Day 28: Finally Getting Around to a Post

This week was pretty busy.  We are gearing up for our 1st benchmark exam next Wednesday and our progress reports went home on Friday.  It was a week full of making sure everything was covered and everyone was given a chance to do retakes.

I am also feeling a little defeated/obsessed with a parent email conversation that took place this week.  I found out from other teachers that this parent doesn't mean to come across in a bad way, it just happens.  Still, it makes me feel very inadequate and I am not sure what to do about it.

Here is a snipit of what she said to me:

Unfortunately, across the State, students tend to fail Math more than Language Arts, yet there has not been a solution to that problem which can definitely effect SGO results.  In my opinion, making learning fun and using antics that students can relate to such as incorporating music into the lesson or using other devices seem to help ensure that learning takes place.  For instance, using vocabulary words to replace certain rap song lyrics definitely help students in Language Arts, but then again,  this may be more difficult for Math.  Although some students do pass the state test for Math, the majority fail.  Metaphorically speaking, there needs to be "A Dead Poets" technique of teaching Math which is yet to be discovered.

All I can focus on is how I must not be making learning fun and relating to the students.  However, I know that I don't want to use "antics" and tricks.  So not sure what to do.  I just know that I'm not feeling very good about this whole thing, which means  I need to do something.