MinnPost - 'Waiting for Superman' forum elicits diverse reactions, universal concern
Colin is mentioned in this article- and it's a perfect description of him.
More to come soon!
Friday, October 29, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
After two serious posts, here's a fun one:
I stole this right from the e-mail that we sent out to our coworkers:
Preface: our students think that Colin is a hunk of burnin' love.
A few weeks ago our check in question was "If you were stranded on a desert island what two items would you bring?"
An unidentified female student answers without hesitation "Colin, no guitar necessary."
That same student, in session yesterday, also picked colin for the question: "What person, living or dead, fictional or real, would you want to have dinner with."
This crush is getting a little creepy, no?
Preface: our students think that Colin is a hunk of burnin' love.
A few weeks ago our check in question was "If you were stranded on a desert island what two items would you bring?"
An unidentified female student answers without hesitation "Colin, no guitar necessary."
That same student, in session yesterday, also picked colin for the question: "What person, living or dead, fictional or real, would you want to have dinner with."
This crush is getting a little creepy, no?
Tough Topics
In the past few sessions some difficult topics have come up unintentionally. At these points the scholar and sociologist in me comes out, and I'm not quite sure that my students appreciate or understand my interest.
One issue was welfare, which came from our use of EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) Cards on a financial literacy vocabulary list. One of my most vocal and outgoing students began to talk about how his family has an EBT card- which, of course, was never asked. I didn't mind him sharing details about his financial situation if he felt comfortable, but the problems started when he began asking others about using EBT cards and claiming that it was only Black people who used them (not as bad as it could have been though, I suppose, since this student is Black). Now, the scholar in me thought "oh what an interesting moment to talk about the stereotypes of the Black community and ideas about poverty and government assistance!". The 'teacher' in me however was shocked and mortified about what this student had said and how uncomfortable he was potentially making the other students in class. We shut the discussion down pretty quickly, but I still wonder how I could effectively facilitate a discussion on this topic.
Today another issue surrounding race came up. Our school has an indoor ice rink attached but no ice hockey team. Supposedly, the school used to have an ice hockey team- but that was years ago. One student chalked it up to 'white flight'- which is actually probably true. I tried to turn that comment into a teaching moment- talking my students through the link between people who are wealthy (as my students perceived the participants in this 'white flight' to be) and the existence of a hockey team- discussing the cost of participating in hockey, buying equipment, etc. I worry, though, that instead of inspiring my students to think about the connections between income and various types of organized sports, I simply reinforced the stereotype that the White population is always wealthier than anyone else. oy.
One issue was welfare, which came from our use of EBT (Electronic Benefits Transfer) Cards on a financial literacy vocabulary list. One of my most vocal and outgoing students began to talk about how his family has an EBT card- which, of course, was never asked. I didn't mind him sharing details about his financial situation if he felt comfortable, but the problems started when he began asking others about using EBT cards and claiming that it was only Black people who used them (not as bad as it could have been though, I suppose, since this student is Black). Now, the scholar in me thought "oh what an interesting moment to talk about the stereotypes of the Black community and ideas about poverty and government assistance!". The 'teacher' in me however was shocked and mortified about what this student had said and how uncomfortable he was potentially making the other students in class. We shut the discussion down pretty quickly, but I still wonder how I could effectively facilitate a discussion on this topic.
Today another issue surrounding race came up. Our school has an indoor ice rink attached but no ice hockey team. Supposedly, the school used to have an ice hockey team- but that was years ago. One student chalked it up to 'white flight'- which is actually probably true. I tried to turn that comment into a teaching moment- talking my students through the link between people who are wealthy (as my students perceived the participants in this 'white flight' to be) and the existence of a hockey team- discussing the cost of participating in hockey, buying equipment, etc. I worry, though, that instead of inspiring my students to think about the connections between income and various types of organized sports, I simply reinforced the stereotype that the White population is always wealthier than anyone else. oy.
The perils of facebook
Today we faced an issue I wasn't expecting: Our students wrote about their Baseline ACT scores in their facebook statuses. I think the most damaging post was the one from my high achiever who got a 28. Without him in the mix, my cohort's average is a 14.1-HALF of his score. He has every right to be excited about this baseline score- I'm sure that we can help him so much and that he can apply to some of the most competitive schools in the country with that score, but I cannot imagine being a student who scored an 11 and saw that status. What's even more surprising is that some of my students who scored between 13 and 15 also facebooked about their scores- something I'm not quite sure they should be proud of...
After a serious talk I think that all of my students have agreed not to post about their scores anymore, but it's interesting how much this shows that facebook is a huge part of my student's lives and they regularly share the most personal details of their lives on it.
After a serious talk I think that all of my students have agreed not to post about their scores anymore, but it's interesting how much this shows that facebook is a huge part of my student's lives and they regularly share the most personal details of their lives on it.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Gotta Catch 'Em All!
or "Pokemans" according to Colin
So, Victoria and I decided that we should decide which pokemon character we would be. We don't know why and when we asked Colin where this idea came from he started telling us about the origins of the words that combine to make the word "Pokemon"... not our question, Linguistics!
So here are the results:
This is electrode who we've decided is Colin's character. Don't know why.
This it Ditto: aka Mitch's pokemon. We decided that this applies to Mitch because he is a twin and ditto signifies a duplicate... LIKE TWINS!! Also- Ditto looks friendly and Mitch is pretty friendly. Victoria adds that he suspects that Ditto makes weird noises, like Mitch. This is a giant image because it is that awesome, clearly.
This is Vulpix- Victoria's pokemon. Seems enthusiastic, fluffy and "probably enjoys a good pickle", says victoria.
Lastly, This is mine, Togepi... look it's so happy! And it dances kind of awkwardly just like me!
I swear that we actually do work some times.
So, Victoria and I decided that we should decide which pokemon character we would be. We don't know why and when we asked Colin where this idea came from he started telling us about the origins of the words that combine to make the word "Pokemon"... not our question, Linguistics!
So here are the results:
This is electrode who we've decided is Colin's character. Don't know why.
This it Ditto: aka Mitch's pokemon. We decided that this applies to Mitch because he is a twin and ditto signifies a duplicate... LIKE TWINS!! Also- Ditto looks friendly and Mitch is pretty friendly. Victoria adds that he suspects that Ditto makes weird noises, like Mitch. This is a giant image because it is that awesome, clearly.
This is Vulpix- Victoria's pokemon. Seems enthusiastic, fluffy and "probably enjoys a good pickle", says victoria.
Lastly, This is mine, Togepi... look it's so happy! And it dances kind of awkwardly just like me!
I swear that we actually do work some times.
Heard around the Office:
"Linguistics is a sub-topic in the English department- I'm offended!"
- Guess who
- Guess who
Monday, October 25, 2010
Realities
Today was a little bit heartbreaking because it was the first day that we shared our student's baseline ACT scores with them. In this organization we focus a lot on ACT prep in the junior year and we start off the year with a baseline ACT- a test where we tell them where to go and when but nothing else.
Our student's baseline scores ranged from 9-28 (the 28 was a major outlier... after this student no one had higher than a 20). To give some context: the national average is 21 and the state average is almost 23. A good portion of both mine and victoria's students fell in the bottom 1% of test takers.
This is incredibly disheartening. Our students are smart energetic students- yet the test in no way shows that. Our English Language Learners definitely struggle the most, being unable to come even close to finishing the reading section and getting a majority of those questions wrong.
I think what affected me the most was how immune my students seemed to being in the bottom 30% or lower of test takers. Most of my students failed their GRAD tests in reading and/or writing and they are completely used to being below average. I guess this is better than being destroyed by this fact. I even had one student make a joke about it. He had a 10 or 11 and was in the bottom 1%, instead he remarked: "I'm in the top 1% of test takers!"... all I could do was look at him with a sad smile.
The ray of hope here is that we are basically guaranteed to raise our students' scores. Our organization averaged a 25% score increase last year. But, I don't really think 25% is enough for most of my students and sincerely hope it will be possible to improve their scores even more.
Our student's baseline scores ranged from 9-28 (the 28 was a major outlier... after this student no one had higher than a 20). To give some context: the national average is 21 and the state average is almost 23. A good portion of both mine and victoria's students fell in the bottom 1% of test takers.
This is incredibly disheartening. Our students are smart energetic students- yet the test in no way shows that. Our English Language Learners definitely struggle the most, being unable to come even close to finishing the reading section and getting a majority of those questions wrong.
I think what affected me the most was how immune my students seemed to being in the bottom 30% or lower of test takers. Most of my students failed their GRAD tests in reading and/or writing and they are completely used to being below average. I guess this is better than being destroyed by this fact. I even had one student make a joke about it. He had a 10 or 11 and was in the bottom 1%, instead he remarked: "I'm in the top 1% of test takers!"... all I could do was look at him with a sad smile.
The ray of hope here is that we are basically guaranteed to raise our students' scores. Our organization averaged a 25% score increase last year. But, I don't really think 25% is enough for most of my students and sincerely hope it will be possible to improve their scores even more.
Overheard in the Office:
Mitch's student:
"I don't know how she does it, but somehow my mom always finds money for me when I need it."
suspicious.
"I don't know how she does it, but somehow my mom always finds money for me when I need it."
suspicious.
Awkwardness:
AKA Every day at School.
We've been working in this school for about 7 weeks. Despite this- we always get mistaken for high school students and told to get to class or provide a pass.
Also- whenever we go into the teachers lounge to get a soda, or pop, if you will, no one talks to us. Awkward, as is my life.
We've been working in this school for about 7 weeks. Despite this- we always get mistaken for high school students and told to get to class or provide a pass.
Also- whenever we go into the teachers lounge to get a soda, or pop, if you will, no one talks to us. Awkward, as is my life.
Overheard in the Office:
"My barbie could have eaten that pickle"
This is Victoria's new favorite lunch time snack.
Meet the Office
Four of us work in the office:
There's me, Abigail , an East Coast transplant to the midwest who never spent a day in public school before starting this job. Dangerous combination? probably. I majored in religion in college but have no interest in becoming a professor... or a minister (well, Rabbi, actually) and I always thought I wanted to teach. Now I'm questioning whether or not I really want to do that- too much bureaucracy in the school system if you ask me, but that's for another post. I work with 40ish Juniors, and I'm worried that they think I'm too nice.
Disclaimer: I am writing these other introductions without the complete approval of my subjects. If they would like to introduce themselves they are free to do so.
Victoria- Victoria is my partner in crime, of sorts. She is the same position with me, and works with 40 other Juniors, though I don't worry that they think she's too nice (that's not to say that Victoria isn't a nice and wonderful person, which she is, just that she's much less of a pushover) . A little Type A, Victoria is always on top of things, usually with a lesson plan written before I even crack open the curriculum. Law school and lawyer-dom is Victoria's ultimate goal, but I think we've convinced her to put off that dream for another year and potentially come back to this job next year!
Colin, aka- Linguistics. In case this isn't painfully clear, Colin was a Linguistics major and, despite having graduated from college quite a few years ago, remains fascinated with the topic. Colin is our returner in the office- he knows the lingo at our school and the people to (and not to) talk to. Colin works with the 40ish students that he helped through their Junior year in their senior year as they begin to apply for college, financial aid, and tons of scholarships.
Mitch- Mitch has the same position as Colin, except that he didn't work with these students last year- which I think would make the job incredibly difficult. Three things to know about Mitch if you are going to continue reading this blog: 1. He's a twin, 2. He makes funny noises on occasion, and 3. HE'S GETTING MARRIED (more to come on all of these subjects, I'm sure). We also harass him the most... sad times for Mitch.
There's me, Abigail , an East Coast transplant to the midwest who never spent a day in public school before starting this job. Dangerous combination? probably. I majored in religion in college but have no interest in becoming a professor... or a minister (well, Rabbi, actually) and I always thought I wanted to teach. Now I'm questioning whether or not I really want to do that- too much bureaucracy in the school system if you ask me, but that's for another post. I work with 40ish Juniors, and I'm worried that they think I'm too nice.
Disclaimer: I am writing these other introductions without the complete approval of my subjects. If they would like to introduce themselves they are free to do so.
Victoria- Victoria is my partner in crime, of sorts. She is the same position with me, and works with 40 other Juniors, though I don't worry that they think she's too nice (that's not to say that Victoria isn't a nice and wonderful person, which she is, just that she's much less of a pushover) . A little Type A, Victoria is always on top of things, usually with a lesson plan written before I even crack open the curriculum. Law school and lawyer-dom is Victoria's ultimate goal, but I think we've convinced her to put off that dream for another year and potentially come back to this job next year!
Colin, aka- Linguistics. In case this isn't painfully clear, Colin was a Linguistics major and, despite having graduated from college quite a few years ago, remains fascinated with the topic. Colin is our returner in the office- he knows the lingo at our school and the people to (and not to) talk to. Colin works with the 40ish students that he helped through their Junior year in their senior year as they begin to apply for college, financial aid, and tons of scholarships.
Mitch- Mitch has the same position as Colin, except that he didn't work with these students last year- which I think would make the job incredibly difficult. Three things to know about Mitch if you are going to continue reading this blog: 1. He's a twin, 2. He makes funny noises on occasion, and 3. HE'S GETTING MARRIED (more to come on all of these subjects, I'm sure). We also harass him the most... sad times for Mitch.
Introductions
Today I was facebook chatting with a friend from my alma mater. He’s interested in the work that I do and the organization that I work with and always asks me how its going. During this conversation, though, he had a brilliant idea: start a blog. Every day I come home from work full of stories- about my students, my lessons, and the inside jokes from the office. Usually I just bore my roommates with such stories, but hardly ever remember them day to day to tell the other important people in my life. That coupled with the fact that I’ve been listening to books on tape so much during my commute that I’ve started to narrate my own life as though my life is a book on tape, made the blog a perfect idea.
As I mentioned, I work for a college access program and I’m based in an urban high school. I think I’ll keep most everything and everyone anonymous for now, until I’m sure that I can’t get in huge amounts of trouble for naming anything. But, here are the basics: The school has a few thousand students- most of the students are minorities, specifically Hmong. All of my students are low income and most will be the first members of their family to go to college.
Our office is located in the library in a room about the size of my mom’s closet (which is actually a pretty nice size). One of our walls is a counter with a large open “hole” that faces into the library. There is a metal grate that rolls up and down, which is what makes me feel like I’m always behind the counter at a concession stand (any guesses how I got to the name of this blog?). Every once in a while I think it would be amusing to give away hot dogs to the students in the library, it would feel appropriate.
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