Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
How long have you been teaching, and what other experience do you have?
I have been teaching since 1997. I have taught sixth, seventh, first, second, and third grade. Prior to that I founded and operated my own 55 seat restaurant in Santa Cruz, CA. I feel that my experience in the private sector has taught me a lot about meeting the needs of the client. I see you, the parent, as my client, and I try to go out of my way to meet your child's needs. In addition, my wife of 11 years and I have 3 daughters, 3, 9, and 11. When I have time I work as a freelance writer and photographer for international travel and fishing magazines. You can see this by visiting my site, www.bluewaterjon.com. I really enjoy teaching the shills I have learned- photography, videography, digital design, Photoshop, and marketing- to the students. I have traveled a lot and I use my adventures in Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, and the Amazon Rainforest to teach and inspire my students.Back to Top
Every morning I pick a student to help me manage the class. They help me keep the kids in line and so forth. They assist me in managing the class, so your child won't get in trouble because of the class boss, they'll get in trouble when they break a rule and I catch them. I give every child a chance to be the boss. It helps them see the class from the teacher's perspective and breeds strong leadership skills. Many times the kids it helps the most are the ones who are usually getting in trouble the most. When they are boss, they have to act as the role model. They feel involved and important.Back to Top
How can I get my child to do their homework?
Go back to my "links" page (you can click on it from the top of this page) and click on the link that deals with this issue. It is directly from the U.S Government and is very accurate and useful. It tells you how to set the tone so that your child will do the work. It also tells you not to do the work for them. I can't recommend this page enough!Back to Top
Why is your homework different than the other classes' homework?
I make up my own homework based on what I think is directly related to what I am teaching. My job requires that I teach the CA State Standards and to ensure that every child is given equal access and opportunity to meet these goals. I try to make it engaging and challenging, and I want to eliminate the needlessly busy work and the space-wasting drawings and graphics of store bought material.Often I will use the tools that have been provided to me, and when I think I can create work that is more closely aligned with the CA State Standards (see them on the links page) and is more engaging, I do that. I will do my best to never assign any work that we have not gone over in class several times. I want it to be meaningful, and I want it to be something that can give the parent an idea of what we are focusing on in class.Back to Top
Where do you get the spelling list from?
I look at the CA State Standards, and then I look at their writing so that I can include their commonly misspelled words. I also teach spelling patterns, like drop the y, add -ies to make it plural. I teach regular and irregular verbs, past and present tenses, and I include words that utilize prefixes, suffixes, root word changes, and non-phonetic spellings.Back to Top
The concept here is, everyone has to go once in a while unexpectedly, and that is ok. That being said, many bathroom trips can be eliminated by the kids managing their free time wisely. That means that before school starts, when they are running around on the playground, they should make sure they use the restroom so that they don't have to during classtime. I constantly remind them of this. Same goes for all recesses and lunches. Once in a while it's ok to go during class, and as long as the student goes and behaves themselves while gone, fine and dandy. If a student tells me that they have an urgent need to use the restroom, and then when they leave the room they waltz around in the halls and swing around the bathroom pass instead of going to the restroom, then I will warn them that if they continue to abuse the privilege, the next time I may require another student to escort them to the restroom in an emergency, wait outside the restroom, and then bring them back. Now, if your child has a medical issue where they cannot hold it, just let me know and they will be allowed to go whenever need to. If I don't hear from you then I will assume they have no such issue. On the "Parent Survey" I include a question about whether or nor not your child has any special needs. This would qualify as one, and I consider it my duty to accomodate these needs.Back to Top
What about volunteering in the class?
I need someone to run off the homework Monday. I usually have it ready to copy at 11:30 and I need it copied and stapled before 2:35. In addition to that, I need a reader to come in and read to the kids once a week. It's great to volunteer and it's wonderful to have visitors. Let's work together to ensure that each parent's volunteer work is a positive experience for all students. It is natural for children to expect special treatment or extra attention from their parents or the teacher when their parents are volunteering or present in class. Every child, whether their parent is able to come in or not, deserves the same amount of attention from the teacher. Therefore as much as I encourage parents to volunteer, we ask that they do so with an eye towards fostering their child's independence. Volunteering twice a week for an hour each time will be just fine. Come on in and help out, we'd love to see you all!Back to Top
I am not good at keeping track of things like box tops, yearbook orders, book orders, class parties, and things of this nature. I am very focused on instruction and making this a safe, productive, and interesting learning environment. If you have a knack for these things, then maybe that can be your role. Let me know you are good at that and consider yourself hired. We will arrange a time for you to perform these activities.Back to Top
What's this thing about fishing with the kids?
The Del Mar Basin next to the YATYAS quanset hut (past Sharky's Restaurant) is a fine place to fish. Look at the links page for a map. It's the water basin just north of the civilian harbor. I go there all the time with my own kids and it is a fun thing to do with the teacher. I have all the equipment. If you want to do that, then what you do is let me know you want to, and then you come to class directly after school. You have to go get a dozen bloodworms and a pack of #6 hooks at Pacific Coast Bait and Tackle (2110 S. Coast Hwy # E, Oceanside, (760) 439-3474 on Coast Highway in between Oceanside and Carlsbad). I'll bring the rest. Bring a camera and a snack. You will have to remain there. We'll stay from about 4:00 to 6:00. It's best to go at high tide. Go to the links section of this site and look at the link for La Jolla Surfing, it has a tide chart there. Bring clothes for cold and have the kid wear clothes that can get a bit dirty, expecially the shoes.Back to Top
Can you tell me all about your custom made weekly progress reports?
Every Friday I send home a detailed custom-made progress report that tells the parents all about how their child is doing in class. The following are included in the report: -"spelling used in writing" grade -quality of in class writing grade -spelling test grade -vocabulary test grade -math test grade -homework effort grade -in-class effort grade -paying attention and on task grade -behavior grade -notes from teacher -parent comments area Friday is a very busy day. We start taking tests almost as soon as we get seated. Then I try and grade them so that the students and their parents get immediate feedback on how they are doing. If you look at the progress reports you will notice that the kids get two indicators of their spelling progress. One is the score they got on the spelling test. The other is called "Spelling Used In Writing" and this is an indicator of how well the student spells words when they are writing. This is more important than the spelling score. Lots of kids can memorize a spelling list but the real test is how their spelling looks when they are writing from the heart. The student will get these progress reports Friday when we are leaving for home and then it is up to the parent to sign it over the weekend. After the parent reviews it with them they need to bring it back to me, signed, on Monday morning when the bell rings. That way I know that the parent got the note; it ensures that there is good parent-teacher communication. If the child doesn't get the progress report back in Monday morning, they lose the morning recess, unless they have a valid excuse. This may sound harsh but the kids get the hang of it quickly. The good thing about this detailed progress report is that the parent always knows how their child is doing. The parent should not have to wait for the report card to find out this information; report cards only come out three times a year. The information in the report cards should not be a surprise. This takes care of that.Back to Top
If your child is well, send them to school. If they are not, keep them home until they are well. Otherwise they will get the rest of the class sick and then lots of kids, possibly even myself, will be out sick. If they are sick when they get up, don't send them to class in hopes that it will magically disappear. It won't. Trust me, I work them hard enough in class. A day or two won't hurt them academically. Now, if you are taking your child out on an extended absence, like when you go on a trip to visit relatives, you will need to go the office and fill out an independent study form. I will assign work. IF it gets done, you will get credit (I think that's the way it works) for the absences, but I will check it, and you will only get credit for the work that is done. If you are gone a week and your child does only 40% of the work I assigned, then they get credit for only 40% of the time gone. When you return, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, give the work directly to the attendance clerk in the office IMMEDIATELY, if you want credit. The clerk thoroughly examines it for completeness.Back to Top
Is it true that you let the students email their parents who are deployed?
Yes it is true. I want the kids to learn how to use the internet (under supervision). Emailing their parents, through a hotmail account I setup for the class, allows them to maintain close ties with the parent who is away, makes the kid feel better, and it reinforces writing and typing skills. Do me a favor and get me your deployed spouse's email ASAP so we can set this up. Know this, though- I do periodically check the contents of the emails to make sure that nothing strange is happening. You never can be too careful when hooking a kid up to the internet. This has been a practice in my room for many years now and it works wonderfully. In addition, I can scan the kid's writing, photos, and drawings and send them too. It's like sending a letter.Back to Top
What's all this talk about being "at grade level"?
The State of California and Oceanside Unified School District requires that we assess our students in certain ways using certain tests. From there we are required to make a determination as to where each student stands. Are they performing at a level that is equal to where the State requires that they be? That'd be "At Grade Level". For example, when the children enter the class, I am required to figure out their reading levels. I am given reading assessments by the district. I give the assessments exactly as directed to the students, and the results tell us if the student is reading at a third grade level, below that level, above it, or almost at a third grade level- what we call "approaching grade level". Then I simply tell you where they are at. My preference is to tell you right away, within the first couple of weeks of them entering class, what their reading, writing, and math levels are. We could put it off, but that doesn't help anyone. The sooner we know exactly where your child is at, the better we can meet their needs. As a parent, the thing that I like the least is when a teacher of one of my daughters doesn't tell me that my child is behind in an area, and then she receives low scores at report card time. If she is low in a particular area, I want to know right away and hear what the plan is, in class and at home, to get her back on track. Of course no one likes to hear that their child is behind in an area of study; we'd all like to hear that our kids are at or above grade level- but I figure if they are behind, better to deal with the facts right away and get into the solution than to pretend that everything is great and wait till they get low marks on their report cards. I'd be happy to discuss this matter with you further if you have any questions and review the assessments we give, and your children's results. In fact, if you are curious, you are welcome to watch me assess them in a one-on-one situation after school.Back to Top