End of year staff meeting- official and unofficial

The official end of the year staff meeting occured on the second to last day of school, immediately after dismisal. The majority of staff were tired and somewhat distracted by all of the work they had left to do. In our district, our classrooms need to be completely packed up at the end of the year ( i feel that this process creates unnecessary extra work, but I will write more about that at another time). As we took our seats in the corwded computer lab in the library, my eyes noticed the agenda, with a list of items all the way to the bottom of the page.

One of the the items was field trips. The boss seemed pleased that so many teachers were taking their students on field trips. He noted that a few years ago, people were reluctant to take their students out of the building. He went on to say that he is bothered by the fact that some students were left behind this year and that next year all students needed to go on the trips. He said that when students don't go on trips they feel unloved and unwanted. He said we are not providing the same quality of education. I raised my hand and tried to make the point that it does not make sense to make a broad ruling when there are so many individual situations. I added that children who are safety concerns should not be taken out of the building, and that children who are safety concerns are different than children who are annoying or simply misbehaving without endangering anyone. Well this opened quite a can of worms.

One person said that if these kids are so dangerous they dont belong in our school. This may be true but it is out of our hands as teachers.

The boss suggested that we tell these kids parents that they need to come or that the child will not be able to go. In theory thats a great suggestion. In reality it doesnt always work because parents say they will go and then don't show up at the last minute, cannot take time out of work, or are unable to pay the money for chaperone entrance. Some people said that they had better luck getting certain parents to attend the field trips. Others added that those kids who were challenging in the classroom did much better on field trips. Someone suggested that we actuall pay parents as an incentive to get them to participate on field trips.

That is absurd. parents should not be compensated for doing their job. I know of another city were parents are paid for taking their children to the pediatrician's office and keeping immunization appointments. I think that is ridiculus too. When you decide to become a parent, there are certain responsibilities that come with the job.

So a lot of people had something to say. A lot of people had a reaction about field trips and the best way to handle that. Debate is good and healthy, if we listen to and carefully consider all of the points that are being made. The boss said that we would need to continue the conversation when school resumed in the fall.

Having had a few days to think about this, I have formed some opinions:
I think that if I as the classroom teacher feel that one student is unsafe in his behavior, that those feelings and appropriate documentation should be considered before the boss rules that all children must go on any particular field trip.

I also think that parental involvement with these particualr children is especially crucial but I also recognize that not all parents can or want to be involved as a chaperone.

So we will see what happens to this conversation in the fall

The unofficial meeting, when a few of us went out after the last day was a lot less heated and a lot more enjoyable. Good food, stories, and laughter. It was so relaxing to be out with some of the people from work.

End of the year

Tomorrow there is no breakfast or lunch at school, yet some people will still send there children to school without anything to eat all day. First of all, as a parent, if i absolutely had to send my kids to school under these circumstances, I would make sure that I sent them in with something wholesome and nutritious. Unfortuantely I know some parents will not provide for their children in this basic way.

Secondly, I dont understand why the schools are not providing breakfast and lunch when they did today. Today was also a half day. All year long we hear about how we need to do a universal breakfast program because we serve children of poverty and they may not eat otherwise. Well are they suddenly not children of poverty because tomorrow is the last day of school?

As their teacher with this information, I feel conflicted. On the one hand, I know that if they don't have anything to eat until 1pm tomorrow then they will be cranky miserable hungry children. I know I can't go all day without eating so why should they have to? On the other hand, I don't necessarily think it is my responsibility to feed them. What is a teacher to do? Feed them makes sense but it somehow doesn't seem fair that I should have to spend my hard earned money to feed them ( and provide for a basic need ) when I really think it is the primary responsibility of their parents or the public institution (school)

Upcoming posts include thoughts about the end of year cleaning, the last staff meeting of the year and a final farewell

Just another day in June

The kids did a wonderful job at their concert/ end of year celebration. Way to go K1 class!

The end of the year is on one side logical and on the other very emotional.

I logically know that I have to pack up my entire classroom ( even though it feels like i just unpacked everything) so I can stay in the same room and unpack it in September. I know I need to finish up their student narratives and sign off on the cumulative records. I know I need to package up each student's work sampling folder. I can move myself through all of those motions easily enough.

Then there is the emotional piece. Teaching young children in an inner city school makes me feel like I am sometimes so much more than just their teacher. I feel like a mother, a nurse, a psychologist, a coach, a friend, a role model, counselor, and so many other job titles on any given day. I have seen them grow so much, which is a good thing. All of them have been with me for 180 days or so and some have been with me for 360 days because I had them last year too. I know that the profession comes with these send offs. I know the kids who are moving on are ready, but I will miss some of them. I worry about them as they go. Where will they go? Will the other teacher be able to reach them? DO they have the necessary skills to be successful in their new environment?

Adding to all of this buisness is the tidbit that we had no drinking water in our building today. We literally had none because all of the water coolers were empty and we don't have any bubbala's in our building and the kids are not allowed to drink the tap water. If I were a parent and my child said that he couldnt get a drink of water at school today because the school ran out, I would be pretty upset.

Wrapping up the school year and wondering

These hot days seem to drag on. Some of the kids, like some of the adults, respond better to the heat than others. Some of the kids seem to become even more energized, while others appear lethargic and cranky.



Yesterday it topped 100 degrees here. One of the parents sent her child to school with long black corduroy pants on. She said " Iput him in pants today because I did not want him to get a skinned knee". I have not read of any child who has ever died of a skinned knee. In fact, I think it is sort of a trademark of childhood, especially the childhood of an active healthy child. Black corduroy pants when it is a hundred degrees is ridiculous.

Someone told me that I should type up a fake letter and tell the familis that this coming friday is our last day. It is completely unethical and I wouldnt do it. But it does sound tempting. This person I was speaking to suggested that no learning was happening anyway, so what was the point. I like to think that we are still learning. Today we are getting ready to compare to similiar stories using a Venn diagram, which is something they haven't seen yet. But I do wonder, if I am as tired as I am, the kids also must be tired.

Also some of the kids' stories break my heart. They come to school so needy. Even on a bad day, school may still be the best thing they have going on in their lives. Even when I've lost my patience and raise my voice too much, for a few of them, that is still better than home. Some of them need to be loved and cared for in such a profund way, it exceedes what I am able to do in the classroom. Then their lives are really complic ated and somehow or another I try to get them to learn, to make progress and not only reach the state standards but to go beyond. And somehow I am left wondering if that is enough. If they can come to school to learn when they are coming in the door with so much.

Looking forward to staff end of year party tomorrow.
Tanya