LOOOOOOOOOOOONG DAY

OK ... this will be a stream of consciousness posting without regard to spelling or grammar ...excuse in advance.

Today was a long emotional day. Today one of my students came in to drop out. I am devastated!! I made him inform the class why and answer any questions. His logic was simply he was tired of school and preferred the street life. I asked what his plan was ... and he said he plans to continue stealing GPS systems and other accessories from cars .... I ended by telling him to make wise decisions for me if he did not desire to make them for himself.

Then, I had a DOE EMPLOYEE recommend to one of my students, who is married and has a child, that she discontinue school until her problems were worked out -- despite the fact she is already 19. I told her to ensure she made a sound decision ... keeping in mind her problems would probably not go away ... she must cope with them and better herself simultaneously. She expressed deep gratitude toward me for taking time to talk about it.

Next my fifth period asked me if I was leaving. I tried to dodge the question emotionally and literally. Then they hit me with the classic inner city reality that most teachers come and go. This hit me hard -- as many leave because of poor ability to manage students -- where as I love my kids and have few behavior problems in my classroom.

Then tonight at graduate school we reviewed our research proposals -- and I was appalled at some of the misconceptions/ unrealistic expectations that teachers have about this dwindling concept of family alongside student achievement. Also, I was reminded of why I decided to teach -- in that most of these teachers have no clue what these students go through at "home."

Also, why would you conduct research with no control groups or with no desire to add any additional information to the current body of scholarly research??

Nevertheless, I know I must move away from the "emergency room"/front lines to have the far-stretching impact that I desire to make.

In the Heights -- Broadway Show

Tonight we took students to see a Broadway Show!!! It was amazing :)

Juan Acevedo Wake/Funeral

I just finished viewing the body of my late student Juan Acevedo. {Typically, I would consider this a wake but everyone insist it's synonymous to a funeral here.} It was the most emotional moment thus far this school year .... as I observed countless students and few school officials pay respects and sob endlessly. I then looked into the casket to see a big kid who had not lived his life yet, but had likely seen more than most 60 year old adults.

It still pains me to know that he sat in my classroom; yet I was unable to save him from the streets. His sister informed me at the funeral that he talked about me and my class alot.... However, I know in the end, my time with my kids each day is limited ... and during that time I give "infinities" of effort to foster a life-long love of learning. It is also becoming more difficult as the year come closer to a close, knowing I will not return in September. Yet, I know in the long-term future my impact will have been vast. In closing, please ask yourself am I making a difference -- kids (young and old) are dying each day emotionally and physically)

One of My Students is Killed

As I begin to review my lesson before my first period class today, I learned that one of my Economics students had been killed over the summer. It really took me "down" as the last conversation I had with Juan before spring break consisted of me telling him I was happy to help prepare for testing when we returned from Spring Break -- however I did not feel comfortable meeting students outside of the school due to how close I was to their age. He really seemed like he was ready to buckle down and work .....


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/27/2009-04-27_shows_off_gun_pal_shot_dead.html
-----------------
Bronx man shot dead by accident as friend shows off gun

BY Phil Molnar and Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Monday, April 27th 2009, 4:00 AM

Investigators believe a 19-year-old Bronx man was accidentally shot to death Sunday by a friend who was showing off his handgun, police sources said.

Juan Acevedo took a bullet to the chest as he was hanging out with pals in an apartment just two blocks from the new Yankee Stadium, police said.

Paramedics reached the mortally wounded teenager at the E. 164th St. home just after 1:30 a.m. and took him to Bronx-Lebanon Hospital, but Acevedo died an hour later, police said.

A tipster told investigators that Acevedo had been drinking with friends when one man decided to show off his gun, a police source said.

The man fumbled with the weapon and inadvertently let loose a round that felled Acevedo.

Foster Care Webinar (Tune In)

http://aacte.org/index.php?/component/option,com_events/Itemid,28/agid,31/catids,9|35/day,31/month,12/task,view_detail/year,1969/

Closing the Educational Achievement Gap for Children in Foster Care
AACTE FREE Webinar
April 23, 2009

Tutor Connection has provided 1,240 student teachers from California State San Marcos to work directly with children in foster care to improve academic performance. Hear about the results for over 1,500 foster care youth who have participated in this program and learn more about the roles that Departments of Education can play in positively impacting this unique and often invisible population.

Presenters include:

* John Halcón, Ph.D
Professor, College of Education
California State University, San Marcos



* Michelle Lustig, MSW, Ed.D
Coordinator, Foster Youth Services
San Diego County Office of Education



* Mark Baldwin, Ed.D
Dean, College of Education
California State University, San Marcos



Register today

Special Audio Commentary by Victoria Rowell, former foster child, and national spokesperson for the Annie Casey Foundation.

Click Here to listen.

For information and to Register visit www.aacte.org or click here

Slang Terms

I will be providing detailed updates very soon, as to my current "status." However, I wanted to provide you with this word list that was compiled by one of my colleagues. These are words that are used in most sentences uttered by students in my school. Please note a lot of time in the beginning of the semester is spent developing an appropriate language contract ... it is give an take sometimes

Google Group Classes

Update:

I have been charged with teaching two Saturday classes. Since students are required to interact with the course outside of class, I decided to create google groups to facilitate this exchange. While this has never been done with a class at our school I encourage you to watch it from your home. The sites are:

http://groups.google.com/group/bhlcs-spring-2009-ushistory-saturday-school?hl=en

http://groups.google.com/group/bhlcs-spring-2009-globalstudies-saturday-school

Ice Skating

Today I had the opportunity to go with a group of students and colleagues to Rockefeller Center to ice-skate. It was an amazing trip. I really do love my kids .... They were hilarious as they begin to attempt to make me fall ..... I had to let you guys know I went so you could be JEALOUS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Updates

Parent Seminar
A few days ago my school hosted a parent seminar targeting 9th and 10th grade student's parents'. Each public school has a support organization -- my school's organization is New Visions. They presented the information on our behalf while teachers and administrators circulated to answer questions and pose critical questions on behalf of the parents and students. It was indeed a success notwithstanding a hidden audience advertising campaign that I will not address at the present time (Remind me in June:)).

Bowling
Thursday myself and a 3 other teachers took a group of students bowling to reward their participation in our school-wide inquiry team. This team is essentially a loose focus group where we practice research -- traditionally conducted in non-urban schools in our extremely urban school.

Saturday School/ PM School
This Saturday, I began teaching the first of several extra history courses that I will teach for the remainder of the school year. These classes are designed to give students the opportunity to recover previously failed course credits. Though it seems that the students are use to doing nothing as they were not happy when I greeted them at the door with a diagnostic test and their paper requirements for their first 4 page typed paper due April 30, 2009.

Research
I have begin an intense literature review into the academic achievement of foster-care youth.


Congrats
Congratulations to all my friends who have received job offers and graduate school admission acceptance. I look forward to hearing about other opportunities my friends receive in the near future. See You All SOON!

Updates

It has been a little while since I last wrote ..... my badness :)

First, Welcome to March Madness .... the school year is almost over {:) :(}

In this post I just want to say two things

1) Last Monday 3/2/2009 NYC Public Schools were canceled due to a "blizzard" for the first time in five years (yayayayyayayayyayay)

2) Last week one of my economics students observed I was not wearing my college ring ... he said "Mr. Cooper dang I knew times were hard but damn you selling your jewelry" {FYI I did not sell my ring}