The Kohlmans

Over the past few years, as I've mentioned here before, the state of Kansas has seen some tough economic times. These budget shortfalls have led to severe cuts to public services, not the least of which has been education. Now that things are getting better, our governor is proposing that, instead of restoring any cuts that have been made, we need to cut taxes and reform the tax codes (the issue of how those tax cuts will affect Kansans, especially those who can ill afford the "reforms" proposed, is a whole other issue that I'm not quite knowledgeable enough to tackle. I'll just say that I don't believe the proposed plan is what's best for Kansas. You can read a little bit about it here or here .). Now, I'm all for allowing people to keep more of their hard-earned money. But at what cost? Several pro-education groups in Kansas have started a petition to "End the Kansas Madness" and restore funding to Kansas public schools. It's simply...

I have one, if it's not too late. If you were suddenly appointed the head of the United States Department of Education, what would you change about the education system here in America (I know it's too broad, what would be the FIRST thing you'd change)? This is a great question. Oh, there's so much that could be improved. There are so many ways we could grow. And it's tough because, technically, education is a function of the states (since it's not explicitly given to the federal government). Hmm... not that it's stopped anyone before. Hands down, though, the first thing I would do is begin work to replace the No Child Left Behind law. There was a great article in Time that matter-of-factly explains the issues that schools are facing. NCLB has such a negative connotation in schools that it might be best to completely leave it behind. Just about any reform would be a step in the right direction, though. Maybe. Basically, it boils down to... 1. S...

Today was rough. Inservice is like that sometimes - life is like that sometimes. But today, I am thankful. So thankful that I have someone I can go to to vent, to unload my frustrations to, to look to for advice and encouragement and a shot of confidence. I can honestly say that, as a high school freshman, I would never have guessed that I'd be sending Mrs. H. facebook messages 11 years later. But here I am. And I am so grateful that I can send these messages and count on a reply that happens to be just what I need. (I've tried really hard to call her "Susan," but that just doesn't feel right. She'll always be my teacher.) So thank you, Mrs. H., for being that person who understands me, or at least pretends to,on the days I just want to quit and on the days I feel like I just don't matter and the days I just feel like a crappy teacher.   I need to record here (and share with you) what she wrote, if only to save the words for when I next need them; pay sp...

Every other Tuesday, for half of our language arts block, I take my students to the library. Our librarian teaches them a lesson, which could be anything from how to find library materials to a standards-based lesson. Then, they get to check out books and read on the couches. Today was library day. I've always loved my library days, but this year they seem to be even more special. I feel like I'm becoming a respected reader to them, through read aloud, reading during their time to read, commenting on what they read, and giving book talks to the class. I've slowly added to this list throughout the years, and I finally feel like I'm "getting there." Of course, as soon as I get there, I'll figure something else out. (Because I hear that when you "get there," it's time to get out.) This year I added something new... After reading through interest surveys, parent questionnaires, and reading surveys, I came up with a personalized book recomme...

Brad's new talent... being the naughty kid! (This is the video of "don'ts" that they made to show kids on their first day of school.)

Today was the first real day of school. Yesterday my sixth graders came for WEB activities (Where Everyone Belongs) in the morning and a short schedule in the afternoon (each class was only 15 minutes). So I can call today the first real day. So far, I have great kids. I'm pretty sure. There are a few kiddos I'm going to have to work with. But they are good. My day: 5:16 am - wake up, go run 6:10 am - shower, get ready 7:00 am - head to work 7:40 am - first bell rings, help kids with lockers for 10 min. 7:50 am - frantically go through class expectations and syllabus for Expressive Language Arts 8:40 am - 6th grade pod mtg. with admin (start seeing spots), then round 2 of frantically go through class expectations and syllabus for Expressive Language Arts 9:29 am -frantically go through class expectations and syllabus for Language Arts (head really starts hurting) 10:45 am - realize I have a migraine and finally tell the kids they can visit quietly because I'm n...

"...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through God who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:11-13 It's so easy to fall into a habit of discontentment. I could most definitely continue to be frustrated about our school's new health insurance policy. I could be upset that I still have to travel. I could complain about sharing a classroom. I could. I certainly could. In fact, I already did today. (And I felt very guilty and convicted. Hence, this post.) But what good will that do? Nada. In fact, complaining, other than the occasional and necessary venting session, makes me feel worse. I wallow.  Instead, I'm going to work on being content (and even thankful) whatever the circumstances. (I know. It's a bi...

At this time next week, I'll be sitting in inservice meetings. I am ready to go back, ready for the routine, ready for the time with amazing co-workers. But at the same time, I'm not quite ready to give up the relaxed freedom that comes with summer. I'm not quite ready for two classrooms and two buildings. So I just thought I'd share a few things that I hope will save my sanity this school year. I have amazing co-workers. They make me laugh on some of the most stressful days. A cleaning schedule. Following this (which we have been, pretty closely, for the past few weeks) means that we won't spend half of every Saturday cleaning. (Okay, it's probably not that long, but it seems like it.) My pretty blue planner. Pretty much everything goes in here. Piano! I've started a new mission: learn a new song every month. I'm not very good about actually practicing and learning to play new songs. I like to just sit down and play songs I already know. So one ...

I had a bad dream the other night. About school. And it's only June... (the dream, in case you want to know, was that it was 7:50 on the first day of school. 7:50 is when school starts in my "morning" building. but I was in my "afternoon" building. when I got to the right school, my principal and all my new students were standing at my door waiting. yikes. I had dreams like this throughout the year last year - at least monthly.) Hopefully carrying this new school bag will help ease my stress next year. Well, probably not, but a girl can dream (in a good way this time). I've wanted/needed to make a new school bag (by school bag I mean the one I take to work) for a while. One of the straps broke on my old one last fall, and it's been safety-pinned ever since. It would've been easier to just fix that, but I needed something a little more bright and colorful, since I lug it from my car to school, from one school to the next, back to my car, into t...

"If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job." ~Donald D. Quinn It's finally, officially that wonderful time of year that we call summer. I'm breathing a sigh of relief that this school year is over - it was difficult... that's been no secret to anyone around me - and crossing my fingers that soon I'll be posting on a more regular basis.

We are officially on the home stretch - just eight more weeks (but who's counting?!). My seventh graders start reading The Giver tomorrow. I am so excited. Today we did some pre-reading activities, one of which was the jot down a list of what their perfect society would be like - climate, money, jobs, daily activities, etc... They had some interesting answers. Every swimming pool would be filled with chocolate pudding. Money would grow on trees. Everyone would have enough to eat. It would always be 75 degrees and sunny. There would be no natural disasters. This is just a small sample, but it got me thinking... what would your utopia be like?! (After we finish the novel, they will create their own utopias.)

Today, my last student finished the last part of the state reading assessment. For the first time in my teaching career, 100% of my sixth and seventh graders passed - they met standards, exceeded standards, or were exemplary. I have mixed feelings. I am proud, that they used their good test-taking strategies, that they learned this year, that I taught them something. I am disappointed, that this is what my job is, that the climax of our time together is an 80-question, multiple choice test, that I feel my worth as a teacher depends - at least in part - on these results.  Is what I taught them what they need to know? I teach several things that I never learned - and yet I managed to graduate with an English degree. I teach them to use their striker to eliminate answer choices, to highlight key words... I teach them how to identify similes and metaphors, to find the climax, to unveil the author's position and how its supported, the definitions of their prefixes and suffixes. ...

Just because I don't want to forget this moment today... One of my students told me yesterday that he struggled with the first part of his assessment. I did my best to encourage him, but there's not much for me to do at this point. Today, I worried about him. I probably hovered a little too much as he carefully read the passage and selected answers. I walked by his spot in the lab a few too many times. But then I saw something that warmed my heart. He asked for a piece of scratch paper; I glanced at the screen to see that he was on a question about climax. I brought him one and walked away. A while later, I passed his computer again... He had sketched out a plot diagram, the climax laid out first, merging into a gentle upward slope of rising action, turning sharply at the climax, easing downward with the falling action to the resolution. I smiled. And walked away.

I got good news today in the form of an e-mail from one of my principals... Good news! The Budget Advisory Committee's recommendation at the conclusion of the evening last night was to propose cuts to the BOE that would not impact staffing unless the cuts that end up being made by the politicians go beyond Brownback's proposed cuts, which is possible but not real likely. Even if further cuts are enacted at the state level, the goal would be to take care of our staffing cuts through attrition as much as possible.   Another good news item - the committee felt overwhelmingly that supplementals/extra duty contracts should not be cut further, since those reductions have been so drastic already.   This will go to BOE in April, and they will make the final decisions.   I have been worried. After what happened last year ( first this , then this ), Governor Brownback's proposals had me on edge. Nothing is final quite yet, but now I can relax and enjoy the part of the ye...

These days, I'm heading home from school sometime between 5:10 and 5:30 because of track practice. Today, I was driving along behind another car. As we approached a school zone sign, it began to slooooow down. I thought to myself, If the light's not flashing, it's not a school zone. Students have fled for the day, their backpacks stuffed with smelly gym clothes and the homework they may or may not do. They have changed in the locker room for track or tennis practice, worked out, and waited for their parents out back. If the light's not flashing, it's not a school zone. Teachers, fed up with glancing at the dingy white cinderblock walls that no number of colorful posters or exemplary student work samples can truly cover, have packed their bags. They have trudged out the door, weighed down by papers that may or may not be graded by the next day. They are home with their partners and children and pets, in their needs-to-be-cleaned-but-who-has-the-time houses. If...

The familiar refrain runs through my mind as I step toward my desk. I should grade research papers. I monitor assessments. I read canned directions. I ask "did you review your answers?" then say, "you may end assessment." I should grade research papers. I plan a few days of a unit on The Giver. I divide chapters by days, or days by chapters - something like that. I run ideas for student-led discussion and projects through my mind. I should grade research papers. I clean up my desk. I sort through a random computer file, deleting documents I don't know why I have. I should grade research papers . Some day I should will grade those research papers.

I'm a day late, but I'm in. Today a student (who was a reluctant reader at the beginning of the year) came up to me with her reading journal and said, "I have six [summaries]! My sister and I had a reading competition this weekend!" That's why I teach.

"There has recently been a national furor about school reform. One must wonder how it is possible to talk of improving schools while cutting funding, demoralizing teachers, cutting scholarships to college, and increasing class sizes." It just doesn't make sense - at least to me. I think that this article on CNN.com presents the viewpoint of teachers very well.Ravitch's book is now on my "to-read" list.

Here is my current reading list: Four from my birthday Three for work (one is a re-read) One for school Two still from Christmas Three to read before putting on the shelves in my classroom Some day.

We read about a hog slaughter today... "Oh my gosh! They even used the hide!" "Probably for bacon." Um, yeah. Probably. Yes, I teach in the suburbs.