The end is near...

And so EDU 653, we come to a close... but it is not a goodbye.

Like my blog title states, I'm sure someone has said this better than I have, (hell, even that first sentence makes me cringe a bit when I reread it).  But I have to admit, this course has got me to do some thinking.

I mean our weekly wiki posts seem to have a neat concept at first, then I started to struggle with identifying the side of the argument I was to defend on.  Then my blog posts.  At first, I trudged through the first couple of posts not really knowing where I was going with any of the text.  The weekly assignments were valuable, when I realized where they were hiding.  I'm sure most people will look at the last couple of sentences and say, "Jeez, why don't you tell us what you really think?"

Honestly?

I really enjoyed this course.  It forced me to take views I wouldn't necessarily take.   It forced me to create projects that I was interested in doing but never made the jump into.  It allowed me an outlet to get some ideas, concerns, and just everyday aggression out in the form of a written essay, instead of bottle it up and take it out on the dog. (I mean talking to him while we walked)

My goal for next year is to make all of the course I teach more comprehensive.  Not that I am just running around teaching whatever comes up, however, I would like better transitions from one topic to the next.  What this class has shown me is that it is OK to alter your expectations as long as a goal is made.  I mean, for the first couple of weeks in this class, I wasn't aware that there was even a text that went through with this course.

I know that nowadays we are all just one click away from getting the answer, video, or laugh we desire.  But if I've taken one thing away from this class its that it is OK to linger a bit longer, read a couple more lines, watch a few more minutes of that video, as long as it helps with the overall goal.

As for this blog?  I'm not sure, maybe it will continue to run, or maybe my new son will have something to say and we will only update from month to month.  Whatever the case this has been a great 8 weeks!

End of the School Year Review : Boom or Bust PT 2

Man...have I been there before.

My goal for this week's blog post, was to continue with my BOOM or BUST year-end review. Still is my goal, but this intro is going to take a little to get started, so hear me out.

FINAL PORTFOLIO
Slowly I am becoming a Google Docs wizard, and my plan was to continue wizard-ing (eh, its the end of the year) it up with a final portfolio assignment with a couple of my classes.  Before the pre-made form was submitted, I had the students fill out an online survey, (YES through Google Docs) in which I asked them to evaluated the course as well as myself, the instructor.

I got the typical responses, that is up until the end.  I was surprised that many students opted to fill out the optional short answer response questions at the end.  Some nice things, some concerning things, but more importantly one item stuck out..."Why are you so sarcastic all the time?"

I know that this could have been a student who was just trying to get me going, but this made me look back and think, am I treading this sarcasm tight rope a little to closely?  I mean should I cut down on it, or choose my spots better?

See, I teach high school.  The birth place of sarcasm.  And while most of the time I am sincere with my comments there can be times where I feel like I am having an open mic night at a student's expense. 

I swear, I could ask the kids to raise their right hand for a million points, and I would get some kids that raise their left hand or kids who look around and say "what did he say?" 

I know that the kids normal reaction is to play dumb.  I get it, they are teenagers.  Lord knows, I've been there too.  However, I'm not sure how many trusted adults I had responding to me with some sarcastic answer.

My answer to whom ever was brave enough to type it, my sarcasm is a coping mechanism.  Without it, flipping out could be a result, and for what good would that do with today's teenagers?  Should I curb it a little, YES.  And for that, whoever was asking I say thank you. Thank you for making me aware of a teaching and possibly a character flaw, while there is still time to change.

What about you, is SARCASM part of your teaching?

If so, how do you coupe with students or staff members?

End of the School Year Review : Boom or Bust

courtesy of shutterstock.com

I have to borrow a line from a coup,e of the fantasy sport sites that I follow daily, "was this year boom or bust?"

I plan on doing a mini-series of posts, reflecting on this past year's changes to classroom instruction, curriculum, and extra-curricular activities, to determine exactly how successful this school year was.  While I don't think there is any teacher out there that would admit that the year was a bust, I'm sure there are a couple super pessimistic ones out there who always see doom and gloom.

This year was unlike any other, with a joint art show with a neighboring school district to the birth of my first son, the school year had plenty ups and downs.  Here is a look back...

NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS
This year introduced the first use of a daily goals website in all of my courses.  As any teacher knows, the new state teacher evaluation has plenty of hoops to jump through, and our school  district is no different at introducing them.  At the start of the year, administration made it aware to the staff that learning targets would need to be visible to both students and administrators (mainly admin) everyday.  So I bring to you mrpappasteach.

My goal here was to create an all in one source for students to go to and review daily goals, print missing work, and view upcoming projects, without taking away from the dynamics of the class.  It is safe to say that after nine months of posting, mrpappasteach is still going strong!

Pros
Incredibly easy to update from day to day.  Also uploading dittos/worksheets for absent students to download later is a nice feature as well.

Cons
Well, at least from the students mouth, "it's too hard to find stuff."

I understand, from at least the students thinking, being unfamiliar with any website can prove difficult to find information, however most students were introduced to this website in September,  the excuse of not being familiar is starting to fall on deaf ears.

This summer, the website will go through some cosmetic changes.  The goal with the changes is to keep the substance, but organize some of the clutter so that links and sign-up sheets are readily available next year.  I also plan on spending some time (couple of days to a week) getting all of my classes next year to learn the in's-out's of the website and things not to get lost in.

The daily goal website has proven to be a success by starting off my class with an organized bang, keeping students on task by understanding what they will be responsible for, and measuring that success on a student by student basis.