Justin’s blog

Improvements for this year

2009-09-01T03:24:47Z

1) I want to assess much better, more frequently, for formative and summative, in many different methods. 2) I want to stay current on my grading so that I don't wind up with stacks and stacks backed up for months. I turned all that into kindling ...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Bonus Points

2009-03-16T19:22:04Z

So, I gave the kids their end of the third nine weeks' test; I decided to make it more interesting by giving extra points for anyone who could guess my favorite TV show(s). Here were some of my favorite responses from the students (in no particula...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Summer School

2009-02-28T17:05:32Z

Holly Springs Summer School has all the potential in the world to be almost everything this article calls for in an effective program for struggling students. We aleady structure the school to measure progress, and we already base our methods...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Well...

2009-01-28T01:28:37Z

I had no other title choice for these two events I would like to write about. 1) I drove up from the high school to the middle school for our first community meeting of the year. On my way, I passed a group of my students standing right outside th...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I had a dream...

2008-12-19T16:50:19Z

Here's a conversation I had with a student in my 8th period at the high school: JT: Mr. S, I had a crazy dream last night that you were in. Mr. S: Really? Tell me about it. JT: Naw, you don't don't want to know. Mr. S: Okay, then don't tell me. J...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Perfect

2008-12-10T23:36:00Z

One of my geometry students at the high school did not pass his Algebra I state test last year (so did many others, and yet they all passed their class and moved on--go figure), and so had to re-take it this year. He got his scores back this week...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Why Join?

2008-12-03T01:13:25Z

Here's an actual conversation I had today... I'm obviously Mr. S, and my students are named using only initials. This takes place right after lunch, on a sunny, but cold, December morning. DH: Mane, why y'all hurryin back to class? You know we're...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Finally!

2008-11-25T05:24:06Z

One of my O-linemen in class has been abnormally lazy all semester. I'm talking comatose... in class. We just had our progress reports go out last week, and he hadn't done well (can't figure out why, though). As I walked into a meeting with the...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Mason Cole

2008-07-18T02:17:08Z

Mr. Cole was (and still is) the mysterious guy in the back of the room, one whom the kids know better than to mess with. He's not as much the silent-seductive type with me as he is with the kids, so I get some really good input. He lets me do my t...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Teaching in July

2008-07-18T01:49:48Z

I was slightly less nauseated watching myself teach on film for the second time in as many months. I certainly showed improvement from last time (thank God--I don't know what that would have meant had that not been the case), mainly in my method o...

Read and post comments | Send to a friend