Posts In Category Reflections
Social Media
on February 4, 2011 by Laura in Reflections, Comments (0)
Updated educators’ ethics code addresses social media
AUSTIN -Teachers must refrain from inappropriately communicating with students through the use of social media under the requirements of an updated Educators’ Code of Ethics endorsed by the State Board of Education today.
The Code of Ethics was updated by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), which oversees educator certification issues. Rules proposed by SBEC must come to the State Board of Education for review before they become effective.
Texas Education Agency staff requested the change to the ethics code because they said they are receiving disciplinary case referrals in which teachers were found to have sent students thousands of text messages. Sometimes the content of the messages was not inappropriate on their face but the volume of messages and time of day the messages were sent indicated that the educator was “grooming” the student for a future sexual relationship.
A school district employee commits a second-degree felony under Penal Code Section 21.12 if the employee engages in sexual contact with a student who is not their spouse.
The new provision in the Code of Ethics says:
(I) Standard 3.9. The educator shall refrain from inappropriate communication with a student or minor, including, but not limited to, electronic communication such as cell phone, text messaging, email, instant messaging, blogging, or other social network communication. Factors that may be considered in assessing whether the communication is inappropriate include, but are not limited to:
(i) the nature, purpose, timing, and amount of the communication;
(ii) the subject matter of the communication;
(iii) whether the communication was made openly or the educator attempted to conceal the communication;
(iv) whether the communication could be reasonably interpreted as soliciting sexual contact or a romantic relationship;
(v) whether the communication was sexually explicit; and
(vi) whether the communication involved discussion(s) of the physical or sexual attractiveness or the sexual history, activities, preferences, or fantasies of either the educator or the student.
Monica: Hm. I have an english draft due in third period tomorrow. I haven’t picked a topic yet. Meh.
Sandra: Thanks for reminding me! Lol.
Joe: Yessssssss
Janey: and peer revision haha, welcome to the club though.
Marilyn: You better have a journal for MW before fourth period. I must write you about something 
Laura Gonzalez: Potential Topic: Procrastination.
Monica: Prompt: An i’mportant choice I’ve made in my life. It’s worse than the TAKS prompts, Ms G.
Laura Gonzalez: Procrastination is a choice, Mon! And you’re a good enough writer to be able to inject some humor into it.
Monica: Hah.
Janey: i decided to procrstinate onthis essay because it was really boring and i had better things to do. the end.
Monica: Janey. That is my seventh grade english teacher. Hahahahhahhahahaha
Janey: just kidding, haha.i was actually thinking about writing about how i decide to write the essay, instead of just not doing it
Monica: I’m doing that. And i’ve already started. she’s going to accuse us of cheating. i blame you, Gonzalez.
Laura Gonzalez: Hmmmm… maybe I ought to copyright/TM the topic of procrastination.
**********
I resent the implication that I would be so unprofessional as to “pick up” students online. When students and teachers interact online, they begin to see each other as human. Students see how adults, professional adults, interact in an online environment. Students learn about tone in writing as they watch adults interact online. (Tone in writing is difficult to teach in the classroom.)
Teachers are examples for students. I resent the idea that we’re bad examples. I resent the limitations placed by an outside agency on whom I interact with. Students who want to keep in touch contact me on Facebook.They want to keep in touch. I resent that anyone would deny them that comfort.
In some cases, I serve as a parent. In some cases, I serve as a trusted adult friend. In some cases, I’m a sounding board. I resent that these roles would be denied to me by TEA.
I am not a happy camper.
My Evil Ones
on October 13, 2010 by Laura in Anecdotes, Reflections, Comments (1)
In addition to my Reading Improvement classes, I usually teach PreAP 7th grade Language Arts. (I’m forever grateful to the kind counselors who schedule a one-period break between these two extremes of students. It takes me about half an hour to switch brains.)
My Reading Improvement students enter my class with (well-deserved and hard won) reputations, normally negative reputations. Many have spent time in AEP (Alternative Education Program); a good portion of my class have spent time in JJ (the Juvenile Justice system). They have chips on their shoulders and anger issues. They’re also often tired of living up to their reputations.
The preAP students enter my classes with reputations, too. They’re “the good kids.” They’re the eager-to-learn students. They’re the students who are safe to leave alone with expensive electronics or a teacher’s purse. They’re also often tired of living up to their reputations.
So I designate a couple of preAP students as “my evil ones.” Although the most trustworthy of students, I call them evil in front of their peers. I moan loudly when these students show up (on time) to class and arrive (unnecessarily) for (extra) tutorials (before and after school). In the hallways, I loudly ask, “What have you evil ones been up to today? Have you been causing problems for other teachers, too?”
People who have known my evil ones for years look at them with new (and wondering) eyes. Their peers speculate as to what my evil ones could have done to deserve such a reputation from a teacher (especially a language arts teacher!) in such a short period of time.
And my evil ones become interesting in the eyes of their teenage peers.
My Students are Wimps
on May 28, 2010 by Laura in Reflections, Underachievers, Volksmarching and Walking, Comments (10)
I took the kids on a field trip. For many of them, it was their first field trip. I teach the-hard-to-teach students. Most of my students have “dramatic” homelives which they bring with them to school. Many of them are far behind (at least three grade levels) where they ought to be. Many of them began the school year convinced that they are dummies whereas their teachers are convinced they’re troublemakers. (How else are they going to get attention?)
I began the school year with lessons on bullying: what it is, what it looks like, what bullying feels like, what it feels like to be a victim. I ended the school year with a unit on the Holocaust–institutionalized bullying.
We received a grant to take a field trip to the Dallas Holocaust Museum. The students behaved well. I think they got it.
We also hiked around downtown Dallas. We visited the JFK Memorial and picnicked at the Grassy Knoll. They had studied the JFK assassination and were fascinated by the x’s painted in the street where the assassination occurred. They studied the angles of the windows from the Sixth Floor Museum and I heard a few discussions about conspiracies.
I found the day immensely satisfying except for one thing: the students got worn out way too quickly! A fat forty-mumble year old teacher ought not be able to outwalk healthy, energetic adolescents.
One of my 8th graders even fell asleep in his next class–he was too worn out to stay awake in science. Oddly enough, the science teacher considered this a triumph of the field trip; the student was too tired to disrupt class and the review for next week’s final went smoothly.
My students are wimps… and I’m going to miss them.
Cold Pricklies and Warm Fuzzies
on May 25, 2010 by Laura in Reflections, Comments (0)
My fourth grade teacher taught us about the cold pricklies and the warm fuzzies. Cold pricklies are those mean moments in life which hurt us; not the big hurts, but the little ones. Warm fuzzies are just the opposite. They consist of those memories which make us smile when we look back on them.
It’s been a frustrating weekend of blogging. I came home from geocaching only to go straight to an engagement party. Sunday I found myself physically exhausted from all the climbing and hiking I had done while learning how to geocache. Monday I found the strength to begin writing.
I have to say that I really liked writing those blogs. They forced me to reflect on my day and on my first experiences geocaching. Geocaching Day was the culmination of many days of planning and the result of many lessons learned. I made new friends and learned about a new world, the geocaching world.
Then I tried to upload the photos…. Uh-oh…. Error message after error message popped up.
‘No problem,’ I thought, ‘I have a supergeek of a husband who can fix any ol’ problem this computer can throw at me.’
My supergeek husband proceeded to tell me that the error message was a PHP message. Okay. Now what?
As it turns out, PHP messages mean that the website is broken. We have to contact the webmaster and let him/her sort it out. Only the webmaster can fix my blog so I can post photos again.
So now I face a dilemma: Do I post without pics?
Still unable to decide, I opened my e-mail today. My blog had been read! By strangers even!!!! They left compliments. One even signed on to my feed! Oh, my!
I have an audience!
