I like to remind myself of things. That’s one reason why I’ve posted something on this blog every single teaching day (and then some). Because when you sometimes forget where you are and what you’re doing, you lose focus on the prize. Today was my reminder, and it’s rarely pretty.
I like giving tests. They frustrate students, make them think like they haven’t in years, and are a good indicator of whether kids know something. Since the school year is winding down, and we’ll be left with only senior projects to end the year, I gave my time-tested, tried-and-true four-year cumulative English final. Yep, 56 questions, students’ four years of English. All of the answers being short answer. No true/false or matching–do you know it or don’t you?
Before you call me maniacal or evil, consider the questions. There are 10 from freshman year, 11 from sophomore year, 13 from junior year, and 22 from their senior year, the one I just got done teaching them. I don’t expect them to get a perfect score–far from it, because some of the questions I ask are on books they may not have read, depending on their teachers.
Highest score this year? 38. Lowest score? 3. Average score? 14. Here are some sample questions, in case you thought they might have been hard.
What’s the father’s name in To Kill a Mockingbird? Who wrote that book?
Who wrote the Odyssey?
Romeo comes from what family?
What nationality are the boys in Lord of the Flies? What’s Piggy’s ailment? What is the Lord of the Flies, literally?
In 1984, who is always watching you and loves you?
Who kills Gatsby? Who’s the golf cheat? What event did Wolfsheim fix?
Getting an idea of the questions here? Yeah, some were harder, but there were 56 of them and some students didn’t do so well. As a matter of fact, and data, there were 14 students out of 50 that scored under 10.
Here is the constant reminder–IT DOESN’T MATTER. Do you think your kids are walking around with a wealth of memory about what they’ve been taught? Well, they’re not.
The constant reminder is the way you treat them. That’s what they remember. Older and wiser teachers always tried to remind young teachers of this when I started at North High. I have to admit that I thought of them as filthy hippies–I still respected what they did in the classroom, but good luck with that philosophy, Sugar Magnolia.
Fast forward to my test today. Guess who the filthy hippie is now?