please be over soon
I think for the first time in my life other people's politics are actually stressing me out. I usually don't allow politics to have a huge effect on me. Whether they were personal inner-office politics or actual government changing things.
But then again, I guess I've never been in a position where state politics will directly effect my life. Negatively. And on a big scale.
Anyone who has been paying attention in the past few years will know that my state's governor and superintendant of schools have interesting ideas on what is best for education. From changing how a school day is calculated and how long a school year is all the way up to basic funding.
There are so many new bills about education in the works and so many of them are just horrible ideas, horribly worded, or full of extra little annoyances that have nothing to do with the main issue being voted on.
Why aren't bills like paragraphs? If the sentence doesn't apply directly to your topic sentence it gets cut out. So then why not make smaller, concise bills that only talk about whatever issue you actually want to effect. People would vote yay or nay on specific issues and you'd know where everyone stood. Sure there would be more bills on the table, but I think things that actually needed changing would happen faster if they just dealt with one issue at a time.
They're like run-ons.
And that is what you call a tangent. Anyway, besides all the actual politics that are putting people I work with on edge. There's the massive amounts of testing!!
It's amazing how many tests MsCz is responsible for and being at two different buildings and in some cases having to give out three entirely different tests. Actually it's worse than that.
Take the ISTEP for starters. Everyone has to take it. Everyone who wants to graduate from HS has to pass it. This is not new.
But between when I graduated and when I started working here they changed the name of the test, added a science portion, and altered the number of times the test had to be taken. The students take this huge test in sections over three days--just like the little guys--and when they passed one section they'd be done with it for the rest of their time at the school. But I guess because of the trimester scheduling it became apparent that students were just plain forgetting things between when they took the class and when the actual tests were given in the spring. For example you could have math first trimester, but not second and then at the beginning of third when you're expected to take the test you've completely forgotten the terms you haven't used at all in months. So three years ago, they (whoever they is) split the testing into sections to be given over the course of the students schooling. At the end of specific courses they take the section of the test that was covered. And then there are more stipulations added if you don't pass it the first time and how you go about taking it again.
So. Just before Christmas MsCz had to give the English section of the End of Course Assessment to the juniors who hadn't passed as sophomores (and were not currently enrolled in the sophomore level class). Just after break (like JUST) we started giving our ESL test--of which there's a HS test, a 6-8th grade test and a 4&5 grade test. So even without the middle schoolers we still had to give three separate tests. And at the HS level that's just too many students in a room at one time so we split it into two groups as well. Add in some snow days.
Which push back 2nd trimester finals to coinicide with ISTEP at the lower levels. Oh, but also, right before finals we give the ECA, and this time around she had to give it to all of our sophomores in the correct section of sophomore English, as well as the math portion to all the students just finishing Algebra. (we lucked out in the Biology section this time around). But that was two weeks long. ISTEP/Finals were this week. In fact Finals are happening as I type--just not in here.
And next week the seniors who didn't finish a section of that other form of ISTEP that hasn't completely been phased out yet will meet. Which means I need to be able to do something else with the class. Oh wait, Acuity starts up again at the intermediate school next week.
....and more ISTEP in what four, maybe five weeks.
Then it'll be over. Until finals, and maybe another round of Acuity...and we get to start it all over again next fall.
So. Today, only 3rd, 4th, and 5th hours are meeting for finals (1st & 2nd were yesterday) and because of it being the end of ISTEP the 5th & 6th graders are to be have movie time this afternoon. So in theory, I could have taken a sick day and no one would have needed to fill in, but I figured if I stayed home what would I do? sleep?
When I sleep the day away it just makes me feel miserable for wasting so much time.
Whatever. Finals are offically graded. This afternoon should be cake. Now it's time for lunch, and to interact with other human beings...hopefully.
But then again, I guess I've never been in a position where state politics will directly effect my life. Negatively. And on a big scale.
Anyone who has been paying attention in the past few years will know that my state's governor and superintendant of schools have interesting ideas on what is best for education. From changing how a school day is calculated and how long a school year is all the way up to basic funding.
There are so many new bills about education in the works and so many of them are just horrible ideas, horribly worded, or full of extra little annoyances that have nothing to do with the main issue being voted on.
Why aren't bills like paragraphs? If the sentence doesn't apply directly to your topic sentence it gets cut out. So then why not make smaller, concise bills that only talk about whatever issue you actually want to effect. People would vote yay or nay on specific issues and you'd know where everyone stood. Sure there would be more bills on the table, but I think things that actually needed changing would happen faster if they just dealt with one issue at a time.
They're like run-ons.
And that is what you call a tangent. Anyway, besides all the actual politics that are putting people I work with on edge. There's the massive amounts of testing!!
It's amazing how many tests MsCz is responsible for and being at two different buildings and in some cases having to give out three entirely different tests. Actually it's worse than that.
Take the ISTEP for starters. Everyone has to take it. Everyone who wants to graduate from HS has to pass it. This is not new.
But between when I graduated and when I started working here they changed the name of the test, added a science portion, and altered the number of times the test had to be taken. The students take this huge test in sections over three days--just like the little guys--and when they passed one section they'd be done with it for the rest of their time at the school. But I guess because of the trimester scheduling it became apparent that students were just plain forgetting things between when they took the class and when the actual tests were given in the spring. For example you could have math first trimester, but not second and then at the beginning of third when you're expected to take the test you've completely forgotten the terms you haven't used at all in months. So three years ago, they (whoever they is) split the testing into sections to be given over the course of the students schooling. At the end of specific courses they take the section of the test that was covered. And then there are more stipulations added if you don't pass it the first time and how you go about taking it again.
So. Just before Christmas MsCz had to give the English section of the End of Course Assessment to the juniors who hadn't passed as sophomores (and were not currently enrolled in the sophomore level class). Just after break (like JUST) we started giving our ESL test--of which there's a HS test, a 6-8th grade test and a 4&5 grade test. So even without the middle schoolers we still had to give three separate tests. And at the HS level that's just too many students in a room at one time so we split it into two groups as well. Add in some snow days.
Which push back 2nd trimester finals to coinicide with ISTEP at the lower levels. Oh, but also, right before finals we give the ECA, and this time around she had to give it to all of our sophomores in the correct section of sophomore English, as well as the math portion to all the students just finishing Algebra. (we lucked out in the Biology section this time around). But that was two weeks long. ISTEP/Finals were this week. In fact Finals are happening as I type--just not in here.
And next week the seniors who didn't finish a section of that other form of ISTEP that hasn't completely been phased out yet will meet. Which means I need to be able to do something else with the class. Oh wait, Acuity starts up again at the intermediate school next week.
....and more ISTEP in what four, maybe five weeks.
Then it'll be over. Until finals, and maybe another round of Acuity...and we get to start it all over again next fall.
So. Today, only 3rd, 4th, and 5th hours are meeting for finals (1st & 2nd were yesterday) and because of it being the end of ISTEP the 5th & 6th graders are to be have movie time this afternoon. So in theory, I could have taken a sick day and no one would have needed to fill in, but I figured if I stayed home what would I do? sleep?
When I sleep the day away it just makes me feel miserable for wasting so much time.
Whatever. Finals are offically graded. This afternoon should be cake. Now it's time for lunch, and to interact with other human beings...hopefully.