yay for Friday!!!

Real quick:

I'm getting less and less tolerant of the students' crap. Shit, even. Their shit. Their storming out and huffing off and yelling and running around the room and not doing *anything* in class and being jerks to me and to others. I've become Ms. Mean, and I don't feel bad about it. So there. (Actually, interestingly, the kids seem to do better when I am a bit meaner/stricter. I think it's what they're used to.)

Hmm... We did a skeleton-building thing today, and I had a mother in helping me. It went OK, but the kids were rowdy. We had a ranger in yesteday from Grand Canyon, and it was very similar (with my noisy group). I just need to find a way to unite my students' energy to a positive force, and we're set!

Anyway, I reeeeeeeeeally want to get home. (I calculated that I actually spend 50-60 hours *in school* each week. That doesn't count home prep/grading/planning time!) I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, though, so I'm not slacking! Peace.

(Oh, we're really rolling on the playground project!! Lots o' donations and money!)

Daaaaaaaaang, Tuesday!

So yesterday was pretty much the day from hell. Ugh. I'm SO glad the internet was down yesterday, because my entry would've been little more than a pity/bitch fest. Yuck!!!

Today was MUCH better. Infinitely better, even. The kids were calmer (though they were still, of course, loud and somewhat annoying), and we got a lot of cool work done. The only downside: they're now -12 earned free time minutes, meaning they'll owe me that time Friday with heads down if they don't clean up their act. Ew.

Anyway, the literature circle thing today was AWESOME!! We're reading Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (even though I had to buy 6 more copies of it so we'd have a class set). I'm going to be reading the whole story aloud to them, and I started yesterday. Two pages into the book when I started yesterday, one kid said, "Dang, this book is boring!!" I wanted to smack him. They're so quick to be negative and judgemental. Bleh. Today, Chapter 2, was MUCH better. There was a captivated silence as I read- so much so that you could have heard a pin drop. I looove moments like that, when the whole class is with me. When I finished the chapter, I asked, "Who here is even a little bit interested in the story?" Every hand shot up, and a few kids yelled out, "A LOT interested!!" It was cool.

Equally awesome was the ensuing discussion. Before we started reading today, I prepped them on their first literature circle role: "Discussion Director." This role means taking some excerpts from the book and analyzing and/or asking questions. I told them that we're trying to move away from literal ("who," "where," etc. type of questions) and onto inferential/critical ("what would happen if..." or "was there ever a time in your life when..."). The discussion kicked ass. I had questions like, "Would the plane still have run out of gas if the pilot were alive, and if so, would the pilot have known what to do?" and, "Why does Brian keep repeating words like divorce or The Secret?" Beautiful!!

After that, I was to lead the beginning band's flute sectional. There were 4 girls with whom I worked, and we had a pretty good time. Turns out they know almost nothing about music. I helped them on fingering, note recognition, tone, and we even sort of did a B-flat concert scale. All in 30 minutes, thankyouverymuch. I even played 2 songs for them. At the end, one girl was like, "I want to be just like you! Famous and all." I laughed saying, "I'm not famous, my dear." The other girls chimed in, "Yes, you are!" Adorable.

The end of the day was pretty good... when we went out to recess, I had "the usual suspects" sitting out on a bench. Instead of having them sit there and do nothing, we brainstormed what would work better than their present course of action. They actually had a suggestion: make a stoplight-esque poster with each student's name on it (on something movable, like clothespins). Every day, each student starts at "green," and can move through the colors (from negative behavior) as the day progresses. Super- at least we're trying.

After school, amidst mountains of paperwork, I was invited to dinner with 2 of the other newbies. We went, then came back for the PTO (parent-teacher organization) meeting at 6. (And hence, I'm still here at 9pm.) It was a good meeting. The highlights:
-I got nominated as Secretary of the PTO, and I'll be running unopposed at the next meeting.
-I was able to share the playground project with the parents, who were also enthusiastic about the idea! (To date, we have nearly $2,000 in donations... in less than a week!!) I think this thing'll be HUGE!! :)

Also, I got an e-mail from a local community college saying that my application has been reviewed, and I am eligible to teach numerous classes. (I'd applied a few weeks ago to teach online courses to earn extra $$.) I may be making BANK in a few months... we'll see. :)

Anyway, these days are somewhat bipolar, but that means that it's not all bad! I just spent the past hour doing sub plans for tomorrow... If I were a sub, I'd want my plans. They're *that* good. Anyway, I'll be in Phoenix tomorrow for a conference... yay! A paid day off!

For now, I wrap up in the classroom, then go home (finally)! Peace out.

'Tis Friday ... [dies]

Loooooooooooooooooong day!!

the morning was good (don't feel like using caps, sorry)... assembly went well; i had the kids do an ohio state cheer for the crowd (the "o-h" call and the "i-o" response)... the parents seemed to like it. :)

had spelling/vocab tests, then i told the class the GOOD news about the playground project that's already underway!

the kids were really loud, obnoxious, and annoying in math today. it felt like lunch would NEVER come... when lunch *did* come, though, i got yelled at AGAIN by the lunch lady (who's usually super cool with me)... we were like 4 minutes late, and she yelled at me/our class all at once. NOT a good feeling. i must figure out a.) how to get the kids to lunch on time and b.) what consequence there should be if *i* get yelled at when it's more of the class's fault than mine. gr...

the afternoon was ok... i'm stopping s.s.r. starting next week, in lieu of awesome literature circles. we'll see how it goes. we're starting by all reading hatchet by gary paulsen, and we'll examine it from a different role (e.g., vocab specialist, imagery finder, etc.) every few days until the kids understand the jobs they'll have in a lit. circle.

carpet remnants are here!! my "main squeeze" (a deputy) brought them in today, which rocked. they're really nice, and i think the kids will love them. :)

ummmm... i'm just really tired right now. this week (which was 4 days, mind you), i've spent a grand total of 45 hours at school and an additional few hours doing school stuff at home. i was super energized, but now i'm dead. time to head to flagstaff to see old friends & unwind for a bit. ciao!

Holy decent day, Batman!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!! I typed this *awesome* blog, but stupid Blogger crashed on me!!!!!!!!!! Grrrrr.... I've learned my lesson: save, save, save!!!

Ahem.

Today was actually pretty cool. In a nutshell:
-It began by me asking a child, "Why are you throwing donuts at that boy?" Heh.

-Math was good: I had both the 4th and 5th grade classes, and taught half while the other half worked, then switched. It was mostly good. I really enjoy teaching math.

-The kids (and I!!!) are excited about our three upcoming field trips (a 4th grade one, a 5th grade one, and our Grand Canyon one).

-Had to babysit the crazy teacher next door... Ugh. She's like 5 years old sometimes, I swear.

-Did my first FBA (functional behavioral analysis) today. Lots o' work!

-Attended the jr. high basketball game for 20 minutes after school (as it was in the elementary school gym)... it was so cute! (Our team, as always, is about 1/3 the size of all the teams we play... yay for rural schools.)

-Got asked by the superintendant if I'd coach jr. high girls' basketball next year. Heh. Like I know *how* to coach.

-Both the principal and the super said they'd work with me by helping me move up to 5th grade with my 4th graders if I decide to stay next year. The principal said the superintendant was like a kid when he told her, "Beth's thinking about staying!!!"

-We had a pretty dang good class meeting today! There were the usual petty issues/conflicts, but a lot of students brought up school-wide issues. Of particular interest: "nasty" cafeteria food (I disagree) and a lack of playground equpiment. The latter issue piqued my interest, as the students really *don't* have much to do on the playground, which causes all sorts of problems (fights, restlessness, boredom, aggression, etc.).

-One girl had her b-day today, so we sang to her... en español. :) (She's bilingual, and was delighted that I taught the class how to sing to her in Spanish. It was cool!) She brought a cake in, and I dished out a piece to each student who was quiet and ready to leave at the end of the day. It was a nice wrap-up.

-Called around a few carpet places after school to see if anyone'd be willing to donate remnants to my classroom so the kids have something to sit on, should they work on the floor. The *second* place I called was happy to help!! They'll have 30 bordered remnants ready for me tomorrow afternoon!

-The above stroke of luck & generosity prompted me to rationalize, "Hmmm... I wonder how many other places would be so kind..." So I decided on the spur-of-the-moment to organize a fundraising activity (a whole-community silent auction) to get $$ for playground equipment!! I've sent a mass e-mail to more than 500 local organizations, businesses, and people. In less than 2 hours, I've received offers for the following donations:
**several $50 gift certificates
**an aromatherapy gift basket
**a restaurant gift certificate
**cash
**$100 personal donation
!!! Wow!!! I think this thing'll be HUGE!!! I can't WAIT to see what pours in the next few weeks!! A local newspaper has already offered to cover the whole effort FOR FREE!!! I'm so psyched, and I can't wait to tell my kids tomorrow! !:) I've also received several nice e-mails from people who are eager to help and are excited about the cause. :)

-Finally, tomorrow, we have our student of the month (S.O.M.) assembly. How awesome are my kids? Let me share some stats:
*2 S.O.M.s from my class (whom I chose, but oh, well)
*1 band S.O.M.
*5 perfect attendances
*4 Principal's List students
*11 Honor Roll students
*3 art S.O.M.s

I think I may actually cry (out of pride & joy) for my class at the assembly. Overall, I'm so proud of my kids. :)

On this crazily optimistic note, I leave you. I'm SOOOO psyched about these new projects!!!

She works hard for the "money"

Hehe. I thought of that title last night in the shower... aren't I clever? :P

Anyway, today was OK. We got a fair amount of work done, I think. Man, I'm just tired... I've been here almost 11 hours so far today (and I was here 11 yesterday), and there's ALWAYS more to do.

Of note: Grand Canyon trip seems to be working out well, AND I got it pushed back a week! :) In a few weeks, I'm taking the 5th grade portion of my class to a schweet heart museum thingee, and the next day, I'm taking the 4th graders to a science museum where we *may* get to see the Body Worlds 3 exhibit!! :)

Also, our newspaper project is slowly coming along. I'm trying to get literature circles started (very slowly) next week, so we'll see how that goes.

After school today, we had a teachers' meeting in the computer lab. The purpose was to analyze assessment data we've been collecting since the beginning of the school year... Anyway, at one point, the superintendant actually said, "Take [the test scores] personally; they're your kids." Wowzas. No pressure there. Furthermore, the district is trying to get each class to bring 60% of its students up one level (of which there are only 3) before the end of the school year. Um... For my kids who are already at the top level, it's impossible to bring them up anymore! For the rest, 60% seems to be asking a lot. They tell us *what* we have to do, but they don't really help us with the *how*. In my superintendant's defense, though, he's just trying to do the best he can with the mess he's got, and I can't really fault him for that. I'm just trying to do the best *I* can, and I'm nowhere near my potential.

Hmph. I suppose I'll do a teeny bit more grading (to stay up on it), then I'm out. Peace!

Not a bad day!

Today was actually a decent day (!!!!). I have recess morning duty all this week at 7:45am, which sucks, but after a cup of coffee, I am generally fine.

So I started Geometry with the 4th graders today. I actually really, really like teaching math that's not just facts/memorization. We did 2-D geometry today (lines, line segments, perpendicular lines, rays, etc.), which I think is too fun. The kids mostly enjoyed it, and I'm always happy when this one troublemaker gets really into the math. He had a good time today, so that helped.

During reading, I was giving our weekly spelling pre-test. Since it's a pre-test, I don't care if the kids whisper, so I told them they could whisper as long as they don't talk. It got too noisy, so I ultimately had to abolish the whole talking/whispering thing altogether. We came to the word "spray" in the test (they're working on the initial /spr/ sound this week), and I made up this dictation sentence for it: "If anyone talks during this pre-test, I will spray that person." Of COURSE, I had three students take me up on that. True to my word, I got my squirt bottle (usually reserved for overhead use) and sprayed those three students. I think you can guess what happened next: complete pandemonium. I was soon spraying everyone, realizing that my plan had backfired. Oh, well. We had a good laugh!

On the way to lunch, the last student in line called me over. When I approached him to see what he needed, he yelled, "REVENGE!!!" and proceeded to squirt me with his own water bottle. Ha. I couldn't help but crack up.

When the class was at lunch, I checked to see how many had finished their weekend assignment. Out of the 23 students present today, 10 (ten!!) turned in their work. Ten!! Since they had earned weekend homework from last week, their assignment was this:

In 200 words, describe what you can do to make our class a better one.

Simple enough, eh? I had girls in TEARS because they "didn't know" about the assignment or they weren't in the room when I assigned it. Too bad! I've had enough of the lack of responsibility from these kids. I'm cracking down, and I'm cracking down hard. Now that I'm getting a little more of teaching figured out, I'm now ready to start dealing with student accountability. Ha!

Later, science was a smashing success. We did a KWL chart about the skeletal system, the muscular system, and the internal organs in the human body. We only did the "K" part today, but the class was relatively engaged in the discussion. This is also the first time all year I've made a chart that we can keep up (as opposed to using the whiteboard and erasing it later). Score. Tomorrow, we'll do the "W" section, and we'll move on from there. :) I got this cool book over winter break that has the students build, piece by piece, a model of the human body. It's pretty sweet. When they're done, perhaps I'll scan a few of them for your viewing pleasure.

Also, I went over a letter today with the students. I sent home a notice to parents/guardians explaining my Grand Canyon policy. As of right now, I have 12 parents/guardians who want to come on the trip. Holy crap!! (As an aside, I may have to change the date, which I don't know if it's possible at this point. Bleh.) Anyway, now the students AND their parent/guardian have to sign off saying that they have read and agree to the conditions set. I offered my phone number and the opportunity to send a note to school for dissenting parents. Bases covered? Hopefully.

Finally, I just finished meeting with a parent about her son. Her son had failed 5th grade last year, but is extremely intelligent. (As many of my students, he's just lazy... I'm working on getting the laziness to dissapate.) Anwyay, we're brainstorming ideas on how to motivate this kid, who already knows the material rather thoroughly, to be a productive member of the class. I'd like to challenge him, but how??? Oy. I told the mother I'd like to meet with her AND her son whenever they can to develop a contract/plan about the student's work. She seemed to like the idea, and I think it'll help.

Wow, I'm getting there... Slowly, but surely. Now, time to go home and do MORE school stuff! :P

Weekend musings...

So things have been pretty enjoyable & mellow this weekend. It's SO nice to have downtime, yet there's always schoolwork hanging over my head, so that kind of sucks.

Anyway, faithful readers, I thought I should update now since I haven't in nearly a week. First, the workshop on Thursday was AWESOME. It was about using literature circles and other activities to boost kids' reading comprehension and enjoyment. At first, I thought it was a lame conference, but I got really into it after an hour (and a cup of coffee). It inspired me to start a notebook that will serve as my "inspiration deposit-box." Any time I'm inspired by something school-/education-related, I shall put it in my notebook! Score.

Second, the spelling bees Friday went pretty well! The other coordinating teacher (also a newbie) and I panicked at first, because we couldn't find a way to hook up two microphones in the gym. However, a kindergarten teacher had a self-contained system (think a boom box with a microphone) that we were able to use. For having never coordinated a spelling bee before, I'd say it went pretty dang well. :)

Also, my friend sent me this article about Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" documentary. It basically says that some parents have objected the film's being shown in school. Ha. Two teachers at our very own school showed the film to their students (grades 6-8) last week. Boo ya. Anyway, interesting article. There's also a rebuttal, if you're interested.

For now, I go enjoy the long weekend!! (Thank you, Dr. King, Jr.!!) Have a good one! I'll be back in action on Tuesday for your reading pleasure.

Exhausted...

... I was energized throughout most of the day, but I'm sooooo tired now. Here's why:

-got another new student (class total: 28 + 2 who come in during the afternoons for science/social studies)

-class was loud & obnoxious today; I raised my voice a LOT

-tried to start class newspaper project with my kids- they were sooooo loud

-end of the day was crazy hectic

And it's not over yet!! Still to do this afternoon/evening:

-call the Grand Canyon to work out some kinks with the trip
-make the program for Friday's spelling bee
-make sub plans for Thursday & Friday
-attend PTO meeting tonight at 6pm
-pick up ribbons, awards, and trophies for Friday's spelling bee
-make several phone calls to parents
-pay my (overdue) rent before the office closes
-get my AIMS (stupid standardized test stuff) prep stuff ready for next week
-fill out forms for students w/ IEPs
-crash out (& die????)

Thank GOD tomorrow is my last day teaching this week, or I think I'd flip out. Oh, also, I just took a survey b/c my 4th graders will be assessed next month by the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) people. It's a big thing, it sounds like, and I had to fill out a questionnaire about my teaching style, content, and student demographics. It was depressing; it asked stuff like, "How often do you group your students?" or, "How often do you differentiate your instruction for different learners?" I don't!! I suck. I just despise hearing about all the awesome stuff I *could* be doing, but a.) don't know HOW to, and b.) don't feel like I have the time and resources necessary to do so.

Bleh. Time to go run errands so I can be back here by 6. Le sigh.

Monday, Monday...

So for once, I actually got up *early* this morning!! I got to school (10 minutes) early, but it made a huge difference! I had time to get crap done! What are the odds?

Anyway, in the morning, I fluctuated back and forth between wanting to be here or not. It usually turns out that the kids say or do something goofy that makes me laugh, and then I forget what I was so upset about. Today was no exception. During our daily 5-minute stretching (which usually goes surprisingly smoothly), I was reaching really high up with my hands outstretched. The children were doing the same. At one point, one student raised her hand. I called on her (since there is NO talking without permission during stretching), and she said, "Nice tattoo." D'oh!!! I was discovered! I got a tattoo just a few weeks ago (over winter break) with my little sister, and I was hoping for it to remain private. Oh, well. So I told them the whole grueling story (about how I screamed and cried like a baby while I was getting it done), and they were cracking up. That made the day a lot less tense and quite a bit more enjoyable.

Over the weekend, I saw "Freedom Writers," a phenomenal movie about a very true story. I'd heard about the project years ago, so I was psyched to see the film. Wow. Though I don't work with inner-city high schoolers, I do work in a low-income district with adolescents who also face very real problems. I think I have the potential to do something amazing in the world, I just don't know *how*.

After school, we had a grade-level meeting (which happens to be the 4 teachers from grades 4-6). Ughhhhhh... Our principal was there, and we have to do these progress monitoring things to make sure that our students who are low in reading & math are being monitored weekly and that interventions are put in place to help them. While it's a wonderful idea, I have NO clue how or when to do this all on top of all the other crap I have to do. :P Boo hiss!! Each monitoring takes about 3 minutes, but that's per student, and I have 28 students. Yucky. If I had, I dunno, someone to help me with this, that'd be cool. Le sigh.

Anyway, the days are continuing to fly by; it's really freaky. I'm now officially more than halfway done with the school year. I think the kids *may* be learning stuff here & there (as I do occasional pop-quizzes), but it's still hard to tell. We're all used to each other now, so I'm having fewer and fewer discipline problems in the room, though I still have 2 students who don't really *do* anything during the day. Pish.

Hokay, that's all for now. Time to go home and plan, then take a mini vacation for the night. Peace out, faithful readers!

T.G.I.F.!

Since I want to get out of here, I'll make this brief.

Had a good day with the class overall... played an impromptu state identification game... was very enjoyable! Have the class set up with a new seating arrangement (a "U" inside of another "U"- it works very well). I just did 15 phone calls home to parents (honestly- it was 15- I just counted!)... I have 2 phone calls left to do to the Spanish-speaking parents... I'm usually a chicken, so I just write a note home for those parents. Is that bad of me? I just don't know how to say everything I want to say without a dictionary, and I get really flustered when talking to parents on the phone in Spanish for some reason.

Anyway, it was a nice, fast 3-day week back with the class. I'm delighted that next week will also be a 3-day week (essentially) for me! Muwahaha.

Oh, also- the sky outside is bright yellow. It's really quite freaky. In fact, one of the mothers with whom I spoke was weirded out by it as well. Hm. Hopefully it's not the apocolypse (sp?). For now, I leave you. Peace!

Another day gone by...

So today, as most days, went remarkably fast! In the morning, I heard one student remark to another, "It's always so boring in here." The other replied, "Yeah, I know." :( My little ego shrunk a bit, but I still rolled with the punches. Math, admittedly, can be a bit dry, but I try to spruce it up when I can.

Reading today was actually really, really good. We got through all the material (!!), and the kids seemed interested in the story and the surrounding information. Cool.

After lunch, I had the kids read for a ridiculously long time (almost 40 minutes... I'm lazy sometimes). It was a nice, mellow time, and I was able to get a lot of stuff done in the classroom. Social studies went pretty well, though it was loud. The day was relatively uneventful, except for one student putting another in a headlock. Awesome.

At the end of the day, I discussed our Grand Canyon trip with the class... they're really excited about it! I also asked the other 4th grade teacher if she'd be interested in taking her class, and she replied, "Absolutely!" Whoops. She's crazy, and I often feel like I have to babysit her when doing anything outside of the curriculum. (I've done all the legwork for us to go to a conference, I'm planning out the entire field trip, I had to "save" her on our last field trip, etc.) Silly me. Oh, well; it'll be nice to have another class around, I suppose.

Finally, after school, I tutored for an hour. $20 is SO not worth it. I try to be goofy with the kids, but I think they're so sick of school at the end of the day that more schoolish stuff makes them lethargic. (Same with me, heh.)

Oh, and the homework thing... We already have "H-O-M-E" on the board!! After one day!! I had *21* students either not finish all their homework or not have their homework folders signed. Gross. Sucky, sucky. They may have homework tomorrow, after all. Punks.

Ok, that's it for now. Ciao!

Ahhh, 2007.

Soooooo, I'm back in the saddle, so to speak. It was actually pretty good being back today. The kids were all rested, as was I, and it was a pretty quick day.

I made a stricter homework policy that the kids actually dig. I put "--------" on the board (in a spot where it will remain, along with their earned free time). Some of my kids who've been around the block knew that there were just enough letters for "homework." I eventually explained to them that I will check their homework AND their homework folders EACH and EVERY day. (I gave them ALL new homework folders and sign-off sheets today.) For every 5 people who either do not have their homework done OR don't have their homework signed, they'll earn a letter. If, by the end of the week, "homework" is on the board, they will have Friday homework. If it's not, they'll earn a party day. (They have 13 of the 20 necessary party days to earn a party of their choosing... we'll get there someday.)

I also got another student back today who I'd had at the beginning of the year. Her parents were not happy with our district at the start of the school year (I couldn't help but take it somewhat personally), but now she's back... who knows? I also got *another* new student today. My class total is now at 27, with 2 boys who come in during afternoons for science and social studies. Joy. It's actually not bad; I think I've got the hang of this 'til the end of the year.

In other news, I'm now officially off my anti-depressants!! I stopped taking them almost a week ago (by accident; I couldn't find them), and I still feel fine. Good deal, eh? It's just me vs. the world now. :) The personal life's good also, which helps immensely.

Heheh... also, I was trying to see how many days of professional leave I could get away with (since I view them, essentially, as paid days off). Check this out: I'm going to a conference next Thursday (paid by the district, thankyouverymuch), then running the spelling bee next Friday (so I need a sub that day- score!). Finally, 2 weeks after that, I'll be going to another workshop (all paid for as well). Muwahahha!! So check this out:

This week: 3 days
Next week: 3 days
Week after: 4 days (MLK day off)
Week after: 4 days

Oh, heck yeah.

Ooooh- other news! I'm planning an overnight camping trip to the Grand Canyon in May. How sweet is *that*? We did the camping thing last year when I student taught, and it was awesome. The only problem this time around: I can't find another teacher crazy enough to try it with me... Looks like I'm on my own to organize it! If I get the crapload of parent chaperones that I'm expecting, all should be cool. I'm also making the trip behavior-contingent; if the students can't be mature and respectful in class, no WAY they're going on the trip. So there.

Finally, I'm at home... (Internet was crappy at school tonight.) I watched "School of Rock" a bit ago, and I'm trying to think how to make learning more FUN for my kids. Sure, we laugh and I'm goofy, but I really want them to enjoy school... I just haven't quite figured out *how* yet. Hm.

That's all for now. Peace out!