Listening to Students

Everyday my students come in the classroom and work on their "Do Now" activity. (For teachers, that is a warm-up, dispatch, etc activity) I am moving my students into the Persuasive Unit and asked them to list two ideas/things that would make school/classes more interesting and then write two paragraphs.

I am glad I waited until now to give them this prompt. They were very thoughtful and had some amazing ideas. One was to make a game out of our vocabulary that allowed them to get out of their seats. So the next day I used their specific idea. Crossword Puzzles handed out to them with no clues. The clues were posted all around the room. They had to solve the puzzle first. Then the clues were the actual definitions which they then copied into their journals. Most of them appreciated the effort and they appreciated that I listen to them.

Tomorrow is idea number 2 -- allowing them to teach mini lessons to the class. So tomorrow we will be reviewing some grammar and on Tuesday a student will teach a lesson to follow up on the review. Hopefully this will work out.

Another suggestion was to read something (a book) that they understood! We just finished Romeo and Juliet and they had to work hard to understand the story as they read it. So, now I am in a quandary. I need a book for all of us to read and I have one in mind The Wednesday Wars, but I would love other suggestions, so if you have any please let me know.

All in all I am enjoying listening to their ideas and attempting to follow through with them.

When your mind is going in too many direction

You can be sure you are a 7th Grade teacher.

Here it is, a Saturday night, and I am thinking about how I am going to deal with my 3rd period class on Monday. My mind then switches to the next unit I will start teaching in 8 weeks. Then I am on to figuring out how I am going to find a high school job next year.

This last thought took me to the application for Fremont HS. I filled it out, except for addresses to my last two jobs and accidentally erased the whole application. I will have to redo it later.

Now I am on to which Academy I would want to teach in and how I would approach the curriculum for each of the academies. Which is overriding my brain and taking me to BTSA.

I really need to fill in the inane forms that will allow me to have a life time credential as long as I pay a fee every so often. This leads me to the idea that it makes no sense that I will not be required to continue my education as an educator. This makes me crazy.

This takes me to the Harvard website to see about applying for their newest Doctorate in Education. Yes, I am too late for the fall, but what about 2011? Harvard only takes 25 students into this program, but they pay your way including a stipend for living. This makes me think I could do it -- at some point. But how do I get in if I lose my job again.

And now I am back to what am I going to do with my students for the next two weeks. Oh, and I need to buy my Homeroom class some food to eat before they take their CST writing test on Tuesday.

I apparently am manic at the very least. And now I am wondering if anything I do makes a difference of any kind. This of course leads me to figuring out what I can do to teach them better, make them like to read and how to make them better writers.

Okay, exhausted. If only every night wasn't like this. Of course, then, I wouldn't be me if this wasn't my daily process.

Last Day of the Semester

So, their grades are in and they surprised me. Many Ds and Fs are now Bs and Cs. Only the very few are still failing. They actually (for the most part) did the make-up assignments and turned them in. That shows me they can take responsibility.

Now, grades are due today (I have turned mine in) and they had an assignment due yesterday. It was a bit of mad dash at the end and I planned accordingly. They earned a film during their Periodic Assessment, but I still wanted the film to be meaningful. I thought and thought and then went to the cupboard. Ah Ha! Freedom Writers. But still I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out.

It has turned out fine. They are enthralled and connected and quiet. In fact there is a group from my morning classes in my room right now to watch the conclusion at lunch. It feels good to watch them at their best and it gives me the feeling of hope I need to start anew on Monday.

And Monday will be an awesome day. We start the process of experiencing Romeo & Juliet and Shakespeare. I have already caught them in my spell by telling them they will be creating Shakespearean Insults. they also know they get to insult one another using their creations. They know it is about gangs, sword fights, drugs, love and death. They are excited. I AM EXCITED.

Maybe I should set up movie time in my classroom at lunch for them. It is so important to experience them when you are not expecting anything from them. Then they are lovely and funny and loving. The attitudes fade away.

It is turning out to be a very good last day of the semester. I am sure I will sleep deep tonight. Tomorrow I will be in my classroom cleaning and setting up for a whole new beginning. It is as if Spring has come early.

They are driving me to be insane

UGH, they are just ridiculous. They follow no direction. They are completely irritating. And I really wish I was any where else except in accounting. So I guess I am okay.

Teaching, Learning, Testing,

I am in the process of giving my students a standardized test on their Expository Unit. This unit has many challenges. The greatest challenge being a 3 week break in the middle of it. The second greatest challenge is administering the test before the unit is actually complete. It is a bit overwhelming at times, but I am pretty sure they have learned something during this.

I was going over evidence needing to be accurate, adequate and appropriate and they were having a difficult time with the whole concept. So, here is the example I gave:

Assertion: Kobe Bryant is the greatest basketball player in history.

Evidence: He is tall. He lives in Los Angeles. He plays for the Lakers.

The first response I heard was: "He's not tall!"

Seriously, that was the response. Then they went on to say he's not the greatest, blah blah blah.

So, it didn't exactly work. The worst part is I thought I could make it work and tried the same example in all 5 classes. I am a dork! I did try to improve my set up for the example to them, but I heard in all 5 classes: "He's not tall!" "Kobe don't have no game!" "Who Kobe Bryant?"

I've been thinking about it for a few days an the tall thing keeps coming back to me. I had to look it up. Kobe Bryant is 6'6" tall. How is that not tall? Why do they think he isn't tall? I guess because when they see him on TV they see him next to people who are taller than him. They don't see him next to people their height. THen I think why haven't most of them been to a game? It is only 5 or 6 stops off the blue line from where they live.

Then I think, "my students need real life experiences!" I need to add some in to next semester for them. That may be the most important thing I expose them to in my class.

Any ideas, let me know.