grading

55-25 and my 40th Birthday

/ Julie Nariman / 12 Comments

Julie Nariman Principal

The 55-25 retirement option

In my third year of teaching when I was 24 years old, there was an option to sign up for “55-25.”  “55-25” was an early retirement option for educators, which meant that once you turned 55 and had been teaching in the system for 25 years, you could retire early and receive 50% of your average salary.

I remember several veteran teachers asking me if I had signed up for 55-25.  I barely registered their question. I figured, there’s no way I’ll still be in education in 25 years.  Continue reading →

I think we’re all going to get 100% in this class

/ Julie Nariman / 1 Comment

economics class

Today I visited a 9th grade Economics* class.  Students were working in groups helping each other figure out a word problem.

“How do you get a good grade in this class?”  I asked a group.

“Oh, it’s easy maam,” said Hassan.**   “You just have to pay attention to the teacher, do your homework, and when you have a question, you can’t just sit there and be quiet, you have to ask the other kids.”

“So how do you think you’re all doing?” I asked.

Hassan looked around the room, tilting his chair back, then looked at his group.  “I think everyone in this class is going to get 100,” he said confidently.

I liked Hassan’s answer. Continue reading →