"Time after time, they have rejected compromises on social issues because of fundamentalist rigidity, not Christian engagement with a changing world. They could have agreed, for example, to secular civil unions for gays - and not full "marriage" rights - but instead they insisted that neither were acceptable at all. They could have made a strong and vital case for the immorality and evil of abortion as a civil-rights issue, without demanding it be criminalized by the state. They could have accepted a compromise on contraception in health-care policies, but they have refused...
...And the obsession among Catholic and evangelical leaders with an issue like contraception stands in stark contrast to their indifference to, for example, the torture in which the last administration engaged, the growing social inequality fostered by unfettered capitalism, the Christian moral imperative of universal health care, and the unjust use of the death penalty."
I am in no way trying to start anything here, I just needed to express how wonderful this Newsweek article is. And what does this have to do with teaching? Well, I'm reading the article on my planning period, and let's face it - I deal with the intelligences of 8th graders all day. I needed an intellectually stimulating post.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
A healthy classroom, one panther buck at a time.
No, I'm not talking about the way my students treat each other (or me) because that still pretty much sucks. I am talking about what my students eat. I may be kind of sucking as a reading teacher, but I've found a new excitement in teaching my kids how to make healthier eating choices. Realistically, I am probably not going to stop them from bringing a purse full of candy to school or having hot cheetos for breakfast, but I am going to make sure I'm only encouraging healthy decisions.
- Being a role model; anyone that knows me knows I love anything with sugar, particularly because I can eat it for all three meals and never gain a pound. However, more and more students spend lunch in my classroom now, and it's very contradictory for me to say "don't eat that entire bag of jolly ranchers for breakfast" and then I have a bag of cookies with a side of tootsie rolls at lunch. I've started bringing soley granola bars, fruit, and a real main course at lunch so when my students ask for food, I only have healthy things to give to them (and guess what - they're hungry and they'll eat it!). I gave a granola bar to an unwilling student today (she wanted a bag of chips), and she finally ate it and came back to me and said "Ms. Gauthier, that bar thing was actually really good!" Winning.
- Encouraging healthy choices through panther bucks; Yes, those little slips of aper I give out for good behavior that practically cause a daily riot in my classroom because goodness forbid, I passed a student up who swears he or she was on task! They trade them in at the end of the week for candy, chips, and poweraids because I was under the assumption that's the only thing that would motivate them. Actually, yet again, my students surprise me, and they in fact, do like healthy things - they're just not going to eat them as a default (oh, students, I do empathize with you). Therefore, I'm starting to do what the government doesn't have the balls to do: all the new healthy things at my panther buck store are going to be dirt cheap, whereas the healthy chips and candy prices are going to be jacked way up to encourage healthy buying. I know this isn't teaching them real-life, but hopefully I will enstill the idea in their mind that it is more worthwhile to go for the healthy choice. And if they want to still choose unhealthy, hey, it's gonna cost them.
- CALLING ALL 8TH GRADERS (or those of us that still think like an 8th grader); my students have given me some ideas of healthy things they actually do like (and are realistic to sell to students during the last 10 minutes of class on Fridays) such as oranges (like the little cuties ones that come in the bags), granola bars. BUT I NEED MORE IDEAS. What do middle school/ high school students like they are actually healthy and do not cost Ms. Gauthier a fortune to buy every week. Comments would be appreciated on this post, with any ideas that you have!
- Being a role model; anyone that knows me knows I love anything with sugar, particularly because I can eat it for all three meals and never gain a pound. However, more and more students spend lunch in my classroom now, and it's very contradictory for me to say "don't eat that entire bag of jolly ranchers for breakfast" and then I have a bag of cookies with a side of tootsie rolls at lunch. I've started bringing soley granola bars, fruit, and a real main course at lunch so when my students ask for food, I only have healthy things to give to them (and guess what - they're hungry and they'll eat it!). I gave a granola bar to an unwilling student today (she wanted a bag of chips), and she finally ate it and came back to me and said "Ms. Gauthier, that bar thing was actually really good!" Winning.
- Encouraging healthy choices through panther bucks; Yes, those little slips of aper I give out for good behavior that practically cause a daily riot in my classroom because goodness forbid, I passed a student up who swears he or she was on task! They trade them in at the end of the week for candy, chips, and poweraids because I was under the assumption that's the only thing that would motivate them. Actually, yet again, my students surprise me, and they in fact, do like healthy things - they're just not going to eat them as a default (oh, students, I do empathize with you). Therefore, I'm starting to do what the government doesn't have the balls to do: all the new healthy things at my panther buck store are going to be dirt cheap, whereas the healthy chips and candy prices are going to be jacked way up to encourage healthy buying. I know this isn't teaching them real-life, but hopefully I will enstill the idea in their mind that it is more worthwhile to go for the healthy choice. And if they want to still choose unhealthy, hey, it's gonna cost them.
- CALLING ALL 8TH GRADERS (or those of us that still think like an 8th grader); my students have given me some ideas of healthy things they actually do like (and are realistic to sell to students during the last 10 minutes of class on Fridays) such as oranges (like the little cuties ones that come in the bags), granola bars. BUT I NEED MORE IDEAS. What do middle school/ high school students like they are actually healthy and do not cost Ms. Gauthier a fortune to buy every week. Comments would be appreciated on this post, with any ideas that you have!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Mentoree
I have a mentor teacher!!!! And she's going to actually get someone to get me new computers to replace the broken ones in my classroom!
Yes, I was supposed to be assigned a mentor teacher at the beginning of the school year, but you know, better late than never? I am so excited to fianlly, actually maybe talk to someone at this school that knwos what the heck she's doing (because I guess of all my friends here, I have a tendency to pair up with the ones who equally don't know what the hell they're doing). We'll see how this plays out, but we do have a meeting set up for next week, so it's a start.
Yes, I was supposed to be assigned a mentor teacher at the beginning of the school year, but you know, better late than never? I am so excited to fianlly, actually maybe talk to someone at this school that knwos what the heck she's doing (because I guess of all my friends here, I have a tendency to pair up with the ones who equally don't know what the hell they're doing). We'll see how this plays out, but we do have a meeting set up for next week, so it's a start.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday Madness
It's Monday... which means my students are out of control. However, today was worse than normal because it's like they went backwards from ALL the progress we were making since the beginning of the semester. It was so bad I actually called parents today. And calling parents is my LEAST favorite part of being a teacher, and I have many. Of course, I only got a hold of one parent, but I'm hoping I get some calls back, or at least my descriptive messages are enough to do something.
Friday, January 20, 2012
class pictahhhs
"Your students are champs at being the most opposed to everything." - Jenn McVearry
It's like she spends every day in my classroom - I couldn't have better described my day thus far.
It's like she spends every day in my classroom - I couldn't have better described my day thus far.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Reflections on the nature of today
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
On the way home from New Orleans tonight, King's speech was broadcast on the radio, and I listened to it. I have to admit that was the only thing I did in remembrance of MLK day, despite King being such a man I hold in high esteem; a leader I look towards for inspiration and guidance for non-violent conflict resolution. Listening to his speech tonight made me think. The title of this blog is "One Day" - the catchphrase, if you will, of TFA signifying our mission that one day all children will have the opportunity of an excellent education. However, this phrase is repeated so much in King's speech, it was hard not to draw similarities between the two.
In reality, TFA's mission is the same as any other do-good organization or individual - to right the wrong that exists in our world. We all hope that "one day" all that we do will make a difference, and things will start to change. It's true that the works of MLK and his followers made a lot of change. No longer is one legally discriminated against because of the color of their skin. That one day has come. However, I see every day how the color of my students' skin affects their education. They are black, therefore they go to crappy schools. They are black, therefore they are more likely to drop out. They are black, therefore they are labeled as "ghetto" and thus label themselves as thus.
Their "one day" has not yet come because in this country we refuse to address the heart of the issue, that these kids are getting the short end of the stick, and instead feel sorry for the po' black kids who are never gonna get a good education. Don't feel bad for them - I certainly don't feel bad for my students. I feel outraged at the system however, for fucking them over ultimately, when it comes down to it, because of the color of their skin.
It's not enough to hear the word of King, feel warm fuzzies inside for those few minutes, comment on how wonderful a man he was, and complacently move on about our day content that everything is ok because we don't have segregation anymore. I guarantee America still hasn't reached the "One Day" King was envisioning when he gave this speech.
"Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed." As I go back into school tomorrow, I will King because I know our work isn't done yet.
On the way home from New Orleans tonight, King's speech was broadcast on the radio, and I listened to it. I have to admit that was the only thing I did in remembrance of MLK day, despite King being such a man I hold in high esteem; a leader I look towards for inspiration and guidance for non-violent conflict resolution. Listening to his speech tonight made me think. The title of this blog is "One Day" - the catchphrase, if you will, of TFA signifying our mission that one day all children will have the opportunity of an excellent education. However, this phrase is repeated so much in King's speech, it was hard not to draw similarities between the two.
In reality, TFA's mission is the same as any other do-good organization or individual - to right the wrong that exists in our world. We all hope that "one day" all that we do will make a difference, and things will start to change. It's true that the works of MLK and his followers made a lot of change. No longer is one legally discriminated against because of the color of their skin. That one day has come. However, I see every day how the color of my students' skin affects their education. They are black, therefore they go to crappy schools. They are black, therefore they are more likely to drop out. They are black, therefore they are labeled as "ghetto" and thus label themselves as thus.
Their "one day" has not yet come because in this country we refuse to address the heart of the issue, that these kids are getting the short end of the stick, and instead feel sorry for the po' black kids who are never gonna get a good education. Don't feel bad for them - I certainly don't feel bad for my students. I feel outraged at the system however, for fucking them over ultimately, when it comes down to it, because of the color of their skin.
It's not enough to hear the word of King, feel warm fuzzies inside for those few minutes, comment on how wonderful a man he was, and complacently move on about our day content that everything is ok because we don't have segregation anymore. I guarantee America still hasn't reached the "One Day" King was envisioning when he gave this speech.
"Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed." As I go back into school tomorrow, I will King because I know our work isn't done yet.
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