Fall Back

I love falling back and getting an hour back. It has only been a couple of days but I bounced out of bed without feeling drowsy. Today was a day of talking to colleagues-one who seems perfectly content not to incorporate the writing program the district uses (which I agree stinks and is not creative but it is the district wide program) and another who was complaining about issues with behavior involving last year's friends. The first talk was one where you left thinking the other person is not going to change their ways. The second talk had me once againg thanking God that I do not have the class from last year anymore. Last year was a year long nightmare that didn't end until the day they were finally out of my class. My only advice to my colleague-count the days until it is over and pray.

Hey man, you ain't even in my class!

So I have the once beloved but now hated duty of study hall teacher. I supervise students who are finishing work during their recess time. I have seen the same bunch of yahoos since the first day of school. There is the boy whose hair is never combed who has a special place next to me on the floor so he won't distract neighbors, just me. There is the other boy who has a special place on the other side of the room on the floor so I won't strangle him when he starts talking to himself (which he will do and he seems to have conversations with himself as well).

Well, one of the characters, lazy boy, showed up today in study hall. He usually just sits there and never finishes an assignment. Today, he decided to switch things up. He had to use the bathroom (yeah right). He talked to his friend from across the room. He decided he needed to take his neighbor's eraser. I called him out on all of his offenses and he continued to not lift a pencil on his assignment. Finally, he began to swing his feet wildly under his desk almost hitting the person right across from him. After I threatened him with a visit to the office, he finally calmed down. And didn't finish his assignment.

I haven't had that much drama in my class in months and it was caused by a twerp who isn't even in my class.

I got my grades in!

I couldn't get into the school grading system over the weekend. I had to wait for Monday. Then I printed out missing grades through the system and saw missing assignments that I know I had put into my gradebook. What happened? The system had "lost" the grades I entered in the day before. My precious beautiful grades. The grades that took an hour to put into the stupid gradebook. So I did what any rushed and frantic teacher would do...I gave the kids an assignment to keep them busy and put in grades. I can't answer your question....I can't help you....I don't know...let me put these grades in, class. The grades are officially finished for the grading period and now I have a weekend to enjoy the beautiful weather.

The Neverending Pile of Papers

This weekend I did some much needed clothes shopping and tackled grading papers. The grades are overall not good. I keep asking myself-is it me or is it the class? The class behaves great but seems low academically. They apparently do not know how to add or subtract (what is this "adding" thing you keep referring to, teacher), never heard of place value and do not know how to round (what do you mean, where are your strategies). The same people in the class continue to fail work and continue to fall behind in class. It doesn't seem we have a lot of time to stay on a topic and must move on quickly, I keep trying to reteach but at the same time have to keep up with my teaching. So I continue to see a neverending pile of papers with crappy grades. Last year was the year of won't do and this year is the year of can't do.

Nice try

We took another test today and many of my students struggled. I graded the tests and saw that one of the students did not pick A,B,C or D. They wrote E and the answer they thought should have been on the test. Really?

I laughed and called her over and just had her make a guess on what the answer was.

Messy and Distracted Student

So we take a test today. A long test. Most of the class finishes. I grade the tests that I picked up after school. I know one student is still working on it. However, I am shocked when another student is missing their test. Wasn't that student working on other work and didn't they go outside for recess? I look in his desk and there I discover missing assignments, trash, loose papers and lo and behold-the missing test. This student is frequently distracted and rarely pays attention. I can literally be in front of this student giving directions repeatedly and this student will look at me with blank stare and a open mouth. Ugh. Now, tomorrow is test day and we already have tests planned tomorrow and I need this student to finish this test asap. Ugh.

Feel Like I am Running a Marathon

This has been a very busy time-trying to meet all of the begininning of the year deadlines, grading papers, trying to make the schedule work for me and attending all of the school events that are occuring right now. I always have loved the perk of getting home by 4:oo. Yeah, I may have to wake up at 5:30 a.m. but to be able to catch Oprah just makes me happy. This whole week I have stayed late. And yet I still feel that I am running in a marathon and the race is not even half way through. Do I feel student A is just getting back into the swing of things or are they struggiling? Am I off of the class schedule because it isn't working or because I am still teaching procedures? Will student B be here tomorrow lice free? I am still very happy with the group of kids I have but I have to yet to adjust to the school routine.