Embrace Change...I'm a work in progress!

On our very first day at Dodge, our principal offered a valuable piece of advice. He said, learn to embrace change because it will be all around you. It proved to be evident, as he began to run down the list of all the changes that would affect the school. These changes ranged from PBIS to grading policies to homework. However, one major change that he failed to include in his list was his departure. We learned last Wednesday that he would be resigning as the principal of Dodge on Friday to pursue other endeavors. Now, I don't know why this news it me so hard. I had only known him for a couple of weeks but I felt as if I was losing a leader.

That's when it hit me...Change is my weakness. I found that the uncertainty of change is the most fearful part. To lose a principal before the end of August is frightening. Not to mention all of the "heavy hitters" who are frequently visiting our school in the wake of our principal's departure. Brian Sims, Terri Gierki, and Amy Rome have visited my classroom on more than one occasion. Remember...everyday is a job interview (This message continues to haunt me!)

Speaking of uncertainty, what is really going on with the CTU strike!?!?! This strike became very real to me when I was preparing to dismiss my 4th graders and noticed the large picket line behind our school. It is apparent that this strike is more likely to happen than not. This will bring forth a wealth of new changes. How will this affect CTR residents? How much instructional time will we lose with this potential strike? Will it be like starting all over again with our students? What will happen with our vacations when school days are missed? It is so frustrating. According to the tribune, the mandatory 10-day notice was not filed this weekend so track R students will begin school on time. For now I guess we will just wait and see what will happen.
Change...Change....Change! Maybe this is a good lesson to learn now because who knows what we will face when we are teaching next year. I guess all we can do is wait and see.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-08-25/news/ct-met-ctu-leafletting-0825-20120825_1_teachers-union-vice-president-jesse-sharkey-president-karen-lewis

The Reality is sad....

So the first week of school is behind me and I thought I would be excited to get back into the classroom. However, I'm not quite sure how I feel. I am teaching 4th grade Language Arts and Social Studies and my students are amazing. Unfortunately, most of my students' reading levels fall far below the norm for 4th grade. I was working on planning a lesson on current events this weekend and I really struggled with finding a current events article that my entire class could read with comprehension. I don't understand how this could have happened. As these students get older, it will be more difficult for them to "catch up" academically. I am definitely up for the challenge but I do feel bad.

Longer hours for CPS just became a reality for me!!!

We have been preparing for this moment for weeks and finally it's here! My fellow Track E'ers will be heading to our very first day of class...with kids!!! (Professional Development week did not count, although I believe that it was AUSL's way of trying to weed out the weak ones...it was a CRAZY week)!!! I am so excited and so nervous to meet my new 4TH grade friends! BUT...the reality just kicked in! School starts at 7:45am! Ugh!!! I have heard talks about the proposed longer school day and I was aware of its approval. However, I never took the time to understand its purpose. Now that it is officially affecting my precious sleep, it is a good time to look into why CPS deemed it necessary to increase school minutes. According to the Chicago Tribune, the bell-to-bell school will increase from 345 minutes to 450 minutes.  And instructional minutes will increase from 308 minutes to 390 minutes. The longer school day will also allow for students to have a 45 minute lunch/recess period. According to CPS, Chicago's children spent 15% less time in the classroom compared to the rest of the country. The additional time will allow more time to focus on core academic subjects such as math, social science, and science in addition to literacy. In recent years, these subjects have suffered due to the lack of instructional time available. The opportunity for students to eat lunch and head to recess for 45 minutes was a huge deal for me because the time allotted prior to the extended day was unrealistic. Students literally had 20 minutes to eat their food with little to no recess on most days. Recess gives the students an opportunity to release energy and take a break for themselves before heading back into classes. Overall, I understand the need to increase school time and my sleep is not all that important. Besides, we were told on the first day: "It's not about you, it's about the kids" Have a great first week of school Track E folks :-)


http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2012/08/school-hours-and-staffing-q-a-.html

http://www.cps.edu/News/Announcements/Pages/09_06_2011_A1.aspx

When did uniform in school become a legal matter 0_o

I remember when I was in school and I thought that uniforms would prevent me from wearing that cute pair of jeans that I bought over the weekend. This was the most relevant argument against mandatory uniforms. My group's debate topic addresses the pros and cons of mandatory school uniforms and I have found some interesting points in my research.

I should start by saying that I have no interest in either side of the argument; I am indifferent. However, my research has identified parents who were so concerned about their child's freedom to express, that they brought this matter in front of a judge. So I changed my thinking for a moment to consider this issue as a potential violation of our United States Constitution.

In the case of Littlefield vs Forney Independent School District, parents argued that the school district violated their children's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to freedom of expression and equal protection. The O'Brien test was applied to determine if the school district violated the students' Constitutional rights. The O'Brien test would determine the following:

• if mandatory uniforms is within the constitutional power of the government
•  if it furthers an important government interest
• if the interest is unrelated to the suppression of student expression
• and if the incidental restrictions on first amendment activities were no more than is necessary to facilitate the interest.

The 5th Circuit court determined that the school district met each point of the O'Brien test and was not in violation of the Constitution. The purpose of mandatory uniforms policy was to increase academic performance, improve discipline and self-esteem. Therefore, mandatory uniforms were justified as long as it was limited to dress and did not extend to other forms of expression.


In other cases similar to this one, the School Districts were favored in every legal case. Some people feel strongly about this issue but I do not believe that it should have gone before a judge. I understand both sides of this debate and I hope that parents/students and teachers will  see the every side equally.


Vopat, M. C. (2010, Nov). Mandatory school uniforms and freedom of expression. Ethics & Education, 5(3), 203-215.


http://kidsfashion.about.com/od/doityourselfstyles/tp/The-Arguments-Against-School-Uniforms.htm