Crazy life!! So it's my last week of nannying, and I start my new job on Monday. I'm babysitting all weekend to earn some extra cash, woo-hoo!, but it'll be perfect because Matt has class anyway. And these kids are cuuuuuute :) I'm seriously going to babysit until I have my own freakin kids. I love it!
I've been tutoring extra, trying to help all the poor kids study before the EOG- End of Grade-- tests. Some kinds are finished with them, others aren't. Depends on the school.
And can I just vent? For one second?
Dear Laura's 5th Grade Teacher:
I know you're concerned about Laura's score on her upcoming Science EOG. I am as well. But when I was helping her during our tutoring session, the following conversation occurred:
Me: Do you remember what a fault line is? I think that might be why we're having trouble with this question.
Laura: I asked my teacher, she said if I see any questions about fault lines, that the answer is probably "earthquake."
Me: But don't you want to understand what a fault line is? That will help for lots of questions.
Laura: I think my teacher just wants me to get the questions right.
Let me assure you, this is not the first time I've heard her talk about her education in this manner.
Now, teacher, I know your job is hard. I can't imagine-- and I'm not patronizing you, I really think teachers have a lot on their plates, much more than they deserve for their salary. And I know that test scores unfairly determine your salary, and that you're put under a lot of pressure to make sure your students pass these standardized tests. I know that, and I am sorry.
BUT giving poor Laura the IMPRESSION that it is more important for her to SCORE WELL on THIS TEST than it is to LEARN is defeating the purpose of
EDUCATION.
So please, try to avoid that type of language with her. She's working really hard in our sessions and finally seems to enjoy some of her schoolwork-- which is amazing, because school really is harder for her than it is for most children. Please don't take this progress away from her by making class all about test scores.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Laura's Tutor
...I feel better. Thanks.
~*~*~
In other news, I haven't had time to cook a single meal since my glorious kitchen time this weekend.
Poor Matt had to take me out to dinner yesterday (at a Mexican place!! YUM!!!) because we have no food lol. I keep promising to cook meatloaf and mac & cheese... but there's been no time! Right now it's looking like there will be time... Saturday night. LOL.
And... with nannying and tutoring today... who knows what dinner will be tonight. Cereal, anyone?
~*~*~
Finally,
Knitting Project
for the new circular needles.
DONT YOU LOVE IT!!!! I can't WAIT!!!
Your running-around-a-lot,
relying-on-coffee, biscotti-munchin,
lookin-forward-to-Enchilada-leftovers,
writer-of-letters-I-don't-send,
New Girl Blogger
Knitting Project
for the new circular needles.
DONT YOU LOVE IT!!!! I can't WAIT!!!~*~*~
In my NEXT Blog post:
In my NEXT Blog post:
- I give awards!
- I'll (finally) tell you who the twin baby-momma is!
You're gonna flip! - I'll (hopefully) have cooked something!
Your running-around-a-lot,
relying-on-coffee, biscotti-munchin,
lookin-forward-to-Enchilada-leftovers,
writer-of-letters-I-don't-send,
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20 comments:
Ahhh. I am in total agreement with you about the teacher thing. Before I went to grad school to be a counselor I taught 11th grade US history. And I was pretty much instructed to TEACH TO THE TEST. It drove me crazy, and I'm glad I left the public school system. It's sad that our nation is okay with students just getting the grade. Focus isn't on learning anymore, and that's a shame.
Good luck on your new job!! I hope you get a chance to cook soon! :)
You crack me up! And I agree with the teacher thing. Peanut's 5th grade teacher this year was dumber than a bag of hammers. We came from Indiana where school is a really big thing and I was excited that my kids were going to be smart! Here (nashville, if you haven't guessed by music city) the metro schools just do not care. It's really irritating.
Wow, you are the most polite venter I think I have ever seen! Lol! If I were you I would have had a lot less manners and a lot more f-bombs thrown in there. ;)
That would be so frustrating to deal with! I'm glad that you care so much about instilling a love for learning in Laura... she's a lucky girl to have someone like you tutoring her.
ooo awards and finally know who is the twin mommy! You have me on my toes already!
Is that a checkerboard cotton hot pot holder? It's really cute!
Teaching is quite the profession. You have to ride a fine line to really get the job done and leave an impression and knowledge with students. That method you described is not it! And nothing wrong with cereal for dinner. It's pretty comforting actually. :)
Wow…sad to see where some peoples priorities are right? At least you know NOT to send your kids to that teacher when the time comes…
Are you effing KIDDING me with that teacher?! That is absolutely disgraceful, truly.
Whoa, so not okay for the teacher to be doing that to the kids! Especially slipping in the idea to such young students that scores and memorisation is more relevant than the actual learning process! Hopefully you've been an excellent model in Laura's turtoring and can salvage what you can from what that teacher left you. Also, very cute knitting project! Is it knit from squares of colour sewn together, or from alternating the colours? Can't wait to hear your progress!
xx
IMPRESSION that it is more important for her to SCORE WELL on THIS TEST than it is to LEARN is defeating the purpose of
EDUCATION.....tell this to the government...You have NO idea the pressure we are under for these tests and most people on captial hill realize we rather TEACH instead score high onthese tests!
So, I'm pretty excited to find out who is having twins... :)
My parents both work within the school system. I've heard some awful stories, and your story is right up there with them! It's truly sad that there are teachers out there with their priorities all out of wack. They obviously care more about grades and the impression that those grades make rather than a child actually LEARNING something! At least you are striving to make a difference. (Thank goodness for people like you!)
Blehhhh, I haven't had time for anything lately either!! At least you wrote in your blog - which is something I desperately need to do!! :)
omg! that fault line story make me SO MAD! I hate when teachers just teach for the tests.... its so wrong and is not good for our future.
hee, I wouldn't mind cereal for dinner! it's good!
and I'm sorry about your frustrations with Lauren's teacher. I used to live in Singapore, where all the teachers did was jam facts, facts, facts into you and all they cared about were the scores. thankfully I had better teachers in the U.S...my grades totally improved, and what's more, I actually started enjoying learning and studying!
So not cool of that teacher...
1. that teacher makes me sad...
2. that knitting project is the bees knees!
3. Heads up my fabulous giveaway starts today don't forget to enter!
Ah, education... one of the topics closest to my heart, and one that I am building up to an epic rant about. I'll really nail it when I finally go for it though...
My school firmly subscribed to the 'education before exam marks' philosophy. As a result, my exam marks were actually pretty low, but... I actually learnt what I wanted to learn. I got a proper education. And, perhaps most importantly, I retained my self-determinism to continue studying other subjects, and learning MORE AND MORE... and now I can't stop learning.
(Which you have probably noticed from reading my blog!)
All that talking of food got me thinkin'... time to sit out in the sun and eat something yummy.
wow I can't believe that, these teachers are supposed to be educating the minds of future generations, and this is what they come up with?? That's terrible!
Wow...do teachers really hand out that kind of "advice?"
The knitting project is adorable!
wow i really dont like teachers like that. i think that some people view education as an easy job and they dont invest themselves in actually helping kids to grow. and once you give a kid the idea that it`s okay to simply skate around without investing youself in something, then they go through life with that same mentality.
shame on you, teachers like that!
As a teacher, this makes me cringe. I feel so sad for those kids, and for her. How sad that she doesn't want to teach those kids something real, but is so focused on standardized tests. I can understand the pressure, but goodness! Very sad.
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