What to do When Dealing with a Cheating Conspiracy

So this past week some of the best and the brightest of my students have been punished for participating in a cheating scandal. Some of the punishments are so severe that I began to wonder what I would do if it were MY own classroom.

Here’s how it all went down…

My CT was absent  this past week and as many teachers do, she left a folder containing sub notes. The “lesson” for the day was a test over the book they just finished reading and conveniently enough the answer key for the test was also in the folder. Before class started as we (the sub, myself, and neighboring teachers) stood outside the class,  one of the students, who we will call Frank for confidentiality reasons, was caught by THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR taking a picture of the “class roster” (so he said).  After checking and failing to find picture evidence on his phone there was not much we could do at that point, except to report it.

Consequences, at first, was a simple phone call  home to parents and a meeting with the principle, but after the initial class and another AP English class took the scheduled test, evidence of the cheating became completely apparent.  Students who had never scored higher than a ‘C’ (70%) suddenly and miraculously scored a 100%. And worst of all, the students involved were not careful (or ironically smart) enough to NOT talk about sending and/or receiving the picture message with all of the answers. My CT and I had no clue who all was involved but after students were interrogated and threatened the names became to come out. The class president, the Valedictorian, athletes, and many other students who had received college scholarships were all involved in the “scandal.”

Punishments go as follows:

Re-take the exam

Membership to the NHS (National Honors Society) revoked

No prom

No speeches made at graduation

Scholarships revoked

No walking at graduation (if they did not confess to being a part of the cheating ring)

And because this is an AP class and it counts for a dual (college) credit, which they pay for, they are determining if they should withdraw any credit obtained for the course.\

Some of these punishments seem fittingly enough (no prom & Re-taking the test), but others such as eliminating scholarships and walking at graduation is too severe and harsh a punishment.

One bad apple spoiled the bunch and now everyone else must pay while Frank’s detective mother tries to fight the consequences, and he acts nonchalantly. I care about these students, they are all so sweet and always smiling, and all I can think is how unfortunate this situation is. Am I disappointed? Yes. But are they good kids? Absolutely! They just made a bad decision.

What would you guys do? Do you think these punishments are too extreme? Do you guys think Frank’s punishment should be worse?

Happy Blogging!

Des

"This is the Class that Isn't College Bound"

College Bound:  intending to go to college  ⇒ a talented college-bound artist.

When I was younger I had aspirations of being anything and everything from a pediatrician, an astronaut, cheer coach, zoo keeper, and a famous singer. My dreams and interests were entirely capricious and no matter what they were for that brief moment, I had the full support of my parents. As a parent now, I feel the exact same way about my son. Parents, natural protectors and defenders, always want the best for their children, and I’m sure l am not one in a million when I say that I believe my son can be anything he wants to be as long as he puts his mind to it.

During my experience in the Educational program, I have learned the importance of classroom management, inclusion for a variety of students (gifted and delayed/disabled learners), strategies for cross curricular instruction and an extensive list of other things. I’ve always believed that the overall goal for ALL teachers is, or at least should be to provide students with an education that is completely invaluable. We should be helping them in a way so they can succeed inside the classroom and as functioning members of society.

A part of being a functioning or contributing individual is working or having a career. And what is it that is preached every day to our children and students? That they must get an education and go to college. So what is the purpose of this blog post? Well for some time now I have been completely frustrated with the teachers around me. Now that I am student-teaching many teachers will ask how it is going, if I am enjoying it, and what classes I am teaching. My frustration does not come from the questions; it comes from the responses I have received from at LEAST 3 teachers once I tell them that I am currently teaching an English 4 class.  Responses that have varied from “Oh they are so hard to handle,” “I like AP/Honors better,” and the most disgusting comment of them all “Oh those are the students who are not going to college.” And then my immediate thought is “--UM, Excuse me?!” YES! Teachers have really told me this and they say it without any remorse (way to instill confidence in a future educator huh?).

What If I told you that I was once a student in an English 4 class, even though college was always on the agenda? I never believed that I was not going to college just because I was not in an AP course and I’ll admit that I did not always take my education as seriously as I should have, but I had my parents there to get me back on track. Unfortunately, not all students are lucky enough to have this kind of support and need their teachers (or just someone) to help believe in them when they don’t believe in themselves. How can we preach the importance of education, but in the same breath doubt their ability to do so?

As a mother of a child who is delayed in his speech and language skills this scares me. The possibility of my son’s future in the hands of a teacher who doubts his ability to do or be something truly saddens me. We have to remember that students are people first and they are someone’s child, so let’s treat them like that.

College Bound:  ANYONE who intends to go to college because they want to or believe they can...despite the doubters around them. 


"My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors."--Maya Angelou



Happy Blogging, Ms. Manns 

Progression

Enter your  Core 1 placement.

You will be observing a Gifted class.

You are at a middle school and yet you will still be confused with the other 7th grade students.

Sit awkwardly in the back of the classroom.

For a couple of weeks…do nothing. Absolutely nothing…except be awkward.

Teach only 2 lessons the entire semester. 3 at most.

BUT, in order to do so you must ask your cooperating teacher to show you to the copier room…and how to use the massive machine in front of you.  

In one ear and out of the other…. And because of this, you will make weekly errands to your local Fedex to get things printed out. Spending money that could have been saved if you didn’t feel like such a burden to your cooperating teacher.

For some reason this semester (in your classes) you are anxious. and nervous. and can’t talk. Or think. Or breathe… it’s.. really.. hard. To.

B R E A T H E E E E.

A Duck. YOU ARE A FRIGGIN’ DUCK! Ya’ know? Really CALM, COOL, and COLLECTED on the surface, but your little itty bitty flippers are paddling their asses off.

Learn the names of your students. Forget the names of your students. Bond. The ones you do remember will be the sweetest little humans ever. They will miss you when you leave and you will miss them.

Enter your new placement school.  

You have start over.

The rapport you had with the staff at the local middle school is no longer useful at your new school.

The “kids” are bigger here. They were already bigger than you at your first placement school, but here.. even the faculty will get you confused with other students.

Again, sit awkwardly in the back of the classroom… but ooooo you get a desk this time.

And your cooperating teacher will bring you tamales and guacamole’ for lunch and then invite you to eat with the other teachers.

You won’t feel like such a burden here.

But oh my! The words that come flying out of their mouths at this age. Cringe because you were once JUST. LIKE. THEM.

Walk around the class. Help a student in need.

Teach your lessons to the class…and again waste more money at FedEx.

Question your CT’s classroom management… they were so sweet in middle school.

Next semester: Core 3

WOOOHOOOOO!  You have the same CT! No more awkward introductions.

Except with the students you did not already work with.

An Advanced Placement class… AKA the Students who NEVER need your help.

You only know the names of 4 students.

Feel self-conscious in your ability to “discipline”

Teach  lessons that have been created by your CT.

She plans so far ahead and on top of everything.

Now feel awkward because you feel bad for even thinking about changing the lesson even though she said she would be cool with it.

Your CT is watching you teach HER lesson. DON’T. MESS. UP… “ would she do this?”

Christmas Break FINALLY.

It is your last semester in the Core program.

Introduce yourself to the students.

Walk around the classroom and help several students with their essays.

Learn Names.

Sign passes.

Have students request for your assistance.

Grade quizzes and papers.

Know WHERE and HOW to use the copier machine.

Get confused with other students.

Start teaching your unit after only ONE week of being a student-teacher.

Receive gifts from other faculty members.

Take full responsibility for all classes because of the week-long absence of your CT.

Discipline students and feel like you have every right to.

Be awesome. Be comfortable. Feel like you are making a difference. You are making a difference.

First Day of School: Genre Reflection #2

Attentively stand on the outside of your classroom.

 

breathe.

Granted your classroom also has a door, which it should. . . unless...unless you were assigned to a room without one, orrr because of your need to be "supervised." 

Do not be afraid to utilize this large piece of wood.

wood. is. your. friend.

trees are your friend.

 

breathe out.

Or maybe not, because you so conveniently participate in the act of killing trees.

Leaving Tucan Sam and his bird cousins the Blue-yellow and Scarlett Macaws homeless. Lemurs without a place to swing. and spiders without a place to make their webs--all because you needed to 
PRINT. SOMETHING. OUT.

...but--who likes spiders anyway?               

              

f o c u s.

This door can and will momentarily become your backbone as you wait for the students who may or may not already hate you and as you encounter (and I mean make eye contact with) the veteran teachers who will also be in the hallway waiting for their students. 

BUT are simultaneously gawking at you as if you just did a hit-and-run on a blind puppy and stole the oldest teacher in the buildings parking spot, then continued to deliberately step on every line and crack you could on your way into the building thinking about your poor mother.

smile and nod. smile and nod. say "good morning" and nod.

"As you enter the classroom, 

go ahead and find your name on the corresponding desk"

they hate me. I won't let them sit by their friends and they hate me.

Stay grounded. It is best to implement this structure now.

Quickly rehearse your introduction in your head:

"Hiiii guys! my name i-- no, too friendly. "Hello students!"-- not friendly enough.

"HOLA, HOWDY, Hi'ya, Hey Ya'll" no, no, no and no!

breathe again.

Once the bell rings, walk into the classroom confidently & by NO means trip.

Seriously. If you are clumsier than a baby giraffe getting out of a cramped clown car then walk in along the edge of the room, so you can use the walls as support.

Now that you are standing at the front of your class, take a moment to look at your students. I mean reaally look at them.

look.

These are the lives you will touch in the year to come. These are the students who will later tell their family, friends and peers about you and your class years later. Good OR Bad.

smile. breathe. speak.

"Hello class, My name is Ms. Manns and I will be your teacher and student this year! I am excited to get to know all of you and learn new things alongside you as the year progresses."

f o c u s. breathe in. breathe out. look. smile. I can do this. I will do this. WE can do this.

How to Combat Senioritis: in students AND student-teachers.

As of late, and I am sure just like the rest of you, I have been unable to shake the ubiquity of this Fall semester’s tasks. At times I become so increasingly overwhelmed that I have embarrassingly resulted to calculating certain assignments in order to determine if I could do without them or do them with little effort and still pass (of course I am not brave enough to follow through with this idea, but a little dreaming never hurt anyone right? *insert a nod of agreement here*).  

So what does my inability to focus and “get ‘er done” have to do with my placement? Well as many of you know, I am currently pre-student teaching for a class of high school Seniors and everything I am feeling now as a Senior in college, I felt as a Senior in high school. Now I know that every student is different, and for some, even the idea of being diagnosed with “senioritis” is outrageous and believed only to be an excuse used to justify laziness in students; however, as a recently self-diagnosed student and teacher-to be, I believe in this concept completely and also believe that symptoms can be found in most other grades (and ages). Which leads me to the point of saying that whether you actually believe in this concept or not, it is safe to say that in most classrooms there will be distracted students, there will be unmotivated students, there will be students who cannot wait until school is over, and students who forget that learning can be fun. I also believe that teachers, just like students can also encompass these traits.

Many of us have had teachers of our past educational experiences that we would describe as “checking out before their time” or "retired, but still hired" meaning that their heart (and mind) was just not in it anymore. And it is most likely this was not our favorite teacher. I recently found an article which listed 8 tips for battling senioritis, and of the tips geared towards students I found to applicable for teachers as well.

Disclaimer: Check the link at the bottom of article to view the “student related” tips. The Teacher tips are tips I produced from my own beliefs.

1. Remember that grades still matter.

Teachers: Just because the semester is coming to a close do not devalue the course work you have originally planned for students to complete. This is not fair to your students, and is certainly not fair to you.

2. Think of yourself as a college-student-in-training.

Teachers: Your students still need your support now until college. Do not cheat them on “real life” expectations they will need to abide by when going to college.

3. Nix bad habits before they start.

Teachers:  Just because you are anxiously waiting for the semester to come to a close, does not mean that HW assignments (and those alike) necessarily have to be thrown out.

If you do decide to get eliminate an assignment, be sure that it does not become a religious habit that your student will anticipate to occur.

→ they may not do the assignment on a day you want to collect it, because in the past you never collected (or graded) it.

4. Focus on earning college credit.

Teachers: Again, similar to #2, College and real life preparation is expected  of teachers. The preparedness of students  is essential seeing as how they are/will be individuals expected to cohesively interact with all types of people.

5. Keep yourself challenged and stimulated.

Teachers: Set goals!  Set an objective you would like to be tested, and create a new and inventive way to achieve this.

6. Set specific goals for yourself.

Teachers: Set goals that are non-school related!

e.g: After grading 1st, 3rd, 7th hour essays, I will treat myself to a movie or a nice dinner out.

7. Take it one day at a time.

Teachers: Do not overwhelm yourself with thoughts of tasks that need to be completed. Instead create a list of things you need to get done and take the utmost satisfaction in crossing the item off of the list.

e.g: If I have essay that needs to be done, I’ll set the goal of writing one paragraph/page a day. (*WARNING*: Do not do this if you are a procrastinator).

8. Last but not least, have fun!

Teachers: YES! Have fun! remind yourself why it is you went into this profession in the first place and enjoy those moments.

http://www.collegecountdown.com/blog/in-the-classroom/8-tips-for-how-to-avoid-senioritis-in-high-school.html

Happy Blogging! <3 Destinee Manns

KATE Conference 2014: Christmas for English Teachers

KATE Conference 2014: ReThink, ReConnect, ReNew. 

During the course of my educational experience at Wichita State University I have learned so many valuable concepts and ideas that I have either implemented already in my placement or have made a mental note to use in my future classroom. From textbooks, I have learned the do's and don'ts of teaching, various instructional strategies that would best benefit an individual student, and how to create a lesson plan. The 2014 KATE conference was ironically one of the most exhausting, yet exhilarating functions I have ever attended.

From the very start I was inspired when keynote speaker, Dr. Howard Pitler stated the various types of teachers (Traditionalists, Sophisticates, Warm Demanders, and Sentimentalist). I was relieved to finally learn that there was a title for the kind of teacher I have always aspired to be, and more importantly, that it was okay to be this kind of teacher. As of now, I consider myself a Sentimentalist and I hope that with more experience inside the classroom that I eventually become a Warm Demander. Dr. Pitler's statement that "kids do not care what you know, unless they know that you care" is the epitome of everything I stand for and a message I plan to always relay to my students, after all, we are people FIRST and students second.

Of the various sessions I attended where I learned how to integrate History, Art, Music, and even learned how to use Literature in cross-curricular instruction, one of my favorites was held by Eileen Wertzberger in the session, The Power of Discourse: Engaging Students by Activating their Voices.  Unlike the other meetings I attended, this was spontaneously set-up as a round-table discussion. I learned some amazing techniques to promote student involvement and strategies to combat shyness in students. Outside of promoting active students, this presentation also covered several innovative ways to share the importance of the content we are teaching and how it applies to their lives outside of the classroom. Because Mrs. Wertzberger was so inviting, I felt comfortable sharing my own ideas, and experience within the classroom.

Taylor Mali:

My involvement with Taylor Mali was by far the highlight for me during this conference.
Seeing him in his element, working with the poetry students during our workshop, and watching how he constructively criticized each one of my students' poems and their performance was awe-inspiring. The students loved every minute of it and It was obvious that their eagerness to learn and better themselves had increased. Not only did I appreciate what he did for my students, but I found myself (more times than I can count) saying "oh my gosh, that is so true!" or "I've never thought about it in that way." During a workshop that was designed to teach, inspire, and satisfy the needs of our High School students was so profound that I also benefited.
 
Taylor Mali continued to amaze me during lunch when I found out that he, just like myself, eats salad, cake, and pasta! ;) He then went on to share poems with us that were related to our aspirations of becoming English teachers, but I was most appreciative of his poems that conveyed memories of his personal life. There is something comforting about knowing that someone as great and influential as Taylor Mali also has a life. Not a life filled with touring, teaching, and sharing poetry, but a life filled with pain, heartbreak, love, accomplishments, and disappointments. He is a man who is hysterically funny and inspiring to teachers and students everywhere.

This years KATE conference was better than I had anticipated. Everything I learned was completely invaluable and I feel so privileged to have had this opportunity! I look forward to my involvement in the conferences to come and excited to reconnect with all of the awesome Kansas teachers again.

Happy Blogging!
 From a completely renewed student-teacher,
Destinee Manns.

RULES TO LIVE BY: inside AND outside of the classroom (Genre Reflection)

          We live in a society where people are afraid to truly be themselves out of the fear of not being accepted. I know this because I too am guilty of this feeling; however, this is not because I want to be accepted by everyone else, but because I am not even accepting of my own flaws and afraid to face them head on.

        There comes a point where you have to learn to remember the good things instead of dwelling on the negative things you cannot change and to know that no matter what, it is O-K. The following is a list of things that I plan to live by and to introduce to my students.

It's okay to be so overly optimistic, even if it means always trying to find the good in a person or a situation that seems to always let you down. -- In a way, this is making you stronger.

It's okay to tell someone NO! -- If it something you don't agree with or that doesn't benefit you, do not be afraid to voice it.

It's okay to give compliments, AND to receive them. -- One small act of kindness can be life changing in some circumstances. Not to mention, it's nice to feel bubbly inside.

It's okay to love food more than you love people. -- Seriously. I condone a gluttonous lifestyle.

When it rains, cuddle under the covers and indulge in your favorite treat while watching your favorite movie or reading your favorite book.

Take risks, set goals, and follow them through until the end. You will be rewarded with a sensational amount of gratification.

Be creative. Life is more interesting this way.

Cry. I mean really cry.  It's healthy sometimes.

30 second dance parties can instantly better your mood. ESPECIALLY when dancing with a two year old.

There is no wrong way to interpret any song or piece of literature. REMEMBER THIS.

Do not be ashamed of feeling heartbroken because you have finished reading your favorite series and will no longer be able to read about your book-boyfriend. --This applies to TV series as well.

Do not be afraid to change your mind. What are the chances of getting everything right the first time around anyways?

Remember to floss your teeth and clean out your ears, -- These are two of the best feelings anyways....and putting in a fresh pair of contacts.

also remember absolutely everything you were taught in Kindergarten!
Share
Don't hit others
Clean up your own mess
Wash your hands before you eat.
Remember the Golden Rule, If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
LOOK! - everything you need or want to know is there somewhere.

and last but not least, a quote from one of my favorite poems:

"Think of what a better world it would be if we all- the whole entire world- had cookies and milk around 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own mess. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together," -- Robert Fulghum, All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten