Red, White and Roux

I have been in quite a dither. I didn't have a column the last two weeks because all I could think about was the FCAT Writing test and my teacher responsibilities for next year.

On Feb. 9, the writing test was administered in every public school in the state of Florida. My students had been practicing. Dozens of essays covered my dining room table over the past few weekends. I had to assign a grade for each, but more importantly, I had to make notes and offer suggestions for better work.

I always wrote in green pen, never in red. I wanted to encourage my students to move forward, and green means go. Red means stop. I had many “SEE ME” notes attached to their work for those times when I had something to discuss in person. Sometimes I wanted to explain changes in point of view, subject-verb agreement, the random use of apostrophes, or tense consistency.

I did not sleep the night before the test.

It went smoothly. My kids worked hard. Afterward, I felt optimistic.

That's a relief, since Florida school districts are buying into the latest federal initiative. It's called “Race to the Top.” Money is there for states if they agree to follow this program and win the competition for dollars. My understanding of one key component is that at least half of a teacher's job evaluation must be based on student performance. For me, that is FCAT Reading and Writing.

One down and one to go. Tenth grade English teachers all over this great state get to test, and be tested, again. We have FCAT Reading starting on March 9. We must show that our students have made significant gains. We just have to hope the kids are prepared, and that they care enough to try their best.

Honestly, I put much of the pressure on myself. The administration here has always been supportive and has never once intimated that my job was on the line.

But still, imagine my dismay when some of my Intensive Reading students say that they just “Christmas Tree” the test because the passages are so boring. I think it means they decorate the answer sheet, coloring in the answer bubbles as they would a tree.

These are kids who scored so low on previous tests that they didn't get to choose their own elective courses. They were required take Intensive Reading.

When school administrators try to put together a master plan for the year, Intensive Reading drives the schedule. This year, every high school English teacher in the district has had to teach two Intensive Reading classes. In addition, we have been “strongly encouraged” to take after-hours training that will lead to a Reading Endorsement on our teaching certificate. The district will give us just over $500 to take and complete each 60-hour class (six of them altogether). That's not bad, but it's a one time deal. Unlike an upper level degree, a reading endorsement means nothing in terms of long-term compensation – and getting it is also more likely to doom a high school English teacher to teaching phonics instead of Twain, Dickens, Faulkner, or Shakespeare.

I think I might like to take graduate-level English classes. There is also the prospect of pursuing my specialist or doctoral degree. Oops, wait, that time's already taken. I think I might have to work on my reading endorsement. District policy is not exactly clear quite yet.

This year's Intensive Reading curriculum focuses on phonemic awareness, word roots, dividing words into syllables, and basic grammar. How did these kids get to 10th grade when testing scores frequently show around a fifth grade reading level? I have sophomores who wouldn't recognize a noun if it smacked them in the face. I can teach parts of speech, but shouldn't I be moving on to gerunds and infinitives? When our 10th grade students still don't know a clause from a phrase, and think “alot” is a word, we have a problem.

Therein lies the rub. Some kids obviously need remediation. I fervently wish that the district would explore hiring a reading teacher rather than retraining English teachers.

As a break from this, in my seventh period I get to teach an honors class, where we have dynamic class discussions about the book “1984.”

These kids get the cultural connection of technological intrusion and Big Brother, and they certainly understand the idea of permanent war. Their minds open up as they explore Orwell's dystopian vision. The class has 26 students, and they deserve every bit of insight and encouragement I can provide. I treasure each moment I spend with them.

I am thankful for the privilege of being in the classroom, but please don't make me teach phonics.

Denise Roux is a regular columnist for the Apalachicola and Carrabelle Times. To reach her, email her at rouxwhit@mchsi.com