Welcome to Summer 2008!

The Gem Girls have joined up and for 5430 we're with The Life of the Party. We'll also be working as just the Gem Girls for 5585. Here's our home for sharing ideas.

Chapter 6 ~ More food for thought!

OVERHAULING NCLB!!

• I know I complain about NCLB as do other people, but has anyone "with brain cells" actually sat down to try to rethink this is a way that would benefit students??? or are we all just waiting on someone else to do it? I am just a lowly teacher, is there anyone in Washington really on our side?
• It won't happen overnight!!!!!!

Beehinds Behind ~ Chapter 5

I feel like I keep asking the same questions over and over!!!

• Does no one seem to understand what NCLB has done to the teaching profession?
• These tests that we are giving are doing nothing but leaving more and more children behind, especially the ones who needed help in the first place!
• The students who do NOT get vouchers to "get out" of the lagging schools, what happens to them? When you have a whole school who needs vouchers to get out of a low performing school, what do we do with the building, teachers, etc. Is there not somthing wrong with the picture?
• THIS IS ALMOST TOO MUCH TO HANDLE!!!

The Quest Continues

The presentation now has Thought Provokers for Those Left Behind for Chapters 3 and 4. We need to make sure we plan for our 20 min. We don't want to leave the basketball version or "not on the test" behind.

Gem Girls... can you see the end of the tunnel??? I see a glimmer of light.

Don't leave your BEEhind Behind- Chapter 4

• Does our federal government go about every single decision BACKWARDS?
• p. 73MCLB- People in charge, must know the schools intimately -- through first hand engagement, not printouts and manipulatable bureaucratic data.
• "When's the last time anybody here saw a higher up in their school?"

Don't leave your BEEhind Behind- Chapter 3

• How many parents do you really think understand when we say "You're son/daughter is doing very well and improving tremendously, HOWEVER they have failed the test, Sorry!" (p.55)MCLB. Raising a child's score 30% counts for nothing for them or for us as teachers, but if you were lucky enough to get a group of high achievers in your homeroom, guess what you are awesome!!!
• Should we not be looking at each student individually and measuring their personal growth instead of looking at overall scores of a school (such as mine) with a large transient population as a whole?

Now we do the dance of joy!

Frolicking with abandon.... Finished! Finished! Finished!