Freewrite: A Teacher’s Frustrations December 08 Blog #2

I am concerned with the apathy in schools today. I feel that students believe that grades should just be given to them and that they do not have to earn anything. Please understand the root of my negativity today. Today, I had a MAKE-UP day after school for two hours. Of my entire 150 students only two students showed up for Make-Up Day. Everyday students want to ask me, “What can I do to pull up my grade?” However, they really don’t want to know, because when I tell them, they get an attitude and talk about how they are not going to do “all of that work” and I am left feeling frustrated. The problem that I am seeing with my students is that they don’t even care. I talked to two parents yesterday to remind them about Make-Up day and neither of their children reported to Make-Up day.

When I offer test corrections, it’s like they take them for a joke. These children have the audacity to choose not to complete test corrections for half credit on a test just because they do not want to do any real work. For my test corrections you have to write a fact statement that supports your answer choice. This choice of test corrections sounds like an excellent decision to me, but I have had students to elect not to complete test corrections and keep the grade that they made. Please don’t think that they made an high enough grade to not do test corrections. The students that choose not to complete them have 40s and 50s as test grades.
I just do not understand this system. I know that it has a lot to do with home environment and maybe different value systems, but I really do not understand how an entire GROUP of kids can be lazy and not just one or two. It’s like they do not understand the connection between their test scores and their final average. Your test scores must be a decent grade. I am just so frustrated at this point. I think that this break will help me regain my strength to go back in there and continue the battle for the spring semester.

The other side of the spectrum is failure rates. What option do I have if they are failing, and they don’t care? This is the question that I want someone to answer for me. In my ear I hear, “Keep the failure rates low. Give the students a chance to pass.” How can I give them a chance to pass when they are not making the effort to pass. Everyone that I can recall says that it goes back to motivation. Well, looking over my gradebook, I guess the motivation that I try to instill in my students is nonexistent. Please, don’t misunderstand me at this point; I do have some students that are doing very well. However, this is my blog and I want to vent about those that are doing NOTHING!!!

I have to keep the faith and that’s what I intend to do. I know that I am making a difference-the only factor that keeps me going some days. I have a plan for the break. I am going to reflect about this situation, talk to some other teachers who are not having this problem, rest and enjoy family and most importantly, I am going to PRAY.

Why Should Someone Join the Mississippi Teacher Corps? December 08 Blog #1

The MS Teacher Corps is a great program in which you get the opportunity to teach students in Mississippi for two years while earning a free Master’s Degree. I think that someone should join Teacher Corps because you will have the opportunity to touch lives in Mississippi. Many people have a negative connotation of MS, and I think it is a good experience for people to come and see what MS is all about. You will make new friends in your community and will be able to give students a better education. The MS Teacher Corps trains its teachers extensively to teach effectively and handle issues that arise in the classroom and with the administration.

Another reason that you should join Teacher Corps deals with the relationships formed by other Teacher Corps members. The bond reminds me of a sorority or fraternity, because you will share a common bond with the members in your group. Upon talking with other Teacher Corps members, you will realize that they are having or have had the same issues that you face. On the flip side you will be able to share ideas that worked in your classroom with other members and encourage them.
Please notice that I did not donate a large section of my entry about obtaining a free Master’s degree. I chose not to say that on purpose. I honestly believe that you have to WANT to make a difference in the lives of children in order to stay in this program. People always think that teaching is easy, especially when you have the book with the answers. I was even guilty of believing that silly notion at one time. When teaching effectively, it can be one of the hardest professions imaginable. On the flip side, teaching is probably one of the most rewarding professions in the world. I said all of that to say that if you want to join Teacher Corps, you have to be committed to making a difference. If you only just want to “get a Master’s degree” then maybe you should look into other programs.

The MS Teacher Corps is a great program that gives its participants the chance to reach and teach children in Mississippi. Along the way, the participants make new friends and obtain the honor to call themselves teachers.