Those things are called letters

Something weird is happening. Students aren't being taught spelling. It's totally strange. I'm not sure who the dummy is who said kids don't need to learn to spell, but they're wrong. Allow me to explain what I live with.

I'm a high school teacher. I have students who can't spell to save their life. My highest honor students come to me with all their spelling questions because I actually can spell. I know how to spell because I know phonics. You see, the English language, while tricky, does have rules. Certain letters and certain letter combinations, make certain sounds. That sound may change based on the order of the letters (this is called emphasis), but even that has rules. So the students who come to me and say they actually spelled something right, I have a very hard time explaining to them that NO, that is not correct because that letter placed after that letter makes that letter sound likes this and not that. They don't know it because they've never been taught it.

Here's what it looks like in a high school student- I can't read what the student wrote since it's all spelled wrong and the student can't read aloud something I wrote because they don't know what sounds are supposed to be made. THIS IS WHY YOU TEACH SPELLING!!

So what does this look like in a grown-up? Simply put, extremely annoying conversation where there's always at least one word mispronounced. I have a particular person that I correct on a regular basis. I don't say outright "you're pronouncing that wrong." I act confused and say "do you mean _____?" They usually catch on. So one time this person tried to argue with me. The argument? Well everyone talks different, you can really say it however you want.

Um, actually you can't. That's the point of having a language. If you could just make whatever sounds you wanted to make and assume people will know what you're saying, then we've got the Tower of Babel all over again. Which means God is punishing us because we got all presumptuous again. Thinking we can just say things however we want. Serious business people, so please, make sure you teach your kids what letters make what sounds (PHONICS) and what letters go in what words to make those sounds (SPELLING) and save us all the major set-back of confounded language.

Grading is what makes teachers so mad about being a teacher

Well that and the crappy pay. But honestly, the pay is a minute issue compared to the grading. It's so horrible. It's boring, tedious, mind-numbing, tear-inducing, most dreaded thing ever, awful. I am particularly resentful of grading. Here's how grading goes as you become more experienced:

Year 1- every assignment ever given is turned in and graded by the teacher on accuracy.
Year 2- every assignment ever given is turned in as a "notebook" and graded by the teacher on completion
Year 3- most assignments ever given are turned in as a "notebook" and graded by the teacher on completion, remaining assignments ever given are turned in an graded by the teacher on accuracy
Year 4- most assignments ever given are turned in as a "notebook" and graded by the TA (teacher assistant) on completion, remaining assignments ever given are turned in and grade by the teacher on general accuracy
Year 5- most assignments ever given are turned in as a "notebook" and graded by the TA on completion, most remaining assignments ever given are graded by the teacher on general accuracy, remaining assignments are forgotten- if the student asks to turn it in, they get extra credit
Year 6- most assignments ever given are turned in as a "notebook" and graded by the TA on completion, most remaining assignments are forgotten- if the student asks to turn it in, they get extra credit, remaining assignments are graded by the teacher on general accuracy

If you lost track of this- here's the break down. First I did too much, then I did a little less, then a little but less than that, now I barely grade.

But the grading I have to do now is like hard grading. Stuff I actually have to read. It sucks. It's not interesting and any teacher who tells you so is lying. I'm reading the same thing over and over and over. "Interesting" stopped showing up about page 3.

So then how do students show they're learning? That's way easier than you'd think. You see, students copy and plagiarize ALL DAY LONG. The work they actually turn in rarely shows what has truly been learned. It shows what's been completed. As a teacher, I can gauge a student's learning by seeing how engaged they are in class (tuned out means not learning, duh). By asking them questions. By seeing how quickly they complete that work. By seeing how much of that work they do on their own and how much they do with a friend.

The thing is though- non teaching people don't get this. People really think teachers need to sit down and score papers and give cute little letters grades to determine how well a student is performing. Teachers are not dumb people, teachers know their stuff. And just like a dentist can have a conversation with someone and quickly determine whether or not that person is another dentist. I can have a conversation with a student and quickly determine whether or not they know the same stuff I do.

So I hate grading, it's a pointless exercise that just sucks time out of day. But I have to do it, it's part of the job, so I'm going to keep doing it and complaining about it every single step of the way.

Puff the Magic Pastry

So in my foods classes at work, we cover a pastry unit. We had previously done 3 different labs- beef empanadas where they made their own pastry dough from scratch, mile high peanut butter pie where they make a crumb crust for a crème pie, and apple turnovers using a store-bought puff pastry product (with filling from scratch of course).

Well those store bought puff pastries are not cheap and the budget has been very tight this year. We always pride ourselves in giving our kids high-quality labs. This is the basic culinary arts class after all. We're going to be as healthy as we can, as tasty as we can, and we avoid "cooking from a box." So it made sense for us to drop those store-bough pastries and make our own.

Because the pastry dough has to chill overnight, we had a 2-day lab. Kids already have to peel and slice their apples the day before so we weren't adding time onto the calendar or anything. Overall things seemed to go OK today but the true test will be tomorrow when the pastry dough bakes! I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, here's the recipe:

Simple Puff Pastry:
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 1/4 sticks cold butter (that's 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
3/4 cup ice cold water

Mix the flour and salt then cut in the butter. Work quickly so the butter doesn't get too warm, you want it to stay in solid clumps when working the dough. Stir in the water with a fork until everything is moistened. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Pat it into a loaf then roll out into a rough rectangle. Fold it in thirds like you were folding a brochure. This creates the layers. Pick up the folded dough and rotate it, making sure to re-flour underneath so it doesn't stick to the counter. Roll it out again into the rectangle shape. Then fold again. Repeat this roll and fold process about 5 times before finally folding it into a tidy little brick. Wrap in saran wrap and let chill a minimum of 2 hours. Bring the dough out again and repeat the roll and fold another 3 times. Then you can roll the dough out to use as needed. It should bake at 425 degrees.

Safety in Schools

This is obviously a hot topic in our society lately. It's an unfortunate reality but it is reality. I am blessed that I work in a district that takes our safety very seriously and it is always a priority. I have never felt unsafe in my school even though some people think it has a rough reputation.

Our district has undergone many efforts to increase our school safety in the last 2 years. We have controlled access entries now in all our schools, we have increased security supervision by contracting with a private security firm, and we have video camera surveillance on just about every corner of district property (and we use it, much to our students' annoyance). All this is to say that obviously our district has wisely chosen to invest in the safety of its staff and students.

Things were taken even one step further this year when every school was provided intensive intruder training. At first we were all a little nervous about it, but everyone quickly got on board with the project. Since my parents are uber-safe about everything all the time (wrist guards while rollerblading anyone?), I get a big kick out of this sort of thing. Being prepared is the best way to be!

It started with a basic classroom session. We listened to sound and video footage of various shootings and learned a lot of important lessons. We watched demonstrations on how to barricade doors, how to fight back, how to evacuate. It was simple knowledge stuff but it was very important and really made you think.

The next phase was a hands on training. We were put in classrooms to practice barricading doors and locking out intruders. We were taught how to fight back. And then we had drills. First they had us run a drill with the previous method of school safety- no locking out the intruder, every man for himself, hide. I had scoped out my hiding spot and was positive I could be completely unseen. But another teacher saw me headed there and joined me. We both scrunched ourselves into the corner and anxiously hoped the "shooter" wouldn't see us. It didn't work. Well kind of. She was more exposed than me so she was "hit" but I was not. It was eye-opening to feel so powerless in that sort of situation.

The second situation let us lock down the classroom. Whoo! That's where things got serious. Another teacher and I ended up in the dark right by the door anxiously holding on to the rope to keep it closed. Fortunately we did.

Each drill upped the ante and each time we got better and better in securing ourselves and our "position." It was an adrenaline rush for sure. We were proud that the intruders were never able to get into our room. By the time we finished we had some rope burn on our hands, were hot and sweaty, and definitely breathing hard. But it was worth it! We, and I say we because of course we all talked about it, feel much more empowered and in control should we face an intruder situation. The information isn't just for school invader situations either, you never know where you will face a violent situation.

Obviously we hope that this was all for nothing. That we never face this sort of situation. But the facts of life today are that you need to be prepared, and our crew is.