Saturday School & Student Sacrifices

I will just post random things.

1. The plague is back. I don't know what it is this time...it seems like some sort of bronchitis. I am really getting tired of being sick. Last week, when I *wasn't* sick I got a lot done in my classroom and at home. Now all I want to do is sleep.

Vada doesn't approve. She takes the blankets in her teeth and pulls them off me.

2. I am right now in credit recovery Saturday school. A bunch of seniors are in danger of not graduating in May because they failed Senior English. It seems to me that senior English in the classroom on a week day would be better than Saturday school reading The Last of the Mahicans on a...well...Saturday.

They are not the most enthused bunch of 18 year boys I have ever saw. I wonder if they will even finish this.

I wonder if they will even graduate.

3. One other boy in credit recovery today is sophomore (not one of mine, but saintTeachers). Obviously, he is failing (that's why he is here). He decided to read the first three chapters of The Tale of Two Cities , take the practice test, and failed the real test *twice* in a half hour. Then he asked me what he was to do next. I told him to write the essay. Somehow he found something else to do. Oy!

4. I think copy machines are evil. We have two copiers in our school for teachers to use. For much of this year, one kept dying ....and they kept resurrecting it.

I suggested maybe we should sacrifice a kid to the copier gods. I even had a few suggestions for the honor.

Funny, the administration went with buying a copier. I liked my suggestion better.

But the new copier wouldn't work either.

Again, the copier gods are angry. Only sacifice would work.

But now the new copy machine is working...but I haven't seen a couple of the troublemaking students lately..... ;)

5. I found out I really miss history. I did a powerpoint on the Middle Ages and the dreaded sophomore AP kids loved it. I also attempted to teach them some geography. I thought it went really well.

But their test scores stayed the same. So really it made no real big difference.

And I hope they never go to Europe, because they would be very lost. They seem to think London is in France and Britain is in Romania.

Also, they really made fun of the Scots. They called them smurfs and said they wore dresses. I certainly hope they never meet up with a Scot in a dark alley.

Lord Have Mercy!

Ok, today was not the greatest day in my history as a teacher. It started with the dreaded sophomore AP class. Somehow, they would not get settled and listen. I gave instructions and repeated them and asked if there were any questions *4* times!

Well, four of the girls obviously could not be bothered to listen. I told them several times to settle down and work on class work and not gossip. All I heard back was "We are not talking, it's someone else."

Blink. Yeah, right that's why your mouth is open and sound is coming out of it. Someone *else* is talking.

One girl, after I scolded her several times, started getting mouthy with me. I sent her to the office.

About the middle of the period, one of the girls started asking what the assignment for tomorrow was. I was livid. I explained the assignment again and suggested she get to work on it.

Then, 10 minutes before the bell, the girl has the audacity to ask to go to the bathroom. When I said no she proceeded to ask 5 more times!

I kid you not...she was following me around the room...announcing...get this...

She had her period.....

to everybody (boys included).

Lord have mercy!!

When I said no (now there was about 5 minutes left in the period) again, she just left and came back 5 minutes later.

The class thought it was funny, I did not.

I wrote up (administration discipline referral) two girls and had the call lady call two sets of parents. I hate discipline referrals. They take so much time to write up and they put me in such a bad mood.

The next period were perfect angels...except...

I am enforcing my no late work policy this six weeks. One girl (one of the famous five) did not have her study guide for the reading last Thursday done. She tried to turn it in on Friday. I said no. Get this....

Today, she put it in my inbox under other papers so I wouldn't notice it right away.

WTF!

Did she think I wouldn't remember? Does she really think I am that stupid? Did she think I would change my mind?

Then, the next period has ISTBMG, Chip, and Gangsta. ISTBMG is being surly and mouthy. I was giving instructions on the day's work and reminding them of a few things and she snarled, "Can you shut up so we can work already!?"

OKaaaaaay! Someone got caught in a lie at home, I think.

Surprising......8th period was the best period. Puht Boy and BIOB looked like they were working??? but will find out tomorrow.

I think all the students were crabby. I was not. The plague is over and gone, knock on wood. I am halfway caught up on stuff. Bills paid, taxes are over. Battleship Galatica has new episodes. Life is good. What is their problem?

It Sucks to Be Me Girl

It Sucks to Be Me Girl (ISTBMG) had been very quiet lately. However, just week she came back to the forefront of my problems.

ISTBMG has been doing pretty good in my class up to softball season. She plays on the team with Annie. And Annie and her both decided to just not talk to me about anything since I called Annie's parents. That means no backtalk and inappropriate comments. Yea!

But it also means no communication about make up work for both athletic and personal absences.

ISTBMG was gone for about three days for personal reasons two weeks ago. I had them working on their unit projects. She also missed her six weeks test. When she came back she asked to take her six weeks test but never showed up for it. She didn't turn in her project or her six weeks test! ...which is 20% of her grade! She had an extra week to make stuff up since I made this stuff due a week before the end of the six weeks. She never asked about it!

She failed the six weeks. No more softball.

Thursday, I got an email saying she was going to a game. I emailed the coach and told him that she failed. He removed her immediately.

Then yesterday, the AP calls me into his office. He said her parents called contesting the grade. ISTBMG told them I failed her because she failed to get her progress report at midterm time! That was one regular grade not even worth a regular grade.

I explained all the above to AP and also explained that because of Science Goddess' influence, I actually gave her 50s instead of zeros on the two assignments. That clinched it for AP. He said, "You were even generous with her grades?"

I'm thinking it's going to be sucky for ISTBMG at home for a while.

The Good Kids

I truly have great students. I sat down the other day and figured I have only five students that really give me trouble maliciously. Puht boy, Chip, and Gangsta I have told you about. There are a couple girls in my 4th period that just talk and don't care about the fact that I'm trying to do a job. They don't care and can't be bothered, really.

But the rest of the students are really very good. Sure, I will get backtalk or laziness, but they really want to behave. Lately, many students have been asking what I am teaching next year. I really don't know. Last year, I taught freshmen and this year I am teaching sophomores. So I have really many of the same students. (And I was supposed to have more, but SaintTeacher didn't want 3 preps. So I gave up some of my students to teach the angel freshmen. I got the good end of that deal. But it was sad. They were my kids.*)

One girl that I taught last year asked this question. I said I don't know. I failed this girl last year. She would be mouthy in class and not turn anything in. I sent her to the office at least once a week to get rid of her mouth.

This year she has worked well for me. And while she will be smart (not in the good sense), she is happier and more respectful. When she asked if I will teach Juniors next year, she expressed that I should probably take a break from them. I am used to this and I just laugh.

The next day, at the beginning of the period, she came in and gave me a big genuine hug. I am not a demonstrative person...hugging any of my high school teachers.... I would have died. My family does not hug (unless someone died.) She exclaimed, "I am so glad you are my teacher!"

Wow! I hope they went hiding illegal contraband or anything and were redirecting my attention.** But my intuition tells me it was true.

There is a high turnover of teachers at this school. The first year, I was viewed by the students with suspicion. Now, I have gained a little trust. Those students make my day enjoyable and worthwhile.

I have a little girl with long curly hair. She has always got her work done on time. She is always thoughtful in her answers. She is just a nice person to be around.

I have a quiet boy who wants to be on his computer all the time. (I think he is going to be a hacker when he grows up.) He always does his work and is very smart. He finishes his work so he can be on his computer. Everyday he asks right away what are we going to do ("FreeRice, today, miss?") and gets started even before the tardy bell rings.

Smarty Squirrel is genuinely pleased with her advanced curriculum and enjoys it. She is also very grateful, which sometime embarrasses me because I was only doing my job. She sticks up for me when the mouthy girls in her 4th period class gets rude (which also embarrasses me.)

These are just a few of the good kids I have. I have about 90 students this year and if only five bother me I should concentrate on the other 85, right? We are reading Speak and they seem to be really enjoying it and are appreciative. It's all good.***


*Ohhh, I have to so learn to let goooooo. I am too clingy.

**Ohhh, and I am paranoid!!!

***Now, more posts on the obnoxious students!!

Passion Quilt Meme

This is important to me because of two reasons:

1. It's important to take risks in life. I just want my students to try new things. Figure out how to do things without my direction. Just try. I would never fail the students on these activities, but often they will not even think to try or even think for themselves.

I am frightened for them because as adults we all know things are thrown at us that don't have one single answer, but we still have to figure out an answer.

2. I give my students the chance to fail or succeed without the consequences, so they can figure out their style of problem solving. I believe failing teaches a bigger lesson than succeeding. Mistakes happen, but they learned....that's the important thing isn't it. Not perfection, but learning and effort.

Rambling, I know. I hope it makes sense.

I was tagged by Clix, over at Epic Adventures are Often Uncomfortable, for this meme.

THE RULES:

- Post a picture or make/take/create your own that captures what YOU are most passionate for kids to learn about.
- Give your picture a short title.
- Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt.”
- Link back to this blog entry.
- I won't link to anyone, but feel free to use it.

Student Athletes

Today was the day to verify our grades for the 5th Six Weeks. I gave out progress reports to all my students and informed them that this was their grade that would be on their report card.

My poetry unit was so easy. Basically, they had to write a poem, turn it in, and receive an hundred. I have never taught a easier unit. Still, I had students fail. I had students blow off the six weeks test!...which was open note!

I failed one student athlete. She didn't put up much of a argument about failing like I thought she would. She blew off the six week test *and* the end of unit project.

But that isn't really what made me upset today.

Two baseball playing sophomores (one that is in my dreaded AP sophomore class this year and a student I taught last year)stopped the senior English teacher and asked her if she went the baseball game last night. She said no. They asked her if she supported the team and her students. She said yes. Then they asked why did she fail two of the varsity senior baseball players. Didn't she care?

She replied that the students failed, not her. She also had met with the student's parents and showed them the evidence....midterm progress reports that informed them they were failing at midterm. Parents and administration backed her up.

I chewed out my student. He argued that the students were doing the school a favor by representing the school in a good way that they deserve a break. I informed him that teachers have a job to do and if the student fails to learn, we must fail them. I told him to apologize. Then I threw him out of my room and the senior English teacher explained the facts further to him. She called me into her room later and said that I made the student cry and apologize. Good.

Week in Review

This week went so fast!! I called in a sub on Wednesday because I was throwing up. (Sorry for sharing.) I had gotten rid of the coughing and wheezing and exchanged it for stomach problems.

Maybe too much stress? I don't know. But I know last year, I never called for a sub and we stopped teaching at 3:15. This year, going to 4:00 and then watching credit recovery till 5:30, I have called a sub at least once a month. And I feel never caught up.

I have not written out my school's lesson plan forms for 2 weeks. Nobody has said anything, but I really need to get on that. Plus, I ordered many new posters for my room and I want them laminated, but I haven't the time. I estimate that this will take me a couple of hours on a weekend. But weekends are full of housecleaning, laundry, and errands (and sleeping in.) Ughhh!

My final last six weeks unit plans are only done up for the next 2 weeks. I am literally flying by the seat of my pants and pulling stuff out of my you-know-what. Not exactly the shining sparkling image of the world's most perfect teacher I want to be. Oh, well...there's always next year.

I started the novel Speak this week with my English 2 students. First, I had them write a essay about what would they do if a friend of theirs was raped. Then, I read the first 5 sections out loud to the students. So far, they seem to like it. My 8th period the best. Weird. Even though they were confused on what a ho-ho was. I think because they have been behaving themselves lately (behaviorally, not necessarily academically), I will get them some Swiss Cake Rolls tomorrow. (I have never seen real Ho-Hos here, just Little Debbie Cakes.)But I don't think they actually get the "ho" (whore) reference. Do I have to teach that? Do I point out the obvious? ;)

We finished up poetry last week. As a final assessment, I had them create a website in frontpage with hyperlinks to each of the poems they created this six weeks. Some did extremely well and rolled with the punches to learn the new software. Some, not so well, because they tossed all the poetry they wrote as they wrote it!!! After, I told them several times to keep it!!!

Also, my six week test was open note. Some students organized their notes nicely, even rewriting them to make more sense. Some students tried to copy other students notes in the 5 minutes before the test I gave them to get organized. Some didn't even bother to look for their notes, because they tossed them out as soon as the class was over.

Yeah, I am banging my head against all hard surfaces on a frequent basis.

My Dreaded Sophomore AP class is starting an unit on the King Arthur legends. (There's a unit in the textbook and it is one of my favorite things...so I am teaching it...MY WAY.) The first thing I have them do is make a historical timeline. All the King Arthur texts we are reading are written at different times, so I want them to have a good grasp of historical times and their effects (affects? blah!) on literature. The sophomores are taking World History and I figure they will not have a hard time with this.

Ummm....Evidently, our school skips Ancient History and the Middle Ages. WTF!! The historian in me is just a little upset. Then, in trying to fulfill my requirement that they write in famous people in their era, the Middle Ages people wanted to write in "Merlin."

"Ah, poor student grasshopper," I replied, "we don't know if he was historically real or just a figment of our literary imaginations. In my heart, I hope he was real, but we have to stick to historical reality."

Crocheting class is going great. Some girls are really hooked. I don't know if they will stick with it for another 3 weeks, but it has been very relaxing end of the school day.

Annie's father came to speak to me on Thursday. I felt so bad for him. He was literally embarassed to have to come to school to talk about his daughter's behavior. Thank God I had the report on Annie prepared or I would have stuttered throughout the entire meeting. I did not dwell on the boyfriend, but I did mention his influence on her. He said he had got on Annie about her grades and that is why all of a sudden she was feeling the pressure. I hope she gets the message.

Smart Mouth left my room without permission. He was writing a literary analysis of a sonnet. My instructions clearly state that I must recieve proof of the writing process: notes, outlines, rough drafts or I would not accept the paper. He tried to hand in his final polished draft with none of these proofs. I refused it. I don't know if he wrote it or copy and pasted it from the internet. And I have no time to google it. I told him it wasn't not good enough. He said I expect them to be perfect. I said I am not arguing the issue. Either do it according to the instructions or recieve a zero. I even gave him an extension to write another paper, correctly. He stormed out the room.

I really don't think it is unreasonable to see notes and outlines with papers. I had to turn in my work in high school and college. And we didn't have the internet for our teachers to worry about. I hate it that the minute I start holding students accountable, they throw fits. AP wanted me to meet with his mother, but I don't want her to be embarrassed like last time and I know she is on my side. So I said just have Smart Mouth come talk to me. He hasn't yet.

Las Cruces, NM

I like to drive. However, when AP asked me to drive the rocketry team to Las Cruces, NM (about 5 hours away) I said no. (The rocketry teacher does not drive. She flies rockets, but does not have a driving licence. Ironic? LOL) I had been fighting the "plague" and kinda needed the weekend to rest.

After AP left me, I got to thinking. So far I had only been to New Mexico at a horsetrack in El Paso. (Don't ask... I don't gamble.) I like to drive. I wanted to see places. I'd miss Friday afternoon classes and they were only taking tests and finishing up their websites. So I tracked down the AP and said I'd go.

On Friday, they forgot to hire a sub for 5th period. So I was kinda late in getting to the science wing. I love driving the school's suburbans. They are huge. And I don't have to pay for the gas. (Gas here is $3.55/gallon. Ouch. My car is staying here.)

The science teacher talked the entire 4 hours to El Paso. I don't know how she does it! All I have to do is say "yes" "no" occasionally and she just keeps talking. It worked for me.

This teacher really is a great science teacher and like me is very tough on the students. She works very hard to get the students involved in science projects like rocketry and NASA scholars.

Once in Las Cruces, we got checked into the hotel and the girls went shopping for motors and nosecones and things I have no idea about. We ate at the mall and went shopping.

Saturday morning, we went to the rocketry site at the University of New Mexico.




I spent the entire time taking pictures, of which 5% turned out.


Here is a lovely picture of the suburban's back door.



Their rocket. I was closer than they were to the rocket when it went off. A little scary. However, I couldn't get a picture of the thing going off.

The team did very good, but decided to come back the next day to practice some more and do their qualifying round on Sunday.

So, we went to White Sands and Alamogordo, NM.

White Sands was so cool! I had never seen a place like that before. I saw it in the movie "Independence Day" but seeing it in person was so much better!






Sliding down the dunes.



My feet in the sand...it looks just like snow...but it is sand!

It was amazing. Then we went to Alamogordo to go to the Space Museum, but it was closed by the time we got there.

The next morning the team's rocket did an amazing job! They have a great chance of qualifying to go to nationals. Another team from New Mexico was trying to qualify Sunday morning and our team psyched them out with their great scores. We heard the team arguing why the team did a great job. All of a sudden one female member of the opposing team said, "It's because they are all girls!" We had a huge laugh about that.

But our girls really did act like a great team. They worked together to get the job done, not trying to outsmart each other. None goofed off. All worked equally. As a chaperon, I didn't have to hunt down any girls or worry about anyone disappearing. They were incredibly mature and respectful.

Never Got Caught Up

I never got caught up this week. I almost did....but a surprize was waiting on Thursday...Read on...

1. Annie's mom emailed me on Sunday that she could not come on Monday. Of course, I don't check my email until Monday morning. And Sunday, I spent 2 hours writing up the problem and what I thought the solution would be. And she has not rescheduled. I don't know what is going on.

2. I think I have the some sort of Black Plague. Sore throat, coughing, sneezing, tired. I went to bed covered in Vicks. I put some on Vada's nose and she really liked it. She keeps sniffing for the canister. But why am I getting sick? Is it allergies?....Is it a cold?....Should I take off from work?....

3. Wednesday was the day of TELPAS rating. Remember the 10 hour training I did in 2 hours? Well, I did the rating of 6 of my students in a hour. I was the first one done.

Well, I was a little mad. The other teacher's got an email telling them that they would have a sub for the morning to go rate. I did not get an email. So I made no arrangements. Then a sub showed up. Oh vey! Well, at least it got done quickly and I only missed one class.

4. The remote control to the television have been violated. Vada put her first teeth marks at the top of the remote. I keep putting it up before I leave. I wish she would leave the remote alone. I did not like getting up to change the channels old school.

5. My surprize this week was a free trip to Las Cruces, NM!!! My principal asked me to drive the rocketry team to their qualifying rounds. At first, I said no. I have my plague to contend with. And...I am not the world's best driver. But I eventually said yes. I needed to leave and I had a great time. I took many pictures and hopefully they turned out. Our team (of three girls!!!) did great.

I just got back and I'm tired. Vada is happy to see me. I am incrediably behind in schoolwork...but what else is new?