Slope, y-intercept, slope, y-intercept. Over and over and over again until I think I must repeat those words in my sleep. Maybe THAT is the key to getting my kids to GET IT? They need math 3 times a day, every day, until those words dance in their dreams!

We learned slope early on, when we studied rate of change. Some got it, some didn't, despite spending about 2 weeks on it. But move on we must, and did.

Now that the time of the year for linear functions is upon us, we are revisiting slope, and now y-intercept, and the ever popular y=mx+b form. We've looked at the functions themselves, setting up function charts, solving them, learning about 'solutions'. We've picked out the slope and y-intercept from the equation itself. We've counted boxes on line after line, rise over run, rise over run. Go up, go over... which is x, and which is y. We've solved for slope from a table, using 2 points, calculating the difference in their y values, over the change in their x-values.

We've looked at multiple problems applying slope and y-intercept to real life situations from pledges for a walkathon, to different rates of phone companies, to today's problem (MY favorite) comparing buying yearbooks from 2 companies: Gorgeous George's :) and Outrageous Rathje's (my language arts sidekick). We've made BIG graphs on supersized graph paper. We've worked in small groups. We've worked in partners. We've worked in large groups. We've used the wireless chalkboard. We've used the document camera. We've done them alone. We've done them together.

and still....... there are those among them who look as if I am speaking Greek or Vulcan when I ask them to find the slope of a line drawn on the board, or suggest they start by putting a point on the given y-intercept.

and onward we move... towards inverse relationships, those dreaded y=k/x situations.

and I focus on the positives:
RL who answered every single question I asked in class today, even when I tried to shhhusssshhh him so someone else could have a chance. RL who is a rough character, from a rough family, but bless his sweet little algebraically blessed mind, he got every answer correct but one! He was THE one everyone wanted for a partner when it came time for partner work. He KNEW he knew how to do it all and so did everyone else. Then, I had to laugh when his partner couldn't read what RL had written because spaces between words, or even letters, is not a skill evident in his hen-scratched printed words. But all three of us knew the words written were right on target.

CH who is this tiny little guy who looks like he should be in maybe 2nd grade, and always struggles with everything we do in math. He yells out at someone up count from their y-intercept up for the slope, "NO!! IT'S A NEGATIVE SLOPE. GO BACKWARDS!! Make your line go DOWN!"

LF, the new girl with the jetblack spikey hair they call porcupine girl, who didn't want to go to the document camera, swearing she couldn't do it. But all of them rallied and encouraged her, walking her through, step by step, until her line was sketched perfectly, as she walked back to her seat with a huge smile of satisfaction across her face, beneath the jetblack eyeliner rimmed eyes sparkling her pride.

and I know..... tonight I will hear the same words over and over again, dancing like sugarplums in my head, rise over run, slope and y-intercept, rise over run, slope and y-intercept.

I wonder about the futures of some of my students, this year, more than ever. Some of them are destined for greatness; I can see them making a positive difference in the world someday, inventing, creating, imagining, teaching, leading. I see them reaching beyond the ordinary, finding cures, solutions, and innovations. These are the students with spark and imagination, curiousity and determination. They aren't necessarily my straight A kids, often not even the best behaved in my classes. But inside their minds, their personalities, and their willpower, I see the drive for success.

I worry about the others. The ones who sit, with that blank stare of disinterest, day after day, assignment after assignment, opportunity after opportunity. They can't be drawn into the conversation; they won't attempt anything challenging. They can't even be bothered to show up with a pencil, or their book. No doubt, some of these students will find their way, make their mark on the world eventually. But what about the others.... are they truly predestined for emptiness their entire lives?

It makes me wonder about intervention programs, early on. Can we really spot, at 7th grade, the students who will be 'failures' in life? If so, even with partial accuracy, would monies be better spent on intervening at this level than waiting for adulthood when interventions consist of incarceration, welfare handouts, or institutionalizing them?

What would interventions look like? Would they change the home environment? Would they change to school to look differently to fit their unique needs? What would that look like?

Is money better spent early on to find ways to create productive citizens? Would we rather spend money on education or prisons? Is the solution really that simple?

Stacking cups and stacking cups.... how high do they go??

The learning process of my students always amazes me when we tackle a problem. The intent of the lesson is often the least of what they learn in the doing of the assignment. Take today's Stacking Cup problem had my students measuring 5 different types of cups, creating a table of their data, then graphing the data, all ultimately to recommend the size packaging needed to ship these various cups. The intent of the lesson is to examine a constant rate of change, consider the meaning of a y-intercept, and how those concepts apply to a real-life situation.

Oh, but that was the least of the learning taking place!

First off, creating a table with so much information was difficult for students to organize. They want a template, a how-to, but I refused to give them one, so they struggle within their groups, trying to figure a logical way to organize.

Then the measuring itself. Final measurements needed to be in millimeters, but of course, the rulers measure in inches or centimeters. Seemingly an easy conversion becomes torture for some groups. Then the actual measuring of the cup heights. The ruler edge is not the zero mark. Do you lean the ruler against the cup? That isn't really the height, is it? Even once they start recording measurements, the inconsistencies cause problems. Why aren't the measurements increasing consistently?

Then, the creating of the graph. Whoa.... you would think some of them are building the Eiffel Tower! Backwards and upside down, and oh, can I borrow whiteout... and what do you mean not a bar graph?

It is fun to watch the process of learning, and even more fun to listen as they work among themselves trying to convince their partners of their way of thinking. I love problem based learning. I love the wheels turning in their heads, the smoke pouring from their ears, and the smell of brains wrinkling!

One guy did proclaim it boring, and even as I poohpoohed him, I began to fear for his safety in the hallway, as his classmates haranged him for his negativity :)

We finish tomorrow, sharing our graphs and talking about the actual slopes, y-intercepts and reasons for our linear relationships.

A good day in 7th grade :)

I did something today I am ashamed of, the very thing I always hated when my teachers did to my classes. I punished them all for the evils of some. Granted, it was a majority.... but I shouldn't have done it.

A couple of weeks ago, as part of a grant program, I received a new wireless chalkboard. The kids have been all geeked up about using it. As luck would have it, we are doing some graphing things that are well suited to using it. I promised today, the first day after spring break, they could finally get their hands on it to play.

Our Math Starter today was an introduction: Sketch 2 graphs, one showing your height from birth until now, another showing your hair length from birth until now. Pretty simple, basic and easily attainable by all students. I even gave a quick review of sketching a graph.

First hour was a riot, as they learned to use the wireless chalkboard, playing with the tools, laughing at each other's incompetence, discussing our graphs, and learning together the ins and outs of both the tech tool and the process of graphs. It was a wonderful conversation about their graphs, right, wrong, it didn't matter. We shared and laughed and learned.

Then, sixth hour... THAT hour of my day. Knowing this group struggles more with almost everything we do, I gave even more specific instructions on sketching graphs trying to get them started. Then, time to use the chalkboard to draw them, after they had each had time to draw their indivdual graphs in their notebooks. The first student who volunteered had no graph on paper and was unable to draw it. As I tried to find someone with the assignment done, this short 60 second assignment, anyone.... someone who could transfer their drawing to the wireless chalkboard, I could find no one with it done. After I had scanned the first half of the class and realized no one had even bothered to TRY, I quickly got annoyed. Here I have this cool, fun, interactive plan for the day, something THIS GROUP will enjoy, something that will engage them, something TECHIE to grab them, and they can't be bothered to sketch 2 little tiny graphs on paper first.

I took back the chalkboard and turned it off, telling them I didn't have time to share that tool with them. It takes SOOOO much longer with it, honestly, to draw graphs, I wonder about the true benefits of it anyway. But it is fun, engaging and lends itself to mistakes which makes their real mistakes in their graphs less threatening.

We continued the lesson,, simply drawing the graphs on the whiteboard, the usual boring way.

*SIGH* I wish I had more patience with them. I wish I could somehow let it go when they refuse to work. But it is overwhelming when no matter the assignment, this group can't be bothered to complete it. Short or long, fun or boring, the same few complete it. The same ones every day tune me out, no matter what I do. I can tell funny stories or dorky jokes; I can tease them; I can punish them; I can yell; I can whisper. Nothing changes anything. They are off on some other planet. I see easily how they landed in the 'low' group of our tracked math program.

Punishing them all is not the answer. I knew that, I know that... I am just at wit's end with them.

But tomorrow is another day. We are doing a lab, stacking cups, measuring them, trying to determine the packaging requirements to package them to ship them out. Will THAT hook them? I have no idea... but again, I will try.... wish me luck!

Thursday of spring break finds me with a long to-do list not done, including many school related items. I had this plan to be all planned and copied for most of the rest of the school year, but my Tuesday I set aside for schoolwork turned into a COPIER nightmare. I stopped counting on jam #62. I swear that machine has some personal vendetta against me!

We start our big graphing unit after break, taking what we know about coordinate graphs, writing and solving equations, slope and functions, and combining it all into linear equations, graphing calculators, and other fun stuff. It is always a fun unit for me. I love the logic of graphing, using that graph to predict and solve problems. I also love sharing the fun of graphing calculators with my students.

For most kids, it is easy stuff, fun stuff, stuff that falls into place. However, inevitably, I will have a few who still cannnot grasp the (x,y) coordinate process for some reason. For them, this is like torture because their graphs are always wrong, unpredictable, and make no sense. For other students, they will miss a day here and there, just enough to make what we are doing impossible to follow. Try as I will, there is simply no way to make up for the days missed with them, and they are hopelessly lost, with a Swiss cheese understanding of the unit.

But the school year is winding down, and I am becoming more reflective of what to do differently next year. I have some ideas for restructuring my math classes, especially my 'low' class. As those plans start to form in my mind, the reality strikes me, what will I be teaching next year. With declining enrollment, our looming budget crisis, and retirees in various positions, and other positions being cut, I wonder where the dust will settle and find me in the fall. I have been in this particular room and position, with a little variation, for a long time now. I love what I do and where I am, and am reluctant to leave. **sigh**

I've ranted a lot lately about accountability so today I will try to steer my thoughts elsewhere for a change :) It is easy to get into the complaining mode and forget the fun part of teaching middle school. Usually, it is the kids who are out of control and wound a little too tightly, but today, it was me.....

My social studies class has been working on their Life in the Sahara projects for the past week or so. Today was presentation day. Some partners had worked to create board games, others had posters, and still others had dioramas depicting desert scenes.

Two young ladies have been working to get their diorama and accompanying informational posters done. They wanted miniature camels to include in their display but the closest they could find in our town (where shopping consists of Family Dollar or the grocery store) were those little animals you put into water to expand. Unfortunately, the animals did not include a camel, but luckily, 7th graders have imaginations and they decided to use giraffes instead. The camelraffs, as we named them, have been expanding in plastic cups in my window for about a week. The girls have changed the water faithfully, even experimenting with hot water to see if that would help them grow more.

Things were moving along fine. One of the girls with the aforementioned project had been whining all morning that they wanted to go last. But me, being the mean teacher I am, just went straight down my list calling on groups. Some students had good projects, some had great ones, some, well, they were embarassed to be in front of the group sharing. Finally, time for the camelraff girls. For some reason, I started giggling as they started their presentation. The whole camelraff suddenly struck me funny. Well, you know how the more you try NOT to laugh, the you DO laugh??? It didn't take long and I was snorting and crying and out of control. THe poor girls were trying to present, but there I am, in the back of the classroom, laughing and lauging and tears are running down my cheeks and snot is running out my nose.

Finally... I get a slight grip on my sanity.... but the boy sitting next to me whispers, "camelraff" and I start again. Every time I would manage to stop, the little whisper comes from him, "camelraff, camelraff".

It was epic....

Thank goodness spring break is coming next week for I think I have almost lost my grip on reality....

camelraffcamelraff

camelraff

camelraffcamelraff

I am back on my 'accountability' soapbox today. The answers to my questions are multi-faceted and complex to be sure, and I don't expect they will ever be answered. Nevertheless... they long to be asked:

What accountability for excellence do we instill in our students? At a young age, children learn that failing grades does not mean they will be held back. They see disruptive students rule the school with their distracting behaviors. Unless you are a student who faces consequences at home for poor performance at school, most likely, they fall through the cracks.

Sure, there are exceptions, those rare children who want more than is expected of them, work to better themselves, strive to please their teachers, just out of sheer intrinsic motivation. It seems as time goes by, these children are rarer and rarer. The norm is becoming the coaster, the kid who shows up, does just enough not to get too much grief, but does not exert enough effort to actually experience success.

What accountability is there for parents in their child's education? We've become quick to blame the school and the teachers for students not making the grade. And to be sure, much of the responsibility does and should fall upon their shoulders. However, school is a small portion of child's life. All the knowledge a child must learn cannot be imparted in this small percentage of time. Students are in school about 50% of the days of the year, and about 30% of the hours in a day. Not even 15% of a student's life is spent in school but teachers and schools are being held 100% accountable for 100% of their education.

Some interesting points to consider:

"Children who have not already developed some basic literacy practices when they enter school are three to four times more likely to drop out in later years." (National Adult Literacy Survey, 1993)

“Children must have access to books if they are to read. But books in themselves are simply not enough. Children also need to have a caring adult read to them and talk to them, preferably every day.” (Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting Children’s Reading Success, National Research Council, National Academy Press, 1999.)

Perhaps we need an entrance exam INTO school. If parents do not have their child 'ready', that child will not be allowed into school. How's that for breaking tradition? Doesn't it only seem fair that if a child is not prepared for school, his parents ought to be held accountable, since once he enters school, all the responsibility falls upon the school?

Once in school, parents will be held accountable for their child's attendance and skill maintanence over breaks, particularly summer vacation. If your child misses too much school, bam, they are gone. If they lose skills over the summer, bam, they don't come back until you bring them back up to speed.

Wouldn't that revolutionize the entire way we view parenting and education? Would it change things or create a generation of uneducated children? I am not sure.... I just know then some of the blame and responsibility would shift.

What responsibility do schools have to remove ineffective teachers? More than they are accepting now... With the current union systems in place in many states, and the heavier and heavier reliance on high stakes test scores to evaluate students and teachers, education is frought with disasterous situations. Teachers are being judged by a one snapshot view of their students instead of being held accountable for day to day instruction, classroom management and growth. Unions protect the good, bad and ugly, with little regard for what is truly in the best interests of students.

Educators need to step forward and become responsible for their own profession, policing each other, ensuring that each child gets a quality educational experience in EVERY classroom EVERY day.

There is enough blame for our failing students to go around... let's stop throwing the blame and start fixing the problems!

The ups and downs and ins and outs of every day life at school can take the most interesting twists and turns when we try to sort out what needs to be done, what we want to do, and what truly is in the best interest of our students.

It is spring in Upper Michigan for some strange reason. The spurt of warmth we are experiencing, with 50 and 60 degree days is just wrong! We should be shoveling snow, not watching daffodils and daylilies poke their heads up through the ground. Typically a blanket of several feet of snow would still lie silently across the landscape for another month or so. Then I would be to the point in my math curriculum to start going outside and doing some activites relating math to the real world.

But this weird weather is throwing a monkey wrench in my plans. What to do??? Do I jump ahead, and head outdoors where they all WANT to be?? Then we will be off-track, a bit befuddled in the overall BIG PICTURE. Does it matter?

Spring break is another 2 weeks away.... and we all want to be outside. Maybe I need to reconsider...... *sigh*

How to Fix Public Schools

How's that for opening a huge can of worms? The news is filled with No Child Left Behind, Rhode Island teachers being fired, California teachers having to fight for their jobs, Race to the Top, and others bits of educational information smattered across the headlines, bashing anyone and everyone involved in education.

I will wholeheartedly agree public education in our country is in need of reform. We are failing an entire generation of young people, as we toss around rhetoric about who is at fault and how we ought to fix the problems. These are the kids plodding their way through our halls, forgotten in the larger shuffle of fault.

Many people think firing all the teachers is the solution. Let's just clean out the deadwood. OK, fine.. sure. There are many teachers who do not do their job effectively, teachers who show up for June, July and August, a paycheck, an insurance card, and a secure position. They may or may not like kids, their subject matter or for that matter, have little real desire to teach.

But there are many others who dedicate their lives to being wonderful caring role models for their students. These are the uncelebrated heros. They give freely of their time and resources to make the lives of their students better.

Sometimes test scores proclaim teachers from both these groups as successes, but just as often, they are touted as failures.

To those outside the classroom, a test score speak volumes. Can't anyone TEACH a kid to learn? Can't you just get them through the stuff you are supposed to teach? If you do, then automatically those magical test scores will soar!

Wait a minute.... whoa... slow down....

Not so easy in the real world with real kids....

What about a little responsibility on parents and students, themselves as well? We have kids with chronic absenteeism, missing more than a third of the school year. How I am supposed to educate that child in 9 months worth of material in 6 months? She is already lacking basic skills when she comes to me, from the past how many ever years of being in school 2/3 of the time, and now, I am supposed to catch her up on all that lacking, PLUS bequeath her with my 9 months worth of learning, all in 6 months time?

That's like telling Joe Average on the line at GM, "Here's a whole line of chassis coming along but down the line ahead of you, they forgot to put in the transmissions and engines, but you have to, working only 6 hour shifts, get those cars ready to ship out in working order, getting your doors installed like always. OH, and by the way, while you try to get those transmissions and engines in along with your doors, make sure you are watching those other 25 beside those."

Kids today are electronics pros. Any given student in my class can tell you the latest X-Box game or Wii, or whatever, the ins and outs of how to win, where to buy it cheapest. They are experts on cell phones and computers, Facebook and texting. But they have never read a newspaper, or watched the evening news. They know who Hugh Hefner is, but not Martin Luther King, Jr. They know the names of all the casinos in Vegas, but have no idea where Iraq or Afghanistan, or even Texas and Florida, are. They can circumnavigate the best of filters to find pornography, but can't be bothered to type a journal entry about North Africa. They have tatoos and piercings in middle school, but can't afford a calculator, pencil or paper for class.

So the solution for improving education does not lie entirely with teachers and the school. It is a systemic problem in society as a whole. Until education is a priority for parents and students, the school has limited control over how to make it all better.

Here it is... my plan:

#1 Hold teachers accountable for teaching what they ought to be teaching.

#2 Hold adminstrators accountable for making sure teachers teach what they ought to be teaching.

#3 Hold students accountable for learning what they ought to be learning.

#4 Hold parents accountable for making sure students learn what they ought to be learning.

It sounds simple and it is simple. If teachers teach what they should, and adminstrators have the power to do something about it when they don't, the education piece is soundly in place. If students put forth effort to learn, and parents make sure their child is IN SCHOOL, doing the work assigned, and putting in the necessary time outside of class to be successful, there you go, educational reform, SUCCESS!

The last component of success is enforcement. What happens when someone doesn't fulfill their part of the bargain? Fire teachers, fire adminstrators, hold back kids until they master the material, and if parents do not parent, then remove the child from the home. It's a system of balances, pure and simple. If everyone along the way contributes his equal share of solving the problem, there will no longer BE a problem!

(Am I being sarcastic? maybe just a tad.... but how much worse can it?)

I had to laugh when I came into school this afternoon, trying to get my planning for the week completed, sub plans for Thursday and Friday finalized for my being gone to MACUL, and doing a bit of cleaning in my classroom. No matter how frustrating the kids are, when I come in and they aren't here, when it is quiet in the room and the hall, when the chairs are up on the tables, and their disarray of papers and pencils left behind sit silently waiting for the return of their owners, I always feel a sadness, an emptiness, and a wishing they were here.

As I make plans for each hour, each class, each day, I think about this student and that one, knowing he will have trouble with this assignment, she will like learning about this, and am curious as to how another will approach the new tasks set before her. I smile at their little notes and cards hung around the room for me, linger at the multi-colored date already in place for Monday in someone's 7th grade scrawl, and check to see whose math book has been left behind.

When it comes down to the truth, my job is pretty darned good most of the time, and I feel lucky to have it. I am blessed with parents who care, students who make me smile, and a feeling that I DO make a difference for many.

Soooo... it's been tough lately, if you've been reading my recent posts. I am starting to believe the legacy of this group of kids, despite my best intentions not to. I was determined that they were 'just kids' and have treated them as such all year.

A little disclaimer before I go on... of the 63 students I have this year, 50 of them are wonderful, amazing, terrific, fantastic, amazing, incredible, typical 7th graders. They have good days, bad days, and everything in between. They are funny and dumb, smart and ridiculous. They make me laugh, they make me cry, often with the same stunts. Every day with them is like a vacation. I really can't believe I get paid to spend time with them.

The other 13 though.... wow, do they drain my time, energy, creativity and patience. It doesn't seem to matter what we are doing, boring worksheets, fun open ended creative projects, bookwork, computer work, videos, me lecturing, them teaching each other, whatever it might be.... they hate it, simply hate it. They either refuse to do it, period, or they are so disgruntled in the process there is little if any real learning taking place.

I have tried all the tricks in my book, all the things I have used with success on hard-core kids in the past. Somedays, I see a tiny little speck of light at the end of the dark tunnel of oblivion they seem to live in, but most days, it is like I might as well abandon them on a desert island and pick them up in June because nothing I am doing makes a difference one way or the other.

In all my years of teaching, I have never felt so disenchanted, so hopelessly futile in my efforts, and like I am barely treading water holding my head in the crashing waves, gasping for breath.

I keep focusing on the 50.... while trying not to let the other 13 drown on my watch. But somedays it is more than I can handle.

What do you do when students get into trouble on the computers? Gut instinct response in education seems to be, kick them off computers. I get that this knee-jerk response is simply the easy way to deal with the offense, but it makes everything worse.

I had to be gone yesterday. Three of my boys got caught surfing porn, not just mild porn, but something that should have never made it through the filters, something so disgusting, the teacher who saw it won't even describe it to me.

There are so many issues going on.

#1 One of the students was not where he should have been. He is not even in my homeroom, and did not have permission to be in my room, and homeroom teacher had no idea he was gone from her room. If the adults cannot be responsible for the whereabouts of the students, doesn't it seem like we have a larger issue to deal with FIRST?

#2 I have no idea why they were using computers in the first place. The sub apparently was allowing it, but WHY? Let's just allow 13 year olds to do whatever they want whenever they want? Is that our new mantra? This would NEVER have happened if I were here, so why do subs have so much trouble maintaining order? I know it is a tough job, I get that. But if you enforce the rules already in place, maintaining order is much simpler than if you just allow them to do their own thing.

#3 It is unclear which boy did the searching, who was logged into which computer, etc... Fundamentally, it doesn't matter, and I truly believe they should all be held accountable because they could have said something, shut down the computer, or even simply removed themselves from the situation.

#4 All 3 are frequent fliers for lots of minor offenses in lots of locations. Yet, the 'punishment' was 1/2 day suspension and 2 weeks off computers. At some point, we need stiffer penalties for 'crimes'. I hate suspensions, period.. If a kid isn't here, I can't teach them. But at some point, we have to get the message across that school is a priority, and being here is a privilege. We need clearcut, consistent consequences, predictable for parents and students.

#5 The boys are not allowed to use school computers for 2 weeks. Oh great... now how are they supposed to complete their social studies project? We wouldn't take away their pencils if they were drawing inappropriate pictures. Why take away their laptops for inappropriates sites? I can print the materials they need for research, but that is just another thing for me to take care of.

I brought the boys in my room before school and did some major butt chewing. I explained the reason I was gone yesterday, to visit a relative who is dying. I explained my disappointment in their lack of respect for ME to have done that when they were in my room. I tried to talk to them, rationally but honestly. But then again, we've had those conversations before, repeatedly. I don't know what else to do. Talking to their parents gets me nowhere, talking to the boys gets me nowhere. I am left here, trying to figure out how I can be gone, knowing they will be terrorists for the sub.

It's a never-ending issue, with no solution.

Welcome to whiny, disgruntled Monday in my world. Part of my frustration comes from having used Compass Learning now for a week while listening to my students whine and complain about how boring it is, how they do not understand the directions, how they computer just died, how they are having login issues, blah, blah, blah!.... I thought that maybe, just maybe, a break from listening to ME teach would have been a break in the drudgery, something different, if not exactly fun and entertaining, at least would give them a new perspective. Apparently not...



I think the worst part of everything is simply February blues, drug into March. We've not had a day off since Christmas break, and our spring break is not until the end of this month! Everybody's nerves are on end. We are all tired of each other and ready for a break. Add in a weird winter, weatherwise, with hardly any snow.... and things in our universe are just not aligned the way they ought to be!

Now it is Tuesday, and I never got yesterday's done!

But today there was sweet justice. As my social studies class left out the door, I noticed blue ink all over the table, chair, and floor. Of course, students were quick to point out the perpetrators, so off I went to grab them. Of course, student 1 said it wasn't him, not his pen, etc... but student 2 said it was HIS pen but #1 had grabbed it, stuck the end in the hole on the computer and broken it, causing the ensueing damage. I said I really didn't care, but THEY could clean it up. They looked hopelessly around for some cleaner, until I pointed out I didn't have anything so off they went, looking for a custodian. They came back with this cool magic eraser type sponge and a rag. Starting in the table, I was amazed at how well the sponge worked. The ink just wiped off. The boys were all smiles and giggles at how easily their mess was disappearing.

But justice, sweet justice, was on my side! The floor and the ink seemed to have created some sort of bond with each other. No matter how hard they scrubbed, the ink seemed to be permanent. After about 20 minutes of constant scrubbing, the ensuing raw fingers, and my trying not to smile too much, my floor looks pretty darned good. I don't think there will be any more ink incidents this year :) Problem solved.

I love it when it works out like that. Logical consequences - you make a mess, you clean it up. It is pretty humbling to be down on your hands and knees scrubbing the mess you made while your peers are watching. Works better than detention, better than a phone call home, every time.

I've long been concerned that online learning will attempt to replace real time teachers in the classroom. While it may be possible to effectively deliver instruction via a computer program, I am not sold that this will completely replace all the peripheral skills learned in school. Teaching middle school students, I wonder about the self-motivation part as well - will the average adolescent truly be self-driven enough to make it through a prescribed program without teacher intervention and drive.

This week, I am experiencing up close and personal what online learning can look like in a 7th grade math classroom. My district purchased Compass Learning this school year for teachers to use for remediation and instruction. It has been used sporadically at best district wide, with little training and support as to how this tool can be used to support instruction.

Finally, I decided maybe it would be a way to grab the attention of my students, especially those driven by technology, those who tune me out, and those who are struggling wiht the more traditional approach to learning we typically engage in. My language arts partner has been using it some in her classes and has praised its potential.

For my regular math class, I chose to assign a folder of review materials, topics we had covered at some point during the year, but ones students were still struggling with. These basic concepts varied from expressions to balancing equations, but were all review. Day 3 of the experiment and I am not any clearer on how I feel about the program than initially. Student scores on the quizzes are varied, high to low. Some students seem engaged, others look like zombies staring at a screen, just clicking their way through the program.

For my prealgebra classes, I assigned them 3 folders of assignments, one of which was new material we were going to be covering next in class. The other 2 folders were practice of concepts we had already covered, but that are typically topics students need extra practice on. Students are whizzing their way through, scoring well for the most part. However, students have asked if I will be teaching these concepts are well. They don't feel like they have grasped the material adequately from the online lessons.

It started as an experiment, and I can't give the results until it is done. However, the jury is still out. I miss teaching them, they miss the interaction with me and each other, and I wonder how deep an understanding of the topics they are really getting.

Are we ready for computers to replace teachers? Are we ready for a generation educated by a machine, just clicking multiple choice answers?

We are teaching and learning on the edge of what will be potentially the largest change in education ever seen. Sure, things are different now than in years past, but overall, educational practices have remained stagnant for much too long. School is a give and get setting. Teachers give information, students get information. This paradigm has not changed in the typical school setting since rocks were used to write in dirt.

What will schools look like 10 years from now? 20? even 50? Will we learn to be educators instead of disseminators of knowledge? What role will technology play in the schools of tomorrow?

Today's students are multi-taskers who expect everything to be exciting, engaging and motivating. They demand that their teachers be up-to-date with technology, utilizing it for communication between educators and students, but more importantly, they want technology to be a part of everything they learn. They want to work with other students creating their own paths of knowledge, designing, building, molding the old and the new. They are not satisfied with the here and the now of passive learning, but instead they want to be active and involved.

I see tomorrow's students as the pioneers of a new journey. I see them exploring their own truths and finding their own solutions. I see them excited and involved.

My concern is will our society withstand this transformation. Will be still share a common wealth of knowledge, a basis for what is considered to be an educated individual? Or will that common body of what we have come to expect all to know change?

Will technology isolate individuals into their own little worlds, unable to interact in real time with each other? Will we become a world of computers and screens, only communicating virtually with one another?

What role will teachers have in this new education system? Will we become just the facilitators of learning, independent paths of knowledge pursued by each child?

and perhaps most importantly, how in the world we will ever standardize test all this???? insert dripping sarcasm here :P

Packing My Angry Eyes

Yesterday was another sub day. I had doctor appointments out of town so I left my lesson plans, something easy, and prepped my frequent fliers to behave for the sub, whoever it might be. I left Scholastic Math magazines to read in all my math classes, thinking this was fun, easy and something my students do not normally do. I naively thought it was foolproof, and things would go smoothly.

Her note was curt and to the point: Student Z and "never innocent" had caused havoc for her last hour. "Never Innocent" had taken another student's calculator and smashed it to smitherines. But of course, that little misdeed was not enough. The two of them were 'very disruptive' the entire hour and then to add whipped cream to the mess, they raced out of class before the bell even rang.

Part of me is angry, part is disappointed, and part just wants to smash them to smitherines. It is not like they do not know the rules. It is not like they haven't had private conversations with me in the past. It is not like I haven't called home repeatedly on both of them. But the consequences I can dole out are miniscule compared to their persistent and consistent behaviors.

Do I want them suspended? Maybe... But in reality, I know that will make no difference, and at least for Student Z , the time out of school would be a chance to laze around all day, snoozing, watching TV, playing video games. I am not sure what would happen at home for "Never Innocent" but likely, with his parents at work, he would also get a free pass for the day. Neither can afford to be gone academically, or would be likely to make up work missed.

What do I want done then? I have no idea. It is infuriating to me that public education is forced to try and find solutions to these problems. Isn't it enough we are testing kids to death, and blaming teachers for 'failing' them? Why can't law makers see that the problems aren't always as cut and dried as they want to make them?

I know I sound disgruntled and disillusioned, but honestly, I am. I work hard to give kids another chance, and another chance, and another chance.... I try to build those relationships and treat my students fairly and with respect. I try to talk to them one on one, working out the why's for their behaviors, and helping them grow from their mistakes. But sometimes, I need parents to step up to plate and be parents. I need them to carry out consequences for their children's actions. I need them to be the enforcers/reinforcers for what we are doing at school.

Until our societal parameters circle back to respect for adults and authority, until school is valued as the child's JOB at this point in his/her life, until we stop trying to make a one size fit all approach to educating children work, we are doomed.

I started out my day with angry eyes, but they are turning to sad, hopeless ones in a hurry.

Despite our best intentions, kids will be kids. Despite our attempts to contain and control them, they will often get out of hand. It happened here yesterday. Not a big deal. Just an 'accident'.

My last hour class has to pick up there chairs onto the tables before they leave so the custodial staff can sweep first thing in the morning. In an effort to get students to the buses on time, I have them do this chore about 2 minutes before the bell rings every day. Unfortunately, they allows them approximately 3o seconds to act like wild animals released from captivity.

In the ensuing hullabaloo yesterday, suddenly, a young man, one of the "never innocent' ones, was on the floor flailing around, groping his groin and moaning. As the bell rings and they escape, I am trying to find out what happened. Apparently, Student Z hit him in his "McNuggets". Of course, now Student Z is gone, setting a Olympic world sprinting record bolting for the stairs. "Never Innocent" is fine and Student Z confessed his sins to the powers that be and got kicked out of my class for the hour today. (don't go there on the inequity of the punishment and the crime.. it wasn't my choice... I have NO say in the matter!)

Starting today, new policy - pick up chairs and stand at your spot until *I* dismiss you when the bell rings. GRRRRRRRR.... I HATE BEING THAT TEACHER. Why can't they just be for that 3o seconds instead of expelling all their pent up energy from the day in one loud bellow? I know they are kids, and they are hyped up from the day, and excited to be escaping the confines of the school walls, but come on... seriously... can't you stand still for 30 seconds without your hand causing bodily harm to another??

House plan projects are well underway, due tomorrow, despite our rocky start and litany of excuses....

I whittled away at their excuses:

I didn't have a measuring tape. (why didn't you borrow one?)
My great aunt's funeral was yesterday. (It was also Kristi's grandma and she managed to get hers done. The woman died last THURSDAY. (this was Tuesday....)You KNEW about the funeral ahead of time.)
My dad said it is too personal. (Ok, that one is just odd and I am going to call dad this evening.)
I didn't know when it was due. (We talked about it every day and it was written on the board.)
There is snow outside my house. (There is snow outside everyone's house. AND, you could have just measured the rooms inside.)
I didn't know whether to measure in inches or feet. (OK, well, no good answer for that one!)
I just didn't do it. I am gonna do it tonight, maybe. (FINE, WHATEVER...)

The most difficult was the "too personal" but finally today, I was able to get in touch with those parents, who were just as confused by that comment as I was. Apparently, that conversation was imaginary between Dad and son.

It's been a tough project this year, though, and I think, will be my last attempt at this. Too many parents drew them for kids or printed copies from originals. But I am working on a new scale project for next year that will tie social studies, language arts and math all together, drawing scale replicas of famous Eastern Hemisphere landmarks. It should be a cool project with more to it than math. Students can research not only the actual dimensions of their landmark, but its history and interesting background.

I am frustrated with the first few projects turned in as well. Several 'A' students have turned them in, happy to be done, ready to hand it over for a grade. When I sat down with them, however, it was obvious students had not looked over the check list I provided, leaving off the most obvious parts, such as the scale it was drawn to! Therein another struggle presents itself: give it back and make them do it correctly, or deduct the points as shown on the sheet they had from square one on the project and they can suffer the consequences of the low grade.

Part of me wants perfection from each and every one of them, wants to keep handing it back, over and over until it shines. Another part says wait... they KNEW they had 2 more days of classtime to work, as well as they had the checklist to look at, and models to compare theirs to, but made a conscious decision (is there such a thing as a conscious decision for a 7th grader??) to NOT get the 'A'.

Either way, most of the rest of my week will be spent digging through piles of blueprints, counting squares and measuring walls, assigning points of shame or grandeur.

I've been thinking lately about public education's true purpose.

There seems to be a growing consensus supporting the need for a national curriculum. Personally, I have mixed feelings about this. Part of me is supportive, realizing the inequities which exist from school to school, and state to state. Children should be guaranteed comparable, viable access to knowledge, regardless of where they are schooled.

However, looking at the students in my classroom, I see a wide variation in abilities and interests. Should those come into play at all when planning a curriculum? I see the shift nationally for test/data driven instruction as an attempt to even out the playing field, but without consideration for the players themselves. Just as all players on the Little League team will not grow up to play in the Majors, my students will not all need the same skill set when they are adults. Without limiting their possibilties, we have to also acknowledge the discrepancies in innate abilities and work to maximize the potential of all learners.

Given a student driven curriculum is only one piece of the educational puzzle though. Isn't the socialization part of school just as important as the curriculum driven piece? Don't we have an inherent responsibility to teach children how to function in society as well?

As I look at my middle schoolers and picture them as adults in the workplace, I can fairly accurately predict which will be 'good' employees and which will struggle, floundering from one job to another, unable to meet the demands of their boss and the constraints of productive employment.

A student who is consistently tardy to school/class will likely be the same in the work place. The child who comes with no materials (despite the availability of those) will be the carpenter fired for showing up with no tools. Ones who cannot take a directive without a negative reaction will probably be the ones fired for insubordination.

Don't we as public educators, have a responsibility to also actively teach these life skills as well as the prescribed curriculum? How can we assure each child has the best opportunity to be successful in adulthood?

Boredom is a Pattern, NOT a Reality.

We are settled into February, the month that seems the longest in the school year. It's been forever since Christmas break, and even longer until Spring Break. The kids are lulled into a monotonous plodding along pattern, and so am I. It is like we are caught in the horse latitudes with no wind to lift our sails.

February seems to be the month for fights, parent complaints, and excessive absences among both teachers and students. Fuses are short, tempers flare easily. We seem to be looking for direction.

How can I harness all that boredom into something productive?

In math, we are starting our house plan projects where students draw to scale floor plans of their houses. The options of the project allow them to draw elevations or create actual models of their homes. I am hoping to generate excitement in the upcoming project by hanging actual blueprints around my classroom as well as displaying models made by former students. So far it seems to be working :)

Tomorrow will be the true test. Students have had a week to measure their actual houses. How many will 'forget'? How many will have no measurements to begin the project?

What do I do with THOSE kids? It is a struggle, always. Do I send them out, to the office? This seems the easiest option, but the one which is least productive. Do I create an alternative assignment? If so, WHAT? Do I just give them some sort of busy work to keep them out of my hair while I try to help students who ARE working on their projects? What do I do if they won't work on the busy work I give them? How do I assess them accurately and comparably to students who complete the actual project?

More questions than answers, for sure.... but at least my mind is back awake, and I am excited to get my classes going tomorrow!

In teaching, it seems we constantly walk a fine line between teaching, spoon feeding and helping students become independent learners. I struggle with that walk daily.

My social studies class is, for many students, the first time they have ever really had to STUDY for a test in order to be successful on the written assessment. In the past, either tests are rarely given, or the material has been presented in such a way that tests are redundant, or students are allowed to use their books/notes on the tests. But as students progress to higher and higher levels, more independent learning is necessary.

Try as I may, some students will not study, will not take the time outside class to even look over their notes, much less actually study them. I realize many of them do not have good study habits yet, so I try to teach those skills to them as we work together in class. We make flashcards for vocabulary words. We create outlines, diagrams, and other visual representations of the material together, trying to create meaning and organization to the concepts. I create slide shows with illustrations to help them remember things with a picture.

At some point, however, the ball really IS in their court. I can only use so much time in class to go over concepts repeatedly. For the students who grasp new material easily, this allotted time may be enough. Unfortunately, for others, allocating personal time to actually STUDY is the only path to success.

So I walk that fine line between reviewing one more time, going over the topics one more time, flashing up one more visual, and just expecting them to pass or fail on their own. It truly is a balancing act. Is there such a thing as OVER-teaching? I wonder.... at what point are we causing more problems than solutions? Can we hover too much? Can we guide too much? At what point do we just let go and leave it in their hands?

As always, I am frustrated with some of my students who just simply seem not to care. I feel like a grouch because I am always, always, always on them, trying to get them to be a student, to do their work, to use their time productively. While I realize this is part of the nature of the beast of 7th graders, I struggle with the way those kids zap my patience for the good ones, the one who do their work, who come to class prepared, and try their hardest. It seems I end up snapping at them because I am out of patience from dealing with the other ones. Especially towards the end of the week, especially towards the end of the day, I struggle to find patience with one more question about something I've said a hundred times, one more struggling student who seemingly can't get the smallest of concepts, and the student who needs constant reassurance that everything they write on their paper is correct.

It seems an almost argument for having flip-flop school days, where every other day, classes are in reverse order, so I could see my end of the day students in the morning on occasion. Or perhaps, a floating schedule, where each hour becomes first hour in a rotation type schedule, Monday being a 1,2,3,4,5,6, the Tuesday, 2,3,4,5,6,1, Wednesday, 3,4,5,6,1,2, and so on. I wonder how different it would be having those students earlier in the day, when my mind is fresh and full of patience and excitement, and their minds are alert, not overstuffed, and eager. Would a schedule like that ever become routine, or would chaos ensue every day?

I would love to experiment with it.... hmmm.... do you think I would get stoned at the next staff meeting???

Tangram day is one of my favorite days of math class. While students each individually cut their own set of tangrams, we learn vocabulary words. This is a terrific interactive way to review previously taught concepts as well as learn new terms.

One of the big concepts in 7th grade math is similarity of polygons, so I use the tangram pieces to teach congruent, similar, as well as corresponding sides and angles. Touching the pieces as we learn the terms seems to help most students grasp these before we start looking at figures on paper and trying to match up sides and angles.

The fun part really begins when students start using their pieces to create predetermined shapes. It is such a visual spatial thing that many students, boys and girls, struggle to manipulate the pieces. I love the way their minds wrap themselves around the struggle, working against themselves many times, trying to force a match where there really isn't one.

I think geometry and playing with shapes, drawing 3-D isometric drawings, etc.... are more important to the development of young minds than our curriculum allows time. Unless at a young age, students work to strengthen those parts of their thinking process, the ones that create visualization, I think it is lost forever.

For today, we will continue playing, and shaping, and stretching our brains!

Once, in a very blue moon, I allow my students to take a test with a partner. This practice was common in our previous curriculum, Connected Math Project. I like students working with each other because they tend to catch the silly errors, the not including a negative sign, or a simple miscalculation. The discussions between partners can be rich with math terminology, and lead to a more in-depth understanding by both members.

I had done this with this particular group of students once this year, with some marked success. I decided to try it again today. I gave them a choice - #1 they could choose to work with a partner with no re-do's on their test, their partner being their re-do, or #2 they could work alone and redo their test after I corrected it.

I had thought most students would choose to work with a partner, but out of my first hour class, only 2 sets of 2 buddied up. It will be an interesting progression through the day.

My 6th hour class is the lowest group, the one that could probably benefit the most from the discussion with a partner, the interaction of ideas. They are also the group who exhibits the least concern about work completion and grades. They also tend to be very social. My hope is this group will choose the work together option.

When I allow this, I always question the validity of the test scores. Are the scores truly indicative of what students know? My gut instinct tells me yes, they are pretty darned accurate. Occasionally, a low student partners with a brighter student and likely benefits from the pairing, gradewise, but that is a rarity. More often, the partners are like-skilled. Even in the off-balance pairings, I like to think the lower student benefitted from the interactions and explanations of the other partner, gleaning understanding from the matchup.

It is not a practice I would implement for every test, but on occasion, it is a fun option for students.

It's been an event-packed week.

I started out Monday away from school at a Formative Assessment Team meeting at the EUPISD with 3 representatives from there and 4 other teachers from our region. We met virtually with folks from the State Dept of Ed, talking about this new project being launched to use formative assessment across our region to improve instruction, and ultimately, our students' learning and growth. I was struck by the conversation's turn towards how to help other teachers learn to use formative assessment, how to formatively assess our own actions, rather than focusing on the actual use of this tool in teaching.

Ironically enough, that made more of an impact on me than one of those sessions where you go and get all these cool ideas to use in your classroom, but by the time you have gotten back to work, you have forgotten most of them and put your notes in that huge to-do someday pile, and forget about. I spent the rest of the week second guessing everything I was doing, wondering more where my kids were at in their learning, and thinking, oh wait, this is a great example of formative assessment, and whoa.. I thought they would GET that problem. How to I remedy their misconceptions?

Often in education, we are searching for that quick fix, that WOW moment that will change everything for the better.

Learning to use formative assessment is a process. It is a new way of thinking about the things you already do, and yes, perhaps expanding your repertoire with new skills, but more importantly, thinking about the results of what you do differently. Formative assessment is a constantly changing process, a true process... it means my Monday lesson plans for the week won't be set in stone, that day to day I will have to look at what I have done, and where it has taken me, where on the journey my students are, and re-evaluate the next days' lesson based on that information.

I love the reflective piece of this puzzle. I love the natural formative assessing I already do without having called it that. I am excited to think more intentionally about the learning process and the role I have in creating a successful end point in that journey for my students.

I still struggle with letting go of the control, the organization, the moving along at a pre-determined speed. The overwhelming pressure of meeting the standards is always there, breathing down my neck like a fire-breathing dragon. How to meld the using formative assessment to drive instruction, and still stay on pace to teach all the required material each year will be a challenge.

Rise over run... rise over run... rise over run....

Every year, slope is such a difficult concept for students, given that it seems such a simple one in reality, and one so easily applicable to real life. Stairs, roof lines, even road grades are measured in slopes. Counting how far up, compared to how far over, seems trivially(is that a word??) easy.

We talk about rate of change, in particular how things change over time, comparatively. We look at graphs of points, lines, and explore many different scenarios. I even developed a game called Slope Mania for them to practice slope. Still, for so many students, it seems like black magic!

What is so difficult??? How can I make this concept easier for them to understand???

I wish that just for one day, I could zap myself back to my 7th grade school year. When I look at the faces of my students, and try to imagine what it must be like to be them, I wonder about the me of then. Granted, 7th grade is an entirely different experience now than it was in 1973 when I was in their chairs, but whether an adolescent then or now, I wonder what it would be like to be trapped again in that time in my life.

What kind of a 7th grader would I be in today's world? Would I be popular? Would I be smart? Would I be a social outcast? Would I be one of those peripheral kids, the wanna be's? Could I survive the pressures placed upon students today?

I think back to me, my friends, our classmates, and I don't remember there being the marked discrepancies there are today. Or perhaps, they existed, but we didn't notice?

Thrown into 7th grade, I think I would be a peripheral kid, one who struggled to be with the in-crowd. My parents would not buy me the cool clothes, the cell phone, the iPod, that all the cool kids have. That fact alone would have aligned me outside the cool kid crowd. As sad as that is, it is a middle school reality. The have's and the have-not's become marked at this age. It isn't about the house you live in, or the car your parents drive, the jobs they have, it is all about you and what you as a teenager have. My parents were also strict. I am sure I would not have been afforded the freedom to go to the movies or a ballgame, unsupervised with a group of friends.

I was always a smart kid, one who easily got good grades, eager to please my teachers. To some extent, those are still traits that help the transition into the cool kid club.

How would I feel, being on the edge? Would I find that unacceptable, and like so many kids who WANT to be in the in-crowd but can't quite make it, would I rebel, and chase that other group of kids? Would I become a 'bad kid'?

What does this knowledge, this look inside a 7th grader's mind tell me as a teacher?

I know for sure it tells me for many kids, many days, there is much more on their mind than the European history lesson I am trying to teach, more than the rate of change formula I am trying to get them to internalize....

High stakes tests are what schools are measured by now, for better, worse or indifferent. While I think we as educators need to be held accountable for teaching the specified curriculum (which I do not always agree with content-wise), I struggle with my worth as an educator being measured by a fill-in-the-bubble sheet given to my students a solid 4 months+ after I have them in class.

Some years my scores are up; some years my scores are down. I take them all to heart, celebrating the highs and mourning the lows, wondering what I could have done differently.

Truthfully, those scores are little a reflection of me and my teaching, and more a reflection of those students, their innate intellect, and their mindset about school.

Some kids learn, soaking up knowledge like their very being depends on that nourishment. They come from every possible home situation, bringing along baggage too heavy for the average adult to carry, shouldered upon their young adolescent shoulders. Knowledge is their escape from reality, offering them an open window to a sunny place they long to grow.

Other students come from homes where school is considered their job, their reason for existing at this point in their lives, where expectations for success are high and unbreachable. These students never need a pencil or paper, or lunch money, or clean clothes. Even when their families struggle financially to make ends meet, educational needs are a priority.

But then, the ones the politicians accuse me of leaving behind fill the rest of the classroom. These are the students who come to class hungry, but not for knowledge. Instead, they seek acceptance and kindred spirits. They do not feel like they can learn, or worse, do not care if they can. Education is nothing in their mind. It doesn't offer them window to look out, because they are unable to see beyond today, beyond the walls of school, to any kind of future of success.

Some of these struggling students make a connection with a particular teacher or counselor and find help opening their window. These are the lucky ones.

Many more, come with their windows so tightly closed, often dealing with drug, alcohol or other abuse issues, that as a teacher, I struggle to help them. I can try, and try, and try, and sometimes, it seems, make a dent. More often, they are lost to me despite my efforts.

Other students simply do not come to school. We have no consequences for extreme absences, so we have students who miss 30, 40, even more, days a year. But yet, these students take the same bubble in test their peers do. And, those are the students who miss by choice, whether it be illness or just lackadaisical parenting. Others miss that many days because of suspensions. Either way, it is instructional time lost, that cannot be replicated.

The saddest students are those who come hungry, dirty, tired and without hope. The ones from homes destitute for sustenance. How can we expect those students to learn, retain knowledge and apply it, when their brains are deprived of nutrients?

Students come to class with nothing, no textbook, no pencil, no intention of learning. I can plan engaging lessons, work individually with them, try to connect with them on a personal level, but I simply cannot make them learn.

I don't want to leave them behind; I just can't figure out how to drag them along....

It seems to me teachers spend a great deal of time and effort whining about how terrible a deal we've been shuffled:

• parents who not only are not supportive of their children's education, but seem to go out of their way to be difficult and make our teaching more difficulty


• students who are unmotivated, discipline problems, behind academically, or just downright rotten


• adminstrators who seemingly don't have a clue what it is like to be in the classroom, who are unsupportive of our efforts


• policy that says a bubble sheet score says more than true measures of growth


• ever-shrinking budgets that cause us to fork over more and more of our own paycheck to keep our classrooms running smoothly

All legitimate complaints, sure, but interestingly enough, according to this latest Gallup poll, teachers score higher than other professionals in well-being.

We consistently rank ourselves as healthier, happier, and more emotionally happy, than other professionals. However, we rank our wenvironments as less satisfying than others. We don't feel like our bosses treat us as equals, we don't our work environment is "open and trusting" but 91% of us say we get to use our strengths at work.

Seems a little contradictory to me! It sounds as if we have it pretty darn good in most aspects of our jobs. I think maybe we need to take a long look at our jobs from the outside and appreciate the fact we do have it made!

We work long hours, without overtime, in circumstances often beyond our control, with students who do not fit into round bubbles. Our pay not equate with our educational opportunties if we chose to work in the private sector.

But really, our job is the best in the world. Kids make it interesting, unpredictable, and never a dull moment. We get to make a difference in their lives. What more could we ask for??

The snowflakes are hung round the classrom with care,

The teachers are gone from the building and scarce,

IT'S CHRISTMAS VACATION for 2 WHOLE LONG WEEKS!!

Santa, all I really want is some sleep :)

When I posted my Facebook status above, I was still on the high from the exuberance of my 7th graders on the last day before Christmas break. Now, awake before 6 am on the first Saturday of our 2 week break which will fly by like a short weekend, I am more reflective on our day yesterday.

Wanting something fun, but remotely educational, and slightly purposeful for our last day, I found this cool activity on making perfectly symmetrical snowflakes from National Council of Teachers of Mathematics to do with my math classes.

The rest of my day was already planned since the entire 7th grade was watching Pictures of Hollis Woods together during our 2nd hour and homeroom periods.

I copied the directions, and lots of backup just holiday coloring activities, word searches, and crossword puzzles, just in case the snowflake making was not successful.

Too often it seems we never let our middle schoolers be kids anymore. When I first started teaching here, we had so many fun things we did with them. For the holidays, each homeroom decorated their classroom door in a huge competition. We had other fun days with games, and challenges and other kid-friendly stuff. Part of the reason we have gotten away from these activities is simply too much curriculum and not enough time, but the main reason is honestly, our staff just isn't into it anymore.

But yesterday in my classroom WAS all about being a kid again with scissors and paper and tape and crayons. We had so much fun! After realizing first hour how difficult the instructions were to follow, I walked the other hours through the step by step snowflake folding process. We folded and creased, then snipped and snipped, waiting to unfold our magical creations. Paper snips flew everywhere and the room got more and more beautiful.

The premier location to get to hang your snowflake was the window, of course. The best part? To access my window, you have to stand up on the heater register, looking out the snowy window, down 2 floors to the ground below. But my little elves were NOT intimidated and soon 3 Santa hat clad kids were dancing up there, using double sided tape to fill the window with perfectly symmetrical flakes.

They laughed and they smiled and acted like 12 year olds SHOULD act, instead the more typical sullen texting adult-wannabe's who usually are in my room.

Happy Holidays, 7th graders!! See you next year!!

I will admit to loving Christmas gifts from my students. Not so much the perfumes, the candles, and the mugs, as the true gifts, the ones you remember years later.

Handwritten cards are among my favorite. I save them all but some are especially touching. On the bulletin board in my bedroom hangs the envelope from one young man, who had his 'moments' in my class. The envelope is wonderful though: From: Mike To: Mrs. Goerge, AKK the world's best math teacher. What more could I have wanted for a gift??

The week before Christmas, gifts start trickling in. Today, one student handed me a diet mountatin dew, the fuel for my day. Another gave me a Green Bay Packer Christmas ornament, knowing I am a HUGE Packer fan. Yet another young lady handed me this round red wrapped gift, complete with a green ribbon. I unwrapped it to find a roll of duct tape! (See previous post if you don't understand the significance of this gift.)

See... it really isn't about how much money a parent spends, or the actual gift itself, as it is about the thought that went into the gift. Middle schoolers have such a great sense of humor and I love when that shows in their thinking about what to gift. Over the years, I have gotten everything imaginable: the cute, the odd, the inappropriate, the thoughtful, the handmade, the expensive.... but it touches me to realize I am appreciated for my efforts. It isn't about the cost, it's about the thought.

So, go gift a teacher something meaningful this year!

101 Reasons to Love Middle Schoolers:

1. Funny names they give each other and you
Over the years, I have been called a variety of names, some I would not care to repeat, but some are endearing, some funny, and some just odd. My favorites? Gorgeous George, Georgie, Grandma G. Part of the allure of a nickname comes from the community building aspects of the experience, the feelings of comfort among those giving the names, and the acceptance of those being called them.
Today, one of my girls got a cute new nickname : Bri - tiny. Her name is Britini, with that unusual spelling. When she wrote it on the board for a library pass, someone caught the alternative pronunciation of Bri - tiny, which is one of those names that will stick. It is cute, with no respect issues. It serves to make her feel special though, and gives students in my homeroom as sense of community that only they get to use it, kind of an inside joke syndrome.

2. Twisted sense of HUMOR
The best part of teaching middle school is their laughter at the oddest of things. Humor can be used to deflect a mouthy student, get an unmotivated one on task, or even to stop the adolescent female teary eared outburst.
When I catch a student staring into outer space instead of focusing on the task at hand, I often tease them about staring at MY beauty. I tell them how flattered I am that they find me SO breathtaking they can't HELP but stare. This gets their attention, with a smile and giggle, and refocuses their mind at the task at hand.
When a student is being particularly annoying, I often tell them to strangle themselves so I don't have to. The best actors get it, and do a fantastic job of reaching their hand around their necks, pretending to strangle themselves. Again, laughter ensues, order is restored, and back to work for all.
Other funny sayings become part of our routine. This age group loves the twisted logic of sayings like, "Silence is golden, duct tape is silver" and learn quickly to respond the the first part of the quote with the second, refocusing themselves to a quieter work tone. Another favorite of mine is, "Don't be sorry, be quiet."
The key to success is knowing your audience. Some students respond extremely well to this kind of humor, but others do not get it, and are even offended by it. You must be able to read your students, and know how to deal with each individual personality.

3. Their sense of fairness and right & wrong in everything
You will never meet a group more in tune with fairness. Dare to give another student 1 tiny extra point on a graph, or one extra day on an assignment, and you will experience wrath like no other. Even if it means they must personally suffer, they want everything, everyone treated exactly the same at all times. They are quick to point out the shortcomings of each other and themselves as well, just to make sure the balance is maintained.

4. Magic and wonder are still part of their daily routine.
Whether it is the first snowfall of the season, an ambulance shrieking past the window, or a video on knights in shining armor, they love every unique detail that passes their way. Middle schoolers still have that little kid lust for learning. They CRAVE new information, especially if you can show them how it relates to them, how it touches their world, how they can personally interact with that knowledge.
In particular, they love new tech tools. This generation has grown up making powerpoints, typing papers, and instant messaging and texting each other. But give them a new tool to explore and watch the magic dust fly! My social studies class is making mundane powerpoints on a European country. Once I showed them some new fun things like Tuxpi and even the 4 square google search page, their excitement peaked again. Just exploring in a new way gives them the added ummph they need to tackle the next part of their challenge at hand.

5. Middle Schoolers LOVE to share their joy with you.
Sometimes it is a new shirt or shoes; other times they got a puppy or horse or a baby brother or sister; it might even be that amazing touch screen phone or iPod. Whatever it is, they LOVE to show their 'things' to you, explaining all the details in great detail. It is their way of sharing their world with you, bringing a personal touch to their school world.
Nothing makes a middle schooler happier than to see you in the bleachers at their basketball game, or cheering from the fence at a track meet. They know you are there for THEM, and they LOVE that special attention.

OK, not 101, but 5 that make my day, every day!!

Today starts one of my favorite math projects of the year, the infamous Tootie Fruite Project. Each student gets a scoop of the cereal (which costs me about $10 for 70 students). Then then data collection begins. Students total their own cereal, how many of each color. The ensuing debates about how to count partial pieces are always interesting. This morning, we had the most unusual cereal piece ever though: it was 2 toned. The student decided eating it was his best option :)

Once individual totals are counted, then we must compile class data. Whew... this always tries MY patience the most, with students who can't speak loudly (inevitably the LOUDEST kid in the hallway can't speak above a whisper to say "12")

Then students settle in to work, creating bar graphs and circle graphs of their individual as well as class data. The projects are colorful, fun and a light activity I try to do the last week before Christmas break. It meets a Michigan Grade Level Content Expectation, D.RE. 07.01 Read and interpret data using circle graphs.

Final projects are displayed as posters, which liven up my normally dull classroom.

There's nothing quite the like the forecast of a winter storm to get middle schoolers excited. (OK, middle school teachers as well!) Living in Michigan's Upper Peninsula makes winter travel interesting to say the least. We average about 200 inches of snow per year. Snow days, though, are few and far between. Our bus drivers are known for their ability to make it through the worst conditions, down back winding unplowed roads picking up children before daybreak and delivering them back safely long after the sun has gone down. If we had a snowday every time we got several inches of snow, we'd truly be a year-round school.

There is a long standing middle school superstititon that if students wear their pajamas inside out the night before the storm is forecast, there will be a snow day. I don't know how accurate this is, probably right up there with walking under a ladder causing bad luck and finding a penny head up bringing good luck, but who knows!

• All day, I have been prepping my students of the rest of the week's schedule in the event of one or two days off.
  
  Map quiz is STILL on Friday, no matter what, yes, even if I have to come to your houses to give to you individually :)
  
  State graph for math class is due the first day back in
  school.
  Yes, I will adjust the due date for PowerPoints.

With tonight and tomorrow's forecast predicting 2 feet + of snow, I know **I** will be sleeping with MY jammies inside out! If you wouldn't mind doing the same... who knows!!

Sometimes I am organized, and know exactly what I am going to do in class, and follow that protocol carefully. Other times, I feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants, as suddenly ideas pop into my mind as the lesson unfolds.

Such was today in social studies. We are reading, YES, reading... Chapter 5 Section 1 from our books on the history of Europe. bahhumbug.... yes, that was about the enthusiasm generated from my students. I was sticking to my guns, pushing forward despite the snoring noises emitting from various locations. We just needed to get through a few pages of the chronological events that formed Europe and for the life of me, there really is no quicker way to breeze over all those years than with this reading from our textbook.

Sanity seeped in at some point, thankfully, and I suddenly remembered this cool video clip from United Streaming we watched once on Life in Medieval Times. I quickly opened it and showed the 22 minutes of knights and castles and serfs. How COOL! The impromptu writing assignment of what would you like and dislike had you lived in that time period was even better! Students wrote and wrote about how great life could be, and how terrible it likely was. I felt redeemed for my meager start to the hour.

Planning is great, but more often, plans should be just guides, with time allotted for the spontaneous and the different.... to wake the sleeping troops and recharge their batteries.

Substitute teachers, school secretaries and bus drivers are the most underappreciated and underpaid people on the planet. I have not had the terrifying last 2 position in my life, so I can only imagine how difficult they must actually be. I do know when our secretary is out of the office and somehow, I manage to walk in at that exact moment, it is HORRIFYING. All those kids, all those parents, the phone, the disasters.... how can she juggle it all ALL DAY every day. I am trembling before my 90 second tour of duty is over!

I HAVE been a substitute teacher though so when I am gone, I try to assure that their day will be as peaceful as possible. I leave detailed sub plans, almost minute by minute, with always a contingency plan in case something goes awry, which often it does. Computers don't work, kids refuse to cooperate, paper airplanes materialize.....

Having someone in your room when you are gone that you trust, know and respect makes all the difference in the world. Sometimes, it is the luck of the draw, and you get that kindly old retiree who means well, but has not a clue how to deal with middle schoolers so when you return to your room, spitwads adorn the ceiling, the whiteboards are full of caricatures, and the lesson was not even assigned. Other times, you get the young, gorgeous fresh out of college chick who again, means well, but doesn't understand that subbing means a frowny face MAY be appropriate, and saying, "NO" definitely is.

Personally, I love our new system that allows us to choose our favorite 5 subs electronically, giving them first preference for our scheduled dates. How COOL!!! Today, I had a planned day off, and got my top choice of subs. She is a regular, who only subs on Mondays and Friday because she teaches adult ed Tuesday through Friday. This gives her that extra umph needed to align middle school attitudes to accomplish the tasks in front of them. She has a great sense of humor, is intelligent and honest. I know she will not create more chaos than she can handle. It made my day off one of pleasure rather than one of intrepidness. I didn't even feel the need to race to school to read her notes this afternoon! I KNOW things went well :)

Hats off to all the subs out there... you are ALL appreciated but to the really GREAT subs, were it up to me, I would pay you 10 times what you make now, and you would still be underpaid!!

(special smugs to Barb!!)

New Year's Resolutions

Striving for excellence and improvement is a constant uphill battle in all pursuits. Ahead of the dawning of the new year, I want to start contemplating my resolutions for the upcoming year. What are my goals for improving my own teaching, and ultimately the learning of students in my classroom and beyond?

Before I even consider my own classroom, I want to explore more opportunities to share with other teachers, helping them perfect the craft of teaching. It isn't about being better at something than others are, it is about the collective power of sharing and growing together that makes this goal such an important one. Teachers too often teach and learn in isolation, when we need to be constantly exploring how to collaborate and grow together. As we grow as collective learners, we will be better equipped to guide as students in similar pursuits.

In my own classroom, I resolve to strive to teach "like first snow falling" (Taylor Mali) every day, every lesson. Unless I am geeked about the lesson, how do I expect students to get fired up and excited about what they are learning? I need to rejuvenate my own enthusiasm for learning and teaching, finding those key components that made me excited about these topics.

With my students, I must seek out their strengths as if each child were MY child, seeing blindly beyond their faults, to the inner glow, and capitalize on this, making each child feel unique and capable and extraordinary. For some children, this task will be difficult, almost monumental for me, but I must resolve to make this a priority.

I resolve to focus more on the learning, and less on the grades, more on the growth, and less on missing the mark of perfection. By learning more about formative assessment, and actually implementing this learning into my teaching, I can help students become a part of their own growth process, taking individual responsibility for growth and achievement.

Parents are a critical part of school success so I resolve to involve them more and more and more, impressing upon them the integral role of home and school, supporting them in supporting my teaching and school in general. Reaching out to parents of struggling students, giving them tools to support their child, encouraging and praising their efforts, will empower both of us to empower that child to experience success.

On a larger scale, I resolve to be active in the larger scale of education reform, helping the voices of teachers be heard in Washington, forcing policy makers to hear our reasons and our concerns. I will reach beyond the local, into the national arena, speaking loudly myself, supporting others' voices, and make those decision makers realize the crisis in education today is real and must be addressed.

I resolve for 2010 to be a better year in education, in my classroom, in my building, in my district and more importantly, across this nation. I resolve to make a difference.