Dawn of the Dead

Posted by on May 22, 2005 in dish | 0 comments Yesterday, we said our goodbye to the Class of 2005. They graduated at ten am, and last night at midnight we herded them into Project Graduation. We sprung ’em at five this morning. They were tired. We were tired. We crawled under the covers a little after six and didn’t make a peep until well after noon.I’m a zombie.Of course, it doesn’t help that we’re in the last...
read more

Crushed

Posted by on May 19, 2005 in dish | 0 comments So my school gets its FCAT scores today. They stink. No surprise there, unfortunately. The strongest correlation between standardized test scores and some other factor is income. The higher the income of the student population, the higher the scores. The lower the income, the lower the scores. Since our school is located in one of the poorest ZIP codes in Central Florida, you get the...
read more

Thank a Teacher

Posted by on Apr 27, 2005 in dish | 1 comment I buried a friend yesterday.Tom, someone I’ve worked with for more than twelve years, died last week of cancer. Nancy, his wife, is devastated. His kids are devastated. Her kids are devastated. So are 120+ inner city kids who had him as their biology teacher this year.You never really understand how much impact a teacher has until you say goodbye to one too soon. When my HS English...
read more

No Child Left…My Behind!!

Posted by on Mar 8, 2005 in dish | 1 comment Okay, so it’s testing week in sunny Central Florida. This means that all meaningful learning screeches to a halt while a slew of young people between the ages of 15-18 determine conclusively whether I’m a good teacher.All together now: Oh, Holy God.I’m not against testing per se. However, I do have issues when 160 minutes of read-and-answer, with a little writing sprinkled in,...
read more