When you plan a field trip the one thing you hope for, and the one thing you have no control over, is good weather. Honestly, there's little worse than a bunch of wet and whiny kids (not to mention wet and whiny teachers). As luck would have it, we had three days of outdoor activities planned and the weather was definitely not cooperating.
The first raindrops fell as the buses pulled out of the parking lot. The kids screamed with joy and the adults heaved great sighs and crossed our fingers. The weather reports for Friday were not looking promising, although the rest of the weekend looked good. We all figured if we could make it through Friday, we'd be okay.
As luck would have it, the storms would race through, we'd have a window of time with no rain, and then another series of storms would go through. It was soggy, it was gray, but the kids didn't seem to care. When we got to the camp we managed to have a break in the weather long enough to get the buses unloaded and the kids moved into the dorms.
The idea this weekend was to get the kids broken down into five groups and rotate through a series of activities - canoeing, orienteering, a stream study, and some challenge courses. Friday was also to include a night hike where we would take the kids out on a hike without flashlights. It sounds crazy, but the kids love it and by the end of the hike they realize how easy it is to navigate in the dark once your eyes get used to it.
Obviously we had to toss all our plans aside as the weather wasn't going to cooperate at all. First off, it was so windy there was no way we were going to get anyone out on the lake, and the series of storms heading our way looked to be fairly large. We did manage to get them outside for some basketball and tag before supper (which they devoured - the food here is good), and then the rangers put together an activity on bats which involved a lot of moving around on the part of the kids. Bless their hearts for coming up with a tag game where some kids played trees, others were moths, and still others were blindfolded and played bats. They had to find their moths by listening (a skill most 7th graders haven't mastered yet) to the trees and moths who had to yell out "tree!" and "moth" as the bat got close. It was hilarious and it was great fun. These kids may be jaded 13 year olds, but they enjoy a good game of tag when given the opportunity.
Afterwards Mrs. Bunny and I did some consultation with the camp director who showed us the computer so we could watch the National Weather Service for warnings as these storms had already caused some damage out West. (I also had a mother send along a weather radio, complete with alarm). We were given a key to the lower dorms which were unoccupied and told that if a tornado warning did get issued to hustle everyone down there and into the bathrooms. We were crossing our fingers that most of the really bad stuff would head south of us and we'd just get some good thunderstorms out of it, but you never know in this part of the country.
Mrs. Bunny looks at me and says, "Freaking figures we'd be out here and they'd have a stupid tornado."
I agreed. That's just our luck. I could only imagine what some of the parents were thinking, let alone The Principal who was probably worried sick as well.
Fortunately, while the adults were worrying about a possible tornado, the kids were just having the time of their lives. They had worked out shower schedules, were playing charades, and cards, and just having a great time. Luckily none of them seemed to be frightened over thunder and lightning (or at least not enough to show in front of all their peers), so we didn't get any fussing about that. Around midnight we finally got everyone settled, calmed down, and quiet and we all drifted asleep to the sound of thunder rumbling across the lake and the flash of lightning.
Now if only Saturday would be clear and sunny...
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
How to Take 60 7th Graders Camping and Live to Tell About It - Part 1
This past weekend was The Great 7th Grade Camping Trip.
This one of the reasons why I haven't posted much. I'm trying to recover. And considering that I managed to catch a rotten spring cold along the way, that's another reason I haven't posted. I'm tired, I have a head full of snot, and my voice is gone. All I want to do is sleep.
Anyway. Enough of my whining.
The Great 7th Grade Camping Trip began last year, and was the brainchild of a few of us who thought it would be a great experience for some of our kids. We teach in a low-income building with a lot kids who have some pretty miserable stories. Many of them have never been away from home, never been in the woods, never sat around a campfire. Mrs. Eagle and I, in particular, have been reading a book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv, and we've come to believe that this generation of kids we're teaching needs to get off their butts and get outside a lot more.
Now this camp isn't exactly rustic. It has dorms, and showers, and flush toilets, and an activity building, and a darn good cafeteria-style eating commons. However, it does sit in the woods, on a lake, and there's hiking trails and birds and deer and it has spotty cell phone service. The spotty cell phone service is what freaked these kids out the most.
Last year it was only our team that went. However, with Mrs. Bunny getting moved over to another team to become team leader, and with Mrs. Eagle as team leader for the other 7th grade team, we decided to open it up to the entire 7th grade. The idea was that each team would select a group of kids and we'd go as a grade level. We ended up with a total of 61 kids which is nearly twice what we had last year.
Like last year we had the kids write an essay about why they wanted to go and why they, better yet, deserved to go. We actually had quite a few kids write about why they didn't want to go. Little League commitments, money issues at home, the inability to live without video games for an entire weekend, and just kids who freaked out at the idea of getting dirty were some of the reasons why some of our kids opted out. However, for the ones who wanted to go, the reasons were pretty, well, sad. Quite a few of our kids come from broken homes and wrote about how tough things were now that Dad and Mom had split up and how they'd like a weekend away from all that. A few wrote about how much they missed their deployed parent and would like to get away for a while. Some wanted to go because they'd never had a s'more. A few wanted to get away from babysitting their siblings for just one weekend.
We knew that money would be an issue and wanted to make it as inexpensive as possible. The seventh grade hosted a dance to raise money and managed to get the cost down to about $70 per kid. The student council paid "scholarships" for a couple, a few teachers sponsored a few other kids, the chess club paid for another, and the Jr. Civitan club sponsored another.
Permission slips were signed and notarized. Fees were paid. Bug spray purchased. Bags packed. Lunches ordered for Friday. The buses and the bus drivers were lined up. Everything was in order.
And then the weather reported severe thunderstorms with the possibility of damaging winds, and yes, tornadoes...
Stay tuned...
This one of the reasons why I haven't posted much. I'm trying to recover. And considering that I managed to catch a rotten spring cold along the way, that's another reason I haven't posted. I'm tired, I have a head full of snot, and my voice is gone. All I want to do is sleep.
Anyway. Enough of my whining.
The Great 7th Grade Camping Trip began last year, and was the brainchild of a few of us who thought it would be a great experience for some of our kids. We teach in a low-income building with a lot kids who have some pretty miserable stories. Many of them have never been away from home, never been in the woods, never sat around a campfire. Mrs. Eagle and I, in particular, have been reading a book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv, and we've come to believe that this generation of kids we're teaching needs to get off their butts and get outside a lot more.
Now this camp isn't exactly rustic. It has dorms, and showers, and flush toilets, and an activity building, and a darn good cafeteria-style eating commons. However, it does sit in the woods, on a lake, and there's hiking trails and birds and deer and it has spotty cell phone service. The spotty cell phone service is what freaked these kids out the most.
Last year it was only our team that went. However, with Mrs. Bunny getting moved over to another team to become team leader, and with Mrs. Eagle as team leader for the other 7th grade team, we decided to open it up to the entire 7th grade. The idea was that each team would select a group of kids and we'd go as a grade level. We ended up with a total of 61 kids which is nearly twice what we had last year.
Like last year we had the kids write an essay about why they wanted to go and why they, better yet, deserved to go. We actually had quite a few kids write about why they didn't want to go. Little League commitments, money issues at home, the inability to live without video games for an entire weekend, and just kids who freaked out at the idea of getting dirty were some of the reasons why some of our kids opted out. However, for the ones who wanted to go, the reasons were pretty, well, sad. Quite a few of our kids come from broken homes and wrote about how tough things were now that Dad and Mom had split up and how they'd like a weekend away from all that. A few wrote about how much they missed their deployed parent and would like to get away for a while. Some wanted to go because they'd never had a s'more. A few wanted to get away from babysitting their siblings for just one weekend.
We knew that money would be an issue and wanted to make it as inexpensive as possible. The seventh grade hosted a dance to raise money and managed to get the cost down to about $70 per kid. The student council paid "scholarships" for a couple, a few teachers sponsored a few other kids, the chess club paid for another, and the Jr. Civitan club sponsored another.
Permission slips were signed and notarized. Fees were paid. Bug spray purchased. Bags packed. Lunches ordered for Friday. The buses and the bus drivers were lined up. Everything was in order.
And then the weather reported severe thunderstorms with the possibility of damaging winds, and yes, tornadoes...
Stay tuned...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Road Trip to the Carnival!
The Science Goddess is at it again - it's a road trip to the Education Carnival! Hope on to the big yellow bus (it better be big what with all of us riding it!) and let's go!!!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Pout Boy Gets His Comeuppance
Pout Boy has been, quite honestly, a royal pain in the butt all year. Pout Boy hasn't had a locker since November since he refuses to bring his books to class. He'll come in, tardy, make a big production of it, and throw himself in his seat. He's earned himself a visit to "isolation island" in every class because he can't shut up. He thinks he's amusing cracking jokes and making comments and yelling at his friends across the room. When I moved him to an even more isolated corner so he couldn't be a pest to everyone else in the room, his comment was that "I'm funny and I'm keeping them entertained.".
Right.
Forget calling/emailing the parents. They don't want to hear it, won't answer phone calls, and most likely delete all the emails. He's been banned from the nurse's office as he found a reason to go there nearly once a day and did nothing but sit around and crack jokes and use it as an excuse to get out of class. He's spent quite a bit of time in In-School-Suspension and he's been suspended a few times as well. He begged and begged and begged to get into after-school tutoring. We found him a slot, put him in, and his behavior got him kicked out within weeks. The tragedy of it is that he can be, when he puts his mind to it (which is rare) a good student. He can do the work. However, if something irritates him, if he gets yelled at by a teacher or other adult (which is frequent), he'll put his head down and pout and stomp around like a baby.
He really does think he's too cool for school. He's hip, he's happening, he's the coolest guy on the team.
Or so he thought.
Mrs. Language this week has started the kids in on a mythology project and they're having to work in groups. And for the final project of the year she decided to let the kids chose their own groups. On Monday she let her students roam around the room a bit and get their groups organized.
Pout Boy went to one group and they said no.
He went to another and they turned him down.
A third said "no way!"
A fourth shook their heads no before he got to their desks.
A fifth said they didn't want him because they knew they'd end up doing the work themselves.
A sixth and final group said they'd rather not because he's just too difficult to work with.
Crash and burn, baby!
Pout Boy, after hitting up each and every single group in the class, hoping for someone, anyone, to work with, came up empty.
He stomped over to his desk, whined at Mrs. Language that everyone was being mean, and put his head down and pouted the rest of the period.
There's a life lesson in there for Pout Boy, should he chose to see it. Will he? Who knows?
However, I'm a bit tickled to see that the other kids in the class have at least learned that having someone on your team who won't work is not a good thing. It's not all about having your pals with you and having a good time. It's about picking a group that can work together and get the job done with everyone doing their job. They just figured out that Pout Boy wasn't going to be an asset to their group and turned him down. They've been in class with him all year. They know what he's like. And they aren't laughing now.
Right.
Forget calling/emailing the parents. They don't want to hear it, won't answer phone calls, and most likely delete all the emails. He's been banned from the nurse's office as he found a reason to go there nearly once a day and did nothing but sit around and crack jokes and use it as an excuse to get out of class. He's spent quite a bit of time in In-School-Suspension and he's been suspended a few times as well. He begged and begged and begged to get into after-school tutoring. We found him a slot, put him in, and his behavior got him kicked out within weeks. The tragedy of it is that he can be, when he puts his mind to it (which is rare) a good student. He can do the work. However, if something irritates him, if he gets yelled at by a teacher or other adult (which is frequent), he'll put his head down and pout and stomp around like a baby.
He really does think he's too cool for school. He's hip, he's happening, he's the coolest guy on the team.
Or so he thought.
Mrs. Language this week has started the kids in on a mythology project and they're having to work in groups. And for the final project of the year she decided to let the kids chose their own groups. On Monday she let her students roam around the room a bit and get their groups organized.
Pout Boy went to one group and they said no.
He went to another and they turned him down.
A third said "no way!"
A fourth shook their heads no before he got to their desks.
A fifth said they didn't want him because they knew they'd end up doing the work themselves.
A sixth and final group said they'd rather not because he's just too difficult to work with.
Crash and burn, baby!
Pout Boy, after hitting up each and every single group in the class, hoping for someone, anyone, to work with, came up empty.
He stomped over to his desk, whined at Mrs. Language that everyone was being mean, and put his head down and pouted the rest of the period.
There's a life lesson in there for Pout Boy, should he chose to see it. Will he? Who knows?
However, I'm a bit tickled to see that the other kids in the class have at least learned that having someone on your team who won't work is not a good thing. It's not all about having your pals with you and having a good time. It's about picking a group that can work together and get the job done with everyone doing their job. They just figured out that Pout Boy wasn't going to be an asset to their group and turned him down. They've been in class with him all year. They know what he's like. And they aren't laughing now.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tag! I'm it! (According to Mr. Teacher)
Mr. Teacher, a math teacher in Texas who teaches - shudder - elementary math, tagged me for a meme...and since I happen to have the utmost respect for anyone who deals with elementary students (namely because my few years of subbing convinced me that I can't), I'll be a good sport and play the game.
Ice cream, almost any type of nut, dark chocolate, chips and salsa. However, since I've managed to lose about 25 lbs this year I'll have to stick with a small amount of nuts and fat free popcorn.
4. Give a lot of money to historical preservation organizations and the State Museum.
2. Leesa has some of the most interesting things to write about and I love her dogs. I also like her use of technology. I think she and I could drink margaritas and have a great time together.
5. NYCeducator just amazes me. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like to teach not only in an urban area, but in THE urban area of NYC. Again, it's a different world, and he always opens my eyes to things I've never encountered or thought of.
6. Darren is the sort of guy I'd love to have over for a beer and a BBQ, knowing full well that he, Mr. Bluebird and I would just have a ball talking politics and education and who knows what else. He rocks.
That's it folks! Enjoy
Here's the rules:
1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.
So let the fun begin!!
1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I was living in Ohio, working in a dead-in job in a manufacturing company where the only way you got promoted was if members of your family were on the payroll a hundred years ago when the company was founded. I saw the writing on the wall (and could spot poor management a mile away and knew trouble when I saw it) so I chucked it all, took out a fortune in student loans and went back to school to become a teacher. I already had my BS in business so it only took another two and a half years to get that taken care of.2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
1. Help hubby with a PowerPoint presentation he needs to present this week. Please note he has never made a PowerPoint before in his life. What's that about old dogs and new tricks?
2. Knit a bit on the lace sock I'm working on. Or the sweater. Or the lace wrap. Or something.
3. Watch the Stanley Cup playoffs. I love this time of year.
4.Make lunches for both Mr. Bluebird and I.
5.Read a bit more in Sense and Sensibility and Stiff. I never read just one book at a time.
3) Snacks I enjoy:
Ice cream, almost any type of nut, dark chocolate, chips and salsa. However, since I've managed to lose about 25 lbs this year I'll have to stick with a small amount of nuts and fat free popcorn.
4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Stop worrying about money forever.
2.Build a hockey rink so kids in my town have one to skate on and don't have to drive over an hour.
3.Buy a winery.
4. Give a lot of money to historical preservation organizations and the State Museum.
5) Three of my bad habits:
1. Snacking when I'm not really hungry.
2. Being really, really sarcastic.
3. Being very impatient with adults (but for some reason, not with kids).
6) 5 places I have lived:
1. Denver, Colorado
2. Torrance, California
3. Diamond Bar, California
4. Celina, Ohio
5. Clarksville, TN
7) 5 jobs I have had:
1.Worked in a donut shop.
2.Executive secretary for a national car rental agency.
3.Property manager for a marina and apartment complex.
4.Substitute teacher.
5.Middle School science teacher.
8) 6 peeps I wanna know more about:
1. Mrs. Cornelius - she's written some posts that left me in tears and others that absolutely left me laughing so hard I could scarcely breathe. There was one a few years ago where she mentioned parents enrolling their kids and using the UPS store as an address that nearly killed me. She also has good taste in music.2. Leesa has some of the most interesting things to write about and I love her dogs. I also like her use of technology. I think she and I could drink margaritas and have a great time together.
3. Missteacha is another teacher I enjoy (egads, her cheer saga nearly gave me hives) and I'm fascinated with folks that teach in urban schools. It's a different world.
4. Mrs. T. just rocks. I get antsy when she doesn't post for a while and love hearing about what it's like teaching a foreign language. I can't wait to hear about Spain.
5. NYCeducator just amazes me. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like to teach not only in an urban area, but in THE urban area of NYC. Again, it's a different world, and he always opens my eyes to things I've never encountered or thought of.
6. Darren is the sort of guy I'd love to have over for a beer and a BBQ, knowing full well that he, Mr. Bluebird and I would just have a ball talking politics and education and who knows what else. He rocks.
That's it folks! Enjoy
Friday, April 25, 2008
A Screamingly Good Time, Or How To Survive Field Day
As a rule, the teachers in the 7th grade look upon field day with dread. If it can go wrong, it most likely will.
Rain delays, for example, are torture. There is nothing quite like having 300 plus kids all ready for field day, hyped up and wound tight, only to have it postponed due to rain. No matter how fun and exciting your lessons are that day, they don't measure up to any potential field day, and the disappointment is palpable.
Field day is also a day where even the good kids can lose total control, start fights, or do something equally stupid. Last year's was one of the worst in recent memory, and any memories of good field days we had in previous years were nearly obliterated by this one. Nothing like freezing weather, injuries, flood and fights to make a miserable day.
So it was with apprehension that we approached this day.
And the volleyball tournament went off great. The kids screamed, yelled, but never got rowdy or out of control.
We went out to the kickball field and discovered that it was a picture perfect day. Blue sky, fluffy clouds, a nice breeze and temperatures, by the end of the day, in the low 80's. The kids ran around, bought snow cones, played kickball and had a ton of fun. Mr. Social Studies and I kept an eye on Angry Boy who has returned to us from a three month stint in a residential mental health facility and was a bit of a concern. He does not do well in unstructured environments (gym class was a nightmare with this kid), and we were waiting for his melt-down and subsequent visit to guidance. Amazingly enough, he survived the entire day without having a single melt-down or issue, truly something to be proud of.
Lunch went off without a hitch, and even going back to the homerooms to cool down and relax while one of the other 7th grade teams had their turn at lunch went well. We did have one issue with Angry Girl (is it me, or did we get every kid in the school diagnosed as bipolar this year?) when she went off on some girl from another team in the bathroom. Two of our girls came and got me, I had Mr. Social Studies watch my room, and caught Angry Girl as she was being escorted out of the bathroom by Mrs. Chicken. We had the kids do statements, I plopped her in guidance, and that was it.
By this time we're all looking at each other going, "This is weird but we've only had the one blow-up with Angry Girl and that's it? When is the other show going to drop?"
We finished kickball, and got the kids out to the playing field for the other events, things like sack races, tug of war, three legged race, and so forth. This is usually the part of the day that drives us crazy because trying to get the kids organized into the events they signed up for earlier in the week is like herding cats. They wander around, go get free hot dogs from the PTO, buy more candy bars, and generally are as elusive as mist when you really need them. We worked out a system where we started herding the teams together an event ahead of time. If someone couldn't be found, we grabbed a kid and stuck him or her on the team.
It worked great. In fact, it was so great that the P. E. Department was looking at us with their jaws hanging open. We finished field day a good 45 minutes early, mainly because we got the kids where they needed to be when they needed to be. They kept gushing over how cool it was that they didn't have to waste time rounding up kids. We broke the record for the fastest field day ever. (Maybe the fact we didn't have to waste time with fights helped as well.)
However, we didn't want to take them into the building and have them sit 45 minutes in our classrooms. That would have been nightmarish.
So we got 100 kids up on their feet and Mrs. Language lead them all in a rousing game of Simon Says.
And we all had a very good, very nice day.
Oh, we didn't win this year again. But we did come in second with 15 points. That was nice.
Rain delays, for example, are torture. There is nothing quite like having 300 plus kids all ready for field day, hyped up and wound tight, only to have it postponed due to rain. No matter how fun and exciting your lessons are that day, they don't measure up to any potential field day, and the disappointment is palpable.
Field day is also a day where even the good kids can lose total control, start fights, or do something equally stupid. Last year's was one of the worst in recent memory, and any memories of good field days we had in previous years were nearly obliterated by this one. Nothing like freezing weather, injuries, flood and fights to make a miserable day.
So it was with apprehension that we approached this day.
And the volleyball tournament went off great. The kids screamed, yelled, but never got rowdy or out of control.
We went out to the kickball field and discovered that it was a picture perfect day. Blue sky, fluffy clouds, a nice breeze and temperatures, by the end of the day, in the low 80's. The kids ran around, bought snow cones, played kickball and had a ton of fun. Mr. Social Studies and I kept an eye on Angry Boy who has returned to us from a three month stint in a residential mental health facility and was a bit of a concern. He does not do well in unstructured environments (gym class was a nightmare with this kid), and we were waiting for his melt-down and subsequent visit to guidance. Amazingly enough, he survived the entire day without having a single melt-down or issue, truly something to be proud of.
Lunch went off without a hitch, and even going back to the homerooms to cool down and relax while one of the other 7th grade teams had their turn at lunch went well. We did have one issue with Angry Girl (is it me, or did we get every kid in the school diagnosed as bipolar this year?) when she went off on some girl from another team in the bathroom. Two of our girls came and got me, I had Mr. Social Studies watch my room, and caught Angry Girl as she was being escorted out of the bathroom by Mrs. Chicken. We had the kids do statements, I plopped her in guidance, and that was it.
By this time we're all looking at each other going, "This is weird but we've only had the one blow-up with Angry Girl and that's it? When is the other show going to drop?"
We finished kickball, and got the kids out to the playing field for the other events, things like sack races, tug of war, three legged race, and so forth. This is usually the part of the day that drives us crazy because trying to get the kids organized into the events they signed up for earlier in the week is like herding cats. They wander around, go get free hot dogs from the PTO, buy more candy bars, and generally are as elusive as mist when you really need them. We worked out a system where we started herding the teams together an event ahead of time. If someone couldn't be found, we grabbed a kid and stuck him or her on the team.
It worked great. In fact, it was so great that the P. E. Department was looking at us with their jaws hanging open. We finished field day a good 45 minutes early, mainly because we got the kids where they needed to be when they needed to be. They kept gushing over how cool it was that they didn't have to waste time rounding up kids. We broke the record for the fastest field day ever. (Maybe the fact we didn't have to waste time with fights helped as well.)
However, we didn't want to take them into the building and have them sit 45 minutes in our classrooms. That would have been nightmarish.
So we got 100 kids up on their feet and Mrs. Language lead them all in a rousing game of Simon Says.
And we all had a very good, very nice day.
Oh, we didn't win this year again. But we did come in second with 15 points. That was nice.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
A Formula for Insanity
What do you get when you take four Days of High Stakes Testing, add in a bunch of 11, 12 and 13 year olds, plus a very unusual Earthquake, lots of sugar, and the first really nice, sunny day for months?
Insanity.
Friday morning at breakfast with Mrs. Eagle we discussed tossing our lesson plans out the window. First off, we wanted to discuss the morning's earthquake with the kids because they'll be learning about them next year and it never hurt to give them a leg up. Besides, it could lead to a great class discussion and I could toss in some of my experiences growing up in Los Angeles. It's my belief that we don't talk enough about earthquakes and earthquake prepardness here in The South, and we've got the New Madrid Fault just a few hours away.
Secondly, we took one look at the weather report and decided to take the kids outside. They did great keeping quiet and still during our Very Big Deal State Mandated Tests, which is a lot to ask of a 7th grader. Heck, it's a lot to ask of anyone, quite frankly. These kids are used to getting up and moving every 45 minutes when classes change (more often in my room as I tend to have them move around a bit), and this week they pretty much had to stay quiet and still from 7:30 to 10:00 am. Mrs. Eagle and I are both huge believers that middle schoolers need to be outside more and need to blow off some steam. We decided to take advantage of the good weather and take them outside.
This worked great for three periods. Our two classes combined, played frisbee, tossed around some footballs, kicked a soccer ball, and drew with colored chalk all over the road. (I may add that we don't really have a playground or anything to put the kids on - we take them outside of Mrs. Eagles room which consists of some grassy areas, but mainly parking lot and a driveway going around the school to another parking lot area.) It was great. The kids loved it, we loved it, it was wonderful.
Until some morons in fourth period decided to have a fight. Mrs. Eagle and I spotted it starting and ran over and broke it up fairly quickly. It was between two of her kids, and four of mine helped break it up by pulling the boys off of each other. She marched them off to the office, while I marched all of the rest into her room and made them cool their jets and write witness statements if they saw anything. Great.
Fifth period rolls around and we decide to take them out again because they shouldn't pay a penalty because fourth period had some idiots in it. No problem with this group (of course, I think we both scared the hell out of them regarding behavior requirements before we left the classroom). Later Mrs. Eagle and I both had to talk with Mrs. Squirrel who was working the referrals as the two boys who were tangling said that when my kids pulled them apart they started beating them up - something, quite honestly, neither of us saw.
What bothered Mrs. Squirrel, Mrs. Eagle, and myself was that we all firmly believe that these kids need to get outside, need to blow off steam, need to breathe fresh air, run across grass, and stare at clouds if that's what floats their boat. However, these kids may have ruined it for everyone due to their behavior. I certainly hope not.
In the meantime, The School had a huge reward for all the students who were on time and present for every day of testing. They had a choice of a concert by a local country artist in the gym, a movie (Alvin and the Chipmunks) in the theater, and concessions in the cafeteria. All teachers were expected to help monitor and keep the kids in line, which meant no planning for the seventh grade. It also meant trying to maintain chaos with over 1000 kids who had been cooped up all week. I'm surprised we didn't have a fight or two in the concession line.
The best part was that we got the kids all hyped up on cotton candy, soft drinks, and other junk food and then put them on the buses to go home. Oh yeah, the other best part was the rumor going through school all morning that the movie was going to be The 300. Yeah, like that's going to happen. Middle Schoolers can be so gulible
The worst part was that the time dragged on and on and on. You can bet that when the last bus rolled down the street, and the last walker had left the building, we were ready to go home.
It was definitely a two-glass of wine night.
Insanity.
Friday morning at breakfast with Mrs. Eagle we discussed tossing our lesson plans out the window. First off, we wanted to discuss the morning's earthquake with the kids because they'll be learning about them next year and it never hurt to give them a leg up. Besides, it could lead to a great class discussion and I could toss in some of my experiences growing up in Los Angeles. It's my belief that we don't talk enough about earthquakes and earthquake prepardness here in The South, and we've got the New Madrid Fault just a few hours away.
Secondly, we took one look at the weather report and decided to take the kids outside. They did great keeping quiet and still during our Very Big Deal State Mandated Tests, which is a lot to ask of a 7th grader. Heck, it's a lot to ask of anyone, quite frankly. These kids are used to getting up and moving every 45 minutes when classes change (more often in my room as I tend to have them move around a bit), and this week they pretty much had to stay quiet and still from 7:30 to 10:00 am. Mrs. Eagle and I are both huge believers that middle schoolers need to be outside more and need to blow off some steam. We decided to take advantage of the good weather and take them outside.
This worked great for three periods. Our two classes combined, played frisbee, tossed around some footballs, kicked a soccer ball, and drew with colored chalk all over the road. (I may add that we don't really have a playground or anything to put the kids on - we take them outside of Mrs. Eagles room which consists of some grassy areas, but mainly parking lot and a driveway going around the school to another parking lot area.) It was great. The kids loved it, we loved it, it was wonderful.
Until some morons in fourth period decided to have a fight. Mrs. Eagle and I spotted it starting and ran over and broke it up fairly quickly. It was between two of her kids, and four of mine helped break it up by pulling the boys off of each other. She marched them off to the office, while I marched all of the rest into her room and made them cool their jets and write witness statements if they saw anything. Great.
Fifth period rolls around and we decide to take them out again because they shouldn't pay a penalty because fourth period had some idiots in it. No problem with this group (of course, I think we both scared the hell out of them regarding behavior requirements before we left the classroom). Later Mrs. Eagle and I both had to talk with Mrs. Squirrel who was working the referrals as the two boys who were tangling said that when my kids pulled them apart they started beating them up - something, quite honestly, neither of us saw.
What bothered Mrs. Squirrel, Mrs. Eagle, and myself was that we all firmly believe that these kids need to get outside, need to blow off steam, need to breathe fresh air, run across grass, and stare at clouds if that's what floats their boat. However, these kids may have ruined it for everyone due to their behavior. I certainly hope not.
In the meantime, The School had a huge reward for all the students who were on time and present for every day of testing. They had a choice of a concert by a local country artist in the gym, a movie (Alvin and the Chipmunks) in the theater, and concessions in the cafeteria. All teachers were expected to help monitor and keep the kids in line, which meant no planning for the seventh grade. It also meant trying to maintain chaos with over 1000 kids who had been cooped up all week. I'm surprised we didn't have a fight or two in the concession line.
The best part was that we got the kids all hyped up on cotton candy, soft drinks, and other junk food and then put them on the buses to go home. Oh yeah, the other best part was the rumor going through school all morning that the movie was going to be The 300. Yeah, like that's going to happen. Middle Schoolers can be so gulible
The worst part was that the time dragged on and on and on. You can bet that when the last bus rolled down the street, and the last walker had left the building, we were ready to go home.
It was definitely a two-glass of wine night.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Shake, Rattle and Roll!
Holy Crap.
4:36 am and I am awakened, as usual, by the feline alarm clocks known as Morgan and Duke. A couple of seconds later we have an earthquake.
An earthquake! In Tennessee!!
I grew up and spent 30 years in Los Angeles, so believe me, I know earthquakes. And this was definitely an earthquake.
And although I know the New Madrid fault is nearby, the last thing I was expecting this morning was a quake.
There's a teachable moment in here somewhere. Time to whip out one of my favorite books, "A Crack In the Edge of the World" by Simon Winchester, and toss today's lesson out the door and pull one together on quakes.
Gosh, I hate earthquakes, but I love teachable moments.
4:36 am and I am awakened, as usual, by the feline alarm clocks known as Morgan and Duke. A couple of seconds later we have an earthquake.
An earthquake! In Tennessee!!
I grew up and spent 30 years in Los Angeles, so believe me, I know earthquakes. And this was definitely an earthquake.
And although I know the New Madrid fault is nearby, the last thing I was expecting this morning was a quake.
There's a teachable moment in here somewhere. Time to whip out one of my favorite books, "A Crack In the Edge of the World" by Simon Winchester, and toss today's lesson out the door and pull one together on quakes.
Gosh, I hate earthquakes, but I love teachable moments.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
The Fat Lady Isn't Singin' kiddos!
Today we finished the last, the very last, part of the Really Big Deal State Mandated Tests.
It has been a long, dreadfully dull, week. The kids, for the most part, did great when it came to being quiet, bringing in their #2 pencils, and remembering their calculators for the math section. Granted, the last five minutes you could see them start twitching and wiggling a bit, but honestly, I'd be doing the same if I was in their shoes. Asking a bunch of 13 year olds to sit quietly for nearly three hours is asking a lot.
Of course, Pout Boy had to act like an idiot in Mr. Social Studies' class which I suppose is to be expected. He decided when he finished his test that he was going to lay down on the floor and take a nap. Not a smart move on his part. Mr. Social Studies got him back in his seat without a major disruption (thank goodness since he was one of the first done, having simply breezed through the reading and language arts test without doing any reading and simply coloring in bubbles). However, Mr. Social Studies was worried as he could be disruptive to the point where we'd have a serious "test irregularity" to report to the State. Mr. Enforcer was told and he yanked Pout Boy in, rattled his cage, and today he was forced to cool his jets in guidance all morning then take the test in a small group setting with the kids who had been absent, along with his own personal baby sitter to make sure he didn't act like an idiot again. He won't be attending the reward party either which will also make him angry and cause, yet again, one of his pouting scenes.
One of the unfortunate side effects of taking the Really Big Deal State Mandated Test so freaking' early in the year (hello, would May have killed anyone?) is that the kids think they are done with school and that the remainder of the year is play time.
Think again.
I spent most of today reminding them of this fact, and reinforcing it with three behavior notes for students who could not stop talking to save their lives. Of course, these three were from my Fifth Period Class From the Very Depths of Hell Itself (remember, the class with a 69% average). I requested another student desk as I have run out of "isolation island" desks for this crew (including Pout Boy who is incapable of sitting anywhere near anyone else).
We still have five weeks left, and those five weeks can be make or break for some of these kids. Hopefully they'll figure this out.
But I won't bet on it.
It has been a long, dreadfully dull, week. The kids, for the most part, did great when it came to being quiet, bringing in their #2 pencils, and remembering their calculators for the math section. Granted, the last five minutes you could see them start twitching and wiggling a bit, but honestly, I'd be doing the same if I was in their shoes. Asking a bunch of 13 year olds to sit quietly for nearly three hours is asking a lot.
Of course, Pout Boy had to act like an idiot in Mr. Social Studies' class which I suppose is to be expected. He decided when he finished his test that he was going to lay down on the floor and take a nap. Not a smart move on his part. Mr. Social Studies got him back in his seat without a major disruption (thank goodness since he was one of the first done, having simply breezed through the reading and language arts test without doing any reading and simply coloring in bubbles). However, Mr. Social Studies was worried as he could be disruptive to the point where we'd have a serious "test irregularity" to report to the State. Mr. Enforcer was told and he yanked Pout Boy in, rattled his cage, and today he was forced to cool his jets in guidance all morning then take the test in a small group setting with the kids who had been absent, along with his own personal baby sitter to make sure he didn't act like an idiot again. He won't be attending the reward party either which will also make him angry and cause, yet again, one of his pouting scenes.
One of the unfortunate side effects of taking the Really Big Deal State Mandated Test so freaking' early in the year (hello, would May have killed anyone?) is that the kids think they are done with school and that the remainder of the year is play time.
Think again.
I spent most of today reminding them of this fact, and reinforcing it with three behavior notes for students who could not stop talking to save their lives. Of course, these three were from my Fifth Period Class From the Very Depths of Hell Itself (remember, the class with a 69% average). I requested another student desk as I have run out of "isolation island" desks for this crew (including Pout Boy who is incapable of sitting anywhere near anyone else).
We still have five weeks left, and those five weeks can be make or break for some of these kids. Hopefully they'll figure this out.
But I won't bet on it.
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!
And better yet...it doesn't require a #2 pencil!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
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.
Anyone?
Hum. That's what I thought.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
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!!!
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!!!
Monday, April 07, 2008
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.
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.
Friday, April 04, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
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!
Monday, March 31, 2008
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!
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!
Friday, March 28, 2008
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!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
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!
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!
Saturday, March 22, 2008
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!
Monday, March 17, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
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.
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...
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...
Friday, March 07, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, March 03, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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.
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.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Flu
Thankfully, my bout with the flu lasted about a week and I was back in school on the Tuesday after our President's Day holiday. I didn't feel 100% until about Thursday, but I certainly wasn't bad enough to stay home. Besides, I was getting cabin fever.
It turns out that I had the Very Best Sub Ever while I was gone. This gal is going on my speed dial. Not only is she highly qualified in science but she graded all my tests. Did you get that? She graded all my tests. There was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, and I can't thank her enough for that. This means progress reports were only one day late, which was pretty amazing considering I'd been out, between snow day, sick days and a holiday, for a week.
However, we're hearing on the news and reading in the paper about the flu here in our area and how the epidemic is, perhaps, hitting its peak and things are improving. Every county around us has been closed for at least two days due to the flu. We have not. Quite frankly, we haven't seen a huge increase in absences.
I remember when I was teaching up in Ohio watching the flu sweep through our district and our building. It usually started with the elementary schools, then middle, and finally high schools. You could see it go through a classroom simply by looking out at the rows of desks...one section of the class would be absent, then another, then another, until it finally made its way through the whole class. We had days where the kids were literally lined up along the hallway by the office, heads resting on their backbacks, waiting for a parent to come pick them up. We had run out of room in the nurse's room, and the office, and they were spilling out into the hallway. Absent lists were running to three pages.
But this past week, at The School, our absence list was no bigger than normal. We did have a bit of a spike on Thursday but that was probably due more to the one hour delay due to sleet and ice than it was due to the flu. On Friday, we were back to one full page of absences, plus a few on a second page. Still, nothing really alarming. When it gets to a full two pages we start to be a bit concerned.
So..it's curious. Either we have a pretty healthy population of kids (doubtful), the kids are coming in sick and just gutting it out (doubtful again), or it just hasn't hit our area as hard as others (more probable). In the meantime I did the "If you sneeze or cough you better cover your mouth and nose with a tissue!" talk to all my classes. Last year I ran out of tissues during the second semester and offered extra credit for everyone who brought in a box. I had so many boxes brought in that I'm still using these boxes a year later. Good thing, too. I put a box on each lab table and the kids are using them. In fact, when someone sneezes you hear kids yelling "Get a tissue!", "Throw the tissue away!" and "Put gel on your hands!" At least they're learning some healthier habits. For now.
We'll see what this week holds.
It turns out that I had the Very Best Sub Ever while I was gone. This gal is going on my speed dial. Not only is she highly qualified in science but she graded all my tests. Did you get that? She graded all my tests. There was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, and I can't thank her enough for that. This means progress reports were only one day late, which was pretty amazing considering I'd been out, between snow day, sick days and a holiday, for a week.
However, we're hearing on the news and reading in the paper about the flu here in our area and how the epidemic is, perhaps, hitting its peak and things are improving. Every county around us has been closed for at least two days due to the flu. We have not. Quite frankly, we haven't seen a huge increase in absences.
I remember when I was teaching up in Ohio watching the flu sweep through our district and our building. It usually started with the elementary schools, then middle, and finally high schools. You could see it go through a classroom simply by looking out at the rows of desks...one section of the class would be absent, then another, then another, until it finally made its way through the whole class. We had days where the kids were literally lined up along the hallway by the office, heads resting on their backbacks, waiting for a parent to come pick them up. We had run out of room in the nurse's room, and the office, and they were spilling out into the hallway. Absent lists were running to three pages.
But this past week, at The School, our absence list was no bigger than normal. We did have a bit of a spike on Thursday but that was probably due more to the one hour delay due to sleet and ice than it was due to the flu. On Friday, we were back to one full page of absences, plus a few on a second page. Still, nothing really alarming. When it gets to a full two pages we start to be a bit concerned.
So..it's curious. Either we have a pretty healthy population of kids (doubtful), the kids are coming in sick and just gutting it out (doubtful again), or it just hasn't hit our area as hard as others (more probable). In the meantime I did the "If you sneeze or cough you better cover your mouth and nose with a tissue!" talk to all my classes. Last year I ran out of tissues during the second semester and offered extra credit for everyone who brought in a box. I had so many boxes brought in that I'm still using these boxes a year later. Good thing, too. I put a box on each lab table and the kids are using them. In fact, when someone sneezes you hear kids yelling "Get a tissue!", "Throw the tissue away!" and "Put gel on your hands!" At least they're learning some healthier habits. For now.
We'll see what this week holds.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Down for the Count
On Wednesday night Mr. Bluebird and I had tickets to a show and made it our Valentines Date Night. All went well until about 10:30, on our way home, when it became quite apparent to both of us that I was the victim of the stomach flu that has been going around.
By 11:00 pm I could barely lift my head up off the bathroom floor long enough to get on line to request a sub and to send Mrs. Eagle a note asking her to help the sub with lesson plans.
I'll save you all the gory details, but suffice it to say that I couldn't even keep Sprite down. Mr. Bluebird was about ready to toss me back in the car and take me to the ER, but I talked him out of it. Instead, I went to bed in the guest room with a bowl of ice chips to suck on as I was so dehydrated and I could actually keep those down.
This bug has knocked me flat. So flat that I ended up getting a sub for today as well, especially as I still was running a temp last night. I feel like death warmed over, have a headache, and seem to fall asleep every two hours or so. I feel so bad I don't even feel like knitting (and that's rare).
However, one of the joys of one, getting all your copies done the week before, and two, collaborating with other teachers, is that I don't need to worry too much about having lessons for my sub. Mrs. Eagle was able to show her all the materials and explain the lessons to her so all, from what I've heard, went well. Bless her heart. Where would we be without friends.
In the meantime, I'm going back to bed.
By 11:00 pm I could barely lift my head up off the bathroom floor long enough to get on line to request a sub and to send Mrs. Eagle a note asking her to help the sub with lesson plans.
I'll save you all the gory details, but suffice it to say that I couldn't even keep Sprite down. Mr. Bluebird was about ready to toss me back in the car and take me to the ER, but I talked him out of it. Instead, I went to bed in the guest room with a bowl of ice chips to suck on as I was so dehydrated and I could actually keep those down.
This bug has knocked me flat. So flat that I ended up getting a sub for today as well, especially as I still was running a temp last night. I feel like death warmed over, have a headache, and seem to fall asleep every two hours or so. I feel so bad I don't even feel like knitting (and that's rare).
However, one of the joys of one, getting all your copies done the week before, and two, collaborating with other teachers, is that I don't need to worry too much about having lessons for my sub. Mrs. Eagle was able to show her all the materials and explain the lessons to her so all, from what I've heard, went well. Bless her heart. Where would we be without friends.
In the meantime, I'm going back to bed.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Here, There and Everywhere
Last week we had an in-service where we learned, very, very briefly, that The State has made some new changes in the law regarding special education. The information is still filtering down to The District, and it looks like our administrators will be going to a number of workshops in the near future to help roll out the new system. So right now, no one really knows a whole lot. What we were told was that in the future, it isn't going to be as easy to designate a kid as special ed, or even qualify a kid for a 504. The Principal said that the it appears that this will affect the elementary school teachers more than us because, in theory, if a kid is a candidate for special education it should be caught during the elementary years.
Right.
In any case, we were asked to get with our teams and pick 3-4 kids that we considered to be at risk and do an "Academic 360" form on them. Basically we were to pull their academic records, their discipline file, and go through them in detail to see if we could pull together a better picture of the student. It's interesting what you find out about kids when you actually sit down as a team and do this.
Our team chose four students that were pretty much failing every single class this year. One thing that we noticed as we were filling out the forms on these kids is that every single one of them had been to at least five different schools before they'd landed in our classrooms in seventh grade. Three of these students had lived in at least three different states. One, although he was born and had lived in our county for his entire life, had managed to make it through seven different elementary schools, oftentimes changing schools in mid-year. One student had no biological parent in the picture and had lived with grandparents, and a parade of other relatives throughout her life.
All of this brings up the question...how on earth are these kids going to learn anything, let along be identified as a possible candidate for special education testing, if they don't stay in any one place longer than a year, or in some cases, a few months?
Our district has a serious problem with what we call "rent-jumpers", parents who are one step ahead of the landlord and the bill collector and who bounce around from school zone to school zone. We get kids that start out the year in our school, move, go to another school, move again, and end up back with us. This is one of the reasons that the core subject areas tried to go with a pacing guide that basically tells us what standard to teach when - the idea was that a kid could bounce from school to school - within the district - and not miss out on any instruction.
However, if a kid is moving in and out of The District and in and out of The State, this doesn't do a bit of good. The kid gets, at best, a spotty education. At worst, the kid lands in seventh grade, reading at a 2nd or 3rd grade level, without any grasp of math basics, and, usually, without any desire to connect with classmates or teachers because, after all, it won't be long until the next move.
And these kids are just dropping through the cracks.
A good example is California Girl. She arrived before Thanksgiving from California. She left on Monday to go back to California. While she was with us, she'd managed to fail every class, mainly because she didn't do homework and was too busy, by her own admission, with keeping up with her friends on myspace. Her mother, although good at responding to emails, had her hands full with her own life (she was all of 26 years old herself), and quite honestly had given up on dealing with her daughter's lack of academic success. So now she's on her way back out West to yet another school, another set of standards, another set of teachers and friends.
Makes me want to scream.
Right.
In any case, we were asked to get with our teams and pick 3-4 kids that we considered to be at risk and do an "Academic 360" form on them. Basically we were to pull their academic records, their discipline file, and go through them in detail to see if we could pull together a better picture of the student. It's interesting what you find out about kids when you actually sit down as a team and do this.
Our team chose four students that were pretty much failing every single class this year. One thing that we noticed as we were filling out the forms on these kids is that every single one of them had been to at least five different schools before they'd landed in our classrooms in seventh grade. Three of these students had lived in at least three different states. One, although he was born and had lived in our county for his entire life, had managed to make it through seven different elementary schools, oftentimes changing schools in mid-year. One student had no biological parent in the picture and had lived with grandparents, and a parade of other relatives throughout her life.
All of this brings up the question...how on earth are these kids going to learn anything, let along be identified as a possible candidate for special education testing, if they don't stay in any one place longer than a year, or in some cases, a few months?
Our district has a serious problem with what we call "rent-jumpers", parents who are one step ahead of the landlord and the bill collector and who bounce around from school zone to school zone. We get kids that start out the year in our school, move, go to another school, move again, and end up back with us. This is one of the reasons that the core subject areas tried to go with a pacing guide that basically tells us what standard to teach when - the idea was that a kid could bounce from school to school - within the district - and not miss out on any instruction.
However, if a kid is moving in and out of The District and in and out of The State, this doesn't do a bit of good. The kid gets, at best, a spotty education. At worst, the kid lands in seventh grade, reading at a 2nd or 3rd grade level, without any grasp of math basics, and, usually, without any desire to connect with classmates or teachers because, after all, it won't be long until the next move.
And these kids are just dropping through the cracks.
A good example is California Girl. She arrived before Thanksgiving from California. She left on Monday to go back to California. While she was with us, she'd managed to fail every class, mainly because she didn't do homework and was too busy, by her own admission, with keeping up with her friends on myspace. Her mother, although good at responding to emails, had her hands full with her own life (she was all of 26 years old herself), and quite honestly had given up on dealing with her daughter's lack of academic success. So now she's on her way back out West to yet another school, another set of standards, another set of teachers and friends.
Makes me want to scream.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Hack! Hack! Harumph!
I haven't posted much because, quite frankly, I haven't felt like doing much of anything outside of crawling into bed and sleeping.
I have a cold.
It's that dreary, wet, cold, gray time of year when everyone seems to be run down and cranky and the germs and viruses have a field day. Most of my students have either had a cold, strep, or a stomach thing, and I suppose it was just a matter of time before I'd get something. You try to keep healthy by eating right, sucking down Airborne, and getting enough sleep but honestly, some of these nasty little viruses have mutated to the point that even teachers - with that marvelous trait of semi-immunity that we've earned by living with sick kids all winter long - get sick.
The problem is, it isn't one of those colds that's bad enough to really justify staying home, let alone the work it takes to get ready for a sub. And it's weird in that it hasn't really developed into a head cold with the stuffy nose and all that, but promptly went right to my chest where I developed a resounding cough. So, although my voice sounded like I should be working for a 900 number, and my throat hurt, and I sounded like I was going to yack up a hair ball, I managed to make it through the week. I even made it through the Friday dance where Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Robin and I charged kids a dollar for the pleasure of having us put gel or weird colored hair spray in their hair (and we made $175 for our seventh grade science reward party, thankyouverymuch).
But by Saturday I was out for the count and spent the bulk of the weekend in my sweats, watching A&E television, knitting, reading, and taking lots of naps.
It was lovely.
I have a cold.
It's that dreary, wet, cold, gray time of year when everyone seems to be run down and cranky and the germs and viruses have a field day. Most of my students have either had a cold, strep, or a stomach thing, and I suppose it was just a matter of time before I'd get something. You try to keep healthy by eating right, sucking down Airborne, and getting enough sleep but honestly, some of these nasty little viruses have mutated to the point that even teachers - with that marvelous trait of semi-immunity that we've earned by living with sick kids all winter long - get sick.
The problem is, it isn't one of those colds that's bad enough to really justify staying home, let alone the work it takes to get ready for a sub. And it's weird in that it hasn't really developed into a head cold with the stuffy nose and all that, but promptly went right to my chest where I developed a resounding cough. So, although my voice sounded like I should be working for a 900 number, and my throat hurt, and I sounded like I was going to yack up a hair ball, I managed to make it through the week. I even made it through the Friday dance where Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Robin and I charged kids a dollar for the pleasure of having us put gel or weird colored hair spray in their hair (and we made $175 for our seventh grade science reward party, thankyouverymuch).
But by Saturday I was out for the count and spent the bulk of the weekend in my sweats, watching A&E television, knitting, reading, and taking lots of naps.
It was lovely.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Why I Love My Basement
If you haven't been living under a rock, you may have heard that we've had some pretty nasty weather down here in my beloved South. It has been, in a word, wild.
Due to Super Tuesday, the schools in our district were closed for students, but faculty and staff reported for an in-service. As far as in-service days go, this one was actually quite worthwhile as we had a very detailed presentation on gang awareness as well as some information on new special education laws. However, many of us were heard to mutter "Glad the kids aren't here as the weather will probably get nasty." We will remember our earlier run-in with bad weather in January, and I don't think any of us wanted to get stuck at school with our kids during a tornado. The fact of the matter was that it's just been too warm for February. We hit a record high of 72 degrees on Tuesday, and when it's that high this time of year, you know that cold weather is just around the corner. And when cold fronts and warm air hit, you get bad weather.
And man, did we get bad weather.
I was trying to watch the hockey game that evening when it started up. First, lots of wind. Lots and lots of wind. Then lightning, thunder, and heavy, heavy rain. I have a NOAA weather radio and it was beeping alerts every few minutes. The hockey game I was trying to watch had lost the audio and was intoning that computerized voice that told all of us that bad weather was on the way. (By the way, watching a hockey game without audio is a bit weird.) Around 8:30 I started moving some valuables down to the basement because it was making even me nervous. A few minutes later the sirens went off, so I tucked two cats under my arms and took them downstairs, ran up and got another cat, and then headed down there myself, closing the door behind me.
As an aside, when I had to buy a house down here Mr. Bluebird wasn't able to come down and help. His only request was I get a house with a finished basement because he thought this area had too many tornadoes. That I did, thank goodness.
I spent about 45 minutes down there before the warning expired and I was able to let the cats, who were really annoyed, back upstairs. I didn't, however, move anything else up as I had a feeling we weren't done.
We weren't.
Around midnight the second wave of storms woke me up. It was pounding and the lightning was flashing like a strobe light. I looked out the window and thought, for a moment, that it was foggy outside as I couldn't see the houses across the street clearly. It took me a minute to realize that it wasn't fog, it was just really heavy, heavy rain. I went out to the living room to turn on the news to see if we were under a warning when the sirens went off again. (I also managed to buy a house that has a tornado siren at the end of the street - when these things go off, we hear them.)
Grabbed cats and hustled everyone downstairs where I stayed until about one in the morning.
This last round was really bad. The hail was bouncing all over my deck before I headed to the basement and the sirens went on and on and on. Usually they'll sound off about 4 times before they stop, but this time I could hear them going on for a significantly longer time.
Of course, by the time it had all passed I was wide awake. I tried to go back to sleep but I was still awake an hour later when Mr. Bluebird arrived home from his trip back from Ohio. He'd dodged supercells the whole way home, hunkering down in gas stations and truck stops when it got so bad he couldn't drive.
The next day at school the kids were dragging. Many of them told me they'd spent the night sleeping in basements, their closets, or bathrooms. Shreck Boy was exhausted. He'd spent the night in the basement after the roof of their house began to lose shingles and the rain started to come in. Some kids told me about huge trees coming down in their yards, trampolines slinging through the neighborhood and ending up blocks away, and barns crashing down. The western edge of our county got hit really hard by a thunderstorm that destroyed one house and damaged at least 13 more. The tornadoes that ripped through the state, amazingly, rose back up in the air before they got very far within the county and we were spared a lot of the damage other counties are facing.
Last year, during the height of the drought, we didn't have one single tornado warning. This year, so far, we've had the sirens go off three times.
And it's February. Tornado season doesn't really begin until March.
Kind of makes me appreciate the basement.
Due to Super Tuesday, the schools in our district were closed for students, but faculty and staff reported for an in-service. As far as in-service days go, this one was actually quite worthwhile as we had a very detailed presentation on gang awareness as well as some information on new special education laws. However, many of us were heard to mutter "Glad the kids aren't here as the weather will probably get nasty." We will remember our earlier run-in with bad weather in January, and I don't think any of us wanted to get stuck at school with our kids during a tornado. The fact of the matter was that it's just been too warm for February. We hit a record high of 72 degrees on Tuesday, and when it's that high this time of year, you know that cold weather is just around the corner. And when cold fronts and warm air hit, you get bad weather.
And man, did we get bad weather.
I was trying to watch the hockey game that evening when it started up. First, lots of wind. Lots and lots of wind. Then lightning, thunder, and heavy, heavy rain. I have a NOAA weather radio and it was beeping alerts every few minutes. The hockey game I was trying to watch had lost the audio and was intoning that computerized voice that told all of us that bad weather was on the way. (By the way, watching a hockey game without audio is a bit weird.) Around 8:30 I started moving some valuables down to the basement because it was making even me nervous. A few minutes later the sirens went off, so I tucked two cats under my arms and took them downstairs, ran up and got another cat, and then headed down there myself, closing the door behind me.
As an aside, when I had to buy a house down here Mr. Bluebird wasn't able to come down and help. His only request was I get a house with a finished basement because he thought this area had too many tornadoes. That I did, thank goodness.
I spent about 45 minutes down there before the warning expired and I was able to let the cats, who were really annoyed, back upstairs. I didn't, however, move anything else up as I had a feeling we weren't done.
We weren't.
Around midnight the second wave of storms woke me up. It was pounding and the lightning was flashing like a strobe light. I looked out the window and thought, for a moment, that it was foggy outside as I couldn't see the houses across the street clearly. It took me a minute to realize that it wasn't fog, it was just really heavy, heavy rain. I went out to the living room to turn on the news to see if we were under a warning when the sirens went off again. (I also managed to buy a house that has a tornado siren at the end of the street - when these things go off, we hear them.)
Grabbed cats and hustled everyone downstairs where I stayed until about one in the morning.
This last round was really bad. The hail was bouncing all over my deck before I headed to the basement and the sirens went on and on and on. Usually they'll sound off about 4 times before they stop, but this time I could hear them going on for a significantly longer time.
Of course, by the time it had all passed I was wide awake. I tried to go back to sleep but I was still awake an hour later when Mr. Bluebird arrived home from his trip back from Ohio. He'd dodged supercells the whole way home, hunkering down in gas stations and truck stops when it got so bad he couldn't drive.
The next day at school the kids were dragging. Many of them told me they'd spent the night sleeping in basements, their closets, or bathrooms. Shreck Boy was exhausted. He'd spent the night in the basement after the roof of their house began to lose shingles and the rain started to come in. Some kids told me about huge trees coming down in their yards, trampolines slinging through the neighborhood and ending up blocks away, and barns crashing down. The western edge of our county got hit really hard by a thunderstorm that destroyed one house and damaged at least 13 more. The tornadoes that ripped through the state, amazingly, rose back up in the air before they got very far within the county and we were spared a lot of the damage other counties are facing.
Last year, during the height of the drought, we didn't have one single tornado warning. This year, so far, we've had the sirens go off three times.
And it's February. Tornado season doesn't really begin until March.
Kind of makes me appreciate the basement.
Monday, February 04, 2008
So close, yet so very far
The annual county middle school basketball tournament began tonight. Since the only official sport we have for the middle schools happens to be basketball, this is a pretty big deal and it's the final send off for the year.
So, after treating ourselves to supper at Ruby Tuesday's, Mrs. Eagle and I headed over to the tournament which was held at the newly opened middle school here in town (right down the road from my subdivision). It was neat getting a chance to see what a new school looks like, as opposed to our 41 year old building. Plus, the boys were playing at 6:00 and we figured we could catch the game and still be home at a decent time, to say, record the Sarah Connor Chronicles for Hubby. (No, we don't have TIVO or any of that.)
Anyhow.
We haven't had the greatest year this year in terms of basketball. We have, truth be told, a really little team. I remember the first game that we went to this year, and the boys thundered onto the court, and Mrs. Eagle and I both looked at each other and shook our heads. Our team looks like they came from an elementary school. I stand a whopping 5'3" and I know for a fact (because I'm teaching most of these kids) that I'm as tall as they are...or taller. And believe me, being taller than someone takes some doing for me. These kids are little. (They are, however, smart....of the three players I currently teach, all are A/B students and were before basketball started and most likely will continue to be good with the academics.)
So, we begin the game and amazingly enough, they do okay. It's not a major blow out like we've seen in the past, and by the half time we're only down about 8 points. That's pretty good. I was impressed. They were playing their hearts out, and although they didn't always make the shots, they kept at it and were being really scrappy and tough.
And then as we got to the final minutes they started to get closer and closer and closer to the other team. The other team had players who all stood at about six feet tall. They had two kids who were so tall and skinny that I thought they'd disappear if they'd turn sideways. (And these two could also hit three pointers like nobody's business.)
At the last possible second, they tie the game.
We go into a three minute over time. The parents and fans are screaming their lungs out.
It goes down to the very last second.
We lost by two points.
But man, they played their hearts out and acted like gentlemen. And that makes them winners in my book.
So, after treating ourselves to supper at Ruby Tuesday's, Mrs. Eagle and I headed over to the tournament which was held at the newly opened middle school here in town (right down the road from my subdivision). It was neat getting a chance to see what a new school looks like, as opposed to our 41 year old building. Plus, the boys were playing at 6:00 and we figured we could catch the game and still be home at a decent time, to say, record the Sarah Connor Chronicles for Hubby. (No, we don't have TIVO or any of that.)
Anyhow.
We haven't had the greatest year this year in terms of basketball. We have, truth be told, a really little team. I remember the first game that we went to this year, and the boys thundered onto the court, and Mrs. Eagle and I both looked at each other and shook our heads. Our team looks like they came from an elementary school. I stand a whopping 5'3" and I know for a fact (because I'm teaching most of these kids) that I'm as tall as they are...or taller. And believe me, being taller than someone takes some doing for me. These kids are little. (They are, however, smart....of the three players I currently teach, all are A/B students and were before basketball started and most likely will continue to be good with the academics.)
So, we begin the game and amazingly enough, they do okay. It's not a major blow out like we've seen in the past, and by the half time we're only down about 8 points. That's pretty good. I was impressed. They were playing their hearts out, and although they didn't always make the shots, they kept at it and were being really scrappy and tough.
And then as we got to the final minutes they started to get closer and closer and closer to the other team. The other team had players who all stood at about six feet tall. They had two kids who were so tall and skinny that I thought they'd disappear if they'd turn sideways. (And these two could also hit three pointers like nobody's business.)
At the last possible second, they tie the game.
We go into a three minute over time. The parents and fans are screaming their lungs out.
It goes down to the very last second.
We lost by two points.
But man, they played their hearts out and acted like gentlemen. And that makes them winners in my book.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Carnival Time!
Mathew over at Creating Lifelong Learners is hosting another great Carnival, so be sure to check it out (beats grading papers after all!). Be sure to see how Mr. Teacher spends his lunch, even when he's out of ice cream, check out Carol's crazy day and what the kids say, and Mark's take on recess.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Just When You Least Expect It
It's 5:15 am. I've been up for about half an hour, my hair is wet, and I'm watching the local news and waiting for my steel cut oatmeal to cook. My cell rings. It's Mrs. Eagle.
"Have you heard anything about us closing?" she asks.
"No, there's nothing on the news, but I checked The National Weather Service and it said we had a chance of snow and sleet. I didn't think that was forecast until late tonight."
"It wasn't, but it's snowing like mad here," she replies. She lives in the western part of the county.
I look out on my back deck. Nothing.
"Nothing here, but that just means you're at the beginning of the storm," I reply. I check the scroll at the bottom of the news and see that a few school districts west of us are closing. "I don't see us on the news yet," I tell her.
"Well," she huffs and I can tell she's outside, "I need to chase down the dogs, so call me if you hear anything."
So I watch the news for a bit and more schools start closing. I look outside and start to notice a few flakes falling down onto the deck. I check the news station again. And finally, there it was...
We're closed! We have our snow day!!!
And the funny thing is that after two near misses in snow days, where my students obsessed over the weather reports, this one snuck up and caught us all by surprise.
I hope my kids have a great day off. Me? I will too.
P.S. And for those of you up in the Great White North, I know you don't think snow days are a big deal...but for those of us in The South, they're rare and treasured like jewels!
"Have you heard anything about us closing?" she asks.
"No, there's nothing on the news, but I checked The National Weather Service and it said we had a chance of snow and sleet. I didn't think that was forecast until late tonight."
"It wasn't, but it's snowing like mad here," she replies. She lives in the western part of the county.
I look out on my back deck. Nothing.
"Nothing here, but that just means you're at the beginning of the storm," I reply. I check the scroll at the bottom of the news and see that a few school districts west of us are closing. "I don't see us on the news yet," I tell her.
"Well," she huffs and I can tell she's outside, "I need to chase down the dogs, so call me if you hear anything."
So I watch the news for a bit and more schools start closing. I look outside and start to notice a few flakes falling down onto the deck. I check the news station again. And finally, there it was...
We're closed! We have our snow day!!!
And the funny thing is that after two near misses in snow days, where my students obsessed over the weather reports, this one snuck up and caught us all by surprise.
I hope my kids have a great day off. Me? I will too.
P.S. And for those of you up in the Great White North, I know you don't think snow days are a big deal...but for those of us in The South, they're rare and treasured like jewels!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Wishing, Hoping, Praying
My students have taken to our weather unit with a passion I rarely see out of them except when they're talking about video games, the opposite sex, or the latest movie they've seen. They are obsessed with weather reports.
"Mrs. Bluebird, can you show us that weather service site?" they ask nearly every period. So I indulge them and show the National Weather Service page for our town on my big screen. We've spent a lot of time reading weather maps and station models and they can work their way through this page like pros.
"Ah, man, look at that dewpoint. It's not high enough," I can hear one of them exclaim.
"Yeah, the air isn't saturated," someone pipes up. "And if it's not saturated, there's no precipitation."
"And the temperature. It's going to start falling in a few days," another chimes in.
"Yeah, but not too far," another adds.
They discuss cloud cover, air temperature, and dewpoints. They look at high pressure areas and low pressure areas and ponder what, exactly, we can expect in a few days.
It has absolutely nothing to do with my teaching, the quality of my lessons, or the material being presented.
Pure and simple...they are praying for a snow day.
"Mrs. Bluebird, can you show us that weather service site?" they ask nearly every period. So I indulge them and show the National Weather Service page for our town on my big screen. We've spent a lot of time reading weather maps and station models and they can work their way through this page like pros.
"Ah, man, look at that dewpoint. It's not high enough," I can hear one of them exclaim.
"Yeah, the air isn't saturated," someone pipes up. "And if it's not saturated, there's no precipitation."
"And the temperature. It's going to start falling in a few days," another chimes in.
"Yeah, but not too far," another adds.
They discuss cloud cover, air temperature, and dewpoints. They look at high pressure areas and low pressure areas and ponder what, exactly, we can expect in a few days.
It has absolutely nothing to do with my teaching, the quality of my lessons, or the material being presented.
Pure and simple...they are praying for a snow day.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Whoo-hoo! It's Carnival Time!
Forget that it's January! Forget that it's supposed to 9 degrees tomorrow morning! Warm up with some hot news over at The Median Sib, who's hosting this week's Education Carnival.
P.S. I hear there's hot chocolate involved, so hurry!
P.S. I hear there's hot chocolate involved, so hurry!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Banging Our Heads Against the Wall
I've had a student in my homeroom the past year who I'll call Sharpie Boy because, among other things, he is constantly giving himself tattoos with Sharpie markers. He's fairly bright, reads well, and although he's identified as special ed with a severe case of ADHD, he tested proficient on all his Big Deal Government Mandated Tests, so he was put out into science and social studies this year. He does not have an ideal home life. His mother, while agreeable enough on the telephone, has never graced us with her presence. There is little money. He has some older brothers who aren't exactly living squeaky clean lives and are definitely not a good influence on Sharpie Boy.
That being said, I've never had a behavior problem with Sharpie Boy. He's a little chatty at times, but I have many who are worse. He does have a problem with organization (which is typical of most of my special ed kids), and rarely has a pencil. Out of all the pencils I've handed out this year, over half of them probably went to him. Academically he started out great with a passing grade of 72% the first nine weeks of school. Granted, he gets modified tests and they're read to him, but that isn't bad. However, the second nine weeks he earned a whopping 17%. He pretty much decided to do absolutely nothing, and that's exactly what I got out of him - nothing. I'd talk to him privately about it, ask if he needed help, ask what the problem was, and I'd get a happy little answer that things were fine and he'd really try to do better. Mom was understanding but nothing changed. Mr. Social Studies had similar results.
However, apparently Sharpie Boy had behavior issues outside of my room and Mr. Social Studies' room. If a class was slightly unstructured, such as Art, he'd lose it, get in a fight, or do something else to get in trouble, and wind up in In School Suspension. While up there he'd mouth off, sleep, and generally get into more trouble which would earn him an Out of School Suspension. He was up there for the two weeks prior to Christmas and did not do one assignment that I'd sent up for him. He'd ditch school (and get caught, he isn't very good at being sneaky), talk back to other teachers, and generally act like a pill. He was racking up the discipline points with abandon and was a candidate for alternative school.
On Thursday Mr. Social Studies and I, along with Mrs. Tropical (one of the special ed teachers who knows Sharpie Boy very well as she had him last year for two classes and this year for two classes), Mrs. Squirrel and Mrs. Saint, had a meeting to come up with a behavior plan for Sharpie Boy. He'd just gotten two referrals from ISS, and was most likely going to wind up in alternative school. One of the referrals was for writing a note to another boy up in ISS discussing the various sexual positions his (older) girlfriend and he had tried over the past weekend. According to Mrs. Tropical, Sharpie Boy, who is all over 13 years old, has always been a little more wise in sexual matters than a kid that age probably should be. He's also very wise to the world of drug use (see older brothers). We had to discuss whether or not his behavior was the result of his learning disability.
It was an interesting meeting. Mr. Social Studies stated his belief (which I agree with) that Sharpie Boy does not like being out in the general school population because he's not the big fish in that pond like he is in the special ed classes. Consequently, his refusal to do any work so he'll fail. Mrs. Tropical furnished the log of the 18 phone calls she'd made to mom, and the 6 different meetings she'd attempted to set up to discuss the problems with Sharpie Boy. She also filled us in on habit of inflicting pain on himself, as well as his deep dark depressions he would have at times. The kid has some mental issues but mom doesn't want to see it so therefore we have no diagnosis of anything. Although he really should be going to alternative school, we decided that isn't the best place for him because we seriously doubted his mother could get him there and he'd end up running the streets. (The District does not provide transportation for the little darlings who earn a slot at the Alternative School.) The decision was made to but him in the behavior modification class with Mrs. Saint, because he probably does have some undiagnosed emotional issues, and that way he would at least be in school. Mrs. Tropical calls mom, mom loves the idea as she thought alternative school would be a problem. All is well.
So, Friday he cleaned out his locker outside my room and headed off to Mrs. Saint's class. He seemed happy about it. We all thought we'd made the right decision for this kid because at least this way he'd get some attention and some help with his issues.
Four hours later he's being picked up by his step-father (first any of us had heard about a step-father) because he'd showed another kid the 4" switchblade he'd brought to school and as a result earned himself a 90 day stint at the alternative school.
So much for trying to do the best thing for this kid.
That being said, I've never had a behavior problem with Sharpie Boy. He's a little chatty at times, but I have many who are worse. He does have a problem with organization (which is typical of most of my special ed kids), and rarely has a pencil. Out of all the pencils I've handed out this year, over half of them probably went to him. Academically he started out great with a passing grade of 72% the first nine weeks of school. Granted, he gets modified tests and they're read to him, but that isn't bad. However, the second nine weeks he earned a whopping 17%. He pretty much decided to do absolutely nothing, and that's exactly what I got out of him - nothing. I'd talk to him privately about it, ask if he needed help, ask what the problem was, and I'd get a happy little answer that things were fine and he'd really try to do better. Mom was understanding but nothing changed. Mr. Social Studies had similar results.
However, apparently Sharpie Boy had behavior issues outside of my room and Mr. Social Studies' room. If a class was slightly unstructured, such as Art, he'd lose it, get in a fight, or do something else to get in trouble, and wind up in In School Suspension. While up there he'd mouth off, sleep, and generally get into more trouble which would earn him an Out of School Suspension. He was up there for the two weeks prior to Christmas and did not do one assignment that I'd sent up for him. He'd ditch school (and get caught, he isn't very good at being sneaky), talk back to other teachers, and generally act like a pill. He was racking up the discipline points with abandon and was a candidate for alternative school.
On Thursday Mr. Social Studies and I, along with Mrs. Tropical (one of the special ed teachers who knows Sharpie Boy very well as she had him last year for two classes and this year for two classes), Mrs. Squirrel and Mrs. Saint, had a meeting to come up with a behavior plan for Sharpie Boy. He'd just gotten two referrals from ISS, and was most likely going to wind up in alternative school. One of the referrals was for writing a note to another boy up in ISS discussing the various sexual positions his (older) girlfriend and he had tried over the past weekend. According to Mrs. Tropical, Sharpie Boy, who is all over 13 years old, has always been a little more wise in sexual matters than a kid that age probably should be. He's also very wise to the world of drug use (see older brothers). We had to discuss whether or not his behavior was the result of his learning disability.
It was an interesting meeting. Mr. Social Studies stated his belief (which I agree with) that Sharpie Boy does not like being out in the general school population because he's not the big fish in that pond like he is in the special ed classes. Consequently, his refusal to do any work so he'll fail. Mrs. Tropical furnished the log of the 18 phone calls she'd made to mom, and the 6 different meetings she'd attempted to set up to discuss the problems with Sharpie Boy. She also filled us in on habit of inflicting pain on himself, as well as his deep dark depressions he would have at times. The kid has some mental issues but mom doesn't want to see it so therefore we have no diagnosis of anything. Although he really should be going to alternative school, we decided that isn't the best place for him because we seriously doubted his mother could get him there and he'd end up running the streets. (The District does not provide transportation for the little darlings who earn a slot at the Alternative School.) The decision was made to but him in the behavior modification class with Mrs. Saint, because he probably does have some undiagnosed emotional issues, and that way he would at least be in school. Mrs. Tropical calls mom, mom loves the idea as she thought alternative school would be a problem. All is well.
So, Friday he cleaned out his locker outside my room and headed off to Mrs. Saint's class. He seemed happy about it. We all thought we'd made the right decision for this kid because at least this way he'd get some attention and some help with his issues.
Four hours later he's being picked up by his step-father (first any of us had heard about a step-father) because he'd showed another kid the 4" switchblade he'd brought to school and as a result earned himself a 90 day stint at the alternative school.
So much for trying to do the best thing for this kid.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Throwing Down the Gauntlet
One of the big topics of conversation a few weeks ago at our in-service was ways to motivate our kids. A lot of our students come from families where education is not a priority. Many of my parents are high school drop outs themselves. A lot of these kids (and parents) just don't see the point of doing well in school so, consequently, they don't. They're more interested in becoming football players, hip hop artists, or rock stars. (Or drug dealers...)
Some of the better, and more successful, ideas that were presented had an element of competition involved. I love this idea because real life is, after all, competitive. I spent fifteen years in the corporate sector and I saw competition that makes reality TV seem downright tame. I worry when I see educational experts (and teachers) doing their very best to remove competition from kids' lives because that's going to ensure that they won't have the skills to deal with competition and failure. Both of which are very, very real.
So Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Robin and I were knocking around some ideas the other day to come up with ways to motivate our kids and we realized that, for the first time, our class periods were all very similar. Usually one team was designated as the inclusion team so they got a lot of the spec ed kids, one team got all the band kids (which tend to be better students), and another team got the trouble makers. This year, however, with all the seventh graders on the same schedule, things were more evenly distributed. And even stranger, all our first period classes were very similar, all our second periods were very similar, and so forth and so on.
And we got to thinking...why not let each of the three seventh grade class periods compete against each other to see which of them ends up with the highest grade point average at the end of the grading period?
I presented the idea to the kids and they absolutely loved the idea. They weren't even all that concerned about what the prize would be, although they suggested a pizza party to the winning classes. (Which was kind of what we were thinking although we'll need to find a way to pay for it...fundraiser anyone?) They just loved the idea of beating the other teams and having bragging rights. Adding pizza to the mix just made it better.
So we put together some charts to track the weekly class averages and I posted the current week's results on my whiteboard.
And my fifth period class has an average grade of 68%.
70% is passing.
My fifth period, which has my biggest group of behavior problems and which is my loudest and most talkative class, was stunned.
"We suck," they said.
"I'm not going to disagree," I responded. "Although I might have phrased that a bit differently."
"That's embarrassing," they said.
"This is stupid," Sickly Girl said. "I'm getting an A this nine weeks. I got an A all year in sixth grade and the only reason I'm not getting an A now is I'm not doing anything and I got an F!"
Many heads nod in agreement. "Yeah, we can do better," a few others said. "We just need to study and do our work, and it's really not that hard."
"And shut up!" Hip Hop Boy declared. A stunning declaration considering that this child speaks at a yell most of the time.
"Well," I told them. "It's up to you. You decide where you want to be on this board. Winning or Losing."
"We want to win!" they scream. "We want pizza!"
The result? Kids who have never, ever turned in a single homework assignment all year....turned it in early this week. Even Shrek Boy.
Perhaps a little competition is all they needed...
Update!!!! This week's class average has risen!!! They are now at 70.2%!!!
Some of the better, and more successful, ideas that were presented had an element of competition involved. I love this idea because real life is, after all, competitive. I spent fifteen years in the corporate sector and I saw competition that makes reality TV seem downright tame. I worry when I see educational experts (and teachers) doing their very best to remove competition from kids' lives because that's going to ensure that they won't have the skills to deal with competition and failure. Both of which are very, very real.
So Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Robin and I were knocking around some ideas the other day to come up with ways to motivate our kids and we realized that, for the first time, our class periods were all very similar. Usually one team was designated as the inclusion team so they got a lot of the spec ed kids, one team got all the band kids (which tend to be better students), and another team got the trouble makers. This year, however, with all the seventh graders on the same schedule, things were more evenly distributed. And even stranger, all our first period classes were very similar, all our second periods were very similar, and so forth and so on.
And we got to thinking...why not let each of the three seventh grade class periods compete against each other to see which of them ends up with the highest grade point average at the end of the grading period?
I presented the idea to the kids and they absolutely loved the idea. They weren't even all that concerned about what the prize would be, although they suggested a pizza party to the winning classes. (Which was kind of what we were thinking although we'll need to find a way to pay for it...fundraiser anyone?) They just loved the idea of beating the other teams and having bragging rights. Adding pizza to the mix just made it better.
So we put together some charts to track the weekly class averages and I posted the current week's results on my whiteboard.
And my fifth period class has an average grade of 68%.
70% is passing.
My fifth period, which has my biggest group of behavior problems and which is my loudest and most talkative class, was stunned.
"We suck," they said.
"I'm not going to disagree," I responded. "Although I might have phrased that a bit differently."
"That's embarrassing," they said.
"This is stupid," Sickly Girl said. "I'm getting an A this nine weeks. I got an A all year in sixth grade and the only reason I'm not getting an A now is I'm not doing anything and I got an F!"
Many heads nod in agreement. "Yeah, we can do better," a few others said. "We just need to study and do our work, and it's really not that hard."
"And shut up!" Hip Hop Boy declared. A stunning declaration considering that this child speaks at a yell most of the time.
"Well," I told them. "It's up to you. You decide where you want to be on this board. Winning or Losing."
"We want to win!" they scream. "We want pizza!"
The result? Kids who have never, ever turned in a single homework assignment all year....turned it in early this week. Even Shrek Boy.
Perhaps a little competition is all they needed...
Update!!!! This week's class average has risen!!! They are now at 70.2%!!!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Teachable Moment
We started in on our weather unit yesterday.
This is one of my favorite units to teach because I'm a weather junkie. Part of this stems from growing up in Southern California where the weather doesn't change much at all and can put you into a stupor. I fell in love with weather when I lived in the Midwest and realized that it can do some pretty amazing things beside be hazy and mid-70's with a touch of fog in the morning. This is also a unit that the kids have background information on so they can easily relate to the content. They can tell stories about the big hail storm they were in, or the tornado they saw when they were five, or the time they went sledding in the snow.
And find me a seventh grader that won't stare entranced at a video on tornadoes and hurricanes and massive destruction. They love this stuff.
So it's a real shame that I won't be able to teach this after next year because they've changed our standards and are moving this unit to the sixth grade.
In any case, we were only on our second day of the unit and had spent most of the period working on some of the terms we needed to know such as dew point, humidity, relative humidity, weather, and so on. We had five minutes left so I had them pack up while I showed them my favorite weather site, the one put out by The National Weather Service. I love it because it doesn't have ads and you can spend all day clicking on links and finding cool weather information. It's fast and it's accurate. It had been raining pretty much all day, so there were cool radar images to look at as well which the kids really like. And amazingly enough, nearly all our vocabulary words are used in context on the page - how's that for relevance?
So, I pull up the page for our town, and was going to show them how to read it and I notice that we are under a tornado warning.
I look over at Mr. Title, and say, "Wow, we're under a tornado warning!"
And at that instant the tornado alarm goes off in The School.
The kids stand up and look at me, probably wondering how I fixed it so we had a tornado drill during our weather unit. I bark at them to get down in the tornado position against the interior walls, go to shut my door, grab a kid from my first period who is at his locker and send him in the room. Mr. Social Studies is at his door, pulling it shut. "Not a drill, is it?" he asks. "Nope. Not a drill".
By this time Mr. Title has all the kids down on the floor and he looks over at me. I point down to the floor and we both get down.
This kids are kind of giggly and squirming for a minute or two and then it dawns on them, when the annoying beeping didn't stop, that this really isn't a drill. This is real. After a few minutes we could hear the sirens going off in the neighborhood, and then the rain got really loud and the thunder a lot more intense.
I can't believe we didn't lose power.
After about ten minutes the annoying beeping stops and The Principal comes over the loudspeaker and tells us that we're still under the warning but she wanted to give us a break from the alarm (bless her!) and we are to stay put in the tornado position until further notice. The kids are getting restless so I take the remote to my LCD projector, which gets cable television, and was able to get the local news station that does great weather reports onto the screen so they could at least hear what was going on.
After a total of 30 minutes the all clear sounded and we were able to get up off the floor and back into our seats. The Principal asked us to all stay in our 5th period classes until further notice, so Mr. Social Studies and I kept the local news so the kids could watch the storm's progress. By the time it was all over, and the 8th graders were able to finish their lunch that was interrupted by the warning, it was nearly seventh period. We dismissed at our normal time which was a relief because I had visions of being stuck at school with these kids until the storm system passed. Fortunately it wasn't too wide and it moved fast.
I hope this isn't a sign of things to come this spring when tornado season really begins in earnest.
However, how often can you be in front of your class talking about weather and watches and warnings and actually have one happen??? Amazing!
This is one of my favorite units to teach because I'm a weather junkie. Part of this stems from growing up in Southern California where the weather doesn't change much at all and can put you into a stupor. I fell in love with weather when I lived in the Midwest and realized that it can do some pretty amazing things beside be hazy and mid-70's with a touch of fog in the morning. This is also a unit that the kids have background information on so they can easily relate to the content. They can tell stories about the big hail storm they were in, or the tornado they saw when they were five, or the time they went sledding in the snow.
And find me a seventh grader that won't stare entranced at a video on tornadoes and hurricanes and massive destruction. They love this stuff.
So it's a real shame that I won't be able to teach this after next year because they've changed our standards and are moving this unit to the sixth grade.
In any case, we were only on our second day of the unit and had spent most of the period working on some of the terms we needed to know such as dew point, humidity, relative humidity, weather, and so on. We had five minutes left so I had them pack up while I showed them my favorite weather site, the one put out by The National Weather Service. I love it because it doesn't have ads and you can spend all day clicking on links and finding cool weather information. It's fast and it's accurate. It had been raining pretty much all day, so there were cool radar images to look at as well which the kids really like. And amazingly enough, nearly all our vocabulary words are used in context on the page - how's that for relevance?
So, I pull up the page for our town, and was going to show them how to read it and I notice that we are under a tornado warning.
I look over at Mr. Title, and say, "Wow, we're under a tornado warning!"
And at that instant the tornado alarm goes off in The School.
The kids stand up and look at me, probably wondering how I fixed it so we had a tornado drill during our weather unit. I bark at them to get down in the tornado position against the interior walls, go to shut my door, grab a kid from my first period who is at his locker and send him in the room. Mr. Social Studies is at his door, pulling it shut. "Not a drill, is it?" he asks. "Nope. Not a drill".
By this time Mr. Title has all the kids down on the floor and he looks over at me. I point down to the floor and we both get down.
This kids are kind of giggly and squirming for a minute or two and then it dawns on them, when the annoying beeping didn't stop, that this really isn't a drill. This is real. After a few minutes we could hear the sirens going off in the neighborhood, and then the rain got really loud and the thunder a lot more intense.
I can't believe we didn't lose power.
After about ten minutes the annoying beeping stops and The Principal comes over the loudspeaker and tells us that we're still under the warning but she wanted to give us a break from the alarm (bless her!) and we are to stay put in the tornado position until further notice. The kids are getting restless so I take the remote to my LCD projector, which gets cable television, and was able to get the local news station that does great weather reports onto the screen so they could at least hear what was going on.
After a total of 30 minutes the all clear sounded and we were able to get up off the floor and back into our seats. The Principal asked us to all stay in our 5th period classes until further notice, so Mr. Social Studies and I kept the local news so the kids could watch the storm's progress. By the time it was all over, and the 8th graders were able to finish their lunch that was interrupted by the warning, it was nearly seventh period. We dismissed at our normal time which was a relief because I had visions of being stuck at school with these kids until the storm system passed. Fortunately it wasn't too wide and it moved fast.
I hope this isn't a sign of things to come this spring when tornado season really begins in earnest.
However, how often can you be in front of your class talking about weather and watches and warnings and actually have one happen??? Amazing!
Friday, January 04, 2008
It's over
As of 8 o'clock this morning, Christmas break was over.
Because we had to go in for an in-service.
You can only imagine the whining, complaining, and groaning that this caused. The kids come back on Monday, after having two full weeks off, but we had to go in today.
However...it wasn't all that bad. We had a presentation on rigor and relevance, new initiatives by The District, and some other stuff that was actually worth the time. Thank goodness because if it had been one of those workshops that we've all sat through where you think a needle in the eye would be an improvement, the staff may have actually revolted.
The best part, however, was that Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Robin and I did not have to attend the afternoon sessions because we had made other plans, with the full blessing and approval of The Prinicpal, of course.
A month or so ago, Mrs. Eagle and I were at one of the monthly science teacher gatherings at the local university, something Mrs. Standard puts on so we can all get together and talk about fun new things like our standards changing, when we met up with some of our friends who also teach seventh grade science at two other middle schools in The District. We all began commiserating about how much we hate in-services and how much we'd rather just have time to meet and brainstorm and share good ideas. You know, collaborate? Not one of those forced collaboration meetings that they've tried before which end up being a complete waste of time because everyone has to be there and some people, no matter how much you push them, just will not work well with others. You can't force people to collaborate. Part of the secret to good collaboration is having people who trust each other enough to share ideas and who actually enjoy each other.
And we got to thinking. And Mrs. Eagle and I went to The Principal and asked her if we could have our other seventh grade science friends come over and we'd do some top-notch collaboration - sharing our Big Deal State Test review activities, share some of our good labs and activities that work, and so forth and so on.
And, because The Principal is a visionary and actually believes in the whole idea of collaboration, she said, "go for it".
So while everyone else was doing who knows what, we had three other teachers in my room and we worked together to come up with some good ideas for the next semester. It was awesome. We all walked away with great ideas that are proven in the classroom and that we can use to help our kids.
And we all agreed that we'd like to get together at least once again this semester to touch base and share any new information that we've picked up.
Now that, my friends, is a good in-service!
Because we had to go in for an in-service.
You can only imagine the whining, complaining, and groaning that this caused. The kids come back on Monday, after having two full weeks off, but we had to go in today.
However...it wasn't all that bad. We had a presentation on rigor and relevance, new initiatives by The District, and some other stuff that was actually worth the time. Thank goodness because if it had been one of those workshops that we've all sat through where you think a needle in the eye would be an improvement, the staff may have actually revolted.
The best part, however, was that Mrs. Eagle, Mrs. Robin and I did not have to attend the afternoon sessions because we had made other plans, with the full blessing and approval of The Prinicpal, of course.
A month or so ago, Mrs. Eagle and I were at one of the monthly science teacher gatherings at the local university, something Mrs. Standard puts on so we can all get together and talk about fun new things like our standards changing, when we met up with some of our friends who also teach seventh grade science at two other middle schools in The District. We all began commiserating about how much we hate in-services and how much we'd rather just have time to meet and brainstorm and share good ideas. You know, collaborate? Not one of those forced collaboration meetings that they've tried before which end up being a complete waste of time because everyone has to be there and some people, no matter how much you push them, just will not work well with others. You can't force people to collaborate. Part of the secret to good collaboration is having people who trust each other enough to share ideas and who actually enjoy each other.
And we got to thinking. And Mrs. Eagle and I went to The Principal and asked her if we could have our other seventh grade science friends come over and we'd do some top-notch collaboration - sharing our Big Deal State Test review activities, share some of our good labs and activities that work, and so forth and so on.
And, because The Principal is a visionary and actually believes in the whole idea of collaboration, she said, "go for it".
So while everyone else was doing who knows what, we had three other teachers in my room and we worked together to come up with some good ideas for the next semester. It was awesome. We all walked away with great ideas that are proven in the classroom and that we can use to help our kids.
And we all agreed that we'd like to get together at least once again this semester to touch base and share any new information that we've picked up.
Now that, my friends, is a good in-service!
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