Tuesday all three classes are testing, then we'll be projecting for the rest of the week in all three classes. 6th grade is making a Facebook profile for an historical figure that we've discussed, 7th grade is making a MySpace page for one of the countries that we've covered, and 8th grade will be making the front page of a newspaper from one of the eras that we've discussed. Haven't quite ironed out all the wrinkles, but I hope to tonight. Then I can concentrate on making finals for all the classes later in the week. Oh yeah, and planning basketball practices since we start with those on Wednesday. Our practice schedule is Wed and Thurs from 4-6. I want to try to make Mondays an "open gym" on our blacktop at school and Tuesdays a study hall until 6 in my classroom for the basketball team.
This past weekend was spent in Austin on December Retreat. All the ACE teachers from across the country were there - it was an executive retreat center called Balcones Springs Executive Retreat Center or something like that. It was really nice, but the meeting rooms were kept ridiculously hot and stuffy. The contrast between that and the cold outside (it snowed on Friday) got me feeling quite a bit under the weather. Luckily my 6th graders were nice enough to take it easy on my today. I conserved my energy for 8th grade. It was needed.
7th grade was a little wild today, which kind of annoyed me. I had spent all weekend talking about how much better they've gotten. I guess I spoke just too soon. I am also getting extremely annoyed with my principal. I asked her today about the possibility of a positive reward for my 7th graders. I thought she'd be all for it since she is apparently torpedoing our discipline system in favor of "something that focuses on the positive." She told me that class-wide positive rewards were not a good idea because some could behave all the time and others have occasional flare-ups of misbehavior. Sometimes I wish I were running the school.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Upcoming Challenge
We'll get there. We just have to make it sound positive. Personally, I don't really think that we need structured positive things. I do things in the classroom - taking my class to recess after lunch, giving candy rewards, and drawings at the end of the week. I think that for the kids who stay out of trouble, the positive is that issues with other students will actually be addressed. I don't want to sound like I was the absolutely perfect student in school (but I was close)...but I was never rewarded according to some scale of "goodness." A good education was the reward. I'll be interested to see what is presented tomorrow. That's when my principal said she'd have something ready to share with us.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
December 1: Bombshell Day
Bombshell #1: My pet project was asked not to return to school. So, no more him. I need to figure out a way to contact him.
Bombshell #2: This discipline system that we have been working on? Today, my principal told me in a private meeting (so, naturally, I will post it to cyberspace) that she can't support what we've come up with so far. I was flabbergasted because my understanding after our last meeting was that everyone was on board but that there might be a few kinks to work out. So, I'm going to try to keep the pressure up on her to outline either (1) what her specific problems are so we can address them or (2) what her alternative would be. The goal is (I think) to have something in place to start with come January.
Bombshell #2: This discipline system that we have been working on? Today, my principal told me in a private meeting (so, naturally, I will post it to cyberspace) that she can't support what we've come up with so far. I was flabbergasted because my understanding after our last meeting was that everyone was on board but that there might be a few kinks to work out. So, I'm going to try to keep the pressure up on her to outline either (1) what her specific problems are so we can address them or (2) what her alternative would be. The goal is (I think) to have something in place to start with come January.
Monday, November 30, 2009
New Week
I hate planning Sundays. Finished planning and went to bed last night at 12:30. It's now 5:10. I have showered, dressed, and am now halfway through my bowl of cereal. I'll be off to Wal-Mart before school when I'm finished.
Few new things this week: I am sending a daily discipline report home on my pet project. In order to go to PE, he has to bring it back every day signed. All my 7th graders have new lockers. Because I have two fewer than I used to, I can now use the top shelf for my stuff. This will be better for the students since they will all have their own cubby (until now, I had to give some spaces on the top shelf divided by tape. Obviously, this was not enough of a physical divider to keep their stuff with their own things.
The ND club of Mobile wants a little article on us for their newsletter. Here is the paragraph that one of my housemates put together on me. I think it's hysterical. There will be a few (minor) changes to it before we send in the final draft:
"Drew Clary hails from outside of San Antonio, and his first name is not short for Andrew. He teaches Social Studies at Most Pure Heart of Mary, presiding over seventh grade homeroom. He graduated from Notre Dame in 2009, where he served as R.A. at Fisher Hall and studied abroad in London, toiling as an intern for a member of Parliament. Truly dedicated to his craft, Drew is often the last to bed and the first to rise. When not reading The Economist, Drew makes plans for law school. Drew’s other recreations include listening to Taylor Swift and other country artists as well as determining the precise point at which paying YMCA dues finally demands using YMCA gym facilities." (I am still paying my monthly membership, but have only gone once - to pick up my card.)
Few new things this week: I am sending a daily discipline report home on my pet project. In order to go to PE, he has to bring it back every day signed. All my 7th graders have new lockers. Because I have two fewer than I used to, I can now use the top shelf for my stuff. This will be better for the students since they will all have their own cubby (until now, I had to give some spaces on the top shelf divided by tape. Obviously, this was not enough of a physical divider to keep their stuff with their own things.
The ND club of Mobile wants a little article on us for their newsletter. Here is the paragraph that one of my housemates put together on me. I think it's hysterical. There will be a few (minor) changes to it before we send in the final draft:
"Drew Clary hails from outside of San Antonio, and his first name is not short for Andrew. He teaches Social Studies at Most Pure Heart of Mary, presiding over seventh grade homeroom. He graduated from Notre Dame in 2009, where he served as R.A. at Fisher Hall and studied abroad in London, toiling as an intern for a member of Parliament. Truly dedicated to his craft, Drew is often the last to bed and the first to rise. When not reading The Economist, Drew makes plans for law school. Drew’s other recreations include listening to Taylor Swift and other country artists as well as determining the precise point at which paying YMCA dues finally demands using YMCA gym facilities." (I am still paying my monthly membership, but have only gone once - to pick up my card.)
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Nuclear. Option.
(Hopefully)
Something's gotta give in my 8th grade class. The students in there who want to learn can't because of the noise and disruptions. The ones who are causing all the noise and disruption obviously don't. Last week I unearthed some workbooks that go along with our textbook (imagine 10 workbooks with guided notes, flow charts, and worksheets of every variety). I'm going to spend most of the drive home tomorrow figuring out which worksheets to use on which day. I'm thinking 2 worksheets on our current unit and another on a past unit to review each day. Plus another for homework. It will be ABSOLUTELY silent all class. Each time a student talks, s/he will owe me a continent with all its countries and capitals labeled (first Asia, then Africa, then Europe, then the Americas). These will all be due at the end of class. If anything is incomplete, it counts against the classwork grade for the day. Once you climb that ladder, I may just call the parents right then and there and put them on the phone with their dear little piece of God's creation.
By the end of the week, I'll be able to tell whether or not I will need to send home 30 worksheets for homework over next weekend. If that happens, I will send home a note with them explaining whey it was necessary. I will explain it to the class as a way to make sure that we catch up with where we need to be. I'm envisioning something along the lines of:
"I don't mean for this to be a punishment. I have a job, and that job is to teach you social studies. Many of you come in here day in and day out and struggle through our lessons with me despite the commotion. However, nobody is learning as much as I would like, and I take the blame. Obviously I cannot get the job done. So, for the foreseeable future, I plan to let you work in silence on worksheets and activities that someone else wrote. Hopefully this will let those of you who want to learn figure things out. If you talk, I will assume that you are finished and give you a continent to label. Whatever classwork I hand out this period is due at the end of the period. If anyone talks, we will all need homework tonight to reinforce the material."
Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was nice. I spent an extremely relaxing and beautiful break in Tampa, Florida. I'm heading to Austin, TX for an ACE retreat next weekend. My community is flying out on Thursday night, which mean I have this (four-day) week, a five-day week, and then finals week (five days) before Christmas break. I'm not sure when I'm going to start the day-by-day countdown. Possibly when I get home. Tomorrow.
Happy Holidays!!!
Something's gotta give in my 8th grade class. The students in there who want to learn can't because of the noise and disruptions. The ones who are causing all the noise and disruption obviously don't. Last week I unearthed some workbooks that go along with our textbook (imagine 10 workbooks with guided notes, flow charts, and worksheets of every variety). I'm going to spend most of the drive home tomorrow figuring out which worksheets to use on which day. I'm thinking 2 worksheets on our current unit and another on a past unit to review each day. Plus another for homework. It will be ABSOLUTELY silent all class. Each time a student talks, s/he will owe me a continent with all its countries and capitals labeled (first Asia, then Africa, then Europe, then the Americas). These will all be due at the end of class. If anything is incomplete, it counts against the classwork grade for the day. Once you climb that ladder, I may just call the parents right then and there and put them on the phone with their dear little piece of God's creation.
By the end of the week, I'll be able to tell whether or not I will need to send home 30 worksheets for homework over next weekend. If that happens, I will send home a note with them explaining whey it was necessary. I will explain it to the class as a way to make sure that we catch up with where we need to be. I'm envisioning something along the lines of:
"I don't mean for this to be a punishment. I have a job, and that job is to teach you social studies. Many of you come in here day in and day out and struggle through our lessons with me despite the commotion. However, nobody is learning as much as I would like, and I take the blame. Obviously I cannot get the job done. So, for the foreseeable future, I plan to let you work in silence on worksheets and activities that someone else wrote. Hopefully this will let those of you who want to learn figure things out. If you talk, I will assume that you are finished and give you a continent to label. Whatever classwork I hand out this period is due at the end of the period. If anyone talks, we will all need homework tonight to reinforce the material."
Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was nice. I spent an extremely relaxing and beautiful break in Tampa, Florida. I'm heading to Austin, TX for an ACE retreat next weekend. My community is flying out on Thursday night, which mean I have this (four-day) week, a five-day week, and then finals week (five days) before Christmas break. I'm not sure when I'm going to start the day-by-day countdown. Possibly when I get home. Tomorrow.
Happy Holidays!!!
Monday, November 16, 2009
New Happenings at Heart of Mary!!!
We are getting a school-wide discipline system put in place over the course of the next few weeks. I think we are going to try out different segments of it for the rest of this semester, and then probably hit the ground running with it after Christmas break. What does this mean??? All the teachers will be on the same page, and it means that we will have DETENTIONS!!!!!!
Somehow, some way, my classes have settled back down. I'm still not really sure what made them get all riled up for that month and a half (and I'm even less sure of what has gotten them to settle back in at least a bit). Part of it may be that my 8th grade class just succeeded in having a class average on my last test that was well under 50%. I have a few make-up tests left to grade, but it is going to stay in the vicinity of 45% I think.
I have offered my 8th graders the opportunity to have an outdoors class on Fridays when we can come in and function well from the outset of class three days in a week. My 7th graders are going to be able to tell me how to shave my facial hair for the rest of the semester if they can do the same thing for five school days in a row. The poor 6th grade class has been slipping quite a bit towards the example that the higher grades have been setting for them. So a couple of the teachers (including yours truly) has come down pretty hard on them. As of right now, both 6th and 8th grades will be having silent class periods until we can successfully do it. Today my 8th grade class sounded exactly how a classroom should sound. A few comments, questions, and conversations were going on about the work and assignments, but nothing else. Unfortunately, I had told them to be silent, not just to be appropriate. So, we're going to keep it up until we get it right.
Well, I'm exhausted. I'm either going to bed now (9:15) and waking up at 3:30 or 4, or I'm going to try to stay up another couple hours and get up around 6. I think I'm going to opt for the first option. So, good night!!
PS - If you send me an email or some other form of communication and don't hear back from me in a day or two, send a follow-up because that probably means I forgot or didn't see the initial email/call/whatever it was.
Somehow, some way, my classes have settled back down. I'm still not really sure what made them get all riled up for that month and a half (and I'm even less sure of what has gotten them to settle back in at least a bit). Part of it may be that my 8th grade class just succeeded in having a class average on my last test that was well under 50%. I have a few make-up tests left to grade, but it is going to stay in the vicinity of 45% I think.
I have offered my 8th graders the opportunity to have an outdoors class on Fridays when we can come in and function well from the outset of class three days in a week. My 7th graders are going to be able to tell me how to shave my facial hair for the rest of the semester if they can do the same thing for five school days in a row. The poor 6th grade class has been slipping quite a bit towards the example that the higher grades have been setting for them. So a couple of the teachers (including yours truly) has come down pretty hard on them. As of right now, both 6th and 8th grades will be having silent class periods until we can successfully do it. Today my 8th grade class sounded exactly how a classroom should sound. A few comments, questions, and conversations were going on about the work and assignments, but nothing else. Unfortunately, I had told them to be silent, not just to be appropriate. So, we're going to keep it up until we get it right.
Well, I'm exhausted. I'm either going to bed now (9:15) and waking up at 3:30 or 4, or I'm going to try to stay up another couple hours and get up around 6. I think I'm going to opt for the first option. So, good night!!
PS - If you send me an email or some other form of communication and don't hear back from me in a day or two, send a follow-up because that probably means I forgot or didn't see the initial email/call/whatever it was.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Happy Friday!!!
Yesterday was Monday/Thursday because Monday and Tuesday I enjoyed at home courtesy of Hurricane Ida. Wednesday was Veterans' Day. So...one very short week!!
Yesterday was awesome.
Today was awesome until lunch. I just wrote up my favorite student (I think I've been calling him my "pet project" on here lately). I took 10 minutes in the cafeteria waiting on the boys to be quiet. Finally, they did, and I told them that anyone who talks would get a pink slip (office referral). Talking was the mildest thing on my pet project's referral, and there was a list of 8 specific things that he did between the cafeteria and the classroom that were not following instructions and/or very disrespectful and rude.
I think suspension #3 is coming up...but I'm not sure. My principal is calling home.
I sent 5 7th graders out of my class this morning because they came in and wouldn't sit down and do their work after 3-5 minutes of constant reminders. Yesterday, I sent 4 8th graders down to the office because they could not function in class. We'll see if today's any better.
Yesterday was awesome.
Today was awesome until lunch. I just wrote up my favorite student (I think I've been calling him my "pet project" on here lately). I took 10 minutes in the cafeteria waiting on the boys to be quiet. Finally, they did, and I told them that anyone who talks would get a pink slip (office referral). Talking was the mildest thing on my pet project's referral, and there was a list of 8 specific things that he did between the cafeteria and the classroom that were not following instructions and/or very disrespectful and rude.
I think suspension #3 is coming up...but I'm not sure. My principal is calling home.
I sent 5 7th graders out of my class this morning because they came in and wouldn't sit down and do their work after 3-5 minutes of constant reminders. Yesterday, I sent 4 8th graders down to the office because they could not function in class. We'll see if today's any better.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Weekend
So...Friday I was told to take the 8th grade class to PE by myself. I didn't really want to, so I just took a stack of pink slips and told them that I would give my instructions once. If you don't want to follow them, fine. Keep messing around, I'll just write you up on a pink slip.
I wrote 8 pink slips. Just in PE.
I wrote several more earlier in the day during class. This is part of my attempt to crack the whip.
I caught up on grades, but have decided to watch a movie before dinner instead of plan for the week. Luckily I only have to plan for 2 days. We get Wednesday off for Veteran's Day. That, plus I'm testing in 6th and 8th grades this week means that it should be a somewhat light week (hopefully).
At the end of Friday, Sister Nancy told us all to expect this week to have a much shorter roster. We'll see if she actually follows through on those phone calls this weekend.
We went to Pascagoula last night for a little party. It was fun. There were four from our community, and 4 from New Orleans in addition to the seven from Pascagoula. It was called "Livabetes: Nobody's dying today" in honor of one of the Pascagoula ACErs that has diabetes. We had doughnuts on a string, diabetes trivia, and some other fun competitions.
Tuesday night we're planning to head over to Pensacola and have Thanksgiving dinner (early), and then next weekend is ACE-giving in Baton Rouge.
Have a good week!
I wrote 8 pink slips. Just in PE.
I wrote several more earlier in the day during class. This is part of my attempt to crack the whip.
I caught up on grades, but have decided to watch a movie before dinner instead of plan for the week. Luckily I only have to plan for 2 days. We get Wednesday off for Veteran's Day. That, plus I'm testing in 6th and 8th grades this week means that it should be a somewhat light week (hopefully).
At the end of Friday, Sister Nancy told us all to expect this week to have a much shorter roster. We'll see if she actually follows through on those phone calls this weekend.
We went to Pascagoula last night for a little party. It was fun. There were four from our community, and 4 from New Orleans in addition to the seven from Pascagoula. It was called "Livabetes: Nobody's dying today" in honor of one of the Pascagoula ACErs that has diabetes. We had doughnuts on a string, diabetes trivia, and some other fun competitions.
Tuesday night we're planning to head over to Pensacola and have Thanksgiving dinner (early), and then next weekend is ACE-giving in Baton Rouge.
Have a good week!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
A day in the life of one of my students...
...would not be very fun right about now.
I asked the 6th grade teacher why her class was on silent lunch for the next 10 days. She said because they were chatty in class. I was like, "Wow, my class is way worse. I wonder if that could work."
Because I don't want to seem completely arbitrary and unfair, I told them that if anyone talked or was out of line on the way back to the classroom, our class would have silent lunch tomorrow. They didn't even make it out of the door of the cafeteria. I told them that the next sound would earn us all of next week. We made it silent and in line until we were almost to the classroom, but then we earned ourselves another week of it. One kid started talking back (he does that a lot), so I gave him his own personal two weeks after that. He kept saying, "I don't care! So? Add another one!" so I offered to extend his silent lunch to Christmas if he wanted (which, thankfully, isn't as far off as it sounds), and he literally stopped mid-breath. It was very funny.
A few of my "borderline" kids (as far as behavior goes) do not take these consequences very well, but I'm tired of putting up with mediocre behavior from the rest of the class because I want to overlook things to sometimes get mediocre behavior from a few "borderline" cases. So, we'll try to work through the few really bad attitudes, but in the long run, I think this will shape up a large number of kids in the class.
This means that the second step of my management plan - silent lunch - now means that you owe me 10 copies of the mission statement. And, just so you have more than my word to prove that it's long, I will type it out for your reading enjoyment (maybe you could even try writing it 10 times yourself to see what it's like living under Mr Clary's reign):
"The mission of Most Pure Heart of Mary School is to prepare students for leadership by providing a strong educational program which engages the student in the learning process, assists conscience formation based on Christian values in the Catholic tradition, and cultivates respect and responsibility."
Oh, by the way: for each student that talks either at lunch or in the line back from lunch, I'm adding a day to the silent lunch reign of terror. After next week, if they start having consistently silent lines, I will probably let them earn back days of the end if they can be quiet at the beginning of the school day. (Yeah, I know, I always end up being a softy at least a little.)
I asked the 6th grade teacher why her class was on silent lunch for the next 10 days. She said because they were chatty in class. I was like, "Wow, my class is way worse. I wonder if that could work."
Because I don't want to seem completely arbitrary and unfair, I told them that if anyone talked or was out of line on the way back to the classroom, our class would have silent lunch tomorrow. They didn't even make it out of the door of the cafeteria. I told them that the next sound would earn us all of next week. We made it silent and in line until we were almost to the classroom, but then we earned ourselves another week of it. One kid started talking back (he does that a lot), so I gave him his own personal two weeks after that. He kept saying, "I don't care! So? Add another one!" so I offered to extend his silent lunch to Christmas if he wanted (which, thankfully, isn't as far off as it sounds), and he literally stopped mid-breath. It was very funny.
A few of my "borderline" kids (as far as behavior goes) do not take these consequences very well, but I'm tired of putting up with mediocre behavior from the rest of the class because I want to overlook things to sometimes get mediocre behavior from a few "borderline" cases. So, we'll try to work through the few really bad attitudes, but in the long run, I think this will shape up a large number of kids in the class.
This means that the second step of my management plan - silent lunch - now means that you owe me 10 copies of the mission statement. And, just so you have more than my word to prove that it's long, I will type it out for your reading enjoyment (maybe you could even try writing it 10 times yourself to see what it's like living under Mr Clary's reign):
"The mission of Most Pure Heart of Mary School is to prepare students for leadership by providing a strong educational program which engages the student in the learning process, assists conscience formation based on Christian values in the Catholic tradition, and cultivates respect and responsibility."
Oh, by the way: for each student that talks either at lunch or in the line back from lunch, I'm adding a day to the silent lunch reign of terror. After next week, if they start having consistently silent lines, I will probably let them earn back days of the end if they can be quiet at the beginning of the school day. (Yeah, I know, I always end up being a softy at least a little.)
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
New Developments...
Two students were expelled last week. Not sure if I mentioned that. Neither had been much, if any, trouble in class, but they had a very vicious fight.
Today two of my 7th graders were sent home because they could not settle down and get to work this morning. Both of their parents said this is the first they've heard of an issue. I provided my parent communication documentation for Sister Nancy. She was very happy with it, but it was very incomplete because for over a month I did not write down every single time that I talked to my student's mom in the carpool line.
One of those two (the one whose communication log I gave to Sister Nancy) was actually sent to the 5th grade classroom today because his parents could not come pick him up. I sent some work down to him, as did the other teachers. I gave him the two worksheets we did today in class. A 5th grade girl looked it over for him and pointed out every question he missed (all of them). I also sent him an assignment that required some writing. His paragraph was read to the 5th grade class, and they laughed at how poorly-written it was. The 5th graders have to write definitions from the dictionary as punishment. So that was my student's punishment too. He was assigned 200 definitions, and after about an hour and a half, the 5th grade teacher asked two of her boys to define as many as they could in 10 minutes. They both doubled the number of definitions he wrote in his hour and a half. By lunch, he was completely under her control. It was really funny.
I got approval to re-institute my old discipline system: one verbal warning, silent lunch, miss pe, call home. So that will start in earnest tomorrow. I borrowed a tactic from the 1st grade teacher that I am using with 6th grade. Instead of writing their names on the board, I make them get up and do it. They hate it. I'd do it with 7th and 8th grades, but there's no telling what kind of nicknames and other random trash would end up on the board. I am also starting to assign 10 copies of the school's mission statement for misbehavior. The kids hate it. But it's really effective. I've done it for 2 or 3 days now, and they realize that I'm serious about it and that nobody's falling through the cracks. So...presto! Our lines are now silent and straight.
8th grade is still out of control. But luckily I didn't have to see them in class today. They went to the Catholic high school for their tour of the place, did the pep rally, etc. So...I only had to teach 2 classes today. It was nice.
OK, gotta plan.
Today two of my 7th graders were sent home because they could not settle down and get to work this morning. Both of their parents said this is the first they've heard of an issue. I provided my parent communication documentation for Sister Nancy. She was very happy with it, but it was very incomplete because for over a month I did not write down every single time that I talked to my student's mom in the carpool line.
One of those two (the one whose communication log I gave to Sister Nancy) was actually sent to the 5th grade classroom today because his parents could not come pick him up. I sent some work down to him, as did the other teachers. I gave him the two worksheets we did today in class. A 5th grade girl looked it over for him and pointed out every question he missed (all of them). I also sent him an assignment that required some writing. His paragraph was read to the 5th grade class, and they laughed at how poorly-written it was. The 5th graders have to write definitions from the dictionary as punishment. So that was my student's punishment too. He was assigned 200 definitions, and after about an hour and a half, the 5th grade teacher asked two of her boys to define as many as they could in 10 minutes. They both doubled the number of definitions he wrote in his hour and a half. By lunch, he was completely under her control. It was really funny.
I got approval to re-institute my old discipline system: one verbal warning, silent lunch, miss pe, call home. So that will start in earnest tomorrow. I borrowed a tactic from the 1st grade teacher that I am using with 6th grade. Instead of writing their names on the board, I make them get up and do it. They hate it. I'd do it with 7th and 8th grades, but there's no telling what kind of nicknames and other random trash would end up on the board. I am also starting to assign 10 copies of the school's mission statement for misbehavior. The kids hate it. But it's really effective. I've done it for 2 or 3 days now, and they realize that I'm serious about it and that nobody's falling through the cracks. So...presto! Our lines are now silent and straight.
8th grade is still out of control. But luckily I didn't have to see them in class today. They went to the Catholic high school for their tour of the place, did the pep rally, etc. So...I only had to teach 2 classes today. It was nice.
OK, gotta plan.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Daylight Savings Ending May Help...
...because I feel like it's 10:00 right now, even though it's barely 6:45.
Sister Nancy has been busy with the classroom across the hall (covering for the teacher who quit last week), so she sent in our director of religious education to "help me get my class settled at the beginning of the day." Which turned into all 65 minutes of 7th grade and most of 8th grade too. So, that was frustrating. But, actually in the middle of writing that last sentence, I got a call back from someone at the Office of Catholic Education, and we talked through a lot of these frustrations. I am also waiting on my supervisor (who touched base with my mentor teacher today) to get back to me with some thoughts/ideas.
I have one idea that I'm going to try tomorrow with 8th grade. I am going to try to set up the class as one of the ancient Chinese dynasties did - the emperor chose governors to run each region. Since my classroom is now arranged with desks of four tables, I am going to try to put one person in charge of each table and make him/her responsible for the table. That goes for discipline issues, staying on task issues, and anything else that comes up. We'll see how that goes.
Sister Nancy has been busy with the classroom across the hall (covering for the teacher who quit last week), so she sent in our director of religious education to "help me get my class settled at the beginning of the day." Which turned into all 65 minutes of 7th grade and most of 8th grade too. So, that was frustrating. But, actually in the middle of writing that last sentence, I got a call back from someone at the Office of Catholic Education, and we talked through a lot of these frustrations. I am also waiting on my supervisor (who touched base with my mentor teacher today) to get back to me with some thoughts/ideas.
I have one idea that I'm going to try tomorrow with 8th grade. I am going to try to set up the class as one of the ancient Chinese dynasties did - the emperor chose governors to run each region. Since my classroom is now arranged with desks of four tables, I am going to try to put one person in charge of each table and make him/her responsible for the table. That goes for discipline issues, staying on task issues, and anything else that comes up. We'll see how that goes.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Whew!
Today was much better. My 7th grade can handle desks in groups of four. My 6th and 8th graders can't really. I think I'm going to stick it out, though. I can handle the 6th graders, and the 8th graders can't handle anything. So...voila. Homeroom somewhat under control. We changed our lunch/PE schedule, so now 6th-8th grades all have lunch together. It was decent today. The 7th grade was the best behaved today, and we were complimented by another teacher. The 8th grade was literally out of control. Literally. Completely. Out. Of. Control.
The 8th grade came into my class this afternoon, and they were taking a quiz based on how well they behaved when they entered my room. Many of them failed - but it should be an easy grade.
Then I said that if anyone spoke, they'd have 100 lines. Unfortunately two of my best students kept talking. They are currently writing. Two of my least well-behaved students also talked. They did not write. I just sent one of them down to the office to continue his assignment there. He talked back to me all the way across the room. Real tough guy. Real tough.
Weekend!!!!!! (In Jackson...going to judge a speech and debate contest. It should be fun. Looking forward to it.)
The 8th grade came into my class this afternoon, and they were taking a quiz based on how well they behaved when they entered my room. Many of them failed - but it should be an easy grade.
Then I said that if anyone spoke, they'd have 100 lines. Unfortunately two of my best students kept talking. They are currently writing. Two of my least well-behaved students also talked. They did not write. I just sent one of them down to the office to continue his assignment there. He talked back to me all the way across the room. Real tough guy. Real tough.
Weekend!!!!!! (In Jackson...going to judge a speech and debate contest. It should be fun. Looking forward to it.)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Oh, by the way...
...in talking to the other new teacher at my school, the topic of our jobs came up. Specifically, what our principal thinks of our jobs. Apparently, she has been looking for math/science and social studies teachers. Nobody's available, but apparently, by Christmas we can expect to be replaced. Wow. Just, wow.
Regime Change
Today we set up the desks differently, had a new seating arrangement (obviously, since the desks were in different places), and covered procedures and rules all day today instead of social studies. We'll have a quiz on these things on Friday. It is meant to be an easy quiz grade, but for some of them will probably get them off to a failing start to the quarter.
My 7th grade eventually came around and behaved this morning. This afternoon has been a completely different story. Luckily (for me), it's the counselor's class. So I just have to sit back and fume silently at their disrespect. I get to take them over afterwards, though, so that should be...er...fun.
6th grade actually had to practice entering the classroom two times after their original attempt. But they were scared into submission soon enough.
8th grade is a little more battle-hardened. But I'll get them soon enough. Not yet today. Some of them are really stubborn. Little do they know (since they haven't talked to my mother and father) how stubborn I am.
Speaking of my mother, she pointed out to me that I shouldn't write profanity on my blog...so, I'll start censoring the conversations I have with my most special little shining examples of God's creation. (He is in the process of getting expelled, by the way. I was surprised to see him show up today.)
My 7th grade eventually came around and behaved this morning. This afternoon has been a completely different story. Luckily (for me), it's the counselor's class. So I just have to sit back and fume silently at their disrespect. I get to take them over afterwards, though, so that should be...er...fun.
6th grade actually had to practice entering the classroom two times after their original attempt. But they were scared into submission soon enough.
8th grade is a little more battle-hardened. But I'll get them soon enough. Not yet today. Some of them are really stubborn. Little do they know (since they haven't talked to my mother and father) how stubborn I am.
Speaking of my mother, she pointed out to me that I shouldn't write profanity on my blog...so, I'll start censoring the conversations I have with my most special little shining examples of God's creation. (He is in the process of getting expelled, by the way. I was surprised to see him show up today.)
Monday, October 19, 2009
It's a Monday
So, I had this realization today: This year is all about survival. If I can make it through this year, survive, and come back next year, I've won. The kids are literally just throwing the kitchen sink at me to see if I'll stick around or run out like most of their previous adult "role models" have. This is nice in that it gives me a light (however dim) at the end of the tunnel. This is bad in that it makes me want to get violent at how wrong this situation is.
I told my pet project today (he was brutally bad) that no matter what, I'm not giving up on him. "Do I spend as much time with any other student?" "No." "Does any other teacher spend as much time with you?" "No." "OK. So when I get frustrated with you, I'm just as pissed at myself for not having stopped you or prevented you from misbehaving as I am with you. And, when you get expelled, because that's where this is going right now, you can bet that I will call your mom, get your cell phone number, and check in with you at least once a week to make sure you're not acting as stupid wherever you are at as you are when you're in my class. You've got too much potential to piss away like you've been doing lately." He laughed in an appreciative sort of way. So I hope tomorrow's better. We'll see - I doubt it right now.
7th and 8th grades both couldn't function well enough to watch a video. So we wrote lines. I told 8th grade that my new "fall-back" lesson plan will be to have them write a few paragraphs about whatever I wanted them to learn for the day in the more fun and varied activities that I've planned. They were all-star line copiers. Also, I think I'm going to start with some individualized notes. I'm going to start with my good students because they need to know that I notice that they're always on track despite how much attention I always give "the others." I'm also toying with the idea of sitting all my good students together on one side of the room. That way when I teach, they're closer to me and I can let the others jack around and miss the lesson if they want. It will also make them easier to ignore and therefore not give them the attention that they so desperately want.
I told my pet project today (he was brutally bad) that no matter what, I'm not giving up on him. "Do I spend as much time with any other student?" "No." "Does any other teacher spend as much time with you?" "No." "OK. So when I get frustrated with you, I'm just as pissed at myself for not having stopped you or prevented you from misbehaving as I am with you. And, when you get expelled, because that's where this is going right now, you can bet that I will call your mom, get your cell phone number, and check in with you at least once a week to make sure you're not acting as stupid wherever you are at as you are when you're in my class. You've got too much potential to piss away like you've been doing lately." He laughed in an appreciative sort of way. So I hope tomorrow's better. We'll see - I doubt it right now.
7th and 8th grades both couldn't function well enough to watch a video. So we wrote lines. I told 8th grade that my new "fall-back" lesson plan will be to have them write a few paragraphs about whatever I wanted them to learn for the day in the more fun and varied activities that I've planned. They were all-star line copiers. Also, I think I'm going to start with some individualized notes. I'm going to start with my good students because they need to know that I notice that they're always on track despite how much attention I always give "the others." I'm also toying with the idea of sitting all my good students together on one side of the room. That way when I teach, they're closer to me and I can let the others jack around and miss the lesson if they want. It will also make them easier to ignore and therefore not give them the attention that they so desperately want.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Meltdown has come and gone (for now)
Yesterday, I made a two-page Word document with 7th grade misbehavior. From a 45-minute period of the day. It was not good. I finally threw in the towel in the lunch line back to the classroom (which was the time of the day that I felt I had them most under control). Upon returning to the room, my pet project and a girl in the class got into a fight. They are both serving the first day of a 5-day suspension today. I think his suspension may be turning into an expulsion in the next five days, which is too bad, but at the same time still a relief from a classroom management perspective.
Today has been much better, I've laughed a few times with my classes, and I've given some mediocre-to-decent lessons today. We're doing supply and demand with 6th grade. Way too difficult for 6th graders. Oh, well. I'm going to keep going tomorrow.
I think the rest of the week should be OK. I have one and a half more days. We have an early out on Friday, but I'll be up here finishing up my grades from the first quarter.
Today has been much better, I've laughed a few times with my classes, and I've given some mediocre-to-decent lessons today. We're doing supply and demand with 6th grade. Way too difficult for 6th graders. Oh, well. I'm going to keep going tomorrow.
I think the rest of the week should be OK. I have one and a half more days. We have an early out on Friday, but I'll be up here finishing up my grades from the first quarter.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Meltdown is imminent
Our school has decided that PE and talking at lunch are rights not to be infringed upon. Those had been the only things that we can really use as consequences with the students (silent lunch and missing PE). So...we are currently asking for their attention and saying "Since we're letting you go to PE and talk at lunch anyway, we need your attention now please." Yeah, that works.
So today, my principal told me I need to stop them from talking before they even start. I asked what to do if they don't respect that request for silence. She said circulate the room and ask them individually to be quiet. I asked what to do when they still aren't (because they aren't) and she said "That's why you need to have work for them to do." Oh, right. I didn't realize that I am supposed to be giving them WORK. I thought I was supposed to keep them quiet and look at them for 45 minutes each period.
So...I'm really frustrated. So frustrated, in fact, that the thought, "Wow. I could be in law school right now" only crossed my mind five times yesterday.
My 8th graders still refuse to be on task during my class. Today they are taking a test. I'm putting the over/under on number of tests I collect and give zeros for because of talking at five. Out of 24. Less grading for me! They need to see that I mean business. Maybe failing the first quarter (which ends Friday) will be what it takes.
So today, my principal told me I need to stop them from talking before they even start. I asked what to do if they don't respect that request for silence. She said circulate the room and ask them individually to be quiet. I asked what to do when they still aren't (because they aren't) and she said "That's why you need to have work for them to do." Oh, right. I didn't realize that I am supposed to be giving them WORK. I thought I was supposed to keep them quiet and look at them for 45 minutes each period.
So...I'm really frustrated. So frustrated, in fact, that the thought, "Wow. I could be in law school right now" only crossed my mind five times yesterday.
My 8th graders still refuse to be on task during my class. Today they are taking a test. I'm putting the over/under on number of tests I collect and give zeros for because of talking at five. Out of 24. Less grading for me! They need to see that I mean business. Maybe failing the first quarter (which ends Friday) will be what it takes.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
I swore today
at my 8th graders.
Something along the lines of "You don't care what the hell goes on in this classroom as long as it doesn't interfere with your playtime. You have already demonstrated to me that you have little to no respect for me, or for any of your teachers, and that's fine. You have so little respect for me, though, that you tell me to my face that the only reason you ever behave a little bit in my classroom is because you're scared of another teacher."
Oops. My bad.
I did talk to my academic supervisor again today, and he said he was very pleased with where I am and what I'm doing, especially considering the school I'm at. I also talked to the teacher I replaced for a while tonight to get some advice for a few students that I know he was close to and who I need to start working on. So...I've got my mission for the next couple weeks.
Also, my pet project in 7th grade had an absolutely fantastic day today (minus one or two minor slip-ups). So, I was extremely happy about that. He told me today that he enjoyed the day a lot more since the teachers weren't getting on to him, so hopefully he can take that to heart and start working on behaving like that more consistently. (For now, I'm just hoping for tomorrow.)
Something along the lines of "You don't care what the hell goes on in this classroom as long as it doesn't interfere with your playtime. You have already demonstrated to me that you have little to no respect for me, or for any of your teachers, and that's fine. You have so little respect for me, though, that you tell me to my face that the only reason you ever behave a little bit in my classroom is because you're scared of another teacher."
Oops. My bad.
I did talk to my academic supervisor again today, and he said he was very pleased with where I am and what I'm doing, especially considering the school I'm at. I also talked to the teacher I replaced for a while tonight to get some advice for a few students that I know he was close to and who I need to start working on. So...I've got my mission for the next couple weeks.
Also, my pet project in 7th grade had an absolutely fantastic day today (minus one or two minor slip-ups). So, I was extremely happy about that. He told me today that he enjoyed the day a lot more since the teachers weren't getting on to him, so hopefully he can take that to heart and start working on behaving like that more consistently. (For now, I'm just hoping for tomorrow.)
Thursday = Basically Friday
Or at least that's what everyone in my house says in order to make it through the day.
7th grade came in silently this morning. Went to their lockers and the closet to put up their backpacks and supplies silently. I even had an assignment on the board that they ignored. I didn't care because it wasn't for a grade anyway, and they were being quiet. When I put up their assignment at 8:00 (that marks the beginning of our class), they started talking. Sometimes I just feel like I will never understand my students.
Overall, though, they were good for the class period. 6th and 8th grade lessons will be a little interesting, though, because another teacher informed me this morning that he'd need the powerpoint projector for the rest of this week and next week. I can no longer show the information that I wanted to. So...the last 15-20 minutes of those class periods may get a little interesting.
It's picture day today. I didn't realize that I'd have to be in the pictures. So I didn't wear contacts, my hair is a big shaggy, I didn't shave very well this morning (and I haven't at all since Saturday), so my kids are going to get a very "real" photo of their 7th grade homeroom teacher. Oh well, I see a very (too) "real" 7th grade every day. Several times per day.
7th grade came in silently this morning. Went to their lockers and the closet to put up their backpacks and supplies silently. I even had an assignment on the board that they ignored. I didn't care because it wasn't for a grade anyway, and they were being quiet. When I put up their assignment at 8:00 (that marks the beginning of our class), they started talking. Sometimes I just feel like I will never understand my students.
Overall, though, they were good for the class period. 6th and 8th grade lessons will be a little interesting, though, because another teacher informed me this morning that he'd need the powerpoint projector for the rest of this week and next week. I can no longer show the information that I wanted to. So...the last 15-20 minutes of those class periods may get a little interesting.
It's picture day today. I didn't realize that I'd have to be in the pictures. So I didn't wear contacts, my hair is a big shaggy, I didn't shave very well this morning (and I haven't at all since Saturday), so my kids are going to get a very "real" photo of their 7th grade homeroom teacher. Oh well, I see a very (too) "real" 7th grade every day. Several times per day.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Sorry for the lack of posts...
...I wish I could say it was because I was having such a great time and was wrapped up with my students and how well they're doing.
Between last Monday and this Monday, I had 3 days that I considered my worst at school. Last Monday, last Wednesday, and this Monday. Luckily I think things are going a bit better now. We'll see if we can keep them going. Some of our students are absolutely uncontrollable, and they tend to drag some of the others down with them.
I have discovered that I can wing lessons without planning. Unfortunately, this came during the first quarter this year. After Monday, I kind of decided that if my kids didn't care at all about my lessons, I wouldn't either. I decided that sleep for the sake of patience and sanity was better than having great lessons since it was looking like my lessons were just going to be defecated on anyway. After two days with little to no planning, I can say with certainty that I can handle my content well enough to get by without preparing. Hopefully I can pull myself together and stop doing it that way, though.
One of my pet projects (a student who has a lot going for him, but his behavior around his classmates leaves him somewhere short of civilized) is coming in tomorrow and I think he knows that I mean business. No more games with him (tomorrow anyway). Actually, everything is a game with him. If he does his work, I win. If he doesn't, it's a draw. He doesn't win until he refuses to talk to me at the end of the day, which he hasn't yet done.
I was talking to the little cousin of one of my students. She's in the 3rd grade. I've spoken with her once before. She told me this afternoon that she's sad and wishes her dad could come pick her up (she was waiting for her cousin to get out of football practice). She then volunteered that she hasn't seen him in a while. I start wondering if this is a matter of hours, days, weeks, or longer. Sure enough, she last saw him on her birthday. In April. She doesn't have his number, doesn't know where he is, and doesn't know when he'll reappear in her life (for probably no more than a day at that). That's tragic.
I was talking to some of the fathers after football practice. They really appreciate seeing me at the games and dropping by the practices. Like, a lot. That was good to hear...if the kids don't appreciate me, then at least their parents do. Time to go plan/grade my life away...end of the quarter is next Friday, and I'm about 2 weeks behind on grading because I decided that Montgomery all weekend last weekend would be a good idea. Plus, I gave a quiz today, will give one Friday, and have to give a test early next week. I'm going to be in grading prison for the foreseeable future. Hopefully that's the only thing that will keep me from posting again soon, and not a complete lack of humanity from my students.
Between last Monday and this Monday, I had 3 days that I considered my worst at school. Last Monday, last Wednesday, and this Monday. Luckily I think things are going a bit better now. We'll see if we can keep them going. Some of our students are absolutely uncontrollable, and they tend to drag some of the others down with them.
I have discovered that I can wing lessons without planning. Unfortunately, this came during the first quarter this year. After Monday, I kind of decided that if my kids didn't care at all about my lessons, I wouldn't either. I decided that sleep for the sake of patience and sanity was better than having great lessons since it was looking like my lessons were just going to be defecated on anyway. After two days with little to no planning, I can say with certainty that I can handle my content well enough to get by without preparing. Hopefully I can pull myself together and stop doing it that way, though.
One of my pet projects (a student who has a lot going for him, but his behavior around his classmates leaves him somewhere short of civilized) is coming in tomorrow and I think he knows that I mean business. No more games with him (tomorrow anyway). Actually, everything is a game with him. If he does his work, I win. If he doesn't, it's a draw. He doesn't win until he refuses to talk to me at the end of the day, which he hasn't yet done.
I was talking to the little cousin of one of my students. She's in the 3rd grade. I've spoken with her once before. She told me this afternoon that she's sad and wishes her dad could come pick her up (she was waiting for her cousin to get out of football practice). She then volunteered that she hasn't seen him in a while. I start wondering if this is a matter of hours, days, weeks, or longer. Sure enough, she last saw him on her birthday. In April. She doesn't have his number, doesn't know where he is, and doesn't know when he'll reappear in her life (for probably no more than a day at that). That's tragic.
I was talking to some of the fathers after football practice. They really appreciate seeing me at the games and dropping by the practices. Like, a lot. That was good to hear...if the kids don't appreciate me, then at least their parents do. Time to go plan/grade my life away...end of the quarter is next Friday, and I'm about 2 weeks behind on grading because I decided that Montgomery all weekend last weekend would be a good idea. Plus, I gave a quiz today, will give one Friday, and have to give a test early next week. I'm going to be in grading prison for the foreseeable future. Hopefully that's the only thing that will keep me from posting again soon, and not a complete lack of humanity from my students.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Today = Brutal
Absolutely brutal.
I didn't realize that 12-14 year olds can be so blatantly, completely, and hopelessly disrespectful.
Two of my most troublesome little 7th graders, who at one point this year both seemed to be responding to me, have stopped. Neither of them seems to care in the slightest about anything except whatever it is that he wants to do at a given moment.
Silver lining from today: my assistant principal is going to ask for names of students who don't behave and stay with them for PE. So we won't be doing entire classes, and he'll be doing the PE sessions.
I didn't realize that 12-14 year olds can be so blatantly, completely, and hopelessly disrespectful.
Two of my most troublesome little 7th graders, who at one point this year both seemed to be responding to me, have stopped. Neither of them seems to care in the slightest about anything except whatever it is that he wants to do at a given moment.
Silver lining from today: my assistant principal is going to ask for names of students who don't behave and stay with them for PE. So we won't be doing entire classes, and he'll be doing the PE sessions.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Busy few days
Wednesday I broke up my first fight. I think I took more punches than either of the boys who were fighting since I got in the middle of them pretty quickly, but it was still fun. I was disappointed because the aggressor is a really smart kid who can be extremely polite and respectful. However, he tends to be quite unruly when he's with people his own age. He wrote me a very nice note Wednesday at the end of the school day. He was suspended for the day Thursday.
Thursday I got a really nice note from a girl in my class. She apologized for "getting on my nervous." I don't really know why she wrote it because I hadn't even really gotten on to her that day. She hasn't really changed her behavior too much...but she's not terrible, so I'll let it ride.
I tried the no joking, no smiling, no laughing tactic with my classes last week. It was successful (I think I only laughed/smiled twice all week). After school last Monday, they said the only thing different was that I was wearing glasses. However, I think they picked up on a change because my 7th grade actually was extremely well-behaved all-around (until Friday, obviously, since Friday's definition in my school's dictionary is "day for nothing short of chaotic behavior") all week. I am taking credit for the following conversation I had with the English teacher. We both take our homerooms to lunch at the same time, so we were chatting, and she said, "The 7th grade has been very focused and well-behaved this week for me. Today they begged me to tell you how good they've been." That was Thursday...Friday was a turn for the worse.
I had a pretty stern talk with the mom of one of my students on Friday. I told her he needed to turn himself around or we'd have to have a conference this week. Based on last period, I think we're heading for a conference.
Thursday I got a really nice note from a girl in my class. She apologized for "getting on my nervous." I don't really know why she wrote it because I hadn't even really gotten on to her that day. She hasn't really changed her behavior too much...but she's not terrible, so I'll let it ride.
I tried the no joking, no smiling, no laughing tactic with my classes last week. It was successful (I think I only laughed/smiled twice all week). After school last Monday, they said the only thing different was that I was wearing glasses. However, I think they picked up on a change because my 7th grade actually was extremely well-behaved all-around (until Friday, obviously, since Friday's definition in my school's dictionary is "day for nothing short of chaotic behavior") all week. I am taking credit for the following conversation I had with the English teacher. We both take our homerooms to lunch at the same time, so we were chatting, and she said, "The 7th grade has been very focused and well-behaved this week for me. Today they begged me to tell you how good they've been." That was Thursday...Friday was a turn for the worse.
I had a pretty stern talk with the mom of one of my students on Friday. I told her he needed to turn himself around or we'd have to have a conference this week. Based on last period, I think we're heading for a conference.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Update, and Something to Keep in Mind
Update: Our community's pastoral staff supervisor was supposed to eat dinner with us last night. She had a flight that was going from Atlanta to Montgomery that was supposed to land at 3pm. Last I heard, she was in Atlanta on standby for a flight to leave at 8:30. So she didn't make it last night. We currently are planning to have community dinner, community prayer, and 7 one-on-one paired walks (one for each of us) with her all tonight. In addition, I'm not really sure when it's going to happen but she is supposedly coming to sit in on about 15 minutes of one of my classes today. I'm kind of hoping it's my 6th grade (which starts in 3 minutes). We are re-enacting five Civil War battles today. Each group has 10 minutes to prepare a 3-minute reenactment. It should be hysterical. Especially when the boys get to start fighting. Oh boy. Let's just say that I'm prepared to film them. I'm expecting hilarity to ensue shortly.
Something I need to keep in mind: When I have 7:00am duty in the morning, it is not a good idea to stay in my classroom till 12:15. It's depressing to get back home after everyone is asleep and then be the first one out the door in the morning.
Something I need to keep in mind: When I have 7:00am duty in the morning, it is not a good idea to stay in my classroom till 12:15. It's depressing to get back home after everyone is asleep and then be the first one out the door in the morning.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Weekend
Productive things done: Made coffee cake. Made Millie's Black Cake. Glued roster into my gradebook (still no grades written though). Graded most of work I had to grade. Planned for 8th grade all week. Planned for 7th and 6th for today.
Things left to do: Update paper and online gradebooks. Grade each student's (all 77) binder (which they need back today...whoops!). Update class webpage. Bake apple pie. Write bi-weekly reflection (due tonight at midnight). Cook dinner tonight. Our pastoral (community) supervisor is getting in tonight and leaves Wednesday.
So much to do. I never get to the end of my to-do list. Never. It's mildly depressing. I have already come to grips with the fact that I am not going to be able to include everything that I've graded/assigned on progress reports on Friday.
Things left to do: Update paper and online gradebooks. Grade each student's (all 77) binder (which they need back today...whoops!). Update class webpage. Bake apple pie. Write bi-weekly reflection (due tonight at midnight). Cook dinner tonight. Our pastoral (community) supervisor is getting in tonight and leaves Wednesday.
So much to do. I never get to the end of my to-do list. Never. It's mildly depressing. I have already come to grips with the fact that I am not going to be able to include everything that I've graded/assigned on progress reports on Friday.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
In Case You Missed It
Here is the ACE commercial that played at the very beginning of the second half of this week's (9-19) Notre Dame game.
http://video.nd.edu/210-fighting-for-our-children
http://video.nd.edu/210-fighting-for-our-children
Thursday, September 17, 2009
One more thing...
About PE. Since my 7th graders are physically incapable of lining up nicely after PE (by nicely I mean take less than 5-7 minutes) I am officially keeping them from PE every day. Unless they earn it back. That way instead of always taking it away from them, I can use it as a real reward. I feel like it will help me to be more positive with them.
Today, I yelled literally as loud as I think I ever have at them to line up after PE. They didn't. They just kind of looked at me like, "Oh, what's his problem?" and went right back to their jacking around. The 8th graders were already part way from the PE area to the school (across a street and around some buildings). After school, an 8th grade boy came up to me in the carpool line. "Mr. Clary, was that you that be yellin' like that after PE?" "Well, yes, actually. Sorry you had to hear that." "Naw, Mr. Clary. It's just that we got so scared when we heard that that WE got in line cuz we thought we was gonna get in trouble." "Well, I'm really glad that at least one class takes me seriously when I yell. Because 7th grade definitely doesn't." I actually hadn't yelled all week. I was so happy with how I was doing...oh well. I guess that's what PE will do for you.
Today, I yelled literally as loud as I think I ever have at them to line up after PE. They didn't. They just kind of looked at me like, "Oh, what's his problem?" and went right back to their jacking around. The 8th graders were already part way from the PE area to the school (across a street and around some buildings). After school, an 8th grade boy came up to me in the carpool line. "Mr. Clary, was that you that be yellin' like that after PE?" "Well, yes, actually. Sorry you had to hear that." "Naw, Mr. Clary. It's just that we got so scared when we heard that that WE got in line cuz we thought we was gonna get in trouble." "Well, I'm really glad that at least one class takes me seriously when I yell. Because 7th grade definitely doesn't." I actually hadn't yelled all week. I was so happy with how I was doing...oh well. I guess that's what PE will do for you.
Making a Seating Chart (aka: Playing Russian Roulette with Your Sanity)
My seating charts seemed to work really well today...for about the first 5 minutes in each class. The student who tends to be...difficult...that I put next to a friend who has actually been very well-behaved for the past few days did very well. So that was rewarding/awesome.
My 8th graders did an excavation project this afternoon. It rained all morning, so the ground was extra soppy. And kind of gross. Added fun for some, added disgust for others. We ended up coming in before we found everything. Mainly because they were wandering around and doing whatever they wanted. Many of them lost many points just from today...and they haven't even written their reports yet!!!
I wore a white polo and blue pants today. Luckily I wore my brown belt and shoes. Otherwise, I would have been in the exact dress code for a boy at Most Pure Heart of Mary School. That was pointed out several times to me today.
We had a fight at PE. I got out late with 7th grade. Just in time to see a kid get out of a puddle, swing at another student (and hit him), and keep running for him. Somehow, by the grace of God, the other kid didn't swing back and played it really cool. I was impressed and pleased by that. Less so with the other student, who took about 15 minutes (and most of the football team) to subdue. Apparently the ACE teacher who I replaced had to break him up from a fight last year, and after he escaped 3 or 4 times, my predecessor finally just pinned him to the ground. And kept him there till he chilled out. Yeah. Real tough guy.
My 8th graders did an excavation project this afternoon. It rained all morning, so the ground was extra soppy. And kind of gross. Added fun for some, added disgust for others. We ended up coming in before we found everything. Mainly because they were wandering around and doing whatever they wanted. Many of them lost many points just from today...and they haven't even written their reports yet!!!
I wore a white polo and blue pants today. Luckily I wore my brown belt and shoes. Otherwise, I would have been in the exact dress code for a boy at Most Pure Heart of Mary School. That was pointed out several times to me today.
We had a fight at PE. I got out late with 7th grade. Just in time to see a kid get out of a puddle, swing at another student (and hit him), and keep running for him. Somehow, by the grace of God, the other kid didn't swing back and played it really cool. I was impressed and pleased by that. Less so with the other student, who took about 15 minutes (and most of the football team) to subdue. Apparently the ACE teacher who I replaced had to break him up from a fight last year, and after he escaped 3 or 4 times, my predecessor finally just pinned him to the ground. And kept him there till he chilled out. Yeah. Real tough guy.
This is the part of town I work in...
So, in case it was in any doubt, I found out what part of town I work in last night when, from 10:30-11:00 I was digging up part of the playground to bury some "artifacts" that my 8th graders are going to unearth today and decide if the society that left them behind was, in fact, a civilization. Fun stuff. Well, around 10:45, a policeman drives by on the road that runs behind the school. He stopped. He turned his spotlight on and lit me up. "Hey buddy, what are you up to?" Obvious concern in his voice - not really concern for what I was doing, but the kind of concern that's like "What in the world do you think you're doing outside here at this time of night?" So...I'll try not to repeat that level of procrastination again.
In other news, I was pumped this morning when I called a student in from the carpool line. I made a new seating chart for today, and I put this kid, who can be absolutely awesome (and can also be very loud and talkative) next to a student who rarely shows his ability to behave. They're friends. I was kind of counting on the one (who has been trying to help keep his friends in line for the past two days) to keep the other in line. I asked him what he thought of the seating chart, and he responded immediately, "He won't get in trouble if he's next to me." I was so happy. The period that just ended went pretty well. I had them reading a really challenging article from The Economist (I opened my new one yesterday and the first Briefing had to do directly with what I was wanting to start talking about today. It was really hard. They worked really well on it. I asked who thought it was too hard at the end of class. About 75-80% raised their hand. I asked who enjoyed it. An easy 50% raised their hands. Reasons ranged from "I like to learn about other cultures" to "We didn't have to get out that big book [the textbook]." I'm probably going to run with this for as long as they let me.
Time to greet my 6th graders.
In other news, I was pumped this morning when I called a student in from the carpool line. I made a new seating chart for today, and I put this kid, who can be absolutely awesome (and can also be very loud and talkative) next to a student who rarely shows his ability to behave. They're friends. I was kind of counting on the one (who has been trying to help keep his friends in line for the past two days) to keep the other in line. I asked him what he thought of the seating chart, and he responded immediately, "He won't get in trouble if he's next to me." I was so happy. The period that just ended went pretty well. I had them reading a really challenging article from The Economist (I opened my new one yesterday and the first Briefing had to do directly with what I was wanting to start talking about today. It was really hard. They worked really well on it. I asked who thought it was too hard at the end of class. About 75-80% raised their hand. I asked who enjoyed it. An easy 50% raised their hands. Reasons ranged from "I like to learn about other cultures" to "We didn't have to get out that big book [the textbook]." I'm probably going to run with this for as long as they let me.
Time to greet my 6th graders.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Just Call Me Mr Strict
I think I'm the last teacher in the school to have written students up. I asked another teacher to write up a kid who was completely disrespectful to her. She asked him to stop messing with her kids, and he wouldn't. He went off when she grabbed his arm and guided him back to our line. I hate it when my kids give other teachers trouble. So I asked her to write him up.
Another kid (in the same line) gave a classmate the finger. I got him. It was my inaugural pink slip.
Also, my 7th graders are taking the entire PE class today practicing walking back and forth from class to the cafeteria. They are going to HATE it (and I will too, probably).
Another kid (in the same line) gave a classmate the finger. I got him. It was my inaugural pink slip.
Also, my 7th graders are taking the entire PE class today practicing walking back and forth from class to the cafeteria. They are going to HATE it (and I will too, probably).
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
I'm officially old...
...for several reasons:
1. It is not even 11pm yet, and I feel like it's (well) past midnight.
2. I can't look at my computer screen for more than 5 minutes in my contacts without my vision going blurry.
3. I refer to myself as an adult numerous times per day and don't even think twice about it anymore.
I purchased a new pair of glasses today. I got a good deal on them, and I'm probably going to switch to all glasses all the time because of problem #2 above. (They come in on Friday or Monday, so I'll have to hold out till then.)
After getting the glasses, I went back to school to pick up my room. Little did I know how much "picking up" there was to do. A housemate called me around 6:50 and asked when dinner was (since it was my night to cook). My response? "Probably in about an hour and a half or two hours...close to 7." Oops. Lost track of time. Oops. Couldn't help with dinner. My bad. The good news? One of the other schools cooked for us, so all my cooking partner had to do was side dishes. I handled clean-up afterwards. I'm also doing Crawfish Etouffe next week when our community supervisor is in. She will be here to check in on how well we're getting along living together. The following week, our academic supervisor will be in to observe us in the classroom and tell us why we're useless as teachers.
I was pretty productive after dinner. I didn't get new grades in (oh, well, there's always tomorrow), but I did set up my courses' webpage. I'm kind of pumped about that. Except it's one more thing to keep updated and maintained. If you're interested, it's http://teacherweb.com/AL/MostPureHeartofMaryCatholicSchool/MrClary/apt1.aspx
Enjoy that. Nothing too funny today. I'm going to try a new discipline approach with my biggest trouble-makers. I'm going to choose the one thing that each of them does that annoys me the most (I have a plethora of things to choose from for some of them), and I'm simply going to keep a daily tally of how often they do said action. At the end of the day, we'll discuss it. That way instead of my little "character talks" that I feel like are getting redundant and pointless, I will have something to actually talk about. (Once again, it's something more to keep track of...since I apparently feel that I have a dearth of things to keep up with.)
1. It is not even 11pm yet, and I feel like it's (well) past midnight.
2. I can't look at my computer screen for more than 5 minutes in my contacts without my vision going blurry.
3. I refer to myself as an adult numerous times per day and don't even think twice about it anymore.
I purchased a new pair of glasses today. I got a good deal on them, and I'm probably going to switch to all glasses all the time because of problem #2 above. (They come in on Friday or Monday, so I'll have to hold out till then.)
After getting the glasses, I went back to school to pick up my room. Little did I know how much "picking up" there was to do. A housemate called me around 6:50 and asked when dinner was (since it was my night to cook). My response? "Probably in about an hour and a half or two hours...close to 7." Oops. Lost track of time. Oops. Couldn't help with dinner. My bad. The good news? One of the other schools cooked for us, so all my cooking partner had to do was side dishes. I handled clean-up afterwards. I'm also doing Crawfish Etouffe next week when our community supervisor is in. She will be here to check in on how well we're getting along living together. The following week, our academic supervisor will be in to observe us in the classroom and tell us why we're useless as teachers.
I was pretty productive after dinner. I didn't get new grades in (oh, well, there's always tomorrow), but I did set up my courses' webpage. I'm kind of pumped about that. Except it's one more thing to keep updated and maintained. If you're interested, it's http://teacherweb.com/AL/MostPureHeartofMaryCatholicSchool/MrClary/apt1.aspx
Enjoy that. Nothing too funny today. I'm going to try a new discipline approach with my biggest trouble-makers. I'm going to choose the one thing that each of them does that annoys me the most (I have a plethora of things to choose from for some of them), and I'm simply going to keep a daily tally of how often they do said action. At the end of the day, we'll discuss it. That way instead of my little "character talks" that I feel like are getting redundant and pointless, I will have something to actually talk about. (Once again, it's something more to keep track of...since I apparently feel that I have a dearth of things to keep up with.)
Monday, September 14, 2009
Week #5 (!?!?!?!?!)
I can't believe it's the beginning of the fifth week already. I need to get on the ball with my units and lessons!!!!
7th and 8th grades had tests on Friday. They were similarly formatted, I gave them the exact information to know on study guides (which we reviewed at least 3 days in each class), and the results were night and day. The average score in 7th grade was in the 50% range. The average score in 8th grade was legitimate. 6th grade as a content quiz tomorrow (I still need to write it).
Today was an awesome day. I stayed up till 1:00 yesterday night planning (and doing laundry since I was out of undershirts and dress socks). My 7th graders played battleship all day. None of them had ever played before, and I'm planning it use it to segue into using latitude and longitude to find locations on a map (they CAN'T do it yet, and we've spent the better part of a week practicing it). They thought the game was stupid at first, but once they started playing, they really got the hang of it and played well. My 8th graders are learning about ancient Israel at the moment. I was going to have them compare and contrast Biblical stories with their textbook, but after reading the textbook last night, I realized that the Bible was the only source it used. So they matched up perfectly. There was nothing to contrast. So...my students are not using textbooks this week. Just the Bible. There are partners who are each in charge of a given set of verses. They have to (1) summarize what's going on and (2) tell why their passage relates to any of the innovations or markers of civilization that we've talked about. It'll be great fun.
The reason my day was so great was because my classes behaved really well and went along with my lessons with little to no coercion. All of the other teachers had a really rough day with the kids. While I'm sorry about that, I am pumped that I can claim that they are responding to me a bit. This was demonstrated when I left my class with the PE coach to use the bathroom (we didn't go to PE because of rain), and I returned to find my room in utter chaos. I felt kind of bad, but at the same time, was pumped that it wasn't me that they treated like that. Funniest part of the day: after the PE coach left at the end of the period, I told the kids how much their mistreating and disrespecting other adults ticked me off. "If you want to disrespect me and treat me like that, that's fine. At least it's between you and me. When you do that to other adults while in my class, that is when I start to 'trip out'." (This was a phrase they had been using to describe the PE coach from the moment she left.) Throughout the course of this talk, I had to stop 2-3 times per sentence to allow random kids to have outbursts of conversations. One of the girls ("black-people-don't-eat-granola-bars" girl) yelled to the class that they "best shut up else Mr. Clary is gonna come all up in here trippin' tomorrow, bruh!" (Bruh = "bro"). I responded, "Let's get one thing straight. I don't EVER come all up in here bruh." I didn't really expect it to be as funny as it was. I literally haven't heard my kids be this loud for weeks. They were dying laughing. It was funny. I was pleased. It may have un-done the seriousness of the talk we were having, but there will be more opportunities for that talk. I can guarantee it.
7th and 8th grades had tests on Friday. They were similarly formatted, I gave them the exact information to know on study guides (which we reviewed at least 3 days in each class), and the results were night and day. The average score in 7th grade was in the 50% range. The average score in 8th grade was legitimate. 6th grade as a content quiz tomorrow (I still need to write it).
Today was an awesome day. I stayed up till 1:00 yesterday night planning (and doing laundry since I was out of undershirts and dress socks). My 7th graders played battleship all day. None of them had ever played before, and I'm planning it use it to segue into using latitude and longitude to find locations on a map (they CAN'T do it yet, and we've spent the better part of a week practicing it). They thought the game was stupid at first, but once they started playing, they really got the hang of it and played well. My 8th graders are learning about ancient Israel at the moment. I was going to have them compare and contrast Biblical stories with their textbook, but after reading the textbook last night, I realized that the Bible was the only source it used. So they matched up perfectly. There was nothing to contrast. So...my students are not using textbooks this week. Just the Bible. There are partners who are each in charge of a given set of verses. They have to (1) summarize what's going on and (2) tell why their passage relates to any of the innovations or markers of civilization that we've talked about. It'll be great fun.
The reason my day was so great was because my classes behaved really well and went along with my lessons with little to no coercion. All of the other teachers had a really rough day with the kids. While I'm sorry about that, I am pumped that I can claim that they are responding to me a bit. This was demonstrated when I left my class with the PE coach to use the bathroom (we didn't go to PE because of rain), and I returned to find my room in utter chaos. I felt kind of bad, but at the same time, was pumped that it wasn't me that they treated like that. Funniest part of the day: after the PE coach left at the end of the period, I told the kids how much their mistreating and disrespecting other adults ticked me off. "If you want to disrespect me and treat me like that, that's fine. At least it's between you and me. When you do that to other adults while in my class, that is when I start to 'trip out'." (This was a phrase they had been using to describe the PE coach from the moment she left.) Throughout the course of this talk, I had to stop 2-3 times per sentence to allow random kids to have outbursts of conversations. One of the girls ("black-people-don't-eat-granola-bars" girl) yelled to the class that they "best shut up else Mr. Clary is gonna come all up in here trippin' tomorrow, bruh!" (Bruh = "bro"). I responded, "Let's get one thing straight. I don't EVER come all up in here bruh." I didn't really expect it to be as funny as it was. I literally haven't heard my kids be this loud for weeks. They were dying laughing. It was funny. I was pleased. It may have un-done the seriousness of the talk we were having, but there will be more opportunities for that talk. I can guarantee it.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
PS (about the speech)
So...don't know if anyone watched the healthcare speech to Congress last night or not. I promise not to get too political in my blog, but I can't resist. I appreciate the bone President Obama threw Republicans in saying he was going to continue that President Bush program and look at medical malpractice lawsuit reform. My biggest question about the speech is simply this: He acknowledged at the very beginning that of the 5 committees in the House and Senate asked to produce bills, 4 have reported and the fifth will do so next week. He commended the work they've done on that. So, I don't understand why he is putting his ideas out there NOW. Why not BEFORE Congress did all this work? That's all.
It's Thursday!!!!
And two of my classes are reviewing. The third class is going to learn about Abraham Lincoln. I never realized how much grade school textbooks boil things down to the basics. I was actually getting angry last night as I read the entire (4-page) section that describes all of Abraham Lincoln's life. There was hardly any detail at all!!! My 7th graders didn't really cooperate today, so we cut the review short by 10 minutes. I just sat down at my desk and said, "If you're not going to let me teach, that's fine. It's your review for your test tomorrow." We were going to work on the hardest thing that we've covered so far. What they don't know is that so many of them don't get it that I'm not going to test them on it. The 8th graders are going to review with Play-Doh today. It's going to be a $30 lesson (seriously, that's what the Play-Doh costs). We are learning about early civilizations and the first writing systems. So...all the questions they wrote down yesterday on their cards (I read them to see what we need to review today) we are going to cover. Then, using toothpicks and Play-Doh, they are going to summarize each point. Using hieroglyphics and pictures. Hopefully it's A) fun and B) not a mess.
I have one test written, and need to write the other one tonight. I've also been telling my 6th graders all week that we're going to have a fun activity about tariffs. So I have to plan out a simulation/role play for tomorrow. I'm going to have some kids be plantation owners, some be American (Northern) factory-owners, some be English factory owners, some be Southern citizens, and some be Northern citizens. We're going to run through it once or twice without tariffs, and (hopefully) they will see that English clothing was cheaper and that the South sold cotton to the North and England. Then, I'll slap a tariff on the English goods and (hopefully) they will see that English goods become more expensive. There are a few more points I hope to make, but it might be a little too ambitious.
I'll let you know how the simulation goes. And, for those of you who knew that I'm sick, I'm much better today. Literally nothing but a little runny nose.
I have one test written, and need to write the other one tonight. I've also been telling my 6th graders all week that we're going to have a fun activity about tariffs. So I have to plan out a simulation/role play for tomorrow. I'm going to have some kids be plantation owners, some be American (Northern) factory-owners, some be English factory owners, some be Southern citizens, and some be Northern citizens. We're going to run through it once or twice without tariffs, and (hopefully) they will see that English clothing was cheaper and that the South sold cotton to the North and England. Then, I'll slap a tariff on the English goods and (hopefully) they will see that English goods become more expensive. There are a few more points I hope to make, but it might be a little too ambitious.
I'll let you know how the simulation goes. And, for those of you who knew that I'm sick, I'm much better today. Literally nothing but a little runny nose.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
I couldn't make this up...
"Mister Clary, is you Catholic?"
"Yes."
"So, do you call it Christmas, or do you call it Hanukkah?"
"Um. Christmas. Catholics are Christians, not Jews."
"Yes."
"So, do you call it Christmas, or do you call it Hanukkah?"
"Um. Christmas. Catholics are Christians, not Jews."
Monday, September 7, 2009
Another note to me on a quiz...
...from one of my favorites:
"Forgot about the test. Couldn't think. It's my faulght. I'm sorry."
I almost wanted to pass him for apologizing to me...
"Forgot about the test. Couldn't think. It's my faulght. I'm sorry."
I almost wanted to pass him for apologizing to me...
Friday, September 4, 2009
Had this written on a quiz today
"Note: I have never been good at states. If we are going to continue with these quizzes, please give me another way to study."
I feel partially responsible for helping this student out, but at the same time...whose responsibility is it to come up with an effective way to study information?
I feel partially responsible for helping this student out, but at the same time...whose responsibility is it to come up with an effective way to study information?
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Rest of the day
The rate at which my 7th graders did their homework last night stayed constant across the board in my other classes as well. I was not pleased. I think I'm starting to get through to a couple of my kids, so that feels good. More later...
Class of 26 people???
11 of my 7th graders turned in their homework today. It was really easy. Copying 10 definitions. We were going to play games in class with them today, but instead, I just told them to get every definition copied by the end of class. So, 25 landforms and their definitions. In 30 minutes. We'll see how many finish for a 50% on their homework.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
You know, sometimes a mediocre day can be made all better with one humorous line:
A little background: There is a sketchy gas station across the street from school. Legit drug deals go down all the time there. The football team always wants to run across the street to get Gatorade and snacks from it before practice. They aren't allowed. So, I found out about this yesterday and went to Wal-Mart to get a ton of Gatorade and granola bars. They got smaller Gatorades and chips from the gas station for more money, so I thought it'd be fine to have healthier snacks and more Gatorade for less. I explained this to the class. One girl raised her hand (for once). Imagine the following line coming from an attitude-filled girl in my class:
"Yes ma'am?"
"Mr. Clary, I don't wanna be a racist or nothing, but...well...black people don't eat granola bars."
It was all I could do to keep from rolling on the ground laughing. Luckily I kept a (relatively) straight face, and dismissed class for the day.
A little background: There is a sketchy gas station across the street from school. Legit drug deals go down all the time there. The football team always wants to run across the street to get Gatorade and snacks from it before practice. They aren't allowed. So, I found out about this yesterday and went to Wal-Mart to get a ton of Gatorade and granola bars. They got smaller Gatorades and chips from the gas station for more money, so I thought it'd be fine to have healthier snacks and more Gatorade for less. I explained this to the class. One girl raised her hand (for once). Imagine the following line coming from an attitude-filled girl in my class:
"Yes ma'am?"
"Mr. Clary, I don't wanna be a racist or nothing, but...well...black people don't eat granola bars."
It was all I could do to keep from rolling on the ground laughing. Luckily I kept a (relatively) straight face, and dismissed class for the day.
Wow
Our really super-cool school counselor even had trouble with my 7th grade class today. They are crazy sometimes (often).
Yesterday, my cooking partner and I found out at around 5pm that it was our night for dinner. We threw together some tacos, rice, and beans. It went over pretty well. I loved it - it is one of my favorite meals ever. We have new partners starting next week. I'm keeping Tuesday, but I'm with someone else. She's really on top of things, so I think we'll be good.
School's been going pretty well this week. I have found that if it takes us 3 days to do what I thought we could do in 1, then that's OK. If my students don't come in quietly at first, it will lead to a loud and disrespectful period. So we go back in the hallway and practice walking in again. And again. And again. Until they do it quietly. They hate it, they get quiet, and they realize I'm serious. I feel good because they ultimately do come in quietly and we have a good start to class (albeit 10 minutes later than it should start).
I've also started writing students' names on the board to track their misbehavior. They don't really like it, I can discipline without stopping class, and I have something at the end of the day that reminds me what to write down in my permanent discipline records. Apparently one of my housemates has a "treasure box" which is the opposite of my names on the board. Each time your name gets on the board, your name goes in a drawing for a reward at the end of the week. Apparently it works really well. I'm thinking about doing that starting next week.
I'm really looking forward to a long weekend. I am not quite sure I know what I'll do for all three days of the weekend, but I'm sure I'll figure it out!
Yesterday, my cooking partner and I found out at around 5pm that it was our night for dinner. We threw together some tacos, rice, and beans. It went over pretty well. I loved it - it is one of my favorite meals ever. We have new partners starting next week. I'm keeping Tuesday, but I'm with someone else. She's really on top of things, so I think we'll be good.
School's been going pretty well this week. I have found that if it takes us 3 days to do what I thought we could do in 1, then that's OK. If my students don't come in quietly at first, it will lead to a loud and disrespectful period. So we go back in the hallway and practice walking in again. And again. And again. Until they do it quietly. They hate it, they get quiet, and they realize I'm serious. I feel good because they ultimately do come in quietly and we have a good start to class (albeit 10 minutes later than it should start).
I've also started writing students' names on the board to track their misbehavior. They don't really like it, I can discipline without stopping class, and I have something at the end of the day that reminds me what to write down in my permanent discipline records. Apparently one of my housemates has a "treasure box" which is the opposite of my names on the board. Each time your name gets on the board, your name goes in a drawing for a reward at the end of the week. Apparently it works really well. I'm thinking about doing that starting next week.
I'm really looking forward to a long weekend. I am not quite sure I know what I'll do for all three days of the weekend, but I'm sure I'll figure it out!
Monday, August 31, 2009
3rd Monday
Much better today. Believe it or not, it seems like kids don't like to see their names on the board. Several people ARE absent, but we're doing pretty good. I somehow came to the realization this weekend that just because I have a lesson plan doesn't mean I have to finish every single little thing that I have planned. That has made today a lot easier. I got through the bellwork with 7th grade today, and that's it. We had to enter the classroom 3 times before they did it right. We also handed out the bellwork handout twice because they thought it was their time to talk.
Sister Nancy is currently speaking to my 7th graders during their extension class. She's talking about goals and organization. I thought that being 6'5", 220 lbs and wearing a beard would be sufficient to scare my students into being respectful. If that's true, then I have no idea what the kids would be like if I were much smaller and baby-faced. However, whatever presence I bring to the classroom is nothing to what my 5'0" 82-year-old nun principal brings. She brings the hard vibe. They are all ridiculously attentive when she's talking. I guess I just need to go into a convent and age a few decades...
Sister Nancy is currently speaking to my 7th graders during their extension class. She's talking about goals and organization. I thought that being 6'5", 220 lbs and wearing a beard would be sufficient to scare my students into being respectful. If that's true, then I have no idea what the kids would be like if I were much smaller and baby-faced. However, whatever presence I bring to the classroom is nothing to what my 5'0" 82-year-old nun principal brings. She brings the hard vibe. They are all ridiculously attentive when she's talking. I guess I just need to go into a convent and age a few decades...
Saturday, August 29, 2009
End of Week 2
So...this week was clearly not as awesome as my first week. My 7th graders (my homeroom, so the class I see ALL THE TIME) cause me endless headaches. However, I'm trying a few new things with them. Straight-up hardcore consequences don't seem to be working. I was told that giving students responsibilities in my classroom is a good idea. I've done that with one of my students, and I've got a few ideas for some others. There are other students who have already taken it upon themselves to do certain jobs. One of my girls handles giving everyone Germ-X on the way to and from lunch. Another two girls handle wiping the tables down in the cafeteria when we leave. I am having one guy (as of yesterday) who is trying to keep his friends from picking on one of the students. Other jobs will include writing homework assignments on the HW work board and writing homeworks in my copy of the student planner for kids who were absent. I haven't quite decided what other jobs to have them do...
Speaking of absent kids...they are the bane of my existence. They never come ask me for the assignments, and I don't ever have time or the memory to give them everything they missed. Also, kids who just don't turn in HW also tick me off. I'm technically supposed to help them try to get it in, but the last thing I want to do is continually remind them to get it in. The other teachers hold their kids during PE to do their assignments. I wish I could do that - but I can't since I coach PE.
Fun times in Mobile this weekend. We had about 10 people spend the night last night. About 50 will be here tonight. We're having the annual Mobile "Back to School" party. It's basically the party that kicks off Gulf Coast ACE parties for the rest of the year. I smoked 2 briskets last night (Thurs night), and chopped them up yesterday. They taste awesome...I was really worried about it, but they turned out really good. In honor of (Castroville) Clary family tradition, we are going to have our guests who want to make brisket tacos and wrap them in foil to stick under their hoods on the drive home in case they get hungry on the way.
That's it for now...going to try to get some grading done before everyone wakes up.
Speaking of absent kids...they are the bane of my existence. They never come ask me for the assignments, and I don't ever have time or the memory to give them everything they missed. Also, kids who just don't turn in HW also tick me off. I'm technically supposed to help them try to get it in, but the last thing I want to do is continually remind them to get it in. The other teachers hold their kids during PE to do their assignments. I wish I could do that - but I can't since I coach PE.
Fun times in Mobile this weekend. We had about 10 people spend the night last night. About 50 will be here tonight. We're having the annual Mobile "Back to School" party. It's basically the party that kicks off Gulf Coast ACE parties for the rest of the year. I smoked 2 briskets last night (Thurs night), and chopped them up yesterday. They taste awesome...I was really worried about it, but they turned out really good. In honor of (Castroville) Clary family tradition, we are going to have our guests who want to make brisket tacos and wrap them in foil to stick under their hoods on the drive home in case they get hungry on the way.
That's it for now...going to try to get some grading done before everyone wakes up.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Beginning of the Week
My 7th graders have been uncontrollable so far this week. An assistant principal yelled at them at the end of the day Monday. I didn't really like that he just walked in and started yelling. They were lectured by the 5th grade teacher yesterday, and yelled at again yesterday after PE by the same asst. principal. By this time, I was absolutely seething. I had had a 45-minute discussion with them earlier in the day about why my expectations are what they are, that I wouldn't waste all my time and energy trying to get them "act straight" if I thought they were incapable of it. They seemed to respond, but the afternoon was awful. So, when they came in from PE (after being yelled at to line up), I ripped into them as well. I basically told them that I had had it and that now would be a perfect time to sit quietly for the rest of the day. They were absolutely silent and still for 15 minutes. This morning, I took no nonsense, and have my disciplinary consequences listed on the board. I don't know if they took me seriously and were quiet or if they were still asleep and were quiet for that reason. I guess I'll see at lunchtime.
So, I've basically been in a terrible mood for the past two days. I have always been really good at projecting a good front, even when I'm upset. I don't know if I'm too tired to keep that up, or if I've really been so upset at the end of the day that I just can't cover it up. It was my turn to cook dinner last night. Chicken Sopa - basically tortilla casserole with chicken. It seemed to go over pretty well. We tried canned chicken, which I found to be a bit dry, but it may have been the cans. We've had them on the shelf for a while.
Today after school, I'm going to run to Taco Bell (for the first time since I've been here), and am going to return to school to make phone calls home to all my 7th grade boys who have been a thorn in my side. Nothing but positives this week. We'll move into negatives next week as needed.
So, I've basically been in a terrible mood for the past two days. I have always been really good at projecting a good front, even when I'm upset. I don't know if I'm too tired to keep that up, or if I've really been so upset at the end of the day that I just can't cover it up. It was my turn to cook dinner last night. Chicken Sopa - basically tortilla casserole with chicken. It seemed to go over pretty well. We tried canned chicken, which I found to be a bit dry, but it may have been the cans. We've had them on the shelf for a while.
Today after school, I'm going to run to Taco Bell (for the first time since I've been here), and am going to return to school to make phone calls home to all my 7th grade boys who have been a thorn in my side. Nothing but positives this week. We'll move into negatives next week as needed.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Last Friday
Last Friday was a lot of fun. My classroom was miserable because I found the thermostat on 60 degrees on Thursday night when I left. In order to make up the energy that we had wasted, we held class all day Friday at 80 degrees. I was fully prepared to deal with sweating all day, but I was unprepared for the smell that hit me like a truck about two class periods into the day. The stench of BO added an unexpected element of deterrence to anyone who wants to mess with my thermostat again.
Other funny stories from Friday include my giving up teaching my 8th graders. After stopping about 5 times in two minutes (they took my restarting each time as an invitation to start their conversations back up), I dropped my yardstick (my "enforcer" prop that I wield daily) and sat back down at my desk. The class got immediately silent, they all started looking at me, and after about 15 seconds started saying, "OK, Mr. Clary, we'll be quiet. Come back and start teaching again." I didn't really know what to do, so I stayed at my seat staring at the board. Then one of my students got up, stood behind my podium, looked at my lesson plan, and started running class. It was actually pretty good. They stayed quiet and did their work. At one point, a girl had a question about the worksheet, and turned to ask me. I shook my head and pointed at the new "teacher," so she addressed him with "Mr. _____." It was pretty funny. He handled the question well.
Also, my 6th graders told me that I can be boring sometimes, so I had three of them up to teach on Friday as well. They actually did a pretty good job. One kid even looked down at my roster and called on a random student that did not have his hand up. His teaching stopped then because I was laughing too hard to let him continue.
Finally, PE was rained out at the end of the day, so I had my 7th graders inside with me. They were completely rambunctious, and I couldn't get them to do what I wanted, so I asked for someone to come teach the class. Luckily, the student I wanted to teach volunteered. I sat at his desk and let him get a sentence into whatever it was that he was saying. Then I turned around and started talking to the student behind me. He came and quieted me. When he left, I started digging through his pencil pouch and messed with his eraser tops. Then I threw a pencil at another student (he was looking, and I aimed at his legs). One kid in the class was literally rolling on the ground laughing. Everyone got the point (it didn't really stick though).
So, Friday was awesome...then this weekend was great too. I did all my grading on Saturday at Barnes and Noble. Saturday I also explored Mobile's Cathedral and went to a seafood place out on the water. It was awesome. Sunday I went to the beach in Pensacola before planning. Then, yesterday, I had a very rude awakening. More on that later...apparently, I was so grumpy when I got home that it merited the rest of my community making a poster for my wall with encouraging messages. It was really funny, but I felt bad that I had been so noticeably affected. This morning's class (7th grade) went well - especially in light of the fact that it was that class that caused most of my stress yesterday. More on Monday later...
Other funny stories from Friday include my giving up teaching my 8th graders. After stopping about 5 times in two minutes (they took my restarting each time as an invitation to start their conversations back up), I dropped my yardstick (my "enforcer" prop that I wield daily) and sat back down at my desk. The class got immediately silent, they all started looking at me, and after about 15 seconds started saying, "OK, Mr. Clary, we'll be quiet. Come back and start teaching again." I didn't really know what to do, so I stayed at my seat staring at the board. Then one of my students got up, stood behind my podium, looked at my lesson plan, and started running class. It was actually pretty good. They stayed quiet and did their work. At one point, a girl had a question about the worksheet, and turned to ask me. I shook my head and pointed at the new "teacher," so she addressed him with "Mr. _____." It was pretty funny. He handled the question well.
Also, my 6th graders told me that I can be boring sometimes, so I had three of them up to teach on Friday as well. They actually did a pretty good job. One kid even looked down at my roster and called on a random student that did not have his hand up. His teaching stopped then because I was laughing too hard to let him continue.
Finally, PE was rained out at the end of the day, so I had my 7th graders inside with me. They were completely rambunctious, and I couldn't get them to do what I wanted, so I asked for someone to come teach the class. Luckily, the student I wanted to teach volunteered. I sat at his desk and let him get a sentence into whatever it was that he was saying. Then I turned around and started talking to the student behind me. He came and quieted me. When he left, I started digging through his pencil pouch and messed with his eraser tops. Then I threw a pencil at another student (he was looking, and I aimed at his legs). One kid in the class was literally rolling on the ground laughing. Everyone got the point (it didn't really stick though).
So, Friday was awesome...then this weekend was great too. I did all my grading on Saturday at Barnes and Noble. Saturday I also explored Mobile's Cathedral and went to a seafood place out on the water. It was awesome. Sunday I went to the beach in Pensacola before planning. Then, yesterday, I had a very rude awakening. More on that later...apparently, I was so grumpy when I got home that it merited the rest of my community making a poster for my wall with encouraging messages. It was really funny, but I felt bad that I had been so noticeably affected. This morning's class (7th grade) went well - especially in light of the fact that it was that class that caused most of my stress yesterday. More on Monday later...
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
It never ends. I can't wait for the weekend. I need to get myself organized again. I realized Monday that I don't have anywhere to keep my extra copies, lesson plans, and other records. So I got some binders. How in the world am I supposed to find time to organize binders with planning, benchmark grading, classroom set-up, and a zillion other things to do just to make the class happen? So, that's my plan for the weekend.
My 8th graders get some humor. I'm not completely sure if it's appropriate to be using it yet, but once or twice per day I just can't pass up the opportunity. They constantly try to get me to engage with them, and I usually do (not in the way they want). One of the ringleaders called out an answer yesterday, and I raised my hand and asked the question again. He then shouted, "Man, but I knew the answer!" I looked at him and said (I don't know where this came from): "So did I, but I restrained myself from yelling it out." Everyone got a good laugh out of it, and he did a little double-take. Today, it was storming just before noon. We had been having thunder for a while, and for some reason the kids didn't notice it until the fourth or fifth thuderclap. When they noticed, a student on the opposite side of the room from me leaned from his chair to look through the blinds. I stopped and said, "Really? Thunder is more interesting than my lesson?"
The 8th graders were talked to this afternoon during my class by an assistant principal. They had been being disrespectful towards some teachers, and so she wanted to address our expectations, and what the goal of those expectations is. It was a good discussion. Then she left. I modified my bellwork. Instead of brainstorming maps (boring!!), we brainstormed community. They came up for a chalk-talk (they walk to the board and write a response that they came up with during the bellwork), and some of their answers are: "watch out for each other" "help people by encouraging them to do better" "a place where people come together" "a group of people working together to make something better." I was really impressed with their responses.
That's about it for now. I need to figure out what we're doing tomorrow for the 50 minutes of PE I took away from my homeroom (the PE period is only 45 minutes long)...
My 8th graders get some humor. I'm not completely sure if it's appropriate to be using it yet, but once or twice per day I just can't pass up the opportunity. They constantly try to get me to engage with them, and I usually do (not in the way they want). One of the ringleaders called out an answer yesterday, and I raised my hand and asked the question again. He then shouted, "Man, but I knew the answer!" I looked at him and said (I don't know where this came from): "So did I, but I restrained myself from yelling it out." Everyone got a good laugh out of it, and he did a little double-take. Today, it was storming just before noon. We had been having thunder for a while, and for some reason the kids didn't notice it until the fourth or fifth thuderclap. When they noticed, a student on the opposite side of the room from me leaned from his chair to look through the blinds. I stopped and said, "Really? Thunder is more interesting than my lesson?"
The 8th graders were talked to this afternoon during my class by an assistant principal. They had been being disrespectful towards some teachers, and so she wanted to address our expectations, and what the goal of those expectations is. It was a good discussion. Then she left. I modified my bellwork. Instead of brainstorming maps (boring!!), we brainstormed community. They came up for a chalk-talk (they walk to the board and write a response that they came up with during the bellwork), and some of their answers are: "watch out for each other" "help people by encouraging them to do better" "a place where people come together" "a group of people working together to make something better." I was really impressed with their responses.
That's about it for now. I need to figure out what we're doing tomorrow for the 50 minutes of PE I took away from my homeroom (the PE period is only 45 minutes long)...
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
First Wrench
So...I had an action-packed two periods of class planned today. I was expecting not to finish anyway. The one thing that we HAVE to do today is take a benchmark test (which I made last night). So, as we were lining up on the back steps to welcome our homeroom classes, I was going through my head how in the world I was going to get everyone organized in the 20 minutes I had for homeroom. (Social Studies class starts at 8.) I was startled out of my reverie by the assistant principal/math and religion teacher. He asked if I had heard about the assembly at 8:05. Uh, no!
"How long should it take?"
"Oh, probably until about eight...uh...the whole class."
If there hadn't been 90 middle school kids within earshot, you can insert your own expletive for what I would have said - I was thinking most of them.
So, I got my class organized (kind of) and in the cafeteria at 8:10. I was late, yes, and worried about being the last one. Imagine my amusement/annoyance/outright anger when the teacher that had originally informed me of the assembly strolled in with his 8th graders at a few ticks before 8:20. Wow. And he KNEW about the thing!!!
Side note: Sister Nancy gave a great talk, and I hope the kids absorbed some of it. I'm going to come back to it tomorrow (I would like to come back to it this afternoon, but I'll be busy making up the time).
This afternoon should be interesting...we knocked out about 5 minutes out of the 90 this morning with that class.
"How long should it take?"
"Oh, probably until about eight...uh...the whole class."
If there hadn't been 90 middle school kids within earshot, you can insert your own expletive for what I would have said - I was thinking most of them.
So, I got my class organized (kind of) and in the cafeteria at 8:10. I was late, yes, and worried about being the last one. Imagine my amusement/annoyance/outright anger when the teacher that had originally informed me of the assembly strolled in with his 8th graders at a few ticks before 8:20. Wow. And he KNEW about the thing!!!
Side note: Sister Nancy gave a great talk, and I hope the kids absorbed some of it. I'm going to come back to it tomorrow (I would like to come back to it this afternoon, but I'll be busy making up the time).
This afternoon should be interesting...we knocked out about 5 minutes out of the 90 this morning with that class.
Monday, August 17, 2009
First Class Down, Two To Go
My 7th grade homeroom is going to hate me. Sister Nancy is going to love me. The reason? My 7th graders practiced how to line up outside and enter my room silently at the beginning of the day three times. The first time, they were loud, and I think they all realized they had talked. So we went back outside, and I gave the same welcome shpeel and welcomed them in again. When I walked into the classroom, I swear I heard talking. It ended right when they saw me come in. I asked who heard any talking that time. I was a little taken aback when not a single hand was raised. I made them go back out and practice again anyway. I think they were a little annoyed with me, but when I asked them to quietly put their backpacks in the closet, I didn't hear a sound.
I actually planned my first class relatively well (as far as timing). I rushed the last few things, but actually got to everything. The English teacher said she didn't. I've doctored the lesson plan a bit for my other two classes (my homeroom was in for 75 mins today, the others are only 55). Hopefully these run kind of smoothly too.
For introductions today, I asked what their favorite subject in school is. I'd say that about 80% of them said math. Approximately 0% said social studies. Oh well, my bigger worry than that right now is that I have no idea how I'm going to remember all these names. I guess it'll come eventually...
I actually planned my first class relatively well (as far as timing). I rushed the last few things, but actually got to everything. The English teacher said she didn't. I've doctored the lesson plan a bit for my other two classes (my homeroom was in for 75 mins today, the others are only 55). Hopefully these run kind of smoothly too.
For introductions today, I asked what their favorite subject in school is. I'd say that about 80% of them said math. Approximately 0% said social studies. Oh well, my bigger worry than that right now is that I have no idea how I'm going to remember all these names. I guess it'll come eventually...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Open House? Check. Lesson Plans for Day 1? Uh...
Well, my countdown is now at 10 hours and change. I figure I need to make some lesson plans, figure out what I'm going to do with kids in front of me, etc.
The first week (probably two) won't be content. It'll be a lot of procedures, just practicing how to do things in Mr. Clary's classroom, get used to being back at school, figuring out that when I say be quiet, I'm serious, etc. Then I want to move into some map practice, some timeline practice, and some original document practice separate and apart from history. Then, probably halfway through next week, we'll ease into some new content and be on our merry way.
Open house tonight was a lot of fun. I met some parents and some kids. I won't remember any of their names, but a lot of the parents said, "Now, you just let me know if he (or she) causes you any trouble. Just let me know, and I'll take care of it for you." So that was nice to hear. I'm definitely even more excited now than I was. I really do feel like I'm in an awesome place. Despite the disappointment I initially felt about middle school, I'm pumped to start the year. Hopefully that lasts!!!
The first week (probably two) won't be content. It'll be a lot of procedures, just practicing how to do things in Mr. Clary's classroom, get used to being back at school, figuring out that when I say be quiet, I'm serious, etc. Then I want to move into some map practice, some timeline practice, and some original document practice separate and apart from history. Then, probably halfway through next week, we'll ease into some new content and be on our merry way.
Open house tonight was a lot of fun. I met some parents and some kids. I won't remember any of their names, but a lot of the parents said, "Now, you just let me know if he (or she) causes you any trouble. Just let me know, and I'll take care of it for you." So that was nice to hear. I'm definitely even more excited now than I was. I really do feel like I'm in an awesome place. Despite the disappointment I initially felt about middle school, I'm pumped to start the year. Hopefully that lasts!!!
Friday, August 14, 2009
My Room at the Convent
Three pictures should be plenty for you to look at for now...
Here's a teaser of my room. I spent several hours last night organizing it, doing some laundry, and sorting through stacks of papers. So, Mama, I promise it's cleaner than it looks in this photo...
Here's a teaser of my room. I spent several hours last night organizing it, doing some laundry, and sorting through stacks of papers. So, Mama, I promise it's cleaner than it looks in this photo...
PICTURES!!!!!!!!
Photos of the Convent and classroom will be in each new post. My camera takes pictures too big to put more than one in a post, so it may take a while for you to see everything. (I guess it's just a way to keep you coming back!!)
This is my classroom. It's taken from a front corner. You can see my desk on the back left, the door in the back right, and homemade posters along the top of the chalkboard. (The homemade posters are the ones on colored posterboard.)
This is my classroom. It's taken from a front corner. You can see my desk on the back left, the door in the back right, and homemade posters along the top of the chalkboard. (The homemade posters are the ones on colored posterboard.)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
4 days and change?!?
The past couple of days have continued my quest to organize and set up my room. As of this minute, I have pulled everything out of my supply closet, sorted it all out, organized some of it, found a home for some of it, and left the rest on my students' desks. I have a map of the world up, a map of the US, and today I purchased an Alabama state flag to go along with the American flag already hanging on one side of the doorway. Maybe it's just a remnant of the ridiculous amount of state pride that Texans have, but I felt that a state flag was a must.
I also uncovered my desk today. Things had been piling up at a constant (and rapid) rate, so it's nice to see the actual desk now. I finished making some posters tonight. I have posters with words like courage, responsibility, loyalty, work, compassion, and one more that I can't think of right now. The posters have a neat picture and a quote from history or literature. I made posters with a line from Scripture on each of them to go along with each of those posters. A housemate also unearthed some really cool regional posters tonight. I'll use them for my units on each of the regions that I now have maps for. One of the ones he gave me is a map of the globe that is basically a picture taken from space. You can see all the clusters of lights that stay lit up all night long. It is interesting to contrast North and South Korea, NYC with basically the rest of the world, and many other regions as well.
Tomorrow I am presenting the gifts at an all Catholic school faculty mass that the Archbishop is presiding. He is pretty nitpicky about attire and professionalism, so I figured it was finally time to try to get my facial hair under control. I am aiming to keep a steady level of scruffiness this year, so I ran out to Wal-Mart (got lost going there AND coming back) for a beard trimmer. Unfortunately, it has to charge for upwards of 12 hours before you can use it "for best results." Hopefully I can use it in the morning!!
I also uncovered my desk today. Things had been piling up at a constant (and rapid) rate, so it's nice to see the actual desk now. I finished making some posters tonight. I have posters with words like courage, responsibility, loyalty, work, compassion, and one more that I can't think of right now. The posters have a neat picture and a quote from history or literature. I made posters with a line from Scripture on each of them to go along with each of those posters. A housemate also unearthed some really cool regional posters tonight. I'll use them for my units on each of the regions that I now have maps for. One of the ones he gave me is a map of the globe that is basically a picture taken from space. You can see all the clusters of lights that stay lit up all night long. It is interesting to contrast North and South Korea, NYC with basically the rest of the world, and many other regions as well.
Tomorrow I am presenting the gifts at an all Catholic school faculty mass that the Archbishop is presiding. He is pretty nitpicky about attire and professionalism, so I figured it was finally time to try to get my facial hair under control. I am aiming to keep a steady level of scruffiness this year, so I ran out to Wal-Mart (got lost going there AND coming back) for a beard trimmer. Unfortunately, it has to charge for upwards of 12 hours before you can use it "for best results." Hopefully I can use it in the morning!!
Monday, August 10, 2009
1st Day of Inservice
The countdown has finally dropped below one week. AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Today, I set my desks up. Now all I have to do are the posters and signs for the walls. I am meeting with my assistant principals and fellow middle school teachers tomorrow to come up with standardized rules, procedures, and consequences. The math/science teacher is also new to Heart of Mary this year (in her 2nd year of teaching though), so the assistant principals are inserting themselves into our meeting to try to keep the English teacher from running away with us and having us all singing out of her hymnal.
I got my class schedule today:
7:40 Homeroom (7th grade - 12 boys, 16 girls)
8:00 Social Studies (7th)
8:45 Planning Period
9:30 Social Studies (6th)
10:15 Social Studies (8th)
11:00 Extension Classes (7th)
11:45 Lunch (7th)
12:30 Extension Classes (6th)
1:15 Extension Classes (8th)
2:00 Physical Education (7th and 8th boys)
2:45 Homeroom (7th)
3:00 Dismissal
I will only be in charge of the Intervention Extension Class, which will meet Mondays and Fridays, but for the first several weeks, the Counselor, computer teacher, and librarian will not be taking the students (for the classes on Tues, Wed, and Thurs), so I will have them all in my room for the first few weeks.
My extracurricular activities are: National Junior Honor Society, Basketball Coach, and Student Council (got hit with that one today). Additionally, Sr Nancy took me out to meet our football coach this afternoon, and after shaking his hand, he said, "Now, Sister Nancy tells me you may be interested in helping coach football." I said I wasn't sure how much use I'd be for football, but agreed to help run the homework time from 3-4 before practice three days per week (inside = air conditioning!!). Chalk that up as my first time to say "No."
The football coach had a few students with him when I met him. A few minutes after he walked away, one of the boys came up to me, looked me right in the eyes, stuck out his hand, and introduced himself. I was very impressed. Assertively meeting someone like that is something that is not the easiest thing to get down. His task may have been made easier by the fact that I was wearing a green Fisher Hall t-shirt from our dance this past year. Across the front of my chest in huge block white letters is "FUNK." so maybe that made it easier for him.
Tomorrow I plan to get a final list of what hand-made posters I need, plan out what's going up where, and run by the teacher supply store to get materials for my posters. Hopefully by the end of the day Wednesday I can have all the posters up on the walls and start focusing in on organizing my supplies, my desk, and my thoughts for the first week or so in each class.
PS - Also got my first paycheck today!!!!!!!!!!
Today, I set my desks up. Now all I have to do are the posters and signs for the walls. I am meeting with my assistant principals and fellow middle school teachers tomorrow to come up with standardized rules, procedures, and consequences. The math/science teacher is also new to Heart of Mary this year (in her 2nd year of teaching though), so the assistant principals are inserting themselves into our meeting to try to keep the English teacher from running away with us and having us all singing out of her hymnal.
I got my class schedule today:
7:40 Homeroom (7th grade - 12 boys, 16 girls)
8:00 Social Studies (7th)
8:45 Planning Period
9:30 Social Studies (6th)
10:15 Social Studies (8th)
11:00 Extension Classes (7th)
11:45 Lunch (7th)
12:30 Extension Classes (6th)
1:15 Extension Classes (8th)
2:00 Physical Education (7th and 8th boys)
2:45 Homeroom (7th)
3:00 Dismissal
I will only be in charge of the Intervention Extension Class, which will meet Mondays and Fridays, but for the first several weeks, the Counselor, computer teacher, and librarian will not be taking the students (for the classes on Tues, Wed, and Thurs), so I will have them all in my room for the first few weeks.
My extracurricular activities are: National Junior Honor Society, Basketball Coach, and Student Council (got hit with that one today). Additionally, Sr Nancy took me out to meet our football coach this afternoon, and after shaking his hand, he said, "Now, Sister Nancy tells me you may be interested in helping coach football." I said I wasn't sure how much use I'd be for football, but agreed to help run the homework time from 3-4 before practice three days per week (inside = air conditioning!!). Chalk that up as my first time to say "No."
The football coach had a few students with him when I met him. A few minutes after he walked away, one of the boys came up to me, looked me right in the eyes, stuck out his hand, and introduced himself. I was very impressed. Assertively meeting someone like that is something that is not the easiest thing to get down. His task may have been made easier by the fact that I was wearing a green Fisher Hall t-shirt from our dance this past year. Across the front of my chest in huge block white letters is "FUNK." so maybe that made it easier for him.
Tomorrow I plan to get a final list of what hand-made posters I need, plan out what's going up where, and run by the teacher supply store to get materials for my posters. Hopefully by the end of the day Wednesday I can have all the posters up on the walls and start focusing in on organizing my supplies, my desk, and my thoughts for the first week or so in each class.
PS - Also got my first paycheck today!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Two Posts in One Day?!?
Couple more quick things today...
1. My seventh housemate arrived today. We are now complete!!! I am now officially really happy about the way our community seems to be going.
2. I cooked dinner tonight. Shrimp penne (I used the recipe for shrimp fettuccini). It was really good. Except that I couldn't get the sauce to thicken. So I added flour. Then it got too thick. So we added more milk. If everyone was serious at the dinner table, it was a big hit. I think they were telling the truth about liking the dish because several people told me it was good after dinner.
3. We had our first community meeting. We hashed out our grocery list, figured out how we were going to work the finances (how to balance among those of us who grocery shop and those who don't), and also planned out our cooking buddies for the next week. And we set up our cleaning chores. Cleaning power hours Thursday nights from 7-8.
That's enough for now. Tomorrow are meetings at school, then time to set up my classroom. Fun, fun, fun!!!
1. My seventh housemate arrived today. We are now complete!!! I am now officially really happy about the way our community seems to be going.
2. I cooked dinner tonight. Shrimp penne (I used the recipe for shrimp fettuccini). It was really good. Except that I couldn't get the sauce to thicken. So I added flour. Then it got too thick. So we added more milk. If everyone was serious at the dinner table, it was a big hit. I think they were telling the truth about liking the dish because several people told me it was good after dinner.
3. We had our first community meeting. We hashed out our grocery list, figured out how we were going to work the finances (how to balance among those of us who grocery shop and those who don't), and also planned out our cooking buddies for the next week. And we set up our cleaning chores. Cleaning power hours Thursday nights from 7-8.
That's enough for now. Tomorrow are meetings at school, then time to set up my classroom. Fun, fun, fun!!!
Most Pure Heart of Mary...Parish
Well, Friday came and went, and I feel that I have little to show for all the time I spent in my classroom. My major accomplishments included:
1. Putting tennis balls on the legs of all my students' chairs (to protect the wood floors).
2. Sorting the posters in my closet.
3. Dusting my desk.
4. Dusting my bookshelf.
5. Dusting my windowsills.
6. Dusting my chalk trays.
My goal for today (Sunday) is to come up with a game plan on what rules, consequences, and procedures need to be posted on my room, where those will go, and also create a game plan for which class's work will go on each wall. I am also kicking around some ideas about what each class can do throughout the year to cover the walls. I'm sure I'll keep yall posted about that as developments occur.
This week I have a pretty busy schedule. I've got meetings at my school on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday (that last until 2:30, giving me the rest of the afternoon to set up in my classroom), a meeting with all the teachers in the area on Thursday, and what I think is a free day on Wednesday (I'll be in my classroom). Today we're also picking up the last member of our community - she's flying in today.
I have had some absolutely wonderful experiences with Southern Hospitality already. The night I arrived (Wednesday), we were invited to the Notre Dame Student Send-Off. Thursday night we ate the leftovers that they sent home with us. Friday night we went out to eat with the parents of one of my community members who were visiting. Last night we went to the house of a couple whose daughter is in ACE and who take really good care of us. We had boiled shrimp, gumbo, banana pudding, cucumber salad, and good chips and dip. It was awesome. They also sent home lots of leftovers for us. Two of the other people I live with went with me to the ACE house in Pensacola, Florida (45-50 minutes away) for a day at the beach. It rained on us most of the way there, but stopped when we arrived. It started pouring again as we drove to the beach, but stopped when we got to the beach. It stayed sunny and beautiful for the whole time we were there. I am now completely red with sunburn.
I also met up with a friend from my dorm who was visiting family here in Mobile at the end of last week. We drove around the city one night just catching up (and I tried to learn my way around at least a little). The next day, his family invited me over for brats and hot dogs for lunch. It was really good, we had a great time, and again, Southern Hospitality shone through. His cousins are actually going to the school where one of my housemates is teaching, so that was a cool connection to make too.
Finally, we just got back from church this morning. I wanted to go to the church attached to my school, and was completely planning on going alone. However, 4 of my housemates (out of the 5 that are here) wanted to come along with me. So, we piled into a car and headed out. It was a really cool experience. I had never heard any of the songs that we sang, and everyone was extremely welcoming and smiling and energetic. At the end of the mass, several people came up to each of us and welcomed us to the parish and told us that they hoped we'd come again. I definitely will, and I think everyone I went with enjoyed and appreciated the experience and will probably return a few times also. The pianist really belted out the songs (on the piano and with her voice); she was great.
This post has gone on long enough. I'm going to go finish straightening up my room here at the convent.
1. Putting tennis balls on the legs of all my students' chairs (to protect the wood floors).
2. Sorting the posters in my closet.
3. Dusting my desk.
4. Dusting my bookshelf.
5. Dusting my windowsills.
6. Dusting my chalk trays.
My goal for today (Sunday) is to come up with a game plan on what rules, consequences, and procedures need to be posted on my room, where those will go, and also create a game plan for which class's work will go on each wall. I am also kicking around some ideas about what each class can do throughout the year to cover the walls. I'm sure I'll keep yall posted about that as developments occur.
This week I have a pretty busy schedule. I've got meetings at my school on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday (that last until 2:30, giving me the rest of the afternoon to set up in my classroom), a meeting with all the teachers in the area on Thursday, and what I think is a free day on Wednesday (I'll be in my classroom). Today we're also picking up the last member of our community - she's flying in today.
I have had some absolutely wonderful experiences with Southern Hospitality already. The night I arrived (Wednesday), we were invited to the Notre Dame Student Send-Off. Thursday night we ate the leftovers that they sent home with us. Friday night we went out to eat with the parents of one of my community members who were visiting. Last night we went to the house of a couple whose daughter is in ACE and who take really good care of us. We had boiled shrimp, gumbo, banana pudding, cucumber salad, and good chips and dip. It was awesome. They also sent home lots of leftovers for us. Two of the other people I live with went with me to the ACE house in Pensacola, Florida (45-50 minutes away) for a day at the beach. It rained on us most of the way there, but stopped when we arrived. It started pouring again as we drove to the beach, but stopped when we got to the beach. It stayed sunny and beautiful for the whole time we were there. I am now completely red with sunburn.
I also met up with a friend from my dorm who was visiting family here in Mobile at the end of last week. We drove around the city one night just catching up (and I tried to learn my way around at least a little). The next day, his family invited me over for brats and hot dogs for lunch. It was really good, we had a great time, and again, Southern Hospitality shone through. His cousins are actually going to the school where one of my housemates is teaching, so that was a cool connection to make too.
Finally, we just got back from church this morning. I wanted to go to the church attached to my school, and was completely planning on going alone. However, 4 of my housemates (out of the 5 that are here) wanted to come along with me. So, we piled into a car and headed out. It was a really cool experience. I had never heard any of the songs that we sang, and everyone was extremely welcoming and smiling and energetic. At the end of the mass, several people came up to each of us and welcomed us to the parish and told us that they hoped we'd come again. I definitely will, and I think everyone I went with enjoyed and appreciated the experience and will probably return a few times also. The pianist really belted out the songs (on the piano and with her voice); she was great.
This post has gone on long enough. I'm going to go finish straightening up my room here at the convent.
Friday, August 7, 2009
I'M IN MOBILE!!!!!!!
Wow. This is pretty much what the entire summer has been about. I'm finally getting settled in to my new home here in Mobile. I spent a great week at home - my family took its annual trip to Aransas Pass and spent time on the beach in Texas, and then we went to an Astros' game on Tuesday (don't ask about the outcome). After the game, we stayed the night in a hotel in Houston. Wednesday morning, I got up and headed for Mobile; the rest of the fam headed back to Castroville.
I arrived at about 4pm yesterday evening. My housemates helped unload my car, and after I had time to put about 2 things away, it was time to head out the the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Mobile's send-off party. The Mobile Club informed us that they buy our groceries once a month and invite us to all their events. Awesome. Apparently (as we learned today), the different schools that we teach at also take turns giving us groceries. It just happened to be my school today that dropped food off. So, our kitchen is currently bursting with food. I am happy to report that Southern Hospitality is very real.
We had orientation meetings today, which were pretty standard. We covered who people in the central (Diocesan) education offices are, we covered "good touch/bad touch," and we got to know the other teachers new to the Archdiocese of Mobile. After those meetings, I headed over to my school. I got to meet my principal, Sister Nancy, who is apparently 82 years old (although I don't think she seemed any older than 60). My school has newly-polished, beautiful wooden floors, a new paint job inside, ridiculously high ceilings, and large windows in the classrooms. All this makes for a very pretty, very echo-y classroom with lots of space to decorate. I'm planning to start sorting through my supply closet (which has books, school supplies, and posters) tomorrow (Friday) to see what I have and what I still need.
I will keep you posted on my progress in settling in in both the convent and the classroom. I will try to find a way to post pictures of both somewhere. In the meantime, know that our wireless internet is not working in the convent. That means that seven of us are sharing one desktop. I will have intermittent internet access for the foreseeable future.
I arrived at about 4pm yesterday evening. My housemates helped unload my car, and after I had time to put about 2 things away, it was time to head out the the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Mobile's send-off party. The Mobile Club informed us that they buy our groceries once a month and invite us to all their events. Awesome. Apparently (as we learned today), the different schools that we teach at also take turns giving us groceries. It just happened to be my school today that dropped food off. So, our kitchen is currently bursting with food. I am happy to report that Southern Hospitality is very real.
We had orientation meetings today, which were pretty standard. We covered who people in the central (Diocesan) education offices are, we covered "good touch/bad touch," and we got to know the other teachers new to the Archdiocese of Mobile. After those meetings, I headed over to my school. I got to meet my principal, Sister Nancy, who is apparently 82 years old (although I don't think she seemed any older than 60). My school has newly-polished, beautiful wooden floors, a new paint job inside, ridiculously high ceilings, and large windows in the classrooms. All this makes for a very pretty, very echo-y classroom with lots of space to decorate. I'm planning to start sorting through my supply closet (which has books, school supplies, and posters) tomorrow (Friday) to see what I have and what I still need.
I will keep you posted on my progress in settling in in both the convent and the classroom. I will try to find a way to post pictures of both somewhere. In the meantime, know that our wireless internet is not working in the convent. That means that seven of us are sharing one desktop. I will have intermittent internet access for the foreseeable future.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Back Home in the Great State
Well, after a lengthy drive home with a few very relaxing stops, I made it home on Sunday evening around 9pm. I only drove the 2 hours to Chicago (which, thanks to Friday afternoon rush hour traffic in Chicago actually took 4 hours). That night, I had planned to spend the evening at a comedy club (The Second City) with a buddy and his girlfriend. One of the freshmen from my dorm last year randomly texted my buddy and said he was going to be in Chicago as well, so we added him to our party. The Second City is absolutely hilarious, and has produced some of the best (and most-well-known) comedians of the past decades. Adam Sandler, Dan Akeroyd, among others. Saturday I got up and left around 8:45 and made it to Memphis at about 6:45. I was held up in traffic in a few places. However, I didn't mind the traffic on Saturday because each of the road construction zones had signs plastered around informing the drivers that the construction was made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In Memphis, I stayed with one of my good friend's parents. My friend wasn't around because he's actually started his job in the Twin Cities. It was a great stay regardless. I felt that it was my patriotic duty to wait in that traffic and support all those jobs that have been "saved and/or created." I ended up leaving Memphis around 9am and getting to Castroville, as I said above, at 9pm.
My plan was to unpack from the summer/school year, repack for Mobile, and get quite a bit of a head start planning all my classes (with broad outlines). However, as Mama, Dad, and the stuff piled up on the staircase can attest, I am still stuck on Phase 1. Last night we did get to go babysit my twin cousins who are two years old. Friday we head out for our annual family get-together at the coast near Corpus Christi. I missed last year's, so I'm definitely looking forward to getting down there.
I'll come back Sunday, pick up one of my ACE friends at the airport (she'll be teaching in San Antonio), and then my family's heading to Houston for the Astros' game on the 4th. We'll spend the night in Houston, and then on the 5th I will head out for Mobile and my family will head back home. I will get to Mobile that evening, start with meetings on the morning of the 6th, and then the first day of class is the 17th.
No other big news to speak of. I promise to keep this thing going. I know I slacked off at the end of the summer. I'm sure I'll be re-energized by funny/sad/stressful stories about my school and community!!!
My plan was to unpack from the summer/school year, repack for Mobile, and get quite a bit of a head start planning all my classes (with broad outlines). However, as Mama, Dad, and the stuff piled up on the staircase can attest, I am still stuck on Phase 1. Last night we did get to go babysit my twin cousins who are two years old. Friday we head out for our annual family get-together at the coast near Corpus Christi. I missed last year's, so I'm definitely looking forward to getting down there.
I'll come back Sunday, pick up one of my ACE friends at the airport (she'll be teaching in San Antonio), and then my family's heading to Houston for the Astros' game on the 4th. We'll spend the night in Houston, and then on the 5th I will head out for Mobile and my family will head back home. I will get to Mobile that evening, start with meetings on the morning of the 6th, and then the first day of class is the 17th.
No other big news to speak of. I promise to keep this thing going. I know I slacked off at the end of the summer. I'm sure I'll be re-energized by funny/sad/stressful stories about my school and community!!!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
It's been a while...
Sorry for the long lag in posts. It has definitely not symbolized a lack of anything going on!
The weekend after the 4th of July, I flew to Lake Tahoe for a Clary family celebration of Gran's 80th birthday. I had a great time seeing a lot of family that I hadn't seen in a long time, but the weekend was a bit less exciting than you might expect since I spent an entire day doing homework!! The week of July 6th I had a unit plan due. I worked pretty far ahead on it, but did not realize how much work it was going to end up taking. I worked on the four-hour flight (first flight I've ever not slept on) and then until 5 in the morning on Thursday night when I got to Tahoe. I woke up Friday and spent from 9am until 4pm finishing it up. It's OK, though. I got a very good grade on the unit.
This week I had two projects. The first was to make a course calendar. That assignment basically involved dividing the school year into units for my world history class. I had to have unit goals and calendar dates for each unit. The other project was to turn in five unit cover pages. A unit cover page basically has the unit title, a unit goal, a unit assessment, and then lesson plan objectives and assessments for each of the lessons that will fall under that unit. I had a few other small reflections due Friday also.
You'd think that with the final weekend of my first summer of ACE here, I'd be living it up big, right? Not really...after averaging about 4 hours of sleep per night last week, I slept for 14 hours last night. It was pretty awesome. I've been playing a newly-learned card game all day today, and am planning to go out to a party that the first year teachers are throwing for the second year teachers tonight. The party should be a lot of fun.
This week will have three days of class, some meetings Thursday, a send-off ("Missioning") Mass on Friday morning, and that's it! I'm hoping to get a lot of packing finished tomorrow so that I can leave shortly after mass on Friday. I'll be in Chicago Friday night, Memphis Saturday night, either Dallas or home Sunday night, and definitely home by Monday. I can't believe the summer is so close to over!!
The weekend after the 4th of July, I flew to Lake Tahoe for a Clary family celebration of Gran's 80th birthday. I had a great time seeing a lot of family that I hadn't seen in a long time, but the weekend was a bit less exciting than you might expect since I spent an entire day doing homework!! The week of July 6th I had a unit plan due. I worked pretty far ahead on it, but did not realize how much work it was going to end up taking. I worked on the four-hour flight (first flight I've ever not slept on) and then until 5 in the morning on Thursday night when I got to Tahoe. I woke up Friday and spent from 9am until 4pm finishing it up. It's OK, though. I got a very good grade on the unit.
This week I had two projects. The first was to make a course calendar. That assignment basically involved dividing the school year into units for my world history class. I had to have unit goals and calendar dates for each unit. The other project was to turn in five unit cover pages. A unit cover page basically has the unit title, a unit goal, a unit assessment, and then lesson plan objectives and assessments for each of the lessons that will fall under that unit. I had a few other small reflections due Friday also.
You'd think that with the final weekend of my first summer of ACE here, I'd be living it up big, right? Not really...after averaging about 4 hours of sleep per night last week, I slept for 14 hours last night. It was pretty awesome. I've been playing a newly-learned card game all day today, and am planning to go out to a party that the first year teachers are throwing for the second year teachers tonight. The party should be a lot of fun.
This week will have three days of class, some meetings Thursday, a send-off ("Missioning") Mass on Friday morning, and that's it! I'm hoping to get a lot of packing finished tomorrow so that I can leave shortly after mass on Friday. I'll be in Chicago Friday night, Memphis Saturday night, either Dallas or home Sunday night, and definitely home by Monday. I can't believe the summer is so close to over!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
4th of July Weekend
I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend. I went to Practicum on Thursday morning, even though I didn't have to. My students were none too pleased about that. They are scared of me and think I'm mean (apparently). After the lesson, I spent about 10 minutes changing and heading out of Notre Dame. I grabbed Taco Bell for lunch right before I got to the toll road, and made it over to Pontiac, IL (where my Assistant Rector from the past three years lives) by 3:30. We headed up to Wisconsin by 5, and arrived at Lake Kegonsa that evening. We were up early on Friday and teed off on an absolutely gorgeous golf course at 7:50am. Although Bobby's fiancee out-drove me consistently, it was a great time.
When we got back to the lake house, I went out and tubed for a while. Today is the first day that I haven't had soreness in pretty much every muscle connected to my shoulders. It was a great time, though - I love being on the water. Saturday morning we headed back to Pontiac. It was rainy that day, so we just stayed in and napped. I got some emailing finished just before the wall of sleep hit me. For not being a very good napper, I took an impressive 2-hour power nap. It was enough to see me through dinner, doing some more work up at Bobby's office, roasting marshmallows and making S'Mores, and watching a movie (Taken). Taken was a great movie. It was pretty mindless, and I actually couldn't stay awake for the first 15-20 minutes, but once he started killing everything in his path, it became much easier to stay awake.
I got back to ND Sunday afternoon at around 6, and hit the ground running with a lesson plan for my Teaching Religion in Catholic Schools class. I had to microteach that lesson on Monday, but I will save that story for my next post.
Hope your 4th of July was very enjoyable! I can't believe I have less than three weeks left of classes!!! That's a scary thought.
When we got back to the lake house, I went out and tubed for a while. Today is the first day that I haven't had soreness in pretty much every muscle connected to my shoulders. It was a great time, though - I love being on the water. Saturday morning we headed back to Pontiac. It was rainy that day, so we just stayed in and napped. I got some emailing finished just before the wall of sleep hit me. For not being a very good napper, I took an impressive 2-hour power nap. It was enough to see me through dinner, doing some more work up at Bobby's office, roasting marshmallows and making S'Mores, and watching a movie (Taken). Taken was a great movie. It was pretty mindless, and I actually couldn't stay awake for the first 15-20 minutes, but once he started killing everything in his path, it became much easier to stay awake.
I got back to ND Sunday afternoon at around 6, and hit the ground running with a lesson plan for my Teaching Religion in Catholic Schools class. I had to microteach that lesson on Monday, but I will save that story for my next post.
Hope your 4th of July was very enjoyable! I can't believe I have less than three weeks left of classes!!! That's a scary thought.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4th of July!!!
Well, the day after I videoed myself, my class continued to work on the roll call vote sheets for percentages. They started asking questions about some social studies topics that were tangentially related (at best) to their packet of votes, so we got off of math pretty quickly. They kept asking questions, I kept answering them, and pretty soon class was over. I think we spent a grand total of 20 minutes (out of 85 total) doing math.
Two particularly funny exchanges happened in the midst of this social studies discussion. The votes were broken down by Democrats and Republicans. Someone raised his hand and asked what the difference between a Democrat and Republican is. I was just about to answer when one of my students raised her hand and said "Oooh! I know this!" She pretty much never has that reaction in class - never - so I thought it would be a great time to let her answer since she seemed so confident. Her answer to the question runs something along the lines of: "Well, I'm really Republican. And, the reason why, is because, um, well, all Democrats like abortions and gay marriage. Although I suppressed my initial reaction to completely dissolve into laughter, I was able to keep a straight face and say that her answer was AWESOME for two reasons: 1. It illustrated that the difference between the parties lies in their differing opinions about how public policy should be formed, and 2. It illustrated the danger of making sweeping generalizations. We then had about a 15 minute talk about stereotypes and the mistake of applying general statements of fact to specific cases.
The other question I wanted to share required even more delicate talking and quicker thinking. We were talking about impeachment (specifically that Supreme Court Justices can be impeached) when one of my students interrupted me to yell that Bill Clinton had been impeached. I explained that yes, this is a good example of impeachment not being followed with removal from office. A few minutes into my answer to the next question, a saw another hand and called on him. This question, which I completely should have anticipated, was "Why was Bill Clinton impeached?" Well, I didn't really want to get too graphic, and I didn't even think to explain perjury (not that I wanted to do that either), so I settled on asking if you were supposed to have boyfriends and girlfriends if you're married. I explained that Clinton did, and that made a lot of people very angry. Finally, I pointed out that this is a good part of the impeachment process because even though enough people were mad enough to impeach, he was not removed because after some time and examination of evidence, it turned out that he didn't actually break any laws - even though what he did was bad.
On Thursday, I microtaught. Microteaching is what we call it when we teach in front of our ACE classmates. It was in my social studies class; we taught 20 minutes of the lesson plan we turned in last week. I got very good marks on that lesson plan, but it still required some adjustment, so I fixed it up Tuesday night. We usually split high school and middle school teachers into two different classrooms so that we do not have to have every person go one at a time. Unfortunately, there is one more middle school social studies teacher than high school social studies teacher. I was dumb enough to volunteer to be the one teacher that everyone watched. I also went last.
So, I was teaching in front of 20 first and second year teachers during the last 30 minutes of class before a four-day weekend. My mentor teacher said afterwards that I had to "deal with the business end of everyone wanting to get the heck out of class for a long weekend." I actually didn't feel that they had been too terrible, and I felt that the lesson went very well. I got a few pieces of criticism back, but it was very helpful. The upcoming week is going to involve planning multiple Practicum classes (all of the remaining 10 days' worth, to be exact) and planning a unit for my world history class next year (it's due Friday for a class). I think I'm going to try to do a unit on ancient Greece. It should be good and interesting since I had an entire semester-long class on that topic last semester.
Sorry this has dragged on for a bit. I will post again soon to update on my weekend.
Two particularly funny exchanges happened in the midst of this social studies discussion. The votes were broken down by Democrats and Republicans. Someone raised his hand and asked what the difference between a Democrat and Republican is. I was just about to answer when one of my students raised her hand and said "Oooh! I know this!" She pretty much never has that reaction in class - never - so I thought it would be a great time to let her answer since she seemed so confident. Her answer to the question runs something along the lines of: "Well, I'm really Republican. And, the reason why, is because, um, well, all Democrats like abortions and gay marriage. Although I suppressed my initial reaction to completely dissolve into laughter, I was able to keep a straight face and say that her answer was AWESOME for two reasons: 1. It illustrated that the difference between the parties lies in their differing opinions about how public policy should be formed, and 2. It illustrated the danger of making sweeping generalizations. We then had about a 15 minute talk about stereotypes and the mistake of applying general statements of fact to specific cases.
The other question I wanted to share required even more delicate talking and quicker thinking. We were talking about impeachment (specifically that Supreme Court Justices can be impeached) when one of my students interrupted me to yell that Bill Clinton had been impeached. I explained that yes, this is a good example of impeachment not being followed with removal from office. A few minutes into my answer to the next question, a saw another hand and called on him. This question, which I completely should have anticipated, was "Why was Bill Clinton impeached?" Well, I didn't really want to get too graphic, and I didn't even think to explain perjury (not that I wanted to do that either), so I settled on asking if you were supposed to have boyfriends and girlfriends if you're married. I explained that Clinton did, and that made a lot of people very angry. Finally, I pointed out that this is a good part of the impeachment process because even though enough people were mad enough to impeach, he was not removed because after some time and examination of evidence, it turned out that he didn't actually break any laws - even though what he did was bad.
On Thursday, I microtaught. Microteaching is what we call it when we teach in front of our ACE classmates. It was in my social studies class; we taught 20 minutes of the lesson plan we turned in last week. I got very good marks on that lesson plan, but it still required some adjustment, so I fixed it up Tuesday night. We usually split high school and middle school teachers into two different classrooms so that we do not have to have every person go one at a time. Unfortunately, there is one more middle school social studies teacher than high school social studies teacher. I was dumb enough to volunteer to be the one teacher that everyone watched. I also went last.
So, I was teaching in front of 20 first and second year teachers during the last 30 minutes of class before a four-day weekend. My mentor teacher said afterwards that I had to "deal with the business end of everyone wanting to get the heck out of class for a long weekend." I actually didn't feel that they had been too terrible, and I felt that the lesson went very well. I got a few pieces of criticism back, but it was very helpful. The upcoming week is going to involve planning multiple Practicum classes (all of the remaining 10 days' worth, to be exact) and planning a unit for my world history class next year (it's due Friday for a class). I think I'm going to try to do a unit on ancient Greece. It should be good and interesting since I had an entire semester-long class on that topic last semester.
Sorry this has dragged on for a bit. I will post again soon to update on my weekend.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Video of Class!!!
For our Practicum, we are expected to videotape a lesson that we teach. I decided to tape today since I came up with the lesson on my own. It was a pretty good lesson. Today was also the first day that I taught the entire first class and the entire second class. The first class was a little rough because I wasn't used to the kids, they weren't used to me, and I had not taught the lesson before. Luckily I got on track with my second class (which are the ones who I have taught now for six of the seven days of their summer school semester). Between my comfort with them and that I had seen the bumps in my first lesson, the second one went much better. It is also the one that I decided to tape.
We covered percentages, so we talked about how you change percentages into decimals and fractions, and then I brought in some roll call votes from the House and Senate from big votes over the course of the past few years. I think the earliest thing I brought in was the passage of No Child Left Behind in December of 2001. This let me do a little social studies review (branches of government). I had a lot of fun; we didn't finish today, so we'll probably pick this up tomorrow.
I am currently trying to upload the video to my computer so that I can post it online, but I'm not having too much luck at the moment. I also got my cooperative teacher's first assessment of how I'm doing, and she was very complimentary of my teaching for the first week and a half.
I'm heading to Wisconsin for Fourth of July weekend, so don't expect any posts until July 5th at the earliest!! Happy 4th to everyone!!!!
We covered percentages, so we talked about how you change percentages into decimals and fractions, and then I brought in some roll call votes from the House and Senate from big votes over the course of the past few years. I think the earliest thing I brought in was the passage of No Child Left Behind in December of 2001. This let me do a little social studies review (branches of government). I had a lot of fun; we didn't finish today, so we'll probably pick this up tomorrow.
I am currently trying to upload the video to my computer so that I can post it online, but I'm not having too much luck at the moment. I also got my cooperative teacher's first assessment of how I'm doing, and she was very complimentary of my teaching for the first week and a half.
I'm heading to Wisconsin for Fourth of July weekend, so don't expect any posts until July 5th at the earliest!! Happy 4th to everyone!!!!
Friday, June 26, 2009
OOOOH! WE'RE HALF WAY THE-RE!! OH OH! LIVIN' ON A PRAYER!
So...that title is thanks to Bon Jovi in case my punctuation was more confusing than helpful.
I got the word that my school ended up making their math hire, which means that they will have one guy taking all the religion classes, and another person taking all the math classes. Which means that the only class preps I will have will be for my three social studies classes. They are also scrapping their double-period of social studies, which means that rather than seeing every student for two 45 minute periods per day, I will only have them once per day.
To fill my afternoons, though, I will be taking the newly-created Intervention Classes. Basically, each class has PE in the afternoons, and I will be given materials by the other content teachers for any students who need extra help with their schoolwork or getting caught up to grade level for them to come in for help on during their PE period. I'm a little sad to see the math classes taken away from me, but excited that I'll "only" have to prepare for three classes per day.
Practicum is going very well. I really like my kids (for the most part) and my teacher is still awesome. My classroom management is getting better. I wait for students to be quiet (and they do), and Friday I had a funny experience. The troublemaker was acting up (as always) and distracting his fellow students. I had made a blanket statement at the beginning of class to let them know that it would be very easy to reassign their seats. With about 20 minutes of class left, this boy pushed his friend out of his seat. I said, "John, that's it. Come sit up here." He mouthed off for a bit, but my cooperative teacher stepped in and set him straight. The reason it was so awesome was because literally for the next five minutes, not a single person in the class made a sound.
Today we headed up to the beach on Lake Michigan. It was great, but very "ACE-ey." We had well over 100 people up there hanging out together. When we got back, four of us went to the new Transformers movie. It was awful, but there were lots of explosions and fights. The storyline, plot, acting, etc. was terrible. Last night we all went out, but for two hours before going out, I just went and sat in Barnes and Noble, got a big mocha from Starbucks, grabbed a book and a couch, and alternated between reading and sleeping. It was very relaxing, and a good way to unwind.
A few of us just got back from a midnight trip to Taco Bell, and I'm heading to bed now. Hopefully I will be able to post as often as I was able to before I started teaching my Practicum. This week should be a little less busy. We're only in class for 3 days, and I don't have any huge assignments due (I had a lesson plan due for class Friday last week).
I got the word that my school ended up making their math hire, which means that they will have one guy taking all the religion classes, and another person taking all the math classes. Which means that the only class preps I will have will be for my three social studies classes. They are also scrapping their double-period of social studies, which means that rather than seeing every student for two 45 minute periods per day, I will only have them once per day.
To fill my afternoons, though, I will be taking the newly-created Intervention Classes. Basically, each class has PE in the afternoons, and I will be given materials by the other content teachers for any students who need extra help with their schoolwork or getting caught up to grade level for them to come in for help on during their PE period. I'm a little sad to see the math classes taken away from me, but excited that I'll "only" have to prepare for three classes per day.
Practicum is going very well. I really like my kids (for the most part) and my teacher is still awesome. My classroom management is getting better. I wait for students to be quiet (and they do), and Friday I had a funny experience. The troublemaker was acting up (as always) and distracting his fellow students. I had made a blanket statement at the beginning of class to let them know that it would be very easy to reassign their seats. With about 20 minutes of class left, this boy pushed his friend out of his seat. I said, "John, that's it. Come sit up here." He mouthed off for a bit, but my cooperative teacher stepped in and set him straight. The reason it was so awesome was because literally for the next five minutes, not a single person in the class made a sound.
Today we headed up to the beach on Lake Michigan. It was great, but very "ACE-ey." We had well over 100 people up there hanging out together. When we got back, four of us went to the new Transformers movie. It was awful, but there were lots of explosions and fights. The storyline, plot, acting, etc. was terrible. Last night we all went out, but for two hours before going out, I just went and sat in Barnes and Noble, got a big mocha from Starbucks, grabbed a book and a couch, and alternated between reading and sleeping. It was very relaxing, and a good way to unwind.
A few of us just got back from a midnight trip to Taco Bell, and I'm heading to bed now. Hopefully I will be able to post as often as I was able to before I started teaching my Practicum. This week should be a little less busy. We're only in class for 3 days, and I don't have any huge assignments due (I had a lesson plan due for class Friday last week).
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