In this series, I will record the interesting and not-so-interesting events of the school day and post it the following morning. This is an effort to reflect on my day and my teaching and to provide you with some of the more mundane things that happen in the classroom and influence the process of education…
Monday:
Last week was homecoming. That means Saturday night was the homecoming dance. There is lots of talk in the hallways this morning about various exploits and parties over the weekend. I see every class today: Chemistry, Earth Science, Chemistry, Physics, and then Earth Science. The remainder of the week is a block schedule.
Chemistry and Physics are getting a test today – I put it off during homecoming week, but time to get back to work. The lack of sleep is finally catching up with some students, so we will see how the scores turn out. One senior mentioned feeling burned-out from homecoming activities and having taken the SAT this Saturday as well. I often question the value of all the extracurricular things we do – these activities get less scrutiny for their educational value because they are deeply rooted in tradition.
As students finished up tests I went over missing assignments. I allow late work for a penalty. I liken it to a credit card bill. The bank isn’t going to turn your money away because it is late, they will charge you interest. I want the students to do the work, or I would not assign it. I never found refusing to accept late work to make a significant impact on the amount of homework turned in on time.
Earth Science students are finishing a lab, gathering and analyzing data on the heating of a model solar house. There is a lot going on and many groups need help. The lab is focused on following the scientific method, setting up a proper experiment and analyzing data. Students did not understand how to use their data and their graphs to support their conclusions.
Funny, I see teachers do this all the time too. We often make anecdotal statements and don’t back them with data. The push in education today is all about backing up instructional decisions with data. It is good up to a certain point, where it can make the teaching experience rote and remove organic possibilities. Even scientific exploration benefits from play or just trying something because it feels right. Anyway, tomorrow I will have to develop more practice with the scientific method and with graph analysis.
One of my laptops died today in class (I have 4 old laptops I have acquired over the years for use with computerized sensors). Luckily, I was able to pull it back from the brink for the last period class. Things like that make teaching interesting and require the ability to think on your feet – all of a sudden there is a group that can’t do the lab, what do you do? Feels like a Monday…
Most Earth Science students got through their labs. Chem and Physics took their tests. The soccer team missed the Physics test. Why is there a soccer game on the Monday after homecoming? Don’t get me wrong, I fully support athletics and coach a club lacrosse team, but sometimes I wonder: from what are we reclaiming public education?
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