Tough Decisions:

This semester was full of some tough decisions.

This one in particular was the worst of them.

When it comes to programming students we have limited resources and don't have the ability to teach anything we want whenever we want to. So getting kids what they need, when they need it is damn near impossible.

So here's the situation. I have been teaching freshmen all semester. I was asked to teach the 11th and 12th grade regents prep class for spring semester. So here's the decision:

1. Do I abandon the freshmen with another teacher to help the juniors and seniors stay on track for graduation?
2. Do I stick with the freshmen and ensure that they are given a full year of consistency in science instruction?

The setback is that the freshmen are used to me and my presence in the classroom so they've sort of adjusted well to the work ethic that I expect. My worry is that to hand them off to another teacher would compromise their motivation and send them the message that I'm only there to break them in their first semester.

But to take the freshmen over the juniors and seniors compromises the efficacy of other teachers who are swamped with those students and to spread them out in these prep classes would provide more individualized attention. So teaching the prep classes would promote better test taking and would actually prepare students for June regents...

As much as I love the freshmen, I had to make the tough choice to take the juniors and seniors. They need to stay on track and graduate in June. They're the immediate threat to our school's numbers... It's sad that I actually said that. According to the DOE, these kids are just numbers or reasons for closing schools.