They Say The Damnedest Things
Something in the air on Friday...
On all my weekly SKILL QUIZs, I always include a message from the quiz itself. This is usually a reminder to never, ever write on [it] usually in the form of a thinly veiled threat: "Enjoy your fingers? Keep them by not writing on me." This week, channeling Rocky III, kids were treated to: "A prediction? Sure I got a prediction... Pain." On the top of his answer sheet, E. writes back, "Hey, I got a prediction too. Deduction, causing destruction, decay, and death. For you." De- was the prefix this week.
Walking through the quad, one of last year's students hurries up to me, sticking out his hand. We shake, and he says, "Thanks for making me proficient. I owe it all you." And then runs away.
At a bar, I get lectured at concerning how great charter schools are. The lecturer tells me I "have to admit" that last year's sixth graders at [charter school latched onto our campus] undoubtedly received a better education than the sixth graders at my school. I respond: "Well, since that charter school did not have sixth graders, and since our school did not have sixth graders last year, I don't think I do have to admit that."
On all my weekly SKILL QUIZs, I always include a message from the quiz itself. This is usually a reminder to never, ever write on [it] usually in the form of a thinly veiled threat: "Enjoy your fingers? Keep them by not writing on me." This week, channeling Rocky III, kids were treated to: "A prediction? Sure I got a prediction... Pain." On the top of his answer sheet, E. writes back, "Hey, I got a prediction too. Deduction, causing destruction, decay, and death. For you." De- was the prefix this week.
Walking through the quad, one of last year's students hurries up to me, sticking out his hand. We shake, and he says, "Thanks for making me proficient. I owe it all you." And then runs away.
At a bar, I get lectured at concerning how great charter schools are. The lecturer tells me I "have to admit" that last year's sixth graders at [charter school latched onto our campus] undoubtedly received a better education than the sixth graders at my school. I respond: "Well, since that charter school did not have sixth graders, and since our school did not have sixth graders last year, I don't think I do have to admit that."
posted by Kilian Betlach at 4:38 PM
4 Comments:
Ha!
Does this mean you guys have 6th graders again now? What about the holding of 6th graders at that place where I used to work? Have they abandoned that? Because you have to admit, those 6th graders who got another year with two particularly AWESOME teachers got a better education than the 6th graders where you work did.
You'll remember the original jettisoning of 6th graders came about as 1) a political move to be seen doing something; 2) an acknowledgement that the elementary schools were educating better than we were; 3) an attempt to keep our big scary 8th graders away from the impressionable little babies. None of the three conditions are in effect any longer, especially #2. So yeah, we're trying to bring the 6th graders back for next year. It needs to happen for our school to keep growing (next goal 800 API), because the strain our achievement and appropriation of school culture is too great when 50% of your school turns over every year.
This is of course contingent on KIPP no longer occupying 8+ classrooms.
There has also been talk of dredging up (the opposite of skimming off) the lowest achieving 5th graders in our cluster and sending them to us to educate as well. I've been debating volunteering for such a post, should it arise.
man, 5th graders? in a middle school environment? with no first graders anywhere in sight? if that job had existed, i might not have left. i hope you're able to bring the 6th graders back. i was always a little unclear on why we kept them.
How wonderful that that student acknowledged your efforts. Makes it all worthwhile. Really. Congratulations!
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