First Week

Actually, the first week with the students has been great....

1. I spent two and half days on expectations and procedures. I think they enjoyed the powerpoint much better than going over a handout. I quizzed them over the the procedures and had very good results.

2. No one argued the procedures, especially the tardy policy. And they are excellent at actually working when the tardy bell is ringing. I have had 3 tardies, but they were all excused because the students were giving blood.

3. I have started bellwork and exit tickets. Bellwork is on the board when the tardy bell rings. Exit tickets are a quick quiz or journal question to review what we studied that day. It is the last thing they do each day. The kids have caught on quickly. I guess the trick is to keep it consistent.

4. We have been working on "inference" and "supporting details" through artwork. I show a painting (I have been using "The Four Freedoms" by Norman Rockwell) and asking them to give me details. Yesterday, they, of course, gave me inferences and details. So I showed them how to separate them. Today, I had them list inferences and their supporting details and they are rocking. I guess I should have them actually have them read something soon.

5. The boys in the classes love the fact I posted two Chuck Norris Facts posters. (They are an example of "hyperbole.") One student asked me if he passes the class at six weeks he could have one of them. I said sure. Whatever works. Bribery.

6. I did an intensive study habits survey. Many students promised to get a planner and keep track of assignments in it. The kids know how to talk the talk, but not walk the walk. So I challenged them that if they get a planner, keep track of assignments all six weeks, and showed it to me at the end of the six weeks, I would change their lowest test grade to a hundred percent. Again, bribery.

7. Even though my students haven't read anything yet, they have been writing a great deal. When I insisited that they do their writing assignment in class and not leave it to homework because they don't need homework their first week, they protested that other teachers are giving them homework already. They have to write in every class this year, even PE and computer class.

8. This is how I feel about this year....

I always forget something.....

I passed my History certification test and my ESL certification test. I don't know how. I was the first person out of the room in both tests and I really guessed on many of the questions.

Now all I have to pay my money to the state of Texas and I'm qualified to teach history here. Yay!!!

Laptop woes and first day of school

I know...I know...I said I'd write more...

The laptop got sick and had to go to laptop hospital.

All of a sudden the laptop would not type..the keyboard didn't work on the Tuesday before school starts. Now keep in mind, I started my "back to school" stuff two weeks early. I did this because last year I was a total wreck because I was sooverwhelmed.

I did a huge powerpoint. I got all my expectations and procedures into one document. I started a movie ala Miss A at Confessions on the Couch.

All gone.

Also, I use my laptop to project powerpoints and documents and videos. I didn't have access to any of this and I had to scramble fast.

I took one of the student desktops in my room and made it mine. It had Frontpage for my webpage and a DVD player included. I had to connect my own printer to it. I put in a tech person ticket to come to my room to set up the projector with the desktop and a printer with the desktop last Thursday.

They showed up today, Tuesday. The second day of school. If I hadn't done it myself...it wouldn't have got done.

Thank God, I got my laptop back yesterday. I was lost without it. They replaced the keyboard and the battery and it is as good as new.

Last week was all professional development. My room got all set up and I will post photos as soon as I have the energy to find my flash drive with the pictures on it.

The first and second day of school went smoothly, student wise. I really don't have a really big discipline problem in the bunch. I have Flirty and Shamala again this year and they are thrilled to be in my class. BIOB and Chip and Gangsta and ISTBMG are not in our school this year. Saint Teacher has Puht Boy and says that he actually participated in class today.

My pre-AP class has 23 students...that's the biggest class. Otherwise I have 6 (I know! 6?!!) to 10 students in the rest of the classes. It's nice that they are so small, but it is very strange. When I taught freshmen, all my classes were 16-20 students. Now, they are so small...with no discipline problems. A couple of slackers, but nobody who will disrupt the class. It makes teaching very enjoyable.

My schedule is English 3, conference, Pre AP, lunch, English 3, English 3, teaming meeting, English 3. I am not sure about this schedule because I like long blocks of time to get things done.

I want to thank everyone who commented on my last post. It was nice to read the comments coming into my email, even though I couldn't blog.

Tips for New Teachers

I have been in this profession for two years. This is my third year. Ms. Teacher asked for tips. This is what I have learned:

1. As in any profession/job, some of the people you work with are insecure jerks. Education is not a haven for the self actualized. I have expressed this before: most people do not mature past the age of twelve. Deal with unprofessionlism with professionalism. Your administration and your stress level will appreciate it.

2. Don't be afraid to ask questions. My first year, I frantically tried to teach the whole curriculum map for the first 2 six weeks. Finally, three months in, I asked Mentor Teacher how he taught all this material since he created the map. He laughed so hard at me that he fell off his chair. He said "I just wanted to make it look good....you don't have to do it all." I was so scared that I would be thought of as dumb I was too scared to ask. This hesitation lead to my students and me being more stressed and confused with the pace of the class... and me looking more dumb in the long run.

3. The way you set up your classroom is important for classroom management. Make sure you can see the door. (I couldn't see the door until the second semester my first year.) Make sure you can see all the students. Make sure you keep an eye on all turned in work. I had a genius who just went in the turned in work bin and copied it. This was because the turn in bin was on the other side of the room from me.

4. Consistency is important. If you make a rule, be sure you are able to enforce every time and the same way for every student. Rules must be enforced from first day to the last day the same way. I always had the rule I didn't accept late work. But I was "lenient" and thought I was being nice by accepting it. And work just kept coming in later and later until I had kids handing in stuff two days after I turned in grades!

5. You are not their friend. I know, you had all these fantasies about being the "cool" teacher and your room was going to be a place for "beatnik" kind of students and you would have a free exchange of ideas and it was going to be so wonderful and butterflies were going to fly out of everyones' butt.

Hell, no.

Don't watch those "teacher" movies. The closest is maybe "Mr. Holland's Opus," but even that is a little too cheery to represent our profession. And that lady that took on second job to buy supplies for her students in "Freedom Writers," and lost her husband, and all that....well, that's just torturing yourself. Look forward to maybe one kid in twenty actually thank you for their education.

6. Be ready for long days. My first year I worked from 6 am to 6 pm plus usually a Saturday. New teachers have no materials...no posters, no handouts, no lesson plans. Oh, and those lesson plans you wrote in teacher college?....get ready to throw out half of it, because you will have no time to do all of that stuff.

And if you are reading this and you are a student in college....get some stuff before you start!...START NOW. Professional books... lesson plans for everything you might teach... desk do - dads.... stackable trays.... refrigerator magnets. And if you plan on teaching English, read as much as you can. There is nothing like being a chapter ahead of your students in the novel you are reading.

7. Read and write blogs. Nothing more helped me realize that I was not crazy than reading Miss A's, Frumteacher, Ms. Teacher, But Wait, There's More, What It is Like on the Inside, So You Want to Teach, Tense Teacher, Pissed Off Teacher, , Clix, Dolce Belleza, California Teacher Guy,Huffenglish and many, many more. Some made me feel very lucky to work where I do. Some gave me excellent tips and support. Some are just crazy. (I won't say who is who.) They will even let you lurk without commenting.

Writing a blog (or even a paper journal) is the best form of reflection on your teachings. And sometimes you just have to vent and can't do it with your colleagues at work. I think venting is very important to people's health. Do it constructively.

8. Don't worry if you are doing "it" right. It's your first year. Enjoy it. Experiment. The administration will not let you get away with it again.

Not every lesson is going to work. Deal with it without guilt.

9. I avoid the teacher lounge. Sometimes (maybe once every two months) I will sit in there and eat lunch. However, I think the complaining really gets to be too much, and I want to join in, and that makes me feel guilty, and brings down my morale. Your lounge might be different...but be careful. You don't want to be perceived as part of the group of complainers/whiners.

10. Begin setting up your classroom and planning your lessons ASAP. Don't wait until the first "work" day at your school. There is not enough time...and... oh.... and there is never enough time.

11. Sometimes even the worst behaved students are still likable. If they know that you like and respect them, they will behave better for you. Not always, but sometimes.

12. For me, the strict teacher with a sense of humor works. I would watch the sarcasm though. The students see you using it, they feel ok to start using it. And when it crosses the line into disrespect, you are unprofessional and they are disciplined.

13. Call parents... right away... don't wait.

14. Take care of yourself. Remember who you are. Do fun stuff. Watch TV. Do your hobby. Spend time with the dog or kids or significant other. Eat.

15. It is legal to drink alcohol and write lesson plans at home.

Guilty Pleasures

My guilty pleasures:

1. Sharpies:



I have more. Really...I have more.

Sharpie addiction is a disease, I know it will be recognized soon by medical professionals. ;)

2. My Kokopelli desk accessories:



The other figurine is a corn goddess or something. I put it on top of the kid's homework and tell them she is the Goddess of Homework and will get after them if they don't do it!

3. The Mean Kitty Song:



4. Weird, totally "out there" books:



5. Dr. Who





I discovered the first season of "Dr. Who" on Netflix!!! So I veg out in front of the computer watching the Doctor. I finished watching the 4th season, but I was underwhelmed by Catherine Tate. I liked Martha Jones better. Can we get the 9th Doctor and Martha together. That would be cool...As in guilty pleasure.

(RANT/VENT: I have deleted all my Dr. Who computer bookmarks. With school starting, I don't have time to be reading all the stuff about the Christmas special and who is guest starring on the 3 or 4 "specials" airing in Great Britian next year. In America, we probably won't get to see them until 2012! Aren't we a global society? Why can't people in America see programs on the BBC iPlayer? Argghhh! ...And Robin Hood quit Robin Hood on the BBC? How can they even have a show?Don't you have to have a Robin Hood to have a "Robin Hood" show? Just saying. END RANT/VENT)

6. Lost TV show:


I watched all of season 2 of "Lost." It wasn't as good as all the other seasons, but made the rest of the seasons make sense. (I was going to school during season 2, so I missed it all.) It is nice to watch Sawyer. And I love the character of Ben Linus.



Photo was taken from LOLLost. This is my favorite.....



I love trying to figure out the symbolism of the series. There's a Locke, a Hume, a Sawyer, a four toed statue, time travel, possible wormholes....etc, etc, etc. You could go on crazy figuring out all the possiblilities.

7. Harold & Kumar



8. My Cow Painting:



A student painted this two years ago and I saw it posted on the walls at the school. I think it is beautiful. A pink cow...who would have thought?

OK, those are the ones I will admit to. :)

El Paso Trip

Hi! I'm still alive. I just took a break over the summer with blogging. I've been lurking on every one's blogs, just being quiet. I have tons to write...this might take several days.

First, my trip to El Paso was great! (Except for the accident, of course.) I love UTEP, but they make you walk so damn far from the car to the classroom to the Union and back again. I am NOT in shape. And there were all this helpful signs telling you you have walked a quarter mile. Unfortunately, I was too busy trying to breathe to snap a picture of them.

But I do love the architecture of UTEP. The story goes that the university's president's wife was reading a magazine article about Bhutan. She thought the mountains of the country looked like the mountains around El Paso. So all the buildings are done in Bhutan architecture. Like this:





Even their parking garages have the look:



And this is the view:



I think the houses are Juarez, Mexico.

The training was great. I got not only suggestions on how to teach pre-AP, but suggestions and strategies on how to teach on level classes, too. Everyone was so nice from the instructor down to the lovely people that sat at my table. Two teachers from El Paso made sure I knew where everything was in El Paso and invited me to lunch everyday.

I loved the trip, but I hated leaving Vada for so long. She was quite upset when I got back. I wish there was a way to explain to them that you will be back. I tried to explain it to her before I left, but she'd just run to the kitchen and ask for a treat. She is recovered now, but with school starting she is getting left at home alone more and more. Even though she has no concept of time, she knows something is up again.