DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Jack's House
HTML https://jackshouse.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Teaching
*****************************************************
#Post#: 7172--------------------------------------------------
Meetings
By: Jack Date: July 11, 2018, 12:43 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
While I'm enjoying myself on vacation, Ken Sanders and Bobby
Witte are meeting, kicking around some ideas. The problem is
that neither of them have experience with BCA, so there are a
lot of areas they just don't know what is normal, done, or maybe
even accepted.
At the request of the trustees and principals, Saturday, Ken and
Bobby are coming over, and we're going to discuss the ideas
they've had so far. If everything sounds workable to me,
they're supposed to meet with the trustees and other principals
on Tuesday to get things finalized. Then, on Thursday
afternoon, the three of us are going to be meeting with all the
new teachers who've been hired to deal largely with the ADHD
kids. After that, there will be another meeting where we get
together with all the boys' only teachers, for the purpose or
regularizing treatment and setting standards for things like
mainstreaming and discipline.
I actually have the names of all the new teachers, along with
their ages and experience, but it's not in my e-mail or Google
docs, which means I put it on my desktop, which I can't access
from here, so that'll have to wait.
#Post#: 7174--------------------------------------------------
Re: Meetings
By: Adric Date: July 11, 2018, 2:03 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
It sounds like you have all the authority of a principal but
without the burden of a formal title. Maybe that's the best
arrangement for all concerned.
#Post#: 7184--------------------------------------------------
Re: Meetings
By: David M. Katz Date: July 11, 2018, 7:50 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
I agree with Adric but I hope the pay is commensurate with your
responsibilities.
#Post#: 7193--------------------------------------------------
Re: Meetings
By: Jack Date: July 12, 2018, 4:44 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=David M. Katz link=topic=689.msg7184#msg7184
date=1531356639]
I agree with Adric but I hope the pay is commensurate with your
responsibilities.
[/quote]
They've agreed to pay me 10 times what I made last semester for
the work I'm doing this summer.
[quote author=Adric link=topic=689.msg7174#msg7174
date=1531335801]
It sounds like you have all the authority of a principal but
without the burden of a formal title. Maybe that's the best
arrangement for all concerned.
[/quote]
In a way, that might be true. In another way, Ken will still be
the one in charge of things. The only reason I'm doing it is
because they wanted to have the meeting when Mr. P will be out
of town. Really, the only reason I'll be at the first meeting
is so I can say - 'that's a good idea, but BCA does things like
this, so if we do that, we have to change this other...'
Also, while I am doing a lot of meetings over the summer, it's
more or less coming out of my 'in-service days' before school
starts. Since we're basically setting up a new department at
the school, it's a lot easier to do it ahead of time than come
into things cold next month.
[quote author=David M. Katz link=topic=689.msg7184#msg7184
date=1531356639]
I agree with Adric but I hope the pay is commensurate with your
responsibilities.
[/quote]
I'm kind of kidding. I do get paid, but my entire check is
donated to the scholarship fund. I get paid enough when I get
to paddle naughty boys.
#Post#: 7197--------------------------------------------------
Re: Meetings
By: Zyngaru Date: July 12, 2018, 7:30 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Jack link=topic=689.msg7193#msg7193
date=1531388690]
[quote author=David M. Katz link=topic=689.msg7184#msg7184
date=1531356639]
I agree with Adric but I hope the pay is commensurate with your
responsibilities.
[/quote]
I'm kind of kidding. I do get paid, but my entire check is
donated to the scholarship fund. I get paid enough when I get
to paddle naughty boys.
[/quote]
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
#Post#: 7287--------------------------------------------------
Re: Meetings
By: Jack Date: July 15, 2018, 6:32 am
---------------------------------------------------------
The meeting went fine yesterday.
First of all, I should announce that the Academy has hired
twelve new teachers. I guess the trustees looked at the budget,
but that's more than I was told they were seeking. The main
reason I heard is that they wanted to lower the class sizes and
have a bit more room for expansion.
There goal is to keep most of the classes under 15 students. In
elementary school (the first six grades here), they stay in
their homerooms for almost everything, so they have a few more
homeroom teachers there on balance, but there are more secondary
students (mostly accounted for by discipline cases and kids with
other types of trouble, I'd suppose). There will be 30
elementary homerooms, which will put 11 to 13 in most of those
groups.
The new hires include a new math and science teacher for the
secondary school, a new teacher who'll be teaching home ec and
shop classes, and a lady who's specialized in girls with special
needs. There is also a new science teacher who's going to be
teaching a new type of class I've been discussing with Mr. P for
a few years now, which will be more of a survey class - a class
meant to introduce kids to different areas of science and help
them find out what kind of jobs are available for kids in
different hard science fields. I think it's going to be more of
a section in different classes than a class in itself. She's
supposed to be teaching several science classes, but I think
she's also going to function as a vocational councilor.
As for our meeting itself, there are really three changes
they've made - two of which I was basically able to rubber
stamp.
1) Each grade between fourth and ninth grades (starting ages of
9 to 14 for most students), will have an ADHD-homeroom. Those
are the grades where classes are gender segregated already.
2) All students diagnoses with ADHD will be required to take
Phys Ed. This isn't a huge change. While Bransom is a private
school, if you want colleges to recognize your graduates, there
are standards to which you have to adhere. Instead of trying to
pick and chose, BCA reflects the public school's graduation
requirements pretty exactly. That means that students before
7th grade have to take gym classes, and it's required again in
ninth grade. That means what they're really suggesting is to
require 8th grade students with ADHD to take PE, meaning they'd
only have one elective. When you consider that students with
ADHD are pretty unlikely to get into electives like drama and
journalism, it really shouldn't have much major effect. On the
other hand, the advantages of PE to any student, but especially
one with ADHD, have been shown to be pretty major.
There was also some discussion about who should be coaching
these boys, what their goals should be and how those goals
should be approached, and if the ADHD boys should be
mainstreamed for their gym classes or not (while the boys will
be more equal to their peers here, ADHD boys do tend to mature
emotionally more slowly than their peers, so there are good
arguments either way).
My real job in this meeting was to listen to their ideas and
point out any places where the new ideas would oppose current
BCA procedures, which brings us to the final point, and the only
one that presented any significant problem.
3) ADHD coping skills will be taught in homerooms.
At the Academy, our homeroom periods are 45 minutes long. This
is when we do clubs, sometimes intramurals, and do our Bible
Studies. They do announcements at the start of homeroom. Clubs
are usually on T/Th, so the other stuff has to be done MWF.
That means teaching ADHD life skills would interfere with Bible
Study. Since this is a Christian school, that might cause some
troubles. My opinion is that, if we keep the coping skills to
about 15 minutes, we can manage it. However, that would give
the kids almost no free time, which is a pretty important thing
as well.
We couldn't come up with a solution ourselves, so they're just
going to throw it to the trustees, and we'll see how it goes.
#Post#: 7288--------------------------------------------------
Re: Meetings
By: Adric Date: July 15, 2018, 6:59 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I wondered if any boys in the ADHD category are resentful of
being treated differently as a result of that diagnosis. I
would think they would not like being classified as disabled in
any way. Don't some of them disagree with their diagnosis? You
have mentioned before that some parents might seek out that
diagnosis so they could drug their kids and dampen out
rambunctious behavior that is actually normal. If I had that
diagnosis I might feel that it was unjustified and that I was
being labeled unfairly and railroaded into programs to deal with
my "special needs". You have mentioned before that ADHD takes
place on a continuum of severity, so how bad must it be before a
boy is forced to take PE while his friends get to choose an
elective instead?
#Post#: 7295--------------------------------------------------
Re: Meetings
By: Zyngaru Date: July 15, 2018, 8:35 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Adric link=topic=689.msg7288#msg7288
date=1531655941]
I wondered if any boys in the ADHD category are resentful of
being treated differently as a result of that diagnosis. I
would think they would not like being classified as disabled in
any way. Don't some of them disagree with their diagnosis? You
have mentioned before that some parents might seek out that
diagnosis so they could drug their kids and dampen out
rambunctious behavior that is actually normal. If I had that
diagnosis I might feel that it was unjustified and that I was
being labeled unfairly and railroaded into programs to deal with
my "special needs". You have mentioned before that ADHD takes
place on a continuum of severity, so how bad must it be before a
boy is forced to take PE while his friends get to choose an
elective instead?
[/quote]
Hi Adric.
The boys I know with ADHD are comfortable with the
classification. They know they need help, some medication, and
a different routine than other kids, and are grateful when
adults understand and help them with those things. Jack's
experience might be different, but that is my experience.
As for PE. The boys I know with ADHD have an excess of energy
and any way to drain some of that energy is a good thing and
they know it. My suggestion for the PE class is to play very
active sports. Dodgeball is a great one for ADHD kids, but I
doubt it is allowed anymore. You could get hurt being hit by a
rubber ball filled with air. Sarcasm. The ADHD boys I know
can run for hours without wearing out. Of course that is
dependent on their meds. Zombies don't run well. Sarcasm
again.
#Post#: 7296--------------------------------------------------
Re: Meetings
By: Jack Date: July 15, 2018, 8:38 am
---------------------------------------------------------
[quote author=Adric link=topic=689.msg7288#msg7288
date=1531655941]
... how bad must it be before a boy is forced to take PE while
his friends get to choose an elective instead?
[/quote]
First of all, 8th grade boys are allowed two electives. Most of
them end up taking PE anyway.
Second, we're not making diagnoses, so this probably isn't
something the boys are being surprised with. I think if they
did have problems, those would be dealt with in other places -
especially since many of the ones with whom we're dealing now
have families paying thousands of dollars to send them to a
school that will deal with it.
Third, if these boys are actually diagnosed as ADHD, then
they'll be getting special treatment/attention no mater where
they are. The big difference at BCA is that the class sizes are
smaller and gender segregated, and they are trying to specialize
in treatment for the issue.
Fourth - if a kid has ADHD, he pretty well knows it, and knows
he's not like his peers, which can be very frustrating for the
ones I've known at times.
Fifth - even considering all that, it's not an invalid point. I
think the benefits would outweigh other considerations, but I
will mention it as something to consider, especially when
dealing with some of the gifted kids.
I honestly think you're looking for trouble where it doesn't
exist, but I will suggest that we have a way to help kids who
don't accept their diagnoses or who might actually have been
classified on the wrong side of the border.
[hr]
Zyngaru posted while I was writing this, and I honestly agree
with 99% of what he said. The only place where I disagree with
him is that some zombies do run well - it just depends on which
movie you're in.
#Post#: 7407--------------------------------------------------
Re: Meetings
By: Jack Date: July 19, 2018, 3:15 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
We had our meeting of all the ADHD teachers today. Mr. Sanders
explained that all three of the new policies for ADHD students
have been adopted, with a minor exception. If you look back a
few posts, you can find the three policies that were under
discussion. The second one - with all 8th grade ADHD students
being required to take PE - is going to have a few exceptions
this year. After examining planned student schedules and
comparing it to the ADHD student list, there were only four boys
who weren't already taking PE. Three of those boys are
diagnosed as mild, and the fourth was moderate, but on meds and
responding well. All four of those boys are taking the honors
speech/drama class, which means they'll be participating in the
school play and learning about speech competitions, and are also
in either band or choir.
In the future, I guess you can say that 8th grade ADHD students
taking PE is going to be strongly suggested, but exceptions will
be made for boys pursuing activities like this, that involve a
creative outlet for their energies.
Our next meeting isn't going to be until the 30th of this month,
which will be with all the boys only teachers. There will be a
similar meeting for the first - third teachers and the girls
only teachers. Everyone will be required to take an online
course on recognizing and dealing with ADHD students, and a few
new policies will be explained. Overall, I'd say things went
well, and it was nice to get to finally meet all the new
teachers.
*****************************************************
DIR Next Page