A friend and I used to joke that the English department needs a special cap we get to wear for paper return days. We metaphorically took turns wearing the ogress cap so we thought we should buy one for the English teachers to pass around. The ogress cap is awarded to the English teacher who made the kids toe the line and held them to high standards. The end result of this tough love is grumbling and for a brief time vibes of anger resonating through the halls. You can feel it as you put the papers in the kids' mailboxes. You know you're wearing it when you walk into the classroom and the air is heavy and the looks are like daggers. You usually only have to wear it a couple of days and sometimes you can pass it off sooner if another teacher returns papers the day after you! So after this week's plummet from grace, I decided to go in search of an ogress cap. This is the best I could find in the drama store room.
This week's job while Laura is taking over full control of the classroom is to have conferences with all the students with a grade of 75% or lower. I am offering a rewrite but first they have to come and talk to me because it is obvious that reading handouts and following directions is not effective! Some won't take advantage of the conferences or the rewrites - they are happy to stagnate in their writing. But about 25 have signed up for help and I am enjoying meeting with them to look at their individual needs.
