I'm writing this late at night. It may make sense, it may not. It has been a trying week, and it is only Monday.
I got to a pile of marking today while the students in my class were working away on two or three assignments that are due in the next couple of days. I did what I was taught at Teacher School: I gathered their attention, I asked that all computer monitors be turned off and that they look at me. I asked that all other PED's be turned off. I waited.
The I began to ask questions and read together as a group. I stopped reading at certain points in the textbook to point things out, share my personal experience and to think out loud, knowing the questions to be asked at the end of the lesson. At the end of the reading I pointed out the questions to be done, wrote the questions on the board and an assignment sheet permanently located on the cork board at the back of the room. I asked if there were any questions, things that needed to be said or comments of any kind.
I got none and so finished off with "Ok, by 3:30, I want to see the following three things completed:" and reinforced what was already written up. I told them they could now turn on their monitors and begin/continue work.
A short while later, I came to the same assignment three times. That is the same assignment, with only the name changed on the top. Seems the three students (one of which was away) had "worked together".
Really? Same font, same answers, if I held it to the light, all three were identical in every way and manner. Like a photocopy. Except typed up. And so I asked. "I thought it was mine", "We worked together" and "Are you accusing me of cheating?" were the responses. One was away, so I am sure it will be repeated tomorrow when the third shows up.
After this conversation was ended and they returned to their seats, the same two students were laughing, laughing laughing; loudly enough to interfere with the learning of others in the classroom. So I asked what they were working on. Seems they didn't know that they were to be working in a classroom. One was on Google Earth, the other was on YouTube, with earphones cranking out music loud enough for me to hear a few meters away.
Seems I didn't point out what they were to be doing in class. I pointed to the cork board and to the white board and asked them to get on it. I re-reinforced what they should be doing in a calm tone and told them again to get their assignments done.
"What assignments?"
A few minutes later, I began to check their blogs for the course. I'm using the skills I'm learning about in this "Travels in EduCation" in my classroom this module. So, I wanted to see what they were doing. Some were more than happy to show me what was up. There are some excellent writers, thinkers and doers in my classroom. Other students are impressing me with their efforts to get their ideas, thoughts and assignments onto paper or screen.
The same two students in question had not set up their blog and were quite vocal about it being a waste of time and something "Only emo kids did". Alas, class was soon over, and I had to leave, but not after one student decided my classroom was his own personal Kinkos and printed off 15 copies of his resume.
It left a rather bitter taste in my mouth; I've been reading Marva Collins, having gotten her Creed in a set of readings from OISE.
According to Marva, it is my fault, since I am teaching something I know nothing about. Well, except I am modeling what it is I want from them with a blog for the course.
According to Marva, it is my fault because I am not the person of excellence. Except that I demonstrate physical fitness to my students through a series of links that monitoring my eating and training habits online.
Then I get to the line about students having the right to fail and wave their flag. Then I smile and I'm ready for bed.
"I am not the train; I am not the horse; I am a piece of grass asking the horse to, perhaps, get off the track and let the train pass..."
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