Monday, March 15, 2010

Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me

Here is a little snapshot of this moment:

I just heard about how, in the highrise building directly in front of my classroom window, a father threw his month-old baby down the trash chute from the eleventh floor apartment of its mother. The baby is miraculously unharmed, or I wouldn't have told you. No one needs a dead baby story smacking them unexpectedly in the face. Which happened to me the past two times I've read Katie Granju's blog, one of which was this morning. WTH, Katie?

I just listened to a boy ask a pregnant girl in my class this question: "When your baby is born, is that going to be its birthday or just its birth date?"

My speech class is supposed to be working up opening statements for a debate about the fact that a Mississippi high school has chosen to cancel prom rather than permit a lesbian student to bring her girlfriend as her date, because they know they have no legal grounds. So far the team arguing in favor of the school's decision has nothing. Which is good in a way, but also has more to do with the fact that they haven't bothered to do any research.

Out of the five classes that took a very simple, 25-question practice ACT as their quarter exam, five students passed it. Five. The test questions are identical to the warm-ups we do every. Single. Day. Five. 5.

Ugh.

6 comments:

Shannon said...

ouch. hugs. keep fighting the good fight.

Kristen DeRocha said...

When I was a teacher, I used to give my kids the ACTUAL TEST QUESTIONS in advance and they would still fail.

Stacey Greenberg said...

The CA had a follow up story today about the trash chute. Appears it may not be true. Regardless stories like that are the reason I never watch the local news.

Hope springs eternal. Hang in there, Sassy.

Mel Spillman artwork said...

Yeah, I am right there with you, frustrated about testing students and the extreme level of failing test scores. Also frustrated with parents who throw their children in the trash, even if that is not what actually happened, that mother and father obviously have "issues" with being good parents.

Too many cases like this every day, many untold because they do not involve an actual death. Meanwhile the children suffer abuse at home while teachers like us do our best to save, teach, feed and parent them all. It feels like I am swimming in a violent whirlpool and I am losing strength.

Rita said...

These stories break my heart. I don't know what to tell you, Kristy, other than there is a special place for you and others like you up in that heaven that you don't believe in. Keep up the good fight.

Angie McCullagh said...

That sounds really aggravating. Which is why I leave the teaching up to others. :)