Why do people have to be so mean to each other? Why am I in a profession that requires me to be a constant authority figure? I don't like having to police the students every 2 seconds. I don't enjoy confiscating every little thing from the students (e.g., today the students started folding paper into sturdy slinghots for rubber bands... they've been declared "weapons" by the vice principal).
I don't like that the kids are mean to each other, sass me, are disrespectful, messy, rude, and so forth. Of course, that's not all my kids. But there are a healthy number of students who just piss me off for kicks. I try not to let it get to me (they're eleven years old!!), but sometimes a full day of that gets draining.
Invariably, when I get a few peaceful moments in the classroom (with a class there), it's interrupted minutes later by a student who HAS to shout out something insipid. Then they go and say stuff like, "I'm bored," or, "This is stupid!" I should take it as a challenge to be a better teacher, but right now, I'm still pretty overwhelmed and tired. I'm just tired. And when the kids don't appreciate the efforts I take, it's incredibly frustrating. Bleh.
Aaaaanyway, that's it for now.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Funny (??) story
So last Friday, I was wrapping up my last class of the day. This is usually my favorite class, because a.) it's at the end of the day, and b.) the kids are mostly honors kids, so I can move at a faster pace and have a bit more fun with them.
Anyway, we were working on an in-class review of the week's concepts. I told the students to try their best to finish it in class (I didn't want to give homework on a Friday!!). One girl, concerned about time, asked, "What if we don't finish it in class?"
I don't know why I said it, but my weird response was, "I dunno. You'll probably die in your sleep."
...
The whole class froze, looks of confusion across their faces.
"What?" the student queried, suddenly worried and slightly panicked.
"Oh... I mean, we all have to die sometime... I'm just saying..."
Whoops.
"I shouldn't have said that, huh?" I asked, more to myself than the class.
"Probably not," a helpful student replied.
And there you have it, folks: I'd come undone. :P
Anyway, we were working on an in-class review of the week's concepts. I told the students to try their best to finish it in class (I didn't want to give homework on a Friday!!). One girl, concerned about time, asked, "What if we don't finish it in class?"
I don't know why I said it, but my weird response was, "I dunno. You'll probably die in your sleep."
...
The whole class froze, looks of confusion across their faces.
"What?" the student queried, suddenly worried and slightly panicked.
"Oh... I mean, we all have to die sometime... I'm just saying..."
Whoops.
"I shouldn't have said that, huh?" I asked, more to myself than the class.
"Probably not," a helpful student replied.
And there you have it, folks: I'd come undone. :P
Popcorn and dry-erase markers
So my classroom often has two distinct aromas: (usually burnt) popcorn and dry-erase markers. During my last class of the day, a lot of students will generally remark, "Who always eats popcorn in here?" (Um, duh, it's me!) :)
Anyway, this week has been pretty decent overall. Granted, it's only Tuesday, and this is testing week, but still... I am INCREDIBLY grateful for the other 6th grade math teacher. He's been a true mentor, giving me resources and advice whenever needed. He'll frequently send a student over with the work they're doing in his classes. He told me today (as he's said a few times) that I remind him a lot of himself. This is incredibly flattering, as I think he's an intelligent, talented and effective teacher. (Heck, I've even observed him a few times to get some ideas!) Anyway, he's excellent, and I feel very fortunate to have such a professional, awesome coworker.
Next, I've shifted my attitude a bit. I have told myself that the "first" year will probably not be the best. (I've also resigned myself to being essentially a first- year teacher all over again. It's a different subject, different grade, school, area, etc.) Since I've admitted that this will be a fairly rough year, I've just decided to make the best of it. I try to laugh in every class if I can. I try to banter (appropriately) with the students. I try to let my enthusiasm make up for what can be dry material. I figure the methods and resources will be built, but for now, I've only got my energy as a way of making school more interesting.
I also can't help but think that maybe, if I stick with this for a few years, I might get better at it!! Next year, the entire state of Arizona is changing its math standards (just when I'm getting the hang of these!!!)... We're trying to keep up with California, so we're upping our standards a full grade level. That means next year, I'll pretty much be teaching 7th grade math. And the jump from 5th to 6th grade math is proving difficult for the students... We'll see how they handle the 5th to 7th grade jump next year... eek!
Okee, for now, I finish up stuff here and head home before 8pm!! Score.
Anyway, this week has been pretty decent overall. Granted, it's only Tuesday, and this is testing week, but still... I am INCREDIBLY grateful for the other 6th grade math teacher. He's been a true mentor, giving me resources and advice whenever needed. He'll frequently send a student over with the work they're doing in his classes. He told me today (as he's said a few times) that I remind him a lot of himself. This is incredibly flattering, as I think he's an intelligent, talented and effective teacher. (Heck, I've even observed him a few times to get some ideas!) Anyway, he's excellent, and I feel very fortunate to have such a professional, awesome coworker.
Next, I've shifted my attitude a bit. I have told myself that the "first" year will probably not be the best. (I've also resigned myself to being essentially a first- year teacher all over again. It's a different subject, different grade, school, area, etc.) Since I've admitted that this will be a fairly rough year, I've just decided to make the best of it. I try to laugh in every class if I can. I try to banter (appropriately) with the students. I try to let my enthusiasm make up for what can be dry material. I figure the methods and resources will be built, but for now, I've only got my energy as a way of making school more interesting.
I also can't help but think that maybe, if I stick with this for a few years, I might get better at it!! Next year, the entire state of Arizona is changing its math standards (just when I'm getting the hang of these!!!)... We're trying to keep up with California, so we're upping our standards a full grade level. That means next year, I'll pretty much be teaching 7th grade math. And the jump from 5th to 6th grade math is proving difficult for the students... We'll see how they handle the 5th to 7th grade jump next year... eek!
Okee, for now, I finish up stuff here and head home before 8pm!! Score.
Monday, November 24, 2008
All right.
So today was a decent day overall. Last week, I started tracking "Y" or "N" each day on my home calendar. A "Y" means that yes, I would go back to school the next day if given the option to stay or leave An "N" means that no, I would not go back. Last week, I had 3 Ys and 2 Ns. So far this week, I have one Y. :)
Today I decided to adopt the outward attitude of the teacher next door to me. Mr. Soraio* is EXTREMELY mellow. This is his 40th (yes, 40th) year of teaching, and he is usually calm, cool, and collected. His sense of humor is quiet and sly, and I assume his teaching follows a similar pattern. Today, I tried to emulate some of Mr. Soraio's characteristics. I also kept in mind a mantra that my high school biology teacher told us: "Be a duck. Let the drops of stress roll off your back like water off a duck's." I usually get really irritated with my 2nd and 5th period classes. Not today! No, thank you. I was generally calm, cool, and collected. I ignored more minor misbehaviors, and was much more mellow than usual. I even tried my best to laugh once or twice with each class. It was refreshing.
My counterpart in the other sixth grade hallway has proved helpful as well. Last week, we went to lunch (as we do on occasion), and I asked him how to work with the students who WON'T do anything. He gave me an analogy that went something like this:
"Imagine that you're a conductor of a train. Some students will be on board with you, and some won't. For those who aren't, sometimes you've gotta leave them at the stop and come back around and get them next time. Sometimes you need to lay off a kid for a week or two or three, let him fail, then come back around to him when he's ready or when you're ready to try again." That alleviated a LOT of stress! I used to think I had to be on EVERY student, EVERY day for everything. It got tiring. Today, I let some of the students slack off, as long as they weren't bothering anyone. I realized it'll show on their grades and test scores, but I didn't feel so guilty about it today.
Finally, I'm debating (as always!) if I want to stay in this crazy profession or not. This morning, I worked on the Peace Corps application I'd started 2 years ago (last time I taught!). I'm not sure what next year holds, but I'm trying to decide what will be best for me.
Also helpful this week: I don't have morning bus duty (hallelujah!!!), there are only 2 more days of school (!!), AND I only have one more day of tutoring this week. Additionally, one of the other newbies and I are trying to form the "Yet Club." Since we both aren't liking how after-school tutoring is set up, we're thinking of having homework/classwork assistance available after school. The kids can come in on an as-needed basis. No formal lessons. No mandated attendance. They can take the 5 o' clock after-school bus home. I hope this club works (even if we don't get paid for it), because I think it'd help our students WAY more than the tutoring we're doing now. Finally, my counterpart/informal mentor (the one who explained the "train" analogy above) actually USED an activity I made!! :) I found it in the teachers' lounge trash, but he had had his honors kids complete something that *I* made. I was very honored and flattered, but I don't think I'll tell him. I put a copy of the work in his mailbox last week, and I was thrilled that he actually used it!
Okee, for now I plan out the next two days, then head to the YMCA again. They have treadmills that are to die for. Cheers!
Today I decided to adopt the outward attitude of the teacher next door to me. Mr. Soraio* is EXTREMELY mellow. This is his 40th (yes, 40th) year of teaching, and he is usually calm, cool, and collected. His sense of humor is quiet and sly, and I assume his teaching follows a similar pattern. Today, I tried to emulate some of Mr. Soraio's characteristics. I also kept in mind a mantra that my high school biology teacher told us: "Be a duck. Let the drops of stress roll off your back like water off a duck's." I usually get really irritated with my 2nd and 5th period classes. Not today! No, thank you. I was generally calm, cool, and collected. I ignored more minor misbehaviors, and was much more mellow than usual. I even tried my best to laugh once or twice with each class. It was refreshing.
My counterpart in the other sixth grade hallway has proved helpful as well. Last week, we went to lunch (as we do on occasion), and I asked him how to work with the students who WON'T do anything. He gave me an analogy that went something like this:
"Imagine that you're a conductor of a train. Some students will be on board with you, and some won't. For those who aren't, sometimes you've gotta leave them at the stop and come back around and get them next time. Sometimes you need to lay off a kid for a week or two or three, let him fail, then come back around to him when he's ready or when you're ready to try again." That alleviated a LOT of stress! I used to think I had to be on EVERY student, EVERY day for everything. It got tiring. Today, I let some of the students slack off, as long as they weren't bothering anyone. I realized it'll show on their grades and test scores, but I didn't feel so guilty about it today.
Finally, I'm debating (as always!) if I want to stay in this crazy profession or not. This morning, I worked on the Peace Corps application I'd started 2 years ago (last time I taught!). I'm not sure what next year holds, but I'm trying to decide what will be best for me.
Also helpful this week: I don't have morning bus duty (hallelujah!!!), there are only 2 more days of school (!!), AND I only have one more day of tutoring this week. Additionally, one of the other newbies and I are trying to form the "Yet Club." Since we both aren't liking how after-school tutoring is set up, we're thinking of having homework/classwork assistance available after school. The kids can come in on an as-needed basis. No formal lessons. No mandated attendance. They can take the 5 o' clock after-school bus home. I hope this club works (even if we don't get paid for it), because I think it'd help our students WAY more than the tutoring we're doing now. Finally, my counterpart/informal mentor (the one who explained the "train" analogy above) actually USED an activity I made!! :) I found it in the teachers' lounge trash, but he had had his honors kids complete something that *I* made. I was very honored and flattered, but I don't think I'll tell him. I put a copy of the work in his mailbox last week, and I was thrilled that he actually used it!
Okee, for now I plan out the next two days, then head to the YMCA again. They have treadmills that are to die for. Cheers!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Aha!
I've found a precious goldmine of a secret today: When I have fun teaching do fun activities with the class, students generally respond well. Who would've thunk??
Today, during our unit on data analysis, I formulated a quick series of races. The students were separated into groups, and we raced and recorded the results. The students did the following races (each student only did ONE of the below):
-regular running
-jumping
-running backwards
-doing "knee-touches" (where the students put their hands out at waist-level and had to reach their knees to their hands)
Each race went from the tetherball poles to a soccer goal and back. The kids did surprisingly well with the races; there was minimal complaining and a lot of laughing. Tomorrow, we graph the results... We'll see how that goes.
I will say, though, that my attitude determines a lot. It's dangerous. This morning, I decided to have a better day than yesterday.
Anyway, just a quick update. For now, I prep tomorrow and then go work out at our local YMCA! :) Cheers.
Today, during our unit on data analysis, I formulated a quick series of races. The students were separated into groups, and we raced and recorded the results. The students did the following races (each student only did ONE of the below):
-regular running
-jumping
-running backwards
-doing "knee-touches" (where the students put their hands out at waist-level and had to reach their knees to their hands)
Each race went from the tetherball poles to a soccer goal and back. The kids did surprisingly well with the races; there was minimal complaining and a lot of laughing. Tomorrow, we graph the results... We'll see how that goes.
I will say, though, that my attitude determines a lot. It's dangerous. This morning, I decided to have a better day than yesterday.
Anyway, just a quick update. For now, I prep tomorrow and then go work out at our local YMCA! :) Cheers.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
"Why did I become a teacher?" Day
So I'm declaring today a "Why did I become a teacher?" Day. It happens from time to time, and today is one of those days. The morning in particular was rough today. The afternoon, thus far, has been better.
I'm not sure what, exactly, seemed appealing about becoming a teacher. I remember being a kid and I LOVED having a fake grade book. My mom had some sort of accounting book, and I turned it into a grade book. I was so thrilled to put fake names and fake grades in it and play teachers with my quiet, kind stuffed animals. Students, it turns out, are often not quiet nor kind. They can be cruel, manipulative, annoying, rude, and rebellious. It's starting to wear on me.
This leads into my teaching philosophy, or lack thereof. I'm not sure what, exactly, I think my role should be. Should I be a constant disciplinarian, counselor, parent, confidante, and so forth, or is my primary job to educate? I can't quite tell yet. It's really hard to teach the kids when they keep getting in their own way!
I'm astonished by how many kids just do not LISTEN every day. Yeah, math may not be the most exciting thing ever, but I'm convinced that if the kids just listened and paid attention, they'd all have As. Arg. It's really, really, really annoying and draining to repeat myself a gajillion times a day. Sometimes I'll write "p. 224in your books" on the board AND say, "Please take out your books and open to page 224." I'll have kids say, "What are we doing?" or "What page?" or "Where are we?" or just stare at me blankly. THEN when we're actually doing an activity, when I call on people who aren't raising their hands, my request is usually met with a, "Huh?" or, "Where are we?" Those who ARE paying attention let out sighs of exasperation. It's immensely frustrating.
So... what to do? How do I get them hooked and interested? How do I do this every day? How do I help them? How do I chill out? Geez, I'm essentially a first-year teacher all over again!
And some more venting... I get here, usually, at about 7am. I typically leave around 7pm. I go home only to lay catatonically on the couch until bedtime. Then it's lather-rinse-repeat, and I'm back at school. Despite all my time planning and grading, I still feel largely ineffective and drained. Granted, I'm not as drained as I was my first year, but I'm still baffled by how good teachers get to where they are.
Next week starts another session of our glorious after-school tutoring. I feel that I kind of cheated last session... See, the kids' progress in tutoring is measured by their scores on an identical pre- and post-test. We're supposed to give the kids the pre-test and see how they do, then teach for 3 weeks, and present the exact same test the last day. I went over the pre-test frequently with the (large, loud, obnoxious) tutoring class frequently. We took notes on how to find the answers. We did the pre-test together the second-last day of tutoring together. They wrote the answer for each, and how to do it. I let them use their notes (with the answers!!) on the post-test.
A lot of students got a 90% or higher (thank goodness!), and my numbers looked really good. However, I feel I kind of cheated. The ones who payed attention had the answers right in front of them. Granted, they still had to work the problems and show their work, but I felt kind of bad about it. To make matters worse... the tutoring coordinator approached me to rave about my students' performance. "How'd you get such remarkable numbers?!" she'd marveled. I had to creatively construct an answer that didn't include the word "cheat" at all. It was interesting. I left that conversatino feeling like a phony and a fraud. AND tomorrow morning, we're having a meeting about tutoring and what successes we have. I'm to address my peers to tell what strategies I've been using. Yikes.
For now, I prep for my last class of the day, then figure out how to survive the rest of this quarter and year! Cheers.
I'm not sure what, exactly, seemed appealing about becoming a teacher. I remember being a kid and I LOVED having a fake grade book. My mom had some sort of accounting book, and I turned it into a grade book. I was so thrilled to put fake names and fake grades in it and play teachers with my quiet, kind stuffed animals. Students, it turns out, are often not quiet nor kind. They can be cruel, manipulative, annoying, rude, and rebellious. It's starting to wear on me.
This leads into my teaching philosophy, or lack thereof. I'm not sure what, exactly, I think my role should be. Should I be a constant disciplinarian, counselor, parent, confidante, and so forth, or is my primary job to educate? I can't quite tell yet. It's really hard to teach the kids when they keep getting in their own way!
I'm astonished by how many kids just do not LISTEN every day. Yeah, math may not be the most exciting thing ever, but I'm convinced that if the kids just listened and paid attention, they'd all have As. Arg. It's really, really, really annoying and draining to repeat myself a gajillion times a day. Sometimes I'll write "p. 224in your books" on the board AND say, "Please take out your books and open to page 224." I'll have kids say, "What are we doing?" or "What page?" or "Where are we?" or just stare at me blankly. THEN when we're actually doing an activity, when I call on people who aren't raising their hands, my request is usually met with a, "Huh?" or, "Where are we?" Those who ARE paying attention let out sighs of exasperation. It's immensely frustrating.
So... what to do? How do I get them hooked and interested? How do I do this every day? How do I help them? How do I chill out? Geez, I'm essentially a first-year teacher all over again!
And some more venting... I get here, usually, at about 7am. I typically leave around 7pm. I go home only to lay catatonically on the couch until bedtime. Then it's lather-rinse-repeat, and I'm back at school. Despite all my time planning and grading, I still feel largely ineffective and drained. Granted, I'm not as drained as I was my first year, but I'm still baffled by how good teachers get to where they are.
Next week starts another session of our glorious after-school tutoring. I feel that I kind of cheated last session... See, the kids' progress in tutoring is measured by their scores on an identical pre- and post-test. We're supposed to give the kids the pre-test and see how they do, then teach for 3 weeks, and present the exact same test the last day. I went over the pre-test frequently with the (large, loud, obnoxious) tutoring class frequently. We took notes on how to find the answers. We did the pre-test together the second-last day of tutoring together. They wrote the answer for each, and how to do it. I let them use their notes (with the answers!!) on the post-test.
A lot of students got a 90% or higher (thank goodness!), and my numbers looked really good. However, I feel I kind of cheated. The ones who payed attention had the answers right in front of them. Granted, they still had to work the problems and show their work, but I felt kind of bad about it. To make matters worse... the tutoring coordinator approached me to rave about my students' performance. "How'd you get such remarkable numbers?!" she'd marveled. I had to creatively construct an answer that didn't include the word "cheat" at all. It was interesting. I left that conversatino feeling like a phony and a fraud. AND tomorrow morning, we're having a meeting about tutoring and what successes we have. I'm to address my peers to tell what strategies I've been using. Yikes.
For now, I prep for my last class of the day, then figure out how to survive the rest of this quarter and year! Cheers.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Motivation
So I'm starting to get motivated to be a good teacher (finally!!). Yes, this is a draining profession. Yes, I put in a 60-hour work week. Yes, I'm tired all the time. BUT I think I can make it all worthwhile.
I'm not sure how yet (that's the kicker), but I want to really get good at teaching. I want to be able to "get through to" those kids who piss me off. I want them to enjoy at least part of school. I want to be more energetic, more interesting, and more effective as a teacher. I'm not sure HOW to do this, but I think the motivation is the first step.
Today while driving, I was thinking about attitude. Some of my colleagues are VERY negative, and I don't want any part of that. Sure, you can focus on all the negatives, but there's so much more than that!
I imagined an exchange between me and a wise sage. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: "I'm tired and I feel overworked."
Sage: "Sure, sure." (Makes a brushing gesture with his hand.) "But no negativity. What's good??"
Me: "You don't understand how hard I work and how tired I get!"
Sage: "Sure I do. Everyone can always complain about something. What is good?"
Me: (Hesitantly) "Well... My health is pretty good."
Sage: "Go on."
Me: "I have a job I like overall."
Sage: "Here we go! Keep going."
Me: "I like who I am, generally, I'm usually pretty happy, I'm passionate, I want my students to do well, I'm a critical thinker, I want to change things positively."
Sage: "Good. Good."
So yeah, we can always choose to complain. But today I'm going to choose not to. I'm gonna start focusing on only the good and see how that goes. It's hard, but I think it'll be awesome in the long run.
I'm off to plan a kick-ass lesson on mean, mode, median, and range. Cheers!
I'm not sure how yet (that's the kicker), but I want to really get good at teaching. I want to be able to "get through to" those kids who piss me off. I want them to enjoy at least part of school. I want to be more energetic, more interesting, and more effective as a teacher. I'm not sure HOW to do this, but I think the motivation is the first step.
Today while driving, I was thinking about attitude. Some of my colleagues are VERY negative, and I don't want any part of that. Sure, you can focus on all the negatives, but there's so much more than that!
I imagined an exchange between me and a wise sage. Our conversation went something like this:
Me: "I'm tired and I feel overworked."
Sage: "Sure, sure." (Makes a brushing gesture with his hand.) "But no negativity. What's good??"
Me: "You don't understand how hard I work and how tired I get!"
Sage: "Sure I do. Everyone can always complain about something. What is good?"
Me: (Hesitantly) "Well... My health is pretty good."
Sage: "Go on."
Me: "I have a job I like overall."
Sage: "Here we go! Keep going."
Me: "I like who I am, generally, I'm usually pretty happy, I'm passionate, I want my students to do well, I'm a critical thinker, I want to change things positively."
Sage: "Good. Good."
So yeah, we can always choose to complain. But today I'm going to choose not to. I'm gonna start focusing on only the good and see how that goes. It's hard, but I think it'll be awesome in the long run.
I'm off to plan a kick-ass lesson on mean, mode, median, and range. Cheers!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Ah, crap.
So I misplaced the ONE student today who I should never, NEVER have misplaced... Crap.
You may recall that about a month ago, I got chewed out by an irate mother who insisted I wasn't doing my job of teaching her son. I ended up backing down, but the administration helped out and now they deal with the mom. The follwing week, the father actually came to school to complain about me. Lovely.
Anyway, today the mother requested that her son stay with me after school so I could work with him for an hour and a half. Mind you, this is during my tutoring time, where I already have a class of 20 students. We were told that tutoring was supposed to be its own class, taught like an actual math class. That means I have to plan for another class 3 days a week. How, I'd wondered, was I supposd to work with this student AND my class of 20?
Somehow, it all worked out. The student worked independently while I worked with the tutoring class. Then I set the tutees to work and assisted the student. I kept switching back and forth, and it went pretty well. At the end of tutoring, we played our usual game, and the student participated. Good stuff.
HOWEVER, after the game, I walked the students out toward the bus. Since I'm not on after-school bus duty this week, I left after I saw the kids get to teh bus area. The one student, however, was supposed to be picked up by dear old mom. Something must've gone amiss, because 15 minutes later, dad was in my classroom, trying to find his son. CRAP. The ONE kid I shouldn't have lost... I walked over the ENTIRE campus with the dad (and another teacher, thank goodness)... and no son. I ended up having to tell the dad that his son was either on a bus or walking (since there were no other students around). No idea where the kid went. My fault... and the parents already hate me. Eeesh.
Anyway, I'm off to plan tomorrow and crash out. Long day. Kids are getting comfortable now, which is leading to some more obnoxious occurrences in class. I keep forgetting how tiring this profession is. Le sigh.
Ciao.
You may recall that about a month ago, I got chewed out by an irate mother who insisted I wasn't doing my job of teaching her son. I ended up backing down, but the administration helped out and now they deal with the mom. The follwing week, the father actually came to school to complain about me. Lovely.
Anyway, today the mother requested that her son stay with me after school so I could work with him for an hour and a half. Mind you, this is during my tutoring time, where I already have a class of 20 students. We were told that tutoring was supposed to be its own class, taught like an actual math class. That means I have to plan for another class 3 days a week. How, I'd wondered, was I supposd to work with this student AND my class of 20?
Somehow, it all worked out. The student worked independently while I worked with the tutoring class. Then I set the tutees to work and assisted the student. I kept switching back and forth, and it went pretty well. At the end of tutoring, we played our usual game, and the student participated. Good stuff.
HOWEVER, after the game, I walked the students out toward the bus. Since I'm not on after-school bus duty this week, I left after I saw the kids get to teh bus area. The one student, however, was supposed to be picked up by dear old mom. Something must've gone amiss, because 15 minutes later, dad was in my classroom, trying to find his son. CRAP. The ONE kid I shouldn't have lost... I walked over the ENTIRE campus with the dad (and another teacher, thank goodness)... and no son. I ended up having to tell the dad that his son was either on a bus or walking (since there were no other students around). No idea where the kid went. My fault... and the parents already hate me. Eeesh.
Anyway, I'm off to plan tomorrow and crash out. Long day. Kids are getting comfortable now, which is leading to some more obnoxious occurrences in class. I keep forgetting how tiring this profession is. Le sigh.
Ciao.
Friday, October 24, 2008
We're online!!!!!
So... today was a pretty sweet day overall. Aside from being Friday, I made a YouTube video with some of my students! (Fear not, every student on there had a signed permission slip from a parent/guardian saying they could be on YouTube and the internet.)
The concept was to have a “boring” teacher explaining the order of operations to her class. Then, as in a daydream, the students start whispering, “order of ops.” Then students and teachers burst into song! After the song, class resumes as if nothing had ever happened.
Lyrics are below, a few posts back.
Here it is!!!
The concept was to have a “boring” teacher explaining the order of operations to her class. Then, as in a daydream, the students start whispering, “order of ops.” Then students and teachers burst into song! After the song, class resumes as if nothing had ever happened.
Lyrics are below, a few posts back.
Here it is!!!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
A much better day
I keep forgetting how polarized this profession is at times. Today was a good day overall! Granted, Thursdays are usually pretty good because the kids get out an hour and 15 minutes early. This makes classes only 38 minutes long instead of the usual 50. Also, Thursdays are nice because I have all 4 of my math classes in the morning, back-to-back. Usually, I have 3, then lunch, homeroom, "math boost," and then my last math class. On Thursdays, I have all 4 classes, then lunch, homeroom, and "math boost." Not too shabby.
Anyway, I think the kids and I, overall, are jiving pretty well. We're making a math-related video (with a select group of students) tomorrow... It'll be on YouTube tomorrow afternoon! :) I'll post a link here when our video's online. (Don't worry; all the kids on it have parental permission signed off.)
Wow, we just got an e-mail that read: "There has been a bank robbery [right next to our school]. It is believe that suspects ran towards our school. Please walk your students to the bus."
Crazy times. Luckily, the e-mail came during my prep time, so I only had to walk my student assistant to the bus. I can only imagine what the rumors will be tomorrow...
Okee, off to a meeting for the next TWO HOURS. Funfun. But yeah, today was much better than yesterday, and overall, I still enjoy this job a great deal. Peace!
Anyway, I think the kids and I, overall, are jiving pretty well. We're making a math-related video (with a select group of students) tomorrow... It'll be on YouTube tomorrow afternoon! :) I'll post a link here when our video's online. (Don't worry; all the kids on it have parental permission signed off.)
Wow, we just got an e-mail that read: "There has been a bank robbery [right next to our school]. It is believe that suspects ran towards our school. Please walk your students to the bus."
Crazy times. Luckily, the e-mail came during my prep time, so I only had to walk my student assistant to the bus. I can only imagine what the rumors will be tomorrow...
Okee, off to a meeting for the next TWO HOURS. Funfun. But yeah, today was much better than yesterday, and overall, I still enjoy this job a great deal. Peace!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The need to vent
The need to vent
So right now, my homeroom class is sitting quietly, and most are reading. (This is usually what we do, school-wide, after lunch.) The students read books at their reading level (determined by a quarterly test) and then take individual tests on the books they read. The grade is based on how many points they earn from each test.
Anyway, I'm completely not into being here today. I almost screamed at my 2nd hour class. Admittedly, I'm exhausted (I'm averaging about 6 hours of sleep per night) and today's lesson plan was mediocre at best. However, I'm really sick of being a constant disciplinarian. It's 4812 little fires every day that I have to extinguish.
"Joey, sit down" or "Johnny, don't throw things in the classroom," or "Watch your language" or "Stop talking so I can explain this" or "Listen to each other" ... I'm just tired of it right now. I know I'm not the best at classroom managment, but it's SOOOOO frustrating when the kids constantly interrupt their own learning process. I feel bad for the kids genuinely interested in learning. Sigh.
Also, I'm always thinking of what things I can do. I think my next move will be the Peace Corps (hopefully)! I'm debating if I'd go next year or in 2010... I don't know how long I'll be able to teach.
Bell's about to ring... Ciao.
So right now, my homeroom class is sitting quietly, and most are reading. (This is usually what we do, school-wide, after lunch.) The students read books at their reading level (determined by a quarterly test) and then take individual tests on the books they read. The grade is based on how many points they earn from each test.
Anyway, I'm completely not into being here today. I almost screamed at my 2nd hour class. Admittedly, I'm exhausted (I'm averaging about 6 hours of sleep per night) and today's lesson plan was mediocre at best. However, I'm really sick of being a constant disciplinarian. It's 4812 little fires every day that I have to extinguish.
"Joey, sit down" or "Johnny, don't throw things in the classroom," or "Watch your language" or "Stop talking so I can explain this" or "Listen to each other" ... I'm just tired of it right now. I know I'm not the best at classroom managment, but it's SOOOOO frustrating when the kids constantly interrupt their own learning process. I feel bad for the kids genuinely interested in learning. Sigh.
Also, I'm always thinking of what things I can do. I think my next move will be the Peace Corps (hopefully)! I'm debating if I'd go next year or in 2010... I don't know how long I'll be able to teach.
Bell's about to ring... Ciao.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Looooooooooong day!
So today was pretty long... For the next two months, I have bus duty nearly EVERY morning from 8:15-8:40 (school starts at 8:45). Crazy. And THEN I have tutoring until 5pm.
Sure, a normal 8-5 job is fine... when you're in an office. When you're on your feet instructing, directing, and redirecting all day, it gets to be quite exhausting. A full day of teaching AND tutoring is becoming insane, especially with half an hour of my mornings spent herding children away from huge buses.
Anyway, I'm still astounded at how FAST time is going! We're already in our 2nd week back from Fall Break, and next week is the end of October. I hear November and December FLY by, so I can only imagine how that's gonna go.
Another factor that compounds my exhaustion is that my students and I are working on a YouTube video. I wrote a song last week called "Order of Ops," and it goes to the song "The Cupid Shuffle." (You can look up "Cupid Shuffle" on YouTube if you haven't heard the original.) Good song. Anyway, I rewrote the lyrics so they pertain to the order of operations. The kids got pretty into the song, and the other 6th grade math teacher suggested I record it and put it on YouTube.
Sooooooooooo the process has been crazy so far! I had to get permission slips from EVERY student who wants to participate, and I'm not letting them participate if they don't have their homework in EVERY day, this week and last. We're practicing during lunch (which is when I usually make copies), and we'll record it Friday at lunch. Then, Friday after school, it goes on YouTube.com. Crazy!!
Since the project is above and beyond the scope of the class, I'm not counting it as a grade (or extra creit); it's just for fun. This means that only the students who WANT to be there are. It also gives me some liberty to kick the kids out who are messing around.
Eeesh!! It's already later than I thought, and I've gotta go get tomorrow set up.
Cheers!
P.S. Here are my song lyrics:
Order… of Ops! (Repeat 5x)
(hook)
Down, down, do your math, do your math (Repeat 4x)
Verse One:
They say I'm a teacher, and I say yeah
They say what you doing, tryin’ to do some crazy math?
I just let the order of operations go
So all my classes can pass the 6th grade, yo
They got some crazy math, you gotta move your pencil
Crazy math, it's called the triple-O
It don't matter if you're 11 or you’re12 (here we go)
We gone show you how it go
Chorus:
Parentheses, parentheses, parentheses, parentheses,
Exponents, exponents, exponents, exponents,
Now mult or div, now mult or div,
Now add or subtract, now add or subtract
(let me see you do)
(hook) + Chorus (2x)
Verse Two:
Now you see what I'm talking about
I represent for the Bulldogs, yo
Where we known for mathing out
I'm gonna show you what I'm talking about
(hook 2x) + Chorus (2x)
Verse Three:
And do the order of ops
Do the order of Ops
It's ya friend PEMDAS, PEM to the DAS
Crazy math on the track, got another hittin beat
(here we go, hey)
(hook)
Sure, a normal 8-5 job is fine... when you're in an office. When you're on your feet instructing, directing, and redirecting all day, it gets to be quite exhausting. A full day of teaching AND tutoring is becoming insane, especially with half an hour of my mornings spent herding children away from huge buses.
Anyway, I'm still astounded at how FAST time is going! We're already in our 2nd week back from Fall Break, and next week is the end of October. I hear November and December FLY by, so I can only imagine how that's gonna go.
Another factor that compounds my exhaustion is that my students and I are working on a YouTube video. I wrote a song last week called "Order of Ops," and it goes to the song "The Cupid Shuffle." (You can look up "Cupid Shuffle" on YouTube if you haven't heard the original.) Good song. Anyway, I rewrote the lyrics so they pertain to the order of operations. The kids got pretty into the song, and the other 6th grade math teacher suggested I record it and put it on YouTube.
Sooooooooooo the process has been crazy so far! I had to get permission slips from EVERY student who wants to participate, and I'm not letting them participate if they don't have their homework in EVERY day, this week and last. We're practicing during lunch (which is when I usually make copies), and we'll record it Friday at lunch. Then, Friday after school, it goes on YouTube.com. Crazy!!
Since the project is above and beyond the scope of the class, I'm not counting it as a grade (or extra creit); it's just for fun. This means that only the students who WANT to be there are. It also gives me some liberty to kick the kids out who are messing around.
Eeesh!! It's already later than I thought, and I've gotta go get tomorrow set up.
Cheers!
P.S. Here are my song lyrics:
Order… of Ops! (Repeat 5x)
(hook)
Down, down, do your math, do your math (Repeat 4x)
Verse One:
They say I'm a teacher, and I say yeah
They say what you doing, tryin’ to do some crazy math?
I just let the order of operations go
So all my classes can pass the 6th grade, yo
They got some crazy math, you gotta move your pencil
Crazy math, it's called the triple-O
It don't matter if you're 11 or you’re12 (here we go)
We gone show you how it go
Chorus:
Parentheses, parentheses, parentheses, parentheses,
Exponents, exponents, exponents, exponents,
Now mult or div, now mult or div,
Now add or subtract, now add or subtract
(let me see you do)
(hook) + Chorus (2x)
Verse Two:
Now you see what I'm talking about
I represent for the Bulldogs, yo
Where we known for mathing out
I'm gonna show you what I'm talking about
(hook 2x) + Chorus (2x)
Verse Three:
And do the order of ops
Do the order of Ops
It's ya friend PEMDAS, PEM to the DAS
Crazy math on the track, got another hittin beat
(here we go, hey)
(hook)
Monday, September 29, 2008
Home stretch!
So Fall Break starts Friday when the kids leave, and I think I'm more excited than they are! :)
Grades are due tonight by midnight, but I haven't told the kids this. (I've said, "Grades are due this week, so work extra hard!") Muwahahaha. The next 3 days, we'll just be doing review and perhaps the pre-test for next quarter. Luckily this week, the kids get out at 2:15 on Thursday AND Friday (an hour and a half early)! On Friday, we have what's called "Top Dawg Day," which is pretty much an all-day celebration for the kids who stayed out of trouble all quarter. Yay. I made the potential mistake of offering to chaperone the dance for 2.5 hours. Uh oh. We'll see how that goes!
As an aside, I've FINALLY posted some student work in the hallway, and I photographed it. I'll post it here as soon as I get the photos uploaded from my camera to the computer. The projects I put up turned out really well; I'm proud of my students.
It seems all the teachers are hanging on 'til the end of the week. We're as "done" as the kids are! Ha... I just can't believe how fast the first quarter has gone. Crazy.
For now, I mentally prepare myself for my last class of the day, then tutoring, then a few hours of wrapping up the quarter's grades. Cheers.
Grades are due tonight by midnight, but I haven't told the kids this. (I've said, "Grades are due this week, so work extra hard!") Muwahahaha. The next 3 days, we'll just be doing review and perhaps the pre-test for next quarter. Luckily this week, the kids get out at 2:15 on Thursday AND Friday (an hour and a half early)! On Friday, we have what's called "Top Dawg Day," which is pretty much an all-day celebration for the kids who stayed out of trouble all quarter. Yay. I made the potential mistake of offering to chaperone the dance for 2.5 hours. Uh oh. We'll see how that goes!
As an aside, I've FINALLY posted some student work in the hallway, and I photographed it. I'll post it here as soon as I get the photos uploaded from my camera to the computer. The projects I put up turned out really well; I'm proud of my students.
It seems all the teachers are hanging on 'til the end of the week. We're as "done" as the kids are! Ha... I just can't believe how fast the first quarter has gone. Crazy.
For now, I mentally prepare myself for my last class of the day, then tutoring, then a few hours of wrapping up the quarter's grades. Cheers.
Friday, September 19, 2008
A cruel irony
So, as life would have it, everything's come full circle in the personal life. The first year I taught, I was seeing a guy named Noah. Within a month of school starting, we broke up and I was pretty upset (we'd dated for nearly a year). This second time around teaching, I was again dating (another!) guy named Noah. A little more than a month after school started, he broke up with me. (This was just 3 days ago.) Bizarre, huh?
Anyway, the title of today's entry comes from one of my all-time favorite movies: "The Emperor's New Groove." Heh. So yesterday in my dreaded 5th hour class, the students actually did enough work to earn both a game AND 10 minutes of "video clip" time today. Our game went fairly well, and almost all the students actively participated. The last 10 minutes of class were devoted to watching "The Emperor's New Groove." When I heard the line, "It's called a cruel irony..." I thought, "What an appropriate title for today's blog!"
Also, due to the aforementioned breakup, I took my first personal day this year. I had really hoped to hold out until after fall break (in early October), but I was pretty devastated on Wednesday and decided to take the day off. I'm glad I did; I was in no condition to teach. The day was spent instead with good friends and physical activity (including going to the batting cages!).
I had my first "formal" observation this Monday (before the breakup, fortunately)... and today I had the post conference for it. The principal had NO critiques; I was astonished. I asked what I could do better, and she had suggestions that didn't pertain at all to classroom stuff (it was just general professional development advice). Not too shabby!
Anyway, my last class starts in about 10 minutes, and they're a good group, so it should be a decent end to what turned out to be a not-so-decent week. After class, I'll probably spend 2 hours here grading the studets' latest projects. It's cool, though; immersing myself in work is probably the best thing I can do at this point.
Until later, readers, have a lovely weekend! Cheers.
Anyway, the title of today's entry comes from one of my all-time favorite movies: "The Emperor's New Groove." Heh. So yesterday in my dreaded 5th hour class, the students actually did enough work to earn both a game AND 10 minutes of "video clip" time today. Our game went fairly well, and almost all the students actively participated. The last 10 minutes of class were devoted to watching "The Emperor's New Groove." When I heard the line, "It's called a cruel irony..." I thought, "What an appropriate title for today's blog!"
Also, due to the aforementioned breakup, I took my first personal day this year. I had really hoped to hold out until after fall break (in early October), but I was pretty devastated on Wednesday and decided to take the day off. I'm glad I did; I was in no condition to teach. The day was spent instead with good friends and physical activity (including going to the batting cages!).
I had my first "formal" observation this Monday (before the breakup, fortunately)... and today I had the post conference for it. The principal had NO critiques; I was astonished. I asked what I could do better, and she had suggestions that didn't pertain at all to classroom stuff (it was just general professional development advice). Not too shabby!
Anyway, my last class starts in about 10 minutes, and they're a good group, so it should be a decent end to what turned out to be a not-so-decent week. After class, I'll probably spend 2 hours here grading the studets' latest projects. It's cool, though; immersing myself in work is probably the best thing I can do at this point.
Until later, readers, have a lovely weekend! Cheers.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Some photos...
... more to follow. My classroom's looking like a classroom now! AND the kids have textbooks. Score. Enjoy, and happy weekend! :)
Ze board of awesomeness. (We have to structure them somewhat like this anyway.)
An AMAZING project... our first one of three so far!
Where the kids' classwork (top) and homework (bottom) goes.
Ze wall where each student made a card to represent him/herself.
Ze board of awesomeness. (We have to structure them somewhat like this anyway.)
An AMAZING project... our first one of three so far!
Where the kids' classwork (top) and homework (bottom) goes.
Ze wall where each student made a card to represent him/herself.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Patriot Day
So today, September 11, is apparently now called Patriot Day. For someone who's not very patriotic, it's sometiems a hard pill to swallow. Oh, vell.
In the first three classes, I took a moment of silence for the victims of the attacks. The classes were fairly somber at first, and it was awkward transitioning from death to fractions. However, once we got back in "the flow," all was well. The principal again stopped in unexpectedly to observe, and it was again completely fine. (Thank God she doesn't come in 5th period!! That class is a nightmare.)
Anyway, the day was pretty quick, though I feel math is maybe starting to get a little boring for the kids. I still like it, but now that the newness of having books has worn off... I think the kids are getting a little restless. What to do, what to do...
Also, my 5th period class was pretty ugly again today. I made a 10-problem review for them, and asked that they work on it individually. (To me, this means quietly.) But no... they kept talking or messing with each other. Completely obnoxious. I haven't sent anyone to our "responsible thinking classroom" (like a time out in another room and parents are called), but I'm going to soon, I think. One of my troublemakers was out yesterday, and the class was nearly flawless. He was back today, though... uggggggggh. Anyway, after the work, I had the students do the following:
Write 5 sentences about thoughts you have about September 11th.
Write 5 things you’re thankful for in your life.
Write some things you DO and DO NOT like about our country.
Write 3 problems you’d like to fix in the world.
I wanted to somehow discuss the elephant in the room, so I thought it would be interesting to hear what the students had to say. What should've been a fairly smooth, brief activity was chaos instead. I cannot wait until this class is over (at the end of the quarter, I'm told). My suspision is that the kids can't wait, either.
Anyway, this was my first pseudo-rocky day in a while. It kinda sucked- I came in all chipper and ready for a good day... and now I've ended on a fairly negative note.
Luckily we have more conferences in about 15 minutes. That should help make today wrap up nicely.
In the first three classes, I took a moment of silence for the victims of the attacks. The classes were fairly somber at first, and it was awkward transitioning from death to fractions. However, once we got back in "the flow," all was well. The principal again stopped in unexpectedly to observe, and it was again completely fine. (Thank God she doesn't come in 5th period!! That class is a nightmare.)
Anyway, the day was pretty quick, though I feel math is maybe starting to get a little boring for the kids. I still like it, but now that the newness of having books has worn off... I think the kids are getting a little restless. What to do, what to do...
Also, my 5th period class was pretty ugly again today. I made a 10-problem review for them, and asked that they work on it individually. (To me, this means quietly.) But no... they kept talking or messing with each other. Completely obnoxious. I haven't sent anyone to our "responsible thinking classroom" (like a time out in another room and parents are called), but I'm going to soon, I think. One of my troublemakers was out yesterday, and the class was nearly flawless. He was back today, though... uggggggggh. Anyway, after the work, I had the students do the following:
Write 5 sentences about thoughts you have about September 11th.
Write 5 things you’re thankful for in your life.
Write some things you DO and DO NOT like about our country.
Write 3 problems you’d like to fix in the world.
I wanted to somehow discuss the elephant in the room, so I thought it would be interesting to hear what the students had to say. What should've been a fairly smooth, brief activity was chaos instead. I cannot wait until this class is over (at the end of the quarter, I'm told). My suspision is that the kids can't wait, either.
Anyway, this was my first pseudo-rocky day in a while. It kinda sucked- I came in all chipper and ready for a good day... and now I've ended on a fairly negative note.
Luckily we have more conferences in about 15 minutes. That should help make today wrap up nicely.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Parent-teacher conferences: Halfway done!
So I *only* spent 12 hours at school today, but it was good overall.
Tonight from 5-7:15pm we had parent-teacher conferences. These were student-led, so the bulk of the talking was between students & their parents/guardians. The 4 core teachers (myself, and the teachers of social studies, science, and language arts) hung around in the (enormous) science room and fielded questions from anyone who requested a chat. It was mellow & relatively enjoyable. I'm really a big fan of conferences. I can get pretty creative about complimenting even the most challenging of students. :)
I'm also a little freaked out by the fact that the kids seem to like working out of a math textbook! Weird! We got textbooks on Monday, so we've used 'em the past 3 days, and the kids are enjoying them. It definitely makes teaching easier! (My counterpart doesn't use textbooks in his class.)
Anyway, just thought I'd update, since I don't much anymore these days. Things are just SOOOO hectic and fast-paced that it's hard to stay on top of it all!
However, let me say this: I really enjoy teaching ONE subject for 6th graders so far. I'm glad I'm working with this age group and I'm very much liking the content area. Math has always been my favorite subject to teach (though social studies is a close second!). Good times. I am also enjoying the energy and wit I get from the students. They're pretty dang funny sometimes.
So there. A 12-hour day passes with no complaints! :) Ciao for now, and thanks for reading.
Tonight from 5-7:15pm we had parent-teacher conferences. These were student-led, so the bulk of the talking was between students & their parents/guardians. The 4 core teachers (myself, and the teachers of social studies, science, and language arts) hung around in the (enormous) science room and fielded questions from anyone who requested a chat. It was mellow & relatively enjoyable. I'm really a big fan of conferences. I can get pretty creative about complimenting even the most challenging of students. :)
I'm also a little freaked out by the fact that the kids seem to like working out of a math textbook! Weird! We got textbooks on Monday, so we've used 'em the past 3 days, and the kids are enjoying them. It definitely makes teaching easier! (My counterpart doesn't use textbooks in his class.)
Anyway, just thought I'd update, since I don't much anymore these days. Things are just SOOOO hectic and fast-paced that it's hard to stay on top of it all!
However, let me say this: I really enjoy teaching ONE subject for 6th graders so far. I'm glad I'm working with this age group and I'm very much liking the content area. Math has always been my favorite subject to teach (though social studies is a close second!). Good times. I am also enjoying the energy and wit I get from the students. They're pretty dang funny sometimes.
So there. A 12-hour day passes with no complaints! :) Ciao for now, and thanks for reading.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Almost the weekend!!!
So not only was today an early dismissal day for the students (as is every Thursday), it's also almost time for our Labor Day break!! :) The kids don't have school tomorrow, though *we* have an all-day in-service. Oh, vell. We do get Monday off, though, so that's awesome! :) I'm hitting Vegas this weekend, so that should be a nice little break.
Today was ok, though I'm starting to feel like the students aren't getting a lot of the math concepts I'd hoped they were. I just spent the past 2.5 hours grading prime factorization projects that were due today. There were a whopping THIRTEEN (13) projects that had NO name on them! Eesh... That means I didn't grade 13 projects, since I didn't want to figure out who did 'em. Oh, vell.
I forgot how tiring teaching, planning, grading, and tutoring are, especially when you have to do them constantly, and they never really end. Also, I haven't had time to eat lunch today, so I'm starving! I have a few more things to finish up here (it's just after 6:30 now), then I'm out.
Anyway, the days are going quickly, and this isn't nearly as traumatic as my first year of teaching. I'm still feeling like I can stick this out a while. Sorry, just had to vent. Hopefully I'll come back refreshed after a long weekend! For now, I bid you adieu.
Today was ok, though I'm starting to feel like the students aren't getting a lot of the math concepts I'd hoped they were. I just spent the past 2.5 hours grading prime factorization projects that were due today. There were a whopping THIRTEEN (13) projects that had NO name on them! Eesh... That means I didn't grade 13 projects, since I didn't want to figure out who did 'em. Oh, vell.
I forgot how tiring teaching, planning, grading, and tutoring are, especially when you have to do them constantly, and they never really end. Also, I haven't had time to eat lunch today, so I'm starving! I have a few more things to finish up here (it's just after 6:30 now), then I'm out.
Anyway, the days are going quickly, and this isn't nearly as traumatic as my first year of teaching. I'm still feeling like I can stick this out a while. Sorry, just had to vent. Hopefully I'll come back refreshed after a long weekend! For now, I bid you adieu.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Not too shabby...
... So I'm pleasantly surprised how the day turned out. As usual, I'm exhausted and my feet hurt... but I'm in a good mood.
The first three classes today weren't so great. I blame myself partially, since I feel I had mediocre lessons (honestly). I told myself that some days aren't going to be stellar, and that's ok. It was just kinda bummy.
My 4th hour class started to turn things around... I really like reading to the kids (though I prefer teaching math & getting to read on occasion; this is perfect!). Today, I brought in some metal seals and sealing wax my mom had sent me. In the book we're reading, they mentioned seals, and I wanted to show the kids what seals are. Today, I got to do just that, and the class thought the seals were cool. Yay!
Get this: my dreaded 5th hour class (our "academic special" that is still curricularly undefined) was my best class of the day! Bizarre...
The day wrapped up well, with my good 7th hour class and then tutoring.
Overall highlights today:
-Showing my reading class the seals
-Having my 5th hour class actually do WORK today!
-Working one-on-one with the student who bugs the crap out of me (I've decided I MUST get him on my side if he and the class are to peacefully coexist). He actually grasped the concepts eventually, and said "Hi!" to me today twice after our meeting. He's a good kid from a big family, so I'm sure his house is chaotic. I need to show him what calm looks like. Anyway, it could potentially be a good year for him.
-Tutoring! It was actually fun today. We did a review that was OK, but ended the session with games. The kids (and I!) got really into it, and I heard one guy remark to his buddy, "See, I told you this would be awesome." Ha!
Okee, boyfriend's coming back from a trip to L.A., so I'm off! Peace out.
The first three classes today weren't so great. I blame myself partially, since I feel I had mediocre lessons (honestly). I told myself that some days aren't going to be stellar, and that's ok. It was just kinda bummy.
My 4th hour class started to turn things around... I really like reading to the kids (though I prefer teaching math & getting to read on occasion; this is perfect!). Today, I brought in some metal seals and sealing wax my mom had sent me. In the book we're reading, they mentioned seals, and I wanted to show the kids what seals are. Today, I got to do just that, and the class thought the seals were cool. Yay!
Get this: my dreaded 5th hour class (our "academic special" that is still curricularly undefined) was my best class of the day! Bizarre...
The day wrapped up well, with my good 7th hour class and then tutoring.
Overall highlights today:
-Showing my reading class the seals
-Having my 5th hour class actually do WORK today!
-Working one-on-one with the student who bugs the crap out of me (I've decided I MUST get him on my side if he and the class are to peacefully coexist). He actually grasped the concepts eventually, and said "Hi!" to me today twice after our meeting. He's a good kid from a big family, so I'm sure his house is chaotic. I need to show him what calm looks like. Anyway, it could potentially be a good year for him.
-Tutoring! It was actually fun today. We did a review that was OK, but ended the session with games. The kids (and I!) got really into it, and I heard one guy remark to his buddy, "See, I told you this would be awesome." Ha!
Okee, boyfriend's coming back from a trip to L.A., so I'm off! Peace out.
Friday, August 22, 2008
MUCH better!
There... now I'm three weeks into teaching. I think we're starting to get into the swing of things. The kids (generally) understand and abide by my classroom expectations. I like all my kids (even the ones who drive me crazy) so far... and I've been impressed with some of their work and efforts!
Today was a nice day, overall. In my 4 math classes, we covered least common multiple (LCM) and greatest common factor (GCF), then had a quiz. We'll see how the kids did on it... I gave out little treats to the students who had done their homework all week. My goal is to somehow motivate those who haven't been turning it in thus far...
In my reading class/homeroom, we're reading Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi. It's a really, really good (albeit depressing!) book, and the kids are getting into it. (I have to decipher a lot, though, because it's pretty eloquently written!) There was a HILARIOUS part today, though... A portion in the book was talking about hoeing and cultivating the land. One of my sweetest students raised a timid hand into the air.
"What does it mean 'hoeing'?" she'd asked, innocently enough.
A lot of other students stifled laughter and looked to see my reaction.
I replied, "It's probably not what you're thinking..." and everyone started laughing. I couldn't help it: I burst out laughing, too.
"A hoe is a tool," I went on, and I tried to draw a picture of one on the board. Unfortunately, the hoe looked more like an exclamation mark, so I had to describe it in great detail. Eventually, I think they got it.
One student remarked, "Man, they had a lot of weird tools back then!"
I contested, "Well, they still have hoes today."
The class cracked up again, several repeating the line. I had to laugh again; they got me! I had to follow, "I don't mean women, I mean the tools." Oh, man! I turned bright read (as several students pointed out), and laughed so hard my eyes watered!
My 7th period (math) class is funny, too... I almost always laugh with them in that class. Lately, I've been sharing some laughs with my other classes as well. So far, all the classes are good at getting back no track after we're goofy for a minute. It's nice!
Finally, my dreaded 5th period class was pretty good today! It's an "academic special" class, meaning it's like art or P.E., but with an academic area. I teach a section called "Math boost" to help improve the students' basic math skills. Usually, it's a nightmare for reasons I don't want to get into... but today was good! We did some multiplication & division work, then I showed them how to work a sudoku puzzle. Most of them got really into it. (I'd done sudokus with 3 other classes, one my first year teaching, and the kids generally like them a lot.) The class seemed to appreciate the break in monotony, and it was nice to have an enjoyable, enriching activity to do with them. We then went to the computer lab, where they work on a wonderful little program that both assesses and assists them in their weak areas. Lovely!
Yesterday was a rough day (partially my fault, due to lack of overplanning), but my counterpart helped talk me through it at the end of the day.
Overall, I like the school here. MUCH better than my last one!
Also, I'm starting tutoring on Monday! It'll be 1.5 hours a day after school, 3 days a week. It's hard to turn down the $35/hour, but I hope I'm not too exhausted after that... We'll see!
For now, I wrap up here and head on to play a double-header softball game! Ciao!
Today was a nice day, overall. In my 4 math classes, we covered least common multiple (LCM) and greatest common factor (GCF), then had a quiz. We'll see how the kids did on it... I gave out little treats to the students who had done their homework all week. My goal is to somehow motivate those who haven't been turning it in thus far...
In my reading class/homeroom, we're reading Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi. It's a really, really good (albeit depressing!) book, and the kids are getting into it. (I have to decipher a lot, though, because it's pretty eloquently written!) There was a HILARIOUS part today, though... A portion in the book was talking about hoeing and cultivating the land. One of my sweetest students raised a timid hand into the air.
"What does it mean 'hoeing'?" she'd asked, innocently enough.
A lot of other students stifled laughter and looked to see my reaction.
I replied, "It's probably not what you're thinking..." and everyone started laughing. I couldn't help it: I burst out laughing, too.
"A hoe is a tool," I went on, and I tried to draw a picture of one on the board. Unfortunately, the hoe looked more like an exclamation mark, so I had to describe it in great detail. Eventually, I think they got it.
One student remarked, "Man, they had a lot of weird tools back then!"
I contested, "Well, they still have hoes today."
The class cracked up again, several repeating the line. I had to laugh again; they got me! I had to follow, "I don't mean women, I mean the tools." Oh, man! I turned bright read (as several students pointed out), and laughed so hard my eyes watered!
My 7th period (math) class is funny, too... I almost always laugh with them in that class. Lately, I've been sharing some laughs with my other classes as well. So far, all the classes are good at getting back no track after we're goofy for a minute. It's nice!
Finally, my dreaded 5th period class was pretty good today! It's an "academic special" class, meaning it's like art or P.E., but with an academic area. I teach a section called "Math boost" to help improve the students' basic math skills. Usually, it's a nightmare for reasons I don't want to get into... but today was good! We did some multiplication & division work, then I showed them how to work a sudoku puzzle. Most of them got really into it. (I'd done sudokus with 3 other classes, one my first year teaching, and the kids generally like them a lot.) The class seemed to appreciate the break in monotony, and it was nice to have an enjoyable, enriching activity to do with them. We then went to the computer lab, where they work on a wonderful little program that both assesses and assists them in their weak areas. Lovely!
Yesterday was a rough day (partially my fault, due to lack of overplanning), but my counterpart helped talk me through it at the end of the day.
Overall, I like the school here. MUCH better than my last one!
Also, I'm starting tutoring on Monday! It'll be 1.5 hours a day after school, 3 days a week. It's hard to turn down the $35/hour, but I hope I'm not too exhausted after that... We'll see!
For now, I wrap up here and head on to play a double-header softball game! Ciao!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
how fast the days fly!
man, these school days are just flying by! i had a pretty rough morning (for a variety of reasons), but sure enough, in my first period class, my students made me laugh. the class clown in first period is actually funny, so that helps!
anyway, just thought i'd touch base here... i'm trying to get to bed before 10, so i must be off soon. tomorrow's a short day for the kids (as is every thursday), so classes are only 38 minutes long each. (and i thought 50 minutes went fast!)
okee... i'll be back sometime soon to give the highlights of the presentations my kids did this week. some were *really* impressive.
for now, i'm off!
anyway, just thought i'd touch base here... i'm trying to get to bed before 10, so i must be off soon. tomorrow's a short day for the kids (as is every thursday), so classes are only 38 minutes long each. (and i thought 50 minutes went fast!)
okee... i'll be back sometime soon to give the highlights of the presentations my kids did this week. some were *really* impressive.
for now, i'm off!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Interesting!
I'm sooo ready for bed, but first, quickly...
Have you ever been to a Wal-Mart in Phoenix at 10:30 on a Sunday night? First, it's PACKED. Second, I felt like I was in another country; I was the only person within sight whose first language was English. It was wicked. Normally, I'd think that was the coolest thing ever, but I'm so tired right now that I was just kind of in awe.
Tomorrow's coming up fast, so I MUST hit the hay. More later! Ciao, and here's to week 2!!
Have you ever been to a Wal-Mart in Phoenix at 10:30 on a Sunday night? First, it's PACKED. Second, I felt like I was in another country; I was the only person within sight whose first language was English. It was wicked. Normally, I'd think that was the coolest thing ever, but I'm so tired right now that I was just kind of in awe.
Tomorrow's coming up fast, so I MUST hit the hay. More later! Ciao, and here's to week 2!!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Day 3: Complete
So the first three days have been pretty easy... makes me nervous about the rest of the year! I already see a few students who I think may give me some grief on down the line, but we'll see.
The first day was downright chaotic. Most of the 6th graders, new to the school, had no idea where they were going. We skipped first period as a grade. Kids got lost constantly. I didn't know where some of the students' specials were. However, it was a good day. We got through a bunch of rules, procedures, and things like that. The kids were scared and nearly silent; I'll miss that as the year rolls on!
The second day was good also; both the students and I started getting more comfortable (though that means they're gonna start testing the waters soon). We took math pre-tests yesterday and today, so there wasn't too much hassle. I need to get a bit more organized, though, so I bought 300 file folders and 16 stackable plastic trays for the students' various work.
Tomorrow (and every Thursday) is an early release day, so classes are a mere 38 minutes long! Craziness. 50 minutes go by so fast; I can only imagine how ridiculous 38 will be!
Anyway, when I remember, I'll take more photos of the classroom, as it actually looks like a *class* now instead of a big, empty room. Oh, and two of my classes are past capacity. I have 33 desks in the room, and two of my classes have too many students for the desks. (If they all showed up in one of my classes, I'd have 36 students right now!)
Okee... I'm soooo tired, but I still have a bit to prepare for tomorrow. I'm trying to get to bed by 9, so I'm out. Peace! :)
The first day was downright chaotic. Most of the 6th graders, new to the school, had no idea where they were going. We skipped first period as a grade. Kids got lost constantly. I didn't know where some of the students' specials were. However, it was a good day. We got through a bunch of rules, procedures, and things like that. The kids were scared and nearly silent; I'll miss that as the year rolls on!
The second day was good also; both the students and I started getting more comfortable (though that means they're gonna start testing the waters soon). We took math pre-tests yesterday and today, so there wasn't too much hassle. I need to get a bit more organized, though, so I bought 300 file folders and 16 stackable plastic trays for the students' various work.
Tomorrow (and every Thursday) is an early release day, so classes are a mere 38 minutes long! Craziness. 50 minutes go by so fast; I can only imagine how ridiculous 38 will be!
Anyway, when I remember, I'll take more photos of the classroom, as it actually looks like a *class* now instead of a big, empty room. Oh, and two of my classes are past capacity. I have 33 desks in the room, and two of my classes have too many students for the desks. (If they all showed up in one of my classes, I'd have 36 students right now!)
Okee... I'm soooo tired, but I still have a bit to prepare for tomorrow. I'm trying to get to bed by 9, so I'm out. Peace! :)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Stepping up
So I'm rediscovering what it means to be a teacher. Before school starts a week from today, I'm having pep talks with myself to get ready for the task at hand: educating our youth. No matter how much I may not want it to be the case, I am now an authority figure. An enforcer. A role model. A teacher.
It's time to step it up.
My first year of teaching, I had no interest in being an authority figure. I did not want to yell and run things my way, I did not want to take charge in every fathomable situation... and that may be part of the reason my class became disorganized. Now I realize that I signed up for an awesome responsibility. It doesn't matter that I don't *want* to be in a position of an authority; I *have* to be. The students need someone who can take charge and model responsibility. They need me to help structure their day, to facilitate a well-maintained classroom, and to show them what respect is really about.
On a semi-related note, I'm also taking on another role I *never* thought I'd do again: a softball player. I've detested the game ever since 7th grade, when I got hit in the head with the ball at a friend's birthday party. I swore off playing, and have had no interest in the game ever since. However, my boyfriend has asked me to play on his co-ed league this fall and for some reason, I accepted. It seems, though, that this presents a wonderful opportunity for me to grow as a person. I think this will allow me to convey many valuable lessons to my classes... if they moan and groan about not wanting to do the work or not being able to, I'll talk to them about my softball experience. After playing catch with a friend last night, my confidence has slightly increased. That gives the old adage "practice makes perfect" a little more weight, and perhaps I can pass this message onto my students.
I think this will be a challenging year. I'm a bit more pessimistic than I was for my first year of teaching, and I think that's a good thing. I'm somewhat dreading being a teacher again, but I feel an undeniable and grounded sense of optimism. ("Cautious optimism," I'm tempted to call it.)
However, I'm coming up with some ways of thinking about my role as a teacher and leader... Here are some of my thoughts as of late:
-I will walk head held high and shoulders squared, so that I may face the world and its challenges.
-I will model a good sense of self pride (not arrogance) to my students.
-I will not tolerate behavior in the classroom that dissuades learning or prevents me from educating my students.
-I am now a leader, a teacher, and a role model. I must not abuse this privilege, for it is a critical role in our society.
-The students will become my primary concern, diminishing any selfishness I may have. (That's not to say, though, that I won't take care of myself.)
-I will step it up.
One week 'til go time. For now, I continue my preparation. Cheers.
It's time to step it up.
My first year of teaching, I had no interest in being an authority figure. I did not want to yell and run things my way, I did not want to take charge in every fathomable situation... and that may be part of the reason my class became disorganized. Now I realize that I signed up for an awesome responsibility. It doesn't matter that I don't *want* to be in a position of an authority; I *have* to be. The students need someone who can take charge and model responsibility. They need me to help structure their day, to facilitate a well-maintained classroom, and to show them what respect is really about.
On a semi-related note, I'm also taking on another role I *never* thought I'd do again: a softball player. I've detested the game ever since 7th grade, when I got hit in the head with the ball at a friend's birthday party. I swore off playing, and have had no interest in the game ever since. However, my boyfriend has asked me to play on his co-ed league this fall and for some reason, I accepted. It seems, though, that this presents a wonderful opportunity for me to grow as a person. I think this will allow me to convey many valuable lessons to my classes... if they moan and groan about not wanting to do the work or not being able to, I'll talk to them about my softball experience. After playing catch with a friend last night, my confidence has slightly increased. That gives the old adage "practice makes perfect" a little more weight, and perhaps I can pass this message onto my students.
I think this will be a challenging year. I'm a bit more pessimistic than I was for my first year of teaching, and I think that's a good thing. I'm somewhat dreading being a teacher again, but I feel an undeniable and grounded sense of optimism. ("Cautious optimism," I'm tempted to call it.)
However, I'm coming up with some ways of thinking about my role as a teacher and leader... Here are some of my thoughts as of late:
-I will walk head held high and shoulders squared, so that I may face the world and its challenges.
-I will model a good sense of self pride (not arrogance) to my students.
-I will not tolerate behavior in the classroom that dissuades learning or prevents me from educating my students.
-I am now a leader, a teacher, and a role model. I must not abuse this privilege, for it is a critical role in our society.
-The students will become my primary concern, diminishing any selfishness I may have. (That's not to say, though, that I won't take care of myself.)
-I will step it up.
One week 'til go time. For now, I continue my preparation. Cheers.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Gearin' up!
So it's crazy to think that, just a little over a week from now, I'll be teaching 6th grade math for real!
Also, at another one of our lovely free breakfasts yesterday, we had a representative of Walden University talk to us about advanced degrees. Although I already have a Master's, I can't say I wasn't tempted by the thought of a doctoral degree... I didn't think I wanted one, but now I'm wondering. We'll see, though; I'd like to get a few years of teaching under my belt before I try to tackle another pricey degree.
For now, I'll share some of the PowerPoint presentation I've been preparing for the first day of school... Enjoy! :)
(Oh, and as a note: our clipart is kinda funky at the school, and the Google image search is blocked, so I'll have to spruce these up at home... They won't be this boring when they're done! Also, click any image to make it bigger.)
Also, at another one of our lovely free breakfasts yesterday, we had a representative of Walden University talk to us about advanced degrees. Although I already have a Master's, I can't say I wasn't tempted by the thought of a doctoral degree... I didn't think I wanted one, but now I'm wondering. We'll see, though; I'd like to get a few years of teaching under my belt before I try to tackle another pricey degree.
For now, I'll share some of the PowerPoint presentation I've been preparing for the first day of school... Enjoy! :)
(Oh, and as a note: our clipart is kinda funky at the school, and the Google image search is blocked, so I'll have to spruce these up at home... They won't be this boring when they're done! Also, click any image to make it bigger.)
Monday, July 21, 2008
2 weeks 'til go time!
Today was our first day of newbie in-services, and it went pretty well.
However, when I walked into the cafeteria where our free breakfast was held, I couldn't help but be astounded: the place was filled with young, white, perky females. I was suddenly a forgettable face among the masses.
The in-services themselves were relatively painless and easy. We took a district tour in schoolbuses, which was fun (if not ridiculously hot in the Arizona heat!). Upon our return to the school where the in-services were held, we had a free lunch. During lunch, I looked around and was slightly surprised... People were mostly sitting with people like them! There was a table of minorities, 2 full tables of white girls, and a few mixed or girls-only tables. Weird! (I was guilty, too; I sat with two other white gals.)
Though it's nothing new, I'm feeling a bit like the odd-one-out at the moment. A lot of these girls are my age, but they're not as educated as I am, they're perkier and cuter, and they're all bubbly. I'm trying to be a professional, and for me right now, that doesn't mean bubbly ditz. Sigh.
Anyway, I don't mean to put a negative spin on things; I think this will be a really good year. My school (staff AND admin) seems really excellent so far, and I'm grateful for the resources that are available to me.
Tomorrow should be easy; we only have (another) free breakfast, then time to meet with the State about certification (I'm set), then a one-hour technology briefing, free lunch, and the rest of the day in our classrooms... no complaints here!
For now, I'm gonna watch a teacher movie to get my head "in the game." Cheers!
Oh, and as an aside... during our district bus tour, we went through some REALLY nice, new housing developments that were a block or so away from some run-down, poor neighborhoods. A crazy little divide will probably exist between our students. Also, while taking my roommate's dog for a walk this evening, I noticed the same thing over in my neck of the woods... We live in a pretty new, nice development ourselves. Yet I explored uncharted territory with the dog, and discovered that, just a vacant field over from us, there is a run-down trailer park. The separating wall between us is just too symbolic. Sigh.
Ok... I'll tackle world issues another day. For now, time for some R & R.
However, when I walked into the cafeteria where our free breakfast was held, I couldn't help but be astounded: the place was filled with young, white, perky females. I was suddenly a forgettable face among the masses.
The in-services themselves were relatively painless and easy. We took a district tour in schoolbuses, which was fun (if not ridiculously hot in the Arizona heat!). Upon our return to the school where the in-services were held, we had a free lunch. During lunch, I looked around and was slightly surprised... People were mostly sitting with people like them! There was a table of minorities, 2 full tables of white girls, and a few mixed or girls-only tables. Weird! (I was guilty, too; I sat with two other white gals.)
Though it's nothing new, I'm feeling a bit like the odd-one-out at the moment. A lot of these girls are my age, but they're not as educated as I am, they're perkier and cuter, and they're all bubbly. I'm trying to be a professional, and for me right now, that doesn't mean bubbly ditz. Sigh.
Anyway, I don't mean to put a negative spin on things; I think this will be a really good year. My school (staff AND admin) seems really excellent so far, and I'm grateful for the resources that are available to me.
Tomorrow should be easy; we only have (another) free breakfast, then time to meet with the State about certification (I'm set), then a one-hour technology briefing, free lunch, and the rest of the day in our classrooms... no complaints here!
For now, I'm gonna watch a teacher movie to get my head "in the game." Cheers!
Oh, and as an aside... during our district bus tour, we went through some REALLY nice, new housing developments that were a block or so away from some run-down, poor neighborhoods. A crazy little divide will probably exist between our students. Also, while taking my roommate's dog for a walk this evening, I noticed the same thing over in my neck of the woods... We live in a pretty new, nice development ourselves. Yet I explored uncharted territory with the dog, and discovered that, just a vacant field over from us, there is a run-down trailer park. The separating wall between us is just too symbolic. Sigh.
Ok... I'll tackle world issues another day. For now, time for some R & R.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Gearin' up!
So I went to my school today to start getting set up, to meet with everyone, etc. It was awesome.
The other 6th grade math teacher is truly a talented, competent individual. One of the other teachers today called him "the most professional teacher in the school." From what I've seen so far, I agree. He really has his act together, and I think he will prove to be an excellent role model for me and for his students!
My roommate helped me put up posters in my room; I'll put photos on here when it is all set up.
I also met another gal who is new to the school... this is her first year, and she's close enough to my home that we can carpool! She's very nervous, but I think she and I will each have a good year. We'll see how it goes. I'm happy that I have someone to vent to now who is in my shoes!
Anyway, just thought I'd send a brief update on the state of things right now. Gotta go back tomorrow, so I'm gonna hit the hay. Peace!
The other 6th grade math teacher is truly a talented, competent individual. One of the other teachers today called him "the most professional teacher in the school." From what I've seen so far, I agree. He really has his act together, and I think he will prove to be an excellent role model for me and for his students!
My roommate helped me put up posters in my room; I'll put photos on here when it is all set up.
I also met another gal who is new to the school... this is her first year, and she's close enough to my home that we can carpool! She's very nervous, but I think she and I will each have a good year. We'll see how it goes. I'm happy that I have someone to vent to now who is in my shoes!
Anyway, just thought I'd send a brief update on the state of things right now. Gotta go back tomorrow, so I'm gonna hit the hay. Peace!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Inmigración
So I was driving tonight, and there was a radio talk show about immigration. In case you're not living in Arizona, this is a huge issue out here, being so close to Mexico and all.
Anyway, I got all fired up... wasn't this country *founded* by "illegal immigrants"? Anyone who is not Native American is an immigrant in this country, and humans are nomadic as it is.
If you're unsure of the Arizona-specific issue of immigration, a good starting point is Googling "Sheriff Arpaio Raids." I usually provide a few articles/sources on issues, but I'll leave you to this one. Long story short, the Sheriff of Maricopa County (where Phoenix is located) established raids that "catch" illegal (Mexican) immigrants from various areas in the county and deport them back to Mexico.
Any person born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen, thus complicating matters a great deal. If two illegal immigrants were to have a child in the U.S., the child would be a U.S. citizen, and the parents would not. This fact has split up countless families, where the parents are deported, but the child(ren) remain(s). On the talk show tonight, one caller stated, "Just send the kids back with the parents. They don't need to be here, either." I was livid. The same caller (I'm using a great amount of self restraint by not throwing some colorful adjectives in there) also said, "I'm competing with these people for jobs. That ain't right." Umm... isn't competition the very backbone of a capitalistic society? Heaven forbid the best candidate get the job, regardless of race. Seriously, are we still in 1950?
Anyway, I don't mean to make this into a political blog; that's not its purpose. I merely mention this issue because it will directly pertain to some of my students (my school has an 85% Latino population)... and I think it's important for me to keep this issue in mind when considering the behaviors and opinions of my students.
For now, I take my leave. Take care, and the countdown 'til T-day (Teaching Day??) stands at 29 days.
Anyway, I got all fired up... wasn't this country *founded* by "illegal immigrants"? Anyone who is not Native American is an immigrant in this country, and humans are nomadic as it is.
If you're unsure of the Arizona-specific issue of immigration, a good starting point is Googling "Sheriff Arpaio Raids." I usually provide a few articles/sources on issues, but I'll leave you to this one. Long story short, the Sheriff of Maricopa County (where Phoenix is located) established raids that "catch" illegal (Mexican) immigrants from various areas in the county and deport them back to Mexico.
Any person born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen, thus complicating matters a great deal. If two illegal immigrants were to have a child in the U.S., the child would be a U.S. citizen, and the parents would not. This fact has split up countless families, where the parents are deported, but the child(ren) remain(s). On the talk show tonight, one caller stated, "Just send the kids back with the parents. They don't need to be here, either." I was livid. The same caller (I'm using a great amount of self restraint by not throwing some colorful adjectives in there) also said, "I'm competing with these people for jobs. That ain't right." Umm... isn't competition the very backbone of a capitalistic society? Heaven forbid the best candidate get the job, regardless of race. Seriously, are we still in 1950?
Anyway, I don't mean to make this into a political blog; that's not its purpose. I merely mention this issue because it will directly pertain to some of my students (my school has an 85% Latino population)... and I think it's important for me to keep this issue in mind when considering the behaviors and opinions of my students.
For now, I take my leave. Take care, and the countdown 'til T-day (Teaching Day??) stands at 29 days.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Heartbreaking.
Today, I was curious about how my district compares with other Arizona schools as far as free and reduced lunches (FARL) go. (This is usually a good indicator of the financial state of the school's students and their families.) I found a really cool, Phoenix-area-specific site that breaks down quite a bit of information.
If you're unfamiliar with Arizona's educational system, we are consistenly one of the lowest-ranked in the United States. To combat this, the Arizona Department of Education has enacted a tax credit program wherein families can donate a tax-deductable $200-$400 to the school of their choice. (I'm not sure other states have similar programs, but I can only assume so.)
Anyway, the site I found presents this chart wherein you can see the average amount each school district receives per student. They also break it down by overall donation, as well as the district's FARL percentages. I'll post the table below, and you can click on it to make it larger. Notice that one district received $250 in one year ($0.23/student), while another received over $1.7 million ($70.04/student)... talk about discrepancies!! Ok... without further ado, the chart:
If you're unfamiliar with Arizona's educational system, we are consistenly one of the lowest-ranked in the United States. To combat this, the Arizona Department of Education has enacted a tax credit program wherein families can donate a tax-deductable $200-$400 to the school of their choice. (I'm not sure other states have similar programs, but I can only assume so.)
Anyway, the site I found presents this chart wherein you can see the average amount each school district receives per student. They also break it down by overall donation, as well as the district's FARL percentages. I'll post the table below, and you can click on it to make it larger. Notice that one district received $250 in one year ($0.23/student), while another received over $1.7 million ($70.04/student)... talk about discrepancies!! Ok... without further ado, the chart:
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Classroom photos: A new beginning
So here are the aforementioned photos of my new classroom... It's pretty bare right now, but I'm trying to plan out the room in my head. Take a look! :)
If anyone has ideas about what I could do with this room, I'd be happy to hear 'em! :)
If anyone has ideas about what I could do with this room, I'd be happy to hear 'em! :)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Here we go again...
So after a horrendous first year of teaching, I took a year off and am now trying again!
That's right, faithful readers... Yours truly will be teaching 6th grade mathematics at a Phoenix-area middle school beginning in August of this year!
Stay tuned for further adventures and updates!
That's right, faithful readers... Yours truly will be teaching 6th grade mathematics at a Phoenix-area middle school beginning in August of this year!
Stay tuned for further adventures and updates!
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