Homeless

Several of my posts seem to be about the same child. :)

Yesterday, my students were doing group work.  I had some groups in my classroom working on their scripts, some in the hallway practicing their scripts, and some in the room beside mine recording their radio shows, so needless to say, I was running around with my head cut off.  I was attempting to monitor all my students, but I stepped into the recording room for a brief moment.  When I looked back into my classroom where some groups were busily working, this is what I saw:

A man was walking on the sidewalk next to my school, and he could be seen from my classroom window. One of my beloved students gets up from his desk, runs over to my window (which is beside my desk, and they are aware that they are not supposed to be over there), and opens the window.  Then he proceeds to yell out of my window, "HOMELESS!!!!" 

The thoughts going through my head while this is happening:  "Who in their right mind decides to do something like that in the middle of class?"  "Where in the world did this come from?" "And how am I going to address this obvious behavior problem?"

After the brief moment where I had no words for what I just witnessed, I call the student over to me, and said, "First of all, you are not supposed to be out of your seat.  Second of all, you are definitely not supposed to be opening my window.  And third of all, what if that man goes home to his 'non-home' and commits suicide?  How would you feel?" 

The look on my student's face seemed to be sincerely upset and embarrassed, so I felt like I had gotten my point across.  Until... 5 minutes later he blatantly and loudly yelled at another student about his "ugly hair line."  

I tend to ask myself often: What will reach my students and actually encourage them to become better people and students?!

Who knows after the "homeless" incident...

Quote and funny moment of week...

I have done a TERRIBLE job at writing down the funny things my kids say all the time. Today was one of the best I've heard so I had to write it down.

It was during my tutoring class so for the first 10 min. or so I let them talk and take a break from the school day.  Well, today the conversation was about who is dating who. My kids always love to tell me their new bf's and gf's but make me swear I won't tell anybody. Keep in mind they make me promise then yell who it is across the room in front of at least 5 people. Too funny. Anyways, today their was major drama because everybody was pretty much switching girlfriends and boyfriends. Not even joking. It sounded like the boys got in circle in front of their girlfriends and had the girls rotate to the right to pick new ones. During this fun "catch Ms. B up on dating time" one of my sweet small boys comes in what I thought to be gossiping. I said, "D, stop the drama." He replied with, "Ms. B, I ain't got no drama, I got baby mamas." If only you knew this child. He is barely taller than my belly button and is one of smallest in our grade. He cracks me up daily though, especially with his dance moves.

Also today in first period a student asked me to read his new poem. I began to read it when I realized it sounded oddly familiar. It went something like this:

(.... means enter a sentence J actually wrote about love)
Title: Milky Way
"............................did you see the lights all faded................................tell me did you sail across the sun.................................did you make it to the milky way..............looking for yourself out there............"

I turned to him and had the following conversation:
Me: "Where did you get the idea for this poem?"
J: "I just thought of it. It came to my head."
Me: "Honey, you asked the wrong teacher to read this poem."
J: (with a funny smile, knowing he was caught) haha "Why?"
Me: "Because Train is my favorite band. Ever heard of a song called 'Drops of Jupiter?' "
J: "But it came from my head."
Me: "Yes I know but just cause you have it memorized doesn't make it yours."

This followed with me playing Drops of Jupiter for the whole class and having a mini lesson on plagiarism. Still pretty funny though.

Enjoy everyone - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xf-Lesrkuc

Ms. B

The New Year Blues

Hello followers. It's been so long since I have written anything and I apologize but it is due to a "first year teacher lesson" that well, I just had to experience. I am going to call it "The New Year Blues." This refers to the time frame of the first day back from Christmas Break to the beginning of March. Some might even include March but I am feeling much more up-beat this month.  The "NYB" was the most depressing, ill, and dark time period in my year so far. Kids drop like flies due to the flu/cold, the weather is awful, the days are SUPER long, you need to plan because you did nothing over Christmas break, and now you are settling in the realization that everything you made it through last semester is about to start all over again. I tried to see the bright side and think, "Hey! I can do it! I made it through my first semester. It's down hill from here, right?" WRONG.  I don't even think I can think of a week that went well for the past two months.  It was due to a lot of things at school that I won't discuss but my biggest issue is...why do parents expect us to raise their kids? I am appalled at how ill behaved the kids at my school are. It's not because the teachers don't have good classroom management. If 18 of my 20 kids work well in my room and the other two have lost their ever-loving minds, I don't think that is poor management.  It's MARCH!!!! Why have they not learned by now to 1) Not talk back, 2) Tuck in their freaking shirt (they have to at my school), 3) Stop bullying each other, 4) Stop the drama and most importantly DO THEIR DLR!!!! Since August, my students have practiced my "bell work" routine. DLR is Daily Language Review. It's five simple questions that I use for good grammar practice.  It's a handout that they get off my table every Monday and turn in on Thursdays. Here is how this works:

Step 1: Come in quietly and get out your DLR.
Step 2: Get out a pencil and complete your DLR to the best of your ability. You have "2 minutes."
Step 3: When I begin going over the DLR put away your pencil and get out a pen to correct/fill in your answers. Make sure your pencil is put away so I can see that you checked your answers and did not wait on me to give them to you.
Step 4: Once you have made corrections, put it away and hold on to it till Thursday.

Am I crazy?? Is that asking too much?? I do not understand how it is MARCH, MARCH!!!, and every day I still have to tell them to get it out. I have started doing positive reinforcement for those who come in and do what they are supposed to. Of course, it's the same kids that have been doing that since August but whatever it has helped a little bit. Sadly, I still have kids that sit there like they don't know what is going on, don't know where they are, and act shocked every week when I ask them "Where's the pen on here?" Others participate, follow along, and act like they did their work, then on Thursday....blank paper or its lost.  BLOWS. MY. MIND.  Thankfully I have one period that usually gets it right and sets each other straight.

Thanks for letting me vent blog.  To everyone else- CONGRATS! It's March! It really is downhill from here. :D

- Ms. B

Don't go to school unless you're ready to have your picture taken...

Just a word of friendly advice.  If you're having one of those days where you overslept, barely have on any (if at all) make-up, and your hair's in a ponytail, guess what???  You're gonna need to be prepared to have your picture taken.  It'll coincidentally be school picture day, which you forgot (true story), or the day that the yearbook kids have conveniently come by to snap a picture of you working.  For instance, today...I'm in crazy work mode, looking a mess, hair in a ponytail, wearing smudged glasses because for some reason they won't come clean today, and i forgot to brush my teeth this morning because I was running late, so I just feel gross.  In come the yearbook kids trying to get a picture of me working.  Obviously, I feel a hot mess, so I can only imagine what I look like.  Dare I sneak a restroom break to look? Better not...don't really want to know.  Anyway, stay on your toes all you student teachers/ first years.

~Ms. Brown

Gold Nugget

One of the reasons I love my job is that I love working with kids.  While grading exams, I found this cute little nugget:

The assignment was to write 6 things they've learned in life science so far that weren't on the exam.

My student, Johnnie, responded this way:

I learned big words such as deciduous, eutrophication, and ion.

I learned my niche at home is to be a good, smart, intelligent son.

I love this kid.  He's adorable.  The phrase "big words" from a seventh grader. Precious.

~Ms. Brown

Terrifying Moment that I'm sure will be funny later

I took all my grading to my parents' house (4 hours away) over the winter break.  When I got back to school and went to pull out my gradebook and my last couple of remaining "to-be graded" stacks, they weren't in my school bag.  I pushed the panic away and decided that they must be in the house or in my car somewhere.  So, I came home last night expecting to find my gradebook.  Long story short, it was in the back of my dad's car....four hours' drive away.  It is now Tuesday night, and grades are due by midnight Thursday.  Totally panicking now.  My dad is my hero for scanning some of the grades and overnighting my gradebook and ungraded papers.  So, hopefully they'll arrive sometime Thursday and I can rush to get everything done after work but before midnight.  Here's to hoping, and here's to hoping this will be a really funny oops! moment sometime in the future.  For right now, I'm terrified that I won't be able to get my grades in on time.

~Ms. Brown

Maybe

This is my second consecutive entire day with my first period class.  Three hours left with them, but as of right now, I'm not sick and tired of them yet.  They're not getting on my nerves, and I'm actually having a really good day.  Minus the fact that they're taking an exam, and my bladder feels like it's absolutely going to burst.  Maybe #1- Maybe I COULD teach in a self-contained/ elementary classroom.  I've always wondered.

Maybe # 2- Maybe this school will be great next year.  If I am given the opportunity to teach at this school again next year, and we can continue to keep our star students and recruit a good number of similar students, I think this would be, like, one of the greatest schools ever.  I had a great conversation with the parent of one of the basketball players (not my student) about the school, the students, and what it's like working for the school.  I told him that I really do enjoy it, especially now that behavior's finally improving and I feel like I can teach more and discipline less.  Maybe, Maybe, we'll continue on the path to being a leading school.  I'm so glad the first-year bumps are smoothing themselves out.

Maybe # 3- Maybe my roommates and I will stop having such vivid, weird dreams and nightmares.  Last night after dinner, we talked about how frequently we have school-related dreams/ nightmares.  Dreaming about the realities that our students face and that we as teachers face on a daily basis is borderline terrifying.  I mean, I spend ALL day with these kids and their parents.  When I go to sleep, I want to dream about something nice, like long vacations and lazy days on the beach. 

Maybe, maybe, maybe.  I guess we'll see.

~Ms. Brown