Doncha love it

… when someone asks you to send them a file that you sent them a year ago?
… and they don’t give you the right name of the file?.
… And after you find it and send it, they then ask you where an acronym comes from. Which is the first thing in the file you just sent. Which they haven’t even opened and looked at before they emailed you?

…when someone comes in your room wanting you to do something for them and you are on the computer (actually working not writing vents) and there is air of disdain that you didn’t jump? And it is another teacher who should know better?

...when someone makes a big deal about misspelled words and using the right word - and keeps using the following in powerpoints: "if they do blah blah, they will loose their benefits"

Right Triangle Trig

Today we were going over - again - the concept of opposite and adjacent. (I always always say "next to" after I say "adjacent")

Correct me if I err - aren't those two concepts - opposite and next to - kindergarten concepts?

Anyhow, we are doing SohCahToa. And I am answering the question (repeatedly) of "how do we know which one to use?"

And I draw a triangle on the board. Right triangle. One angle is 36 degrees. The side opposite is x. The side adjacent is 4. (so x is 2.9)

Student says "the answer is 9." How do you get that? 36 divided by 4............

My 11th graders cannot graph slope intercept form or intercept form.

My 10th graders cannot do simple algebra - isolating x

Some get it - some divide degrees by inches.

invisibility

I have officially reached invisibility.

It is a bit depressing.

Common Core - and books

Are any of you going to common core standards? We start rolling them out next year. At this point I know very little beyond that.

They say it will have little impact on the way we teach. Right.

We have been recreating the wheel in high school for 4 years now with the GPS math - so now we start over with CC.

So, let's talk books.

When I was first teaching a veteran teacher lectured me - a lot - about how you don't need a book. I haven't had one for the kids for 4 years. He was right - I don't need a book.

I can still teach, still provide links, still give problems.

The lack of a book hobbles me a little, but not horribly so.

It is crippling the kids.

They need a book to take home. Something with answers in it to check. Something with explanations. They aren't going to write the notes - they need the notes.

I see more of the same in the future.

We have survived (with lowered scores, people, but we survived) without spending millions on books. I am betting we won't see books again anytime soon.

Twittering

I have a Twitter account now - Ricochet20. Guess I will figure out how to use it.

Six Word Saturday

Wow - even teachers can act unprofessionally.



For more Six Word Saturday participants, click here.

Of course they can.

I am taking a course and I am SOOOOO tired of powerpoints. I am tired of misspelled words. Of the wrong words. Of mispronounced words. (of teachers not knowing what the words mean.) Of being read to.

Of being read to in a monotone.

But what is really frosting my butt this week is the unprofessional behavior.

My fellow students are irritated because one professor is making us read the entire book. (oh, the horror). And he keeps us the entire time. (Can you imagine?) And - really? - actually makes us participate in discussion.

So they are complaining - every. single. week. - to ANOTHER PROFESSOR IN THE SAME SCHOOL.

I wonder how long it is before every professor keeps us the entire time and makes us read the entire book.

What morons.

I wonder how they feel when students complain to them about other teachers? Probably like it.

What about when students complain about them to other teachers?

(In case I am not making it clear: the students are teachers themselves - pursuing another degree. The implication is that they already have a degree. I am waiting for proof. LOL)

Helicopter Parents

As alway, I cannot say it better than Jane does.

Rock on, sister!!