Anyone else just plain burned out on teaching? I love kids, I really do love what I do, and of course I love summer....but I am completely burned out on paperwork. It seems there's a form for everything we do, and just when I think there couldn't possibly be another, a new one is introduced! I wonder when the folks who decide that we need to do these forms will realize that the time we spend teaching kids is what really matters!!!

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Spring is a time of many splendors – sunnier days, happier moods, and the knowledge that the summer break is just around the bend. I love this time of year, and I’m very aware that as a teacher it’s an especially wonderful time. This being said, I must say, though, that I do anticipate the season with just a bit of dread as it certainly has become the season for multiple standardized tests. I understand some of the reasoning behind these mandated tests, however I have little faith in their efficacy. Not only do I not believe they necessarily measure what they intend to, I also lament that we teachers must focus our teaching on test taking skills rather than our subject matter. I know I’m not the only one with this concern, but I’m just getting to a place where I can’t stomach it any more and feel there ought to be action taken by those of us who readily know the ill effects of our increased reliance on testing. Any ideas of what can be done? I’m at a loss.

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Technology can be both a blessing and a curse. I, along with millions of others, love that I can not only call anyone I care to, anytime I need to, from just about anywhere, but that I can even text them a quick message without ever even calling. I do not, however, love that my students seem to feel that they may do the same while in my class. Further, I do not like the thought that they may be using text messaging as a means of passing on information about things like my exams … Anyone else coping with this issue? What do you do about it? How do you confront your students with what you know is happening, yet can’t be easily proved?

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