How Many Titles Should One Teacher Have?

Sometimes I wonder what has happened over the years? Let me explain.

Years ago, we had a gifted program. Gifted kids were pulled out of the regular ed. classroom for more advanced lessons with a gifted certified teacher. Over the years, many other programs have evolved, such as having ESOL teachers to serve students where English is not their main language. Also, here in the state of GA, we have the EIP (Early Intervention Program), which is for grades 3-5.

So, what do I mean when I say multi-titled? Well, what if you have a regular ed. teacher who also has her gifted certification and even has her ESOL endorsement? Can they be all of those teachers in one? The answer..... yes! Well, at least that is what seems to be happening in some cases. 

Let me create a real life scenario for you. Let's say you have a regular education teacher that has her gifted certification. In her class, she has gifted kids, regular ed. kids, and some weaker kids who also qualify for the EIP program due to low state test scores. Within that teacher's class, she has 24 kids.  Eight are regular ed. with no additional services.   Twelve are gifted and should be receiving additional differentiated enrichment lessons, and 4 have qualified for remediated teaching through the EIP program. 

Please keep in mind that schools receive funding based on the number of kids in given programs as long as the service is being "provided".   Let's now say that of those 12 gifted kids, 8 are going to be pulled out to go to another gifted teacher because they qualified on local  test scores to receive a more advanced reading class.  For that reading block of time, this now leaves 4 gifted kids in the class, along with 8 regular ed. kids, and don't forget about those 4 kids that are supposed to receive some extra services through remediation and review lessons.  Sounds great, right?

Well, remember.... the teacher that those kids have as their homeroom teacher is also gifted certified , so those 4 kids left in the classroom are getting their 'gifted hours' from that teacher during this block of time.  But wait!  What about those 4 kids that are also supposed to be receiving remediation?  Well, in this case, the state allows for a few different models to be used for the EIP program.  One of the models is small group, one is reduced class size with a ratio of no more than 17 kids to one teacher, and another option is pull out sessions with a different designated EIP teacher. 

Can you tell what is happening in this classroom?  The gifted certified teacher is now left with a one  hour block of time where she has 4 gifted kids in class, so she is their gifted teacher for that hour.  The class is now a reduced class size because those other 8 kids left. With a reduced class size of 16 for that block of time, the teacher is now designated as the EIP teacher for those other kids that are supposed to get remediated lessons, and don't forget about those other kids that are just your average kids.  Want to make this scenario even crazier than it already is?  What if that teacher also has her ESOL endorsement?  Well, if a few of those kids were in the ESOL program, she very well could be the ESOL teacher too.

Why in the world are schools doing this?  How can one teacher provide for gifted, remediation, average, and even ESOL kids all in the same block of time.  The answer..... THEY CAN'T!!  Maybe schools are doing it so they get more bang for the buck out of one teacher's salary. You did figure out that the one teacher doesn't get any higher pay for being the robot she is expected to be, right? After all, as long as it can be proven that a child who qualifies for those programs is receiving services from a teacher who is certified in those areas, they can get the funding that the state provides. 

I just don't understand it.  It looks good on paper, but in my opinion, teachers should have one title for any given block of time.  You have basically thrown the gifted program out the door when those students are being robbed of an hour of accelerated learning during their 'gifted block' of time.  The EIP kids are being robbed of their remediated lessons that the state thinks are being provided.  And those poor average kids?  Well, they may be getting what they need and they may not.  Oh, and the ESOL kids, are they getting their lessons modified in order to help them master this new language? 

Yep, it just doesn't make sense. Scenarios like this bring a whole new meaning to the word differentiation.  In this case, differentiation equates to near impossible.  But, I guess there is one good thing.  The state still provides the money because the service is technically being provided. 

Maybe there is nothing wrong with doing it this way.  Maybe someone can help me see the light that I am not able to see.  If so, please do shed some light.  No teacher that I have talked to that has had this scenario of multiple titles thinks it is effective.  Quite the opposite actually.  Like I said, it's impossible to provide all of that, and if you do have a way to provide all of that, you are not sleeping and you have no life outside of school hours because you are having to prepare 4 different activities for EVERY lesson you teach during that one block of time.

And we wonder why the national average for teacher burnout is seven years.  SEVEN stinking years everyone.  It's because teachers are expected to be robotic... to meet unattainable goals where teaching environments are not even conducive to providing the best learning environment for kids of all levels. 

Now, when I write a blog post ....AKA... Vent Post......like this where I express my opinion, I like to always say that I love teaching.  I love working with the kids.  I am meant to be a teacher.  BUT, there are just many things about the education system in my state and nationally that I simply do not understand.  We really truly need to evaluate why our education system is failing in so many areas.  We need to take a closer look at the effectiveness of situations like this that require 'multi-titled teachers'.  I say it's not working!

Now, go make learning fun and do the best you can do with what is expected of you. 

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You Own Everything I Do.... said no teacher ever!

There is a lot of hype lately about teachers profiting from the educational resources they make and then sell on sites such as Teachers Pay Teachers.  Articles such as the one linked HERE (article no longer available) are what triggered this particular blog post by me.  You may want to take a moment to read that article, as well as this recent article:  ARTICLE HERE

Keep in mind, the resources are made after school hours and built using the teacher’s own personal technology that the teacher purchased with her own money.  Despite that, there still seems to be a question as to whether the teacher owns the resources created.  The mere thought of teachers having to give their intellectual property over to the system they work for seems ludicrous, therefore I have decided to address the issue.

Before I go on, I want to say that my coworkers and schools have been completely supportive thus far of my efforts to make materials, which I do sell.  Some I use and others I do not.  This is not the case for many across the county, which is why I felt the need to write this blog post. 

Why do I find this insanely ridiculous?  Well, let me create an analogy….

Just like a baker bakes, a teacher teaches.  A baker specializes in cakes and a teacher specializes in writing up lesson plans to teach. So, let’s say that the baker’s boss has mandated he bake a chocolate cake.  The baker then goes to gather the butter and the flour and everything needed, but unfortunately there is no butter.

Despite the fact that there is no butter, the cake still must be made. The baker decides to tell his boss that he needs some butter to make the cake.  The boss says there is no money to buy any butter, but you must still bake the cake. Being the great baker that he was, the baker  decides to buy a churn to make the butter to then be able to bake the cake.  So, who owns the churn?   Does the baker have to give it to the boss simply because he used it to bake the cake that would be sold at the bakery? 

I say the baker gets the churn and not the boss. After all, the baker bought it.  The boss made no effort to help get the resources needed to get the job done.

What if that baker then decides to make a few cakes on the side for friends to earn some extra cash?  After all, he has this great churn to make the butter, which he did buy with his own money.  He will bake the cakes on the weekends and at night when he is not working his regular bakery job.  But wait!  Does the baker now have to give his boss from his day job the money from the sale of those cakes?  He didn’t use his boss’ recipes nor his equipment.

Should teachers have to give school systems things they buy with their own money?  If a teacher decides to create resources in the summer time or in the evenings, or on weekends, and they use their own materials to accomplish the task, should they then have to  turn over all profits from those materials to their school system?

To help make my point even more clear, let me ask this question.  Should a police officer who decides to make extra cash to support his family by working security at school events or at the mall have to give his earnings back to his police force simply because he is a police officer for his day job?

What about a teacher that tutors on the side?  They can tutor kids in their own home but they must give all profits to their school system? It simply doesn’t make a lick of sense.

It has even come to my attention that some school systems are allowing their teachers to make resources, but those resources made by the teachers can not be used in their own classroom if they are going to also sell the item for profit.  Really? So you can have a teacher that sees year after year kids struggling with a particular topic.  That teacher gets an idea of something she could make that she thinks teachers across the country could benefit from if they are in the same situation. That teacher goes home and at 10 pm when her own kids have gone to bed, she makes the product. She is in her own home using her own computer. She can make the product and earn money, but she can't use it with any child in her own class.  Basically, you could have some of the best teachers spending their own time after work making resources to benefit  students and they can't even use those to help their own students excel?  How does that make sense?

Let's face it, teachers don't make much money.  It's hard to get by on a teacher's salary.  Why not let teachers try to make some extra cash to support their family.  Allow them to use their expertise to do so. Once again, not doing so makes absolutely no sense.

Wouldn't it be great if everyone just thanked teachers for all of their hard work. Appreciate the fact that they are going above and beyond to develop activities instead of just accepting the fact that the resources are not available. For a change, let the teachers have the compensation they  truly deserve.  Have you thanked a teacher today? :-)

In closing, thank you for supporting my creative efforts over the past couple of years.  I enjoy making and creating lessons, and my students love using them as much as I love making them.  I am honored that so many people across the world buy my products and put them to use in their own classrooms.  Thank you for your support.  You are appreciated.

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Test Taking Activities

The count down is on for me.  I have one full week of school, then spring break, one more full week, and then it is time for "THE TEST"... yep, it is state testing time.  In the state of GA, we take the CRCT.  In 4th grade, which is the grade I teach, students have to pass ALL subjects of the test to be automatically promoted to the 5th grade.  This is a county policy where I teach, and if they fail a section, they must go to several weeks of summer school and then retest.... hoping at that point they will pass and all will be good. 

This coming week, the week before spring break, we do what is called Boot Camp.  Several weeks ago we had a half day planning where we met and broke down some recent benchmark data to see what the twenty weakest skills were across the 4th grade as a whole.  Each of the 5 teachers then has 4 lessons they will reteach to the entire 4th grade.  The classes will rotate around throughout this next week for the first ten lessons, and then they will get the next ten the week after spring break.  These are 35 minute intense lessons that review and recap the objectives.  With that said, it is what I often refer to as 'crack down time'.  This is it folks..... it's what we have been working towards....  it's all about "THE TEST"!

Don't you hate that it is all about a test.  I try not to focus on it too terribly much, but in the end, it is the education system that pushes us to focus so much on those dang standardized tests.  Benchmark after benchmark test.  Breaking down data time after time. Even after nearly 20 years in education, there is still some level of stress that comes with this annual test.  You want the kids to do well and you can only hope they will.  I have to remind myself that I taught the material to the best of my ability.  I made learning fun.  I can't work miracles.  When all is said and done and the tests are passed out and their #2 pencils hit the paper, it is going to be all about how the child performs and not how I taught. Why do I think that way?..............I am confident enough in my teaching abilities to realize that I was a damn good teacher this year, and in the end, the scores are what they are.  Some will surpass standards, some kids will meet standards, and  yes, there always seem to be a couple that don't meet standards.  Did they progress?  YES!  Did I help them master two years of material in one year to bring them up to grade level?  Probably not.  Did I try? YES!  Will I doubt my teaching ability based on any failures?  Absolutely NOT!

Here is a fun little poster activity I have in my TpT store that I will have my kids complete this coming week.  It will get them thinking about this very important test.  These posters look great hanging outside the classroom.  In addition, I have a banner that you can hang with these.  Everyone that walks past your display will start thinking about "THE TEST".

Click HERE for Test Taking Poster Activity



Click HERE for Test Taking Banner



Click HERE for FREE Test Taking Motivation Messages. 

Just add a treat.



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February Writing Activity

Right now my students are working to finish up a writing we started on Valentine's Day. When I came up with this writing idea called, "The Place I Love", I was trying to come up with something that was love related since it was Valentine's Day, but I didn't want it to be all lovey dovey or for it to be about loving someone. I feel like the kids do lots of other writings like that as far as "I love you because.....". So, I decided that we all have special places we love, and this would be a great way to get to know my kids.

By the way,  this writing activity could really be used any time of the year since it is not really Valentine themed. It's simply about loving a special place. As an after thought, I realized it would work well with Patricia MacLachlan's book, All the Places to Love.

So, what's the place I love?  Well, I decided I wanted my students to realize that the place to love didn't really have to be a place that was special to anyone else.  It could be as simple as your yard or as big as a city as long as they could give evidence as to why it was the place they loved.  For my place, I chose ..............My CAR!.....yep, I told them that after I drop my little guy off at school in the morning, I have a 30 minute drive to work.  One of my kids yelled out, "You like the peace and quiet, don't you?"  I said, "Yep!  You guessed it."  It can be so peaceful with my coffee, no bickering teenagers, no demanding toddler, no teaching of 25 kids.... just me and some quiet music and my coffee.  They thought it was pretty funny when I described the place I love..... sad to say, it is quite dirty right now with a few sippy cups, a couple of pacifiers tossed here and there, a coffee mug or two, and whatever else a busy working mom of three has in her car.  I am sure you can relate.

So, what's a place you love?

Get all of the details by clicking the link below.

The Place I Love Writing Activity

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Valentines for the Teacher

Valentines Thank You for the Teacher

When my daughter saw all of the stuff I got from my students for Valentine's Day, she said, "They must think you are a great teacher!" When I saw all of the chocolate I got, I said, "They must want me to gain a hundred pounds!".... WOW!   I am so blessed to have such wonderful parents and students, and they really show their appreciation for me and the hard work I do as a teacher. I have worked in places before where I had to buy everything down to the pencils and paper, so to get a hot Starbucks delivered on Valentine's Day along with a message, "We love you a Latte,"  in addition to being gifted with all of the chocolate, teddy bears, mugs, and Starbucks gift cards, I would say I was in Valentine heaven.  It was a great day. Check it out.

Click to enlarge.

Oh, and if you missed my face book post about my flower delivery from my husband, you can get the scoop by clicking the image below.  The flowers that were delivered came in a pretty box and were packed so nicely, and then when you pulled out the flowers, it was like, "You have got to be kidding!"....   I felt bad thinking that, but for Valentine's Day, don't florists prepare and know they need to send their best products.  I mean, I would have been okay not even getting anything, but this is their business, and they it seems like Valentine's is the day they are either going to gain or lose a customer.  My husband ended up pulling up a picture of what he ordered, and O-M-G.....  these flowers look like they pulled them from the dumpster compared to the picture he saw when he ordered.  Crazy!

 

Click to enlarge

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Thank you for helping to spread the word about Classroom Confections.

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For more fun and creative ideas for the classroom, click the above picture to go to my store