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

What Teachers Make

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DfuBmSbiVXo0%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded&h=601c5

This is a great video.  Thanks to a dear non-teacher friend of ours for finding this and sending it our way.

~Ms. Brown

How much do we forget?

My dad and I love to watch game shows together.  One that we used to watch pretty frequently is Jeff Foxworthy's "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"  My dad has always insisted I should go on the show.  I've always refused. Why? Because I don't have enough confidence in myself to believe I could win if I went on the show, and I obviously don't want to get on the show, stand up there and say, My name is Amy Green.  I'm a middle school teacher, and no, I'm NOT smarter than a fifth grader.   Obviously, I'm smarter than the average fifth grader as far as reasoning, life skills, and basic knowledge.  However, I'm sure that I've forgotten many of the minute details.  Every now and then, a question on the show stumps me.  

Earlier this week, I was spending time with some of my favorite campers.  These are children I met through Camp Happy Days, an organization that provides support to kids with cancer and their siblings.  They're great kids, and I got to spend an entire day hanging out with them while their parents were at work.  We baked and decorated cookies for Santa and our own enjoyment, had a feast of a lunch from Chic-fil-A, watched a movie, hung out, played and talked together, and, most relevant to this blog post, played school. I got to be the teacher.  Not something new to me, but hey, whatever made the kids happy.  The girl I was playing school with is in first grade this year.  We played for well over an hour.  At one point, I was "teaching" math.  We did some basic math problems, but then my "student" asked me to give her some patterns to try.  I did my best.  She pronounced them, "Easy!"  I then asked her to make me some patterns to show me what hard patterns would be like.  Safe to say, I would have failed that first grade math test.  Those patterns kicked my butt!

This really made me think: if I've forgotten so much about patterns and the foundations of my math skills, what else have I forgotten?  How much of what my teachers taught me have I forgotten? Have I remembered the things that are actually important? As a teacher, WHAT are the most important things for me to teach my students?  How often do I forget the little moments that remind me why I teach day after day?  Beyond school, how many things that should be cherished have I completely forgotten about? 


~Ms. Green

The Best Christmas Present Ever!

What I am apparently getting from my children for Christmas:

"Ms. Sox, can I make you a Facebook page for Christmas? That way you can meet a new boyfriend."

"Yeah, Ms. Sox, you won't be lonely anymore, and you will have someone to spend time with on Saturday and Sunday."

What a wonderful Christmas present!  Who knew I was lonely and needed a boyfriend...

The reason I became a teacher...

This was an "award/certificate" that I recieved from one of my students:

Certificate of Achievement

Awarded to

Mrs. Sox

This 11 day of 16 in the year 2010.

Signature:  Harry Soot

Best Teacher

You Rock

This was written on the back:

Mrs. Sox you are the most careing teacher!  you have lesson plans plan out when you could have Been sleeping But you stay up workin.  I give you My word to BE BETTER IN School And not Drop out And get shot By the police (pronounced poe-lease).  So that's why I Harry Soot present this to you.  Best teacher Award of 2010

Love it!

Ms. Sox

P.S. It was news to me that I was married. : )

I've Got Big Balls

Song credit to AC/DC, which plays in my head every time I remember this story.  This happened awhile ago, but what blog about teachers (especially one that is partially written by middle school teachers) doesn't have some perverted stories?

You know those little hair elastics that have the glitter woven into them with the balls that you twist at the end, kind of like a hairbow?  Well, they make big ones. Really big ones.  Like 3 inches in diameter.  Big, three inch in diameter balls.  In beautiful colors like yellow, orange, and brown.  I don't know if those are the only colors they make them in, but they're certainly the only colors I saw them in.

Setting: 8 AM one morning, teacher's feeling a little crabby, and the kids are "wilding out."

I'm wandering the classroom checking homework and the progress of their daily Get Started!, when all of a sudden I hear, "Get off my balls! They'll break!!!"  That grabbed my attention.  I look over and one of my female students has these two big balls in a nice shade of orange in the palm of her hand and is rolling them for "a massage."  Needless to say, many inappropriate comments came from that side of the room for the rest of the period.

~Ms. Brown

Things I learned today in 8th grade science.

You learn something every day, right?  This is an email I sent to another of my fabulous co-workers today, based on the conversation I had with my 8th grade students walking back from lunch.

1) Apparently I'm pregnant.
2) The baby daddy is either Mr. Wall or Coach Spalding.
3) The odds are leaning towards Coach Spalding.
4) His wife is going to come up to school and snap and pop her neck at me for stealing her man.
5) You're gonna fight me for him.
6) You'll probably win (this I agree with).

I found this rather amusing.  Hope you have a good afternoon!

I'm a softy.. I would never beat you up.... your taller than me
Can you send this to spalding he wanted to see it

Of course I did....oh, the rumors that middle schoolers are capable of creating.  Thank goodness these ones are pretty harmless and change based on which male I'm talking to at any given moment.  In retrospect, no wonder middle school was so awful.  These kids could be seriously damaging if I actually did have a crush on one of these men.


~Ms. Brown

I'm beginning to think I'm a blog-aholic.  It's a great break from work, though. 

Here's to wondeful co-workers.  I have a great team of teachers (Middle School teaches in teams).  One of the teachers I work with is particularly punny and has a bit of a reputation with the kids for making corny jokes.  Nevermind the fact that the majority of his jokes go right over their heads.  Anyway, I was teaching homophones in my english tutorial classes the other day and wanted to insert a few puns.  The lesson started with a reading comprehension exercise "A tale of tails." 

I later sent a message to my coworker, and this is our conversation:

Me: I meant to tell you....I was talking to my tutorials about homophones today and we talked about puns and plays on words, and I told them about you but was completely at a loss for a "punny" comment.

Him: you were "green" with envy

Him: you were too busy using the "amyg-dala" part of the brain

Get it?? Because my last name is green and I'm Amy G....oh, silly.

~Ms. Brown

Take me out to the ball game...I'd really love some peanuts

It's so rewarding to see my students apply something I taught them. I feel like it doesn't happen very often, but lately, I've taught them the meaning of two phrases. The first is, "Can it!" We all know this is a polite way of saying "SHUT UP YOU CRAZY WILD CHILD!" I used it as a last resort yesterday, and that same student was ordered by classmates to can it at least twice this morning. The other example, which I find really amusing, is that I taught them "that's enough from the peanut gallery." I said this during my fifth period class, and the idea that they wouldn't understand this didn't even flit across my mind. When they all looked at me with that student-patented what the heck is that look and began to actually ask, I explained the origin and the meaning of the term. Now, everytime one or more of my students chime in unecessarily during 5th period, at least one of my students retorts with, "That's quite enough from the peanut gallery!" They really do crack me up.
~Ms. Brown

PS- While on car duty yesterday afternoon, I was trying to corral all the kids into one area.  I was the only teacher out there at the time and had quite a number of kids.  Logically, I wanted them all in one space so they'd be easier to monitor.  To get them to go down the hill, I started saying
down, down, everybody down
and motioning with my hands.  One precious sixth grader with a host of issues and Asperger's immediately crouched into the fetal position and hit the ground.  It was so funny in the midst of everything, but also so remarkably sad because that's what he feels he has to do to stay safe.  I apologized to the poor kid at least half a dozen times, but it really did make me laugh to see him so obedient and quick to respond.

Toilet Paper

Thanks Erin for letting me invade the blog!  I felt it was only right to add some stories about my 2nd grade babies into the mix!  This is a Legacy favorite from the first day of school...

All my students were sitting in a circle.  We were getting ready to play the get to know you game where you pass toilet paper around and however many squares you take, that's how many things you have to tell the class about yourself.  Simple, right? WRONG.

For this activity, I literally just grabbed toilet paper from my bathroom.  However, as I explained the activity I was met with a chorus of "Ewwwwww!!!!" Apparently, they didn't trust me enough and thought I was handing them used toilet paper!!! Then as it was being passed around, the students noticed that it was a little different from what they were used to.  One girl raised and her hand and begin to cry because she was so upset that she "broke" her toilet paper.  Needless to say, we had to have a Q&A about TWO PLY!!! None of them had ever experienced this small joy in life!

The best part is that my students got attached to the toilet paper.
 "It's so soft Ms. Bennett!"
"Where did you get this?!?!"
One of my students in particular LOVED it.  He began to rub it up and down his arms and when that wasn't enough, he scrubbed it across his face and any exposed part of his body VERY hard.  Imagine someone scrubbing clothes against a washboard...then substitute a small boy and toilet paper! I was rolling!  To this day, if you offer him toilet paper, we will gladly take it and go about his business slowly rubbing it across his body!

So if you ever visit my room, PLEASE bring 2 ply toilet paper...you won't regret it.

Apparently it's cool to be a teen mom

I guess I should have taken my cue from those tv shows "16 and pregnant" or "teen mom."  Apparently, my students (and many other students at the school) think it's a fantastic amount of fun to be a mommy.  Don't get me wrong; I am looking forward to the day I become a mommy, but somehow I just don't think all-nighters and constant feeding and poop changing is going to be a ton of fun. 

My students, however, are excited to be mamas.  The new trend is to swaddle a teddy bear or some similar stuffed animal and carry it around as if it were a newborn.  This morning, I got yelled at because I was holding the door open for the students and one of my girls' babies "got too cold."  This may have been rude, but I literally laughed at her.   Another of my students uses her jacket as a baby.  These "babies" supposedly require changing in the bathroom, constant attention and affection, and even extra warmth from blankets and jackets.  As a team, we've decided to sotp the baby epidemic, and I've started a collection.  Anybody want a stuffed animal or a teenagers' jacket???

~Ms. Brown

Quote of the day...Dec. 6

In after school tutoring an African American student of mine made a comment about his skin getting "whiter." I held out my arm to his and said "I don't know, looks like you've got a little way to go." They laughed and I said that's pretty funny because "I want to be darker, I lost my tan." A different, very vocal, African American child then said

...."Man I can't lay out in the sun, I turn into a Krispy Kreme Doughnut." 
Not sure what that means but this was after they passed lotion around my room. That's how we got on this crazy topic.

PS- 9 SCHOOL DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS!!!!!


- Ms. Boland

Much Needed Breather/ Time of Thankful Reflection

After a WONDERFUL (and I'm sure all of us can say that it was) week off, I'm missing my kids.  While we're not terribly ready to go back to work full-time tomorrow, the Thanksgiving break was definitely something to be thankful for.

I'm thankful for my students.  I am.  That sounds much less meaningful than it is.  I am so ready to see my kids and hear all about their breaks.  I know many of them got to see family they don't frequently see, and some even got to go on vacations.  One student, J, was so excited for the break because it meant she got to travel and see her dad in jail.  She doesn't have any memories of her dad before he was sentenced, and she's hoping he'll be released sometime next year for good behavior.  At any rate, she adores her dad and carries around a picture of the two of them in her bookbag.  I hope her visit was good, and not too painful.

I'm thankful that I got to spend time with my family this holiday.  Many of my friends (especially those serving overseas) did not get such a wonderful time to reunite with family and friends.

Most of all, I'm thankful that there are ONLY THREE WEEKS until Winter Break!!  At least in our house, the countdown is on and a plethora of Christmas movies is waiting to be watched.  I know that our three weeks will be tough getting back into the swing of school and then the whole week leading up to Winter Break, but I'm confident that we'll make it and that our spirits (and those of our students) will be high.

Erin, Heather, and I will be starting a new adventure this week.  Monday thru Thursday, we'll be tutoring a small class from 3-4 and another from 4-5.  We'll be working with the students who are performing significantly below grade level on their MAP tests.  This will be interesting because our students will be grouped based on their ability level, and not their grade.  On the plus side, no more crazy homework club and no more dance for Erin and Heather.  Wish us luck and patience!

My family has found our perfect Christmas tree and started decorating to get in the spirit.  Best wishes for your search for trees and decorations.

~Ms. Brown

Our First Holiday Apart...

It's our very first holiday separated from our students and as wonderful and needed as this break is, I miss my kids. Don't get me wrong, I definitely need 5 more days away so that I can get my life together and regain my patience but I do miss those crazy kids. As I was reflecting on what they might be doing on their days off (hopefully not gangs or drugs, not kidding) I began to think of how thankful I am this Thanksgiving. So here is my school Thanksgiving list for 2010:

1) I am thankful for a job. As difficult as it is, working at a first year charter school,  I regret complaining all the time. I am so thankful to have a job.

2)  I am thankful for working with such great people.  The plus to working at a first year charter school is that there are a lot of first year teachers so this is to Terrence, Heather, Meg, Katherine, Carmen, Kalena, Betsy and adopted Jennifer. I definitely would not be surviving this year without you!

3)  I am thankful for first year roomies! What would we do if we could not throw open the door, grab a beer, sit down, and vent?? I am so thankful that whether it's a high day or a low day, my roomies understand every frustration and usually have a funny comparing story to go with it.  So many thanks to Amy and Sallie!!

4) I am thankful for food and family.  My students are constant reminders that I had/have an amazing life growing up. A student this week wrote her journal on how she was worried because her mom has had trouble with money and they didn't know how they were going to get food to eat this week. Talk about breaking your heart. Terrence and I did something for her but still...the fear that child must hold over food and wondering if she'll have dinner that night. I am blessed.

5)  I am thankful for my amazing team. In middle school you teach in teams and this was probably one of my top fears for getting a teaching job.  Thankfully, I work with three males. One, how awesome to have that many on just one team and two, they are fantastic! Terrence (history) is a first year but he's 28 with a family. Chuck and Steve are veterans and most often total opposites. They keep me laughing all the time while supporting me in every move. Chuck is my school dad, Terrence is my school husband, and Steve, well Steve and I talk about drinking. haha Love them all! ...and thanks to the 5th grade team for providing female interactions.

6) I am thankful for laughter. I love middle school aged kids but yes they can get obnoxious. I was thinking about a student in particular and even though he drives me absolutely up the wall, at least three days a week, he also makes me laugh constantly. Most of the time it's because I'm at my wit's end but that laughter is medicine.

7) I am thankful for little moments.  I love Heather's blog from the other day because those moments where you feel like you taught something and got through to a difficult child are priceless. Also, Amy's blog because the days where you have to laugh at goof off's is just middle school and those are priceless too.

8) I'm thankful for stupid questions. Yes there is such a thing. I tell my kids there are none but it's a lie. Example: "Ms. Boland, why are we numbering our paper? Do we have a test today?"...yes, I'm going to pretend you didn't ask that and you studied all night. As absolutely frustrating as stupid questions are they let you know who you need to help focus the most.

9) I'm thankful for kids who care.  A lot of my students do not grow up in households that stress grades. My kids could care less about failing every test, quiz, studying, etc. The few that have that inner competitiveness....God Bless them. They make me keep going and help me try to help those who don't want to help themselves.

10) I'm thankful for school. As broken as our education system might be I'm thankful that I have an opportunity to do what I was born to do.  Nothing else has ever felt like a good fit so I'm very thankful...

Sorry it's a long one...again. Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!