Well, I did survive Open House, but just barely. It was a CRAZY day. I firmly believe in the philosophy that a clean desk is a sign of a diseased mind, so because I was aiming to impress the parents (or at least not shock them), I had to sort through the junk that has appeared on it, almost magically, since the beginning of the school year. There was stuff from last year on it, which I still don't get, since it's not the same desk, or even the same classroom. But it was there, so I had to deal with it. Plus, I had to... you know... teach.
So I kept dashing at it throughout the day, while the kids were doing bellwork (the work they must do as they come in), while the kids were having a minute to think about the question I'd just asked them, and while the kids were answering, I was throwing things away and nodding to show I was still listening.
Now that it's clean, I am going to try my best to keep in clean. My co-teacher is always making fun of me for the state of my desk... but I do know what's there, and even a general direction if you want something. Plus, when you've got 100+ kids coming through your doors every day, somehow cleaning off your desk isn't much of a priority.
Anyway, Open House went well. I didn't fall off my heels, which is always a plus, since I don't generally wear heels because I might actually fall off my heels. Only one parent attempted to attack, but was actually pretty easy to head off, because I was so open to the idea of a parent conference. Just not right then. I found out later from my team that he had cornered all of them, too, but I was the only one lucky enough to require a conference. At least in middle school it is required that you have a conference with all of your child's teachers, so I won't be alone.
Several parents came up to me and told me their child loved my class, and me, and that always makes a teacher feel so good, because you do never know how your teaching is being received.
So, hooray! I survived, I have a clean desk, and it's only 2 days until the weekend!
Showing posts with label co-teacher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label co-teacher. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Music Soothes the Beasts? Not Today... (Plus Trouble's Introduction)
Well, after the wonderful, joyful, perfect lesson using music, I was thrilled to go into work today, ready to introduce my kind of music to my students, and see if they enjoyed Josh Groban as much as I do.
But then, as it always does, reality crashed in.
After the perfection of the previous day, I should have known that it wouldn't work. My first class of the day, which is an advanced class, were wound up as they came in, and they didn't ever really settle. They listened to the music, made their comments, and gave the song a title, but they mostly were silly. (When asked to describe the pictures that formed in their minds, they mostly said things like, "A man eating a taco," "a woman walking down the road in Mexico, with tacos," and "a man dumping his girlfriend after she shot him." They all did enjoy the music, though, so that was a good thing. The only one who had anything negative to say was one boy who told me he didn't like it because it sounded so sad it made him feel depressed.
Then, during the next block, to add insult to injury since I was already feeling a little down about how I didn't really get the responses I wanted, the Internet, computer network, and phone system went down. No Internet (which is how I was playing "The Nutcracker" for my example), no projector to show them the journal prompt, nothing. So I couldn't even do it with them, so my remaining lesson was short, which is always frustrating.
Then the air conditioner broke, which just had the effect of making me really grouchy, since it was hot, I wasn't able to do what I wanted, and the kids were still wound up for whatever reason.
Suffice to say, it wasn't the joy-filled day I had anticipated.
I will try again Monday, though.
In response to the person who commented and wanted to know what the kids had thought and said about the song:
-A girl said: I really like this song because it's so peaceful and calm, and it sounds like the man singing is really passionate about something or someone (this is exactly what she said, because when she said passionate, it made me want to laugh at her. I didn't, though, I was good).
-One of my boys created this whole story to go along with the song. It was hilarious! The other kids wanted to hear the song again while they thought of his story, to see if it fit. His story was about a man strumming a guitar while singing in a boat going down a river, then the same man is singing to a woman in a house with a candlelight dinner nearby, while the woman looks on "lovingly" and smiles, because she has forgiven him for "forgetting her birthday."
-I don't like this song, because I think the man has just lost his girlfriend, who he loved very much, and he's so sad and lonely sounded, it makes me sad.
-I love this song! Who is the singer?
-I know who sings this! It's that guy... you know, the one named Santana. (Nope, I said, sadly. Not quite.)
-One of my students (one of my favorites, just because she's such a sweetheart) and I had a little giggle-fest about him, because she did know who he was, and she wanted to know if I thought Josh was cute. I said, oh, yes, I do. And he's the perfect age for me (because for some reason, my kids really want me to marry one of the twins from the Harry Potter movies. More than a few students have told me that. I keep telling them I'll get arrested because they're so young...) My co-teacher (a male) told both of us that if he didn't have such a gorgeous voice, neither one of us would give him the time of day. We both looked at each other and shook our heads sadly at his ignorance. I said, "Um, he's hot, regardless of that voice. Add in his voice, and Josh Groban is perfection." He just shook his head sadly in return.
-It's a song full of hope, and this one man is hopeful his girl will come back to him.
The titles they gave the song were almost all silly, stuff like:
But then, as it always does, reality crashed in.
After the perfection of the previous day, I should have known that it wouldn't work. My first class of the day, which is an advanced class, were wound up as they came in, and they didn't ever really settle. They listened to the music, made their comments, and gave the song a title, but they mostly were silly. (When asked to describe the pictures that formed in their minds, they mostly said things like, "A man eating a taco," "a woman walking down the road in Mexico, with tacos," and "a man dumping his girlfriend after she shot him." They all did enjoy the music, though, so that was a good thing. The only one who had anything negative to say was one boy who told me he didn't like it because it sounded so sad it made him feel depressed.
Then, during the next block, to add insult to injury since I was already feeling a little down about how I didn't really get the responses I wanted, the Internet, computer network, and phone system went down. No Internet (which is how I was playing "The Nutcracker" for my example), no projector to show them the journal prompt, nothing. So I couldn't even do it with them, so my remaining lesson was short, which is always frustrating.
Then the air conditioner broke, which just had the effect of making me really grouchy, since it was hot, I wasn't able to do what I wanted, and the kids were still wound up for whatever reason.
Suffice to say, it wasn't the joy-filled day I had anticipated.
I will try again Monday, though.
In response to the person who commented and wanted to know what the kids had thought and said about the song:
-A girl said: I really like this song because it's so peaceful and calm, and it sounds like the man singing is really passionate about something or someone (this is exactly what she said, because when she said passionate, it made me want to laugh at her. I didn't, though, I was good).
-One of my boys created this whole story to go along with the song. It was hilarious! The other kids wanted to hear the song again while they thought of his story, to see if it fit. His story was about a man strumming a guitar while singing in a boat going down a river, then the same man is singing to a woman in a house with a candlelight dinner nearby, while the woman looks on "lovingly" and smiles, because she has forgiven him for "forgetting her birthday."
-I don't like this song, because I think the man has just lost his girlfriend, who he loved very much, and he's so sad and lonely sounded, it makes me sad.
-I love this song! Who is the singer?
-I know who sings this! It's that guy... you know, the one named Santana. (Nope, I said, sadly. Not quite.)
-One of my students (one of my favorites, just because she's such a sweetheart) and I had a little giggle-fest about him, because she did know who he was, and she wanted to know if I thought Josh was cute. I said, oh, yes, I do. And he's the perfect age for me (because for some reason, my kids really want me to marry one of the twins from the Harry Potter movies. More than a few students have told me that. I keep telling them I'll get arrested because they're so young...) My co-teacher (a male) told both of us that if he didn't have such a gorgeous voice, neither one of us would give him the time of day. We both looked at each other and shook our heads sadly at his ignorance. I said, "Um, he's hot, regardless of that voice. Add in his voice, and Josh Groban is perfection." He just shook his head sadly in return.
-It's a song full of hope, and this one man is hopeful his girl will come back to him.
The titles they gave the song were almost all silly, stuff like:
- Mi Amor (is this spelled correctly??)
- The River (the boy who had the man boating)
- Hopeful Days
- Love Stinks
- Please Forgive Me
- The Taco Man
And many more.
As I mentioned yesterday, I have a student that is just pure trouble. He actually might be almost redeemable, because he still can get excited and participate in the classroom assignments. For example, we were illustrating our portfolio covers, and he drew a car, and had to show me all the details as he added them, telling me how much each one would cost. I would say things like "Wow! People are crazy to pay that!" and "Looking good, Trouble!" But this is involvement on his part is rather rare, and mostly he's just a pain in the rear.
The first day of school, I had to get on him for tripping another student, a teeny-tiny one. He likes to make sound effects constantly. I don't think I have made it through one lesson without calling his name. Not a single one.
Plus, he's Mr. Sound Effects. He must constantly whistle, sing, make cat noises, and bird noises. He's enough to drive anyone insane.
If you ask him a question, he will just sit there and stare at you defiantly, and refuse to answer.
Trouble has already had to meet with my entire team of teachers to discuss how he needs to change, but it hasn't really made a difference. Next step will be a parent conference, then I know there'll be trouble for Trouble. When mom's are called to the school, it rarely goes well for anyone.
Oh, joy.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Surviving the First Day... Accomplished!
Well, we did it... or I did, at least. I made it through the first day. Hooray!
And I almost want to go back to school tomorrow!
Now, it was nothing like last year, with all the classes being unbalanced, and 47 in one class (with just 30 desks, so some kids had to sit on the floor).
Nor was it bad because of the schedules being messed up completely because of SMS. SMS is a computer program the county purchased to do all the clerical-type school tasks, like attendance, discipline (keeping track of referrals, detention, etc), gradebook, and scheduling. Instead of having to use different programs for each of these things, SMS was supposed to do it all. This way, you wouldn't have to enter the information multiple times.
Of course, with the millions that was spent on the program, it should work, right? They had tested it, used it in a few pilot schools, and everyone just sang it's praises...
It didn't work. At all.
If you used the gradebook portion, you would enter your grades, but it would lose them, or even change them completely. You could never trust the gradebook, so you had to keep multiple copies.
And the guidance counselors had attempted to use the automatic scheduler that the company had praised... and the class of 47 resulted.
But I digress.
It wasn't like it was last year today.
In face, I had tiny classes. My advanced class was large, but manageable. But one of my co-taught classes is so small it's unmanageable. In Language Arts, you need to have more than just a few students to get good discussions going. Just hearing from a few kids doesn't work as well.
PLUS this tiny class is co-taught! (It's for exceptional education kids (ESE), where they essentially have learning disabilities and need extra support to be successful, so there are two teachers in the room with them... the main teacher and an ESE teacher who just helps out in each class).
The number of kids in this class, you wonder? 6.
Yes, it will grow as they balance the classes. But still. 6!?
How did that get past the people making the schedules?
Oh, well. It is much better than 47, I will admit.
Another thing about last year was we had all of the thugs that were in 6th grade, with only a few minor exceptions. The other teams had some of them, but truly, we had almost all of them.
Today I was keeping my eye out for our new thugs, or kids to replace those type kids from last year. Granted, this was just the first day, and I do realize that. As we were waiting this morning to be dismissed to our first class, I couldn't even get them to talk at all (and I know that will change quickly). I know they'll loosen up and the misbehavior will start,
And I did spot some I know will cause problems. But overall, I am happy about the apparent quality of these kids.
I do think it is rather amazing how you can spot these kids right off. You know immediately the ones you'll have to keep an eye on. And then you talk to the other teachers on your team, and they marked the same ones...
Like the kid who had gum. TODAY. And she was wearing a tiny skirt, a tube top, and a tiny jacket. What mom would really let her out the door like that?
Or the kid who provided me with a sound effect the entire time I was talking.
Or even the little girl who rolled her eyes. At me. On the first day! Just because I mispronounced her name. I'm sorry, but her parents made up her name! How would I know how to pronounce her name, especially since it's not like they even followed the sounds you normally find in the English language!
And on that topic, this year I have the most amazingly crazy names. What's wrong with names like Mary, Elizabeth, Laura, Rachel, or those lovely names? I don't have a single one of those names! Not even one.
Oh, well. I guess parents want their kids to be more and more unique. Whatever.
Today, we had lots of things we were supposed to do (as teachers, like going over the dress code rules) with each period) and I did almost all of them... I did forget to walk my kids to lunch... but in my defense, our lunch period is at 2:11, and I had no chance to use the restroom, and I really needed to, so I wasn't really thinking properly.
So... after this first day, I am mostly excited about this year... it's still a little weird, since I don't know these kids, and I miss some of my darlings from last year, and a little tiring because it is stressful, but I see great things for this year.
Lots of great things. I hope.
And I almost want to go back to school tomorrow!
Now, it was nothing like last year, with all the classes being unbalanced, and 47 in one class (with just 30 desks, so some kids had to sit on the floor).
Nor was it bad because of the schedules being messed up completely because of SMS. SMS is a computer program the county purchased to do all the clerical-type school tasks, like attendance, discipline (keeping track of referrals, detention, etc), gradebook, and scheduling. Instead of having to use different programs for each of these things, SMS was supposed to do it all. This way, you wouldn't have to enter the information multiple times.
Of course, with the millions that was spent on the program, it should work, right? They had tested it, used it in a few pilot schools, and everyone just sang it's praises...
It didn't work. At all.
If you used the gradebook portion, you would enter your grades, but it would lose them, or even change them completely. You could never trust the gradebook, so you had to keep multiple copies.
And the guidance counselors had attempted to use the automatic scheduler that the company had praised... and the class of 47 resulted.
But I digress.
It wasn't like it was last year today.
In face, I had tiny classes. My advanced class was large, but manageable. But one of my co-taught classes is so small it's unmanageable. In Language Arts, you need to have more than just a few students to get good discussions going. Just hearing from a few kids doesn't work as well.
PLUS this tiny class is co-taught! (It's for exceptional education kids (ESE), where they essentially have learning disabilities and need extra support to be successful, so there are two teachers in the room with them... the main teacher and an ESE teacher who just helps out in each class).
The number of kids in this class, you wonder? 6.
Yes, it will grow as they balance the classes. But still. 6!?
How did that get past the people making the schedules?
Oh, well. It is much better than 47, I will admit.
Another thing about last year was we had all of the thugs that were in 6th grade, with only a few minor exceptions. The other teams had some of them, but truly, we had almost all of them.
Today I was keeping my eye out for our new thugs, or kids to replace those type kids from last year. Granted, this was just the first day, and I do realize that. As we were waiting this morning to be dismissed to our first class, I couldn't even get them to talk at all (and I know that will change quickly). I know they'll loosen up and the misbehavior will start,
And I did spot some I know will cause problems. But overall, I am happy about the apparent quality of these kids.
I do think it is rather amazing how you can spot these kids right off. You know immediately the ones you'll have to keep an eye on. And then you talk to the other teachers on your team, and they marked the same ones...
Like the kid who had gum. TODAY. And she was wearing a tiny skirt, a tube top, and a tiny jacket. What mom would really let her out the door like that?
Or the kid who provided me with a sound effect the entire time I was talking.
Or even the little girl who rolled her eyes. At me. On the first day! Just because I mispronounced her name. I'm sorry, but her parents made up her name! How would I know how to pronounce her name, especially since it's not like they even followed the sounds you normally find in the English language!
And on that topic, this year I have the most amazingly crazy names. What's wrong with names like Mary, Elizabeth, Laura, Rachel, or those lovely names? I don't have a single one of those names! Not even one.
Oh, well. I guess parents want their kids to be more and more unique. Whatever.
Today, we had lots of things we were supposed to do (as teachers, like going over the dress code rules) with each period) and I did almost all of them... I did forget to walk my kids to lunch... but in my defense, our lunch period is at 2:11, and I had no chance to use the restroom, and I really needed to, so I wasn't really thinking properly.
So... after this first day, I am mostly excited about this year... it's still a little weird, since I don't know these kids, and I miss some of my darlings from last year, and a little tiring because it is stressful, but I see great things for this year.
Lots of great things. I hope.
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