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CHALLENGER SCHOOL: A CULT FROM THE DARK AGES

11/11/2012

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Challenger School: A Cult from the Dark Ages

I remember each of my elementary teachers by name.  In retrospect, I have also concluded that at least four out of six of them were true, master teachers.  They were not the kinds of master teachers in name only, a popular term given to those politically correct educators of today who know how to help their schools achieve a higher API score.  They were caring professionals at the height and breadth of their professions—formidable authorities on a variety of curricula, creative artists in their ability to communicate those curricula, and incredible people managers whose motivation for teaching was incorporated into the very spirit of their beings. 

How could I have been so naïve?  When I accepted the position as 5th grade teacher of Challenger School in Palo Alto for the 2001/2002 school year, I had little idea that the redundancy with which they used their namesake in my official,offer letter would translate into a kind of a cult-like atmosphere--a Savonarola-like philosophy from the dark ages in which repeated effort was made by the Challenger Corporate Administration to brainwash its teachers into thinking that no matter what they did or how diligently they worked, nothing was ever good enough.  The list of subject areas that elementary teachers were responsible for implementing on a weekly basis included art, physical education, logic, mathematics, vocabulary, grammar, expository writing, creative writing, memorization, current events, geography, and science.  The only class taught by an outside authority, which the faculty was constantly reminded had only been initiated that year, was computer technology.  So 2001/2002 (I was repeatedly told by my administration) was the first year that teachers were given any prep periods (2 prep periods/week) for the seemingly infinite amount of work that had to be completed outside of the direct teaching, yard duty, staff meetings, year-end recital, spring musical, science fair, “meet the teacher night”, parent/teacher conferencing, and “valet parking” time.  Not that an adjusted schedule or payment compensation was given to teachers for any of the above events, it’s just that grading papers, writing monthly parent newsletters, preparing lesson plans, producing monthly progress reports and quarterly report cards, editing Challenger’s own syllabi—not by any means a complete list of the “extra duties” performed by teachers at Challenger School--had to be done outside of the 8:10 a.m.—3:20p.m. teaching/supervising/valet parking day.  Although elementary teachers were paid an hourly wage in the guise of a “salary”, which paid each teacher until 4:00 pm Monday through Friday, it was not unusual for the janitor, who had other accounts in the area and who might stop by to pick up his equipment that was stored in a room in my classroom, to find me working late into the night on a Friday, as we scared each other half to death from shock.

How could I have been so codependent?  All of that would have been totally acceptable to me as a dedicated professional.  But the fact that we were not allowed a break to use the bathroom facilities except at lunch and at two prep periods/week, made me see red as my bladder and kidneys took the abuse.  One of my colleagues who had left her 3rd grade teaching position around October threatened to sneak in after hours and deliver Depends diapers in every teacher’s in-box.  Once I had devised a clever scheme to use the facilities in-between the end of the direct teaching day and valet parking duty (timed myself at 90 seconds exactly, including hand washing), only to have a scathing memo issued by the school principal, admonishing such an inventive strategy for keeping my kidneys and bladder functioning. 

How could I have been so stubborn?  Always hopeful that things would improve, I doggedly stayed for the duration of the school year, while streamlining my work hours to less than 90/week, and sneaking to the toilet when necessary.  But at the end of the year, at the final staff meeting, the school principal decided to clarify why the administration had so wisely chosen to dock my pay on one recent occasion because of a three-car-collision on highway 101 at the end of May.  Well, that did it.  I finally spoke up.  I stated that I wasn't sure, and I hadn’t done the research yet.  I made the statement that I didn’t think it was legal in this state and maybe even in this nation to label someone a “salaried worker”, and then treat that same person like a “wage worker”.  In other words, where was all my overtime pay for the mountain of required work I was obligated to do and the mountain of hours put in outside of the regular workday?  Why were twelve minutes such an issue to the Challenger Corporation while at least three or four others had been late on the same day for the same reason, especially since Challenger had been getting hours-upon-hours of extra work from me free of charge?  I was told by the administrators at that very meeting that Challenger was conducting business legally, and that I should research California Labor Code.

How could those in charge have been so naïve?  Research: OK Challenger, I accept the challenge, and please pardon the pun.  For the first time in a long history of employment, I was pissed-off enough to do it.  So I did.  In that process, I found out that the Challenger Corporation had committed more than a few offenses against both California and National Labor Law, including falsifying timesheets, which I hated doing and which always made me feel suspicious—like they were trying to get away with something—which they were (duh).  After all, this was 2002 and not 1802, right? 

After much research and documentation, I had a formal confrontation with those I challenged at a hearing of the California Labor Board.  The Labor Board in the state of California is much overworked and understaffed.  As I told the hearing officer, I felt like Al Pacino in “Godfather III”, because every time I had been willing to let go and to let bygones be bygones, those uninformed and hubristic individuals pulled me right back in with more lies and deceit, the likes of which extend way beyond the limited space here. 

Did justice prevail?  In the end, and in this case, it did and did not.  I won my case without hiring an attorney, not that I could afford one.  Since that time, the president of the corporation has resigned his position so that his mother (who one of my friends and colleagues swears is a former victim of domestic abuse who has passed on that abuse to her employees) has resumed her former position.  Also, the principal no longer works there; the same goes for the former, regional director.  And so far as I’ve been informed, all of the scheduling regarding elementary teachers that had changed directly following my hearing with the Labor Board have changed back again, because no one has challenged that administration since that time.  The separate art, music, and PE teachers hired after my Labor Board judgment are also no longer working there.  Prep periods previously installed as a result of hiring the adjunct teachers are also gone.  To my knowledge, the only change that remains in place are two, ten-minute bathroom breaks in the morning and afternoon (and in compliance with California Labor Code), respectively.  However, teachers are openly paid a wage vs. a wage in the guise of a salary, and are no longer paid during holidays and school breaks, although they never were.  (After doing the arithmetic I realized that a portion of the hourly wage was excluded from each teacher’s paycheck, and then reimbursed during school holidays so that it appeared as if teachers were paid for holidays, but it was actually the pay they had already earned that was being reimbursed to them!)  I can’t say whether things are any better or worse there, with the exception that teachers can now use the toilet without fear of administrative reprisal.                          

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TAKING A MATH TEST AT ANY AGE OR GRADE LEVEL

11/3/2012

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TAKING A MATH TEST AT ANY AGE/GRADE LEVEL:  PRIORITIZE, STREAMLINE, OPTIMIZE

Whether you’re an adult, teenager, or school-age student, taking math tests is a normal part of your school life.  Regardless of your age, you’re busy with multiple commitments between work, family, and extra-curricular activities.  Here are a few tips that will help you to get a strong result by prioritizing, streamlining, and optimizing the precious time that you put into studying and into taking the test itself. 

Math tests are different from history, English, and other exams.  Rather than memorizing a lot of important facts and concepts and then matching or writing or filling-in-the-blanks, math and math tests expect you to perform.  What does that mean?  It’s not enough to just define what something is—although that’s essential to understanding—you have to apply your understanding of those definitions by working through actual math exercises where you absolutely must show your work.

For that reason, you can never cram for a math test or even a quiz.  This bears repeating—CRAMMING FOR MATH TESTS DOESN’T WORK!  It can actually cause more problems as you draw conclusions/hunt for patterns without sufficient background.  It can also lead to misconceptions that take more time to undo than they did to do.

The best way to study for a math test is to keep up with your class work, and to ask for help from your teacher or professor, when needed.  Even if you can’t get your questions answered during the scheduled, class time, most teachers are willing to meet with you outside of class.  Many have office hours or will make an appointment.  Generally speaking, they want to help; they’re not usually in it for the money.  If you show them that you are motivated and current with your work, that goes A LOT further with them than if you’re just trying to find an easy way out. 

PRIORITIZE

Make your homework sessions a priority.  Your study area should be well lit and free of clutter.  Your tummy should not be completely empty nor filled with fruit loops or gummy bears.  Give your brain a chance; you know what’s good for it.

As you do your regularly scheduled homework, check your answers in the back of the book.  Don’t check each exercise each time, unless you’re having a lot of difficulty.  Complete each section or sub-section, and then check.  Most textbooks have odd answers in the back.  And it’s not cheating to check your work.  It’s what ethical, smart people do.  It’s like driving at night with your headlights on. 

Keep a list of the exercises/concepts that are giving you some trouble.  Give yourself a chance to process the information.  Math can take a little time to sink in, especially as it gets more challenging.  Go back to those problematic exercises at the end of your homework session or even the next day when you’re fresh.  Your brain processes a lot of difficult information when you’re not thinking directly about it.  So take a break, and then see if it makes more sense.

If you still don’t get it, take your list to class and be sure to ask during the homework review.  If you absolutely can’t get your question answered then, or no one else has asked the same question, contact your teacher/professor ASAP (right after class).  Don’t wait; don’t let it go.  The class will move on, and you’ll remain stuck.  Your teachers want to help you.  Most of them chose that profession for just that reason.

Once you’ve gotten help—although you may still not understand what you were missing completely—find some homework exercises (assigned or not) that are exact replicas of the kind that are giving you trouble.   Try to find the odd numbered exercises, and make sure to look up the answers.  If you still need more help, ask for it.  Try to take some time, and then do some more exercises.  It will come to you.

STREAMLINE

Learn how to streamline your approach.  Stay focused in class.  Bikram says that this is the most difficult part of yoga.  Your math class may not be at the best time of day for your biological clock.  Welcome to the real world.  Your teacher may not have the best speaking voice, or may not give the greatest/most intriguing presentations.  That’s life. 

Take notes that are neither post-its nor novels.  A good rule of thumb is that if the teacher/professor is writing it, you should too.  You don’t have to copy the board or the power point presentation word-for-word, but pay special attention to what is presented to you in writing, especially the specific examples. Those examples can save you.  Don’t be lazy and think, that ‘s probably in the text; I’ll look it up later.  The text may not be written in a style that’s all that easy to comprehend.  Your teacher is your translator.  The more you write, listen, and practice, the better and more deeply you’ll understand.   You know the cliché--it’s not “rocket science”.

Use all your resources when doing your homework.  Have the textbook for reference (or even emergencies); have your class notes at hand.  Don’t be afraid/unwilling to take a minute and look something up.  Math is a foreign language, and begins with vocabulary.  Math vocabulary is a technical language at any level, and you won’t be able to either understand or communicate the concepts clearly if you don’t know what the words mean.  If you’re taking geometry or linear algebra for the first time, you should have a specific section in your binder just for vocabulary.  It is key to your understanding!

OPTIMIZE

Optimize your results through preparation.  Hopefully you have plenty of warning before the test.   Whether you do or don’t, there should be a review section at the end of each chapter.  If you’re really lucky, your instructor has given you a review guide or a set of review problems.  Whether a review has been assigned or not, it is up to you to prepare.  Don’t be fooled into thinking that you don’t have to do anything the week or night before the test because the teacher didn’t assign anything.  Hello!  When an instructor doesn’t assign work before a test, it’s because he or she wants you to review on your own.  I know that’s hard to imagine, but some teachers will expect you to be self-regulating, and they don’t have the time to be responsible for you.  But you do have that time.  If you’re wondering what will be covered on the test, ask your teacher.  If a review has not been assigned, take your textbook/notes up to him/her and ask what you should be focusing on in order to prepare well.   

Do your test review in the same, conscious manner you’ve done all your previous homework—regardless of whether or not your review exercises are getting a separate grade.  Make sure to look up anything that looks foreign, or anything that has been giving you more trouble.  Your test grade, which is usually worth more weight than homework anyway, will improve because of your quality time and effort.

After a good night’s sleep and healthy breakfast or lunch, you’re ready to go.  Calmly peruse the exam before you begin.  Check to see how many exercises there are, and estimate the time you’ll need for each.  Don’t be afraid to look at the more difficult exercises.  It’s usually not a good idea to do those first or to leave them for the last minutes.  Don’t let those shake your confidence.  If you read them carefully at the beginning of the test session, and then go back and read them again as you’re taking the test, your wonderful, mysterious brain will begin to process the information in ways that the most sophisticated of scientists cannot understand.   Use the margins of the test to write any formulas you may need and had to memorize.  Show all your work.  If you need more space to show your work, find out if you can use extra paper and make sure to turn it all in together.

Don’t let your time get sucked away by one or two exercises.  If something is giving you trouble, do what you can.  Then go back to it later.

Do not leave early!  Use all your time.  As you go through the test, put a little mark next to any exercises that you couldn’t do or that were giving you trouble.  Then go back to those at the end, when you have time.  Unless it’s a standardized test like the SAT, don’t leave anything blank.  

Breathe deeply to oxygenate your valuable brain cells.  Feel good about yourself.  No matter what the outcome, you’ve done your personal best.  If you haven’t put in the quality time, make some changes in your schedule and prepare better in the future.

By using these techniques, your grade and understanding will improve.

If you still need more help, give me a call.  I’ve been through all that you are going through now, and I have helped myself and many others to get a strong result.

www.misslandosmathtutoring.com
www.facebook.com/misslandosmathtutoring
twitter: @LindaLando 

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    I have been working with students of all ages, levels, and backgrounds since I was a young adult.  I began teaching in adult education and the arts and have since expanded my horizons to include all ages and mathematics!

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