28 of my 71 7th grade math students currently have an F in my class. They will go to 8th grade next year regardless of how they perform in 7th, and they will similarly be promoted to 9th grade, which is the first year of high school here.
Once in high school, however, they will be shocked to learn that there are actual consequences for failing a class; students need a certain number of credits to graduate, so they usually have to repeat a failed class until they pass. Some on this track will graduate, but many will fall through the cracks and drop out.
So, for the first nine years of public education (kindergarten to 8th grade, although some start public schooling even younger), students almost always go to the next grade regardless of current academic levels, work production, or attendance. This sets up many students for disaster when they arrive in high school testing many years below grade level in math and/or reading and never having been forced to acquire a strong work ethic, good attendance habits, or effective study skills.
By the way, 7 of the 71 currently have an A+. 😊
Once in high school, however, they will be shocked to learn that there are actual consequences for failing a class; students need a certain number of credits to graduate, so they usually have to repeat a failed class until they pass. Some on this track will graduate, but many will fall through the cracks and drop out.
So, for the first nine years of public education (kindergarten to 8th grade, although some start public schooling even younger), students almost always go to the next grade regardless of current academic levels, work production, or attendance. This sets up many students for disaster when they arrive in high school testing many years below grade level in math and/or reading and never having been forced to acquire a strong work ethic, good attendance habits, or effective study skills.
By the way, 7 of the 71 currently have an A+. 😊
We are starting The Hobbit as a read aloud in my 7th grade math classes next week! Students are supposed to have SSR (sustained silent reading) in a core class each day Tuesday to Friday, and Wednesday is math’s turn. I was finding it a struggle to get some of my students to find a book and actually do some reading during this time, so I decided to try reading aloud to them, and they were much more engaged. I asked the librarians for a list of the class sets they stock and chose several options from those for my students to vote on. I don’t want to take away too much math instructional time, but I also think they might lose track of the story if we only read on Wednesdays, so we’ll see how that shakes out. One thing I definitely miss from teaching elementary school is read aloud time, so this should be fun for all of us!
“What’s wrong with you? Did you get in trouble?”
-student who noticed I’ve been wearing a mask in class again lately
(Mask from fakemaskworldwide.com 👏👏)
-student who noticed I’ve been wearing a mask in class again lately
(Mask from fakemaskworldwide.com 👏👏)
https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/education/2022/01/31/truancy-rate-rises-in-new-mexico-amid-covid-19-pandemic/6580961001/?cid=facebook_Las_Cruces_Sun-News&fbclid=IwAR2KkHN8mUOckll7JWX5jnC4ZO09vxC4AhaVt9iNGjyOzPmnkGTTxRa_IgU
Not shocking when we keep closing and reopening schools 🤷♀️
Not shocking when we keep closing and reopening schools 🤷♀️
Carlsbad Current-Argus
Report: Truancy rises in New Mexico schools amid a pandemic
A recent report showed\u00a0a growing number of New Mexico students missed a significant portion of school throughout the COVID-19.
Masking children has gone from a reasonable precaution back when the virus was brand new, to probably not necessary once the data started to emerge, to rather crazy. But we have now passed crazy and arrived at evil. If you think mandatory masking of children for 6+ hours per day is acceptable in February 2022, you need to do some soul searching.
My colleague is hosting a running club after school, and I sat in on part of the first meeting today just for fun. While going over rules and procedures, she reminded students that they don’t need to wear their masks during the outdoor portion of the activities. What she said next was both necessary and heartbreaking. She instructed the students not to make fun of each other’s bare faces.
She and I have both realized that when you’ve interacted with someone daily for many months but never seen their whole face, your brain naturally fills in the missing parts; it is therefore shocking to see the whole face for the first time, not because there is anything wrong with the face, but because it can’t possibly match the imaginary face your brain created.
I experience this phenomenon regularly when I happen to catch a glance of the full face of one of my students who is particularly diligent about masking, perhaps while stopping by to visit with them in the cafeteria during lunch. As an adult, I know to refrain from commenting on this strange feeling that comes over me as my brain tries to process what it’s seeing. Kids, however, are not so filtered and often make comments about how “weird” a peer looks maskless.
This is not normal, and it’s not okay. They will not just “get over it”. We are causing major psychological distress to children during the formidable years of their lives, and only time will tell the true consequences.
My colleague is hosting a running club after school, and I sat in on part of the first meeting today just for fun. While going over rules and procedures, she reminded students that they don’t need to wear their masks during the outdoor portion of the activities. What she said next was both necessary and heartbreaking. She instructed the students not to make fun of each other’s bare faces.
She and I have both realized that when you’ve interacted with someone daily for many months but never seen their whole face, your brain naturally fills in the missing parts; it is therefore shocking to see the whole face for the first time, not because there is anything wrong with the face, but because it can’t possibly match the imaginary face your brain created.
I experience this phenomenon regularly when I happen to catch a glance of the full face of one of my students who is particularly diligent about masking, perhaps while stopping by to visit with them in the cafeteria during lunch. As an adult, I know to refrain from commenting on this strange feeling that comes over me as my brain tries to process what it’s seeing. Kids, however, are not so filtered and often make comments about how “weird” a peer looks maskless.
This is not normal, and it’s not okay. They will not just “get over it”. We are causing major psychological distress to children during the formidable years of their lives, and only time will tell the true consequences.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/briefing/mask-mandates-covid-new-jersey.html
New Mexico might be the ONLY state still masking children before long. 😢
New Mexico might be the ONLY state still masking children before long. 😢
NY Times
The Mask Debate
More Democratic governors are saying that masks can come off in schools.