Free Write

I was warned about October. I was warned about a lot of things that would happen during the first part of the year. October was supposed to be the month from hell, the month when everything caught up to me and I began loathing my job. We were told of former teachers who said October was easily the worst month of the year. The weather gets colder. Daylight hours are shorter. I was scared of October because August and September were fantastic! How can the good times just end?

They didn’t.

I’m not sure if they were just trying to build things up so much that when it actually came around it wouldn’t seem so bad. In my case, I don’t even think that was the case. October just wasn’t that bad. In fact, a lot of new and exciting things have been happening. We are trying to start a school newspaper. These kids have never had one so they seem to be really excited. We had 35 show up to the first meeting. I’m also working with one of my journalism professors from Ole Miss, Garreth Blackwell, and he has offered to help. He and his wife even donated some digital cameras for us.

I’m also coaching basketball. Now I’m going to be honest, I don’t really even like basketball, but they asked me to help and I don’t know how to say no. What surprised me is that I am actually enjoying it. We have some great kids and contrary to my two weeks of helping with high school volleyball, the middle-schoolers actually try. They dive on the floor, get mad when they don’t play, and they have this amazing competitive spirit. 

Perhaps the best part of October has been that I have gotten to know my students better and better. Their personalities are starting to come out, and while some may caution me about the discipline problems that could bring, I’m happy about it. I laugh at my students every day. I must say that I don’t love the teaching part of my job as much as I thought I would, but I love my kids. They keep me coming back to school every day. They give me reason to roll out of bed in the morning. Discipline has become more of a challenge, but they’re not unmanageable. I would rather have to put more effort into my classroom management than have a room full of kids who are afraid to show me their personality.

Assessing Literacy Growth

It was suggested that journaling is an excellent way for students to assess their own strengths and needs.  Out of the entire fourth chapter of Content Literacy for Today's Adolescents, I found this suggestion to be the most applicable for a writing course. 

Content literacy is not a huge issue for my class. The seventh grade state framework does not require that we introduce very many new terms. I spent the first nine weeks on the eight parts of speech.... the whole nine weeks! By the end of the quarter, my kids knew their terms. 

I am more worried about the progress of their writing. I have already found that it is extremely difficult to monitor the writing of 140 seventh graders, so to be more effective, they need to start monitoring themselves. I  recently requested composition notebooks for each of my students through Donors Choose. After reading the section on effective assessments involving students, I am sure that journaling is my best option. 

The book also suggests rubrics as a powerful way to involve students in assessment. I feel that this is a double-edged sword. Yes, rubrics let the students know what is expected, but they can also minimize creativity.

I was glad that the book included a section on the pros and cons of standardized tests. I always wrestle with the issue of standardized tests. They are obviously our go-to assessments for almost everything, but I don't think that they are always the best. I agree with the book when it says that standardized tests are a good way for districts and principals to evaluate special programs. It goes on to say that these tests provide only a gross estimate of student reading level. The benefits of gross estimates are limited.

Perhaps one of the best and most common ways to assess literacy is informally in a casual, relaxed environment. I worry that students freeze up when they are asked to read and comprehend on tests. I enjoy listening to them read in small groups of their peers. In those situations, they seem to be the most laid back.