DC-ASS (oops)

So the results of last week's DC-BAS test for "proficiency" came back.  

My non-reader was labeled "proficient" in a reading section...

None of the other students were in that section.

He did a really good job guessing bubbles on that one. 

....(really? these "high-stakes" tests are what teachers' futures, schools' paths, etc are based on.... really?)

How do you...

How would one go about investing kids in their own education?

I've pulled kids aside and done the "what comes after elementary school? what comes after middle school? and after high? right, college" talk a few times this year.  and what!?! is college our end-goal? (it's not for me.....having the most opportunities in one's life AS WELL AS being a responsible global citizen are, to me, the end-goal of education, all education. but perhaps college can be a means to that end...) if so, how do we make it a concrete one? 

K-W-L

A K-W-L can be a useful graphic organizer to help students put together thoughts on what they Know (the "K," which also, incidentally, reinforces a lesson about silent letters....), Want to Know, and Learned. The other day, in our first Content Seminar (DCTF's alternative to a Masters program), we put one together based on our first couple weeks of teaching. I think the results are fairly entertaining and telling.

What we Know

1. Our Kids Can Succeed.
2. Teaching is Difficult.
3. The First Year... Is Rough.

What we Want to Know

1. How do we cluster standards when students are incredibly below their grade level?
2. What exactly should we be doing in a SAM (School-wide Application Model) school?
3. How do we explain to general ed teachers what special ed is... and what our job as the special ed teacher is?
4. What are the best record-keeping systems?

What We've Learned.

1. Some kids just will not listen to me.
2. Teaching requires a LOT of prep.
3. I will raise my voice :(
4. Things that you thought should take 5 minutes take an hour. Things that you think will work, bomb.
5. Getting kids to line up and walk quietly in a hallway is near impossible.
6. Your day does not end at 3:30. And weeks do not "end."

Teach a Teacher to... Post Standards?

A Third Week Pop Quiz:

Q. Which of the following make a good teacher?

A.
a. Posting Standards on the board
b. Posting Essential Questions for the unit on the board
c. Creativity, Empathy, and Flexibility
d. Having a Word Wall in the classroom
e. Following a five-part lesson-plan format
f. Everything but "C"

?