1 + 1 = 2

I've got 34 kids in my class this year, though our contract states that the cap is 32. I'm not alone. Most of the intermediate teachers (grades 4-6) at my school have 34 in their classrooms. We "filed a grievance" with the teacher's union, and they fight for us, but it's CHEAPER for the district to pay off the grievance than to hire another teacher. CHEAPER!!! This kills me. It's so sad. I'm doing crowd control all day and can show you the bruises on my legs from bumping into desks packed into a room built in 1964. Next time you watch a movie that shows a classroom, do a quick headcount. Most movies and programs show classrooms with about 15-20 kids. That doesn't happen most places. In some districts they strictly limit class sizes. What does this mean? Kids get more attention from the teacher, can be heard in the classroom, and have a better chance for participation and learning. My sister teaches middle school in another district and she averages 40 or more students. And they have raging hormones too. Yikes!

I also have 2 grade levels this year. The dreaded "combination class". Agh...don't get me started. But here's a question for all you logic fans: How many teachers does it take to teach a year's worth of curriculum to 2 grade levels? If you said TWO, good for you. You're right! So why do some districts (including mine) insist on making combination classes where one teacher is expected to teach 2 grade levels, 2 separate lists of standards, in the same amount of time that another teacher teaches one grade level? This is a big elephant in the room, the emperor and his new clothes...whatever. It's a joke. Even if you're SUPER teacher, you are still only one person with 34 kids. You do the math, my friends.

Get Joy

I stayed away from this blog for awhile. I don't exactly know why. But the other night I was out with a friend and I said something about having a tough academic year last year and she said, "Yeah, I could kinda tell from your blog." I had already been thinking about my need to revise the teaching plan this year. I'm moving away from some of the politics and moving back toward the fun and enjoyment of teaching.

I was thinking about my first year of teaching. It was a BEAST, for sure, but I had so much fun with the students. I remember that year fondly, already forgetting about the mounds of papers I would bring home to correct on the weekend, the lack of grade level support, and the "figure it out as you go along" predicament of many first year teachers. Anyway, I want to enjoy my job as much as possible again. Kids are so entertaining and many of them really have the desire to learn.

So, today in my 4th and 5th grade class we were starting to read about the presidential candidates and ended up talking for awhile about the upcoming election. I don't know if the kids were stalling so they wouldn't have to read, but we had a rich discussion. They had great questions about who gets to vote, how the government makes decisions, why non-citizens can't vote, etc. One boy asked if poor people could vote. Another student asked what happens if the election ends in a tie. We decided that the candidates should just do "rock, paper, scissors" (a.k.a. roshambo) to determine the winner. (I guess they could do best two out of three, if that seems more presidential.) Finally, a girl asked if her grandpa's 90 year old tortoise could vote. I'm pretty sure she was kidding, but, I thought to myself, hey, if we recently had a monkey for a president, why can't a tortoise vote?