Nifty 50

My fiftieth post, what a milestone! Actually I really hate things like that. I am much more proud of number 51 or 63 than I am of 50. Why do people celebrate certain anniversaries or birthdays? Why is the 25th anniversary more important than the 26th? It really isn't. Maybe because we yearn for simplicity and rounded numbers. 10 is easier than 12, 100 is simpler than 97.

I guess the reason these numbers come up is because they have such an effect on our everyday life. My students test constantly. By LKSD standards they must achieve an 80% on the test in order to pass. I have students that work their tails off every day to achieve that 80% mark. If they fall one point short and hit 79% they are told they failed. Not just the test, but everything they had worked for in the past three weeks had been a failure as well. In all actuality even 7 out of 10 is a good score.

We recently had our big tests that determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). We got the scores back today. There are levels the students must reach. Again, these are the rounded numbers that tell who is smart and who is not. If they score 297 they are labeled as Below Proficient. One of my students who has gone through so much this last year and has been battling just about everyone every day got that score. It's an incredible score and it brought tears to my eyes because even I didn't believe he could score that high. That's not below proficient if you ask me. He rocked the test, showed his ability (even with a broken right arm), and proved his teachers and everyone else wrong. The problem is even with a small miracle like this he still counts against us as far as AYP is concerned. The only thing factored in is these ridiculous well rounded numbers.

We don't know yet whether we made AYP; my principal is skeptical, so frankly it's hard for me to be optimistic. But, in all honesty, that one score, that one "Below Proficient" score, made these last four months worth it.

Three other important issues:
1. Congratulations to Emily Bjorn for winning the poll. The correct answer was A. There are students in my class with last names like Steven, Jacob, John, and Andrew who all can trace their roots back to Tooksook Bay where the first white people were responsible for furnishing the Natives with their last names.
2. The river broke up. I had heard stories about the ice piling up and crashing through downtown and flooding a big part of the town. Wasn't that exciting... I went down for the party tonight, but realized I didn't want to be with big crowds so I went the opposite direction for an amazing riverside hike.
2. I can't tell you this yet, but stay tuned for (potentially) some exciting news.

Off to bed, and by bed I mean stay awake because we now have sunlight 5 am until midnight or so. One more day of actual teaching left, then cleaning and playing til we finish up next Wednesday.