We never did make it outside for Shadow Rendering. Sometimes Mother Nature has other plans. First day I attempted it, the sun was darting back and forth from cloud to cloud, with no predictability at all. Then the weather turned nasty, rain, snow, cold and icky even on the sunny days.

Now I have been gone for 3 days with my husband's surgery and I know I will be out at least one more day. I hate being gone for so long but unforeseen circumstances out of my control. I just hope the kids did what I left, which was easy, very easy, math worksheets on similar triangles, looking at corresponding sides, proving similarity with ASA, SSS, and SAS principles. Had I been in school, we would have done this in a much more fun, hands on approach, but the worksheets will "work" and are "sub proof" which was what I needed. Next week, they will start an end of year project/webquest. Our textbook series(Glencoe) actually has a great set of these I have never used. I decided to not assign a particular one but allow students to choose which of them they thought looked most appealing. I am also allowing them to work with a partner. I am curious to see how things go.

In the meantime, I am sitting in motel room, tired from 3 long days at the hospital, too pooped to even worry about whether kids really worked in my absence, what kind of behavior report to expect, or even what a mess I will have to take care of when I return. It just doesn't matter.....

Is it just me, or do each group of students who come through seem less willing to think on their own? We've been working on slope, y-intercepts, linear equations, for forever now it seems. Yesterday, I gave them a problem comparing 2 yearbook companies, one which charged $10 per book, the other, a $50 setup fee plus $8 a book. Pretty basic problem - needed to create table for given amounts of books, graph the 2 lines, and make some conclusions such as which place is better deal, explain what the slope and y-intercepts mean in context of problem, etc. I thought it would be super easy.

No way... most of them couldn't even make the table for the values!! come on... give me a break already. So after getting them started on that, then, they can't graph the lines. Then they couldn't write equations.

grrr.....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....................... they DO know how to do all that. Why won't they? Why is it sooooo much easier to feign inability, soooo much more appealing to be helpless, than the actually do it on your own and take a risk at being wrong??

Outside today for shadow rendering? think they can do that... please.... let them be able to do that!!

Is there such a thing as a typical day in 7th grade? If so, I guess that is how today could be described. We started with a 6-12 math department meeting which was simply frustrating. I do NOT understand why high school staff are so reluctant to simply use the State of Michigan's version of an exit exam for Algebra 1, Geometry, etc... When I look at the state's curriculum assessment expectations, I can understand how overwhelming it must be to try to cover all those. But truly, is it any different for them than it is for me? It may actually be somewhat easier at that level because inevitably some students drop out or go to alternative school. It was validating to hear that middle school scores are up and the ensuing recognition of our efforts at that level.

Then off to social studies. We watched a couple of newscasts from Jim Lehr NewsHour about the Sudan. I want students to really understand how deplorable conditions in the refugee camps are. They then started their research on diseases that are prevalent in the camps. They were all working quietly, engrossed (or grossed out... ) in their individual pursuits online so I ran to the 8th grade math teacher's classroom to ask about our earlier department meeting. She was just as frustrated as I so we talked longer than I should have been gone. On the way back to my room, I bumped into the principal and he and I chatted a minute or so. All together, I might have been gone 5 minutes. However, on returning to my room, they were off-task, jabbering away and goofing off. I gave my little "you don't need me here to know what you should be doing" speech to deaf ears.

The rest of the morning was quiet, relatively. Math and pre-algebra classes, I quickly reviewed one last time on slope, y-intercepts and linear equations. Then I passed out the quiz. WOW.. some of them ROCKED, some that I never thought would "get it"! and then, some of my normal 'A' kids, bombed it. **sigh** One young man stayed after to see what he missed - why he had gotten a 10%. Without fail, he could answer each question. When I asked him what happened, he said he was just confused earlier. I don't understand at all.... I just do not!!

But we are moving on, writing and solving 2 step equations in math and working on percents/fractions/proportions in pre-algebra.

another day in 7th grade....

We played the board games the kids made about Life in the Sahara. It was so cute to see them trying to decipher each other's rules and understand exactly what they were supposed to do. They had to fill out evaluations of the games they played and they were very honest and helpful in their comments. I was impressed!

One partnership made a very cool Monopoly Sahara Edition but somehow forgot to make property cards! Otherwise, it was an amazing game.

Overall, most of the games were fun and educational, really turned out to be a worthwhile activity though it seemed like it took forever!

At school on Sunday, getting ready for the week is always a time of reflection and panic, especially as the end of the year nears. It always seems there is so much I want to do with these 7th graders, so many things to teach them, so many activities to share, but time, time, time is always pressing in on me.

We have 7 more weeks of school left, with one of those spent at camp. So I have 6 weeks left to cover everything the state says I must, and make sure I have covered it well enough they actually retain it until next fall on their MEAP test. I have so many concerns about that when they seem unable to retain info from day to day!

We've been working on balancing 2 step equations in math class this past week. They, for the most part, seem to understand the process but what bogs them down is the lack of knowledge of basic math facts and their inability to remember how to deal with negative integers. It seemed last fall when we covered that, they were doing well and we've used it on multiple occasions since then, but now, too many of them, when asked what -11 - 19 is, cannot come up with the correct answer. It is frustrating to be unable to move on because they have not made those skills their own yet.

It has been fun using the graphing calculators though. By forcing students, especially my pre-algebra kids, to think and work on their own, I have seen so much growth in them. They are always so reluctant to try for fear of being wrong, and these activities have tremendously pushed them outside their comfort zones. I love seeing them THINK!

Tomorrow, we finally get to play the board games they have been making in social studies on Life in the Sahara. It seemed like the day would never come with extension after extension of time to work because they were so engrossed and engaged in their creations. I can't wait for them to share with each other tomorrow.

I cancelled my math curriculum meeting tomorrow, as well as Michigan Mathematics Program Improvement Project meeting on Wednesday. I just do not feel like I can be gone anymore this year. I know all that work is important but my classroom and my kids are my #1 priority.

My social studies class is making games about Life in the Sahara as one of the project choices from the lesson plan I found at NewsHour Extra. (There were other project choices, but all but one student chose to make a game.) They are so amazingly creative in their game boards. I can't wait for them to get to play with each other's games.

My struggle with 2 of the boys though, seems to shadow everything else. They refuse to do anything productive. Both of them are the kind who are frequently suspended and failing all or most of their classes. I was excited to see them draw a game board and actually get started. But of course, they lost interest after that, and have nothing else to go along with the board. They cut up a few pieces of paper but didn't get questions written. I tried to offer help and suggestions and resources, but of course, it was all for naught. It doesn't seem to matter at all what we do in class, easy book worksheets, fun projects, games, computer activities, movies, nothing grabs their attention. I feel at a loss to help them....

If you have never checked out the lessons offered by this website, I suggest you look at them. Many great resources, as well as complete lesson plans with online articles and in some cases, newscasts to supplement the activities.

Wow.. it's nice to be back to school today after a snow day yesterday. Who wouldn't love the irony of April Fool's Day being a snow day!!

We started the school day with a staff meeting, scheduling concerns for next year. On the one hand, I appreciate being asked what our thoughts and concerns and wants are as far as next year goes. But on the other hand, do we really have ANY say? The budget constraints really decide what happens. The contract decides how many hours we will teach. Our certifications decide where/what we will be teaching. It seems almost as if asking makes it worse. So many staff members make requests from their own perspective, without regard or consideration for the school as a whole, what is reasonable, or what is even best for kids.

I know.. I sound down... maybe just a little. I long for the days when we had enough staff to creatively schedule, do things "outside the box" and experiment. Now, with decreasing enrollment and staff, we are so locked into the only possibilities that it seems overwhelming to even try and think about the what might work better ideas....

**sigh**

YEEEHHHHAAAWWW!!!! What a cool day it was in math! The kids loved the calculators and were so intrigued by the ease of making graphs on the calculators, they kind of got lost in the fact they were writing linear equations, looking at inversely proportional relationships, learning about y-intercepts, and thinking about math in a totally new way. I love my job, I love my job, I love my job :-) I can't wait until tomorrow to do MORE!! We have a few more activities to do together and then I have some copies of things they can try on their own. It will be interesting to see how many of them are willing to push to accomplish all the tasks offered!

I should title this post You Might be a Geek..... 6th hour yesterday, one of the secretaries from Central Office called to say I had a huge package, something like a suitcase, waiting for me, so I sent a couple of girls to fetch it.

I had totally forgotten requesting a set of calculators from Texas Instruments. When I opened the black crate and saw those shiny TI 84 Plus Silver Editions, I was soooo excited! I brought one home to play with and spent about a couple of hours last night familiarizing myself with the calculator and its functions. I simply cannot wait for Monday to share this with the kids!

In all actuality, I should wait a few days to use them, but I am so totally geeked up I know we are going to use them Monday in all 3 classes. My two math classes have some experience with slope, y-intercepts and linear equations, but not really enough to do much on the calculators but I think just using the graphing function to see how slope and y-intercepts change the graph, looking at non-linear equations, and playing with exponents will be enough to hook them.

My prealgebra kids however, don't have much experience even in slope so they really are not ready to do many of those things. But this is such a bright group of kids, I know they will pick up on the concepts quickly.

The coolest thing.. we just spent Thursday and Friday on Building a Garden Gate where they looked at how a fixed perimeter changes areas and side lengths. Students graphed all the possible side lenght combos for a 60 ft perimeter fence two ways, one comparing side lenght 1 to side length 2, which is actually a simple linear equation, as well as graphed length of side lenght one compared to the area. I am hoping to use this actitivty as a springboard for writing equations and using the graphing calculator. I think since they just made their own graphs, using the calculators will be more meaningful.

My husband is a math phobe as well as a technology phobe. When I was able to have him write the equations as well as use the calculator to make the graphs, seeing the excitement on his face, I KNEW my 7th graders were going to be totally geeked about this.

My biggest concern for Monday is those SLOW laggers who are always a couple of steps behind. This will be a whole class activity, with me walking them step by step through the process, but I can already predict which of my little lovelies will fall behind. I am not sure how to deal with them, other than type out step by step instructions, which most likely they wouldn't follow anyway... and that would give some others a license to forge forward without understanding what we are doing, so I refuse to do that, at least for this intial exposure to the calculators.

TI has so many cool activites posted on their website, I am sure I can find followup activities to use as well. I only have the calculators for a month so I want to make sure I use them as much as possible.

So yes, call me a geek... I love trying something new!!

This morning was another camp meeting for adults involved in camp. We took care of odds and ends, trying to finalize classes, etc. That is the easy part. The tough part is who do we take to camp and who do we leave behind.

Sometimes, it is obvious a student should not go. Fighting, swearing, insubordination, etc... when they happen persistently and consistently across the board, repeatedly, it makes our decision easy. However, it always seems there are those gray area kids we debate about. The one who stole the teacher's edition of the math book to copy answers, the one who misses at least a day a week, the girls who are so exclusionary with their behaviors it borders on bullying. These are the kids we struggle to make decisions about.

My problem is I want to take them all, each and every one of them... OK, maybe not EVERY one of them ;-) Guess that's why we get paid the BIG $$$, eh?

The house plan projects are done for another year. Unlike the best scenario, where we go outside to build full scale models, like described in this Education World article, this year we stayed in and out of the deep snow to make to scale drawings/blueprints or to scale models of our houses.

A drawing was required. A model was extra credit. About a third of students chose to make a model. Two of the better ones are shown here. I was amazed, as I always am, at the creativity and dedication to excellence some of my students showed in their projects. Wooden decks, staircases, furniture... wow... How cool these models are!

I wish there were more projects like this that address the Grade Level Content Expectations I am expected to meet, and are fun, engaging and meaningful for students.!

Just a quick Happy Spring post with a couple of pics out my classroom window. This is what spring looks like in Newberry!

Sorry they are a bit blurry - I did actually take them through the screen of the window :-)

I am part of the Red Cedar Writing Project from Michigan State University. Recently a controversial topic sparked my interest on the listserve. Here is my reply to one post:
Part of Marcus's list.....

"Short Term:

1) Teach all Black boys to read at grade level by the third grade and to embrace education

2) Provide positive role models for Black boys

3) Create a stable home environment for Black boys that includes contact with their fathers>>>

4) Ensure that Black boys have a strong spiritual base

5) Control the negative media influences on Black boys

6) Teach Black boys to respect all girls and women

Long Term

1) Invest as much money in educating Black boys as in locking up Black men

2) Help connect Black boys to a positive vision of themselves in the future

3) Create high expectations and help Black boys live into those high expectations

4) Build a positive peer culture for Black boys

5) Teach Black boys self-discipline, culture and history

6) Teach Black boys and the communities in which they live to embrace education and life-long learning"

Another perspective:My question is why do we need to set those goals ONLY for black boys? Whynot for Native American males? Why not for the girls in our schools? Whynot for white boys caught in a hopeless foster care system? Why not forHispanic children?

I am not denying the statistics for black males as being dire, however,society is also allowing all our children to fall through the cracks. Wespend more on prisons, war, unemployment and politics than we do oneducation and health care for EVERYONE in this country. Children are no longer taught to respect authority, appreciate education,or even a basic dedication to excellence and a work ethic. It seems everyone and every group is out for themselves, without regard for whatbenefits the larger picture.

The list in the begining of this post should be rewritten and become the MISSION STATEMENT of our country, and every school therein:
Short Term
1) Teach ALL CHILDREN to read at grade level by the third grade and to embrace education
2) Provide positive role models for ALL CHILDREN
3) Create a stable home environment for ALL CHILDREN that includes contactwith their fathers
4) Ensure that ALL CHILDREN have a strong spiritual base
5) Control the negative media influences on Black boys
6) Teach ALL CHILDREN to respect all girls and women
Long Term
1) Invest as much money in educating ALL CHILDREN as in locking up PEOPLE
2) Help connect ALL CHILDREN to a positive vision of themselves in thefuture
3) Create high expectations and help ALL CHILDREN live into those highexpectations
4) Build a positive peer culture for ALL CHILDREN
5) Teach ALL CHILDREN self-discipline, culture and history
6) Teach ALL CHILDREN and the communities in which they live to embrace education and life-long learning

I live in a small rural community with few blacks (This is my 13th year teaching here and I have my first 2 black students this year), a fair number of Native Americans, and an overwhelming sense of despair,unemployment and "there's no reason to get an education because it won't help me anyway" attitude. By refocusing our political and financial priorities in this country to promote the above ideals, wouldn't ALL CHILDREN benefit?

Meme:Passion Quilt

I was recently tagged by Nancy Flanagan to be a part of the ever growing Passion Quilt.

My image to the left shows what I am passionate about: kids DOING math. Not worksheets, not rote memorization, but actually making their own meaning of math.

I want students to leave my room with a feeling that math may be, no, make that math IS hard, but they CAN do it. I try to make math meaningful, fun and active.

I hereby tag the following and ask them to submit their posts to the Passion Quilt:

Erica Roberts

Rebecca Lawson

Sara Van Abel

Beverly Maddox

Tena Linsbeck-Perron

Here are the rules
Passion Quilt Meme Rules:

1. Think about what you are passionate about teaching your students.

2. Post a picture from a source like FlickrCC or Flickr Creative Commons or make/take your own that captures what YOU are most passionate about for kids to learn about…and give your picture a short title.

3. Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt” and link back to this blog entry.

4. Include links to 5 folks in your professional learning network or whom you follow on Twitter/Pownce.
And here's a link to the Original Rock-On Boy, The Tempered Radical, Bill Ferriter.

The flu, hacking coughs, cold, etc... have been rampant lately. For some reason, the powers that be at our school decided the way to slow the spread of germs was to not allow students access to the water fountains. In theory, students are to bring their own water bottle, but in reality, many forget, or it is warm, or they drink it all before day's end. It is so pointless to me. Most of these viruses are airborne, and unless we quarantine sick students and staff, we are unlikely to slow the spread until spring break.

In math and prealgebra, we are drawing to-scale models of student homes. Most are working, digging in, enjoying the challenge. However, 5th hour, the majority of students still have not brought in their measurements at all. It is frustrating and I am not sure what to do. Many students in the other 2 classes have chosen to build a model instead of simply drawing the floor plan. Many are using cardboard, but others are building with toothpicks and popsicles sticks. I can't wait to see their final products!

Two more days until break... thank goodness.. we are all sick, tired and in great need of a break.

Is there a full moon or a storm brewing? (OK, yes there is a snowstorm on the horizon!) Today was a tough day especially 5th hour. It started out with KB without book or pencil as usual. That I can handle. But then, he reached over and tore the page in A's book! Why in the world... she is one of those really nice, but terribly whiny girls anyway. Please do not give her reason to whine more! I sent him out... **sigh** Back to teaching math! Things are going well... until P writes a big red KKK on the back of her notebook and flashes it to MK, one of the only 2 black students on 7th grade. She ends up suspended for 3 days, and that is on the tails of being gone for 1 1/2 and just coming back today. Then TJ sprays cologne all over.

All in 20 minutes or so....... thank goodness the rest of the day went smoother!

Last hour prealgebra played a cool game out of the book called Juniper Green. It was a factor/multiple game and they had a BLAST, begging to play again!! Easy to do, easy to monitor and great practice on these concepts.

How could I forget MEAP scores??? I know they are not official, and I know they are not public yet.... so shhhhh...... but this year's 8th graders... when they came in 6th grade, 69% were proficent, then at begining of 7th grade, they fell to 61% proficient, but THEN.. drum roll please.... at the begining of 8th grade!! 73% proficient!! Validation comes at a sweet price. I hate high stakes tests.. I am not sure they measure anything accurately... but then again, I love when my scores validate my teaching!!

Slope Mania was FUN. The kids begged to play again. Today was a quick quiz on how to find slope 2 ways - sneaky writing in math class assignment as well. I was impressed! Almost all A's and B's on it!! How cool is that? The 3 that didn't get those scores - I could have predicted, unfortunately.

The one young man cannot read or write, but even when I had him orally answer me, he couldn't use the words RISE over RUN, nor could he explain the formula. The closest he got to anything was saying the numbers increased sort of alike in the table.

Young man #2 does not care - he misses soooo much school. If he isn't suspended, he is hunting or fishing or something. When he is in school, it seems life is just difficult. I have him in social studies as well as math and he tries my patience constantly. He comes late more days than he comes on time. He disrupts others, doesn't have a pencil, does very little work... I could go on and on.

Young man #3, I am not sure what happened. He is usually a good student, and I will touch base with him in seminar tomorrow to see if he can somehow get a more accurate description down on paper for me. He struggles with graphing for some reason but I think he CAN find slope. I am going to have to explore a bit more with him.

Today we did a couple of REALLY difficult slope activities - the hardest one gave the students the slope and Y-intercept and from that, they had to graph the line. It is kind of backwards logic and many of them struggled. However, just as many enjoyed the challenge and really worked at solving the logic of the activity. I was impressed!

My first 2 research papers were turned in today in social studies. WOW... I was impressed. Granted, I expected those 2 to do well, but they did extremely well... EXTREMELY well!! Even their bibiliographies shined.

I spent all afternoon baking heart shaped cookies for Valentine's Day. I feel like a cookie with frosting and sugar all over me. The kiddies will be thrilled though.

PreAlgebra took a mid-chapter test yesterday. Woohooo... They did awesome!! Today an 8th grader came and taught class. He asked to before but I told him he had to come get a book, and be prepared. He did a great job, but I don't think he will be back. He was a bit overwhelmed by the end of the hour with the questions and constant attention of all the girls.

I have to make a decision about our house project.... I don't know whether to have them do it at all, just draw plans, or do full-fledged models. I kind of want to do models with this small group and let them experience the process, but the thought of all that mess and confusion is a bit overwhelming as well. We start proportions tomorrow, with scale factor right on its heels so I must decide soon!!

Slope mania this afternoon. I hope it goes as well as I think it will? I have huge graphs laminated, baggies with dice with positive and negative numbers on them, data sheets, bingo chips, meter sticks, write on wipe off markers... all set to go.

The idea is to give them some slope practice in a fun way. They roll the 4 dice- the green are x values, the red are y's. One green and one red have negative signs on them. They then sort into 2 pairs, place a bingo chip at those points represented by the ordered pairs from dice. Use meter stick to connect points in line. They calculate slope as well as estimate y-intercept.

That sounds like fun, right???? maybe not if you are in 7th grade... **sigh**

Some days, you simply have to laugh. Yesterday was one of those days. First hour, my little Amy Sunshine didn't feel well. We called mom who is a teacher in high school and she said to give Amy an ibuprofen. I did, but Amy didn't feel well still so I let her sleep through first hour. After about 30 minutes of snoozing, she lifted her head and threw up all over, and threw up some more, and threw up some more. We evacuated into the hall while the custodian came and made our room smell better. Amy went home, but the memory lingered.

5th hour Melon Head Merissa didn't feel well. Hmmmm.. she sat at Amy's table first hour, had basketball practice with Amy before school, and was the one who walked Amy to Mom's classroom. When Merissa woke from her nap during math class, with that panicked look on her face, I was quicker! I grabbed the garbage and shoed her to restroom. She made it in time.

Today 3 more from my social studies class stayed home sick and 3 more went home sick... yikes.. when will it hit ME??? Hopefully, never!!

I am frustrated with kids who "don't get it" but don't want to accept responsibility for learning on their own at all. Kids who do their homework sometimes... who do not come before school or during seminar to get help... who won't participate in class...Kids who go home and tell parents we won't help them.. kids who lie.. kids who copy answers from math teacher text -- well, "see margin" does NOT make sense for an answer, DUH!! .... kids who think not doing work is an option....

I love the kids who come for extra help, who ask questions, who struggle and try and struggle and try and then finally the light bulb comes on and they are as excited as you that they've gotten it! I love kids who laugh at themselves and their mistakes and are willing to take a chance at being wrong. I love kids who are willing to make school a priority. I love kids who laugh and joke and ask to do more math problems because they think they might almost get it. I love kids who say do another example. I love kids who ask to redo their 85%. I love kids who dig through the bookshelves looking for another book by the same author. I love kids who come and get their work before they are gone for the rest of the day.

**sigh** thank goodness the I LOVE's outweigh the others by a ton...

:) We all need good days that follow bad ones... Today was a GOOD one. Yesterday, I did some butt chewing about the chapter test the day before, laying it on thick about how disappointed I was. I gave several examples of "bad answers", the ones that showed me the students did not even BOTHER to try to get the correct answer.

I spent about 20 minutes reviewing the highpoints of the chapter, gave back the tests with instructions to REDO. Amazingly enough, the scores soared. I felt a huge sigh of relief and a weight being lifted.

Today I brought in my cool new tech toy, a CPS Chalkboard, similar to a tablet computer but on a cheaper scale. All 3 of my math classes used it to sketch graphs. It was SOOOOOO much fun. We learned a lot about graphs, slopes, variables, independent and dependent variables, etc... but even more, we learned that we CAN laugh together and have fun learning.

The using the chalkboard is inherently laughter filled. It is tough to write with this stylus on a surface which does not show your marks. The projector image on the whiteboard seems to create itself as laughter from the drawer and the audience fills the classroom.

The highpoint of the day was when one of my better regular math kids decided to take the first try at the chalkboard. His line took on a mind of its own, right when I was taking a huge slug of my diet Mt. Dew. Frustrated, he yelled, "POOP!" which made everyone giggle including me with my mouthful of soda, which only spewed a little bit :-) It was just such a natural normal reaction and not a typical reaction for this usually quiet young man, it struck me off guard.

It was wonderful to end the week on a high note. I feel better.....

Sometimes, teaching seventh grade is like trying make a snowman in July or fish for ocean perch in your aquarium.

Such it seems is the case with my 2 math classes lately. We just finished the chapter on fractions. Now, please keep in mind that MOST of the chapter should have been review from about 4th grade on..... HOWEVER, MOST of my kids FAILED the test miserably.

I don't know what else to do. I really do not. They do not want to try, they do not want to practice, they do not want to do fractions. Repeatedly they tell me they have never done them before, they do not get them, they hate fractions, etc.....

It is a self-fullfilling prophecy with them, it really truly is. They cannot even take 3/4 and write it as a decimal! And, yes, I have shown them visuals, they have drawn them... we have talked about money... I have done everything I know to try to help them...

Do I force retakes like I usually do for less than 70%?? That would mean all but about 10 of the 40 would be retaking.

Do I let the train leave the station without them all onboard? Do I take more class time even when I think it will NOT make a difference at all???

Someone... please, tell me the answer!!

In the meantime, we are doing something else tomorrow.. totally unrelated..... please let them be more receptive and grant me patience..............

Back to school :-) Yesterday was our first day back and I will admit I was a bit reluctant to return after only a week and half off but now that I am here, wow, did I miss the kids!!

Social studies - we are starting research papers. I am quite sure I am in over my head with this project but I think my kids need to experience research from print sources. They will not be allowed to use the internet at all for this paper. They are so ingrained in the google, askjeeves, cut and paste world and I want them to really dig, learn, think, and reflect as they write. Our librarian will work with them Monday to teach them research skills. They each choose 3 countries in Europe they would like to research and gave reasons for their choices. From there, I assigned countries. Almost every student got his/her first choice.

I have tried to design the project with scaffolded parts to make it likely most will experience success. I do have some concerns with a couple of my students. I have 3 special ed kids and one major behavior problem in my class. I also have 3 who have chronic attendance problems. These will be the most challenging for me.

First -- notecards, then outline, then rough drafts... then, voila.. a final research paper!!

Part of me wanted to let them choose some topic, let this really be their own design, but I was worried with not being able to use the internet, sources might be difficult to find. Our small library is somewhat limited in its resources and I don't want that to be an issue.

Later in the year, we will do another paper, where they can choose their topic. Hopefully, this will set the stage for that experience.

My math class is finishing up the fractions chapter. YUCK!! I am as tired of it as the kids are. We are reviewing today and tomorrow with a short chapter test Monday. Their grades are overall low right now... partly due to the before break lazies, partly due to them hating fractions, and partly due to simple lack of effort on their part. They had one project before Christmas - to find a recipe, half it, and triple it.. half of my kids did not do it! they had 2 weeks to complete it but just did not bother! It is frustrating... it was a relatively easy assignment, fun... but so many of them just do not do something that must be done outside of class.

PreAlgebra is cruising right along. We are factoring monomials and they are doing GREAT. I love having a high group that just GETS IT!! I feel like we move at the speed of light in there compared to my other classes. I do feel badly sometimes that I don't take enough time to do "fun" things with them. That is my goal for this second semester. To find more activities to enrich their lessons which will be engaging and motivating.

Snow, snow, snow... we are in the mid winter gloomy days where I come to work in the dark, and often times, it is dark when I get home....

Wow, can it actually be almost Christmas break already?? It seems like just yesterday I was getting my classroom ready for the school year.

Today we heard our guest speaker, an associate of Robert Marzano (I have forgotten his name.. my apologies...). While much of his stuff is good, real, and easily applicable, none of it is anything we've not all heard before. The comments were typical - ED101 all over again, I already DO this stuff, etc...

Some of the teachers I sat with, yes, I agree it was a waste of time for. However, those were the most engaged among to 150 or so in the room. The naysayers are the ones I wish he had a way to capture, the ones who think they are doing it all already, but in reality, are not reaching students effectively, with the curriculum, on a personal level, or any other way. It is not my place to make judgements, so I shall try not to... I just hear the kids talk about other teachers, other classes, and I listen to the comments those same teachers make about their jobs, the kids, and how it all fits together. And I wonder today... why would you not try to take something positive from a speaker such as this.

Even THE most amazing teacher can improve, learn, and take something away from today. I came with a renewed sense of validation for somethings I do, an impetous to re-evaluate others, and a determination to find ways to reach all learners on a daily basis.

Some ideas I take back... I need to get back on track with Math Starters each day for at least Math 4th and 5th hour and PreAlgebra. These focus students at the begining of the hour, as well as link yesterday's learning with today's. Such sound educational stuff... why have I let it go?? Time.. time.. time... It takes time to think about meaningful writing assignments each day. I MUST make the time!

I also want to think about how to have students do more reflecting on their own efforts. It seems to lend itself easily to projects, but I think perhaps each Friday I can have students truly LOOK at their efforts for the week, and how those efforts have impacted their learning, and ultimately, their grades (the bottom line for 7th graders and their parents).

I feel validated for the relationships I build with students, standing in the hall before class, greeting them by name, asking about their basketball or hockey game, their new haircut, their dog... I think that is my strong suit as a teacher - I relate well to the kids I teach, I truly LIKE them, I truly enjoy being at work. I look forward to coming to school each day.

I want to work more effectively for students to become more responsible for their own learning. I want them to become independent, more able to problem-solve on their own. I want to read the Marzano book more....

All in all.. it was tough to sit and git all day. I am NOT a good student. However, the group of us who sat together were totally on task, even if we were chatty - our conversations were entirely rooted in the speaker's ideas.

I feel confident we can bring some of his enthusiasm back to the middle school to bring about positive change!!

My thoughts today will anger some, I know. We are working without a contract and negotiations are ongoing and now in "crisis" mode. The union has decided teachers should work to rule, standing outside in the snow and cold until 7:50, walk in together, then all leave together at precisely 3:10, adhering strictly to the contract. IF you have more work to do, it is OK to come back later, or so I was told.

I get to school each morning at approximately 7 a.m. I like to be here before everyone else gets here. There is no line at the copier, there are no kids wanting to chat, there are no teachers wandering gossiping, and I can get my self ready for the day.

After school, the halls are filled with running kids, gossiping teachers, people.... and I cannot get anything done.

I also have things to do outside of school in the afternoons. I go work out somedays (not nearly enough!). I go to the credit union, post office, drug store, etc... Those are things I cannot do before school.

The union feels we are sending a message to the adminstration and school board by doing this. What message are we sending? They think we will gain public support for our plight.

I think they are wrong on both counts!! Administration and the board do not care what hours we work as long as we get our job done. The public in our small town with few paying jobs views us as whiners.

I understand that I would not have all the benefits I have without the union having worked on my behalf. I get that. However, I also GET that we are losing kids, we are losing state funding, and we cost more and more each year in our health care premiums. I think we are unreasonable when we think we can have what we always did, get a regular raise and never give up anything.

I appreciate my job. I appreciate my paycheck. I appreciate my benefits. However, I did not become a teacher thinking I was going to make gadzoockles of money. I expected to work long hours, for less than adequate compensation. I am not a martyr. I think teachers should make 10 times what they make. I think pro athletes and entertainers get paid 10 times what they should.

However, me standing outside in the cold until 7:50 will change nothing, except make me less competent in my classroom. If I COULD work from 7:50 to 3:10 and accomplish all I need to accomplish, I would be thrilled! Please..... someone tell me how!! My coming in later will only lead to my being more stressed, less prepared, and will certainly not lessen my workload.

I am here for the kids.... I love my job.... I love my kids... and I will NOT stand out in the cold and look foolish to parents and community members to prove a point I do not believe in.

Toot, toot, tootie frooties!!!

A few students actually finished up today!! I am not sure their projects are 'A' quality, but I did make sure every little task was completed before I allowed them to turn them in. Others are getting close. Even in 5th hour, things are falling into place.

My little Derek today.... oh gosh... you know how you have that ONE who can always make you laugh without even meaning to??? THAT is Derek. He is this tiny little 7th grader. Here he sits, with one leg crossed under the other in his chair, working away. For some reason, apparent only in Derek-land, he leans down under his table, still cross-legged. The position becomes a Chinese fingertrap of sorts and there he is, a tiny voice from under the table, "help, help, I'm stuck" with his head trapped under the edge of the table. As I try to get up and head to him, the boy next to him gives the chair a swift kick which loosens the trapped child.

It was a frustrating day too though. First thing this morning, walking through the 8th grade hall, a young man has a hat on, so I ask him to take it off, and get an argument back, rude comments. I turn around and go back and force the issue, and he does remove it. Knowing him from last year, I think to myself, "It's going to be one of THOSE days. I am glad he has moved on to 8th grade and I don't have to deal with him." A few minutes later, guess who turns up in the 7th grade hall with 2 huge rubberbands looped together poised in aim? Yep!! I yell his name as I lurch to grab it before it can make its target. Another kind talk and direction to leave the 7th grade hall and move on. Again, I think,"WHEW!"

About half an hour into first hour, I have a question for the secretary so I pop next door into the office. No secretary, but there sits the miscreant from the hall episodes, detention slip in hand. I reluctantly ask why he is there and get a story about someone hitting him first but he admitted retaliation. Shaking my head, I tell him Mrs. C will be back soon.

Ten minutes later, some little devil on my shoulder tells me... "GO BACK TO THE OFFICE!"

There he is, still alone, but standing over the secretary's desk. I tell him to sit and I will be right back. Zipping back to my own class, I see they are all working diligently, surfing National Geographic sites about Antarctica. Back and forth for another 10 minutes until I give up and try all the principal myself. I finally track him down in Central Office and leave a message for him.

A few minutes later, the secretary returned, and eventually the principal showed up and gave him the slip for the young man describing the incident. I piped up, me and MY big mouth!! and told him about the 2 incidents in the hall in the morning. But for some reason, even with all those incidents before school had been in session for half an hour, the kid gets sent back to class. I knew it was wrong... I knew he would continue that routine for the day until he got suspended. I know the kid.... and sure enough, he was suspended by lunch. Set up to fail....

I know being an adminstrator is tough, I get that.. I don't ever want to sit in that seat... but when you are new at the game, you need to listen to those who know the kids, and know their patterns......

**SIGH** does every day end with a huge sigh????

Whew.... yes, I still love Tootie Frooties, but I am TIRED. Most students are working diligently with minimal help. However, there are a couple in each class who cannot/will not do anything independently. It is so incredibly frustrating when you KNOW they CAN do it alone, but they want you to tell them every single little step every single time they do it.

I have a few of those kids this year, who will ask and ask and ask... simple things like: where is the lined paper (on the bookcase above where you turn in homework...), what day is it(it is written on the board EVERY day...), what do I need for class (it is written on the board outside my door), should I write my name on my paper (DUH!!).... and on and on and on.. I know, I know.. they just want attention but it is wearing on one's very soul when other kids honestly NEED help with their work and those few suck every moment and ounce of energy out of you.

**sigh**

Tootie Frooties AHOY :-)

One of my favorite math projects is always Tootie Frooties. I buy those cheap off-brand Fruit Loops lookalikes cereal by the bag. Each student gets a cup full of cereal. We collect the color distribution data as a class. Then each student makes 4 graphs - a bar graph of their data and one of the class data, then a circle graph of their data and the class data. A series of guiding questions follow. The graphs all go together on a small poster. The displays are fun, colorful, and decorate my classroom.

The circle graphs are tough for kids. None of the math is really all that difficult but there are soooo many steps involved, for many students the process is tedious. It really is a learning process for them to remember what to do next in the sequence of steps but by the time they have the circle graphs completed, most are doing great.

Once, a student even used actual Tootie Frooties to create their bar graph. It was AWESOMELY cool.

The downside? Tootie Frooties EVERYWHERE the first day... then, the work days are always somewhat chaotic as they work at their pace, some of them on task, some of them needing constant prodding to get them to do what needs done.

Thursday is opening day of deer season and is like a holiday in the UP.. I will have a large number of kids gone. Project work days works well for this!! I wasn't thinking though, in social studies. We have a unit test Friday, which means Thursday is review day. Oh well, those kids will just HAVE to review on their own.

Yesterday we had our first parent teacher conferences of the year. It always makes for a LONG day but I really enjoy getting to meet my students' parents. As you talk to parents, you see so much of each child in mom and dad!

Several parents insisted 7th grade math must be easier than 6th grade math because their child is having such a better year this year. They are surprised when I insist the curriculum is much tougher, really the transition between arithmetic and algebra.

I try to find positive things to say about each child, and for most it is so easy. This group really is a fun group and I have enjoyed them so far, despite the occasional glitches.

I always leave conferences with a sigh of relief and a sense of self-doubt from the positive comments. I love to hear I am doing a great job, but there is always that tiny voice in the back of my head saying, "NO WAY!! YOU ARE INADEQUATE!!" So when parents say I am their child's favorite teacher, or share stories of older siblings I have had who are doing great now and they attribute that to me, or tell me how much their child is learning this year, or praises my methods or philosophies, it is humbling and rewarding. one of the many perks of being in a job I do love...

We started our next unit today, one of my favorites - data. I started with a cool activity. I had each student grab a handful of wooden blocks. We then used the number of blocks each student had to review line plots, bar graphs, as well as mean, median and mode. The entire hour had them up, moving, interacting, and hopefully, learning. Nothing we covered today was earth shattering or new, but served as a great intro to the unit.

I am concerned though, about some of the other things I would like to do. This group seems unable, unwilling, to listen, follow instructions, be respectful, etc... Today, there were blocks all over the floor, people with sticky notes on their faces, loud comments, stolen blocks, etc.. I have real concerns about giving them raisin, or frooties tooties, or Skittles to count.

I wish somehow they could see the connection between their behavior and the consequences but for some of them, it just doesn't click!

Last Friday was our first big chapter test in my regular 7th grade math classes. It was a huge shocker, like always, to them that I was not going to accept less than a 70% for their score.

I had to take the test away from 2 young men who were talking during the quiz. After contacting parents, both of them came in before school today to retake. Both were humbled. It was a wonderful experience to see that parents are supportive and concerned about their children. Both left my room this morning with 97% on their tests :-) I couldn't be happier!

I am gone AGAIN tomorrow but it was promised to me I would have a different sub. I don't blame the previous one for my kids' lack of respect, I just think it was bad fit. I am curious to see how they handle themselves tomorrow.

Of course, we are expecting our first snow storm of the year tonight - only 4-7 inches, but the first snow is always SOOOO exciting. I would love to be at school to see all the excitement tomorrow!!

I blog today with a heavy heart about teaching. My superintendent asked me to a be a part of the Michigan Mathematics Program Improvement team for our Intermediate School District. It requires me to attend 6 days of training, broken into 3 2 day sessions. Then I will be involved with delivering the same training to teachers in our district.

The training is wonderful, in depth, usable, interesting.... extraordinary PD.

However, I am gone from my classroom. The first 2 day training, Day One my sub did not show and I was covered by the elem principal, the athletic director, whichever warm body could be found for the hour all day. The next day, a retired elementary teacher was in for me. The kids loved her.

This time, when I told my students who my sub was to be, they groaned. I gave them the whole speech about I don't choose the subs and they must simply make the best of it, blah, blah...

When I was gone, I got emails and phone calls - the kids were horrible! Rude, disrespectful, walking out of class... the principal even had to come in to talk to them one day. How embarassing! But today, back in the classroom, I am even more torn. From the kids side of the story, and even the principal's story, the sub is unrealisitic in her expectations for middle schoolers. She expects them to sit and work and be quiet, entirely quiet for the entire 60 minute class period. No wonder they revolt!

I don't want to ever be gone, but unfortunately, when you assume leadership roles, sometimes you must be gone.

How do I balance all this? How do I mange to do the things I must do which take me out of the classroom, expect students to behave respectfully when I am gone, when I cannot trust the sub to treat them equally as respectfully?

Part of me wants to come down hard on the students, and I will give them my "no matter what you know what I expect speech" but at what point does it matter????

I don't know what the solution is, and maybe that is just it.. there is no solution....

I just know I will be gone again on Thursday and I am torn.....

**sigh**

The kids are back!! The kids are back!! How cool is it to be a teacher and get PAID to go to school every day???

Day one, ok, technically day 1/2 is done. My classes this year are so small. It is in sharp contrast to last year. My largest is only 22 kids!! WOW!! Just the sheer lack of volume makes it seem easier already.

So far, so good. Of course, with about 24 minutes per class, it went super fast. A few tried to push the buttons but then again, without something to totally occupy them, what did I expect? I forgot to have them fill out their little first day info sheets :-( Tomorrow..

I am excited. This group seems eager to learn, eager for all life has to share with them. I am eager to be a part of their experience!

The following is something I wrote and sent home with my parent letters this year:

Prayer for My Teaching
Cossondra George


May the power of children flow through me.
May their innocence and wisdom be strong.
May their words and their actions inspire me,
Be the map that guides me along.
May their searching for truths be my reasons,
My encouragement to seek out my own.
May their questions push me to find answers,
Not cause me to impatiently groan.

May my teaching always be inspiring.
May my guidance seek out its own path.
May I strive to learn alongside them.
May I push me as much I push my students.
May I always seek out improvement
Of my way of guiding their lives.
May I never accept what is ordinary.
May I always question what’s best.

May I change as they grow alongside me,
And learn to accept them all as they come.
May my face light when they enter my classroom,
Remembering to someone they’re the one.
May our journey together be fruitful.
May teaching and learning be our habits.
May parting in June be sweet sorrow,
Be the step to what’s just beyond.

May these thoughts be my ideal as I go through the school year......

Just a hello picture from my trip to Iowa to visit my oldest daughter where we discovered this beautiful Farmall H.

Summer is always a time of reflection for teachers, at least it is for me. This summer is offering me a new perspective. Working with teachers as a part of the National Writing Project, through the Red Cedar Writing Project (Michigan State) Top of the Mitt Satellite Summer Institute, I am looking at classrooms through a different lens. I know the whole "lens" concept is overused and becoming one of those educational buzzwords which means nothing.. but in this case, it really does.

I get to see teachers, some with just a little experience, others with much, from a variety of content areas. I see their demo lessons, I hear their thoughts on teaching and learning, I see how much variation there is in motivation and enthusiasm.

The bottom line is, adult learners are not much different than my middle schoolers. Some are in the program, sadly, for the "free" grad credits. Like one of the more motivated participants reflected, "If she is only wants the credits, that is all she is going to get."

Isn't that true of our kids as well? If all they want out of our class is "credit" or a grade, or worse yet, they do not even care about those... that will be all they get.

Our role, whether teaching adolescents or adults, is the same. We, as the educational leaders, must find ways to tap into each of our students' potentials. We must find that magic spark they need to WANT more.. so they will GET more...

Working with other teachers makes me realize how many wonderful teachers there are out there, but it also scares me to see the incompetence in some, the apathetic attitudes of others, and even worse, the total, I have to do it the same old way I have always done it attitude of others. But just like with my 7th graders, I try to focus my thoughts on those who are so terrific, doing such incredible things.... and hope they can be the change factor with the others.

One of my favorite things all year is the end of the year evaluations I have my students fill out. It is pretty simple, mostly true/false questions. The last few though allow them to write in responses: Describe math class in one word. Describe Mrs. George in one word. Any last thoughts?

The best ones, the ones I treasure the most, are the one work descriptions of me. This year was no exception. It has been a tough year and I truly expected many responses to be negative. I have felt like the wicked witch of the west most of the time and thought the responses would reflect that.

The list was so validating: fun, helpful, peachy, energetic, leading, great, etc... but my two favorites? ecstatic and exotic!! I am not sure where either of those came from... not words I would use to describe me at all, but wow.. I feel like they had a good year despite it all.

I of course did get one negative comment. One said sitting through class was hell. S/he hates math and the class and it was torture every day. :-(

I have to let that one go... it troubles me greatly...

but the thank you's and the "I had my best math year ever" "You are my favorite teacher ever
"You made math fun"... those comments really make up for the one negative. I just wish I could somehow make it up to that student....

The year is winding down. THe last day is June 7. Next week is 7th grade camp. Tomorrow is the end of year auction. For the past marking period I have given out tickets for "good" stuff - bringing your materials to class, having homework completed, etc.. I bought tons of junk: pop, candy, treats... (I know, I know... don't lecture me please!!) and tomorrow, those tickets will be their bids on all kinds of goodies. It will be a fun day for all of us! I can hardly wait!!

Anyone who wonders why teachers burn out should have been in my classroom today. We have been working on linear equations for about a week. Just when I think they have it, it is like suddenly every 7th grader's mind turned to mush. The simplest things were the most complicated today. They could not mulitply even numbers like 3 x 0, could not plot points on a graph, add -2 + -2.... much less find the slope or the y-intercept. I was so frustrated and overwhelmed with their inability to FUNCTION I was shocked, mad, sad, confused, all at the same time.

How can something as simple as multiplication or addition, which I KNOW they know how to do, suddenly become foreign to them?

grrr....grrrr....grrrr.....

If one word was to describe this week, it would be frustrating. Given two words... extremely frustrating...

We started the week with a snow day on Monday, which I will admit was a pleasant surprise. But that seemed to set the chaotic nature for the rest of the week. This was my first week back to teaching all 3 sections of math after my student teacher was done with her first stint. She is taking a few weeks to focus on science and will then come back to teaching my classes. Her time with them was tough for me. She has many great ideas, fun ways to get the even most boring of topics (what can be worse than sorting real numbers??) across to them. Unfortunately a lot of her planning was lost on the kids. Her classroom management needs work. I think she will "get it" but in the meantime, it is so frustrating to watch her struggle to find the magic. Overall, I was terribly disappointed in my kids. I trusted them to be more respectful and attentive, simply because I know that know how to be that way. Sadly, they saw her newness and inexperience as a chance to be rude and disruptive causing her many problems she was not yet equipped to handle.

This week was a starting over with them and me. I "cracked the whip", made new seating charts, did not allow working with a partner, put on my teacher face... a tough way for me to teach, but it did rein them back in to where they were before.

All that coupled with the ongoing winter storm all week, the changes in schedule due to a variety of happenings, me being gone part of the day Wednesday..... made for a tough week.

I feel the weight of mid-marking period grades on my shoulders as I look down the list and see that 30 of the just under 80 students I have for math currently have either a D or E in math. I am sure some of that can be attributed to the student teacher... but even the section I teach had lower than usual grades. It seems a majority of the kids and their parents are simply not concerned about grades. Personally, I do hate grades, preferring to teach so they learn, not so they get a grade, but as parent, if your child were failing, wouldn't you be concerned?

I have a significant number of students who come to class daily without their book, with nothing to write with, don't complete assignments, are much more concerned with writing notes, going to the bathroom, etc... than math.

We had an assembly in the auditorium Thursday. Our policy when we take just 7th graders there is to seat them in every other seat. Partly, for their comfort.. but it is a discipline issue as well. We have WAY fewer issues to deal with this way. However, one girl spoke up and asked couldnt they VOTE to see if they wanted to sit that way or not. Really? Give me a break... School, life, work.... rules are there for a reason.. everything/every place is NOT a democracy. You don't always get a say!

Add in the crack down on the dress code. Girls with their chests bursting forth. Guys with their boxers hanging out... we have decided as a staff to make a concerted effort to change it. I told one young man to pull his pants up - I didn't want to see his boxes. His response? Why were you looking anyway? Thank goodness when I called home, his father, mother and step mom were all totally supportive.. agreeing his comments were disrepective. He came to school today with a new subdued attitude. I wish it were always so easy to nip those things in the bud.Too often when we call parents, we get the same attitude as the students have.

I am glad it's Friday... very glad... Monday will be a new week... I know I still love them all, love my job..... I am just frustrated.... **sigh**

We are back in school for one week after Christmas break, a short week at that, only 4 days, but I feel like it was a month long week! My student teacher came for the first day Tuesday. She is only with me 2 hours of the day and of course, only observed this week, but the pressure of having her there really forces me to think through and always play my A game.

Giving up control of the class is proving to be more complex than I had anticipated. Reading her plans for starting to teach Monday, I am amazed at her thoroughness, the things she has planned, thought through, gleaned from being with the kids for 4 short days. Her plans are so thorough, so complex, compared to the things I do daily. I know it because it is all new to her, and she must teach and reteach the content in her mind before standing in front of them, but I am amazed at how much more work she must put into planning at this stage in her career than I put in a this point in mine. I can't wait to watch her teach next week!

From the moment she walked into the classroom, first last spring in a random observation, to yesterday, she acts like a true middle school teacher. When one of my boys came to class yesterday with enough makeup to go on stage, she simply commented, "Wow.. don't you look pretty!" with just the perfect amount of sarcasm, and slight grin, much like what I myself would have said. Her comments to kids as she walks around during work time are amazing, "That looks great, could you maybe think about this answer a bit more?" "What's going on over here gang? THink maybe you could settle down and be a bit more productive?" "If this is completed when you come to class tomorrow, you will have to answer to ME!"so comfortable, so natural, so teacher-like!!

It was a tough few days in some ways - there are so many absent kids, on extended vacations. Many coming back from being gone before break for a long time. The end of the marking period approaching, makeup work pouring in. My EI girl had a meltdown yesterday. New seating charts in all classes. A pretty typical week in 7th grade... but she took it all in stride, seeming totally unshook by anything that came down the hall.

I can't wait until next week... I know she will teach me tons!

On other fronts... in math class this week, we learned how to make box and whisker plots. It is so frustrating when students ASSUME they won't be able to do a new task. Lauren, one of my better students, said, "We did these last year and I SUCKED at them......." her voice trailing off into a kind a wavery panic tone. "Trust me Lauren... trust me.. these are easy. I will teach you! Trust me..." my own voice a bit wavery, I fear. But Lauren smiled that 7th grade smile, and said, "I do Mrs. George, I trust you!"

We did the 2 lessons from the text, the first on finding the mean, the upper and lower quartile, and outliers, and the second on constructing box and whiskers. Then we measured the heights of students, put those into an Excel document to sort, and made a box and whisker plot for the entire class, one for the boys, and one for the girls. Finally students are analyzing those 3 for some comparisons and contrasts.

All in all it was a great lesson... but I am always so shocked at the things they cannot easily do - like use a 25 foot measuring tape without it hitting the ground half a dozen times, type a column of numbers into Excel independently, and remember how to find the mean of a set of numbers after doing it 100 times.

ON the other hand, listening to their conversations as they work are amazing! "Wow... did you realize 50% of the girls are taller than 75% of the boys!" "What would these look like if we did them again in high school? Do you think we will ever be as tall as the girls?" "I didnt realize what a huge range of heights we had in our class!" "Look how many more girls than guys are in here! NO wonder our class mean is higher than 4th hours."

Math, learning, time on task.... **SIGH** sometimes, it does all come together :-)

Some days teachers should get hazard pay. Yesterday was one of those days. In the past, our student council has sponsored a door decorating contest for the holidays. Somehow this has tranformed from a simple door design, to an all out school-wide decorating feat. Now each grade level, 6th, 7th and 8th, decorate their designated part of our square school. The overall theme is decided by the student council, but each grade can come up with their own ideas.

Last year was simply winter. We decorated like December in Hawaii complete with teacher replicas on the doors in grass skirts and yes, coconut bras. This year, the kids wanted something more traditional so our theme was "Awesome Winter Scenes."

Traditionally, the 7th grade wins. Maybe it is the enthusiasm of the teachers, the fact 7th graders are just at the perfect age for something like this, I really don't know... but we always win.

Yesterday was decorate day. The entire day was set aside for work. Whatever was to be done had to be done this day.

8:30.... chore assignments based on what the kids had chosen to do. My door was to be a hockey rink, another was to have polar bears skiing with Coke, the other one was to have polar bears bowling with penguin pins. A skating rink hanging from the ceiling in the hall, snowflakes everywhere, snow people in every available empty wall space, a sledding hill with more penguins, trees, icicles, snowmobiles above the lockers. Each 7th grade locker would have either a set of skis, a snowboard or snowshoes with the student's name on it.

Glue, glitter, paint, construction paper, tissue paper, scissors, aluminum foil, tinsel, cardboard, ladders..... everywhere!! The entire middle school hall so thick with kids and supplies you couldn't walk. CLassrooms full of worker bees, diligently attacking their assigned tasks.

The first hour or so was amazing. Every kid was engaged, learning, accomplishing great things... the second hour... well, things started falling apart. To be fair, a large number of the kids were still doing what they should be, their decorations coming together wonderfully. Others were bored with their tasks, there were not enough ladders to go around, and visiting with friends in other locations seemed more fun. Let the wandering begin...

We, the teachers, tried to keep track, but with so many kids, so many places for them to be, 6th graders intermingled with our 7th graders, 8th graders coming to borrow supplies or scope out the competition. Chaos was on the edge of our peripheral. Some of the decorations were starting to look amazing. My door was a 3-D hockey rink, complete with advertisements on the boards, penalty boxes, and nets. It won't even open all the way because the design sticks out so far. THe penguin sledding hill is terrific. Sparkly snowflakes hang everywhere. But there is a winding red and green paper chain from somewhere tanlged down the floor all through our hall and into the 7th grade hall with "guards" by it yelling, "DON'T STEP ON OUR CHAIN!" "GET OUT OF THE WAY!" to everyone walking or working near.

I asked the big plan for the chain. "We don't know what we are doing with it, we just got bored with what we were doing and made this instead."

and so the rest of the morning went...

We cleaned up before lunch, or rather, herded the kids to clean. Brooms, dust pans, glitter, rags, water, garbage cans.... it almost looked worse when they were done than when they began cleaning! :-) My guess, many have never used a broom or wiped a table before!

But alas, the hall is beautiful, the paper chains are hanging low, the aluminum foil skating rink glistens like real ice, the giraffes on the sledding hill are simply adorable.

I am so tired I may not be able to walk to the parking lot....

and I am quite certain that my Christmas bonus check is "in the mail"!

Yesterday we took a HUGE chapter test in math - this chapter is the worst one every year - it covers order of operations, integers, writing algebraic equations, balancing one step equations - too much stuff piled into one but I give the ending test anyway. (Yes, I can think of many reasons not to... but I do)
My policy is if you don’t get at least a 75% the first time, you will redo until you meet that magic mark. Today was reteach/retake day.
Brooke... Brooke is this large, loud, obnoxious young lady from one of "those" families. She does as little as possible in school, reads at a low level, performs low across the board. Brooke's first test score was 34% - typical for her. Today, with her retake Brooke got 91%!!!! She worked so hard, you could almost see the smoke. I asked her, jokingly, "What happened? Did you get smarter over night?" She said, "NOPE... I knew you were going to keep making me redo it til I got it right so I STUDIED last night!" I don’t know who was more excited - Brooke, or me...
Joe... my little Joe who sleeps through almost all day every day. Doesn’t do much of anything anywhere. Joe got 42% first time through. Pretty good for Joe.. not good enough for me. First retake today - he added 20%. I almost just said, "good enough" but no... I gave it back with some more pointers, hints, pushes in the right direction. ANOTHER 18%!!
I love my job.. I love my job.. I love my kids... I love my kids....what a WONDERFUL way to head off to a weekend!

The magical question was posed to me:
If you could build your own school, what and how would you do it?

Wow... First I thought the building, the sparkles... the WOW... a pool, a gym, a cafeteria... just for my middle schoolers. Nice classrooms, with CARPETING so when students move it doesn't make that horrid skreeeeeeching noise. Lots of windows. Chairs that allow movement, like rockers - you see those in libraries sometimes that allow the seated person to rock slightly back and forth. Bookcases, lots of bookcases, full of books. Computers, maybe even tablets!!, on every desk in every classroom. Projectors in all classrooms. Storage areas for all that stuff we all collect because we know if we throw it away, tomorrow we will need it desperately. Bright colors, welcoming colors inside. Outside, gardens for students to work in, grow flowers and vegetables, playground equipment, age appropriate for middle schoolers. Basketball courts, soccer field, track, swings, obstacle course.

But then... after the intial excitement of all that outward, material stuff wore off, I realized those things would be great, yes. Not the most important part of MY school though.

The most important ingredient in my school, my perfect school... would be.. the STAFF! I would want staff members who share a common vision of what education looks like. Quality educators who are willing to think about their teaching critically, and make changes daily if needed. People who want to work together, talk together about curriculum and pedagogy and kids, who want to read about new ideas, learn new things, try cutting edge ideas, and most of all, are willing to fail.

I would want teachers who LOVE middle school kids more than anything else - who didn't just end up in middle school by default, but are at that level because they think these kids are challenging, exciting, and can learn, and even more importantly believe these guys WANT to learn. My school would be led by a principal who shared all the traits of his staff, who was willing and anxious to jump in and teach, learn and grow with the students and staff. All other people there, secretary, bus drivers, cafeteria folks... anyone who would come into contact with the students would be valued, trained, a true part of the education process.

The only physical part of the school not at all negotiable would be technology. Cutting edge technology with ongoing training for staff would be imperative. Students love it, it is engaging, it is challening and students MUST have these skills to be competive in college and in the workforce.

Ideally, the school would be small and house only middle schoolers. Perhaps 40 students per grade, grades 6, 7, 8 would be about perfect. Up to 100 students per grade would be acceptable given adequate resources and facilities. No class should have more than 20 students at a time. Teacher total load should not exceed 60 students, in order to allow them to know their students well, communicate effectively with parents, and adequately allow for individualization of instruction and assessment.

The curriculum should cover the basics of course, but be well supplemented with exploratory classes, cooking, music, shop, art, physical education, health, drama, journalism, and time for students to explore areas which excite them - clubs like robotics, sewing, babysitting, etc... should be offered as well.

The basics should be emphasized - students need to know how to read and write and do basic math, but they also need to explore how these skills apply to real world situations. My students would do many projects - writing letters to officials, working with local adults to solve community problems, developing ways to use their skills they are learning in science, math, etc... to really examine real-world situations. When kids have a real audience, they want to produce, they want to excel, they want to impress. THEY DELIVER!

My curriculum would be ungraded as such, instead giving students the skills they need to progress. If a student needed to work on fractions all year in order to grasp those concepts, then so be it. Just because he was struggling in math would not keep him back in language arts or science or history. Individualism would be the rule rather than the exception.

The halls of the school would be decorated with student work - permanent student work. Handprints of all students who pass through would be on the walls with their signatures. Revolving displays of other student work would be prevalent. Students would be expected to responsible for things like policing litter in the halls, keeping their lockers clean, taking responsibility for the cafeteria's reasonable neatness when they left.

Parents and community members would be active in my school - encouraging students, supplementing instruction, donating time, materials, experience and knowledge. If the school was near a university, I would encourage pre-service teachers to be strongly involved with our students.

How would I do it… the BIG question… I don’t know.. if I had that answer, I would have done it already! I think the most realistic method of funding such a program would be a corporate sponsor of some kind. I cannot imagine how wonderful it would be to have someone to fund my dreams!! I always tell my husband if we ever win the lottery, I am building my own school J He just laughs….

Parent teacher conferences were last night. I must confess at the begining of the blessed event, I was less than excited. This is a tough group of kids, and I was not sure what to expect from meeting with parents. Sure, I have talked with many on the phone, had a few face to face meetings, so I guess I did have some expectations.

Outside the fact it was an incredibly long day, I was pleased with the outcome. Many of my struggling students had parents that came. We had some wonderful, productive conversations!

The most amazing part of the day however, was an observation on my part though. As wiht most schools, I have a large number of students whose parents are divorced. The first set of these, the father visited with me first, never mentioning that his wife was sitting waiting to speak to me next. He did have a few negative comments about how he was never quite sure what type of structure was in place for homework or nightly reading when his son is with mom. His tone made is obvious he felt his wife was inadequate in his supervision of both their son's behavior and academic progress. When he moved on, the woman who followed him introduced herself as A's mom, and made a sharp tongued comment about me having met her husband, and proceeded to praise her son, acknowledging his successes. She made a few subtle jabs at dad, and moved on.

The next set of divorced parents I noticed, the dad again was the first to visit with me. He told me mom would be there soon but since he is also himself a teacher, he needed to get to his own conferences. He was polite, never giving any negative comments about mom, and even pointedly left the progress report for her to pick up. Meeting with mom shortly after, was pleasant as well. We discussed their son, and ho sending him to dad's classroom might be a productive option when the son comes unprepared for class. All in all, this conversation was positive as well.

The most amazing non-traditional family came in a herd to my table. There were 4 adults, and 2 small children. (the young man being discussed is out of school suspended) WOW! What a wonderful support network for this young man. Had I not known the mom previously, I would never have been able to determine which were the biological parents and which were the step parents. Each of the 4 adults had positive comments about the boy, concerns to ask about, suggestions on how we could help him experience more success. It was the MOST amazing conference I have ever been a part of!

As I reflect back on these particular three conferences, I wonder why parents have such a difficult time realizing how their interactions, or lack thereof, impac their children. Why can't they be more like the last group, working towards a common goal for their child.

Conferences are conferences... leaving me with a to-do list for the next day, a stack of "I found it in my backpack" papers to correct, and a new sense of appreciation of my students.

If I had to describe this school year so far, being 7 1/2 weeks in, I would say frustrating. I am feeling overwhelmingly, and increasingly frustrated.

Let me preface the rest of this post by saying, I have some great students this year: wonderful, intuitive, funny, caring, polite and pleasantly memorable.

Now... the down and dirty. Overall, I am shocked at this group's inability to do ANYTHING independently. They ask everything about everything: what day is it (even though it is written on the front and side board), what do I need for class (again, written on the board outside my door and on the big board inside), what numbers do we need to do (when I have said it and it is written on both boards). they come to class CONSISTENTLY without materials, at least 3 students per hour lacking a writing utensil. A large number are absent frequently, suspended, sick, or just gone. They do not do homework, they do not seem motivated by grades. Parent phone calls produce little impact.

It is the 8th week of school and I am tired and frustrated and running out of ideas.

I have tried a variety of lesson strategies. I took them outside one day to collect some data in a simple experiement. We went over expectations, directions, etc before we went outside. STill, out there, they didn't know what to do, even the students who had repeated instructions to me! Several spent their time laying on the ground moaning about how difficult the assignment was.

I have done online simulations, but they are unable, unwilling to follow logical steps, steps of projects I have used in the past with great success.

I have assigned plain old read the chapter, and complete the vocab worksheets out of the social studies book, but even these are "too difficult" for them.

CLass discussions erupt into farts, obnoxious comments, off-task comments.

I feel like a first year teacher, instead of a 14 year veteran. Classrooom management has always been one of those things that came naturally for me, and this group has tried my very inner core of patience.

I have tried bribery - resorting to candy for those who do complete work. Does it help? not at all.. not even temporarily... the ones who get the reward give it to those who didnt earn it despite my pleas not to. The wrappers are all in the hall between classes.

I have sleepers, I have tardies, I have a whole huge range of "I don't care and you can't make me" types this year!!

I find myself longing for the last year's group...... or even the year before that..... I just want to be able to TEACH and have them LEARN!!

**SIGH** someone tell me it will get better, or at the very least, NOT WORSE??????

One down, 35 to go.. the end of the first week of school. I am tired, the kids are tired, and we are off to an awesome start. This year is different for me in lots of ways. First off, I am teaching not only 7th grade math, but also 7th grade social studies. The focus of the ss curriculum has changed since I last taught it. Now we cover Eastern Hemisphere, so this will be quite an adventure.

I also feel like it is a totally different year because I rearranged my classroom tables to an entirely new look. With laptops, my choices are limited, but I found a way to create 4 pods of sorts. After 1 week, I really think I like it better. There is more flexibility to separate students, and definitely more room to allow me to get to them. I was worried the kids couldn't see the board as easy but so far, it seems just fine.

Without Linda in 7th grade, I feel a disconnect between the 3 of us - not that it is anyone's fault, but Linda was always the organized one who kept us focused and on task. Who will keep us there now? NOT ME!! I had to dig out the AR point goal chart to copy for all of us, and all I could think was FOR CRYING OUT LOUD... mine is probably the wrong one people!! What are you thinking???

The kids are an interesting group. I have heard soooo many negatives about them as a group, and about specific students. It seems every "troublemaker" comes with a ton of "you just wait" stories that make me even more determined to hammer out the problems and make it work.
Without detention to send them to during the day, I think we will all be forced to rethink classroom management. I have never been one to send students often, but on that occasion I needed to, it was certainly a relief to have that option.

Mostly, I think I am just brain-tired from the constant neediness of them all this week. They are getting into the routine of coming in, starting their math starter, being ready when the bell rings, etc... but some of them are SO lost... J. who just spent 2 years in 6th grade is the worst. He didn't even manage to get his name written on his notebook, he can't remember to push his chair in, and when he leaves my room ( and I have him 3 HOURS of the day!!) he leaves EVERYTHING laying on his table as he walks away. Of course, he comes to class with nothing, so maybe I should stop sending him back to get his materials and then he wouldn't have anything to leave??

Next week will be another week... the routine will start to fall in place. RIGHT???? I know, it won't be long and it will be June and I will be crying they are leaving :-)

As I ponder the remainder of the school year, with the end of the first semester pressing quickly into view, I am terrified. How will I ever get through everything? Really.. seriously.. someone.. anyone... HOW DO YOU EVER GET THROUGH IT ALL??

I think it is just the change in mindset I have this year, the feeling I must teach to mastery, the I cannot move on until a majority of my students "get it", a knowing that if they do not understand the basics, the order of operations, the adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing of integers, balancing simple one-step algebraic equations.. if they don't really GET all of that, the other things I will expect of them will be impossible. To me them understanding these concepts is so much more important than moving on. However, I also know that the MEAP next fall will expect them to have learned it all.

Am I an incompetent teacher, are my students slower than the average Michigan students, is it the fact they come to me underprepared for grade level work? Is it a combination of all of the above? I only have control over my teaching - I must deal with the students I have, with the skills sets they arrive with. So therefore the solution to the dilemna lies solely within me, my teaching, my ability to impart my knowledge into their minds. How do I do it? How can I improve? I need time to reflect, to really look objectively at the things I am doing, how I am doing them, and why... and ultimately, what do I need to change?

I can't believe the school year is almost half over. I feel like just yesterday those 7th graders walked in the door all excited to be back in school.

As far as covering curriculum, I think I am moving too slowly. I am always caught between moving on, and making sure they "get it". How do you balance the two? I constantly struggle to find that balance.

We're just now finishing Chapter 1 in our new math textbooks. Granted, it is a very involved chapter, covering everything from problem solving strategies, to integers, to writing and solving algebraic equations. And we've done some thing not in the book, of course, several tech integration projects, a review of decimals, place value, rounding, etc... that they sorely needed. But at this rate, my students will be in grad school before we finish 7th grade math.

So how so other teachers handle this problem? Do you just MOVE ON.. do you keep reteaching until you are confident that they get it? Are you better at time management than I am? Are you better at differentiating instruction than I am so you can have students working on 14 different lessons in your classroom? What so you use assessments for? Do we really need to give Chapter Tests if we plan on moving on anyway, regardless of the students' performance? How do you produce grades for report cards? Do you consider participation, or only how a student measures up against a pre-set standard?

hmmmm... issues to ponder.. questions for the ages..

I am so impressed overall with the efforts of my students this year. It is not that they are perfect by any means, but we are closing in on the end of the first marking period and I have only one student with a D, and no E's. They are working hard to get their assignments done and turned in on time. What can this be attributed to? Not me.. I don't really think I am doing anything differently this year, except maybe being more insistent and riding some of the ones who tend to slack a bit harder.

I think the biggest determining factor is Guided Study class. Those kids who would not get their work finished and would not do homework, have that extra class period every day. It really does make a difference. Most of them work hard those extra 50 minutes. They ask for help, they redo assignments, they really appreciate the opportunity they have. It is frustrating to have to tell students who are not in there and want to be that they cannot join. I wish every kid who wanted it, could have it.

I am looking forward to Friday. We are having our first inservice day, a true in-district PD day, led by teachers/staff in our own school. We are offering a selection of half a dozen or so tech classes, everything from software trainings in SchoolWires and Discourse,to using streaming video and webmail, ClassServer, and PowerGrade and just general tech integration. It is truly a "something for everyone" menu. My only concern is the negativity I fear some may come with. I can only do my best to make my sessions interesting, relavent and realize just as my 7th graders must accept some of the responsibilty for their own learning, so must these adult learners.

Today Mr. Overhiser came to talk to students about their upcoming vist to the museum. THey were soooo well behaved. I was as proud as could be. Now if our Thursday visit goes as smoothly...

It's the sixth week of school and things are moving along quickly. Today was our clean up day at Hamilton Lake. Most of the kids were awesome. I was so impressed with some of them. Lincoln was out there pushing/pulling this heavy huge cart up and down the hills, with it gettting heavier and heavier as other kids put garbage in there. Even with the metal, old tires, etc.. Lincoln insisted on taking charge of that cart. He was dripping with sweat. Dakota was dragging huge trees off the trail. Kara was up in the back of the truck shoveling weeds onto the bonfire pile. John and Josh were picking up the most disgusting stuff I've ever seen.

and then.. the other ones.. who just simply would not listen - swinging from trees, stomping dirt piles, running through the woods, not helping pull weeds or pick up garbage. They were rude to Mrs. Brown from the Soil Conservation District. They did not want to get dirty. They simply were not into the project at all. I was really disappointed in them.

Other stuff at school. We are working on integers. This is their first experience with algebra, variables, exponents, and negative numbers. It seems this group has less prior knowledge than most groups. But they are working hard and seem to be "getting it". We are taking it slow. I am determined that before we move on, they will have the basics down.

Tomorrow Mr Oberhiser from the Historical Society will come talk to them about their visit to the musuem which is scheduled for Thursday. I hope we can instill in those who were incooperative today, the importance of being more so tomorrow and Thursday.

Next week we start MEAPS.... YUCK!! Christine will give Language Arts the first week and then I will give the math the next. I don't feel like the kids are ready at all.. I just have to have faith they can problem solve their way through.