LA Politics Jindal and Common Core

This is where phones and earbuds are so great. Some kids must have quiet in order to work, but other kids (especially ADHD kids) need the additional stimulation. i do better writing listening to music. But my subject, English, is a much more creative venture, so I'm not sure how this would work in say, math class.

That being said, there are always kids who may lose their privilege by playing on their phones and not doing work, but I handle that on a student-by-student basis (ie, taking up a phone from a kid on it while I'm giving direct instruction to the class.

 

Take away their phones and make them use iPods. (unless there are games on iPods, I don't know.) I had an old fashioned stereo and a headset.

 

Yeah, you're way behind the times. There are games on their iPods, mainly because the only iPods "cool enough" to be at school are iTouches. I haven't seen a shuffle in years, including my own.

But the kids actually just have everything on their phones.

 

Don't apologize. Repeats are great and welcome! I hear from my daughter about classmates who show up completely unprepared. Fortunately with her, she is incredibly self-motivated so she doesn't need much from me. When she wants help, she asks for it. My son requires a little more support. He does better with a multi-method approach....read, write, see, observe, do. His teacher this last year introduced a website called DIY and the kids would photograph or video their "projects" and upload them to a site for parents to observe. I got emails during the school day with the pics/vids so I could see what he'd done. We also used an app called Aurasma....long story short, it made open house a much more interactive and interesting experience for parents.

You did. We like the Khan approach very much.

 

California is sue-happy. It is near impossible to fire a teacher and/or then get them off the payroll.

Agreed. I certainly don't advocate getting rid of a teacher simply because they have tenure. I just don't want the newbie released as a rule if and when cuts occur.

True. The 7th grade honors science teacher my daughter had was simply an ass....a boring, mean-spirited dictatorial ass. My daughter had one of the highest grades possible (encouraging!) but when I talked to her about considering science as a future field of work or for college she said no way because her teacher made her hate the subject. She'll get over it but how disappointing. Conversely, the math teacher was entertaining, interested (not interesting), and so encouraging. My daughter started the year hating math and ended the year saying it was her favorite subject. And that's why I love some teachers.

 

A kid without a device in our district would be lost. Most of the in-class work for core classes is supported through apps and devices.

 

I was out of town a couple of years ago when this happened but somebody told me about it. A guy I know who use to be the owner of a bar was teaching in a local high school. He punched a student. Now the teacher is about 60ish and about 5'8 and chubby. The "kid" was a well muscled 6 footer. I don't know all the story but I wonder if the teacher got fired. From what little I heard the kid provoked it and had it coming.

 

Its not like I would put on some Zeppelin and crank up the volume. Fortunately I like jazz. I would turn the volume up enough to block out the sounds of barking dogs and passing cars. Stanley Turrentine was my favorite study music of choice.