Posts (page 2)
The brief history recap in the beginning of the book was a perfect concise description of why the educational system in Mississippi is so far behind other states. Sometimes I forget that the problem stems from way before the current problems that I see the kids facing: single-parent homes, poverty, etc. I knew the schools were low in funding, and the first few chapters of Delta Autumn tell why that is.
Other things I found helpful included the section on classroom management. Some of this may have been more helpful before school started, but it also talked about how your original plan could get stale and to remember that change is good and can be very effective. There are some things I need to reiterate and re-drill into my students about what is expected of them in the classroom, and there are some things that I just have to change altogether.
One thing I definitely would have liked to have read before school started was the section about special education. I have at least 10 kids with IEPs in my classroom throughout each day, and there are many challenges that come along with this that I wasn't necessarily prepared for. I still probably am not fully prepared, nor do I feel equipped to give these students the attention and instruction they need without neglecting the rest of my class. I agree with the idea of inclusion and think it is beneficial for the students, but I still feel like I am failing them and/or the rest of my class every day because I can't be at every desk at the same time! I am very interested to find out more about each of my students now that I've read some of the most common disabilities students in poverty face. I have a LOT of students with vision problems and quite a few that seem to have some form of ADD or ADHD. Trying to accommodate for all them is one of my biggest challenges.
There were some valid ideas in the teaching math section that I plan to use in my class even starting this week. I am also glad they touched on the fact that we should TRY to get as much of the frameworks taught, but that there will be remedial work needed and the students NEED that before they can move on.
One aspect of the book that I find very important is the idea of poverty being more than just financial poverty. Most of my students qualify for free lunch and live in low-income areas, but it has been interesting for me to try to think of the other resources they do or do not have at home. Some of the children seem to have a clear support system, while others are definitely lacking this. I found this out with some of my phone calls home that I've made. Some parents care and appreciate the call, and some make you feel like you're inconveniencing them by taking your time to show care and/or concern about their child. Other children are lacking mental resources, which seems to come along with the support systems. They haven't grown up with much educational support from their parents, and it shows in their school work. On the other hand, some students seem to have most of the resources besides financial, and I think this will help them get out of poverty in the future.
There were a lot of specifics about how poverty in homes affects students/teachers/parents that I didn't take into as much consideration the first time I read this book. There were things in the book about the differences of language and how they create tensions in parent-teacher conferences that will be helpful when those roll around!
The need for relationships is something I see evidence of every day. My middle school students have already created quite a bit of drama in the past two and a half weeks, and most of it stems from them wanting to belong or being upset about something some other kid said about them. I've also noticed that some of them come talk to me and tell me their life stories because I will listen (as long as it's not during instructional time!).
One more thing I found extremely important that is an underlying theme throughout the book is not assuming the children come in with previous knowledge. The hidden rules of classes is a large factor for what children come in knowing and can often describe their actions. I grew up in an extremely different situation than these children, and it is important that I remember that, and do not assume they will have had anywhere near the same childhood I did.
This book was more helpful the second time through!
Today was an especially great service. I think this was partly due to the fact that it was made personal to me right away in the beginning. The pastor started the service by having all teachers stand up (because most schools around here start tomorrow), and he prayed for us specifically for the year. There was so much love and respect in the room for all the teachers and everyone around me was thanking me and told me they'd be praying for me. Lord knows, I'll need it as the year goes on! It was such a great feeling!
One other thing from the service today that I loved was a saying the pastor said in the message. I think it is a great thing to think about especially for us while we're teaching and may hit a few rough spots.
make the right choice!! you'll be much happier :)
One thing I am going to try to always remember this year is that EACH day is a brand new day!
My Thursday afternoon was tiring. I was looking forward to the weekend sooo much and was just plain WIPED OUT.
My entire Friday was the complete opposite and it left me energized and very excited about this year again! These kids seem to have a switch that can make them complete angels one day and then there's nothing you can do to get them behaving the next!
There is beauty behind that. Even if you feel like you lost one day, the next can be completely different. I'm going to try to remember not to discount any classes or individuals just because of how they acted one day. They deserve the best I can give them every day, and if I come into their class expecting it to be poor, it probably will be.
I'm definitely glad tomorrow is Friday...
today started out wonderfully continuing what I had thought was a pretty great first week!
and then came my second half of the day.
I have 4th hour prep which I am VERY thankful of. I have 3 and a break and then 3 more. My 5th and 7th period classes are TOUGH. They are either full of students or full of loud-mouths! And THEN, even my normally quiet 6th period today caused trouble!! It was a new girl. Well, she was new to me. She has been on my roster since day 1, but she just finally decided to show up today. She also decided to start talking all big and try to start a fight in my classroom. I made her leave. I think it would have been TERRIFYING had I not been through our role plays, but it was fairly minor compared to those and she left without too much coercing. Needless to say, I was wiped out after my last three classes.
Thank goodness for softball. Today was the first day of softball. I was a little nervous knowing what I THOUGHT was nothing about the sport. Turns out it can't be nothing because I'm pretty sure it's a lot more than most of the girls who came out for the team. I am very very excited though- we will mostly be learning together. It was nearly 100 degrees when we were practicing though, and I'm really hoping I didn't scare any of them away because they were pooped after our warmup! There is definitely a different work ethic for this high school's varsity athletics than what I am used to, but hopefully we can at least go out and have some fun! I definitely needed it today!!
It is so nice to hear from parents in a positive way.
At least two of my students have parents or grandparents that work in the elementary school on our campus, and I have had the opportunity to meet and talk to them. All of them have heard about me at home and say their child is very excited for math this year.
"Oh, YOU're Ms. Hall??!!? K just LOVES your class! She came home yesterday-- wait K is this the one that --- yes she came home yesterday and told us about your following directions lesson! She was just so excited!!"
It was definitely nice to hear!
I have now been through three days of school at HW Byers. I have spent the last 3 days with over a hundred middle schoolers, and I think one of the things I took away from Wong and Wong's First Days book has helped me out a lot with them.
I recognize the importance of procedures in my classes for sure.
I was warned about having them in place and setting them in stone in my summer training, but Wong and Wong also STRONGLY suggest doing the same. They actually do more than that; they say they are necessary in maintaining order.
I agree.
Especially in middle school, these students need a lot of guidance. If there is a certain way things are supposed to be done, they can handle doing them (for the most part at least!). I have been introducing 1-3 procedures per day and reiterating and practicing them with the children. I had them all leave the classroom and go into the "hall" (outside since I'm in a trailer) and practice entering the classroom the correct way. I also had them put headings on their paper more times than they would have cared to do so, but I wanted to make sure they always had their name, date, etc. on their paper.
One procedure that has been very helpful in instilling in my class is my quieting procedure. I have a clapping pattern that I have in place for any time it starts getting out of hand or if I need their attention. They LOVE it and are very motivated to get it exactly right!! (Although I think only one class has gotten it exactly right one time...) It's not complicated, it is just a lot of students.
I also realize the importance of being strict and consistent with your consequences right away. My 7th period class has 31 students on the roster. They have never all been there, but today was the closest with 28. They are also my most rambunctious class throughout the day. They would NOT stop talking today so I warned the whole class that the next person who talked would be thrown out of the room. Of course, a kid whose first day was today was the first one to talk. He had been a lot of the problem, so I didn't feel quite as bad...well, really not bad at all...I sent him out of the room and went on with what I was doing until there was a little break. When I went out to talk to him, he was ALL "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am" and everything and did not talk the rest of the period! Everyone else was nearly silent too. I am a big fan of the response of being true to your consequences, and hopefully I can continue to get the same results!
It felt good:)
Middle schoolers are definitely trying to figure out what they can and can't get away with.
There are a few things I want to blog about from yesterday and today, so they probably will all be fairly short....
The first is how I have seen these kids having to deal with real life in the last few days.
I would like to highlight...these KIDS...
I can't believe how much some of them have to deal with at home! The two in particular that I am thinking of are in the seventh grade for the second time. My class of 'repeaters', as a lot of the teachers like to fondly refer to them as, has a lot of attitude. This doesn't surprise me too much because I know I wouldn't be happy if I had to repeat the 7th grade...or any grade for that matter!
Anyways, not all of them have the same amount of attitude, and I am almost positive that the reason they are in 7th grade again stems from their home lives. One of the girls has been very attentive and participates a LOT! (I think some of this may be because she's going to play softball and wants to get on my good side, but I will take it!) I was talking to her at lunch the other day, and she works at the Sonic in Holly Springs every day from 5-12!!! A - that is a long shift. B - there is NO way she gets a good night sleep working those hours. C - She doesn't have much time for homework after school. AND SHE'S THIRTEEN! I am glad she is trying so hard in my class, and I'm glad she's playing softball. She seems very motivated, but that is a lot of commitments!
The other girl that gave me more of a wake up call is a girl whose first day at Byers was yesterday. She came in kind of shy and timid and ended up sitting alone at lunch. I went over to talk to her to find out where she came from, what she likes to do, etc. Turns out she went to a private Christian school before and really liked it but doesn't think she'll be here long, so they couldn't afford to send her back there. She thinks she is moving to Memphis to live with her Mom who has been sick for a long time and the doctors can't figure out what is wrong. Her mom can't hold a job because of this, and it is difficult for her to do much of anything some days. My student wants to be with her mom and take care of her and her little brother. Right now she lives with her grandmother, her brother lives with her mom and her little sister lives with her dad. She says she has a new dad that she doesn't like at all, who I can only assume is in Memphis with her mom.......basically, she is dealing with a lot. She is ALSO only 13!!!! (I was reminded of that when she was telling me after lunch that one of the girls wanted to know which boy she likes and she couldn't tell her because she didn't know his name:) )
There are other examples, but I'm sure they will all start to sound similar after awhile.
onto the next topic.....
Today was my first day teaching in my own classroom.
I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous last night (and really whenever I would think about what I was actually getting myself into!) Surprisingly, I fell asleep very quickly last night (which NEVER happens the night before the first day of school for me), and I woke up feeling prepared and ready to go impart wisdom to the middle schoolers at H W Byers :)
I arrived extremely early because I did not want to be rushing around and frantic while any students were present. My copier code is still not in the copier, so that was fun to deal with. I ended up making class sets of papers such as the pre-test and having the kids write on a separate sheet. (It works pretty well, I would recommend it if you have a copy and/or print limit!)
And then there were children.
I had my homeroom class (25 seventh graders) for the first two hours of the day. We were to go over the parent/student handbook issued by Marshall County. The teachers had NOT been given one prior to this to prepare what we were going to go over, so that required some improvising. Those handbooks are THICK! and BORING!! I tried to keep the kids awake and participating in going over the rules with me, and I think they did really well considering!
Some of my homeroom-ers stayed in my class for third period. They have a lot of energy and I LOVE it!! If I asked a question, someone would be sure to answer it (usually much more than 1). Also, I gave a pre-test that they all seemed to take seriously and did not complain about. After this class, I had a prep period which gave me time to wrap around my single most important feeling that I took away from teaching today:
I LOVE TEACHING!!
My first three periods of the day left me so energized and encouraged for this year!! I also realized this feeling will probably not be a consistent thought throughout the upcoming year, so I texted a few friends and my sister to tell them how much I loved my life right now and to remind me of that if I ever needed a reminder!
The rest of the day went pretty well too! My main concerns right now include creating and maintaining a teacher-like attitude and discipline in my classrooms. My other main concern is my 7th period class. There are supposed to be 31 seventh graders in my room at one time and they are all so talkative! I do NOT want a silent classroom, but I may have to start out that way for a while.
I have to get some sleep, but I will be writing about the next few days sometime this week!
Good luck everyone!!!!
I meant to put this with my last post, but if anyone has ANY tips or drills or ideas for a brand-new softball coach who has never played softball (that's me), PLEASE let me know!!!
I start next week!
