Statistics and Stories

Well, it's just now 1:00. All the tests are scored and recorded, the homework is graded and ready to be mailed. The week's plans are completed AND... I have a sparkling clean kitchen. That is what I call a productive morning : )

Well, here are these week's scores:

Reading- 85%
Math- 88%
Spelling- 96%
Science- 90% and 71%

Reading went up. Math went up. I actually gave 2 quizzes this week, whereas last week was one test. Both quizzes gave the same average. Doesn't that mean their both really accurate?? For spelling, yes, they can earn more than 100%- which really boosts the average. 96 sure sounds good, though : ) For science, the first average is for a Performance Task. The kids had to draw a plant with all its parts and then label the parts. It's a nice alternative to a pencil paper test and their drawings were wonderful!! The second average is for the Chapter 2 pencil-paper test. That average is down from last week.

Okay, enough about statistics, here are two stories from yesterday that I forgot to include:

As lunch recess is ending, I walk outside and to the spot where my kids line up. As the duty teacher blows the whistle, I see one of my boys take two handfuls of sand and drop them on top of his head! His hands and head were all sweaty (because it's, like, 200 degrees outside, still) so all the sand stuck to his hands, his hair, his forehead, on his cheeks. It was totally disgusting. I walked up to him, started rubbing the sand off of him and tried to have a reasonable conversation about why he would do such a thing and why it wasn't a very good idea....

Meanwhile, the assistant principal is standing just a couple feet away, when I got the boy cleaned up and back in line, she came up to me and started praising me and my class. "They're so cute!" she said. This remark certainly made me smile : )

At some point yesterday (maybe it was at lunch recess, too) I walked past another 1st grade teacher telling a little girl that she "Must stop hugging me. They've made a new rule. We can't hug the children."

Let me back up. In case you didn't know, sexual harrassment is a huge topic now. It might be as big as energy conservation, I haven't looked into it. Anyhow, I have heard at three different meetings now, from district to grade level, that we are not supposed to touch a child, ever. Can you believe that? Have you ever spent five minutes with a six-year-old? If you don't touch them within two minutes, they'll touch you within four- nearly guaranteed. They're very tactile beings. They're still learning about personal space and social norms. And they all love to show love through touch.

So when I saw this 1st grade teacher telling her student to stop hugging her, I was heartbroken. Many of these kids have not seen what appropriate touching looks like. Maybe their parents completely ignore them- or- and I'm sure this does occur- they watch family members hit and beat, but not appropriately show affection. And I don't even want to know about the kids who see, or experience, inappropriate physical contact.

They need me to give them quick hugs, and pats on the back. They need high fives and handshakes. They need reassuring squeezes and comforting holds. And I am committed to giving them what they need.

Go ahead and sue me : )