pointless

i hear what is going on in other classes and sometimes i wonder why in the world teachers assign the work that they do. some of it just seems entirely pointless to me. maybe that is because i don't see what is going on in the rest of class and i don't see how it all connects but still... it seems like a waste of time. i wonder if people outside of my class think that sometimes. i sure hope not. i try to only have my students do assignments that will actually help them. maybe i will ask a student that i trust will be honest with me what they think.

back to school, back to school...

Thanksgiving break is over.... and I am sad. It was really hard to wake up and come to work today. All of the students seem extra tired (and so do I!). It seems that when they don't have school they sleep WAY less than normal. One girl told me she thought that she slept only 8 hours the whole break (ok, I know she was exaggerating but still, I'm sure she didn't sleep much) It has been a struggle today so far getting them to listen and do their work. Hopefully they get back into the swing of things.

My new books got here today. Well, part of them did. I am excited! This trimester looks like its going to be a good one.

end of first trimester

Last Thursday our first trimester ended. I can't believe that I made it through my first trimester of teaching. It feels good to make it to this benchmark. Teaching has been getting better lately. My second trimester is going to be a lot better than my first. They took away my geometry class and are splitting up my algebra 1 classes into three classes rather than two. That means that instead of 30 or more students in each class I will only have around 20. I think that it will make life a lot better. Also, I get to start teaching out of new books which I think will make things easier. Basically my life of teaching is looking up.

I am loving coaching basketball. I have really grown to love the girls I work with. They are so much fun to be around and they make my life happier. I especially like that they feel like they can come to me and talk to me and I feel like I can help them and make a difference. That is what I really wanted to be able to do as a teacher but it happens faster and easier as a coach. I am going to miss basketball when it is over. Good thing it lasts until February.

Sorry I haven't been very good at writing on here. I am going to try to start writing more.

Basketball

Last week I started coaching the freshman girls' basketball team. It has been really fun so far. It makes me like teaching more. I think that it is becasue I get to interact with the girls in the way that I wish I could interact with all of my students. We have fun together but they still listen to what I say and I am able to listen to what they are saying. If only all of my students and classes could be like that.

Saturday we had two practices so that we could get in our 10 practices before their first game. They ran along the water for the first practice. It was fun to watch them bond together and finish a long run. The girls that finished before everyone else went back and ran with the ones that were struggling. Here's a picture of them finishing.


(i took the picture down because I decided it just wasn't a good idea)

cheating

Today my day has been filled with students cheating. During our breakfast break (yes, my school takes a break and serves the students breakfast for free... which I think is a really good idea) another teacher came and found me and handed me 2 pieces of paper. They belonged to two boys in my first period class. She said she caught one of them copying. So, I got to talk to those two about cheating.

My fourth period was the kicker. We were going over homework from yesterday and I look back to a kid sitting in the back row and he is so obviously copying off of another paper. I asked him who it belonged to and he just said it was his so instead of making a scene I told him he could just talk to me after class. Well, after class I went over and talked to him and asked him which student he was copying off of. He said that he honestly wasn't copying from another student. So, I asked him whose paper it was. Well, turns out his Uncle's girlfriend did it and he was copying it into his own handwriting. Yes the kid was stupid for cheating but what makes me really mad is the stupid girlfriend. I assume that his uncle and girlfriend are adults. Why would an adult think that it was ok and that it was going to help the kid. I am not a teacher that assigns homework just for the fun of it. The homework prepares them for the TEST! Doing it will help him get a good grade. So, if he isn't doing the homework by himself does she think that she will be able to come in and do the test for him?!?! I took everything from him and told him to redo it and give it to me tomorrow or he wasn't getting any credit. The nerve of some adults. No wonder kids cheat, that's what they are shown is acceptable by the adults in their lives that should be role models.

Think you idiot.

What is the one rule in my classroom? RESPECT.

I have a outside door in my classroom. I have asked the students not to open it without permission. Today, on a FREEZING cold day, 2 of my students were standing there with it open. So, I told them to close it. They decided to almost close it while still standing outside. I, joking around, told another student to shut it so that they would have to go around. Finally, they did and when they came in my room after the bell rang I told them they were tardy (joking around!!) well one student was like "I can't have a tardy I already have 6!" I was still joking told them that it was too bad they shouldn't' have gone out my door. Well the other on FREAKED out. He told me it was Bull S* so I told him he could stay in for lunch and then he went on and on. I told him to go out in the hall and wait for me. He decided to keep going as he was walking out dropping every swear word known to man including the horrendous F word. I told him to go to the office. What a great way to start my week. Now I have to deal with what to do with this kid instead of just dealing with a lame rule breaking that I was trying to handle with a joke.

Why do so many people in this world act without thinking?? If he would have just sat there upset he would have found out that I wasn't going to mark them tardy, I was just trying to prove a point. Then, we could have moved on and never thought about it again. But no, the idiot had to freak out.

I thought I was a teacher. Not a freaking babysitter that gets to get cussed out because some idiot 17 year old decided to lose it today.

inservice

Last week we had a teacher inservice day. I remember when I was a student and I got a day off of school for "teacher inservice" I had NO idea what that meant or what was going on. All I remember is being glad I didn't have to go to school. I didn't think that it meant that teachers has to be in meetings ALL day long. That is what we did on last Thursday. We had a guy come to out district that helps turn schools around. Our school has now had 3 years that we didn't meet AYP. (For you non-educating people that means Annual Yearly Progress. Since No Child Left Behind, every school has to show that they are making improvement every year until we reach the year of accountability.) 3 years is bad. 3 years means our school needs to make some serious changes or the government will step in and make changes for us. Anyways, this guy is supposedly one of the best at helping schools like ours get out of trouble. His name is Roger Taylor, google him if you want... I think he's kind of a big deal. He had some GREAT ideas and philosophy's. A lot of his methods were very similar to what I learned in school but I think very different from what some of the old-timer teachers were taught and do. His whole thing was teaching across the curriculum. He showed how important it was for all of the subjects to be working together towards the goal of educating students and by working together the students will be more successful. I COMPLETELY agree. Who doesn't learn better when taught the same things a ton of different ways by different teachers. It was a good, enlightening day.

Since then, I have decided I need to change things up. Right now our school uses Saxon Math. Anyone who knows anything about math education probably knows that Saxon sucks. I'm sorry, but it does. There is not one thing that I like about it. The books are horrible and don't help the students really learn math. They just push them through the material as fast as they can and hope that they pick it up on the way. I hate it. Currently I am the only one teaching Algebra 1 in the school and so I decided that I didn't want to use the book anymore. I talked to my principal this week and he said if I come up with a method and ideas that he would be ok with that. I am trying to figure out what I really want to do so that I can present it to him and then get started. I know it is going to be a ton of work but I really think that the students will benefit from it. I am excited/apprehensive about it because either it really works and everyone does well on their testing or it sucks and I get blamed for being a bad teacher. If only the stupid idiot who picked these books hadn't been so stupid then I wouldn't be in this position.

So, wish me luck. These next couple of weeks might be crazy as I get this all into place.

Am I teaching Middle School?

The other day I asked my fifth period if they were confused and thought that they were still in middle school because that is how they were acting. I just don't understand why some students think that the things they do is a good idea. Maybe the problem is that they aren't thinking. I told them that I wanted to treat them like they were adults and like they were in high school then they needed to act like it but until then, they act like they're 12 and I'm going to treat them like they're 12. Today I am happy to report was MUCH better. I think that they are trying to earn some respect and privileges. How things have been going lately they are pretty much aren't allowed to do anything. They can't get up without asking, can't work with partners, can't go to the bathroom without giving up a pass which would turn into extra credit if they didn't use it (I have only had to do this with 2 of my classes), can't talk during the warm-up or it turns into a quiz, basically they have to sit there and only speak if they raise their hand or I call on them. I really hate teaching like this and hate myself when the period is over but it is the only thing that brings any sense of organization and calmness to the room. I am hoping that eventually I can lighten up and be myself around them.

I feel like I only write negative things on here so here is something good! I really like my job! I never find myself looking at the clock wishing it would go faster so that I could go home. I like most of my students. I still think that high schoolers are hilarious. It is fun watching how much maturity the seniors have compared to the freshman.

I have a student I am going to call Annie (this isn't her real name but since I haven't asked her permission to write about her I figure I shouldn't use her name.) One day a week or two ago when one of my classes was working on their assignment. There was a group of students sitting in the back corner that wouldn't stop talking and do their work. I gave them their one warning that if they didn't stop chatting and start doing math they would have to move. Well, they didn't stop so I told Annie to move to a seat in the front of the room. After a minute of her trying to figure out if I was serious she finally moved but then she realized I didn't make anyone else move. (the reason I didn't was because she was really the one that was talking the most and by removing her the others got to work) She asked why no one else had to move and I explained it to her. She then proceeded to tell me that "that's bull". I told her we could talk after class. Now, you have to know that in my classroom there is basically one rule and that is to have respect. After class I explained to her that how she was talking to me was not respectful and it needed to change. She just stood there and said ok over and over. I wondered if I was going to have problems with her for the rest of the year. Well, since then she has had some problems outside of my classroom (including being suspended for drinking orange juice and vodka DURING CLASS!) I am the only teacher that gave the office homework for her while she was suspended and since returning has been quite pleasant. She thanked me for caring enough to take the time to give her the missed work and asked if there was anything else she needed to do. Needless to say, I like having her in class for the most part now. I honestly think that she has respect for me now because that is what I expected from the beginning and I have shown her respect as a student. I just wish she wouldn't make such bad choices.

Well, that's all for now. I could write forever but that's just what I've been thinking about lately.

Tired

I am tired today. Yesterday was a struggle and I think that it wore me out for the whole week. I had to re-lecture my crazy 5th period class both yesterday and today. So much for the victory with that class. I think that I am going to have to start assigning more work or giving quizzes or something because just talking to them isn't working so far. I don't want to be a teacher that yells at their students. Usually I try to go the route of they need to be more responsible/respectful and stuff like that but so far, no permanent change. One of my students told me today that she feels sorry for me having to teach that class. I told her it was ok, not all of my classes are that crazy. I actually really enjoyed the other classes today. Mostly I just had them work on worksheets and stuff so I was able to spend most of the period just going around and helping students more one-on-one which is really nice. I think that once I am done teaching and doing the mom thing (someday right?) I will try to tutor kids on the side.

I feel like I am getting into more of a routine which is nice. I am figuring out how I want to do things and stuff like that. I changed the way I am grading homework now and it is going to save me tons of time I think. And, I think that the students will like it a lot better.

Teachers sometimes complain...a lot. I have realized I don't like this about the profession. Keep your moaning to yourself or do something about it.

I started going with a carpool today. So now instead of driving 70 miles a day, I only have to drive once a week! Yay for me and my car and my money!!!

Whew, I made it through the first week.

Well things have been going well. My friend Nick reminded me tonight that I haven't put a second post on here so I guess I'd better do a little more updating. Today marked a week since the first day of school. I think that things are going pretty well so far. I am starting to feel like I am getting settled in. I still don't know all of my student's names. It is by far the thing that I struggle with most as a teacher. You'd think I'd get better at it because I do it so often but I think I'm getting worse. Everyday I think that I have it and then they walk out the door and their name's leave with them. It is like I am re-learning about 175 names every day. Believe it or not, I think that it is harder than it sounds.

I think that I have had my first victory. Last week my 5th period class was a little out of control. They are the only class that have lost the privilege of choosing their own seating chart. On the third day of class I put them where I wanted them to be. Even with the new seating they still NEVER stopped talking. Well, Friday I decided I was tired of it so at the end of the period I had them pack all of their stuff up about 5 minutes before the bell so we could have a discussion about how class was going and how things were going to change. My goal was basically to instill (is that the right word?) the fear into them. I am against yelling at students. I don't think that it helps and I think that it teaches them that to get what they want they have to be mean. I just told them that how things had been going so far was completely unacceptable and if they didn't realize that they needed to be more respectful of me, their peers, and themselves then I would have to change the way that class was run. If they wanted time to work on assignments in class they would need to actually work and stay on task otherwise I would just teach the whole time and they would have loads of homework everyday. So what happened this week? Well, I am happy to report that yesterday and today they were one of my best classes! I don't think that it was only because of our talk though. I think that it is because this week we are actually in the book and have a routine going and they know what is expected and they are a little more settled into the school mentality. But still, I feel pretty good that I didn't have to do anything more than just tell them that what was happening needed to change and it happened.

So overall things are going well. I don't feel as lost as I was feeling last week. I am starting to figure out more about how the school is run and how to do all of the teacher things I have to do other than actually teaching my students. I think that I might even start having fun at work soon! I just wish I could remember their names!

First Day

Today was my first day teaching High School. I can't believe that I made it to this point and that I am finally here. I have been preparing for and thinking about this day for the past three years. Wow, I did it. I am proud of myself.

Everything went pretty well today. I was mostly nervous about the assembly with the whole school at the start of the day. Another new teacher and I sat by each other and when the principal introduced us I just had to stand and wave. Not so bad, right? Well it wouldn't have been if that was all I had to do. The counselor then informed me that they were going to have a walk/dance off with all of the new teachers against some students. Lets just say I felt like my heart was going to beat its way right out of my throat. But I thought about it and decided it wasn't that bad. The students expected me to make a fool of myself so make a fool I did. When it was my turn to go into the circle I got in there and shook my booty right at the competition. I think I got some cheers but I am not sure because I was still freaking out a little bit.

Classes went well. We only had a half day today so I only had to take up like about 30 minutes with talking. I handed out the syllabus and told them how things were set up and stuff like that. I think that I portrayed the feeling that I was going for. I was a nice person and would make class good but I was also strict and expected respect.

I think that I need to be more vocal with the administration because I feel like I still need some training in some things. I don't know how our grading system works or how to do any of the office stuff I have to do. Maybe I'll get the guts up to go and talk to them tomorrow morning. For now, I am just enjoying the fact that I made it this far.