Overdue Update

Hey all. Found a little bit of time to write, so I thought I would make the most of it.

January 11th began my semester long takeover. I am teaching the second semester of English 9. Monday was fine. We just did some introductory things, and passed out the syllabus. Tuesday wasn't as good but I dealt with it. Wednesday was unbearable as far as management, so on Thursday I talked with the class about it. I told them that I wasn't my CT and that I was not going to try to be like her. I told them that I will probably do things differently and that the sooner they understood that, the sooner we could enjoy the company of each other. Friday was good.

Tuesday was horrible. I could not control them and could not believe what I was hearing from them. Needless to say I left school pretty disappointed. Thursday, I brought my grumpy stick and decided to stop the class and call on individuals who were acting out. Friday was better.

That brings me to today. Today's class was not entirely bad. Apparently some kid aimed some profanity in my direction, but 1) since it was in Spanish and 2) I did not hear it, it hardly bugs me. I only know because one of my Spanish speaking students told me about it later. This truly does not bug me in the least. One reason being, because I don't understand it. He was obviously not brave enough to say it in English and let me hear it, so I know he did not mean it or it was not meant for me to hear. Another reason I do not really care is because if he needs to make himself sound cool in front of his friends by making an unwarranted insult in a language the target cannot understand, it only shows this student's weakness about confrontation and he still knows that saying that is wrong. If I heard it and/or understood it, two things would have happened. The first is calling him out on it saying something about how his unprovoked insult made him look so "cool". The second thing would be to tell him to stay in at lunch and we can discuss it.

My ears are open now.

I am having some trouble with classroom management. I have yet to stumble upon my style of discipline, though I am seeing shades of it. I always went with honesty being the best policy, rather than punishment, but these current students are pushing me. I have a few ideas I still need to try. I am going to have some one-on-one talks with some students tomorrow. If that does not work I will be calling home.

I cannot continue to have this issue. I feel like the students' learning is suffering because of it. I spent a week on something that should have taken one, or two days max.

I have told myself if I need to be grumpy, I will be. Unfortunately, that is difficult being who I am. I hate being mean, but it looks as though I will have to be until I get respect from people. I am turned off to this age group. As of now, I would prefer to teach middle school students, or 11th/12th grade students.

Anyway, enough of the downside. I am liking the high school overall. My literacy placement is an ELD class that I like very much. This is my first time in an ELD class and it is great. The teacher is magnificent and kind and patient with the students. I am learning a lot about being a caring teacher from her. The students themselves are very respectful, overall. They usually all say good morning and bye, and most of them are willing to do the work. If I find a position as an English 11/12 & ELD 3-4 teacher when I graduate, I will be very happy.

I just checked my email a few minutes ago and read something interesting from my CT about an encounter she had with one of my students today. It was somewhat educational, somewhat sad, and somewhat inspiring. It makes me want to stick around for a bit.

Til next time.

The 2 Week T.O. Reflection (somewhat)

So the two day take over ended. Boy, was it a good one. I can take so many good things away from it. The first is that instead of wondering if I chose the right path, I now KNOW, and that feels so good. These past two weeks may have been strenuous at times, but coming home from school happy and proud of my students has made it worth every minute. I cannot put into words how much I learned from this experience. I know I will be a great teacher, and the elements I may be lacking in (mostly management) will catch up to the qualities that soar in due time.

Another thing I want to remember about this take over is what I used to teach my students. Technology was a big deal to them. The PowerPoint presentations, the music, all got the students invested in the topic. These days it is hard to keep their attention, but the PowerPoint slides WORK.

I wish I could fully explain to my students just how grateful I am. They were nice, respectful, and great to be around. For a class of seniors, I could not have had any better. Once I got over my reservations about my own knowledge, I was able to settle in, be myself, and teach like a person, not a robot. These students finished Frankenstein in 2 school weeks!!! That is stellar by anyone's standards! The scores on the test were mostly FANTASTIC! A few subpar scores, but I know I can't reach everyone no matter how hard I try.

One student I will forever remember.... I will not write their name, but he/she is so intelligent and definitely ready for college. It pained me to hear that he/she had a "D" in the class. I made a copy of their test and cannot believe this. The writing was clear and beautiful, I have to show it off to everyone. I really hope he/she passes the class. They really need to further their education. I know they have the skill for it.

Paradox..?

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

"Craziness is doing the same thing multiple times and expecting a different result."

I gave these two conflicting clichés to my Seniors on Friday in relation to Shelley's Frankenstein.

What do you have to say about it?

In the zone, Chief.

Tuesday was awesome, and it only strengthened my feelings that I have made the right choice in careers. I tried the different reading groups, and that seemed to work. I had to stop for some classroom management but not too often and with great success. The thing that made took it to the next level was the final activity that I had planned. We read chapter 4 of Frankenstein and learned that Victor stole the body parts from charnel-houses, or a vault use to store bones and bodies. So, what I did was print out different styles of bodies and put them into envelopes which served as our charnel-houses. The students then picked out a body part without looking. This made it so they would get legs that did not match torsos or arms. Any way, it went really well. Everyone was laughing at their messed up figures. It was fun. The only thing I would have done differently was to get more supplies. It took a really long time for everyone to get what they needed and tape the pieces together. But, all in all, it was great.

How much should we pay teachers?

Not sure to whom this originally belongs, but it is definitely worth a read:


"I, for one, am sick and tired of those high paid teachers. Their hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work nine or ten months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do....baby-sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage. That's right. I would give them $3.00 dollars an hour and only the hours they worked, not any of that silly planning time. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45AM to 4:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch). Each parent should pay$19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now, how many do they teach in a day... maybe 30? So that's 19.5 X 30 = $585.00 a day. But remember they only work180 days a year! I'm not going to pay them for any vacations. Let's see. . . that's $585 x 180 = $105,300. Hold on! My calculator must need batteries! What about those special teachers or the ones with master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage just to be fair. Round it off to $7.00 an hour. That would be $7 times 6-1/2 hours times 30 children times 180 days=$245,700.00 per year. Wait a minute, there is something wrong here!"

Reading Aloud

I'd like to start off by saying that I am a big proponent of reading aloud in class. I think it serves a purpose and should be implemented more often. That being said, I had an experience just last week that made me re-think my stance. My 12th grade class is reading Frankenstein, and lucky me, I get to plan the unit out and get it done by December 10th. I have come to the conclusion that in order to make this deadline, reading must be done in class. Luckily for me, though, I get to teach in the block schedule so I have plenty of time. So, last Wednesday the class and I had just finished reading Letters 3 and 4, and I hear a student mutter that this was boring. Now, one of the things I had never hoped to hear was those words. Boring? Ughh. So, over the weekend I mulled it over. Along with some ideas from fellow teachers, I came to the conclusion to be upfront with the students. Today I asked them what they thought about reading in class. I got mixed reviews. Some like it, some do not, some like it only if I read. Unfortunately, I did not really get a firm stance on where to go with it. I have come to the conclusion that reading in class MUST take place in order for us to meet the deadline of finishing. There is no other way to comply unless I believe that the students will read 15 pages a night-- I'm fairly optimistic but I wouldn't put money on it.

Starting next week I will be doing reading groups. Those that want to read on their own can on one side of the room, those that want to read aloud with me will go to another side. Each group will be given the same amount of time to finish the reading and we will come together to discuss as a class. This does bring up an issue with class management but I think if I plan it right, I can position myself in between the two groups to make sure each group is on task. I believe this will be my solution and it won't be done everyday--just when there is a lot of reading that needs to be done.

I don't know. I'll see how this works and adapt as I go.

Sad Conditions...

Forgive the overdue update. However, I am spurred into writing by a regretful situation. I am not sure if I should write about it. On one hand, it is part of being a teacher and the relationships I am building with students. On the other, I do not want to explicitly write about a student's life. Therefore, I will try to maintain anonymity for my student. Forgive me if it is vague.

One of the most challenging and tragic situations I can think of for a teacher to experience has already happened to me. I had heard about the car crash that occurred very early Sunday morning, I heard the last name of the victims, but did not make the connection until my CT told me why She would not be in class today. I was shocked. Hearing one of my students was involved in a brutal accident at the hands of an allegedly intoxicated driver made me confused. How am I supposed to feel? I should probably be strong. Students look to teachers to be a foundation in this situation. Still, I can not help but to feel such a great remorse for what my students must be going through. And the for the student involved. To lose members of your family who were in the car with you, yet be in so much physical pain. My thoughts are with her.