This week I am doing more TAKS tutoring with the promise of even more on the horizon.
I also was contacted by a man who is President of a Homeschooling group with 200 families!! I am meeting him on Friday to discuss things. He wants flyers and business cards!
In my opinion, this one man is doing things right!! He is willing to meet me and talk to me and see what I know and what I am willing to do for his families. He isn't hiding behind his group. He is going out and looking into what could possibly be a very valuable resource for his group!
I have had a lot of mouthpieces for the various groups tell me that I cannot meet with anyone in the group unless I know someone in the group. In fact, in some cases, I can't even email anyone in the group, unless I know someone who will vouch for me. That seems to me to be a bit of a Catch-22 situation. They seem to be limiting themselves tremendously.
I am going to start asking everyone I see if they know anyone who homeschools and if they will pass on my business card and recommend me. One day at a time .... one card at a time ....
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Thursday, June 16, 2005
I Have Begun ....
Well .... I sent out 17 emails to Homeschool Support groups this week.
It appears that I have a lot to learn. (Luckily I am willing, and able, to learn!!)
The main thing I needed to know .... and I am learning .... is that Homeschooling groups are VERY close knit and VERY protective ... and that in most cases, I need a person from the group to "sponser" me. How I am supposed to find this person, I'm not sure .... but I am going to keep trying!!
I have had years of success tutoring at night .... and a great deal of that was due to "word of mouth" advertising .... from people who were pleased with my results. I know that once I have just a little bit of success with someone in the homeschooling community ... then I will soon have more business than I can handle. That is what happened with my night time tutoring business.
All I need is someone brave enough to give me a chance!
I am very good at what I do. I can teach Math to teenagers.
It appears that I have a lot to learn. (Luckily I am willing, and able, to learn!!)
The main thing I needed to know .... and I am learning .... is that Homeschooling groups are VERY close knit and VERY protective ... and that in most cases, I need a person from the group to "sponser" me. How I am supposed to find this person, I'm not sure .... but I am going to keep trying!!
I have had years of success tutoring at night .... and a great deal of that was due to "word of mouth" advertising .... from people who were pleased with my results. I know that once I have just a little bit of success with someone in the homeschooling community ... then I will soon have more business than I can handle. That is what happened with my night time tutoring business.
All I need is someone brave enough to give me a chance!
I am very good at what I do. I can teach Math to teenagers.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Finally .... Some Education Opinions!
I haven't been posting and I am sorry to those of you who have been reading! I do appreciate being read!!
Life is very good.
I am tutoring for the July 13th TAKS Math Test .... that is my main tutoring business this summer. And that is fine. I have yet to begin to turn my attention to the Home School business. I am setting up my tutoring area and trying to get my 22 years of teaching materials stored away in a logical fashion!
I did, however, go set up a checking account to run my business through AND went and got a DBA number for taxing purposes. This is serious business!! So far, I have spent more money than I have made trying to get it all together .... but I guess that is how new businesses go! Thank goodness for my June, July and August paychecks from my past job!! Come Sept. 1st ..... Yikes!!
I am pondering a post or two about the fact that 10% of Texas' High School (21,000+) seniors DID NOT graduate this year because of failing one or more sections of the Exit Level TAKS test.
Or about the fact that over 40,000 5th graders have not passed the Math or the Reading sections of their TAKS test .... tests they HAVE TO pass to go to 6th grade next Fall. They will have one more chance at the end of this month. If they still do not pass, they should not go on!! However .... their parents may choose to have them go on through meeting with a counselor, the Principal, an Asst. Principal, and the student. I wonder how many parents will push their children on ... even though the Tests say that they are not ready!
What the heck .... I may as well post my thoughts now ... I've already started!!
In 2003 ... all Texas 3rd graders had to pass the TAKS reading test to go to 4th grade .... 97% did so ... although there is now some question about the honesty of some of those tests results (think Wilmer-Hutchins) . In 2005 it is the same class of students who must now pass a Math Test and a Reading Test in order to advance to Middle School. In 2008 it will be the same group of students who must pass 4 TAKS tests to go to High School.
At that point, in the school year 2008-'09, the high school teacher's job FINALLY becomes fair.
I wonder how many of the 21,000+ seniors who did not graduate this year would have made it through the 3rd grade and the 5th grade and the 8th grade tests? I wonder how many of them actually passed their Math classes in Middle School? It never failed to amaze me how many students got passed on to High School never having passed a single Math class in Middle School.
This year's senior class didn't even have to pass Algebra I and Geometry to become Juniors then Seniors. They slipped through the cracks. And got nailed by TAKS Math. Or TAKS Science. Both are extremely difficult tests. FINALLY they were held accountable ... their Junior year in High School.
This years Juniors couldn't become Juniors unless they passed their 4 core courses in 9th grade AND their 4 core courses in 10th grade, in fact ... I know 17 and 18 year old freshmen ... because they have been freshman for 2 or 3 years now! And might still be freshman while their old classmates graduate from High School next year.
Come the school year 2008-2009, all of that should change. FINALLY the students who make it to High School have EARNED their way to High School!! Finally the High School teacher's job will be to teach High School courses. Or .... maybe the kids who get to High School in '08-'09 will only be really good at taking TAKS tests .... and not know a single other thing except how to take those tests. This is a strong possibility.
Life is very good.
I am tutoring for the July 13th TAKS Math Test .... that is my main tutoring business this summer. And that is fine. I have yet to begin to turn my attention to the Home School business. I am setting up my tutoring area and trying to get my 22 years of teaching materials stored away in a logical fashion!
I did, however, go set up a checking account to run my business through AND went and got a DBA number for taxing purposes. This is serious business!! So far, I have spent more money than I have made trying to get it all together .... but I guess that is how new businesses go! Thank goodness for my June, July and August paychecks from my past job!! Come Sept. 1st ..... Yikes!!
I am pondering a post or two about the fact that 10% of Texas' High School (21,000+) seniors DID NOT graduate this year because of failing one or more sections of the Exit Level TAKS test.
Or about the fact that over 40,000 5th graders have not passed the Math or the Reading sections of their TAKS test .... tests they HAVE TO pass to go to 6th grade next Fall. They will have one more chance at the end of this month. If they still do not pass, they should not go on!! However .... their parents may choose to have them go on through meeting with a counselor, the Principal, an Asst. Principal, and the student. I wonder how many parents will push their children on ... even though the Tests say that they are not ready!
What the heck .... I may as well post my thoughts now ... I've already started!!
In 2003 ... all Texas 3rd graders had to pass the TAKS reading test to go to 4th grade .... 97% did so ... although there is now some question about the honesty of some of those tests results (think Wilmer-Hutchins) . In 2005 it is the same class of students who must now pass a Math Test and a Reading Test in order to advance to Middle School. In 2008 it will be the same group of students who must pass 4 TAKS tests to go to High School.
At that point, in the school year 2008-'09, the high school teacher's job FINALLY becomes fair.
I wonder how many of the 21,000+ seniors who did not graduate this year would have made it through the 3rd grade and the 5th grade and the 8th grade tests? I wonder how many of them actually passed their Math classes in Middle School? It never failed to amaze me how many students got passed on to High School never having passed a single Math class in Middle School.
This year's senior class didn't even have to pass Algebra I and Geometry to become Juniors then Seniors. They slipped through the cracks. And got nailed by TAKS Math. Or TAKS Science. Both are extremely difficult tests. FINALLY they were held accountable ... their Junior year in High School.
This years Juniors couldn't become Juniors unless they passed their 4 core courses in 9th grade AND their 4 core courses in 10th grade, in fact ... I know 17 and 18 year old freshmen ... because they have been freshman for 2 or 3 years now! And might still be freshman while their old classmates graduate from High School next year.
Come the school year 2008-2009, all of that should change. FINALLY the students who make it to High School have EARNED their way to High School!! Finally the High School teacher's job will be to teach High School courses. Or .... maybe the kids who get to High School in '08-'09 will only be really good at taking TAKS tests .... and not know a single other thing except how to take those tests. This is a strong possibility.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Wonderful Sunday ....
WOW .... I finally feel free!! Last Sunday I was still sick ... so didn't get to really appreciate the fact that I didn't have a ton of papers to grade ..... but today I appreciated it to the MAX!!
We had a big "beginning of summer" party last night .... our 4th annual one. It was a wonderful evening and went on until 1:00 in the morning. My dear friend Sueann was spending the weekend with us and she stayed up even later.
I woke up at 9:00am in a panic thinking it was Sunday and therefore I had so much to do today!! But then I realized it was a Sunday in Summer .... a Sunday in my new life!! And I could do whatever I wanted to do today whenever I wanted to do it!! (I still got out of bed 'cause I was awake!)
Tom, Sueann, and I all went out to breakfast (yummy) then Sueann and I hung out in the pool for a few hours! It is so nice floating in a pool with the sun shining on you and a cool breeze blowing over you .... and a good friend to talk to! Sueann had to leave around 3:00 .... so I took a nap shortly after she left, with Weasley curled up by my side. It is so luxurious to have TIME!!
Tom and I are very blessed. Robbie is a really great 15 year old kid .... couldn't ask for better. We have a nice home with a gorgeous backyard in a really nice neighborhood. We have really faithful, supportive, wonderful friends. We have money on the bank and the intelligence and the education and the wherewithall to make more. We are healthy and happy. Tom's new business is going well and mine has great potential .... we are blessed.
We had a big "beginning of summer" party last night .... our 4th annual one. It was a wonderful evening and went on until 1:00 in the morning. My dear friend Sueann was spending the weekend with us and she stayed up even later.
I woke up at 9:00am in a panic thinking it was Sunday and therefore I had so much to do today!! But then I realized it was a Sunday in Summer .... a Sunday in my new life!! And I could do whatever I wanted to do today whenever I wanted to do it!! (I still got out of bed 'cause I was awake!)
Tom, Sueann, and I all went out to breakfast (yummy) then Sueann and I hung out in the pool for a few hours! It is so nice floating in a pool with the sun shining on you and a cool breeze blowing over you .... and a good friend to talk to! Sueann had to leave around 3:00 .... so I took a nap shortly after she left, with Weasley curled up by my side. It is so luxurious to have TIME!!
Tom and I are very blessed. Robbie is a really great 15 year old kid .... couldn't ask for better. We have a nice home with a gorgeous backyard in a really nice neighborhood. We have really faithful, supportive, wonderful friends. We have money on the bank and the intelligence and the education and the wherewithall to make more. We are healthy and happy. Tom's new business is going well and mine has great potential .... we are blessed.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Good and Bad ....
Well .... it has been an interesting week. My one new student whom I saw on Tuesday and who said she wanted to keep coming through the Fall DIDN'T show up to our scheduled session on Wednesday. She called before the session, but didn't leave a message, and I was on the phone with another potential client. She didn't show ... and she hasn't returned my calls or responded to my email .... so ..... hmmmm .....
Anyway .... Saw another student yesterday and she will come back. TAKS puts the fear in them and she wants to pass it this summer so she doesn't have to worry about it in the Fall. I also have 10 sessions scheduled for another student who needs TAKS help AND got another hit on my TutorsTeach.com ad.
SO .... I am feeling overall pretty good about the need for tutoring ... and I haven't even begun to approach the HomeSchoolers, yet. I'll need to start working on that, soon.
So far, so good, though.
Anyway .... Saw another student yesterday and she will come back. TAKS puts the fear in them and she wants to pass it this summer so she doesn't have to worry about it in the Fall. I also have 10 sessions scheduled for another student who needs TAKS help AND got another hit on my TutorsTeach.com ad.
SO .... I am feeling overall pretty good about the need for tutoring ... and I haven't even begun to approach the HomeSchoolers, yet. I'll need to start working on that, soon.
So far, so good, though.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
