Carnival Time!

Is all that high stakes testing getting you down? Have you been watching kids take tests so long that you're using toothpicks to hold up your eyelids? If so, take a gander at this week's Carnival Education, hosted by the CEA Blog. There's plenty of good stuff to chew on, and it will definitely keep you awake!!!

And better yet...it doesn't require a #2 pencil!

The Big Question...

Is there anything more boring than watching a classroom full of kids taking a test?

Anyone?

Hum. That's what I thought.

Ready, Set, Go?

On Friday, I covered up or took down any poster, sign, model, knickknack or whatnot that might influence my students on the Really Big Deal Government Mandated Test.

I sharpened 24 Dixon Ticonderoga pencils to a stiletto point.

I have my box of extra erasers ready.

Everything is a go for the Really Big Deal Government Mandated Test. I even went and bought a huge box of granola bars for my kiddos who don't eat breakfast, just in case they were hungry

However.

The last frost date, supposedly, in this part of the country (so say the folks at the Master Gardening class I took last month), is April 15th. It reached eighty degrees on Friday.

The weather people are calling for rain and snow tonight and tomorrow.

Tomorrow is supposed to be the very first day of our four days of Really Big Deal Government Mandated Testing.

In this part of the country, they cancel school at the mere mention of the words "ice" and "snow". But will they cancel, knowing that tomorrow is a Really Big Deal Government Mandated Testing day???

Only time, and the weather, will tell.

Give That Mom an A!

We have a student this year who belongs to a competitive cheerleading team. Cheer Girl is one of my favorite students although she's one of my lowest academically. She's a sweet kid, always wants to show me pictures of her cheer events, her dog, her mom, anything she can take a picture of. Every Monday I get a complete run-down on her weekend. She's also the sort of kid who'll walk in the room and give me a hug just because. She's also about the only kid who's shorter than me which may be one reason I like her! She's probably, at best, maybe about 4'10" tall.

However, as short as she is, she has a really well-developed bustline. And, as girls these days seem to do, she sometimes wears clothing that's a bit too revealing than she should be wearing.

Today, after first period, Mr. Social Studies pulled me aside while the kids were at their lockers.

"Do me a favor and talk with Cheer Girl. She's in my front row and I spent most of the period staring at the ceiling," he whispers.

I walk over to where Cheer Girl is at her locker. Mr. Social Studies isn't kidding. She's showing off her assets in a manner that would make Britney Spears proud.

I lean over and whisper in her ear. "Hey honey, your hooties are showing a bit much, you need to go to guidance and get something else to wear."

She lets out a big heavy sigh, crosses arms over her chest and trudges off to guidance.

Fast Forward to fourth period. Cheer Girl isn't there when I take attendance so I figured that she either was in ISS (where we put kids who have parents who won't bring them a change of clothes when we have a dress code violation), or her mother had checked her out for some reason. A few minutes later, she comes in, gives me an admittance pass, and a hug, and quietly goes to her seat. She is wearing a different, much more appropriate shirt by now.

The kids are on computers working on a Big Deal State Mandated Test review game called Study Island, and are chatting quietly while they work. I'm cruising around the room, helping kids hear and there when I overhear Cheer Girl talking to her lab partner.

"What happened to you?" her partner asks.

"They said my shirt wasn't up to dress code so I had to go to guidance. They made me call my mom to bring me some new clothes."

"But you missed lunch!" her friend says. (God forbid anyone misses lunch.)

"Yeah, because my mom was mad. She wouldn't bring me any clothes. She took me to Walmart and made me buy a new shirt. With my allowance money. She wouldn't pay for any of it!"

That's one mom who made her point, I think! Way to go Mom!!!

I'm Not Gonna Complain...Yet

Remember the great big nasty record-breaking drought I whined about last year?

It's almost gone.

And, if you take into account the nearly five inches of rain we had over Thursday and Friday, then it really feels like it's nearly over.

The creeks and rivers that I have to cross to get anywhere around town are out of their banks, many city parks are near flooding, and the River Walk down along the river has water up over the sidewalk.

And my lawn, that hasn't been green in a year, is at least 6" high.

By the way, if I could find a way to make money out of chickweed and henbit, I'd be rich.

The big riding mower is out of commission. That stupid thing never seems to start up well after the winter and I have trouble with it on a good day. It really needs a tune up and Hubby really needs to look into it, but he's so swamped with his book project right now that I gave up on the mower getting in running condition. However, they're calling for more rain on Tuesday, and I don't see anyone giving me a herd of sheep to mow my lawn the easy way, so I got out the push-mower and went to work.

The push-mower, by the way, was used twice at the end of the year and we bought it when Sears was trying to get rid of mowers. It's wonderful. I love the fact that it starts right up and roars to life without me having to dislocate a shoulder yanking on the starter.

However.

My yard is big, and my house sits on a hill. And it took two hours to mow the entire front yard.

I am trashed.

And Now We Know...The Rest of the Story

Scatter Boy is gone. During Spring Break his father and step-mother apparently decided that he would be better off living with his biological mother in North Carolina. I'm not sure exactly why they came to this decision. It could have to do with finances, as there are a lot of mouths to feed at home and I know money is tight. Or, Dad, who is quite a disciplinarian, decided he'd had one phone call too many about Scatter Boy discipline issues. Who knows?

Scatter Boy came to The District as a sixth grader, when he came to live with his father. His sixth grade teachers had horrible problems with him, both with academics and behavior. He nearly lived in the guidance office and spent a lot of time getting emotionally worked up over just about everything. The sixth grade teachers had several meetings with his father who insisted that there was nothing wrong with Scatter Boy. He just needed structure and discipline. The records we got from North Carolina gave no indication whatsoever that he was a special education, nor if he was ever tested. Dad said he didn't need testing, so no testing ever happened. He was support-teamed, put into after school tutoring, and non-academically promoted to the seventh grade.

The Team got him this year and went through the same routine that the sixth grade teachers went through. It was obvious that something was wrong with this kid. He couldn't focus. He couldn't keep track of things. He was horribly immature one minute and the next minute he was acting like an adult (he's also a rather tall, lanky kid who looks a bit older than your typical seventh grader). Often times I'd glance over at him and he would be twitching ever so slightly and would have a look in his eyes as if fireworks were going on in his head. We got him into study skills with Mr. Title, and got him into after school tutoring. However, he was still failing every class and struggling. Dad, still, believed that there was nothing wrong with him that a little discipline couldn't fix. After all, it's his kid, so he should know, right?

It was frustrating. We knew there was something going on, but his cumulative file and his father never let on what it was, even when asked.

So, I'm cruising through guidance this afternoon during planning and the Guidance Goddess stops me.

"You are not, not, not, going to believe the phone call I just got."

"Scatter Boy is coming back?" I guessed. There had been an issue with custody papers and we were betting he'd be back. It has, after all, been known to happen.

"Remember when I told you that I got a call from the school he went to and they were asking where his special education file was and I told him that he wasn't special ed?"

"Yeah," I said, wondering where this was going.

"Well, they called back to let me know that they found his special ed file. His fifth grade teacher had it."

I was speechless. "You mean to tell me that he was a special ed student?" I asked.

"Yup," she said.

"And his father never told us, he never told us, and the school never sent us the records because his teacher had it in her room?" I was incredulous.

"That about sums it up," she said.

Mrs. Squirrel walks by around this time and we fill her in on the conversation. As a former special education teacher before she went into administration, Mrs. Squirrel has a soft place in her heart for these kids and is our special ed expert. She was stunned.

"All this time," she said shaking her head, "this kid was in regular classes, and he should have been in special ed classes. All because we never got the file."

Insanity.

It's Carnival Time!

Got the Testing Blues? Hike on over to I Want to Teach Forever and spend some time at this week's excellent carnival!

Hitting the Ground Running

Monday after Spring Break.

Half of my homeroom walks in, put their heads down on their tables, and whine about how they got their sleep patterns all goofed up over break and they were soooooooo tired. Poor babies. That's what happens when you play video games until 3 am and sleep until noon. They weren't going to be able to do anything because they were sooooo tired. They just wanted to curl up and snooze and whine and whimper.

Think again, chickadees.

We have two weeks until the Very Big Deal State Mandated Tests and it's Review Time!!!!!

Three years ago Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Robin and I decided we needed to come up with a good overall review to get our kids ready for the Very Big Deal State Mandated Tests. What we came up with was a ten day plan where we covered everything in warp speed, had the kids doing mini-labs, taking quick notes, doing mini-quizzes, and basically moving so fast they couldn't see straight.

That was when we had a 55 minute period.

We have a 45 minute period now.

Any guesses on how fast we're going now?

I laid down the law...We don't have time for goof-offs, we don't have time for distractions, you don't have time to stare into space, you don't have time to mess with your neighbor...the only thing you need to do is listen, follow directions as fast as you can and pay attention to what I'm doing on the document reader.

I said it so fast even my head spun.

They looked like somebody had hit them with a stun gun.

Now my classes are pretty fast paced and busy to start with. I'm not a lecture and take notes sort of teacher. My kids are used to doing a lot of work with their hands, making foldables (Bless you Dinah Zike), doing labs, and the like, but this surprised even them.

For example..."Okay, now put your homework in your binder in the homework section and while you're at it, pull out a piece of notebook paper and get it set up like you see here on the document reader. When you're done with this, answer the four questions on sexual and asexual reproduction on the mini-quiz. We'll go over them in three minutes."

After a brief pause where you could almost see them think, "Is she serious?", the binders flew, paper came flying out, heads were staring at the screen, and hands were rapidly flying as they begin answering their quiz questions. Even better, they were so busy they were quiet.

We ended two seconds before the bell rang.

They looked exhausted.

And this was only the beginning!

Carnival Time!

It's rainy and cold in my neck of the woods, so it's a great day to check out this week's Carnival of Education, Spring Break Edition, hosted by Bellringers!

Forget the Apple, Give Me a Box of Tissues!

My recent post on the gift of pencils I received prompted quite a few comments...so...since it's Spring Break and I don't have any nutty stories to share (after all, how exciting is it to read about me cleaning house and doing yardwork?) let's get some audience participation action going.

In the comments section , describe the best gift you ever received from a student OR, the best thing someone could give you as a teacher. For example, I always love it when a kid shows up with a box of tissues for the class. Talk about useful!

Your turn!

Carnival of Education

It's Spring Break time over at So You Really Want to Teach? and that means a special edition of the Education Carnival! Get out the sunblock and check it out!

The Best Gift Ever

Today one of my students, Frail Girl, presented me with a fantastic gift. A gift that only a teacher can truly love and appreciate. A gift that just warms a teacher's heart.

She gave me a 48 count box of brand new, bright yellow, Dixon Ticonderoga pencils!

I about swooned.

For long time readers of this blog, I've had a few rants about the absolute crap pencils that are made and sold these days. Quite honestly, the best pencils out there, by far, are the Dixon Ticonderoga pencils. They rock. They sharpen properly. They work wonderfully. They are a sure way to win my heart.

When I asked Frail Girl what prompted this fantastic gift, her response was priceless..."I get tired of people asking you for pencils all the time and they never give them back."

Bless her little heart.

I am so ready for the Very Big Deal State Mandated Tests next month. I have 48 Dixon Ticonderogas to get me through them.

And lots of wine at home.

The Weird Homework Thing We Do...

I've alluded to this in some previous posts, and finally have time to sit down and share what Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Robin and I do to encourage homework turn in. (Well, actually I need to fold laundry and clean up the kitchen, but this is more fun.)

First the background. Nearly two years ago The Principal took nine of us to the National Middle School Association national convention. This was an awesome experience as it gave us a chance to meet with other middle school teachers from all over the country, attend workshops, and get some great ideas. The District is in the process of looking at, and reforming, middle schools, and those of us that went were part of The Principal's Breaking Ranks team.

One of the workshops that Mrs. Eagle and I attended was on increasing student motivation. As anyone who has ever taught middle school knows, these kids can be slugs. We had a lot of problems with kids turning in work, especially homework, and were looking at some innovative ways to motivate them. (I wish I could remember who the presenter was, but alas, I don't.) The presenter put forth a lot of good ideas, but the one that resonated with us was something we call the Homework Helper. He said that the number one reason kids don't do homework is because they don't understand it.

His solution is to give the kids the answers to the homework.

Okay, I know what you're thinking because you could have heard a pin drop in that room as we all looked at each other and went, "What????" Homework is, after all, practice. If a kid doesn't get it, and does the homework wrong (if he does it at all), then he's repeating the wrong thing. He's learning and remembering something that is wrong. However, if you give the kid a key to check the work, then they're doing it correctly, and learning it correctly.

So Mrs. Eagle and I kicked this idea around for a while. Many of our kids don't do homework for reasons that have a lot to do with the poverty they live in. Every year we do this neat parent letter about giving your child a place to study that's quiet, well lit, and all that, but in reality a lot of our students are sleeping on the sofa in Mom's Boyfriend of the Week's apartment, living in homes without electricity because it got cut off for non payment, or go home to households where the yelling and screaming is paramount. Some just wander the streets until it's dark because it beats being home. And some are responsible for baby sitting hordes of little siblings and cousins and whatnot when they get home so homework is the last thing on their minds.

So....what to do?

We did several things.

The first involves choice. Middle Schoolers often feel that they don't have many choices in their lives so we decided to give them some. On Monday, we assign four homework assignments. We mix them up a bit. We'll have a more math-oriented assignment that appeals to the kids that like math, an assignment that's more reading and answering for kids that do better there, and sometimes a drawing/labeling exercise for the more artistic. The kids get to choose which two they want to do and then have all week to do it. Homework is due on Friday.

The second thing we do is provide the Homework Helper. The Homework Helper is the answer key to that week's homework. We put it out on Tuesday, and only make ten copies which are numbered and put in sheet protectors. I have them in a rack on the supply and materials table. The students are welcome to use them during homeroom, or any time we have a few minutes in class, or they can check them out for one night, to be returned during homeroom.

As we explain to the students, there's three types of students. First you have the kids who are going to do their homework anyway and who won't even bother to look at a Homework Helper. Second, you have the kids who will do most of their homework but struggle with a few questions and will use the Homework Helper to check his or her work. And lastly, you have the kid who has never turned in any homework - ever - and who will simply copy it and turn it in. The way we look at it, at least they're copying the right information, they're writing it down, they're looking at it, they're being exposed to it. And they'll get the points for turning in their homework. (For the record, homework isn't a huge point-earner in our gradebooks...only about 10 points a week.) This is also a big help for my special education kids.

What we've seen is that kids who have never turned in homework are now turning in homework. And when they get their progress reports and see the lack of zeros and see the fact that they are actually, most likely, passing, they begin to realize that doing homework does pay off. We started this program last year, mid-year, and saw our homework turn in increase to about 95%. Previously we were at about 50%.

My favorite part, however, is how this plays in parent conferences. I always take a copy of a homework helper to a parent conference, especially if the kid is still one of the few who won't be bothered (and they are still out there). I will point out the lack of homework on the progress report, and explain as I hand the parent the Homework Helper that there's really no excuse for that as the Homework Helper is available in class, and can also be checked out overnight. It's pretty powerful when the parents realize that there really is no excuse for not having the work done and turned in.

So that's what we do. It seems weird, it's definitely not for everyone, but it's working for us. I can't tell you if it's improved comprehension or retention of the material as we've been doing this all year with this group of students. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that, at the least, it's helping some of them develop some work ethic. A lot of my students at the beginning of the year weren't turning in much work at all, but once they got the hang of the Homework Helper, they started to turn in work. Many of these same kids aren't relying on the Homework Helper any more, but are attempting to do the work on their own. I consider that somewhat of a victory.

March Madness at the Carnival of Education

One of my favorite bloggers, Mr. Teacher over at Learn Me Good is hosting this week's Carnival of Education. His theme is March Madness, so all you basketball junkies hike on over and give it a look. And while you're there, peruse some of his other posts. Mr. Teacher is a hoot, and the fact that he teachers third grade, a grade I wouldn't be caught dead in, gives him extra bonus points in my book.

But the big question remains....am I the only one who doesn't give a rat's patootie about March Madness??? Me, I'm waiting for the NHL playoffs...

Carnival of Education

Well I'm not going anywhere with the Very Big Snow Storm going on outside (even though it's barely snowing right now) so I'm going to spend some time reading the Carnival of Education, hosted by the esteemed (and ever pithy) Education Wonk. Come join us!

Middle Schoolers plus Snow equals Chaos

The local weather forecasters have been prognosticating for nearly a week that we were going to have A Very Big Snow Storm beginning this morning and going on into Saturday. This is the South where Very Big Snow Storms don't happen all that much and everyone gets all freaked out and rushes out and buys bread and milk. So you would think, considering that we've canceled school for the simple threat of ice, that we wouldn't have school today.

Makes sense, right?

After all, when I stepped out onto my driveway this morning at 5:45 am, it was sleeting nicely and there was ice on my car. I met the rest of the Breakfast Bunch (Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Chicken, and Mrs. Momma-Aide) at Waffle House for our traditional Friday breakfast, and we were all sitting there, stunned, that they hadn't called school yet. My gosh, it was sleeting like mad out there!! We rolled into school about twenty minutes before they started unloading kids from the buses and they still hadn't called it. Although it hasn't happened since I've been at The School, in the past they've actually canceled school and had the buses go back out and drop the kids off.

Not today.

The kids came stomping in grumbling and complaining about how they all wanted to sleep in and it wasn't fair and it was awful and gosh it's just dreadful they had to go to school today. Considering that I finalized grades this past week and noticed that in between holidays, election day and snow days we haven't had a five day week since the middle of January, I think they were getting a bit spoiled. This four day school week was really appealing to them. However, we have already used up our three allotted snow days this year. Personally, I'm not enthralled with the idea of adding days to the end of the year.

So we had first period, and second, and third, and nothing...the kids had finally settled down and were working pretty well when it was time to go to lunch. Unfortunately we walk them down to lunch right past a series of big glass doors and they all looked out and saw....SNOW!

Great. They hit the cafeteria all wound up, convinced that, at last, they were going to go home. It only got worse when they heard an announcement over the broadcast system calling all the eighth grade team leaders to the office.

By the time we got back to class they were nearly pinging off the walls. We had an email waiting for us telling us that school was going to be released at noon.

In an hour and a half.

We had, obviously, already had lunch so we proceeded to continue on with the day, teaching and trying to keep our kids focused and on-task while the cafeteria quickly got the 6th graders and 8th graders fed. I felt bad for the eighth grade teachers as they had to march the kids to the cafeteria, have them pick up lunch on special foam trays, and march them back to their classrooms for them to eat.

By the time my fifth period rolled around, nearly half of them had already had a parent come by and dismiss them. By the time the call went out to load the buses the kids were nearly besides themselves with excitement.

We were just hoping they could all get the kids dropped off at home and didn't have to turn around and bring them back to school. The thought of being stuck with these kids for hours on end, and possibly overnight if it really get nasty, was enough to scare the bejeebers out of any of us.

Fortunately the buses got off, the roads weren't bad - yet - and we all got dismissed ourselves at twelve thirty.

And as for me, I don't go the bread and milk route. I've got a case of local wine and plenty of popcorn if I need it.

Do You Ever Forget What Day It Is?

I do...and I forgot to get on line and post about last week's outstanding Carnival of Education hosted by Sam Jackson...so go there and check it out and don't worry about being marked tardy...I'll write you a pass.

You Mean We Don't Have Forever?

During second period today I received an email from Guidance with the report card schedule on it. It turns out that my grades for this nine week grading period are due Thursday.

I went to the homework board and wrote in big, huge script..."All missing work is due no later than this Wednesday."

"This Wednesday?" a tiny voice squeaked.

"Yup, this Wednesday. I have to get your grades finalized. That means Thursday morning won't cut it."

The look of panic on some of their faces was pretty evident. I have a lot of kids who haven't turned in work, ranging from homework, to vocabulary, to 100 point assignments. Some because they don't care, a few because they've been absent and aren't in any hurry to make up work, and others just because they're disorganized and confused. Last week I printed off progress reports for kids in danger of failing and highlighted their missing work.

Any guesses how much work came flying in after that little exercise in paper-wasting???

Yeah, a big fat zero.

Today, however, was different. I had kids coming up all day asking if they owed me anything, kids digging through binders checking for lost and missing assignments, a few cleaning out lockers to find worksheets never turned in.

By the end of the day the late work showing up in the homework basket was piling up.

Nothing like a deadline to put the fear of God in them.

Good News, Bad News

I had to be out of the building on Friday, along with The Principal, the Guidance Goober, Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Bunny, and Mrs. Art, and a few others on the middle school reform team. We had to do one of our meetings downtown, with the other middle school teams, to see how we were implementing some of our new strategies to help our at-risk population.

Mrs. Eagle and I didn't really want to let our homework sit there over the weekend - we both like to get it graded and back as soon as we can - so we went back to The Building late that afternoon to pick it up and see what comments our substitutes had left us.

My note said, "You have the most wonderful classes. They were all well mannered and well-behaved. It was a joy to teach them."

Delightful! Perhaps my "Don't embarrass yourself, me, or your school by acting badly" lecture worked.

The bad news was, as I've gone through the homework this weekend, a lot of them didn't turn it in. This tends to happen when I have a substitute on homework turn in days. I don't know what it is that causes them to forget to turn in homework on the days I'm not there. We do it every single Friday. However, part of me suspects it's because I'm not there reminding them every 8 seconds that they need to turn in their homework. Who knows?

But the note did make my day.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up.

We have a student I'll call Scatter Boy. Scatter Boy is, quite honestly, the most scatter brained human I have ever met. Ever. The bell will ring and he will get out of his seat and walk out of the room, leaving all his possessions - his books, his binder, his pencil, everything - sitting on his desk. He loses things constantly. He has already lost (and paid for out of his allowance) one science book. I've given him a binder, a pencil pouch and dozens of pencils. He lost the binder in two days.

Scatter Boy, although he has a quirky, sometimes sweet personality, is pitiful. He is the oldest of seven, and his father is quite the disciplinarian. Apparently the other six are all straight A honor students and are perfect little angels, but Scatter Boy can't even manage to get on his bus to get home most days. He has an awful time in his classes because, even with Mr. Title in most his classes to help him and the others that need more individual attention, he just doesn't get what's going on. A lot of it might have to do with the fact that he's playing with pencils, shooting rubber bands, or generally doing anything other than what he's supposed to be doing instead of paying attention. I've made him my classroom helper, in the hopes that giving him some responsibility might be a way to get him some self-confidence and I did manage to get him into our after school tutoring program, but he hasn't gone long enough for us to see results.

Last week he got left, again, at school as he missed his bus. In one of his elective classes he apparently got a hold of a marker and tried to give himself a beard. He ended up with marker all over his face and hands. I suspect that he didn't so much as miss his bus as he didn't want to go home with marker all over his face. Dad wouldn't be happy.

That was mild compared to what he did today. Dad's going to be really, really unhappy.

One of my fourth period kiddos, Clingy Boy had to tell me why he was late to class. Clingy Boy has his own issues. He decided earlier in the year that he wanted to sit as close to me as possible, so he's at the desk right next to my teacher station - his choice. He often tells me how I am a lot like his mom, and he often spills his guts about things that are bothering him. He's a nice kid, but has some problems, especially as his grandfather was an innocent bystander during a gang shooting and got killed.

Anyway, Clingy Boy said that he witnessed Scatter Boy doing some inappropriate things in class so he went to guidance to file a statement because "what he was doing just wasn't right." Apparently Scatter Boy had a rip in his jeans, which extended from his crotch to his knee, and left an opening that was a little too tempting for Scatter Boy. Aside from pretending to "have sex with Mrs. Math's electric pencil sharpener," Scatter Boy also spent some time
with his hand inside his jeans, doing things that he probably should not be doing in class. Or at least pretending to.

Oh good gracious.

I never saw Scatter Boy because Mr. Social Studies saw him in the hallway, saw the rip, and decided that one wrong move would give everyone a lesson in anatomy, and sent him to guidance to get a new pair of pants. Apparently they didn't have anything that fit him, so he ended up in In School Suspension.

Mr. Social Studies hadn't heard about Clingy Boy's statement, so I filled him in. We then proceeded to head over to Mrs. Math to fill her in, especially because Clingy Boy said the incident happened in her class.

Mrs. Math was aghast. "He did what?" she asked. "When?"

I filled her in and her eyes got big. "He sits in the back there as he seems to focus better when he's by himself. I thought he was sick and sneezed or something as he came rushing up to get some tissues and then he used a whole bunch of hand sanitizer."

Mr. Social Studies and I were convulsed in laughter at this point.

"Oh my gosh," said Mrs. Math. "You don't think...he...oh that's disgusting!"

Yes, folks, welcome to Middle School.