Teachers Kith

[forHISglory]

Calling all teachers! Preschool, grade school, middle/junior high school, high school, college/university, public, private, parochial, part time, full time, trade school........ if I left out your area, forgive me, and jump right in!

Let's answer a few get acquainted questions, and then I have a personal question.

Get Acquainted Questions:
1. How many years have you been teaching?
2. What grades/areas?
3. What is your degree(s) and major/minor?
4. What is most rewarding about teaching?
5. What drives you nuts?
6. Any awards in your field?
7. Advice to wanna-be teachers?
8. Are teachers considered well paid, average, or poorly paid in your area?
9. Why did you become a teacher?
10. What is your schedule like?
11. Other comments?

I'm sure as time goes on that you will be able to offer other questions and answers.

Here's my personal question:
I am an adjunct in a local university. This semester I had a student who refused to turn in her papers for a plagiarism check. She turned in the print copy of the paper, but is supposed to email the paper to me so that I can check it on-line for plagiarism. She will fail the class for that alone. I have begged her to email the papers and she refuses. She gives no reason. Have you ever had a situation like that? What did you do to convince the student?

[ladykemma2]

1. How many years have you been teaching? 6 years
2. What grades/areas? physics and chemistry 11th and 12th grade in a title 1 school
3. What is your degree(s) and major/minor? environmental science and biology. my work history is analytical chemistry.
4. What is most rewarding about teaching? this year i have six kids who want to go into the houston chemical industry and/or study chemistry in university.
5. What drives you nuts? kids wearing 100 dollar sneakers but have no pencil or paper. the family has cable television but they are on welfare and the kids have no lunch.
6. Any awards in your field? not yet
7. Advice to wanna-be teachers? go for alternative certificattion. fast, brutal and cheapest method.
8. Are teachers considered well paid, average, or poorly paid in your area? well paid
9. Why did you become a teacher? career change at age 40.
10. What is your schedule like? 5:30 am to 2:30 pm. school starts at 7.
11. Other comments? i suck at teaching physics, and the school has finally realized this (DUH!) and i will return to teaching 9th grade physcial science next year. glory halleluia. (sarcasm)

i would give her the zero.

[2ndGenGranola]

Do homeschool teachers count also? I am a fully certified teacher -- I've taught in public, private and preschool. I am currently homeschooling my 3 kids - 2 of which are special needs. I hope to get back to teaching part time soon when the timing is right.

Get Acquainted Questions:
1. How many years have you been teaching? I started an apprenticeship in 1980 - I became a certified teacher in 1987
2. What grades/areas? All levels
3. What is your degree(s) and major/minor?
Undergrad - I'm a Music major with a concentration in piano with teaching cert (considered a minor)
Grad - Music major with a focus on education prebirth through senior citizens
4. What is most rewarding about teaching? seeing the light come on
5. What drives you nuts? parents reaction when their kid didn't get the star
6. Any awards in your field? --
7. Advice to wanna-be teachers? be prepared - every class has one
8. Are teachers considered well paid, average, or poorly paid in your area? our state is not so hot
9. Why did you become a teacher? I love teaching and seeing the "I've got it" look
10. What is your schedule like? right now I love it! LOL I would love to get back to teaching either a full day or a couple afternoons a week.
11. Other comments?

[LastDragonfly]

Calling all teachers! Preschool, grade school, middle/junior high school, high school, college/university, public, private, parochial, part time, full time, trade school........ if I left out your area, forgive me, and jump right in!

Let's answer a few get acquainted questions, and then I have a personal question.

Get Acquainted Questions:
1. How many years have you been teaching?
One year private, 7 years public, 6 years homeschooling
2. What grades/areas?
K-12 special ed, 1st -6th regular ed
3. What is your degree(s) and major/minor?
Special Ed major/History & Social Studies minor
4. What is most rewarding about teaching?
The eager to please students
5. What drives you nuts?
All the stupid stuff that central office would "mandate" that time could be so used in the classroom.
6. Any awards in your field?
No
7. Advice to wanna-be teachers?
Treat your students with respect and demand theirs. Make school the VERY BEST place they have to go. Be someone they can trust for consistency.
8. Are teachers considered well paid, average, or poorly paid in your area? Average
9. Why did you become a teacher? I wanted to make a differance in others lives.
10. What is your schedule like? Wonderfully flexible
11. Other comments? As much as I loved my private & public school students I LOVE LOVE LOVE teaching my own children.

I'm sure as time goes on that you will be able to offer other questions and answers.

Here's my personal question:
I am an adjunct in a local university. This semester I had a student who refused to turn in her papers for a plagiarism check. She turned in the print copy of the paper, but is supposed to email the paper to me so that I can check it on-line for plagiarism. She will fail the class for that alone. I have begged her to email the papers and she refuses. She gives no reason. Have you ever had a situation like that? What did you do to convince the student?

I think this student just doesnt believe you. I would notify her counselor and then I would tell her, unless you follow the rules I will give you an incomplete. If there is something you would like to change on the hard copy paper that you gave me, I will give you 48 hours to return the email copy and the hard copy.

She apparently is still playing high school games and does not believe that you would really do that to HER.

I would make sure I documented by email to her, counselor, registrars office.--just so there is no complaints on her part.


That's what I would do. Just my

Everyone else follows the rules, she should too.

[forHISglory]

How could I have forgotten home school teachers?!? Of course, you count! Welcome aboard.

Get Acquainted Questions:
1. How many years have you been teaching? I started in the fall of 1971 and retired in May, 2007.
2. What grades/areas? High School and University. I was in Language Arts, teaching Composition 1 and 2, American Lit, World Lit, Journalism, Speech, Drama, Oral Interp, Debate, Business English..... all those "wordy" things! In high school, I preferred 9th and 11th grades. I taught University night school for about 20 years, just one class a week. Now that I am retired, I teach 3 University classes a semester.
3. What is your degree(s) and major/minor? BSE with major in English and minor in speech. MA with major in English. I've taken several post grad courses, but wasn't really interested in a further degree.
4. What is most rewarding about teaching? To see a student suddenly "get it" and to see my students becoming adults and good citizens and parents.
5. What drives you nuts? Endless meetings and paperwork. People who think we have a cushy job. Parents who defend Johnny, no matter what, and enable him to continue his destructive ways.
6. Any awards in your field? Yes.
7. Advice to wanna-be teachers? If you are meant to be a teacher, then nothing else will satisfy.
8. Are teachers considered well paid, average, or poorly paid in your area? Average around here after one has been on the job for a few years. Opening pay is very very low, barely above poverty level. However, the public perception is that teachers are very well paid.
9. Why did you become a teacher? Lots of people in my family are educators, and I always liked school. That was the beginning of my interest.
10. What is your schedule like? When I was teaching full time, I was at school at 6 am and didn't leave until around 4 pm. But if I had to take tickets, supervise a ball game, have meetings, tutor, etc., it could be considerably later. Over Christmas break, I graded research papers every day except for 2 days. Ditto for spring break. People need to realize that these school breaks are not really breaks for teachers. I usually took two weeks in the summer for vacation, and did curriculum planning, yearbook camp, etc. the rest of the summer. Now that I am retired, I go to the campus one or two nights a week, teach for 3-4 hours and go home. No meetings! No tickets to take! Love it!
11. Other comments? Teaching has been deeply satisfying to me over the years. I was a lousy teacher in the beginning, but got better and ended up loving it. However, after my first year, I was ready to join the Army. I even went to the recruiter's office! But it was closed, so I went back, signed my contract, and the rest is history. Grading was something that I did not like to do. I didn't know how in the beginning; it was never taught to us in college. So I floundered around, and by the end of the first quarter, I went into panic mode. I needed a calculator badly, but back then, they cost almost $500! So I stayed up for days and nights on end trying to figure out grades with a pencil and paper. Argh........

[2ndGenGranola]

Here's my personal question:
I am an adjunct in a local university. This semester I had a student who refused to turn in her papers for a plagiarism check. She turned in the print copy of the paper, but is supposed to email the paper to me so that I can check it on-line for plagiarism. She will fail the class for that alone. I have begged her to email the papers and she refuses. She gives no reason. Have you ever had a situation like that? What did you do to convince the student?

Many of my instructors would give us a little preview of our grades before the term ended (esp if some were balancing on the fence). They would then let you know what you needed to make on the final and/or give you steps to take to make up the situation. I think she thinks you are just going to let it slide.

My curiosity would be so peaked that I think I would key in some elements of it and check on the plagiarism just to see what I find. If I did find that it was, I would back off and let her accept her grade. (I'm assuming she did by the way she is acting. I think she may be embarrassed and is now "hiding" in a way.)

[kita]

Get Acquainted Questions:
1. How many years have you been teaching? About three
2. What grades/areas? adult, high school, kindergarten...
3. What is your degree(s) and major/minor? BA English, min German
4. What is most rewarding about teaching? a student saying "hey, this book is GOOD"
5. What drives you nuts? Admin and silly rules
6. Any awards in your field? nope ..does Excellent cert on two Praxis II tests count?
7. Advice to wanna-be teachers? avoid politics
8. Are teachers considered well paid, average, or poorly paid in your area? well-paid
9. Why did you become a teacher? to help students
10. What is your schedule like? crazy, I am switching to elem so am volunteering 4 days a week in a elem classroom plus I have a part-time job.
11. Other comments?
This is a GREAT idea.

Document your decision, and get a look at that hard copy to see if it even sounds like her....

[Debbie-cat]

1. How many years have you been teaching? 17
2. What grades/areas? Grade 9 Geography, Grade 10 Business, Grade 10 History, Speech/Communication - elementary
3. What is your degree(s) and major/minor? B.A. B.ED - History/Geography
4. What is most rewarding about teaching? When the students who are struggling finally 'get it'.
5. What drives you nuts? know it all attitudes
6. Any awards in your field? not yet
7. Advice to wanna-be teachers? don't ever be a friend..only a mentor (they will take advantage of you!)
8. Are teachers considered well paid, average, or poorly paid in your area? Well paid
9. Why did you become a teacher? have always wanted to since I was in grade 1
10. What is your schedule like? At the school by 8am - leave at 4pm - usually back in the evening for extra prep
11. Other comments? I love teaching...it was the best career move I have ever made - the rewards are plenty, the praises few


Document, show her the grade she has now before the zero and then again after you give her the zero (if you have to, once she sees how much her grade has dropped). This is what I did for students who wouldn't had something in. Once they see how much their grade is going to drop, they usually change their minds....however, I feel it is their decision. You have given them the marks, they are old enough to make their own decisions.

[forHISglory]

I update student grades weekly, so she knows the status. Yet she stayed in the class and even did the big project at the end. Each week I would warn her that her papers were not turned in. I sent her emails warning her. I do not have the print copy at this time; I gave it back to her with a note that I could not accept it without the email copy. But I suspect that it was plagiarized. If I had it, I certainly would key in parts of it just to see if it was or not. That's the only reason I can come up with as to why she will not complete the assignments. She has until tomorrow, and after that I have to give her a failing grade for the semester. Sad.......

[Debbie-cat]

It is sad but there is not much else you can do. She knows the status of her grade, she knows she isn't suppose to plagiarize, she knows the assignments are due.....what else can you do? Don't beat yourself up over it. I guess she just wants to learn the hard way. It is upsetting to see a student like this but she has to accept the responsibility as well.

[2ndGenGranola]

I I guess she just wants to learn the hard way. It is upsetting to see a student like this but she has to accept the responsibility as well.

You just might be teaching her the biggest and hardest lesson of her life. It's sad she didn't learn it earlier.

[forHISglory]

Thanks for all your comments and feedback. I've been at this long enough that I trust my instincts. But it's still good to hear from others in the field.

I envision this thread to be an encouragement thread for teachers, and a place to get ideas and advice. So as May approaches, let me encourage you all to keep running the race to the end. It can get stressful these last weeks, but you can do it!!

[mauimagic]

How many years have you been teaching? Fourteen
2. What grades/areas? Special Education Preschool - 5th: Night courses for Educational Assistants; Parent Education for Families with Children with Autism
3. What is your degree(s) and major/minor? Major: Business Admin. Minor: Economics Special Ed. Certification (at age 50)
4. What is most rewarding about teaching? The children making progress.
5. What drives you nuts? Admin and above making mandates about something they know nothing about and "No Child Left Behind"
6. Any awards in your field? - Best teacher awards from children and families.
7. Advice to wanna-be teachers? Volunteer at schools and see if you really are passionate about working in the field.
8. Are teachers considered well paid, average, or poorly paid in your area? Poorly because of the high cost of living in Hawaii.
9. Why did you become a teacher? My fifth career - everything jelled and I found my passion in working with children with speciala needs
10. What is your schedule like? 7AM - 4PM with work at home.
11. Other comments? I may never retire. Am blessed with wonderful families to work with and feel that together, as a team, we do make a difference.

[2ndGenGranola]

How did it go with the student not emailing her project?

[forHISglory]

The student failed the course. Despite more chances to turn in the work, she refused. The University dean backed me on this. I just shake my head..... such a waste....