Starting Now
Okay, So I've been gone a lot. I have read back at times, and commented when I wasn't too out of date. I can't promise I'll be here any more regularly, but I can't promise I won't get hit by a bus tomorrow, either.
So. Here's today.
Finished grading and turning in grades for a not so successful term. They keep changing the schedule, and the latest change gives us 3 and 1/2 hour classes 2 days a week for 6 weeks. Brutal, and deadly for people whose attendance or punctuality is spotty. Not to mention nobody really does homework between classes-- at least when you had shorter blocks 4 days a week, people could get something learned and accomplished. 6 Weeks is still too short, but this is ungodly.
But that would have been surmountable if I weren't so burned out. Instead I went with old lesson plans and old assignments, and we all were frustrated when very few of the students could pick up and do what was expected. Many didn't even try. Others made me want to weep for their lack of basic literacy skills.
I've got a long weekend, though, and a new class that's giving me some new ideas for using the internet and blogs and video clips to supplement the classes. What I now see is that what Evil Employer wants in the syllabus is laughably not possible, and they Know it. No, more what I see is, given that, I have to be clear what I want for these students. It's the same thing that made my grandfather, an 8th grade dropout, a successful businessman. He was committed to lifelong learning. Yeah it's a buzz word, but this one is at least doable. There's so many avenues out there for people to find out about things they don't know-- the real trick is helping them distinguish between reliable and quack sources. And getting them curious enough to make the effort.
So I'm doing course redesigns this weekend, completely overhauling the reading list for American lit (and cutting it a bit), deciding what types of business documents I want these folks able to create in the next 6 weeks, and exploring the new Speech class website.
I also wrote a letter today for inclusion in my 2nd son's file, so when he turns 18 in a couple of weeks, it will be there if he ever goes to the Cabinet and asks for the file. It's been a much delayed goodbye, and it was hard to write. But I've really been writing it for the past decade in my head. Lots of time to do just what I'm doing now with my students, pare away to just the essentials. In both cases, it's really about what I want them to take away that helps them continue to grow, long after they've gone from me.
Wee Hob turns 17 in April, 13 months after 2nd son. Will have to relate some of his adventures in another post. Unless I get hit by that bus.
How are all of you?
So. Here's today.
Finished grading and turning in grades for a not so successful term. They keep changing the schedule, and the latest change gives us 3 and 1/2 hour classes 2 days a week for 6 weeks. Brutal, and deadly for people whose attendance or punctuality is spotty. Not to mention nobody really does homework between classes-- at least when you had shorter blocks 4 days a week, people could get something learned and accomplished. 6 Weeks is still too short, but this is ungodly.
But that would have been surmountable if I weren't so burned out. Instead I went with old lesson plans and old assignments, and we all were frustrated when very few of the students could pick up and do what was expected. Many didn't even try. Others made me want to weep for their lack of basic literacy skills.
I've got a long weekend, though, and a new class that's giving me some new ideas for using the internet and blogs and video clips to supplement the classes. What I now see is that what Evil Employer wants in the syllabus is laughably not possible, and they Know it. No, more what I see is, given that, I have to be clear what I want for these students. It's the same thing that made my grandfather, an 8th grade dropout, a successful businessman. He was committed to lifelong learning. Yeah it's a buzz word, but this one is at least doable. There's so many avenues out there for people to find out about things they don't know-- the real trick is helping them distinguish between reliable and quack sources. And getting them curious enough to make the effort.
So I'm doing course redesigns this weekend, completely overhauling the reading list for American lit (and cutting it a bit), deciding what types of business documents I want these folks able to create in the next 6 weeks, and exploring the new Speech class website.
I also wrote a letter today for inclusion in my 2nd son's file, so when he turns 18 in a couple of weeks, it will be there if he ever goes to the Cabinet and asks for the file. It's been a much delayed goodbye, and it was hard to write. But I've really been writing it for the past decade in my head. Lots of time to do just what I'm doing now with my students, pare away to just the essentials. In both cases, it's really about what I want them to take away that helps them continue to grow, long after they've gone from me.
Wee Hob turns 17 in April, 13 months after 2nd son. Will have to relate some of his adventures in another post. Unless I get hit by that bus.
How are all of you?