With 3 1/2 weeks left until Christmas break, I am trying to organize my brain around some active, fun, engaging GLCE driven math lessons to keep my kids on track. Part of the difficulty lies with the planned absences this time of year. So many parents schedule extended vacations around the holidays. While I believe in the value of travel, family time, and the premise that learning occurs naturally outside the classroom, these trips make lesson planning more complicated.

Many of the hands on things in my bag of tricks have no written work to substitute for absent students. Sure, I could in theory dig out some worksheets from our text to hand them, but does that truly replicate?

So..... I am going to plan forgetting students will be gone, knowing some will miss out.

This short Thanksgiving week is easy. We are going to draw Cartesian cartoons. My students always need practice graphing, for some reason. I don't see what they struggle so much with what appears to be a simple concept. However, thanks to my supervising teacher when I was student teaching oh so many years ago, I purchased 2 books of Cartesian cartoons - with only only positive coordinates and the other with points in all four quadrants. I also got a super simple one for those struggling students - this one has letters and numbers with direction to color squares different colors. It is cute but not challenging for most 7th graders. I want to require all students to complete the most difficult one but as usual, I wonder if I am setting myself up for a disaster. If time permitted, I would have them each do 2, or complete one and create one. Can you imagine how creative some of their own would be?

After turkey holiday time is done, we will head into our data unit. I have a great hands-on lesson to review mean, median, mode, as well as quartiles. I invited our special ed teacher to bring his kids in for the data stuff so things are going to be exciting 4th hour. This is my GREAT class though so I am not worried to much other than space. Suddenly I will have 32 kids instead of 21, but there will be an additional teacher. My only concern with them joining us is one student who has Asperger's Syndrome and does not adjust well to large, loud groups, or change.

In the past, I have used the tiny snack boxes of raisins to teach box & whisker plots ( you know.. those funny graphs you see **everywhere** ... OK, the only place I have ever seen the is a textbook and the MEAP). The raisins work great though. We create a double box and whisker comparing our estimates of how many raisins are in the box with our actual #'s. We also create a double stem and leaf plot with our data. While raisins are not students' favorite snack, it makes a relatively dull lesson more exciting.

Then we move on to circle graphs. When I was first teaching, I bought snack bags of M&M's but now that I am older and wiser with the funds I spend in my classroom, I use Tootie Frootie cereal, which works just as well. Those big bags are cheap and a paper cup of cereal is perfect for circle graph data. I have students create a small poster of their own individual data displayed in both a circle and bar graph, as well the class data. Great lesson for not just graphs, and why each is better for certain circumstances, but also, we hit relative and cumulative frequency, as well as translating those into fractions, decimals and percents. And at the end, I have all those cool posters to hang on the walls, which students LOVE.

SO back to lesson planning..... I think I will start out with a little book work to prep them first so their prior knowledge is activated. With the promise of cool food activities on the horizon, the book work will set them up perfectly.

Social studies: Monday we start their presentation project on Europe. I took the social studies GLCE's and sorted through what they needed to know, and created this. I hope it works OK. I have concerns about a couple of my students who do very little work. I struggle with the constant question of allowing students to choose their own partners, or assigning them. I hate sticking a good student with someone who will not do their share of the work.

I wish I had some cool idea for something other than a powerpoint - but here I am into powerpointless land again. This mode of presentation does lend itself well to this project but I would love to introduce students to a cool new tool. Alas, I don't have one in my back pocket so ..... and I do not want the time to be caught up in teaching how to use the tool either. That reminds me, though, I need to create a sample for them to critique! (YIKES!)

I was gone Monday morning for a math department meeting and then all day Tuesday to the ISD for a math curriculum team meeting. I had the same sub both days, a very nice retired teacher from our district.

Unfortunately, it was mass chaos while she was there. Some of it, my kids knew better, but other things, were entirely within her control.

She allowed students to take attendance. I am all for giving students responsibility, but we are told over and over again that our attendance book is a legal binding document. Mine was inaccurate as only 7th graders can be expected to make it!

My prealgebra 4th hour class did not even get to go over their homework from the day before to get a chance for questions to be answered because she was too busy talking about hurricanes. Both of my prealgebra classes on their assignment she gave them answers to problems. She didn't work through problems with them, she just simply gave them answers. Several students last hour were so upset they actually starred those problems on their papers with a note.

The classroom was a mess, a disaster area, with garbage, papers, rulers, colored pencils, etc.. all over. This, I scolded my classes for. They know better than to leave our room that way.

The social studies assignment was fairly simple - directions in the teacher's addition said to have students label countries in Europe with name, and then divide them into regions - north, south, east and west according to the clues given in the chapter. She told them to just label countries and color them. A total waste of time.... No higher order thinking at all.

Several students did NOTHING while I was gone. Granted they are the ones who do little when I am there, but at least I try to get them to work. She was excited they had written names on their papers.

I am frustrated with our substitute teacher situation. I have complained and complained but it does no good.

My district expects me to attend these meetings, which are planned months in advance, but instead of securing competent subs, I get the bottom of the barrel. This means the days I am gone are a total waste of educational time. I feel like telling the kids to just not show up when I am going to be gone.

The worst part is when the kids themselves complain. I have no answer for them. How can I defend her actions? Should I?

And, today I have no voice.... laryngitis has set in and all I can do it squeak. As usual, the kids were great, rising to the occasion for the most part. I did have a few issues but none that weren't with the usual suspects. They will have to wait for another post!

The Mighty Dragon of Chaos
When you are inherently unorganized, life’s simplest tasks can be ove

rwhelming. That describes me exactly. I am one of those people, left to her own devices, would simply suffocate under the piles of stuff that accumulate around me. Fortunately, I am not ashamed to admit this personality flaw and am in constant search of tricks to lasso the mighty dragon of chaos.

Over the years, I have collected ideas from every teacher I have met. While some work well for them and not for me, I have managed to piece together enough tools to keep my classroom running somewhat smoothly most of the time.

Below are my top ten stolen organization secrets:

1. Have specific places for students to turn in work – I use plastic stackable baskets, with bold clear labels for each hour. This stops students from tossing a paper onto my desk and being sucked into the black hole, never to be seen again.

2. Have a designated place for students to collect their work from when they are absent. The last thing I do each day before leaving school is take care of absent work. I look at my attendance book and for each student gone each hour, I put exactly what we did that day with any homework and handouts in a basket marked with the hour and ABSENT WORK. This puts the primary responsibility on the student, and makes my life easier without the question of “What did I miss yesterday?” being easy to answer.

3. Have a NO NAME folder. Unless you teach in Lake Woebegone, your students will on occasion, turn in work without a name. Later when they note a missing assignment, you can now simply point, “Did you check the No Name folder?”

4. Use online grading programming - if your district does not use something like PowerSchool, fight to get it. This makes for fewer parent phone calls, fewer students questioning about their grades, fewer writing lists of missing assignments, and best of all, no last minute panic at report card time. But do not get behind on grading - you expect students to turn work in on time. Have the courtesy to assess and return promptly as well. I find myself much more accountable when grades are posted for parents to view.

5. Write the day's lesson on the board. This solves the perpetual “What are we doing today?” question as well as focuses you and your students on the task at hand. Also, write notes on board - reminders for week, etc... so kids learn to look there. Help them learn to be responsible and plan ahead.

6. Have a board in hall outside classroom where you write what students need for class each hour. This method of reminding them what to bring each day helps teach middle schoolers to be organized. Students can be overwhelmed with so many classes and different teachers and thinking in 4 minutes can be tough.

7. Expect students to come to class prepared - I do not allow them to go get calculators, pencil, etc... I loan pencils, paper, textbooks, etc...they are all in designated area of classroom. I do not loan calculators, but "If you wanted it you would have brought it to class" usually sets the tone. Time in the hall is wasted time and I simply do not allow them to go get forgotten things.

8. Keep seating charts on a podium or other easily accessible location so you can take attendance in a split second as students are completing the class starter for day - something written on board to get their minds into gear for today's class - as you take attendance -ours is required to be online within first 10 minutes of class so I do it immediately when the bell rings. Seating charts also are invaluable to a substitute teacher. Mine also serves as a roster for fire drills or other trips out of the classroom since I have no grade book as such.

9. Use email for parent contacts whenever possible – This saves time and makes it easy to keep paper trail. Parents appreciate the ease of contact. Talk to parents early on - establish a positive relationship before there are problems. Send them a positive email about something you notice about a student. Those positives are like money in the bank when you do encounter a discipline problem later in the year.

10.Let go of the things that don’t really matter. My first years in the classroom I spent hours organizing my class library. When students returned books, I had to put the checkout cards back in and shelve the books back in their appropriate location. Finally, a couple of years ago, I decided enough of that! Now students know my books are NOT organized. If they want a book, they will have to dig for it. It is almost like a treasure hunt. Books in order may matter to you, but for me, those are hours better spent on other things. Examine your own classroom for those little things you can let go.

My classroom is not neat and tidy and shiny like some. It has that homey, lived-in, loved look. The tables are never quite in perfect straight lines, the computer cords are twisted and tangled, and my teacher desk looks like a recycling center exploded on it. But my students and I spend our time together engaged in learning, and for the most part, things run smoothly. With a little help from my stolen ideas, I bet yours could be the same!

I admit it... I am a bad person, a bad teacher.... My least favorite student is suspended for 3 days, and that makes me ecstatic. He got into trouble after school, being disrespectful to a paraprofessional, arguing about something. I cannot be accused of picking on him. This incident in no way had anything to do with me.

When he is gone, things run so much more smoothly, though today, his buddy did get into a bit of trouble. It seems he is having trouble in band and instead of dealing with the teacher personally, he is running his mouth in the hall, and even in class, being disrespectful towards her. Not only is this unacceptable, the attitude is carrying over into class. Today, I saw him throw a piece of something across the room. My usual punishment for such an offense is to show up at lunch and clean before going down to cafeteria. Of course, this young man balked at giving up his lunch time, and tried to convince me to let him come to my room instead of band. I first said no and then thought, hmmm.. perfect teachable moment.

He showed up right on time and started picking up all those million tiny scraps on my floor. He did ask for a broom and I said no way.... then, I started talking to him about band and his attitude towards the band teacher, and how disrespectful he had been towards her earlier. He told me his side of the story, in great detail. We talked about possible solutions. He decided to write her a letter outlining how he feels, how he feels about being treated unfairly in her class, and what his proposed solution to the problems is. He left with a smile on his face. My floor is clean.

Will he follow through and really write to her? I don't know. I will touch base with him tomorrow and ask him. I hope he does, and I hope she reads it with an open heart and mind.

He really is a good kid, with a tough life, and I like him a lot. I want him to realize that. I hope today helps that relationship grow.

First snow delay this morning! Wow, totally unexpected. But of course, the kids are all wired now. It certainly makes for an interesting start to the day and week!

Last week ended with parent teacher conferences Thursday. I saw 36 parents of the 67 students I teach. Not a bad turnout. I think now with PowerSchool, and parents having constant access to their child's grades, we see fewer inherently. That is unfortunate because there are so many other things I would like to talk to parents about other than grades.

Typically, most of the parents I want to talk to, don't show up. However, this year, I did get to have some great conversations with several parents. It is wonderful how supportive and concerned most parents are about their children and their education.

I have to admit I love conferences, even though the sitting there all day is tiring. I love hearing comments that this is the first year a student has done well in math, or that I am a large part of the reason their child is having a great 7th grade year. It is reaffirming that all the time and effort I put forth is appreciated.

I love talking to parents about how great their kids are. I love sharing stories of their sense of humor, kind deeds for others, as well as academics successes. Parents love their child unconditionally, but the reassurance that someone else feels the same can be so comforting. I had one mom tell me her child has never felt smart before this year. He has always thought he was dumb, treated as such by teachers. That breaks my heart.... he is an amazing kid. He has a huge attendance problem, is frequently tardy to school, does not always make up his work... but those are parenting issues. When he is here, he is engaged, on task, very knowledgeable about a variety of topics, and wants to do well. I love having him in class. I shudder to think that teachers have damaged children this way, year after year...

But then.. there are those students I do not connect with, I know. We cannot all reach all of them, despite our best of intentions.

Another day... another DR story. First hour, social studies kids had 3 tasks: #1, finish their end of section questions from social studies book they started yesterday #2, make flashcards for the vocabulary words in the chapter, and THEN, they could go online and complete the review games posted there.

Everyone was busy, working on their tasks, except DR, who had immediately turned on a computer, headed to play games. I went over and reminded him he needed to complete the bookwork and vocab cards first and walked away, helping other students with their work. Most were working productively, intent on finishing the less engaging tasks, trying to get to the more lucrative online games. Those not quite as productive, I prodded, reminded, helped, getting them moving on whichever task they needed to work on.

As I circled back by DR, there he is sitting, computer off, social studies book in front of him, closed, playing with a plastic tiny skateboard. I took the skateboard and reminded him to get going on his questions. I moved on, knowing he doesn't deal well with confrontation.

Eventually, he did open his book and try to get started, causing a huge ruckus in the process, having neither paper nor writing utensil. But fortunately for him and me both, other students intervened and provided those for him. (They are also available in the classroom but going and getting them quietly was apparently too complicated for DR!)

After completing a couple of questions, he decided to turn back on the computer, Again, I reminded him he needed to complete the other tasks FIRST. But that set him off and he simply quit working. Luckily, it was near the end of the hour by now, so I let it go.

Next hour, he comes back. I need a break from DR. Three hours in a row is TOO MUCH for both of us.

First, we correct yesterday's assignment, which he doesn't have so he spends the time writing with his red pen on the toy skateboard I had returned to him. We review the skills we are working on - multiplying fractions, especially the icky mixed numbers into improper fractions, and vice versa, and simplifying fractions. Lots of students are struggling in this group so instead of moving on, I give them more practice problems. As a group, they are relieved. They know they just don't GET IT yet.

DR has now spent the first 20 minutes or so of class playing with his toy, making noises and faces at others, throwing little pieces of paper, etc.... Will work time be better?

Of course not... 10 minutes into work time, everyone is busy, except DR and those he is sucking into his black hole of oblivion. I break... I write up the office referral and send him out. I write, "No point in being in class. Refuses to work. Disruptive. Interferring with learning of others." and with a sigh, tell him to leave. With great finesse, he manages to touch base with all his buds as he gathers his belongings and finally leaves.

A collective **sigh** can be felt in the room. Even his buds settle in and work, and work, and work. One of them came to me after class and thanked me, shyly, for giving them more of the same problems to practice, telling me he is trying but still "kinda lost." We talk... mostly me... I tell him what a great kid he is (and he really IS!) smart, good lucking, likeable... but how I really LIKE him more when DR is not in class. We talk about choices and not getting sucked in and he smiles, and says with a shy smile, "I know Mrs. G, I KNOW!" He walks out the door and turns back around, yelling, "THANKS MRS. G!" and I want to cry.

DR is suspended the rest of today and all day tomorrow, Halloween, which is a HUGE blessing. No DR all day tomorrow when all the kids will be WIRED, AND he will not be able to come to the Fun Night tomorrow night.

I feel guilty for wanting him gone, I feel guilty for enjoying 3rd hour without him. I touch base with the young lady who wrote the note yesterday to him. She is apologetic and tells me how she wants more from life than she knows she is going to get like this. She seems sincere, genuine and soooo terribly young. I want to hug her, but don't. She seems so cautious and wounded somehow, and I know her life has been tough. But I feel like she and I finally are connecting, at least a bit.

Last hour, I share my bag of "boo" goodies left on my door with my class. The empty bag is really cute and one girl asks for it. I tell her sure and hand it over. Later, after school, at the drugstore, she is there also and smiles a HUGE smile and says, "THANKS FOR THE BAG MRS. GEORGE!" making the day seem so perfect and worthwhile, even after the DR trauma.

He will be back Monday. Will anything change? No... I know that. And, I hate knowing that. I hate feeling like I have already given up on DR, and it is only October. But I have to focus on the ones who DO care, who want to learn, and find a way to keep him from pulling them into the dark hole with him.

It's great to be back at school this week, though physically, it has been tough. The kids missed me and I missed being there and with them.

However, the joy is overshadowed by DR. He is my thorn this year. I have tried and tried with this young man, but somehow, the shell cannot be broken through, at least not by me. He has had a tough life, granted. He & his sister live with his grandparents, who admittedly are not thrilled to be raising a second family. DR has been in trouble with the law on more than one occasion. The last time was for breaking & entering and larceny.

All that really doesn't matter to me, except he is making consistently bad choices in my classes. I have the young man 1st, 2nd and 3rd hours. He is often late to class, seldom has even a pencil, and comes in with a flair. He is much more interested in the females of the group than academics. In math class in particular, unless I am hawk-eyeing him constantly, he is throwing something, usually erasers broken into tiny pieces, passing notes, making crude comments, or otherwise causing grief to others around him.

Today was the clincher for me. He and a young lady were passing a note. I have taken a lot of notes away from students over the years, some innocent, some cute, some hilarious, some sexual in nature. However, this note was the crudest, most disgusting sexual reference I could even image. The young lady was suggesting doing something to the young man I would never even consider consider considering doing. I was appalled, embarassed, speechless. I am no prude, at all, and little embarasses me. I love a funny (Ok, even crude, and inappropriate) joke as much as the raunchy construction worker or sailor. But this note was over the top disgusting. And she is 12 years old.... and there was even a plan for where and when and how...

I referred them to the principal who gave them lunch detention, TOGETHER.

What now????

One of my favorite pasttimes has been riding my 4 wheeler, ever since the first day I jumped on it, several years ago. I didn't want one. My husband did. When he bought his, he insisted on getting me one as well, despite my protests. It wasn't long before I was begging to trade in my cheap little 2 wheel drive for a faster, more powerful Bombardier 400 Outlander. It was a match made in heaven. I loved the speed, the freedom, the thrill. Every chance I got to ride, I did. Until 2 weeks ago.

My husband and I were up at our cabin, working all day burning the pile of leftover building materials, cleaning out the pole barn, just enjoying the fall day and being outside together. We had gotten both ATV's out of the pole barn to be able to get to other stuff, but were not planning on riding. He promised we would go for a long ride the next day and we had our trip all planned. One last ride before snow fall.

When time came to put the machines away, as usually happened, when I jumped on mine, it just didn't want to go inside, so I let it lead the way down the winding forest road our cabin sits on, no helmet, just enjoying the wind in my hair, taking in the golden leaves slowly floating down, the smell of autumn heavy in the air. I was only going about 20 mph, putting along, enjoying being there, alive, free. Suddenly this HUGE mid puddle appeared. Knowing my machine would spray mud all over me, I jerked the handlebars sharply to miss the puddle. Too late... somehow, as I was sucked into the muck, and came up the opposite side, I hit a small hump of dirt. The sensation of flying through the air will haunt my dreams for a lifetime. The ATV landed upside down with me nearby in the middle of the road.

It could have been worse. Several broken ribs, bruises from the handlebar from my chin across my face to my eye. Bruises and aches all over. But I am alive and thankful.

THe worst part has been being away from school for 2 weeks. I miss the kids. I know they are OK, but I also am egocentric enough to think no one can teach them 7th grade math as well as I can. When I am gone for a day or 2, I can leave busy work, something to occupy them, but no real NEW learning for them.

THis extended absence has made me have to turn over the teaching to the substitutes. As I sit here this morning grading papers, I am in tears at the low scores, the lack of understanding, the obvious misunderstandings being developed.

It is not the sub's fault. She is wonderful. She taught elementary school for years and is just terrific, but when is the last time she balanced an algebraic equation or thought about irrational numbers?

I can't wait until Monday when I can go back to school. I miss the kids, I miss teaching. I know I will still be in pain. I can't bend over, or sit in one position for long, or even breathe deeply, but I have to be there. I have to be with my kids!

What an up and down week.... Wednesday I was so frustrated with a couple of clowns in my 2nd hour, I lost it and yelled at them all. Most of the group is wonderful, kids who struggle in math, but are trying desperately to "get it" and do well. However, there are also a few in there who are the hard core, trouble makers, including the ringleader who has already been suspended for 3 times this school year (and we are in the 4th week of school).

While the few are trying hard to do anything but math, it makes it tough to help those who do care. I see them dragging along more and more with them each day.

I have gotten 2 new students in there as well, both of whom come with baggage all their own. But Thursday, we had a little chat, I gave a new seating chart which spread out the worst of the crew as far from each other as possible, which seems to help some. Unfortunately, for the worst 2, just being in the same room together seems to be enough to cause grief.

Friday was test day in all my math classes. 2nd hour, general math, took a mid-chapter test. Some did extremely well, others, the point seemed to be get done as soon as possible. Next week is the end of the marking period and 2 students are failing the class. Another is hanging in with a D-. To be fair, one of the failing grades is a new student, but she has made no effort since coming here about a week ago, already being suspended for having stolen cigarettes at school. I probably will mark her card as too new to give a grade.

The one young man with an E is the one who is a chronic suspension, but honestly, even if he were here all the time, I am not sure his grade would dramatically change. He spends so much time bothering others, and so little actually working. I have tried to help him. I have called home. I have offered to help after or before school. I have tried to help him during seminar. But he just doesn't care.

My other 2 math classes are pre-algebra. I was supposed to have one higher group and then a kind of middle ground group, having divided the kids by placement test scores. However, it has been kind of a flipflop between groups. My 4th hour is amazing! One student in there has a C and all the rest are A's and B's with an overall class average of 89%. And.. they are trying desperately as a group to get that up to an A. They are excited about math, they work hard, they are hilarious, they are energetic and a strong reminder of why I love 7th graders.

My last hour pre-algebra group is an odd one. About half the class is the made of the "cool kids" , the popular girls who rule the roost. The remainder is made of an odd assortment of cool kid wanna be's, several who are just great kids, one girl who tries so hard to be a hard core troubled child sometimes but is truly just a sweetheart, a boy a recently referred for special ed testing after trying to work individually with him and discovering he struggles greatly getting the info from his brain to paper. There 5 C's in this group, with an overall average of 86%, which is great, but just seems ironic in light of the initial placement test scores. There are a lot of hard working kids in this group but there are also some who work hard because of pressure at home.

In the last group, there is one girl who is struggling big time. She got a 40% on her test the first time through, but stayed after to rework some problems. I had to leave so she didn't quite get done with the redo, and I didn't have time to sit and work with her but will try to make time Monday. I think she is in over her head even in pre-algebra but I wonder if moving her would be a good idea. The language arts teacher is seeing her struggle as well, and wants to call a parent meeting so I am thinking about my recommendations for her.

I can't believe how quickly the year is flying by. It seems like we just started last week.

MEAP's are coming up and that will blow 4 full days of instruction right out of the water. I can't believe the horrible rotating schedule we will torture kids with in the name of testing. The last day, I will have the same group 4 hours in a row, with no test to give. I would love to do something exciting and innovating, but in my mind, most of those things also involved group work, noisy things, and other classes WILL be testing so we must be quiet. What can I do with 26 7th graders for 4 hours that is engaging, fun, educational, AND quiet?

Teaching has its ups and downs and it seems for every Wednesday where things seemed so bad in my 2nd hour, there is a victory day like Friday where I was so pleased with their tests. I like to see their satisfaction when they hand me the test and you can SEE they KNOW they did well, and are happy with themselves.

The first marking period is winding down, and overall, students are doing well. I feel, more than ever before, my grades truly reflect learning, at least in math.

With homework/classwork only 10% of the final grade, the quizzes/tests really do make a huge impact on that final grade. I have more kids asking for redo's, more really asking questions, working through the assignments, and I truly think, LEARNING.

I am trying to give more frequent quizzes. My goal was once a week, and at the middle of week 4, we took quiz 3 in prealgebra today, and will take quiz 3 in math later this week, so we are a bit off schedule but that simply can't always be helped.

It seems my regular math class is always behind for some reason. Today it was the science field trip that put us yet another day behind. Such is life in teaching.

I wish I could find a way to model my social studies class grades more on assessments and less on daily work, but I seldom give "tests" in that class. We do so much together, more discussions, more writing about what we've done, which I guess could be summative assessments, but somehow they seem so ambigious in nature I am reluctant to call them that.

Math is black and white, either you get it or you don't. Social studies is so much more gray to me. It is about people and places and ideas. I can test on map skills or locations, facts and figures, but so much of what we do just doesn't lend itself to that format. I must focus and work on doing that more often.

Our new social studies texts were ordered today, finally. Maybe once I am using a book more, I will find it easier to test from the written materials? I don't like teaching social studies from a text but I find meeting the GLCE's for 7th grade difficult. Partly, I think I don't have the background in the material, but also I find the expectations overwhelming and impossible to cover adequately. I am hoping the text will guide me somewhat.

Overall, it's been a great start to school, and I do not feel that sense of loss I do some years when I long for "last year's kids". I am enjoying these for the moment!

Last night was our first Fun Night of the year, sponsored by my 7th grade. It did not go off as smoothly as I would have liked, but I know that is because of our own lack of preparation with the kids.

We had students sign up to work in the concession, 20 minute shifts with 3 kids working at a time. Some would have done this last year as 6th graders. It really is not complicated - pop, baked goods, and last night we had hot dogs and chips, which I handled.

The problem? First off, some of the kids have NO customer service finesse at all. One of the first crew kept yelling when someone walked up, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?" They gave out cups filled halfway with soda, didn't wash their hands or wear gloves.

However, those things were easily overcome. The biggest thing was showing up for their 20 minute time slot and actually staying and working the entire time. Not one single group showed up in its entirety, less than 10 minutes late for their shift. Of course, the group there from the earlier shift wanted to leave the second the clock said their shift was over.

I had one little girl want to leave her 20 minutes early because she was too tired. When she did get to leave, she raced immediately to the dance floor.

Others were ecstatic because, "THIS IS MY FAVORITE SONG! CAN I PLEEEEEASE GO DANCE JUST THIS ONE SONG?" and of course, looked devastasted when I refused their request.

One child actually suggested we should have 10 minute shifts!!

The workers were for the most part, not the popular kids, but the 'uncool' kids of the group, those peripheral students. I was upset that the "cool" kids were not a part of the work crew, and will make sure next time THEY are the ones filling the work schedule.

The proceeds of these is a big part of how we fund 7th grade camp, so it should be a group responsibility to make sure things come off without a hitch. THere will be other Fun Nights sponsored by the other grades where our 7th graders do not have to work and help out, but this one is THEIR responsibility.

Even cleanup was a battle. One of the 4 workers on the schedule for cleanup showed up. I sent her to find the others, but they never came back, so alas, most of the cleanup fell to me, another teacher, her daughter, and a couple of parents. As I was hauling bags of garbage out, taking leftover junk up the stairs trip after trip, I realized how unjust the evening was.

Monday... class meeting about working and responsibility!

Yesterday was our first Math Curriculum Review Team meeting at our Intermediate School District. We work on aligning lessons, units, and resources to the Grade Level Content Expectations.

This past summer when I was working there, I got into a kind of a tiff with another teacher about grades - I insisted they should not reflect things like late assignments, participation, etc... redo's should be not only encouraged but required, and those new scores should replace the old ones, not be averaged with original scores.

This other teacher was very insistent that I was wrong and would not even listen to what I had to say. I defended my position strongly but it was like talking to a wall.

That was June. Yesterday... she came up to me and told me she wanted to thank me for challenging her! She has since thought more about our conversation, done some research, participated in some Balanced Assessment training, and is rethinking her teaching and grading/assessing practices. She said she hates to think of all the students she has "scarred" over the years with her methods!

How humbling to be a part of someone's growth!! I hugged her and told her how exciting it was that she is now reflecting and reconsidering her methods!!

As we head into the second half of the first 6 week marking period, I feel a sense of calm and accomplishment. It is hard to explain, but I think it all comes down to the tracked math classes this year.

I have 2 pre-algebra classes which are both doing well, and moving right along. But I only have 1 "just" 7th grade math class. Those are the kids who were ear marked as struggling math students. We are doing so great, I can't believe it. Without the pressure to keep up with the "top" kids, I feel like we can stop, slow down, take more time to work on concepts, and really make sure they are getting it. We are almost on track with other years, so in all truth, we are not moving slower than usual, but it feels like so much less pressure to stay on track. I feel more relaxed and less stressed, which equates to higher achievement in my students.

Social studies is fun, completely. We are still working on population concepts, and the students seems so intelligent and knowledgeable about every topic we've discussed. Tomorrow we start watching Human Footprint and I can't wait to discuss the DVD with them. I know they will be enlightening and enlightened.

Union issues at school continue to plague the peace and quiet but I continue to teach and love my kids, regardless of the turmoil around me. It seems more and more teachers are choosing that route, and that makes me happy. I know we have many staff who are not only competent but truly care about kids and learning.

In other news to note, SNOW next week!! THe science teacher has planned this little outing for all of us - going to Dollarville Dam/flooding to do some water samples. And... of course, it is supposed to SNOW!! teehee... isn't that just par for the course??

Our first Fun Night is scheduled for Friday. It should be a good one - the first of the year, the weather is still nice out, and the kids are excited. I too am looking forward to it.

2 weeks down already. It's been a busy 2 weeks, with picture day, too many staff meetings, a math department meeting, a social studies department meeting, school improvement team meeting, and kickoff assembly for the parent group's big fund raiser. Whew... add in trying to get kids into MY classroom routine... let's just say: I hope the next week is a bit calmer - OH WAIT, it's homecoming week!

All that aside, it really seems like the school year is off to a great start. The kids are getting into the routine of reading the board to know what to bring to class, what day it is, what we are doing in class, etc... I am always amazed that most teachers do NOT expect students to read and follow posted instructions. I do not understand why you would want to tell them everything! It is sooo much simpler for me to do things my way.

I use a lot of positive reinforcements, OK, bribery, the first few weeks to get the routines in place. Your homework is in the basket where it belongs? A box of Nerds is yours! You remembered your AR book for math class? A roll of Smarties for you! I know all the anti-candy reasoning, and the anti-bribery thoughts... so please, spare me the criticism. It works. A few will never get into the routine, but most catch on much faster when the rewards are tangible. It only takes a few times and then I wean them off.

Our first quiz is tomorrow, knowing that Monday is NOT the best choice for a quiz, but with all the miscellaneous stuff going on last week, we got a bit off track. I am trying to quiz each Friday this year, following the Marzano logic that testing frequently promotes learning. I have always quizzed sporadically in the past, and want to give regular planned assessments of this kind a try. My problem is, I find myself frequently taking longer to get through material than I initially plan. Occasionally, we are ahead of schedule. But it just seems my plans are penciled in, not inked, so my Friday quiz may often be a Thursday or Monday quiz instead!

Social studies has been a lot of fun. I am using materials I got from Population Connection this summer and am loving the interactive discussions sparked from the activities. Students seem to be enjoying it as well. The World Population Video in particular, sparked a lot of rich conversation. I want to show it again, using it as a springboard for a conversation about the various eras of history. The book that came along with the video has a great description of them I think will be great to use.

Behavior has been very good. I had one young man suspended for skipping his 6th hour class but otherwise, none have been in any major trouble so far. I do have one who has tardies accumulating, and several with attendance issues. I wish parents would just realize how tough these habits make success.

Friday... finally... the first week is always the toughest, simply because we are in the training part of the school year, trying to get students into the routine, learning where, when, how. It is amazing how quickly I learn so much about each individual from the seemingly innocent actions.

One thing that struck me particularly odd was the stacks of math notebooks after school yesterday. My kids all have a math notebook, which is stored on a rolling cart by the classroom door. On their way in and out, they grab or toss notebooks there for storage. My math classes are tracked this year, 1 high, 1 low and then a middle group. The notebooks for the low group were tossed haphazardly in a random this way/that way arrangement on their shelf. THe middle group was neater, some in a stack, the rest tossed whichever way. The high group... all perfectly stacked, going same way, in one neat stack. Wow... hard to imagine we could predict intelligent by organizational skills?

Overall, this bunch seems like a good crew. So far, even the "trouble-makers" from last year are not causing too much havoc. I am loving the sense of humor of several of them, and am impressed with their intelligence and willingness to answer questions, take risks and be wrong. Those are such important to success skills, more so than any "book learning" they can come in with.

I shared a powerpoint of goofy slides today, taken from a couple of those emails you always get in your inbox and never know what to do with: one of optical illusions, and another of food carved into weird things. They absolutely had a blast with both of them! The discussions were the best!

One of my favorite 'teacher' books has always been What Great Teachers Do Differently: 14 Things That Matter Most by Todd Whitaker. As I prepare for another school year, I am revisting Whitaker's advice.

1. Great teachers never forget that it is people, not programs that determine the quality of a school. I want to be one of those teachers who DOES make a difference, not only in the future of my students, but in the success of my school. I want to be a beacon to all of professionalism and dedication to our profession. This means I have to dedicate myself to always thinking before I speak, but be willing and determined to speak when need be. I have to not allow the negativism of others invade my personal space, mentally or physically.

2. Great teachers establish clear expectations at the start of the year and follow them consistently as the year progresses. I do not believe the adage - Don't smile until Christmas. However, I must make certain I am firm and consistent, not allowing my emotions to cloud my judgement in dealing with difficult students. I need to work on not losing my composure when frustrated, and never giving up on a student.

3. When a student misbehaves, great teachers have on goal: to keep that behavior from happening again. This does not mean the same consequence for each student. Instead it means I must know what makes each of my students act out in circumstances and prepare for those disruptions, and then follow through with the appropriate consequence for that child, whatever it may be. It might be having the child call a parent, it might mean staying after school with me, or coming in at lunch time to wash tables. I have to make the punishment fit the crime and be a detriment to further indiscretions.

4. Great teacher have high expectations for students but even higher expectations for themselves. I must make certain I am always the epitome of professionalism in front of my students. It is easy to lax into bad habits - checking email during down time in class, allowing students time to chat when we could have filled those moments with something constructive, or not being completely organized and prepared for class. I have to make sure I not only expect my students be with me 110% during the time they are with me, but that I am also giving 100% to them the entire class period.

5. Great teachers know who is the variable in the classroom: they are! Good teachers consistently strive to improve, and they focus on something they can control -their own performance. I must make certain I am always focusing on the curriculum, and working to hone how I help students master that content. By reading professional materials, and digesting those materials with care, I can continue to become a better teacher. I need to always be a lifelong learner in pedagogy, questioning my methods, trying new ways, experiementing, but most importantly, reflecting on what I do, thinking through the good and bad.

6. Great teachers create a positive atmosphere in their classroom and their schools. They treat every person with respect. In particular, they understand the power of praise. I love my job but just loving it is not enough. I must always convey that love to my students, their parents, and my colleagues. I must work to engage those teachers around me who do not love what they are doing, and find ways to praise their efforts, to encourage them to 'step it up a notch' when interacting with students. If I can be a beacon of positive light, perhaps it will be contagious. My attitude means everything.

7. Great teachers consistently filter out the negatives that don't matter and share a positive attitude. There are so many things out of my control - our contract, the lack of money, our shared adminstration, parents who are not supportive, students from less than ideal homes - but there are so many other things I can find to be happy about. I have to put aside the things that ought to stay outside the classroom, and leave them there. I have to share positive things with other teachers, creating a positive climate in our building.

8. Great teachers work hard to keep their relationships in good repair - to avoid personal hurt and to repair any possible damage. I must learn to always assume good intentions, from everyone, even when the contrary seems more likely. I have to work with people I may not like, or may not agree with their methods, but by keeping in mind they are trying their best with what they have, I will keep a positive working relationship with them. I will try harder to befriend those struggling, those unhappy with the current climate at school, and try to help them focus on the positives of our job. I will not avoid people just because I find it easier not to deal with them. I will reach out to those around me in an effort to be more positive.

9. Great teachers have the ability to ignore trivial disturbances and the ability to respond to inappropriate behavior without escalating the situation. 7th graders by nature want to attract attention to themselves, so I must learn to find ways to capitalize on those "clowns" and help them channel their behaviors appropriately. I must react with speed but caution to intervene, preferably with humor, to de-escalate situations.

10. Great teachers have a plan and purpose for everything they do. If things don't work out the way they had envisioned, they reflect on what they could have done differently and adjust their plans accordingly. Always plan, plan and plan again. But more importantly, reflect on what I have done, making certain to learn from my mistakes and figure out what worked and what didn't. I must constantly be re-evaluating my own practices.

11. Before making any decision or attempting to bring about any change, great teachers ask themselves one central question: What will the best people think? I must make sure not to let a few inappropriate students keep me from doing the engaging fun things the more responsible students deserve. I must always treat the better students in my classroom with equal time and effort as those disruptive, who inherently demand more of my time and attention.

12. Great teachers continually ask themselves who is most comfortable and who is least comfortable with each decision they make. They treat everyone as if they were good. I must make sure each day is a clean slate, for every student. I must never let my anger at yesterday's actions cloud my judgements in dealing with students. I must always remember that they are just children and not intentional in their actions, oftentimes. I must remember that all students are looking to me for how to treat each other. I must find worth and value in each and every child, every day in my classroom.

13. Great teachers keep standardized testing in perspective; they center on the real issue of student learning. It is easy to focus too much on what students must learn for the MEAP. It is easy to forget that school is more than academics. Students learn much more from real life experiences than books, anytime. Testing is important, but my true teaching purpose is to help students become independent learners, and find confidence in their abilities.

14. Great teacher care about their students. They understand that behaviors and beliefs are tied to emotions, and they understand the power of emotion to jump-start change. I have to keep in mind that my students are not intentionally trying to make my life miserable when they act out - it is often their age, or their frustration at not knowing how to do what we are doing - that causes them to act out. I must work to be patient, and understanding, and make sure they understand that I will always care about them, and always give them one more one more chance. I will never give up on them. I will always trust them to make their best efforts.

Whitaker makes sense. Every time I read it... I must always strive to meet his 14 expectations, make them my inner drive to be the best teacher I can be.

Lesson Planning

or

Start the Year on a Strong Footing

I will admit it, I love sitting in my classroom writing lesson plans. I love the potential as I write down the ideal possibilities of what I want to accomplish with students.

I dug out last year's lesson plan book to use as a guide, wishing I would have written notes about what I did, what I wanted to do differently this year, what worked wonderfully, etc.. but alas, I am left with the cobwebs scattered in my head to remember.

The mandalas we made in social studies, I know were great. Students put them on their notebooks and I enjoyed them all year long. But I am really wondering if the 3 days of class time it took to finish those masterpieces was worth it? It is not a direct social studies linked lesson, to be perfectly honest. But does everything we do have to be??? Is it worthwhile to have students think about their own values, find ways to represent those values visually, and verbalize their meanings to their peers? Isn't that as important as learning about Ancient Rome or medieval times?

Math classes are so much easier for planning, so much more concrete in their direction. I know what they must know when they leave me, I know the order in which they need to learn it for them to be successful in the progression of learning. Black and white, 1,2,3,4... it all makes such more logical sense.

Is it OK that social studies represents a challenge for me? I often feel as if that one hour of the day is the wing zone, where I simply fly by the seat of my pants, trying to meet the state's standards, make it interesting and relevant, but never quite meeting the mark in my objectives.

BEING POSITIVE

BY SURROUNDING YOURSELF

WITH POSITIVE PEOPLE

NOVA/Science Now has an interesting video clip about something called Mirror Neurons that suggests people are strongly influenced by what they see, actually as much as if they themselves do the action they are seeing another do.

What implications does this have for teaching?

I can certainly use this to argue the need to surround one's self with positive people. If all I see are negative images, people frowning, complaining, and simply not enjoying their life/job, that will likely influence me myself to become more negative.

In a classroom, modeling behaviors I want my students to emulate, or having students model for each other, can have a dramatic impact on those less successful students. When they watch me or another student performing, for example, a problem solving strategy, they will internalize those process skills, and make them their own, as if they had already performed the skills.

Seems rather simplistic, but the possibilities are really mind boggling!

Looking back over my summer, it's been a busy one, no doubt. However, I did find time to learn some new techie cool tools. My favs? twitter and plurk, 2 amazing ways to connect and learn. Conversations on both are rich with shared info, teaching tips, websites, and just general chatter about education.

I have also played around with some other web 2.0 tools, like crappygraphs. I love the instant graphs, that can be anything from serious to frivolous. But certainly, these graphs will be engaging to my 7th graders!

I discovered a wonderful podcast at Teach with Video that gives practical suggestions for using tech tools in your classroom, as well as examples of great student podcasts and other tech projects by kids.

Want to print a HUGE poster of a picture? Try Block Posters. This site breaks your pic into 18 pieces so you can print on your printer and put together into a poster. Very cool...

All these make me wish I had time to just play with cool stuff all the time! or at the very least, I wish I taught a tech class to share all these with kids!

Summer's end is upon us. The teachers are starting to haunt the hallowed halls, the stores of full of bargains and long dressing room lines. The air of renewal hangs heavy with the worst offenders from last year promising parents and themselves a new start.

My room is not completely ready - a few posters are waiting to be stickied up, the lesson plans for first week need to be polished a bit, website updated, etc... but the tasks are underway, and I feel that sense of urgency for the kids to come back.