Technology

Here at Farragut, we don't really use technology in the classroom. I think the biggest reason is because we simply don't have access to technology. We have a "classroom" set of calculators totaling a whopping 7. We also have a Math Lab but there's so many computers that don't work and so little time that we're allotted to use it (rumor has it we can only sign up for 1/2 a block per week) that it's hardly worth it. By the time you get your students in the lab, get them all logged on and explain what program we're using and how to use it, you get maybe 10 minutes of actual computer time. It's just ridiculous. We also don't have clickers or anything else cool to use (like iPads).

There's a huge misconception that since Farragut is in a "rich" part of town, we get all the cool stuff. However, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Rather, because we're in a "rich" part of town, we get hardly any money from anyone because most of the funds are going towards Title I schools and other schools of the like.

Additionally, we're really concerned that students rely too much on the technology they do have. It seems as if so many kids use their calculators to get an answer yet don't understand what the calculator is doing nor what their answer even means. Add this issue to the mix and you've got a bunch of math teachers who find it nearly impossible to use technology in the classroom.

My AR project is on parent involvement and the impact that has on student achievement. I'm curious to see if keeping the parents informed on a regular basis of what's going on in the classroom, our weekly calendar and reports on their child will help improve students' grades or not.

Parent Involvement

This topic really hits home with me since it's on what I want to do my AR project. I think the parent involvement with my students is best summed up in what my mentor said after proposing the idea of parent involvement. She said, "You know, it might be hard. The kids wouldn't be where they are now if the parents had been involved."

It's sad but it's so true. These kids don't have the strong parent involvement that is needed in order to excel at school. To be honest, some of these kids don't even have parents and even more so, some don't even have a steady guardian. For example, one girl transfered foster homes mid-semester and technically is now zoned for Karns (but we got to keep her). It's absolutely appalling how uninvolved the parents are and it was blatantly evident at open house. In a class of 30, we had about 4 parents show up (one of which was a couple, so only 3 students were represented). It's really sad to see the lack of parent involvement because I know if the parents even showed some investment in their student's education, the students wouldn't be struggling nearly as much.

And what's worse, there's a rumor about which parents are sweet and understanding and which parents think their kid can do no wrong. It's those parents who have the problem children and it's those parents who need to be the most understanding and involved. Quite honestly, we're too afraid to contact those parents because it seems as if it will only get us in trouble for "not doing our jobs right."

Assessments

Our class does the typical math assessments. We do homework and we check it in a few ways. Sometimes we go around and stamp all the homework for completion, sometimes we do homework quizzes (the students keep the homework on their desks and we tell them to copy down exactly what they have for a few problems) or we collect it as a big packet on the day of the chapter test. We do about 2 quizzes before every unit test to give us a feel for how the students are doing. As said before, we do unit tests. Finally we sometimes collect group work to look over.

I think my biggest issue with our assessment is that we're not consistent. There's no telling when we'll check homework or how we'll do it. I believe that students need to be accountable for their homework because it's impossible for them to ask questions about it if they don't do it. They also can't tell where they are confused if they don't do the homework. It's easy to say you understand a concept when the teacher goes over it, it's another thing to actually do it on your own. With that being said, we have so many issues with our class outside of the math room that we can't penalize our students for not being able to do their homework every single night. Things happen, I get that. So how do we hold kids accountable without punishing them for not always being able to get it done? And how do we assess the homework to make sure kids are really giving their best effort and not just giving up when they are confused?


Aside from that, I'm pretty content with the way we assess our kids (I just wish they did better on our assessments). The only thing I would change would be that the teachers get to create the EOCs, not anyone else. Like Patrick said, kids need to get used to how one teacher writes tests and quizzes. I think it's unfair to have the EOCs be mandated to be 25% of their grade. Not to mention, from what I've heard, they test them on the weirdest things, emphasizing things we disagree with and brushing over what we believe are important concepts. Ideally, teachers would be required to give their students an EOC worth 25% of their grade, but the teachers would write them. Let's be real, that's how it works in college and aren't we supposed to be preparing our kids for college?