When I sit down to reflect, the thoughts are so jumbled I find myself overwhlemed by the actual direction I want my written thoughts to take. It seems during the day I feel so frustrated and disappointed in the 7th graders this year - they seem overall, mostly unmotivated, even lazy... but then at home, looking back over my day, I remember the good stuff - the perks... the smiles... I guess that is what keeps me going even when I feel the math I am teaching just is not adequately meeting the needs of my classes.

We have been working on fractions for the past few weeks. ICK! There are still a few in each class that have no concept that 4/8 is equal to 1/2. And in the meantime, the rest of us have moved onto adding and subtracting and muliplying and dividing the little buggers - oh I know... differentiation... sure... I do have one small group, a few from each class, who are working from the CMP Comparing & Scaling book on their own. But it is so mind-boggling to try to juggle lessons for several groups within the classroom. I am stretched tooooo thin with special ed students in each class, dicipline problems of the major variety that keep students from my class day after day... Jake is suspended again...gosh.. I miss him.... but it seems he is harassing some other little guy... I don't know... some times I just feel like I wish I could shake them... for not doing their assignments, for being mean to each other, for doing those dumb things 7th graders are known for... and then other times, I think they just need a huge hug....