I sit here this morning three days to go until Spring Break wondering why I decided to become a teacher again. The kids don't want to be at school, especially since the snow days have taken away all of our little three day weekends that tend to help keep the natives calm. So as the tribal leader I have to keep them safe from each other. While they are busy building secret alliances with each other, crossing tribal bounds, and driving their leader nuts, I am trying to grade research papers. Fun times...I know many of you are wondering where can I sign up for this job. Let me remind you the pay stinks, the hours are not 8-3 like you think, and I have not had a full summer off since I started teaching...
BUT nothing can replace the feeling I get when:
a parent walks up to me and says, "Thank you. Zak has never been a big reader until your class."
a football players tells me that he read 3 books for my class and that was more than he had read in the last two years.
a student comes to my room for support when their day is going wrong.
I see the look on a student's face when they see their writing posted on my top author bulletin board.
I know a student finally understands the concept we are talking about because I can see it in their face.
students ask me what to read next because I pick the best books.
I read a story from one of my students with special needs and it blows me away with how deep it is.
For me teaching is so worth it, even when there are only 3 days to Spring Break and the natives are restless. Is it time for a tribal council yet?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
SO...
Last night was the premiere of Dancing with the Stars or DWTS. It was good but I haven't picked a stand out favorite yet. I really liked Gilles Marini. His dance with Cheryl was awesome.
Meanwhile...our Principal announced yesterday that he is retiring after this year. It is sad because he is a good principal and now my son will not what it was like to have Mr. Ralston as a principal. Things just keep changing around here and I am not sure I like it all.
In other news...I started reading the new John Green book Paper Towns. It is good and if you liked Looking for Alaska, you will love this one. I have such a huge reading list that is almost makes me feel intimidated to think about it. I have this summer to catch up.
One last thing...I think I have started writing a book. It started as just some freewriting exercise but I think it is actually going to shape into a book. Now whether or not I ever publish this book is an entirely different story.
My planning is about over so I must sprint down the hall to use the restroom before the herd comes tromping through.
Meanwhile...our Principal announced yesterday that he is retiring after this year. It is sad because he is a good principal and now my son will not what it was like to have Mr. Ralston as a principal. Things just keep changing around here and I am not sure I like it all.
In other news...I started reading the new John Green book Paper Towns. It is good and if you liked Looking for Alaska, you will love this one. I have such a huge reading list that is almost makes me feel intimidated to think about it. I have this summer to catch up.
One last thing...I think I have started writing a book. It started as just some freewriting exercise but I think it is actually going to shape into a book. Now whether or not I ever publish this book is an entirely different story.
My planning is about over so I must sprint down the hall to use the restroom before the herd comes tromping through.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Friday Five
1. I am so glad that this week is over because doing research papers with high school students is tiring work. They basically want me to write the entire papers for them. I have a difficult time understanding why they think everyone will do the work for them. I know no teacher ever did my work for me.
2. Off of students and on to books. I read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls last week and it was an incredibly engrossing memoir. As I was reading this book I couldn't believe some of the things she had to endure. It made me think of some of the students I have had over the years. I knew some of my students lived in severe poverty but their parents would not admit to the fact. This book provides an insight for me of how deeply poverty changes children. I also pre-ordered my copy of Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson and I cannot wait until next week. Please hurry. Right now I am finally reading Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs and it is different than The Glass Castle but equally as good.
3. Now on to TV. Dancing with the Stars will start next week and I am so ready. I love the dancing and Max. I danced in high school for the dance team and I like to watch the celebrities progress from the first week. I also like the clothes. Outside of NCIS, Dancing with the Stars is the only other TV show that I try to make sure I am home for every week.
4. Last night my husband and I registered our son for high school classes. It was a weird feeling to be picking his classes out for 9th grade classes. I can still remember taking him for his kindergarten shots and that feels like it was only yesterday. I am so proud of him though. He tries very hard in school and he is a good kid for the most part.
5. Lastly, did I mention that it is Friday? This week has lasted way too long and now that it is almost over I am relieved. The other good thing is that the weather here in Indiana this weekend is suppose to be nice. Yeah. I feel a whole day of outdoor activities coming on for tomorrow. That will take care of my winter blues for sure. Have a great weekend.
2. Off of students and on to books. I read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls last week and it was an incredibly engrossing memoir. As I was reading this book I couldn't believe some of the things she had to endure. It made me think of some of the students I have had over the years. I knew some of my students lived in severe poverty but their parents would not admit to the fact. This book provides an insight for me of how deeply poverty changes children. I also pre-ordered my copy of Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson and I cannot wait until next week. Please hurry. Right now I am finally reading Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs and it is different than The Glass Castle but equally as good.
3. Now on to TV. Dancing with the Stars will start next week and I am so ready. I love the dancing and Max. I danced in high school for the dance team and I like to watch the celebrities progress from the first week. I also like the clothes. Outside of NCIS, Dancing with the Stars is the only other TV show that I try to make sure I am home for every week.
4. Last night my husband and I registered our son for high school classes. It was a weird feeling to be picking his classes out for 9th grade classes. I can still remember taking him for his kindergarten shots and that feels like it was only yesterday. I am so proud of him though. He tries very hard in school and he is a good kid for the most part.
5. Lastly, did I mention that it is Friday? This week has lasted way too long and now that it is almost over I am relieved. The other good thing is that the weather here in Indiana this weekend is suppose to be nice. Yeah. I feel a whole day of outdoor activities coming on for tomorrow. That will take care of my winter blues for sure. Have a great weekend.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
just learning
Wow,
Someone just sent me a link to a teacher's blog where the students interact with each other on the blog. The students have taken ownership and they are writing unique daily logs of the class activities. I think I am going to have to try this method on for size because you could see the personalities come through the daily logs. I think this type of writing pulls that out of kids because they have to take the ordinary things of what went on in the classroom and make it interesting to read. I am going to start this next year with my classes. It will require some more time of me outside of school but it will be worth it. I would love to start a YA blog where my students interact on the books they read outside of my class also. I am so excited to start this next year.
Someone just sent me a link to a teacher's blog where the students interact with each other on the blog. The students have taken ownership and they are writing unique daily logs of the class activities. I think I am going to have to try this method on for size because you could see the personalities come through the daily logs. I think this type of writing pulls that out of kids because they have to take the ordinary things of what went on in the classroom and make it interesting to read. I am going to start this next year with my classes. It will require some more time of me outside of school but it will be worth it. I would love to start a YA blog where my students interact on the books they read outside of my class also. I am so excited to start this next year.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
grade deadlines and books
This week ended our first grading period of this semester. That would be fine if this grading period had been normal. In total we missed 6 whole days during the grading period, not consecutive days either, and had countless days with 2 hour delay schedules. This would all be fine if I was not in the middle of research papers with my Sophomores. My grades look seriously low because they have not been on a regular enough schedule to get the work done. I had a massive pile of papers turned in Friday and just spent my Valentine's evening grading them all. My husband is very understanding. Now I have to go back to school and enter the grades into the computer on Monday.
I am getting excited about Laurie Halse Anderson's and Sarah Dessen's new books coming out soon. I am such a huge fan of both of their books. Wintergirls by Anderson looks to be my new favorite book. I read her excerpt on the myspace page for wintergirls and now I wish I had an ARC to read because I can't wait. I did read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls this week and was pulled into her story. This book is such an insight into the life of poverty and what children experience. I think every teacher should read it because it opens your eyes. I hate to think that children really lived like that but I know they do on a daily basis.
I am getting excited about Laurie Halse Anderson's and Sarah Dessen's new books coming out soon. I am such a huge fan of both of their books. Wintergirls by Anderson looks to be my new favorite book. I read her excerpt on the myspace page for wintergirls and now I wish I had an ARC to read because I can't wait. I did read The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls this week and was pulled into her story. This book is such an insight into the life of poverty and what children experience. I think every teacher should read it because it opens your eyes. I hate to think that children really lived like that but I know they do on a daily basis.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Snow Days
Schools are closed in the Kentuckiana area today. In case you don't have a clue what Kentuckiana is--well-- it is the area of Southern Indiana and Northern Kentucky. Indiana residents receive the Louisville, Kentucky news stations and the area became known as Kentuckiana. Some Hoosiers would prefer Indiucky but that name has not caught on yet. The weather promises to not get any better and it looks like we may have more snow days ahead of us.
Snow days for me bring back memories of building snow structures with my dad and uncle. Over the years my dad "helped" us build igloos, cars, and forts to play in with other kids from the neighborhood. Our pictures would appear in the local newspaper with captions like "snow driving" or "it's an igloo home for three." Teh excitement over snow days was never that we got out of school because I liked school. It was because my dad spent time with us and actually talked to us girls. He had wanted a son but instead had two girls and I often wondered if we had been boys would have he spent more time wth us. He would try to wrestle with us from time to time but mom would always stop him. She was afraid that he would hurt one of us girls. In fact, he did hurt us often but my sister and I liked the time he took to interact with us. Everytime the snowflakes do their delicate dance across the sky, I picture my dad holding my hand as he showed me how to carve the wheel in my race car.
Snow days for me bring back memories of building snow structures with my dad and uncle. Over the years my dad "helped" us build igloos, cars, and forts to play in with other kids from the neighborhood. Our pictures would appear in the local newspaper with captions like "snow driving" or "it's an igloo home for three." Teh excitement over snow days was never that we got out of school because I liked school. It was because my dad spent time with us and actually talked to us girls. He had wanted a son but instead had two girls and I often wondered if we had been boys would have he spent more time wth us. He would try to wrestle with us from time to time but mom would always stop him. She was afraid that he would hurt one of us girls. In fact, he did hurt us often but my sister and I liked the time he took to interact with us. Everytime the snowflakes do their delicate dance across the sky, I picture my dad holding my hand as he showed me how to carve the wheel in my race car.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Friday Five
Another Friday, another five
1. So my students had practice ISTEP essays to write and several of them were really good. So I decided to make a top author bulletin board to display their hard work. One of the boys comes up to me and informs me that he purposely tried to make his essay suck because he "hates busy work." I didn't know whether or not to take his essay down or leave it up. I didn't think it was busy work. Busy work is doing loads of workbook pages that really don't relate to anything else you are doing in class. Oh well whether or not he tried, the essay was good.
2. Two football players told me at different times this week that they have actually finished their second books this year. I was not really impressed since they have to read outside of my class as a requirement. Then they both told me that they have never finished a book before. One boy even said he liked Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers so much and since his new one Sunrise over Fallujah is never in to check out; he had his mom order it online. Imagine that. It made up for the busy work essay.
3. One of the students I have who was not turning in any work is suddenly turning in his work because his father talked with him. Sometimes parents don't care or it doesn't work for them to talk to kids but this one did. I wish this dad could talk to some of my other students.
4. I'm dreading today because tonight is the big rivalry game between our school and another local school. I know my football players and I have a lot of them, will not be paying attention today. On the day of a football game they are drinking this electrolyte stuff to help them keep from dehydrating during the game. The only problem is that they then have to go to the bathroom all day long. What makes things worse is our team is looking good this year and everyone will be overly stimulated. I just pray the day goes quickly.
5. My son's first tennis match is next week. He is really improving. In 6th grade his tennis team won 1 game and lost 10, last year they won 10 and only lost 1, and this year they are "aiming for perfection" as their tennis shirts say. I hope they do well but they lost several talented 8th graders from last year who are now in high school. This year they all put nicknames on their shirts and my son put big bubba on his shirt. Makes a mommy proud.
1. So my students had practice ISTEP essays to write and several of them were really good. So I decided to make a top author bulletin board to display their hard work. One of the boys comes up to me and informs me that he purposely tried to make his essay suck because he "hates busy work." I didn't know whether or not to take his essay down or leave it up. I didn't think it was busy work. Busy work is doing loads of workbook pages that really don't relate to anything else you are doing in class. Oh well whether or not he tried, the essay was good.
2. Two football players told me at different times this week that they have actually finished their second books this year. I was not really impressed since they have to read outside of my class as a requirement. Then they both told me that they have never finished a book before. One boy even said he liked Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers so much and since his new one Sunrise over Fallujah is never in to check out; he had his mom order it online. Imagine that. It made up for the busy work essay.
3. One of the students I have who was not turning in any work is suddenly turning in his work because his father talked with him. Sometimes parents don't care or it doesn't work for them to talk to kids but this one did. I wish this dad could talk to some of my other students.
4. I'm dreading today because tonight is the big rivalry game between our school and another local school. I know my football players and I have a lot of them, will not be paying attention today. On the day of a football game they are drinking this electrolyte stuff to help them keep from dehydrating during the game. The only problem is that they then have to go to the bathroom all day long. What makes things worse is our team is looking good this year and everyone will be overly stimulated. I just pray the day goes quickly.
5. My son's first tennis match is next week. He is really improving. In 6th grade his tennis team won 1 game and lost 10, last year they won 10 and only lost 1, and this year they are "aiming for perfection" as their tennis shirts say. I hope they do well but they lost several talented 8th graders from last year who are now in high school. This year they all put nicknames on their shirts and my son put big bubba on his shirt. Makes a mommy proud.
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