No Electronics!

Why, oh, why do so many of my very young students have electronics that I still cannot afford?  In just the past two weeks, I have confiscated:

-five cell phones

-one PSP

-one iPod

-something that beeped that I didn't know what it was (a game, I think.  Not sure)

This irritates me.  I don't take the phones or stuff randomly.  They have to be doing something with it (in the case of the iPod and the PSP, they were playing games on them in my class) or it has to start making noise and interrupting the class.  The school policy that if your parents insist on you having the phone, you may (a lot of the parents feel it's a safety thing so they can call as they walk home) but you must keep it in your backpack at all times, shut off.

This means, the cell phone must remain in the backpack at all times.  

This does not mean in your pocket.

This not mean clipped to your belt.

This especially does not mean pulling it out to show everyone your cool phone.

For other electronic devices (iPods, cameras, PSPs, Nintendo DSes, etc) are not allowed.

For some reason, 6th graders have a hard time with this.  If they have it, they have to show it.  They want to show it off to each other.  The 8th graders are so much more subtle and sneaky, but not my students.  They'll have it on their desk, then act surprised when I confiscate it.

Each item that I take gets turned over to our grade level office, labelled carefully with the student's name, to await mom or dad coming to pick it up.

This really irritates the parents, generally, and I can't say I blame them.  They have to figure out a way to get to the school while the office is open (generally only while they're supposed to be at work, and not late enough for them to come after work) to get the item.

Sometimes they're irritated with their kid, which I don't blame them.  

Sometimes they blame me.  I am just following the policy that they all signed at the beginning of the year, plus it's not like I decided to text my friend in class.  If their child had shut their phone off or turned their phone on vibrate, it never would have come to me taking this.

Anyway.  I am tired of the whole electronics thing.  

And don't even get me started on hats and sunglasses.

Spring Break needs to be here now.

6th Graders

Well, week 2 of school is over, and we only have... how many weeks?

Maybe I don't want to think about that.

Now that the kids are feeling more comfortable, I'm starting to get to know them, and the routine is becoming more like my established one, I am thrilled to be back in school, aside from the obvious reasons (like I can't sleep in).

I forget just how much fun 6th graders are, especially when they're new 6th graders. Most of them have not turned 12 yet, but are coming up on their birthdays. They still have that underlying sweetness that I love so much about them.

At the end of last year, my wonderfully sweet 6th graders start turning into 7th graders, which are not nearly as much fun, nor nearly as sweet. They start developing attitude, the emotional drama goes through the roof (Oh, my gosh! Did you hear that Josh just broke up with Sarah! Oh, I know! I thought they would be together forever!!), and they begin to stop doing their homework, because it's just not cool to do homework every night.

So I was looking forward to getting back to school, but every year you forget about how wonderful the kids are and how much fun I find them and how much I love them.

It does work out, though, because by the time they start changing in attitude to be more like 7th graders, I have forgotten how they behave. Oh, well.

Anyway, back to what I originally started out to say.

The kids are so much fun! They are all working hard at whatever task I've assigned them (except for one of my advanced classes, who seem to have a chronic talking issue that we'll have to work on), and the only complaints I've heard was just from yesterday's class, because it was the first time we've taken notes.

One of the things people tend not to like about 6th graders is how whiny they are. And I won't deny it... they are still very young, and consequently pretty whiny.

So not hearing:

-WHY do we have to do this AGAIN today? We did this same thing yesterday! (about our daily grammar practice)

-Why do we HAVE to do homework every night??

-Do I have to do all the questions on this paper? But there is 12 questions! Well, do I have to answer in complete sentences??

-What do you mean I have to take notes? What are notes? Well, if I try really hard and remember everything you say, can I skip writing them down?

And more of the same is a novel concept. But I began to hear little whispers of this sort of thing on Friday. Ahhh... the "honeymoon period" is over. They are starting to be comfortable, and therefore comfortable expressing their opinions.

Cute/Funny/Sweet Things I've Seen Since School Started:

• One little boy has yet (and this is 2 weeks in!) to attend the right class on his first try. We call around to all of our team teachers when he's supposed to be with us, so we can get him sent to us. So sweet! He's just so confused...
• The new fashions this year seem heavy on bright colors, and as many of them as possible, and polka dots. One of my girls was wearing everything polka-dotted, all of them black and white... I mean, her headband, earrings, necklace, shirt, undershirt, skirt, leggings, and her shoes. Oh! And her SOCKS. I was amazed.
• One of my classes has separated themselves completely into boys and girls, with no mixing. It's so cute! They're still at the stage where the opposite sex has cooties.
• The kids are really worried about lunch, because they're afraid they won't find it, won't know which line to be in, won't have enough money... it's very sweet.
• One of our kids has 11 classes. Now, there is only supposed to be 6 classes per child, but he has 11. I told him to choose where he wanted to go... then sent him to guidance so they'd fix his schedule.
• Another one of our kids is on three teams. It is very rare for a child to have more that one team, and only then for extreme circumstances... but she has 3. They said they'd change it this week coming up, so we'll see.

I know there is more crazy things that happened, but I have forgotten them... Oh, well. I'm sure I think of them later.

In the meantime, remember this: 6th graders are so much fun!

Middle School Trends

What on earth goes on inside the heads of middle school kids? The things they wear! The things they enjoy!


I can't say too much against them, of course, because if I happen to take a peek at the photographic evidence of my middle school years, I am sporting no less than FOUR necklaces... at the same time, no less.

But still! This past year I noticed:

-Girls using shoelaces (I'm hoping they were clean... yeah, they were, I'm sure of it) as hair accessories. Not in the way you'd expect, either, as a ribbon, but more like a scarf...

-Boys wearing anything and everything to do with Naruto, regardless of whether or not they actually watch that particular show.

-Leggings (on girls, thankfully) under the smallest skirts I have ever had the misfortune to see. Honestly, do their mothers even see them as they go out the door?

-Anything that can be stuck to the face. i.e., fake moles that are actually stickers in the shape of hearts, initials, etc.

-Fake eyelashes were big this year... BIG and SPARKLY mostly... like neon purple... I think I'd get a headache looking through those things...

-Boys wearing under-armor (is that how it is phrased? One boy explained it to me... am still slightly bemused) as real clothes... apparently it's something you wear in baseball. Not sure why the little darlings wear it to school.

-White gel pens used as eyeliner in girls... it makes them look a little creepy, honestly. (And since they are regular ink pens, I can't think they'd be good on skin. Especially right near your eyes...)

-One of the boys this year dyed his hair pink. Not sure why...

-Another boy (heretofore adorable and sweet) cut off all his hair but left a healthy hank of hair in the middle as a make-shift mohawk, and it turned him into a punk overnight.

And many other ways I can't think of right now. Every year features something completely new and crazy, something everyone must do or must have.

I guess it has to do with their growing need to "find themselves" and make individuals out of themselves.

Still.

Honestly, sometimes I'm scared to go to work, after just picturing how my cute little 6th graders can change themselves overnight. It's scary.