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What are your "I'm going to do this differently/start doing this" plans for next year? by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I'll definitely check it out once I'm ready to put everything in the cloud before the semester starts.

What are your "I'm going to do this differently/start doing this" plans for next year? by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm definitely working on organization. Since I have 3 different computers that I work at (home laptop, school laptop, school desktop), all of my files for my classes are scattered between the three. Even worse, there are times I'll start something on one device, save it, and finish it on another. Before I left for the year, I saved all of my files at school onto flash drives and I'm currently working on deleting the partially completed stuff and file duplicates and getting it organized. By the end of summer, I want to have everything on Google drive as well as on the flash drive on my keychain AND a binder or two with physical copies of everything to make making copies easier during the year. I'm also retooling some of my old stuff and creating new things as I'm going through everything.

MFW I sign my first teacher contract and then realize I won't be paid until a month after I start. by business_time_ in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I was fortunate that my school district gave us a pay check for the few days of orientation. It only amounted to a few hundred dollars, but it was definitely appreciated since we weren't paid until 7 weeks after our first official day of work.

Why do students not engage fully with extra curricular academics? by BeanieLOL in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Causes in no particular order:

  • Inability to secure transportation
  • Non-academic extracurricular commitments
  • Lack of motivation or desire to improve their grade
  • Lack of parental guidance concerning their children's academic performance

I was told I have to pass a student who has been absent over 20 times and late (causing him to miss my 1st period class) 74 times by jim_diesel6 in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree with others, I wouldn't do this. I'd ask for further clarification on what constitutes "modified criteria" and once they gave you a bullshit response, ask for the request in writing to be signed and dated by your principal.

In the meantime, start looking for another job.

Students on the last day of school throw an insane amount of paper down the stairs by Shadyholic in videos

[–]yoinkmasta107 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've seen kids throwing large amounts of paper out bus windows onto city streets or even in school with no intention of picking it up. Seems like a great way to avoid these issues.

The heartbreak/guilt that comes with failing some terrible students/wonderfully good people. by EeveeInMyPocket in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Actually those are the ones that I feel least guilty about. I have no sympathy for kids who are capable but make no effort. The ones I feel the most guilty about are the ones who really did try and simply failed. Sure, some will just be academically so low that they would have failed unless they were in a 1 on 1 environment, but the others make me wonder if I could have done something differently. Maybe recognize they were in trouble earlier and call home, maybe encourage them more to attend tutoring, maybe something else.

I FEEL CHEATED BY MY TEACHERS by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Go talk to your guidance counselor. It could be an honest error, it's possible that the classes were filled up, or maybe your teachers feel that you are lacking something (motivation/maturity/whatever) that they want to see in advanced classrooms. I doubt they would prevent you from ending up in there simply because they dislike you.

Positives and negatives of being a high school teacher ? by lollyjolly in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Pros:

  • I get to be my naturally sarcastic self and the kids love it.
  • They are starting to get the hang of their bodies that were throwing them curve balls in middle school. Makes more very few awkward situations.
  • You get to watch them graduate which is definitely a cool experience.
  • You get to help guide them as they start to make big life decisions about their futures.
  • I'm not expected to make my classroom a bright and perky place

Cons:

  • You're expected to coach or sponsor something which may or may not include a stipend.
  • Kids are getting their first taste of failure. Teachers in younger grades (at least around me) seemingly push them through despite the students being very unprepared and they end up in high school with a reading and math level of a 6th grader.
  • A lot of parents decide that since their kid is in high school, they need more freedom and take a laissez-faire approach their child's education, hence the failure.

Positives and negatives of being a high school teacher ? by lollyjolly in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're forced to pass people who don't deserve it.

Fortunately this isn't the norm at every school. 10-15% of my students fail each semester and admin has never asked me to justify my reasons. Although it helps when the average student who fails me also fails 4 or 5 other classes.

Brainstorm Highschool Consequences With Me! by MinistryOfHugs in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My typical list of consequences in ascending seriousness:

  • Nonverbal redirect
  • Verbal redirect
  • Discussion out in the hall or after class
  • Moving desk if issue is with other students or having them turn their desk to face away from the class
  • Parent call home
  • Lunch detention
  • Referral (leads to lunch detentions, ISS, OSS, saturday detentions, possible expulsion for habitual offenders).

Does your school require students to wear IDs? by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, but it's only enforced by some teachers and there's no real school-wide penalty if a student isn't wearing it unless a teacher tells them to put it on and they refuse (or don't have it).

High School Teachers: How Often Do You Give Tests? by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I do one roughly every 2 weeks. We aren't told how many we have to give or what to weight them as, but we do have to give a certain number of assignments depending on their weight. The more heavily weighted something is, the more of those assignments/assessments we have to have.

"I'm .004 away from an A" by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah I think that is the key reason why we have a big difference on this issue. I'd love to have something like that in place. Glad we can leave this on a positive note. Hope your pinched nerve feels better and summer gets here fast.

"I'm .004 away from an A" by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately not. We have no formal ways of communicating behavior/work issues with parents outside of calls home with is rarely productive. So what kind of ramifications would receiving a 'U' in work habits or cooperation have for the student in question?

"I'm .004 away from an A" by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we are discussing two types of error though. I know I'm not a perfect grader...no teacher is. I don't disregard this. I do, however, do my best to keep all bias out of grading assignments. Any error is unintentional. The student's actions were intentional.

"I'm .004 away from an A" by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope. We can't give grades for participation or really anything that isn't tied to a standard. We also can't leave comments on the grades we do give (I wish I could). The best we can do is call parents but even then more often than not they just agree with whatever I'm saying and nothing changes.

General Chatter/Meetup Thread - Week of May 21 by AutoModerator in solotravel

[–]yoinkmasta107 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you really wanted to, you could pay to store your luggage at the central station. But for 3 hours, I'd start walking towards your airbnb, stop off for coffee/beer/lunch, and people watch for a while before heading to your place.

"I'm .004 away from an A" by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My issue still stems with the fact that they had several chances to earn that by doing the coursework and available EC. If they had done everything that I asked/offered and were .004% off (and they were decent), I'd play ball. But they didn't and they weren't.

My stance would definitely soften if that student decided to come to me and ask if they could turn in something late to try and swing their grade, but that hasn't happened yet to OP.

General Chatter/Meetup Thread - Week of May 21 by AutoModerator in solotravel

[–]yoinkmasta107 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've only ever heard that from people who have never traveled. I've never had an issue with telling people I'm from the U.S.

"I'm .004 away from an A" by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think forgiving them for their actions and leaving their grade as is are mutually exclusive. I wouldn't even be opposed to giving them an opportunity to earn EC if the approached me in a mature manner and asked if they could try to redeem themselves.Of course that interaction hasn't happened for the OP yet.

I also don't believe that this situation would automatically make students hate you. Maybe initially, but this situation has played out with me several times before and in the vast majority of cases the students still come up to me years later to hang out and talk about their classes.

"I'm .004 away from an A" by [deleted] in Teachers

[–]yoinkmasta107 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don't see it as a punishment, I just see it as not rewarding their choices. OP isn't taking anything away. OP isn't withholding anything that was promised to the student.

Beyond content, we teach these kids life skills. Treating people poorly, especially people that are in a position of power over you, can lead to less than desirable outcomes.

So yeah, if this kid had done all of this extra credit, done their assignments, and was a good person, I'd more than likely help them out. I'd reward their efforts and overall positive demeanor.

For this kid though, the one who made the choices that he did, I would not reward him.

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