Investment Plans and Fatheads.

So we are finally down to the waning moments of institute... and today was the moment of truth. Today was the day of the post assessment, the day when our efforts over the last four weeks are put to test. Our first big step in closing that "achievement gap". For me and my collaborative partner however, no such glory was found. I don't think it would bev proper to say specifically what my kids made, teacher-student confidentiality and all that jazz, but let's just say I expected my kids to do a lot better, and not only this but I KNOW they can do a lot better. Unfortunately though, we are driven by our "data" and our "data" says that my partner and I did not meet our goal.

Although the post assessment said one thing, their daily assessments said another. You see, it wasn't that the students didn't know how to work the problems, it was that they simply had no retention, which was because they did not study. In fact, according to the data, every single one of my students not only met their growth goals but excelled far past them. The opposite however happened on the post assessment, which is the final tell all. This makes sense though, if I was taught a concept one day and then expected to recall how to deal with it four weeks later I'm not going to remember it. The key is getting the students to realize the importance of studying, something we struggled to do. I imagine this task will be slightly easier back in Dallas, where the kids won't a) just show up to summer school and expect to get credit or b) know they're being forced to come to summer school an extra four weeks because some rookie teachers need practice. Still though, an incredibly ingenious investment plan is crucial, I feel, for success.

Back to the present though, and my current "data" reminding me of the growth goals I supposedly didn't achieve for my students. Although it may say one thing, I do know my co-teacher and I made differences. The "data" doesn't show Liliana go from struggling on daily assessments and being unmotivated to scoring nearly perfect on every assessment and turning in homework every single day, whether she was present in class or not, or how Vanessa slowly gained confidence in her ability to succeed at math, hunting me down before days she knew she would miss to get the notes and homework. We made strides with some as well as missed the mark with others, but I truly can say that I did all I could for my class, and as frustrating as some days were, I never gave up on my kids because I felt accountable to them. In the last four weeks I've found that it is this burden that makes this job so hard and at the same time so great, because when you make a mistake or succeed, it doesn't affect just you but also a child's future.

Well enough for pensive thinking lol, I will end this entry with a follow up on Mr. Lebron James. To all those fans out there who've always wanted a LBJ fathead, now's your chance! Cav's owner Dan Gilbert, you know that fool who said that the Cavs would win a championship before Lebron, just so happens to own fatheads as well, and has slashed the price for the LBJ fathead from $99.99 to only $17.41!!! Why $17.41 you say? Well in 1741 there was this guy named Benedick Arnold who was born and went on to become real famous for all his contributions to our great country. So if you aren't a Cavs fan and can look past Mr. James "backstabbing" ways I would encourage you to make the purchase (I'm probably getting one for my classroom). I don't even think you can get a fathead of Zydrunas Igaulskas for this price haha. However, I do believe Gilbert is releasing two special additions. For full price of course, you can purchase a Miami James fathead with the back of the jersey reading "Arnold" or you can pick up the very popular, and controversial, two in one fathead of Delonte West and Lebrons James' m....