Training, Day Two

Today I learned about data mining and professional learning communities. I'm glad that my orientation is covering useful stuff that I actually need to know rather than just basic don't-touch-other-people's-blood type information. Still, it felt like I sat in my metal folding chair for a year by the time the day was over. I also found that many people have not been as lucky at getting a job with this district as quickly as I did. Lots of people took other jobs while waiting to be hired here or they subbed with the district until they could get hired as teachers. I feel lucky and wonder why I got picked up so easily.

One thing I really liked hearing was that the district believes that if a student does an assignment and receives a bad grade, that grade should be recorded and kept unless the student puts in time and effort and redoes the assignment to show mastery. They believe that the highest grade should be taken and not just averaged in. I like this way of thinking and agree that having this policy in my classroom would make students more inclined to keep trying and keep working until they master an objective, rather than feel like the best they could get anyway would be a C. Before today, I probably would not have thought about having this policy but I'm glad to be able to have it as part of my classroom now. I also love that I don't *have* to have this policy in my classroom and that I have the freedom to choose it.

Another thing I took away from my training today is the importance of putting the standards and objectives in kid-friendly language. I am going to try to always introduce a topic by giving my students the objectives and having them rewrite it as a group into something that holds meaning for them. I will then keep their reworded version on the wall for the duration of our time working with that standard. Once again, I love that they shared this good idea with the results of its effectiveness without saying it was a mandatory thing.

In other news, I found out that the district has decided not to offer a sooner paycheck for incoming teachers even though they said they would. I had a slight freak-out today where I emailed anyone I thought might be able to assist me because I was counting on that check in my budget. I'm still mad that something was offered and not made good on, but I do feel more rational than I felt earlier this evening. I will tactfully complain tomorrow and prepare myself for the fact that I will not get a paycheck until a month from now.