Grit In The Gap

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J: So, Ms. Ship,would you say Wishbone is the reason that you’re like….this? 

hahaha, Ms. Ship's reason for being an English teacher was Wishbone. What a throwback.

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Who/what was your wishbone?

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Well, then, I exploded. But they taped me back together.

Ticking time bomb | Grit In The Gap

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"Still nice to go home thinking about this–rather than THAT."--Ms. Mo

Grit In The Gap | It's A Start

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On a brighter note, today’s exchange of the day about the myth “Orpheus and Eurydice”:

A: I didn’t think it was really that sad.

W: Are you a person???

J: Yeah, or some kind of robot???

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Sometimes, it really hits me that most people don’t and wouldn’t work under the conditions so many teachers do. It’s not normal to have your ability to adequately do your job depend on temperamental, outdated technology. It’s not normal to feel gross all day because none of the faucets produce hot water for washing hands, and only certain bathrooms have soap or real water pressure.

Go read more--Ms. Ship has a good take on facilities in a lot of public schools.

Facilities | Grit In The Gap

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TomesAwayFromHome's students turn Oedipus into "Normal English"--a way of annotating. Neat!

Grit In The Gap

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Let me go on record that I will happily get schooled on the basketball court by my 6th grader every single Friday from here until the end of his 8th grade year if it means he’ll behave as good as he has all week.

ha! I have been there, littlemarvels, I have been there.

Whatever it takes.

A winning loss! | Grit In The Gap

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Teaching Greek Mythology, “The Most Dangerous Game”, and “Lamb to the Slaughter” makes me feel like the English teacher I’ve always wanted to be.

Good for you, Ms. Ship. :)

I don’t want to jinx it but… | Grit In The Gap

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Then, for every, “That’s dumb,” there were a few flickers of understanding, one or two wide-eyed expressions of comprehension, and another disengaged and dismissive comment from a horse at the edge of the water.

OpenHanded continues the struggle to get ELL students to really connect with what they are learning.

a book and a movie | Grit In The Gap

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Your student tells a story about how one day his sister picked up a used form of contraceptive.

Uhhhhh…. Please stop there! Grit In The Gap

haha I missed this--it's too good not to share!

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THIS! People Over Numbers

Thanks to TomesAwayFromHome for spontaneously summing up what Grit In The Gap wants to do–listen to kids and teachers in public schools over numbers and data.

Go read it!

While numbers are important and can be useful, they can’t tell the whole story, and they often ignore the day-to-day of the people who are in the trenches, actually teaching and learning. As Tomes puts it, and quite perfectly I might add–

I am after all, a professional. I’m spend hours with my students before, during, and after school. Who would know what they need better than me? Who can deliver what they need better than me?

Unfortunately, in the conversation about public education in the U.S., quantitative data is louder. Tomes puts it perfectly once again–there should be a balance between quantitative and qualitative data.

She even lays out a compromise between the two.

Here is what she won’t do:

I won’t accept the idea that collecting data in a folder will make a difference to my kids if it’s not meaningful to them or to me in any way.

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And here’s what she would do happily:

I will consider the big picture and the end goal for my students, and I will plan thoughtful lessons that will help them get where they want to go.

Read More

Tomes should probably just move to Washington.

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You don’t looks like it’s a bad morning. You look very pretty today!”

Kids have a sixth sense for how you are feeling--it's nice when they build you up instead of pounce on you.

As littlemarvels hints at, comments like this make the RIDICULOUS behaviors they throw at you a lot more endurable.

Just what I needed | Grit In The Gap

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It is because of teachers like you that students like us are able to succeed.

You get what you give!

A little note goes a long way… | Grit In The Gap

[amiteachingyet]

I did some election stuff. It was nice to have a conversation about how important it is to participate in such an important thing. 

But half of my kiddos are ESOL and, well, I’m sure a few have parents with questionable status. And often I don’t think of that, I think of how much English they are getting at home and how I can support their learning the best. They love that I try and learn new words in Spanish. Or maybe they are laughing at me. No worries. I’m used to it. 

So when we had a conversation about what they would do if they were president… well this little one nearly brought me to tears. He is a precocious boy and often won’t work if he doesn’t like the assignment. But he is very smart and, as you can see very insightful. I gave him the word immigration, but he explained it perfectly. 

“Fix immigration so my grandpa can come back. Be nice.”

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Ah!

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When I ask one of my angsty middle school students what they're going to do this weekend

They’re like, 

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This is how he has come to me. This is how he is. And whether his condition is temporary or permanent, natural or created, it is what we’ve got. It’s where we must start. I could, quite easily, leave him right where he is, take what he gives, and escape all accountability for the F that he may yet earn. No administrator would blame me. But they would be wrong.

OpenHanded steps up to the plate. Every day.

Story Feature: The Struggle Of An English Language Learner And His Teacher | Grit In The Gap

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They know what there is to know, for now, but, just as we often help the kids along instead of giving them tools, we haven’t really done anything to teach them or the other immigrant families how to navigate the system or advocate for their kids. We just act as if they should know.

Story Feature: The Struggle Of An English Language Learner And His Teacher | Grit In The Gap