SAMUS ARAN CLEMENS

Samus Aran went to meet her brother, Ghost on Monday, January 30, 2012.  When Colt and I came home from work we found her.  It was most likely a stroke or heart-attack.  There were no signs of struggle which is somewhat comforting.  We miss her greatly, and the sudden-ness is the hardest thing to get through.  She was our sweet princess, and there is a hole in our hearts and lives that is bigger than she ever imagined being!  

She believed from day one that Link, our fattest and youngest cat, was her baby, and he believed her to be his mama.  They were of no relation, but they were both calico mackerel tabbies.  She mothered him, snuggled with him, played with him, and reprimanded him. He is the one taking it the hardest out of the cats.  Ziz is looking for her, but Roger doesn't seem to realize anything has really changed.  Samus and Roger were not the closest of friends.

Colt is having a hard time.  He has called her to bed and then realized....  He has called Zizzy, Sammy....and then realized...  He still says bye to her each morning when we leave the house.  He misses her so much.  It is not fair that he has had to endure the loss of two cats (both with more relationship to him) in less than one year.  He needs to be able to catch a break....AND SOON!

We love you with all of our hearts Samus Aran. You are missed SOOO MUCH!  Make sure you snuggle up close with Ghost as he stares into your soul.

Kids say the darndest things....

Over the last few years, I have heard some remarkable things being said by my students.  I would like to share a few of them with you.

1. When asked what the plural of woman is the response was "ladies".  :)

2. When sitting in class and saying I could/should be famous.  I would do well in the spotlight, and making lots of money.  The students agreed and ONE lovely boys says, "Mrs. ABC, you should be the cat-whisperer.  You would be really good!" HAHA!  I have a tendency to agree with him!

3.When reviewing for the test on the I before E rule, I hear a students say, "It's I before E and something about a neighborhood."  After a few seconds he realized he wouldn't get it, so he shrugged his shoulders in defeat and sat down.  HE DID JUST FINE ON THE TEST!

4.  One day while suffering through a migraine in the middle of class, my kids detected something was wrong and began whispering their answers to me.  Class continued just fine, and the next day they were whispering until I told them I was fine.  Maybe I should have played that one out a little longer.  :)

5. During the middle of class, all the students are working silently, rating their essays with the STAAR rubric, and a student blurts out, "I have mood problems.  I have to take pills for them.  They are $110." Just like that the student was back to work as the rest of the class and I stared at each other in wonder.  I just shook my head and motioned for them to get back to work.  Nothing was ever said again until the end of class, and that student had no idea we were bewildered.  

There were many more to write, but they have slipped my mind.  I will have to add them later!

The life and times of Mrs. ABC!

STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness)

As an educator, I understand that all teachers, students, and districts need to be held accountable for what is being taught/learned, but as an educator I realize that this is NOT the appropriate method of measurement.

For 15+ years, the TEKS (skills and knowledge taught to the students at each grade level) have not required the students to think for themselves. They have not had to think in depth or for themselves.  EVERYTHING they have ever needed to complete an assignment was handed to them.  The tests at the end of each year for this type of learning were TAAS and eventually TAKS.

Neither test was terribly difficult and the students had ALL THE TIME THEY NEEDED to take the test.  If they needed to be in school until 10 p.m. to finish they could be!  They could not be told to hurry, or be reminded to stay on task.

Starting this year, 2012, our kids are taking STAAR.  This test is timed to FOUR hours per testing day and the amount of work has not lessened.  Should our students be able to test in four hours?  YES!  But we have not raised them to understand how to work like this.  They ARE NOT prepared.  

For example on TAAS the writing test was a one day test.  The students would answer editing and revision questions AFTER reading passages with mistakes.  The students would get ONE writing charge (prompt).  It could be of three different varieties (if I remember correctly): how-to, persuasive, personal narrative.  All students would write to the same essay type and writing charge.  They had ALL the time they needed, and two pages to write the essay on.

For TAKS, the writing test was also just a one day test.  The students would answer the editing and revision questions AFTER reading passages that needed to be corrected.  The questions about editing and revision were more specific and in depth compared to TAAS.  The students would receive ONE writing charge.  It could ONLY be a personal narrative essay.  Each students would write to the same writing charge.  They had ALL the time they needed, adn two pages to write the essay on.

The state realized that our tests were a joke and that they needed to be tweaked, so they came up with these guidelines.  The writing test for STAAR is split over the course of TWO days.  The students will ONLY have four hours to complete the test each day.  

On DAY 1 of STAAR Writing the students will be given 16 Revision questions which will be 40% of the multiple choice score, and 24 Editing questions which will make up the remaining 60% of the multiple choice score.  On top of those questions there will about 6-8 field questions sprinkled throughout the test, and of course they will not be identified. AND they will receive a writing prompt.  They will have to read the prompt, brainstorm, write a rough draft, edit, revise and cast a final copy.  (ALL OF THIS--and they still ONLY have FOUR hours!)  

DAY 2 of STAAR Writing: the students will be given TWO MORE writing prompts.  They must write to BOTH of them.  They must read each prompt, brainstorm, write a rough draft, edit, revise and cast a final copy for BOTH essays (IN FOUR HOURS).

The unfortunate thing is this:  these students have been given ALL the time they have needed to do menial tasks on every test before, but now they are being required to do literally double the work in ONLY EIGHT TOTAL hours.  That is NOT fair to the kids.  Not to mention....the state did not give us all the information about this test before school started for the 2011-2012 year.  Our first meeting with information came in SEPTEMBER...literally ONE month after school started and ALL we found out was the daily format for the tests, and that there will be 3 essays...all of the personal narrative (extension) and expository variety.  We do not know which the 3 essay will be, and we do not know which essay is the field test...so they all count just as much in our minds.

This would not be a huge fiasco IF and ONLY IF the students had not been "babied" for all of their schooling lives.  Catering to them and SLOWING them down and then requiring them to speed up without warning practice is NOT ACCEPTABLE!

Every year, before TAAS and TAKS there were benchmark tests in every subject to be tested.  The students had the opportunity to sit and test as if it was the real day, to get a feel for the pacing they needed to use.  This year, no subject is getting that privilege.  These kids have NO IDEA what is about to hit them.  They are panicked NO MATTER what the teachers try to tell them.  In my class I have students for 50 minutes every day.  We have practiced as best we can by timing them and giving them FOUR full class days to do the assignments, but they do not get the real feel for it since it is split over an entire week.

So it is needless to say that educators and students alike will need lots of prayer in the upcoming weeks and months.  We are capable of doing well, and we want to beat the socks off of TEA and their expectations.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Mrs. ABC

The NEW and NOT SO IMPROVED Texas State Test: STAAR (they couldn't even come up with an acronym that makes sense in the English language stAAr..REALLY?!))

My Dearest Texas Education Agency,

This may come as a surprise to you, but I do not like you. I do not like the emphasis you put on standardized tests; I do no like the stress you cause the students, teachers and other educational faculty to endure; and I do not like that you "trickle information down". Imagine going into surgery and that your surgeon does not have the proper information about your condition..therefore your leg is removed instead of getting your new healthy organ...THAT WOULD NOT FLY! This is the EXACT situation you are placing teachers in when you do not provide ALL THE NEEDED INFORMATION! But--I have good news. I am a fighter and YOU WILL NOT BEAT ME! So here's to the challenge. I AM BETTER, STRONGER, & MORE FIERY THAN YOU--and SO ARE ALL MY GOONIES! (They just may not know it yet...)

Thanks for nothing,
Mrs. ABC