I have had more success stories than failure stories, in general...
One recent success story:
There was a girl in my 3rd period class (seventh grade) that was trouble. She had moved here from Florida the second week of school and had an ATTITUDE. She is white, which I think is where a lot of the peer clashes come from, but she was always trying to start messes with other students and got suspended for fighting fairly early on in the year. She also had a TERRIBLE attitude in my class. She would sit and pout or glare or write on my desks and never really did any work.
This quarter, something changed. I had talked to her a little bit before about trying to pick up her grade (she failed the first 9 weeks miserably), but I didn't think anything would change her. Suddenly, she started coming to class on time and getting to work right away. She also began to participate in class, handed in every homework assignment and scored in the high 80s on the first test she took this quarter. I was so proud of her! (I was also quite surprised!) I wrote a note home for her to take to her parents about how outstanding she had been doing in my class because I'm pretty sure they RARELY hear anything positive about her. When I handed her the note to bring home, she looked a little nervous. I told her to take it to her parents and that she may read it if she wanted to. At the end of class, she came up to me to hand something in and was smiling SO BIG. I asked if she had read the note and she nodded and kept smiling. I told her I was so impressed with how she's been doing and she thanked me and left.
Then it came time to pick student of the month. I thought she would make a great candidate. After all, she was one of few students that had turned in every homework assignment we've had, AND she had a great attitude in class every day! So I picked her. The day I meant to announce it to the class, I didn't quite get around to it and had to pull her aside to give it to her later. Again, she looked so surprised and HAPPY about it! I just loved seeing her expression!! I also couldn't wait to see how her progress kept up this 9 weeks with her new attitude and hoped these rewards would keep her attitude up.
It really seemed like it would..........
..........and now she's suspended for fighting. I still count this as a success story. The fight didn't occur in my room or anything, and I guess I can't expect her to have COMPLETELY changed...I'm just hoping she comes back and can catch up quickly and doesn't get frustrated! I laughed today because my "starting five" student (student of the month) for my 3rd period class was supposed to help me out, and she was suspended. HAHAHA. GREAT example!
Other smaller, but very important successes that I have done recently....
I learned to:
TAKE A DAY OFF (It just feels sooo good!)
and
DELEGATE. There are plenty of people (students, parents, etc) that are more than willing to help you with small tasks and it helps SO MUCH. I still need to do this more, but in giving my students more responsibility, we both win! They love it and learn at the same time, and I don't have as much on my plate to do every day!
:)
There are a few pieces of advice I would give to a new teacher coming in to a new school...one of those being GET INVOLVED.
I think part of the reason I'm having such a positive experience is because I got involved in extracurricular activities right away at my school. I was coaching softball right away from the time I got to my school, and now I'm full swing into basketball. It is SO NICE to have something to go to after school that isn't directly related to the classroom. It is a great reprieve from the typical day because even though you're still in charge of students, they are not confined to a classroom and they are doing something they love!
Being out on the field or the court with my students is also nice because I get to interact with them on such a different level. A lot of them act very differently after school than at school, and it is really fun to see them open up and be able to joke around with them a little bit. It's also nice to be able to have more of a personal impact on the girls. I think more life-lessons can be taught from a coaching perspective than in a classroom.
I have definitely had many memorable moments with my players that I'll never forget!
It has also been nice to be involved for the sake of getting to know parents and other faculty members. I have met so many more parents, faculty, and staff members because of being a part of extracurricular activities. ALL of the teachers and students know me because I can be seen outside of the classroom. I think I've earned a certain amount of respect for being around outside of school for different activities. I wouldn't have it any other way, though. I need it, and I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVED the idea of the post of what my students do to make me laugh. Unfortunately, whenever I sit down to write this blog, I can't think of something specific that they do....
I'm going to write a couple that come to mind right now, and hopefully I can just keep adding to it.
My kids make me laugh almost every day at some point. They are FUNNY!!!!
One thing that is really simple that makes me chuckle is their response to things. As I write homework up on the board, an exasperated voice from the back of the room says, 'Oh LAWD!!!' (I don't know if I did justice to that...it is their version of Oh Lord, just drawn out and very emotionally expressive!)
Another thing they do is dance. They dance everywhere. They dance up to the front of the room if they have to come to the board for things. They dance back to their seats. They dance in their seats. If they aren't dancing physically, they probably are in their head. They have rhythm, and they CAN dance!!! I love it, and it makes me laugh too:)
Also, because they are middle schoolers, there are a lot of things that make me laugh about how important they think some things are. Mostly I mean interpersonal things and relationships they have. Middle schoolers are just funny in general.
Like I said, not enough specifics, but I'm sure my kids will make me laugh at some point tomorrow and the next day and the next.......and I'll try to write some of them down!
