Hard Days Part 2 March 4, 2009
Posted by Matthew Woolums in Data, Opinion.trackback
Today was a better day, even with the testing. The teacher was back and the fifth graders seemed more comfortable reading a passage and answering multiple choice questions or writing short constructed responses. The frustration of creating something from scratch as in the previous writing section was not so obvious today. However, it seems anything that can go wrong is likely to go wrong with this class.
First on the list, a new student. Second day of testing, and a new student is brought in, with the expectation that he will take the test. What a way to start out at a new school. It sort of made me wonder if his parents did that on purpose, but I can’t figure out any reason why.
Second item was the teacher’s phone. It rang as we started the test. Talk about timing. I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow.
On a related note, the students were genuinely glad to see me even though I was responsible for inflicting such an ordeal on them the day before. Students seem to respond well to having someone new actually spend time with them, even if it is while doing something less than optimal. This was reinforced at another school where I have videotaped teachers for their National Board Certification process. Today, one of the students actually thanked me for the time I gave the class, even though my total interaction amounted to little more than standing behind a camera at the back of the room for about 15 minutes.
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