Saturday, November 28, 2009

Whaddya Wanna Bet?

Time for the autumn installment of my ripped off idea, Whaddya Wanna Bet...

That I won't feel quite right for at least a week after all the Thanksgiving food I ate?
That I am still quite angry at the community grocery stores whose "Corporate" policies are blocking our ability to expand on last year's sublimely successful food drive?
That it is going to take a monumental effort to make up for the loss of all those days at those locations?
That I think we can do it now that our bus company is donating a bus for a "Fill-the-Bus" event?
That for as much as I want to see tenure disappear, and for as much as I want to see merit pay, I still get nervous about any plan to tie those determinations to closely to test scores?
That ultimately keeping anyone based singularly on their years of service might be the absolute the dumbest idea?
That reading about "Smitty" in Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Kids Find the Right Colleges, has made me want to quit the classroom to become a guidance counselor?
That the right book, at the right time, can lift our spirits?
That smaller learning communities can have excellent benefits, while overcrowded, chaotic schools have detrimental effects?
That when my grandmother asked what I wanted toddlerTate and babyCalvin to be like as students, the first words that came to mind were: kind, compassionate, and polite?
That I then recalled the parents who helicopter over their student so I added self-advocates?
That lately, I don't see the purpose of grades, especially when one feels the pressure to inflate those grades?
That I hope all of you have a happy and safe holiday season?

2 Comments:

At 11:30 AM , Anonymous Cascade Adviser said...

You are doing a great job! Keep it up. Do not let those who do not understand the big picture stand in the way! Our food drive officially starts Monday...Stengele's class was seen at a store front last Wednesday!! :-) Our shopping day is Dec. 15 if you are in the area!!

R. Hasstedt!!

 
At 1:27 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's all good. I understand the problem with all staff in the contract being rated equally like a bag of potatoes. And I have seen a few plans to have teacher merit evaluated and they are not in any way accurate.
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Part of the long term staff is the CT retirement plan where you ahve to teach 35 years to get the regular retirement. Other states have 25, 28, 30 and so you see an exaggerated case in CT. For some who are 'ready to go' it seems you are held hostage to a system.
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Seems about time for the pendulum to swing back on the everyone wins, no one is below average feel-good mentality that gives young adults a false sense of entitlement. "Earn it" is foreign to many these days.
While I woud not want a system to destroy a student, the idea that all are equal no matter how much effort you put in or how much you achieve is one of the mentalities ruining the country.

Ah good. Soap box used.

 

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