Yesterday was an in-house PD day for our district. I went into the process a bit discontented. A speaker from somewhere else was coming to talk, part 2 of something I had missed part 1 of. I was somewhat going into it with a bad attitude.

The speaker was Anita Kishel from Ruby Payne's aha Process Inc. We started the day half an hour late, no fault of the speaker, just a miscommunication from our administration. This only served to further annoy me as I sat in the cafeteria thinking of all the things I needed to be doing in my room.

Once Ms. Kishel got started, she spent the morning reviewing ideas from the first workshop, and having us jigsaw this book we were given. It was tedious and boring and I was annoyed. I had read some of Dr. Payne's work before, and while I find it interesting and relevant to my teaching, I really wasn't learning anything new.

Finally, after lunch, Ms. Kishel starting giving us strategies to use with students. I was immediately drawn in. I LOVE things I can use, new ideas, new tools to reach and teach kids. Of course, all the ideas she presented won't work for me, but I came away with several I can't wait to use!

I think my favorite..... it is a kind of word wall of sorts.... This is a somewhat adapted version of hers.... I am going to post the alphabet on a large laminated sheet, and as we study units in social studies, students will scrounge for words that represent that region for each letter. I think it will be engaging and fun, and will grab the interest of some of the lower level students I have.

The day did seem to drag on, what should have taken half a day was drug out all day... but I left excited with new cool ideas, so overall, I give it a B+!

There is little more frustrating to me than wasted time out of my classroom. I love to go to a conference or PD day that is worthwhile, inspiring and leads me to a new revelation for my teaching.

I am on the Math Curriculum Review Team at my intermediate school district. Much of the time spent at those meetings is worthwhile, and I have gained much by my involvement in the group. Yesterday was not one of those days I left the meeting feeling positive.

We started the day with this problem, the Ron Castleman problem. In and of itself, the problem and the process was a worthwhile one. First we worked out our own solutions to the problem, a simple percent problem. We were instructed to try to come up with more than one solution to the problem, including using diagrams. Then we shared with a partner, and then shared with the large group.

We were then given an article discussing this problem in great detail. (I would give the link to the work we read but unfortunately, there was no reference on the handout. It simply says "Chapter 5, Linking Fractions, Decimals and Percents Using an Area Model".) We were given highlighters to mark things that struck us as particularly enlightening, or that we had questions about. The article was worthwhile, and I highlighted many interesting quotes I hoped to discuss further.

Then we were told we were going to blog about this article. We were instructed how to get to our newly created MCRT blog space. We then began posting our comments. This is where the activity really started downhill. The person in charge had not explored the blogging experience completely, so in essence, all we did was write a comment, which then had to be approved before it was posted. By the time she got our comments posted, we had moved on to another task in our meeting.

What could have been a wonder exploration of using a blog for discussion, was simply a busy work task. The article we read is not posted there, there is a simple list of our first names and our brief comment. Yes we posted to a blog, but did we learn about how blogging can be used in our classrooms? Did we learn how blogging could be used in our own group to further conversation? Do you really think any of those 20+ people are going to go back to our comments and read them, and further comment?

This was one of those instances of using technology for the sake of using technology. There was nothing gained from the experience. A conversation in the room would have been more productive.

Perhaps the most ironic part of the day? Next door the local superintendents were in a meeting learning about the new technologies coming down the pike. I spoke briefly with one of my former superintendents who now works in a neighboring district. He was excited to share some of the cutting edge things he was learning about: blogs, wikis, zoomerang, myspace....

One of the most common areas of concern for teachers is classroom management. Every one seems to be looking for a perfect way to control students while they try to teach.

While I sometimes I have problem students who do not conform to my expectations readily, usually, my classroom runs smoothly. Shhh... don't tell anyone else, and I will share my secrets with you!

The #1 way to keep your classroom under control is to have a well organized plan for the day. Know exactly what you want to accomplish, how you want to accomplish it, and what materials you need in order to pull it off. Don't wait until the bell is ringing to whip off copies. Don't wonder what to do if the activity takes less time than you thought. Always have a backup plan in mind. It is said that a dog can smell fear. Students can smell disorganization. Its scent spurs them to churn and churtle. Don't let it happen in your classroom! A few extra minutes spent planning will make your day smoother and easier.

Teach students your expectations and expect them to meet them, every day, every hour. "But in Mrs. Smith's room we can..... " is met with "we don't do that in this classroom". Have something to keep students busy and engaged every moment. Students like to know what to expect. If they know what is happening next, they will be ready and waiting for it to happen. That repetition in your routine is comforting and sets the tone for every day. Walk in, grab your notebook, do the problems on the projector, group activity, partner time, independent learning time. Some days may vary but there is comfort in knowing things will be the same.


Keep it fast paced and interesting, shifting from something quiet, to something active, always changing things up. Realize that all students learn differently. Some work better with a partner, some work better alone. Some like music, some like quiet. Try to meet the needs of all with varied activities.

Have a sense of humor in all that you do. One boy I had asked repeatedly to be quiet once day responded, "I bet you want to strangle me don't you." I laughed and responded, "Do it yourself so I don't have to!" He wrapped his hands around neck, made gurgling noises, bugged his eyes out. We all laughed, he settled down to work, and all was good. That kind of good natured teasing and rapport with students goes a long way in keeping control.

When faced with defiance, repetition can be a lifesaver. Do not argue or engage the student. Simply and calmly repeat your request, wait time, repeat your request, wait time, repeat your request. By this time, most students will have complied, and you can move on without engaging in battle.

The last and most important trick is to be human. Allow yourself to make mistakes and allow your students to make mistakes. Mistakes can be laughed off, and learned from. Let your students see you as you learn and grow from your own debacles and they will be more likely to take their own in stride.

A classroom should be a home, a place of comfort and consistency, one you and your students all enjoy being. Don't let managing it manage you!

Someone in a different education forum posed the question: Should teacher leadership courses be included in a preservice teacher's classes?

Here is my answer, in part:

Being a leader in your building or district is NOT about the title. All teachers, new or experienced, have the potential to become powerful leaders. Empowering preservice teachers with those leadership skills and aspirations should be a critical component of the teacher prep process.

What does it take to be an effective teacher leader?

~ a strong personal vision of your own goals and the conviction to stand by them

~a willingness to listen and learn alongside those around you

~the courage to be right, the courage to be wrong

~a dedication to empowering others - a non-need to be the one in control/with the title, but a desire to manifest change
~commitment to modeling professionalism

All teachers can and should be leaders in some way. It might be curriculum work, technology, working with students outside the structured school day in sports or extracurriculars, or simply leading by professionalism.

Given this necessity for all to be leaders, yes, teacher prep programs should teach and prepare for leadership roles.

Often, the most effective leaders, the ones who make the most positive changes in a school, are not the ones with the "power". Let's work to facilitate this skill!

It is the time of year we start planning for 7th grade camp. Along with the obvious planning - class schedules, staffing, etc... the subject of who to take and who not to take comes up.

The initial philosophy of camp was always to take everyone, and part of me agrees 100% with that.

However...... what about some accountability for students? Is it OK to get suspended over and over again, for a variety of issues from truancy to fighting to insubordination, and still be allowed to go? For some of the students, the issue is fairly clear cut - too many issues, period. End of discussion.

For others though, the question rides a wavery gray line for me.

Is it a matter of the ones I like and the ones I don't like?

Should it be based on what our predictions will be for that student's success while at camp?

Should it be based only on past performance at school behavior-wise?

Is it acceptable to not include a student because you know s/he will not survive the experience because of maturity issues?

Can exceptions be made for those who are showing dramatic improvement, but had serious issues early on?

Should we create more clear cut black and white rules to enforce?

Every year I struggle to think through these questions for the students I love dearly and want to take along but for reasons outside my realm of control, are being excluded.

The student who misses school so frequently he struggles to keep up despite being incredibly bright and working hard while he is there. I would love to take this little guy. He is so funny, so smart, so likeable. But he misses school so often. When he does come to school, most of the time he is tardy. But these issues are out of his control. It is a parenting issue. Does that mean he should be excluded from camp?

The girl who lives with grandpa and skips school more days than not. When she is there, she is amazing - bright, talented, a real knack for learning, pleasant, friendly. She does have some other issues - bullying, smoking.... But I like her, I enjoy her. Camp would be a wonderful experience for her.

Then the ones I simply do not want to take. The mouthy, sneaky one who seems to usually avoid trouble himself but is central to almost every issue in the class or hall. I *know* he will cause problems in his cabin at camp. He will be the one throwing food in the lodge at meal time, refusing to pick up trash on the greens, and jumping up to break branches off trees on hikes.

How do we justify camp, period? Is it truly a worthwhile educational endeavor anymore?

Not many answers..... just lots of questions....

Do you ever wonder if you are having an impact on your students? I think all teachers do. We wonder if we are getting our content across, certainly, but more importantly, we wonder if our students know we care about them, and will remember us as a teacher they liked having.

On those days students are annoyed with me for the work load, or my expectations for behavior, or the chunk of parent phone calls I made the night before, I often remind them I am not paid to be their friend, I am not here for them to like me, I am here to teach them, and I will do whatever it takes to make that possible.

In reality though, I am not that hard hearted. I want my students to realize how very much I do care about each and every one of them. I want them to feel like I tried to personally touch them in some way, even if they struggled academically in my classes.

I love Alfie Kohn's article, Unconditional Teaching. His message is important for all of us to remember:

"If some children matter more to us than others, then all children are valued only conditionally. Regardless of the criteria we happen to be using, or the number of students who meet those criteria, every student gets the message that our acceptance is never a sure thing. They learn that their worth hinges on their performance."

Every time I read Kohn's words, the faces of past students I am sure I have slighted come to mind.

"Teaching in this way is not just a matter of how we respond to children after they do something wrong, of course. It’s about the countless gestures that let them know we’re glad to see them, that we trust and respect them, that we care what happens to them. It’s about the real (and unconditional) respect we show by asking all students what they think about how things are going, and how we might do things differently, not the selective reinforcement we offer to some students when they please us."

I hope each day, each hour, there are enough of those countless gestures I bestow upon my students to help them understand how valuable each of them was to me.

"Imagine that your students are invited to respond to a questionnaire several years after leaving the school. They’re asked to indicate whether they agree or disagree – and how strongly – with statements such as: “Even when I wasn’t proud of how I acted, even when I didn’t do the homework, even when I got low test scores or didn’t seem interested in what was being taught, I knew that [insert your name here] still cared about me.”
How would you like your students to answer that sort of question? How do you think they will answer it?"

I know that some of my students know how very much I cared for them, but I worry about those few who slipped between the cracks. I worry that my frustrations with them overshadow the true feelings I felt for them.

Another teacher came to talk to me about the problems she has had with cheating in her classroom with our group of 7th graders this year. It was a timely conversation, echoing one I had yesterday with another teacher.

I think we have created a culture among students where they do not think sharing or giving answers is cheating.

The social aspect of learning has been at the forefront of education recently. We encourage students to talk it out; we establish group learning/projects as the norm; we seat students in closer proximity to each other trying to facilitate these protocols.

Have we gone too far? Are we creating students who cannot think independently? Where is the line between working together and cheating?

As a general rule, in my classes, students are allowed to confer when working on independent work. The only time I usually implement 'silence' in during a final assessment/test situation. I find students better able to explain to each other the problems they encounter, and it is obviously easier for me to not have to help each individual student. I know the students who are "teaching" are cementing the learning in their minds more securely, and like to think both parties are gaining from the experience.

However, I am begining to question my philosophy. Are the slackers just coasting along, stealing answers from the others? Are they really learning?

I find it more and more difficult to keep students quiet during an assessment situation. They are so intune to talking to each other, they seem to struggle to silence themselves. Is that bad? If they are learning in a social situation, should they also be assessed in that situation? If so, how will I ever know that Student A really does get it?

Students seem unable to differentiate between what is actually cheating and what is not. They think letting someone else copy their answer is 'helping' and showing them how to work a problem is just 'assisting'.

How do I learn to draw the learn for them, and for me? How can I ever be certain each and every child is grasping the content we cover if I am not assessing accurately?

Does it all matter in the scheme of life?

Dear President Obama,
You are coming into office at one of the most tumultous times in history.

Our country's economy is in shambles. Jobs and homes are being lost daily. Once relatively stable components of our economy are crumbling before our eyes. Watching the evening news is depressing and scary.

We are spending phenomenal amounts of money daily fighting a never-ending war in a far away country, a war most of the country does not understand or support. Lives are being lost, without a tangible reward apparent.

While I realize those things, as well as the others on your plate being handed you tomorrow are important, I ask you to look instead first at what I see as the biggest impending crisis for our country: education.

No Child Left Behind, I have to believe, started with good intentions. However, the small snowball it started with has become an avalanche thundering downhill, leaving in its wake little real improvement, and much confusion and disaster.

We, as a nation, need to make our children our first priority. Test scores are just one small indicator of the "worth" of a child. Accountability has become a word that makes teachers and educators shudder. It doesn't mean accountability for educating the child; it means accountability for them filling in the correct bubbles on that one magical day in space and time. These tests that measure our worth as educators, and the child's worth in society, do not measure every aspect of a quality eduation. They do not measure problem solving skills, technology skills, nor communication skills.

Tests scores are not being used to improve the child's education, but to punish the school. Test scores should be a tool for gauging "what next for this child". Children are not robots, in a one size fits all package. Some learn math quickly but struggle to read. Some are voracious readers but find math a challenge. Others are gifted musicians or athletes, but find academics overwhelming.

Instead of looking at these strengths and capitalizing on them, high stakes tests are forcing teachers and schools to shove each and every student into the same small bubble at the same time. It just doesn't work that way!

Many students have no support at home. Others have no home. Some are caregivers after school for siblings. These children struggle to keep up with the students who go home to a healthy snack and a stay-at-home mom eager to help with homework.

Educators should be held accountable, yes. YES! But measuring that accountability with one test score per year, compared to a different group of students, makes no sense.

Shore up teacher prepartion programs in universities, provide additional monies to schools to work with struggling students, create community outreach programs to educate parents on how to best help their students, and demand adequate and ongoing professional development for learning communites among teachers.

Help US help THEM! Until we make education a true priority in this country, we will never meet our full potential. Please listen to teachers as they reach to you with concerns. Please make our priorities your priorities!

Sincerely,
Cossondra George

Middle School Doesn’t Matter & Other Old School Tales

Teaching 7th graders is tenuous. Even the best student, on her best day, is far from a model student by high school standards. Homework tends to mean scurry around in the hall before school work, lessons learned yesterday are often forgotten, and studying for a test consists of shoving the notes in the textbook. Parents and students both know the grades earned these years won’t show on the ever-feared “permanent” record. These transitional years are viewed as a time to get ready for high school, but without any real consequences for mistakes or failures.

As a result, middle school academics are seen as something to get through instead of crucial to success later in life. With more stringent standards in place, however, this is changing. Algebra 1 seems to be the bottleneck where the failures start in high school. Without this course, not only can students not progress in the math sequence of Geometry, Algebra 2, and whatever other math courses they may need, they are locked out of many science courses as well.

Much time and effort is given to shoring up high school math programs to help struggling students meet with adequate achievement to move on. I think if instead we educated parents and students early on about the importance of math skills, perhaps this bottleneck could be avoided altogether.

Retention has its negative connotations and consequences, socially and emotionally. It is often viewed by parents and students as negative. I do not see giving a struggling child another year to grasp the skills they need in order to be successful at all punitive. I see it as an opportunity to learn and move on with ease.

At other points in our lives, we meet with similar struggles. If we are unsuccessful on our first attempt to learn to drive, we practice, and try again. For our extra efforts, we are rewarded with safer driving skills, and that magical driver’s license. If we cannot shoot the hoops as fast or consistent as others trying out for the team, we are not given an automatic pass onto the varsity team. We are told, try again next year. Practice those skills, get them up to par, and then you can play.

Why then, is it acceptable to send on a 4th grader who still does not know his multiplication facts with automaticity, or a first grader who cannot count to 10? Why is it expected that a 6th grader who still cannot simply a basic fraction like 10/20 to ½, should progress to 7th grade?
Perhaps traditional retention as has been practiced in the past is not the answer. I will be the first to concede that.

Instead, why can’t we develop a non-graded educational program where students work on skills according to where they are, whether it is math or written language? We allow them to move to the next level only when they are ready to move on. This system would allow students to work at their level, mastering those essential skills before we throw them to the wolves at the next grade level, unprepared, intimidated and destined for failure.

The phone rang this afternoon, the school number showing on the caller ID. I answered to hear the voice of my 7th grade language arts colleague asking if I had been listening to the radio. She then tells me one of our girls is missing, one of the ones I would so love to bring home and give a real family to, the one who cuts herself, the one who lives with grandparents who make it clear they are not keen on raising a second family. As the teacher runs down the story quickly for me, telling me of her search of the girl's locker, finding several notes with stray bits of info on them, and how the school counselor is involved, I panic, imagining the worst possible scenarios. The state police are looking for her, but there are no immediate answers.

Is she hitchhiking to mom who lives 1000+ miles away? Is she hiding out in town with some boy seeking comfort where she can find it?? Is she OK? Did a stranger grab her?

Just let her be OK... my heart cries out....

The joys of middle school.... the saga continues....

Let's see.... where oh where should I begin??

Tootie Frootie projects? Sure, why not... They had 6 days in class to make 2 bar graphs, 2 circle graphs, show how they calculated the degrees of their circle graphs, and answer a short group of questions about the project. A reasonable student, who worked faithfully, was easily done in 4 days. However, out of the kindness of my teacher heart... and in an effort to get everyone to turn in every project.... I gave them over Christmas break to finish up, and even 2 days beyond break, outside of class, to complete this project. YET.... I still have kids who need "one more day", "just need to color it", or "can't I glue it on the poster board".... Yes, I know they NEED to do the assignment in order to have met those standards, I know they should be allowed to complete things at their own pace... I know all the buzzwords and philosophical reasons to give them one more day.... BUT NO!!! At what point is a deadline a deadline, and you have to take things home and work on them if you are not going to make good use of your classtime??? At what point do students have to be held accountable for their effort or lack thereof??

Moving on....
MP drove me nuts today. He needed to take an AR test. fine.. grab a laptop with the AR sticker on it and take the test. no.. not for MP! Once he unplugged that particular laptop, it would not work. Instead of simply plugging it into the power cord ON THE TABLE IN FRONT OF HIM... DUH... he takes the battery out to do lord only knows what. He went over to the tub of batteries waiting for the tech person to recalibrate and tried one of those. Of course, it didn't work either. For crying out loud... it is the middle of the school year, you are a 7th grader, PROBLEM SOLVE!

In prealgebra, MP couldn't find his paper, which he swore he turned into the basket. I have no idea where it is, but I am not holding up the other 20 kids in class to help him look for it. But after class, I did find it.. in the SOCIAL STUDIES basket. No, it is not next to the prealgebra basket so it is easily mistaken, it is on a different shelf, and even metal instead of plastic, and it is brown instead of blue! Again, it is the middle of the school year. Why are these things so complicated??

During social studies, he comes to me for a pencil. I point to the cup on my desk. He grabs one, but it is not sharpened. "What do you want me to do?" he asks quizzically. Trying desperately not to strangle him, I point calmly to the pencil sharpener.....

Sitting now at my desk, at least half the laptops are unplugged. Why? Is it so difficult to not unplug it to begin with, or at the very least, plug it back in when you are done with it???

Maybe I am getting old and impatient.. I don't know... but it seems this year, I have large numbers of students who are unwilling, or unable, to be independent about anything. They need handholding for every simple thing, from what to bring to class (even when it is written on the board by the door) to how to answer a problem on their homework (which if they just read the directions and gave it a minute bit of thought, they could solve on their own) to constantly forgetting to bring paper, pencil, book, to class. Usually by this time in the year, they are getting into the routine of school and maturing. This year... no...

Sitting here, bored, as my students take a social studies test, once again I am intriguied with how much testing has permeating the school day. I wonder if it does result in increased learning, or if we are just wasting time.

Before all the high stakes testing pressure, my classes were less about assessment and more about time on task learning. I like to think we accomplished more without all the class time spent on reviewing before a test, taking tests, looking at how well they did, analyzing what went wrong with instruction, reteaching, retesting....

The flipside is, were they really retaining information long term before? Does regular summative assessment help students retain information better?

I think it does. Never before did I see students studying, really studying, committing those learned skills and information to their long term memory. It was like we learned it, did it in class, and then moved on. Sure, some of them may have grasped enough to retrieve those skills in the future when needed, but often, it was a skate-by proposition at best.

A fair number of students still struggle, for a variety of reasons - lack of prerequisite skills, lack of parental support, lack of personal motivation - and yes, some simply because they do not click with me and my style of teaching. But honestly, it seems to me, more students are learning and retaining more than ever before.

When I first started teaching math 8 years ago, I seldom gave even chapter tests, never gave quizzes. Now, at least once a week, sometimes more often, we have a quiz over a small amount of material. This gives me a chance to stop and address misconceptions before moving too far past. I seldom skip a chapter test, feeling that the review and testing process somehow reinforce those skills one more time into students' long term memory vault.

Is it a perfect system? No, not even close... Is it a process headed in the right direction? I like to think so!

Am I conceding that all the high stakes NCLB testing is relevant and necessary? Heavens NO!! I am just coming to realize that in my own classroom, more assessment embedded into instruction is a good thing, a step in the right direction.

A new year….. the time for resolutions… new beginnings… Maybe instead of resolutions, we should write goals, the difference being, a resolution not met seems a failure, while a goal is simply being still worked towards.

With this in mind, this year, I shall write goals for my teaching rather than resolutions. I will view them as a work in progress so if I do not meet them, I will be encouraged to continue the journey instead of abandoning it in perceived failure.

Goal #1:Provide more opportunities for students to learn independently. Too often, learning is structured with me being the guide, leaving little room for individuality, failure, or straying from the intended course. I would like my students to have more opportunities to become responsible for their own learning, pushing themselves to reach beyond what is required, exploring on their own.
In social studies, I find this teaching approach easy. Projects are fun and rewarding both for students and me. Giving them a basic skeleton of what they should learn allows them to explore on their own, while still meeting the requirements I know they need.
In math, however, I find this approach more difficult. Not only do the grade level content expectations seem restrictive, students often need direct instruction in math content to grasp the topics covered. It seems complicated to provide independent learning experiences for students.
My goal will be to provide students at least one independent learning experience per unit in math. These might be online learning explorations, or some sort of project in class. This will require me to be proactive in seeking /developing this type of math lessons.

Goal #2:Due to a variety of circumstances, I have not been on top of sending positive communications home for students this year. Most years, I try to send out postcards about once a marking period praising student successes in my room. I have yet to send out one postcard this year. Therefore, Goal #2 is to send positive postcards on students, hopefully, at least one to each student twice before the end of the school year.

Goal #3: Strive to be a more effective leader among teachers on my staff. I want to always be a positive role model in dealing with students, parents, and adminstrators. Often we find ourselves caught in a rut of complaining and negativity. I want to constantly remind myself to remain positive and find the good in others and situations. By keeping an upbeat outlook, I can be a source of renewable for those around me.

Christmas break.... ahhh.... the peaceful 2 weeks between the crazy December hullabaloos, and the dark and dreary January funk, to be followed by the even more dismal February weeks of never-ending day after day after day.

Winter has set in solid and hard, with snow on the ground since the begining of November. The days are long and cold, snowy and dark, with no respite on the horizon. The first snowfall excites me and students, usually in the middle of October. We see those huge, wet, soft flakes drifting lazily by the window and our blood races thinking SLEDS, SKIS, SNOWSHOES, SNOWMOBILES.

By January, the novelty has worn off, and we see the snowflakes blurring horizontal past the window thinking, where is the sun, why is it snowing again, how long until summer.

Aside from the obvious weather challenges of driving and shoveling, these days mean as a classroom teacher, my lessons have to sparkle and shine, to make up for the lack of outdoor contentment. Students are in a midyear rut, the routines of 7th grade now keeping them complacent in their work habits. It becomes almost like starting the year anew in many ways, as I try to capture their attention.

With all that in mind, as my vacation time stretches far ahead, my thoughts are pulling back to the classroom, wondering how to make monomials and square roots and radicals, something to capture the interest of even the most reluctant of my students. How can I somehow make prealgebra magical and enticing? I need something hands on and meaninful, engaging and motivating, quick paced and easy. hmmm............... so much for vacation, eh?

At our staff meeting this morning, our principal passed out lanyards for our new ID cards. OK, naive me thought COOL, we get ID tags like other professionals other places. I expected some people to moan and groan but I really did not anticipate the barage of unprofessionalism I saw displayed.

I think the principal might have been less naive than I- there were boxes of warm doughnuts greeting us - a long standing teasing grip between he and I about him not bringing us treats for these tortorous meetings. So the sight of doughnuts should have been my first clue, things were going to be a bit more intersting today!

As he sent the snarls of lanyards around to staff members, suddenly the yelling began. "Whose idea was this?" "Is this simply another top down way to control us?" "What purpose do these serve?" "What if we don't wear them?"

Comments from the usual suspects, yes, but instead of being made as calm comments, they were yelling, attacking, and intimidating.

The principal tried to calmly address the questions - the decision had just come about as a result of several factors. He pointed out it had been discussed at School Improvement Team Meetings, in conjunction with our trying to get a visitor welcoming center at the front door of the school, without success. We as a district are trying to crack down on who comes into the building during the school day. ID cards are just one more way to identify who should be there, and who should not be here. It all boils down to a safety issue, pure and simple.

The opposing teachers continued to berate him with accusations that this was because we have just recently settled our contract, finally after nearly 2 years of working without one. They wanted to make it a union/administration issue big time.

Finally, another teacher spoke up politely asking could we please more on to more important things and stop dwelling on trivial stuff.

He was attacked back, one teacher standing, leaning towards him threateningly telling him that a large number of teachers WERE concerned about this and HE should be quiet and let the rest of people have their say. The irony... only 3 of the probably 40 teachers there were speaking out opposed to the ID cards, and here one spoke up against them, and was shut down immediately.

The principal tried to gain control but it was hopeless. His face was defeated, he knew no matter what was said, it wouldn't matter. He tried to further explain his position, the rationale for the ID cards, but no, those in opposition were relentless.

All this comes down to professionalism in my book. Is wearing an ID card REALLY a crisis? Is it really worth attacking each other over? At what point do we step back and realize we are EMPLOYEES of the school district and certain things, certain mandates are NOT union/contract issues? Our employer has the right to tell us certain things. Our employer has the right to mandate certain things concerning procedures in this building. What makes us think we have the right to argue, challenge his authority, and certainly, attack his integrity in a public forum.

What does it say about us as a profession when we act so unprofessionally towards our adminstration and each other?

Sometimes I think we as teachers do not deserve pay at the same scale we would get out on the open market. We, too often, are just a bunch of whiny, obnoxious people, out for blood in a complete US against THEM battle. We have forgotten our purpose in this profession. We have forgotten what professionalism means or looks like. We act like uneducated blue collar radicals with hidden agendas. No wonder we aren't paid what we are worth.

The door is done! My kids rallied together and made our door look great after all.

It does not have the shine and polish of some of the more "teacher created" doors but it looks like it was done 100% by 7th graders, and it was!

I am thrilled with the results and the teamwork that made it happen.

The poor guy.... he was at school to prepare to be a substitute teaching, having recently gotten his teaching degree, but not having secured his first position yet. Our school tries to have newly hired subs "shadow" for a day, spending a few minute in each teacher's classroom to get a feel for protocols.

The poor guy.... I wonder if he will EVER set foot in a school again?

Mike, I remember him in middle school, a quiet kid, a nice kid, the kind who did what was expected of them, didn't cause problems, just kind of blended into the woodwork.

The poor guy.... he wanted to sub in high school, not middle school. But they sent him to my 7th grade class. The day we were decorating our door for Christmas. The most chaotic half hour of the entire year. He looked terrified. He looked like he wanted to run, fast and far.

The poor guy.... of the 21 kids in my homeroom, exactly 6 were in their seats reading or working. The rest were like little Energizer bunnies on speed who had been locked into tiny cages for days and suddenly set free. Fifteen voices all talking to me at once, "Where do we get more paper?" ,"Can I use ALL the glitter?", "TAPE, TAPE, WE NEED TAPE NOW!" , "SHUT UP!", "NO YOU SHUT UP!", "can you draw a horse?", "show me again how to make snowflakes", "give me that marker!", and, and, and.... then add in the half a dozen kids who came from other homerooms needing help with their math assignment, and the fifteen still yelling at me, each other, and no one in particular, as they drew horses and trees, snowflakes and hills, sprinkling glitter and paper scraps like a blizzard in their wake.

Mike.... the poor guy.... he looked like a trapped animal desperate to escape. and the girls, trying to impress him because he is gorgeous, and young. My little 12 and 13 year old 7th graders trying to get his attention being silly and goofyas only adolescent girls can.

The poor guy... I wonder if he will ever be back?

But our door is almost done, and it looks pretty good! I don't think we will win the contest, but our door looks like 7th graders made it with lots of heart and laughter and noise!

Dashing off to class
With book tucked in my hand
To my seat I go
Laughing all the way
Numbers make me smile
Making spirits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing
Learning math today

Oh, jingle bells, math is swell
We love to do our work
Fractions, decimals, variables
they make us shout with joy
HEY! Jingle bells, math is swell
I can’t wait for class.
Oh, what fun it is to learn
to do new math each day.

A day or two ago
I thought that I was dumb
I just could not do math
But Mrs. George that meanie
Made me understand
She cut me not a bit of slack
We learned it all somehow
And now we’re smartified

Oh, jingle bells, math is swell
We love to do our work
Fractions, decimals, variables
they make us shout with joy
HEY! Jingle bells, math is swell
I can’t wait for class.
Oh, what fun it is to learn
to do new math each day.
Jingle bells, math is swell
Math class all the way!
Oh, what fun it is to learn
To do new math each day

Jingle bells, math is swell
I can’t wait for class
Oh, what fun it is to learn
To do new math each day

Today's math lesson is one of my favorite all year. Most of it is really a quick review of Measures of Central Tendency: mean, mode, and median, but I love the kids being so up and engaged and THINKING about how to work as a group to solve problems. I wish I could come up with more ways to create these scenarios in class.

It was interesting 4th hour especially. I invited the special ed teacher to bring his 10 students to join us. Those kids have never had me in class, so joining us for such a rambunctious experiment had to be overwhelming and intimidating. However, overall, it went well. I am not sure "all" of them got "all" of the lesson, but hopefully a little debriefing will cement the top ideas for the ones still struggling.

Another interesting thing today..... HH, at the very beginning of 4th hour, catches me in the hall, after having had me first hour for social studies, and 2nd hour for math, and then having had time during seminar to come talk to me. He was in a panic. Apparently, HH had checked his grades and seen that his math grade has fallen back into the failing zone. He actually thought I was going to STOP EVERYTHING else RIGHT THEN AND THERE and give him some extra credit (I do not give extra credit ever) or let him redo a quiz or SOMETHING because suddenly now he cares about his grade. Why the sudden concern? He will be ineligible to play basketball again! Well, unfortunately for him, Mrs. George doesn't work that way. I told him I didn't have time to even discuss it with him because I had a class to teach, and walked into my room, closing my door behind me, leaving him standing there, mouth agape.

Before you think me callous and uncaring, HH has already sat the bench much of basketball season because he is constantly failing one or more classes, sometimes my classes, sometimes others. Unfortunately, he doesn't understand, or want to understand, that the way to playing basketball is working hard in class EVERY day, not just when his grade fails below that magical 60%.

HH thinks he is the ONLY student his teachers are responsible for. He thinks it is ok to waste time in class day after day, fail test after test, but that in spite of those efforts on his part, we should find a way to make him pass.

Today, we had a little exit quiz which should have been super easy, and for most students, was. Students had to simply define mean, mode, median, and answer one question comparing a stem and leaf plot to a line plot. HH scored a 25% on his. These are concepts students have had in previous years, and concepts we discussed at great length during the activity today. However, HH spent the class period causing disruptions, touching other people as they walked by, playing with the blocks he was using for our experiment, etc... I was not surprised by his score, but he was when he saw the impact it had on his grade.

HH popped back into my room during my prep, interrupting my conversation with another teacher, asking me if I was going to be there after school because, "we have to do something about my grade". When I told him that I do not stay late on Friday's, he sulked away.

He wouldn't have done any better retaking the quiz without some further instruction on my part, or some studying on his, and even if it seems somewhat cruel on my part, I think he NEEDS to sit the bench during tomorrow's basketball game.

Not only is his math grade in dire straits, his language arts grade is at 45%. Once I grade his European powerpoint he has been avoiding working on for the past week, most likely his social studies grade will fall into the red zone as well. However, during work time, he is not concerned about that, preferring to talk, bother others, and avoid researching his country.

It is so frustrating to try to help students like HH see that he CAN do the work. He simply must CHOOSE to do it consistently instead of when it suddenly becomes important to HIM.

Today was one of those RED LETTER days that seem so rare. I was not at school yesterday so I anticipated the worst, coming back from having a sub. Fortunately, I had Jack, one of my favorites as subs go. He is a retired science teacher who gets along well with middle schoolers. He has a sense of humor, is just strict enough the keep them from destroying the classroom, but lenient enough to tolerate most of my untolerables.

D.R. was back from his latest suspension, which meant he would most likely have a good day, glad to be back in his element. The work I left was fairly easy - read a social studies section together and complete the easy/boring worksheet that accompanies the book & complete a worksheet packet in math class on histograms, which we had spent Monday learning about together. I knew my kids knew how to do the work, but the practice wouldn't hurt them, and was something sub-proof.

When I walked in this morning, looking across my classroom, WOW... things weren't too bad. Laptops unplugged here and there, a couple of pencils on the floor, but the chairs were picked up, there was NOT garbage and junk everywhere as had been the past couple of times I was gone. I was relieved! The baskets were full of completed assignments even!

Social studies class started - they KNEW their European bodies of water they are to be tested on Friday. Then, they got to work on their powerpoint projects they are working on. EVEN DR! It took some help from me, granted, but he worked, and was even excited about some of the research he is doing on Romania, wanting to include some of the things he found about Dracula in his presentation. At the end of the hour, I patted him on the back and told him how very much I appreciated his hard work and encouraged him to "Let's make it 2 more hours!" to which he grinned and laughed.

AND HE DID!!! Math class, he worked! I was soooo impressed.

We did a "hands-on lab" from the textbook, which while not hands-on in my book, was pretty cool. A table gave us the statistics of how many tornadoes each state averages per year. We took those stats, as a group, and made a line plot, using the state abbreviations instead of X's. Then, we worked to divide these into logical intervals and then, students colored US maps to show the trends in tornadoes. Not a difficult assignment, but one that took some thinking. They enjoyed the coloring part, and joked about doing social studies in math class. EVEN D.R.!!

During homeroom, D.R. listened while I read! Then, he read silently. Even during seminar time, he busied himself on something.

The rest of the day was uneventful, though the kids were LOUD. There is a huge snowstorm predicted, and predicatably, the dropping barometic pressure means middle schoolers are rambunctious. However, they were all working and on task so other than the noise level driving me bonckers, it really didn't matter.

I left school tired, but feeling like WOW, we accomplished A LOT, ALL DAY!

One sad note... K.C.... the little girl from earlier with the embarassingly sexually explicit note.... is suspended again.. she had cigarettes at school AGAIN, this time selling them. I wish I could somehow get her to come around. Since I had a cruel heart to heart talk with her, she has done remarkably well academically in my classes. She has become my star student in both social studies and math class. But her frequent suspensions make it difficult for her to keep up when she is there. I don't know what to do....