School Daze

Friday, July 31 was the last day of school for me. At Lufkin Road Middle School, that is. I've really enjoyed my time there and hope to come back for my full internship. So it was sort of sad, but I didn't have much time to think about it.

It was a busy day. There were new members of the TV news crew as the final track began its new school year. There had also been a storm that created problems with the network connections, so there were lots of questions from faculty to answer. Additionally, in order to accomodate the number of teachers needing access to a computer lab, the school began experimenting with creating an additional lab using laptops and a wireless cart. Since there is always one group of students tracked out, the science room in that pod is converted to a computer lab using the cart. Each time it is set up there are a few glitches. New 6th graders tracking in needed help setting up their usernames and passwords in Blackboard and their were more orientations.

The front page story of the News & Observer was not lost on me, either. I've been job hunting for a considerable amount of time and have a number of resumes sent out to principals and local school districts. The article was about the budget standoff and how teachers, administrators, and parents were frustrated not knowing how many teachers would be hired and how big the resulting class sizes would be. Most schools are not year round and will start in three weeks. It's getting close and the anxiety I feel was certainly echoed in the story.

But the day ended with some fun. Diane is preparing for her National Boards and she's doing a technology project with one of the teachers. They want to set up a history project using Voice Thread software. We ended the day playing with it (I guess I should say, "exploring its features") to see how it worked. We had a mic and a web cam in the back workroom. Sandra and Diane both had accounts. Diane set up a discussion area and Sandra was trying to post audio and video content. We also called in comments on a cell phone. The point of Voice Thread is to hold a multimedia group discussions via the web. The students would get both a technology and a history lesson and have fun doing it. And the software would document the discussion for Diane.

I promised to stay in touch. I'll be really curious to see how both the budget and the Voice Thread play out. And as I mentioned, I hope it's not "good bye", just "see you later".

Everybody loves podcasting

OK, more technology boot camp. As if the podcasting class itself were not enough--another podcasting homework assignment. This (very poor) podcast was created during my vacation with my kids at the John C Campbell Folkschool this past week. Computers and other electronic devices are frowned upon and the only three pronged outlets with wireless access were in the library of all places. I had a tiny netbook with a poor mic and a script I could barely read in the poor lighting, trying not to disturb those around me while the talent show was wrapping up in the next room. But anticipating my post-vacation desk at work, I really didn't want to be a week behind.

The rest of my folkschool experience was great. This is the fourth year I have taken both kids to Intergenerational week. As each child is required to have an adult with them, a friend from Quaker meeting, Linda, comes to be the other adult. Linda lost her husband in the 1983 Beruit bombing and raised her too children mostly alone so she gets it about single parenting. She's a very good sport, great company and has a comfortable van to tote all our stuff in and all our shopping and finished craft projects home. This year she brought with her a map of all the quilt/fabric shops in NC so the trip home was almost as fun as the week there.

Ben and Linda took Blacksmithing with Judy Berger, a wonderful woman who is great with kids, and their sometimes less than enthusiastic parents. This is Linda's third stint with blacksmithing. Fortunately this was the coolest week we've had up there yet. Jessie and I took glass beadmaking. Both kids were thrilled. Where else to they have parental permission to play with fire?! The classes are punctuated with extraordinary meals and each day ends with a program of music or dance or folk heritage.

My first trip to the Folkschool was five years ago with my son, Ben, for Little Middle Week. It's sort of like a daycamp for younger kids with a few class opportunities for the adults. I took felting. He took, among three other activities, lap dulcimer. It was a fortuitous event. He was getting bored with piano and I didn't want him to lose interest in music. He took the class on a lark and discovered he really liked it. He's quite accomplished now. His sister has taken up hammered dulcimer and is pretty mean at it, too.

This is our last year for Intergenerational week. Jessie is too old and Ben wants to go to a dulcimer week in Cullowhee that is always this same week in July. Linda and I may just come by ourselves . . .

The best laid plans . . .

Today was largely about extension cords. And the fire marshall who didn't like where they were. By the end of the last school year, the workroom of the media center was full of new data projectors waiting to be installed. The library spent considerable funds on those rubber strips that lay on the carpet and keep folks from tripping on the cords. And they'd bought lovely new, heavy-duty extension cords to go in them--and somehow managed to find the cords in the school colors of red and black. I was there just after all the installing was finished. Sandra and Diane were full of stories about crawling on the floor and using miles of duct tape to keep them down. Well, all of that was undone yesterday and today after the fire marshall declared the extensions cords inappropriate, despite their colors. So all the data projectors had to be moved to AV carts, the extension cords removed, and the AV cart cords inserted into the rubber strips and then re-taped to the carpet.

The good news is that it is all done. The library now has a generous stash of brightly colored extension cords. And someone had the foresight to put all the cabinets in the classrooms on trolleys so they were easy to move away from the recepticles we needed to access.

In and amongst all this excitement I was able to visit with the art teacher who would like to do a section on weaving. I gave her my contact information (I'm a weaver in my other life) and hope I'll get to help her some when she's ready to plan. I also got to observe another research class in the library. The teacher who was having students write resumes for volcanoes was having them create "wanted" posters of famous scientists following a biographical outline. Not only were they learning about the lives of the scientists, but were learning to insert pictures into Word documents and explore formatting. And the 8th graders made it in for their library orientation.

All in all, it was a busy day. There were classes in the library for all but one period which meant lots of circulation. Generally volunteers do the shelving. But today, Diane asked me to shelve a stack of books with stickers on them. The popular series books are all housed on shelves just inside the library door. They have yellow dots on them. Diane said she wanted them back on the shelves ASAP as they were so in demand. So I got the stack on the shelves just before lunch. And after lunch, I was checking those same books out again. Think I could develop circulation envy.

New School Year

School has been back since July 7. It must have been a rough July 4 weekend as I was startled by the number of students in braces and casts! Or maybe I just didn't see them last time I was there, but there seemed to be a bunch.



The library assistant, Liz, is tracked out this week. She works the schedule her children attend school so she's off for three weeks. This is the week of library orientation so Diane and Sandra greeted me with instructions. My jobs today were to (wo)man the circulation desk and work the laminator.



We had 6th and 7th grade students today. Orientation consisted of a Camtasia PowerPoint created for each grade level. Sixth graders needed to learn how to log into the computer and receive their user names and passwords for Blackboard. The school does not allow personal email, so students use the Digital Dropbox function in Blackboard to make assignments available at home or to turn in assignments to their instructors. The seventh grade orientation was focused on plagiarism--note taking and using citations. Afterwards, students were allowed to check out books and magazines.

Lots of happy students plowing through the books. Diane was right, the shelves had plenty of room again for reshelving. And the new computer system kept a couple of 6th grade students from checking materials out as they had overdues from their elementary schools.

Some observations: I teach handweaving and have for years. One of my discussions with beginners is that there is a body English to working at the loom. Your head gets it before your fingers do, but once your fingers get it, it gets a whole lot easier. Apparently laminators and barcode readers operate the same way. Except I haven't had enough time with them to master either one. Fortunately, the students were patient while I wrestled with the barcode reader. And a teacher, to whom I apologied for my "creative laminating" just grinned and said that forgiveness was a requirement for working here. The good news is that Destiny is a whole lot easier to use (and much easier on the eyes) than our Sirsi Dynix system at work and I don't think I made too many mistakes there.

But the big discovery of the day was a book on Diane's desk, The First Days of School: How to be an effective teacher. I didn't have to read too far to realize what an outstanding resource it was. My personal copy, via Amazon, is on the way . . .

Technology Boot Camp

This is week three of Technology Boot Camp, an effort by the community college system to offer technology training to educators. This is a six week program of distance ed funded by a grant from AT&T and hosted by the Center for Organizational Research and Development. Even though I have a foundational background in the topics they are discussing, it has been both demanding and interesting.

There are 28 of us in the class, but based on this week's discussion posts (or lack thereof) I'm wondering if we haven't lost some folks. Through my library training, I've been reading about, and to a degree, using the web 2.0 technologies the class is reviewing. I can see their applications in other libraries and have worked with a couple of instructors on campus to explore their use in the classroom.

Apparently, some of my class members have not had such exposure. Some of the feedback from the class is beginning to sound a lot like overwhelm. "How am I going to use This?! in my class??" A few folks already have been implementing what we've discussed and have examples to share, but they are the minority.

The Internet as we know it is less than 20 years old, but the exposure to all the new technology it has spawned may actually have physically changed the brains of the students now flooding our schools. Those of us whose education predates the 'net are now forced to learn to teach in new ways. And while I, too, am struggling to determine just what use some specific applications, like Twitter, have in the classroom, it strikes me that the time for reluctance is over.

I turned 55 a week or so ago, so the brain is not young. I don't expect ever to be fluid with this stuff. But I'm doing my best to jump to the seargent's call. I do want to be effective. And that means I have to learn the turf and the language. I just hope they make earbuds that will fit around my hearing aids . . .

The sesquipenultimate school day

(Note: In music, the ultimate note in a composition is the final note. The penultimate note is the one before it, hence the sesquipenultimate note is the one before that. According to NPR, anyway.)

Friday, June 26. Clearly the last week of school. In contrast to the previous week, there were no flashcards or study sheets or students anxiously reviewing or clutching final projects. As I entered the school this week, they were all chatting and fingering digital cameras. Throughout the school day, I could feel the energy. Several times, the library assistant was called to help out in ISS. Apparently it was full of students unable to contain their enthusiasm for the end of the school year.

I actually remembered my check list this visit and began making more conscious observations outside the media center. The offloading of students in the morning is an exercise in highly organized chaos. As I mentioned, the school is in the middle of an industrial park. The early school bell probably helps avoid much of the morning traffice, but it is still a very busy area. The busses are incredibly efficient, discharging volumes of happy, excited kids in a very few minutes. However, the parade of cars offloading one or two students seemed endless (especially at the end of the day when a tired intern is trying to get through the line to the exit). Fortunately, busses are on one side of the building, the parents are on the other. The two parking areas do not appear to connect so bus and car interaction is limited.While the lines of cars and busses were neat and orderly, the noisy gaggle of students assembling near the entrance was anything but. When the doors opened, students streamed into the foyer. Walking among them felt like being pulled along by the tide.

The office is immediately inside the main entrance and to the right. Visitors are greeted by a colorful computer screen asking for their name and the purpose of their visit. They are rewarded with a bright yellow sticker printed with their name and destination This particular morning, the receptionist was out and the school's book keeper was trying to manage visitors, the phone, and students anxious to correct their attendance records. To the left, an infirmary provides needed first aid supplies and is periodically visited by a nurse who rotates between several local schools. Beyond the desk, a hall curves towards the mailroom with offices for the principal and other administrative staff members. On Fridays, the principal and many of the teachers and staff members wear bright red T-shirts bearing the LRMS Lightening mascot. This Friday, the office is particularly busy as students and parents try to clear up end-of-year details.

When I got to the media center, sporting my bright yellow badge, Diane was still on the hunt for individuals who hadn't turned in their library books. This was her last opportunity (or the last day she was making an attempt this school year). The list was substantially shorter than last week and she did nab a few more while scouring the halls and visiting homerooms, clipboard and marking pen in hand. However, as soon as that job was done, she had me accompany her to one of the special education labs where we were to assist the instuctor with her students. The students had been writing a journal all year. Their final assignment was to put their favorite selection from each month into a PowerPoint presentation. Diane and I brought microphones from the library's AV collection so students could record their final statements--what was the most valuable lesson they had learned that year--into their PowerPoints. The teacher was collecting their presentations on a disk for herself and giving each student a disk with their own journal on it. She'd made a CD label for each disk with a great picture of the class as a gift back to them.

The other big job that day was helping faculty members get all their files off their laptops. The school was migrating to a Microsoft server from their current Novell system. All the laptops had to be wiped clean and the new software installed. A team was coming in Monday to make the migration. All the laptops had to be emptied of personal files and collected by the end of the day. Some instructors were having trouble removing their files. One of the resource teachers came by the classroom and saw Diane and asked for help. As Diane was busy with the students, I assisted with the laptop. It was a great chance to chat with her about services for special needs students.

I have a 29 year old stepson who was born at aound 25 weeks. He is a happy, successful young man now, but with all his developmental delays and associated hardships, school was a nightmare for him. As his dad and I were the custodial parents, it fell to us to negotiate for the special services he needed and deserved. Our experience was that each profession we consulted had their own perspectives and success stories to back them up. And often they were in conflict. Classroom teachers wanted to retain such kids and press them for more "reinforcement" through added homework. The doctors wanted to medicate. Other specialists wanted self-contained classrooms or hours of resource time with no meds and a reduced class load. But schools may be limited as to the number of resource staff, self-contained classrooms, or resource slots available. While the state mandates that each child is entitled to an IEP, figuring out what is needed, getting everyone involved on board and then finding the time and resources to deliver the services can be daunting for families. So while we were waiting for the teacher's files to transfer, I was full of questions about how students like my stepson would be handled at Lufkin.

I was told that this school did not have "self-contained classrooms" like the one I observed in Randleman or as had been proposed for my stepson. Special needs students were taught in small groups in computer labs like the one we were in. It was still called "resource" and there was a resource teacher for each grade. They typically met for four hours a day. I was working with the 8th grade resource teacher who loved her job and made a career change specifically to have the chance to do it.

Diane and Sandra and myself made several more excursions out to make sure everyone had turned in laptops and had no problems retaining files. The rest of the day was spent shelving books--or trying to. A major shelf shifting was in order. Many shelves were so full, all I could do was lay books sideways on top of those shelved. I was assured that by the time I returned on July 10 (July 3 is a holiday), there would be plenty of room on the shelves again and the volunteers would manage the straightening up they required. My final excursion was to the staff lounge to see what was happening there.

This building had been a pharma manufacturing facility, remember? The lounge was lovely--spacious, with a nice kitchen, gorgous second floor view, and lots of vending machines. It was also empty. And it had been empty the last time I visited. I quizzed Sandra who said that not only was it really cold up there, but most folks ate lunch in small groups in their workrooms like we did in the library. She wasn't sure it was ever used much unless the PTA brought in a teacher appreciation lunch. Oh well, no hot gossip to be found there!

Monday and Tuesday are the last two days of school. Wednesday and Thursday are teacher work days. The following Monday is a workday and orientation for new students. And it all starts over again Tuesday, July 7. I'll be there again on the 10th, curious to see the school year from the other end.

LRMS-TV

Friday, June 19. Next week is the last full week of school for this school year. As I walked in the building, I passed students helping each other remember test facts with flash cards, pouring over review sheets, and clutching final projects.


When I got to the media center, I learned it was also the last day of broadcast for LRMS-TV, a daily news show that broadcasts from the media center each morning. Sandra said she's chosen to stop broadcasting at the beginning of the final week in part because there is so little news, and in part because the students are so rambunctious. They certainly were this morning. I arrived as they were rehersing their farewell to their fans and there was much silliness. As I entered the door, I was informed that I would work the teleprompter so they all could be in the final sign off.

The teleprompter was fun. I just had to hit the space bar to start and stop it according to the pace of the reader. Throughout the school year, there are four news crews of 8 students each--two from each track. Since one track is always out, there are six students at a time working on the broadcast. After the morning news show, the day's messages appear in a scrolling PowerPoint throughout the rest of the day. Sandra says she has a stock of 100 PowerPoint backgrounds to draw from to make the scrollling announcements interesting. Each student received a certificate of appreciation from Sandra, but it was evident they got a taste of celebrity status from their peers as well.


Another sign of the school year's demise was the list of overdue library books to be distributed to each homeroom. The library's collection includes about 15,000 copies representing about 12,000 titles. They also carry 11 student periodicals and 4 professional publications for staff. I learned in studying for the praxis that the accreditation folks recommend including money in the budget to replace about 5% of the collection each year due to loss or damage. The number of missing books at Lufkin was substantially below that. They have a new ILS that does a much better job of tracking books than their previous system. And it is now integrated county-wide. Which means that lost books follow a student from school to school until the fines are resolved. Dianne told me they'd had a student at the high school who couldn't buy a prom ticket until he came and cleared his middle school library record. Bet he had fun explaining that to his date! They do give some students the option of working in the library to pay off their fines if the fines are a hardship. I liked that idea. They don't have student volunteers like Maddie does and I like the idea of students working in the library. Mostly I like the idea of students getting hands-on experiences anywhere they can as a balance to their mostly academic pursuits. But that's another post.


In addition to the new ILS, the librarians also start well before the end of the school year tracking the missing books. Sandra and I went to each home room with the missing books lists and she knew the students well enough to speak to a number of them personally. During the day, Dianne would dash out into the hallways during passing period with a cardboard box asking students for library books while they were rummaging in their lockers. Each trip netted a few.


I'll be interested to see how they've whittled the number down when I go out there next Friday. Then there's the July 4th holiday week, and a new school year begins July 7--for Tracks 1, 2, and 3, that is. Track 4 starts July 27. I'll keep you posted.