<sigh>

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)...