other schools had done fine with our resources and that it wasn't that the students could not learn and that we were sending 2/3 of our students on to fourth grade without teaching them how to read. (Which is just not true. I'm sure 2/3 aren't reading on grade level, but almost all of them can read at least a little.) They asked us what the problems at the school were, and what suggestions we had to fix them, although they wanted the suggestions in a memo next week. Some problems listed:
* Using the America's Choice Reading/Writing Program last year
* Edusoft (our testing program) tests are created by administration and include questions on subjects not taught
* District created tests are upwards of 20 pages long, students give up before they start
* Kindergarten and First grade teachers have to grid in their students' answers to the tests, it takes forever
* There is no recess
* Teachers can't maintain discipline because they can't paddle in their classrooms (I still don't think this should be allowed)
* Kindergarten parents can choose to pass on their failing students regardless of performance
* First grade used to have five teachers. Now, with the same number of students (about 75) there are three teachers. All other grades (with about 75 students each) have 4 teachers, and yet, we have to teach them how to read.
* The paperwork is too much (I turn in 20 pages of lesson plans not including the attachments (ie worksheets, game boards) every week).
* Administrators don't listen to teachers. An example: evidently the teachers voted against the Reading Sufficiency Grant, which is the program that is giving us money for books but requiring LOTS of professional development (read: missed teaching time) and two hours of additional meetings per week.)
Some of the problems the board brought up: You never told us this. Nobody ever brought this to our attention. Those letters you wrote and gave to the superintendant? principal? never go to us. We've never heard any of this. You never cc'd us on that email. No, we don't read our emails. But you never approached us about this.
*****
Just on a side note, as in about half of the meetings we've had here in the Delta, we opened with a fairly lengthy prayer, with added encouragements ("Yes, Father Lord! Help us help these children!" "Yes, children!" "Oh, Lord!") from the assembled participants. I bow my head and think it is so different and yet such an integral part of life down here.
*****
One amazing thing has happened, though. I got an additional assistant for the mornings. Her name is Ms. T-- and she is a "foster grandparent" through, I believe, Save the Children. She is totally sweet, and although she can't control a group of kids AT ALL (maybe she'll learn?), it means that I actually did Guided Reading Groups both days this week. She reads a story to one group, Mrs. B-- does word work with another group, Mr. Holder takes his kids, and I take a group. Then we rotate every 20 mins/30 mins. Well, Mr. Holder only takes his kids (Special Ed) for 1/2 an hour, and then either Ms. T-- or Mrs. B-- get a double group for a session or two.
My discipline scores have gone from a fairly consistent 65/145 last week to a 91/145 both days so far this week. I'm sure it will crash as of tomorrow (as I've said before, three days in a row of good days is just not likely), but for now I'm happy.
One student who is acting up again is R--. The thing is, he wants to be a good little boy, as does J--. (J--, my youngest, craziest, totally adorable but uncontrollable little boy, has been doing fairly well for some reason.) R-- is now on a behavior contract. Today he had to flip his card for running and not following directions. He didn't want to flip it two times, so he threw a fit and we had to go cool down. After that he was fine, until he hit another boy, saw me watching, and went and flipped the card without being told. But when it was time to go outside and observe the fall leaves (no, of course it's not recess, what are you talking about?), and the students who lost their privileges had to stay inside, Robert walked out at the end of the line. Evidently Mrs. B-- chased him down the hall. I didn't see it, because I was at the front of the line to reinforce behavioral expectations outside. He came outside and I caught his arm. "You're on orange," I said, "I told you to stay inside." He denied it, cried, and tried to wrench his arm free. The thing is, he is compelled to behave even when he doens't want to. If I count "One, two, three," he does what I say, albeit angrily. He's not a bad kid. He has a behavior problem. So while the other kids played on the swings and monkey bars, I made Robert sit on the grass. I released his arm when I knew he wouldn't run. He bit my hand (gently), kicked at me, threw grass on me, cried angrily the whole time, and called me "that stupid b*tch teacher Mi' Hay'." I ignored him. I didn't punish him further when we got inside. I figured missing recess and watching the other kids play (and vice versa) was bad enough. I can't help it, though, I do love him. He gives me hugs and tells me he loves me, too, when he's not angry at me.
In the afternoon, we finally had the dance we were promised on Friday. All students who had not gotten discipline referrals last week got to go to the dance. There are a few little white kids and a few little Latino/as at the school. Most off them did not join the dancing, except for E--, one of the other new teacher's little girls. It was hilarious. She was boppin' about, doing what I would have consided kindergarten dancing, while all the other little girls were shaking their little booties and getting DOWN. It was actual Pop/HipHop they played, none of that Raffi or the Wiggles stuff. At six years old, my little girls can cut up the rug. My little K-- was dancing like a little maniac as well. The boy could actually do that spinning on the floor stuff and those little girls got down lower than I would have. Their gyrations were a bit disconcerting... But E-- was a fast learner, and by the end of the 30 minute dance, she was shaking her little hips with all the rest.
Mrs. M--, a third grade teacher, is the mother of the only male Americorps Tutor. He works in the morning reading program and flirts with me. He is pursuing his master's in Early Childhood Development and hopes to open a daycare. Mrs. M-- thinks it's hilarious that he flirts with me and urged me several times to "go shake it up with Mr. R-- out there."
*****
New Delta-isms:
"Alright." -- an appropriate response to a compliment, an inquiry of "How are you?" etc. Must be drawled.
"Where you be at?" -- "Where are you?"
"Who that is?" -- "Who is that?"
"What that is?" -- "What is that?"
*****
At home in Clarksdale:
My friend Edubs brought an article in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger to my attention. It is about gangs in my home base of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Evidently we have an extremely high concentration of gangs, and they are affiliated with Chicago gangs.
"The Delta's connection to the Windy City runs from the 1920s through the 1960s, when thousands of African Americans made their way from the Delta to escape the Jim Crow South and find better lives on Chicago's south side.
One of Chicago's exports to the Delta has been its street gangs. Alexander said visiting relatives bring with them the bylaws, codes and tricks of the city's street gangs, which are quickly adopted by some Mississippi youth. What blossomed was a trade: drugs from Chicago for guns from Mississippi."
The article goes on to say that Clarksdale was one of the most violent cities in the nation, per capita, in 2001, but that violent crime has dropped drastically since that point and the insitution of some new programs.
But by far the most interesting part of the article were the gang names (there are supposedly up to nine gangs, but only six names were listed):
Vice Lords
Mafia Insane Vice Lords
Conservative Vice Lords
Unknown Vice Lords
Gangster Disciples
Black Gangster Disciples
Original, hmm? And, I'm sorry, but the "Conservative Vice Lords"??? The "Mafia Insane Vice Lords"??? What???
You can read the article here: "Clarksdale Battles Gang Problem"
* Using the America's Choice Reading/Writing Program last year
* Edusoft (our testing program) tests are created by administration and include questions on subjects not taught
* District created tests are upwards of 20 pages long, students give up before they start
* Kindergarten and First grade teachers have to grid in their students' answers to the tests, it takes forever
* There is no recess
* Teachers can't maintain discipline because they can't paddle in their classrooms (I still don't think this should be allowed)
* Kindergarten parents can choose to pass on their failing students regardless of performance
* First grade used to have five teachers. Now, with the same number of students (about 75) there are three teachers. All other grades (with about 75 students each) have 4 teachers, and yet, we have to teach them how to read.
* The paperwork is too much (I turn in 20 pages of lesson plans not including the attachments (ie worksheets, game boards) every week).
* Administrators don't listen to teachers. An example: evidently the teachers voted against the Reading Sufficiency Grant, which is the program that is giving us money for books but requiring LOTS of professional development (read: missed teaching time) and two hours of additional meetings per week.)
Some of the problems the board brought up: You never told us this. Nobody ever brought this to our attention. Those letters you wrote and gave to the superintendant? principal? never go to us. We've never heard any of this. You never cc'd us on that email. No, we don't read our emails. But you never approached us about this.
*****
Just on a side note, as in about half of the meetings we've had here in the Delta, we opened with a fairly lengthy prayer, with added encouragements ("Yes, Father Lord! Help us help these children!" "Yes, children!" "Oh, Lord!") from the assembled participants. I bow my head and think it is so different and yet such an integral part of life down here.
*****
One amazing thing has happened, though. I got an additional assistant for the mornings. Her name is Ms. T-- and she is a "foster grandparent" through, I believe, Save the Children. She is totally sweet, and although she can't control a group of kids AT ALL (maybe she'll learn?), it means that I actually did Guided Reading Groups both days this week. She reads a story to one group, Mrs. B-- does word work with another group, Mr. Holder takes his kids, and I take a group. Then we rotate every 20 mins/30 mins. Well, Mr. Holder only takes his kids (Special Ed) for 1/2 an hour, and then either Ms. T-- or Mrs. B-- get a double group for a session or two.
My discipline scores have gone from a fairly consistent 65/145 last week to a 91/145 both days so far this week. I'm sure it will crash as of tomorrow (as I've said before, three days in a row of good days is just not likely), but for now I'm happy.
One student who is acting up again is R--. The thing is, he wants to be a good little boy, as does J--. (J--, my youngest, craziest, totally adorable but uncontrollable little boy, has been doing fairly well for some reason.) R-- is now on a behavior contract. Today he had to flip his card for running and not following directions. He didn't want to flip it two times, so he threw a fit and we had to go cool down. After that he was fine, until he hit another boy, saw me watching, and went and flipped the card without being told. But when it was time to go outside and observe the fall leaves (no, of course it's not recess, what are you talking about?), and the students who lost their privileges had to stay inside, Robert walked out at the end of the line. Evidently Mrs. B-- chased him down the hall. I didn't see it, because I was at the front of the line to reinforce behavioral expectations outside. He came outside and I caught his arm. "You're on orange," I said, "I told you to stay inside." He denied it, cried, and tried to wrench his arm free. The thing is, he is compelled to behave even when he doens't want to. If I count "One, two, three," he does what I say, albeit angrily. He's not a bad kid. He has a behavior problem. So while the other kids played on the swings and monkey bars, I made Robert sit on the grass. I released his arm when I knew he wouldn't run. He bit my hand (gently), kicked at me, threw grass on me, cried angrily the whole time, and called me "that stupid b*tch teacher Mi' Hay'." I ignored him. I didn't punish him further when we got inside. I figured missing recess and watching the other kids play (and vice versa) was bad enough. I can't help it, though, I do love him. He gives me hugs and tells me he loves me, too, when he's not angry at me.
In the afternoon, we finally had the dance we were promised on Friday. All students who had not gotten discipline referrals last week got to go to the dance. There are a few little white kids and a few little Latino/as at the school. Most off them did not join the dancing, except for E--, one of the other new teacher's little girls. It was hilarious. She was boppin' about, doing what I would have consided kindergarten dancing, while all the other little girls were shaking their little booties and getting DOWN. It was actual Pop/HipHop they played, none of that Raffi or the Wiggles stuff. At six years old, my little girls can cut up the rug. My little K-- was dancing like a little maniac as well. The boy could actually do that spinning on the floor stuff and those little girls got down lower than I would have. Their gyrations were a bit disconcerting... But E-- was a fast learner, and by the end of the 30 minute dance, she was shaking her little hips with all the rest.
Mrs. M--, a third grade teacher, is the mother of the only male Americorps Tutor. He works in the morning reading program and flirts with me. He is pursuing his master's in Early Childhood Development and hopes to open a daycare. Mrs. M-- thinks it's hilarious that he flirts with me and urged me several times to "go shake it up with Mr. R-- out there."
*****
New Delta-isms:
"Alright." -- an appropriate response to a compliment, an inquiry of "How are you?" etc. Must be drawled.
"Where you be at?" -- "Where are you?"
"Who that is?" -- "Who is that?"
"What that is?" -- "What is that?"
*****
At home in Clarksdale:
My friend Edubs brought an article in the Jackson Clarion-Ledger to my attention. It is about gangs in my home base of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Evidently we have an extremely high concentration of gangs, and they are affiliated with Chicago gangs.
"The Delta's connection to the Windy City runs from the 1920s through the 1960s, when thousands of African Americans made their way from the Delta to escape the Jim Crow South and find better lives on Chicago's south side.
One of Chicago's exports to the Delta has been its street gangs. Alexander said visiting relatives bring with them the bylaws, codes and tricks of the city's street gangs, which are quickly adopted by some Mississippi youth. What blossomed was a trade: drugs from Chicago for guns from Mississippi."
The article goes on to say that Clarksdale was one of the most violent cities in the nation, per capita, in 2001, but that violent crime has dropped drastically since that point and the insitution of some new programs.
But by far the most interesting part of the article were the gang names (there are supposedly up to nine gangs, but only six names were listed):
Vice Lords
Mafia Insane Vice Lords
Conservative Vice Lords
Unknown Vice Lords
Gangster Disciples
Black Gangster Disciples
Original, hmm? And, I'm sorry, but the "Conservative Vice Lords"??? The "Mafia Insane Vice Lords"??? What???
You can read the article here: "Clarksdale Battles Gang Problem"
posted by Jessica at 8:22 PM
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