the good news
Only one more class left! Only one more class session - tomorrow - and then only one more class, a directed studies, for next term - which I can do at my own pace (i.e. - finish in the first two weeks).
The best news - the professor of tonight's class pulled me out after class to talk about my paper draft that I turned in two weeks ago to her. I had known that I needed to do some pretty extensive revisions to it, and I was prepped - we spent two weeks going over other people's papers, so I knew what I would spend about 5 hours doing this weekend to turn into her on Monday.
But no. She said I'm done. She said she's picky, so the paper was probably an A-, but I get an A for the class, so I'm done. And since the paper is like 85% of the class grade, it must not be a low A-. I said, but ... and she said she'd give me her comments, which, I have to say, I would look at closely (and an A- isn't hurting my feelings, because it was a DRAFT of a 23 page paper I wrote in about 8 hours), but that I'm done and no more work for me. Sociolinguistics is not my field, but it was interesting. She said she really liked what I did with the Bourdieu - and Pierre is my boy, so glad to hear our love respected. Especially since I think he'll be a focal point of an exam question on schooling and social inequality.
Anyhow, it was panel today, and I kicked a lot of kids to the curb, and the principal and I went a few rounds. I ridiculed the vice principal's ideas of discipline, I ridiculed how we don't get report card info, I ridiculed a lot. And the last kid of the day, I was hellbent on getting him out because while he does well for me he's a major disruption to the rest of the school. Another teacher (an old crotchety guy - the one who calls kids piece of shit on the info) said that kid has major behavioral and academic problems, and I would agree. So the principal said we need to keep him at the school to SST him, and I said hell no - he needs to go to GED prep for a term and reevaluate himself, then come back and we'll have the SST in place and can move forward with it.
And he said, "What do you other two think?" (to the other two teachers) and they backed me. Which he didn't expect or like - he wanted them to agree with him, and they were with me.
Yeah, I just declared war, but fuck it. The crotchety teacher was giving the principal a hard time about one of the girls being given a second chance (yeah, she's almost 19 and in her 5th year, but all she needs is four more classes, and her life sucks, and she just had an abortion and all sorts of other stuff - which, yeah, she's playing us, but she's so close I don't mind being played), and the principal complained to us about getting the heat and I said, "Tell 'em to talk to us. I can take it. Bring it on." (And when I saw crotchety teacher again, I jumped on his ass and he backed down.)
Let's just say, Mr. Principal Man is not exactly comfortable with me. Especially when I told him to knock off the inappropriate comments that qualify as sexual harassment (not towards me, but about female students). I said, "Aren't we in the 21st century? Isn't it time to adjust that attitude?"
Yeah, I'm bold. He's a scary guy nobody stands up to, and I know that he's going to make my life miserable. But, you know, at least he knows where I stand. No games. He heard the kids saying why they do pass my class and fail the others (because I actually interact with them and help them, they say - but the other teachers just give them the work and make them do it alone) - and if he really cares about kids learning then he'll realize that he should support me. And if he doesn't care, then fuck him and what he thinks about me. He doesn't like my self-assurance, but dammit - I'm not a 22-year-old first-year teacher who doesn't know what to do. I know what to do, and I'm doing it. That's it.
So, I guess that's good news - that I've got that spark working, the one that has "Love me or fuck off" tattooed on my forehead.
So now, I have tomorrow's class, and my prospectus to keep drafting, and the six books to read for independent study, and the paper to write for that, and four exam questions to prepare ... and that's it until I start research! Yippy! (Well, lots of other little things, but they're easier.)
The bad news is that I got a latte at break at class and forgot to ask for decaf. My poor students tomorrow, when I show up tired and grumpy.
The other good news is that in two of my classes I'm teaching the I Have a Dream speech, which is one of my very favorite things to teach. And they were resistant at first, and talking racist trash and all that, but now they're coming around and kind of getting into it. I think I'll show a video two days next week when we're in the other classroom (because they're testing in my classroom, so I get kicked out) of MLK. They liked that idea ... and they think they're playing me, because they think "Oh, just a video" - but they'll be actively interacting with it because they already have background knowledge and we've talked a lot and they've asked a lot of questions and all that. So, they think they're playing me, but I'm playing them.
It's all very much like Javier P. negotiating with me and having to do more work/time than before he started. Don't play a playa.
And good news every day is not getting iced today. Look, I'm alive still (I originally wrote "again" - because I was thinking 'todavia' because I'm thinking in Spanglish and typing in English), and the delinquents didn't catch me yet.
The best news - the professor of tonight's class pulled me out after class to talk about my paper draft that I turned in two weeks ago to her. I had known that I needed to do some pretty extensive revisions to it, and I was prepped - we spent two weeks going over other people's papers, so I knew what I would spend about 5 hours doing this weekend to turn into her on Monday.
But no. She said I'm done. She said she's picky, so the paper was probably an A-, but I get an A for the class, so I'm done. And since the paper is like 85% of the class grade, it must not be a low A-. I said, but ... and she said she'd give me her comments, which, I have to say, I would look at closely (and an A- isn't hurting my feelings, because it was a DRAFT of a 23 page paper I wrote in about 8 hours), but that I'm done and no more work for me. Sociolinguistics is not my field, but it was interesting. She said she really liked what I did with the Bourdieu - and Pierre is my boy, so glad to hear our love respected. Especially since I think he'll be a focal point of an exam question on schooling and social inequality.
Anyhow, it was panel today, and I kicked a lot of kids to the curb, and the principal and I went a few rounds. I ridiculed the vice principal's ideas of discipline, I ridiculed how we don't get report card info, I ridiculed a lot. And the last kid of the day, I was hellbent on getting him out because while he does well for me he's a major disruption to the rest of the school. Another teacher (an old crotchety guy - the one who calls kids piece of shit on the info) said that kid has major behavioral and academic problems, and I would agree. So the principal said we need to keep him at the school to SST him, and I said hell no - he needs to go to GED prep for a term and reevaluate himself, then come back and we'll have the SST in place and can move forward with it.
And he said, "What do you other two think?" (to the other two teachers) and they backed me. Which he didn't expect or like - he wanted them to agree with him, and they were with me.
Yeah, I just declared war, but fuck it. The crotchety teacher was giving the principal a hard time about one of the girls being given a second chance (yeah, she's almost 19 and in her 5th year, but all she needs is four more classes, and her life sucks, and she just had an abortion and all sorts of other stuff - which, yeah, she's playing us, but she's so close I don't mind being played), and the principal complained to us about getting the heat and I said, "Tell 'em to talk to us. I can take it. Bring it on." (And when I saw crotchety teacher again, I jumped on his ass and he backed down.)
Let's just say, Mr. Principal Man is not exactly comfortable with me. Especially when I told him to knock off the inappropriate comments that qualify as sexual harassment (not towards me, but about female students). I said, "Aren't we in the 21st century? Isn't it time to adjust that attitude?"
Yeah, I'm bold. He's a scary guy nobody stands up to, and I know that he's going to make my life miserable. But, you know, at least he knows where I stand. No games. He heard the kids saying why they do pass my class and fail the others (because I actually interact with them and help them, they say - but the other teachers just give them the work and make them do it alone) - and if he really cares about kids learning then he'll realize that he should support me. And if he doesn't care, then fuck him and what he thinks about me. He doesn't like my self-assurance, but dammit - I'm not a 22-year-old first-year teacher who doesn't know what to do. I know what to do, and I'm doing it. That's it.
So, I guess that's good news - that I've got that spark working, the one that has "Love me or fuck off" tattooed on my forehead.
So now, I have tomorrow's class, and my prospectus to keep drafting, and the six books to read for independent study, and the paper to write for that, and four exam questions to prepare ... and that's it until I start research! Yippy! (Well, lots of other little things, but they're easier.)
The bad news is that I got a latte at break at class and forgot to ask for decaf. My poor students tomorrow, when I show up tired and grumpy.
The other good news is that in two of my classes I'm teaching the I Have a Dream speech, which is one of my very favorite things to teach. And they were resistant at first, and talking racist trash and all that, but now they're coming around and kind of getting into it. I think I'll show a video two days next week when we're in the other classroom (because they're testing in my classroom, so I get kicked out) of MLK. They liked that idea ... and they think they're playing me, because they think "Oh, just a video" - but they'll be actively interacting with it because they already have background knowledge and we've talked a lot and they've asked a lot of questions and all that. So, they think they're playing me, but I'm playing them.
It's all very much like Javier P. negotiating with me and having to do more work/time than before he started. Don't play a playa.
And good news every day is not getting iced today. Look, I'm alive still (I originally wrote "again" - because I was thinking 'todavia' because I'm thinking in Spanglish and typing in English), and the delinquents didn't catch me yet.
posted by NOLA at 8:15 PM
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