Just Another Week

The year is coming to an end very soon, and all the teachers are trying to reserve the computers for class projects.

Monday was spent printing out more information on my research the previous week on textbooks that didn't come back. A bare minimum of $7,000 worth of books from last year's 6th and 7th graders did not come back, and we have no money to buy more.

Tuesday and Wednesday were taken up with STAR testing, which was a paper and pencil matter, until the students were through with it, and then some went on the computers to play games. Skills are incredibly low, and more gang graffiti signs were on the tables than writing on the books.

Today was spent with a class doing research on a tourist site they wanted to visit in a foreign country. Low skills were evident again, with someone not knowing how to begin with an encyclopedia. Some people checked out books on their country of choice, and some people were denied that privilege because of the failure to return textbooks from last year. I hate to do it, but something needs to happen.

Meanwhile, I had a visually-impaired student with some ability to read print asking for special library services that send books to the house. She might qualify but the teacher is reluctant to have her do anything because the parents will probably just put the stuff away and she probably wouldn't be able to use it. She's from a middle eastern country, and there are truly at least fourteen people living in the household. She will probably have to do home schooling after 8th grade because they don't want her going to high school with students from here, as it will make her an undesirable on the marriage market back home. She'll be married before she's 18 years old. She does want to read and learn, but also seems happy with her situation at home from what her teacher says.