Kontan Jou

I’ve recently revamped the looks of my blog links…I post to each when the notion strikes me…Read about my “cobra” experience here and what I’m studying here.

Bedtime for the girls is 8 PM. They are so creative when it comes to avoiding going to bed on time…so here are 13 ways my children avoid going to bed…

1. Can I have milk? (at 7:59)
2. I haven’t brushed my teeth yet!
3. I forgot to wash my hair
4. But the shows almost over!
5. Please just five more minutes? I’ll go to bed early tomorrow.
6. Tiki needs to go outside.
7. Alli needs food.
8. I want to sleep with my sister
9. She’s in my bed
10. OH! Mom, I have a paper due tomorrow.
11. But my lunch isn’t made yet.
12. Can I say goodnight to Daddy?

Wow…I’m to #13 already?

#13 and a favorite…But tomorrow is not a school day!

whooops!

Leave your link!

Sometimes I wonder how in the WORLD my kids can be falling asleep. We’re talking about the Civil War, come on! Not like it isn’t interesting!!! For the most part I have had the attention of my students. I make the lecture as descriptive as possible, show my own enthusiasm, and try to put it in a way they can understand. There are always a few who insist on attempting to sleep.

I ran across this article in google news.

Sleepy teens nodding off at school
Battle of nature vs. schedules takes toll

In a poll which comes as no surprise to parents – and perhaps high school teachers – many of the nation’s adolescents a re falling asleep in class, arriving late to school, feeling down and driving drowsy because they aren’t getting enough sleep.
What’s worse, according to the poll released by the National Sleep Foundation, the trend gets worse as the teens get older.

In a national survey on the sleep patterns of U.S. adolescents (ages 11-17), NSF’s 2006 Sleep in America poll finds that 20 percent of adolescents get the recommended nine hours of sleep on school nights, and nearly one-half (45 percent) sleep less than eight hours on school nights.

What’s more, the poll finds that parents are mostly in the dark about their adolescents’ sleep. While most students know they’re not getting the sleep they need, 90 percent of parents polled believe that their adolescent is getting enough sleep at least a few nights during the school week.
cont…

Students are staying up to all hours of the night watching TV, or on the net. Easy to do, trust me I know! But the parents have NO IDEA! Come on! Pull the plug, do something! Be a parent…or guardian as the case may be. (click for a definition) No, I know at some point you have to let kids be responsible, but you also have to reinforce what being responsible is. Getting enough sleep is SO important. Believe me, I know! I spent the last two years in sleep deprivation! It feels SO good to get a good nights sleep these days. It really makes the rest of the day better and productivity increases as well. Some say “I perform best when I am staying up…” Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Once you allow your body to adapt to actually getting enough sleep you will see just how “good” you can perform. Hey, I’m one that says I write best under the pressure of a deadline. Nah, probably not, but desperation is a good motivator to finish. Not so sure the quality is better though.

I love music…love it love it love it. Ordinary People has been my “listen to” song for a while now…

All has changed. Heard of Chris Rice? I’ve been listening to him for a few years now. He has the mellow sound that I just love. He also has a MySpace! I was surprised to find this out, but hey, it’s here. He sings the song that has become my new “listen to” song. When Did You Fall? You can listen to it on his MySpace, which again is here. It’s a remix, but still great.

Lyrics are scrolling above, take a listen…

I haven’t watched too much tv since starting grad school. Lately I’m starting to enjoy a few shows. American Idol being a must see each week. Kellie Pickler can NOT be that naive…ok, stupid. I’m a fan of Taylor Hicks. Mandiza is great, but Paris is my pick.

Another fav, and was b/f grad, is Scrubs. Too funny! Simple humor with a little seriousness thrown in.

Currently catching the premier (I guess) of Teachers. So far funny. We’ll see if I’m offended by the end of the show.

I’ve had to endure the weekend without Djembe. I hate it when he’s not home. I’ve had company though. My aunt came to visit, bringing my young cousins. The girls have had a blast. (Ages 9, 7, 5, 5) My house is still standing too! Minimal damage to the bedrooms, but I think this is mostly due to the fact that my aunt insists on cleaning. She also insists on bringing junk food, paying for meals, and the kicker…oh this really gets me…sleeping on the couch. WHY! We have bed space, why sleep on the couch. Now, I don’t feel too horribly bad about this because we have the most comfortable couch. When I am tossing and turning, can’t get comfortable, the couch is where I end up. Anyway, not sure why, but I do know that arguing with her is futile.

I’ve been trying to spend less time on the net lately, go to bed earlier, and spend time with Djembe. I use the net as my time to just do “my thing”. It’s been a good thing. Although, today I stepped back into net life and played with blogs. Check out the redesigns at “About Me”, My Gran, and my new spot Rezo. Comp Chaos has new buttons but no big changes. Why a new blog? As if I don’t have ENOUGH space on the web! Go check it out and see. Makes sense to me…

You know, I think I’m going through an OCD phase. My house is pretty much in order. My classroom is in order. Both my classroom closet and desk are very organized. I have a new whiteboard behind my desk to keep a list of all things needing to be accomplished that week. I have also been using my cell calendar more. I’m in need of getting things together. It doesn’t drive me nuts when everything is upside down crazy, well, not all the time. I think so much better when there is order. Now if I can just maintain it.

High stakes testing…is it worth it? Is it necessary? Is it an indicator of progress?

We have entered the season of state assessment. How students perform on the Algebra I, Biology I, English 10, and US History state test determines AYP (annual yearly progress), growth, and accreditation for schools. It is a school’s goal to meet AYP, meet or preferrably exceed growth, to obtain an accreditation level at or greater than the previous year. It is a stressful time for administrators, teachers, and students.

Attendance is imperative. Incentives are offered to encourage students not to skip the test. Not meeting the required percentage for testing can drop a school’s accreditation level down a full degree. Students must take and pass the required tests in order to graduate.

Teachers are responsible for preparing the students and encouraging test attendance. We also have to administer the test. Each year every teacher must go through training to give the test. The importance of confidentiality is stressed. We are informed of the strict rules associated with administering the state tests. There must be two people, test administrator and proctor, with the test materials at all times. There must be a licensed staff member in the room at all times. Both the test administrator and the proctor must approach any student with a question. When addressing the students question, nothing more than “do your best” can be said. No help can be given to the student, and you can not read or explain the question to the student. All test preparation instructions must be read to the students as they follow along. Administrators and proctors may not sit down during the assessment period. They may not read or grade papers. They may not use the computer or any other device. Administrators and proctors are not allowed to read test materials or discuss anything seen in the test. They may not move excessively about the testing room, however they must move about being certain not to disturb the testing process. Once completed all materials must be taken up in the same order in which they were handed out. All materials must be accounted for. No student is to leave the room without permission. Only one student may be in the hall at a time. The student must be escorted to and from the restroom. All distractions to the testing process must be documented.

Can you imagine why this is stressful? Those in charge of testing have a tremendous responsibility. Those of us administering the test must follow the rules to the letter or risk losing our license. Students must pass the tests in order to graduate.

It is sometimes difficult to convey to the students the importance of state assessment. So much is riding on their performance.

There has to be some benchmark for determining whether or not students have mastered required skills. Is high stakes testing the answer? There are accusations that teachers merely teach to the test. Since we have never seent the test and do not know exactly what is on it that is not possible. We do know what time period to focus on. By following current trends in our subject area we can guess what areas need the most focus. It is very difficult to get through all of the time periods by the main test dates in April. I couldn’t imagine trying to do it on the block system where classes are taken only for a sememster. (There are fall test dates by the way. Students do not have to remember the material for several months that they are not taking the class if they have it in the fall.) It seems some of the joy of the job is lost due to testing. There are areas in US history that I would like to linger and incorporate fun activities. However, it is just not possible. There is not time for lingering until after April.

Students in our district have already taken the writing portion of the English 10 assessment. Those not administering the test were “fortunate” enough to have the same students for four class periods. It took great creativity to teach a class of students for that long. I must say my students did amazingly well. So here we are…in the assessment race. Stressful time for all involved.

Thanks for reading. Kontan Jou.

Can you think of any better way to spend your morning than sitting in a classroom with no outside windows teaching the same class of students from 7:45 until 10:45? Early Thursday Thirteen? Nah. But ew. ew-ew-ew. Today was the first day of state testing, the English II writing portion. See, we were the lucky ones. My class had lunch at 10:45. Upperclassmen had to stay in the same room until 11:25. Makes everything better when you look at it that way, a bright spot! I can’t complain, my kids were great. I dread the day when we have to spend that amount of time with the same class and I am responsible for someone elses kids. State testing means that the entire school will be turned upside down. Joy.

The day has been non-stop after that. welcome back to reality!

Today is grade day.  Third quarter grades have to be in by 3:30 today. I have several grades to enter!  So why am I writing on my blog about it and not entering grades???  BECAUSE I GOT HERE AT 7 AM TO PUT GRADES IN THE !@^^ COMPUTER AND SAM WENT DOWN!!!!!! Yes, the program that maintains all of our grades and attendance is down.  YET AGAIN!  Will they give us extra time for grades?  Doubt it.  We weren’t able to put grades in the Friday before spring break b/c of a problem and no extension was given on grades so I don’t expect they will be sympathetic b/c of today’s problem either.  Grrrrr.  Technology can suck, but you know what?  I hate doing this junk by hand so I really shouldn’t complain. Just get it fixed!!!!!  This too shall pass.  Hope those of you on break are having a good one!!!

BTW, Happy Spring!

Not much to say really. Haven’t read the news today, cleaned the carpets instead. Blogged about Gran while finishing my morning coffee. I’ve been meaning to write a review of the book Dereliction of Duty for weeks now. It’s posted on Compchaos. I didn’t have much to say. It was a decent book, but I did find myself scanning parts of it. My opinion of Clinton was low before I started reading the work, it didn’t go much lower as I realized the author seemed to have an agenda. Actually nothing in the book surprised me…Clinton putting off important phone calls while he finished his golf game, or didn’t bother returning phone calls that would enable strategic military actions, not caring about natural disasters unless the camera was on him, etc etc. I was a little surprised about the loss of nuclear codes though. That alarms me a bit. It happens, yes, but still, TELL SOMEONE!

I’m reading a fiction work at the moment…Theodora’s Baby. It’s written diary style. Jem feels it is very appropriate since I am such a blog hopping freak. LOL. He picked it out for me. I love it when he brings me books! I have a great one about American security and the possibilities of another 9/11. I’m interested in starting it, but am currently working on a book about Lincoln in the White House. WOW Mary Todd was a lot like Hillary!!!

Not much else to tell. Finished the carpets today and they look GREAT. Laundry needs to be folded. blah.

and *big crocodile tears* I have papers to grade by Monday…Spring Break is officially over. (but it’s only a few weeks until Easter! woohoo)

ok, is it wrong to be counting down to the next break before the one you are currently in is completely done?

nah. this coming Monday…9 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!