Depart....Mental issues...depart.

Today's student work review went okay...but I thought it was funny that we had to have someone new to make sure that we did it correctly. We were all trying to make sure that we follow the agenda, be quiet, and share productive comments. Now, prior to this, it was Pagoda that talked about how we, as a department, needed to do the student work reviews well and come up with really good assessments (high rigor, high relevance) so that others will follow suit and also bring well made assessments. WHAT HAPPENED??? Pagoda comes in and gives us the stupid "stoned trees" worksheet as her student work review. Now, the assessment is not bad. It follows the benchmark, guides the students well, and it was a creative way of getting students to think about patterns...BUT...personally, I thought it was weak. Weak because it was exactly the same thing she had on her standards wall; weak because, in the back of my mind, she planned it that way so that she wouldn't have to think up of something better; and because it was low on the relevance scale (a 2, depending if you like to make your yard nice or not). I mean, what happened to bringing relevant assessments? What happened to "I'll be an example for my department so everyone will bring something worth talking about."? That wasn't the end of it, either. After our facilitator leaves, we go back to our normal loud-ass meeting, and the following discussion occurs:

Pagoda: "Let's not do the benchmark assessments anymore; let's just make the AIR tests a big part of their grade so we don't have to keep correcting quizzes. We have to correct those AIR tests anyway, why not just make it a part of their grade?"

Corky: "Sounds like a great idea!!" (THINKING: Great, I don't have to do those benchmark quizzes that we all agreed to do!! Hmmm...Pagoda looking real good in her dominatrix-like clothes...)

King Kong Bundy: .... (THINKING: I don't know what everyone else is talking about, but I'm digging on Pagoda right now...I don't care what everyone else says, she is my Goddess. Whatever she does is perfect...I will follow her, with or without the whip.)

Me/Jay: "Nah, we're going to do the benchmark quizzes because that's what we agreed to do in the beginning. Besides, aren't you going to have lots of failures if you just grade the AIR test?"

Pagoda: "Ok, up to you guys." (THINKING: I don't care about what we agreed on in the beginning of my reign. I will say one thing and do another. I got Bundy kissing the ground that I walk on and Corky who always wants the easy way out. Nobody will listen to Jay and Dave because who would ever believe THOSE guys can do anything? Jay needed help to make his standards wall and Dave can't teach because his kids that I have now in Algebra are getting Fs!! A true reflection of his teaching...tsk, tsk..)

Well...another day, another great example of how our DH continues to give us the feeling of being "united." Hey, at least I got to tell her to go down on all fours...