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CP's avatar

This morning at the high school I've taught at for 23 years, we had a meeting to discuss the gun incident that resulted in a recovered firearm yesterday afternoon which had the school in a soft lock down. This was our third gun incident this year. A colleague had pepper spray go off in her room yesterday with a group of 9th graders who are learning English...still trying to parse out that situation.

We have open teaching positions that are not filled...and they've been posted for months. And so we're politely asked to take on overages to the tune of 2/3 of my personal actual hourly rate. So as you can see, things don't feel great.

Our district is also going through a system-wide revamping of grading that nobody really seems to understand very well and the evidence behind the efficacy of this move to standards-based grading. Teachers are trying to figure out this system, both philosophically and pragmatically, without confident guidance. Families are confused, so are students. So are many teachers, admin, and counselors.

This a very standard, average high school of over 2K students in a standard suburban district with several elementary schools, middle school, and many, many administrators. We have many great programs, lots of AP options, lots of PSEO partnerships, and many students who are struggling in SO MANY WAYS. This is likely very similar to the large school district you all live closest to in all ways (and more).

So, yeah. It's been a morning and I as much as I look forward to AHP every week (every day!), I can't actually bring myself to read this interview. At least not right now, as I need to figure out how to address the ChatGPT-generated essays two kids turned in while at the same time trying to find a way to have them earn credits and I need to do it before 9:55 this morning but for some reason my hands are shaking and I'm writing this without proofreading instead.

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Alison Rose's avatar

Love this conversation! My late mother was a community college English teacher for 35 years, and there's no question that her students—many of whom went on to 4-year degrees—made the right choice for the start of their post-secondary education.

Now, switching hats from daughter to mother. I have a suggestion for parents whose kids are in hyper-competitive high schools (as my son's was, in Lexington, Mass.): Consider only visiting schools that your kid has been accepted to. I saw so many kids be disappointed because they didn't get into their "dream school," especially after making visits. My son (wise beyond his years—this was his idea!) said he wanted to wait for his acceptances before making any visits. He applied to 12 schools (several in the "overreach" category), and was accepted at 6. Much less anguish and a happy outcome that he felt more in control of. (And—bragging now!—he'll be graduating with a PhD in electrical engineering next year. 😁)

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