Movies at school. All day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers can't clean up their rooms in one day! It would wreck their organizational capabilities and condition of their stuff for future use.

I am fine with play and screens the last week. It's fun for my child and a cool memory of my own. Teachers would often give out little things (a border piece here and a name tag or almost dried up market there). I loved it.

We also helped clean and dismantle things. That's important in terms of helping and responsibility.

Middle and high school teachers have much less packing up to do than elementary teachers.

I do think elementary school children can be part of that process.

[Anonymous]

Some of you parents need to homeschool. Seriously. What shall y'all do now that school is coming to an end? Bitch over in the camp forum?

[Anonymous]

June.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a HS teacher the reality is that few kids show up. Grades are in and finals have been taken. What kind of instruction do you really expect to take place?

Have some imagination and teach some of the stuff you always wanted to but complain the SOL demands squeeze out.

If you teach a math class, have a couple of days on the stock market or personal finance. If you teach social studies, play the World Trade game. If you are in English, do a little reader's theater. This isn't hard.

There are 8 kids in our entire grade today. They're all in one classroom but if we rotated them through the bell schedule there may be 1 or 2 per class with some periods having 0 kids. Do what, now? And grade them how? Grades are in. Do the other 140 absent kids get zeroes?

[Anonymous]

well it's a little chicken and egg, isn't it? If you show movies all day, some kids won't come. If you have actual activities for most of the the day, more kids would be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a HS teacher the reality is that few kids show up. Grades are in and finals have been taken. What kind of instruction do you really expect to take place?

Have some imagination and teach some of the stuff you always wanted to but complain the SOL demands squeeze out.

If you teach a math class, have a couple of days on the stock market or personal finance. If you teach social studies, play the World Trade game. If you are in English, do a little reader's theater. This isn't hard.

My kids charter (BASIS DC) does a school-wide version of this - called project week for the last week of school (finals are always second to last week).

A month or so before the end of school a project week syllabus comes out. Students rank their top 3 choices and are assigned one. Some are more academic than others, and some are executed better but there's a range of choices -- over our years at the school there have been camping trips, trips to Montreal and New York City, an anime unit, a dissection unit, art in the city, 'game of life' (personal finance/applying for jobs/college/paying taxes), history of video games. It's fun, no homework and most projects involve at least one field trip and a movie or two. It's a nice way for everyone to end the school year and students and teachers seem to really look forward to it.

This is how it should be. My kids were previously in private school and this is how things were handled. I'm kind of baffled by DCPS (high school) apparently using an entire week to allow kids who are failing to do makeup work, while kids who aren't failing either a) come to school and watch movies/play on their phones all day while teachers clean out their classrooms OR b) stay home, with parents dutifully reporting them as sick all week.

I'm all for paying teachers to clean out their classrooms, but let them do it after the kids have finished school, and have them plan and carry out a final week of projects, field trips, and/or community service. What does it say about how we, as a city, value education (and how teachers & DCPS value education) that as soon as finals are over, the learning stops? So crazy.

Well as the mom of a HS kid who carried 2 Fs and a D most of the advisory I'm thrilled for the opportunity for DC to make up some work, do quiz corrections, etc. Some kids need this time.

[Anonymous]

So this slacker week works for kids who are behind.

What does it say to those who aren't?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So this slacker week works for kids who are behind.

What does it say to those who aren't?

It says that they should relax and decompress and enjoy the rewards of being caught up on their work. It says that they should bond with their friends that they won't see all summer because they're in different summer camps. It says that they can enjoy some down time with their teachers and help them wrap up the school year. It says that the school has some freakin' recognition that the kids are cooped up in a classroom on the most beautiful week of the entire year, and therefore should be allowed some recess and down time after an entire year of trying to behave well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:well it's a little chicken and egg, isn't it? If you show movies all day, some kids won't come. If you have actual activities for most of the the day, more kids would be there.

Good one.

[Anonymous]

I'm a MS teacher and the prevailing attitude of the students is that they are done. Even if you have something fun and educational, they ask if it will be graded. I can't grade anymore, given that I have end of the year tasks and grades are final Wednesday.

I think parents just need to accept that the end of the year is what it is. How many of you complain about the homework and projects we assign all year long, but now you are mad that there's downtime?

Please come teach and show us how it is done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School is not over, the pack up shot should take place after school ends. Why does it seem like they are rushing to pack in the learning all year but then the last week is thrown away? That said, I would have no problem with it if the kids were outside or playing educational board or computer games but movies????

why can't teachers pack up after the students are no longer in the building?

I don't have access to my building and I hate to pull this card, but I shouldn't have to. My kids don't watch movies until the last day, so I'm not one to have them watch all week but some of us have no right to be in our building after the 17th. I also have a family to get home to, so I can't stay until 9 each night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yet another reason we left dcps for a charter! Do your job and teach.

Lol. At my kids charter they have been doing recess all day for at least a week. At the DCPS where I work, teachers are still teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yet another reason we left dcps for a charter! Do your job and teach.

Lol. At my kids charter they have been doing recess all day for at least a week. At the DCPS where I work, teachers are still teaching.

Seems like you made a bad decision.

[Anonymous]

Op here and again, I don't care if you give my kid recess all day. There has been a serious lack of recess all year in my opinion. But the screens I have a problem with. They are not blowing off steam and enjoying their last days with friends. They are being shushed and sat in front of a stupid movie! There's bad National and DCPS policies causing this because the teachers have to do assessments and pack up. And there's also lazy teachers. It's a problem with multiple causes.

[Anonymous]

OMG watching movies at school is fun. RELAX.