Frustration

We have a handful of kids at my school that have been identified as GATE. (gifted and talented) Most of our GATE identified kids don't go to the GATE schools in our district though. Why? The parents don't send their kids to the program. The district I work in doesn't, in my opinion, do enough to promote the program to the Latino parents in Spanish. They also don't promote it at our site. Many of our parents don't speak English, or speak it well enough to understand it in an academic setting. They also are not very mobile so having something out of walking distance won't fly.

This year my daughter is in the GATE class at the school next to mine, the school where our GATE identified kids should go. There are at least 4 other kids at my school, in her grade, who should be there with her but they aren't. Two of them are former students of mine. I contacted these parents personally to ask them to send their children to the GATE program. I tried to explain the benefits of the program to them but they were worried that there would be no teachers at the other school who could speak to them, the parents, in Spanish and that it wouldn’t be in walking distance. (The kids would get bused but the parents, understandably, like to be in close proximity to their kids in case of emergency, etc.)

My concern here is that we have this handful of really bright kids who are mixed in with the rest and are not being pushed to the fullest extent of their capabilities. With our current test driven state in education, most teachers are trying their best to make sure that the kids are ready for the test. This means really focusing on the kids who are below grade level. We were in fact told by a workshop presenter, who was there to help us get our scores up, to “not worry about GATE kids. They already have what they need!”

Now I am not saying that classroom teachers don’t have a responsibility to their GATE students because we do. We need to work just as hard for them as we do for our lowest students. However, whatever we do for them in our regular classrooms, doesn’t even compare to what they can get from a class comprised of like minded individuals.

Every day that my daughter has been in her new GATE class this year has been just amazing. I just melt inside when I hear the things they are learning, the way they are learning or just the casual conversations that she is having with her friends. What a difference and change. What an opportunity!

When I walk around my school and see the GATE identified kids at my school, I feel so sad. I wish that they too could have the same opportunities that my daughter has.

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!

When I go back to school on the 8th, I will be on for 2 days and then I will have 3 days out of the classroom for AB466 math training. I will then have to be out of the classroom for 2 days the following week to finish off the training. I am SO unhappy about this for two reasons. The first reason is because I hate to miss school days for training. It is not easy to write sub plans. The kids are essentially on hold until I return. I hate that. The main reason that I am unhappy though is because the training is SO STUPID!!!! Here is a synopsis of what the training is:

AB466 Training

Participants study all components of the program and learn how each component of the program works together to create a complete, comprehensive program. In addition the participants learn scientific research behind the program as it relates to actual classroom practices.

Why is this dumb? It is dumb because we have been using our curriculum for the past 5 years already. WE KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING!!! We are also very close to a new adoption as it is. The least they can do is wait for our new adoption when learning about our curriculum might actually be meaningful.

I had to take the AB 466 training about 5 years ago for the language arts program that we currently use. I was really excited about the training prior to the event. I had piloted the new materials and had a good chance to familiraize myself with the program. I was anxious to go and have my questions answered and get more info. I soon found out that I was not going to learn one thing from the training. The trainers told us on the first day that they hadn't even used the materials...can you believe it? As it turned out, I knew much more than the trainers did. I ended up bringing a lot of my own teacher created materials to share with the group. What a waste of time.

This training that is coming up will most likely be a waste of time. Due to the fact that we are a Program Improvement school though, we are forced to take the training. Apparently the lawmakers in California think that we teachers are so useless and unskilled that we need to waste our time this way. We are also losing big chunks of money by having to take this training. It costs a lot of money to train an entire school. Why can't lawmakers see that the money spent is going in the wrong direction? If they want to help children in Program Improvement schools, they should pour money into after school tutoring programs and parent/family education programs.