Athena

Today was Better

Athena — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 02:13:00 GMT

Today went better. I feel much better. I worked from 7am to 7pm though. However, I got my lesson plans that were due last Monday at 8am. And I had a student show up at 6pm for tutoring that I turned away because I just could not deal and wanted to go home. I feel bad about that, but she said she will come back tomorrow. Hopefully, at 4 not 6. But, my room is nice and ordered. And all the copies made for tomorrow. So I don't have to be in until 7:30. Advanced placement is kicking my ass. I thought I could get by without the summer professional development in pre ap. Now, I wish I went. The senior AP teacher, thankfully, gave me some books to help me with literary analysis and cloze (close? I haven't got that far in reading it) reading. I was a history major and expected to teach history! How did I get into this? Thank God I read a lot! The other problem I have is my sophomores. When they were freshmen in pre-AP I, they didn't have to do anything rigorous. I have been having them do about 1 short story a week and asking them to write a "real" paper every 2 weeks. The students think the class is too hard. If they did the work, and handed it in, it would be an easy grade. Not neccessarily an A, but I think representational of their ability. And I grade on improvement. Science Goddess , I do think about your points about grading and I am in the process of working out a fair system. I want the kids to improve and I want to grade on that improvement. I see grading as a power I have. And I try not to use that power to browbeat the students. I am still working this out. However, the Sophomores got progress reports for the first two weeks of the new six weeks. And a lot of kids are not passing. But it's because they refuse to do the littlest amount of homework or classwork. I give them time in class to do it and they waste the time. However, I cannot lower expectations. They are not performing at normal 9th grade levels, let alone 10th grade AP levels!!! Yet, I soldier on, being the bad guy. Being the teacher that they think is mean and hard. However, when they earn an A, they will know they earned an A.

I Feel Like I Have Been Poked By a Stick All Day

Athena — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:19:00 GMT

Like it says. At my school, we are struggling with our AYP status. This mean longer teaching hours, longer involved lesson plans, new committees to join, "data day," etc, etc, etc. For the students, our precarious AYP status means they have to be at school for an extra hour. Supposedly, to study for the state exam. Most teachers just give them free time. I don't. They have homework in my classes. I believe in homework. I know some don't. But I figure the more they are involved in the skills of writing and reading, the more skills they will build. Therefore, I give them homework. And expect it done. I also believe the students should be involved in classwork from the moment the bell rings until the moment it rings to go. I also have high standards that the students must meet to pass the class. I don't feel they are all the high. I look at what other 10th grade English teachers all doing across the country and feel my students are so behind. Needless to say, I do not think I am a popular teacher. I am seen as the teacher who gives too much work and does not give any slack. Ever. I get results though. Today, I think I felt it getting to me. It started in the faculty meeting this morning. I have missed the last two because...well, I forgot. I haven't been getting much sleep lately and I tend to sleep in and stay late. The principals announced that Thursday, all teachers will have to bring all "data" to their department team meetings. "blink" with very bad words put in I keep more data than other teachers. I share it with the students. However, it runs what I teach and no one else really cares (especially the students.) I am smart enough to read my data on my own. Plus they put in a graph showing how many teachers turned in lesson plans for that week. 44% Up from 30% the week before. And mine weren't in either. Very bad words inserted here. Those lesson plans take 2 hours per prep. I have three. Do I want to spend 2 hours grading, 1 hour putting grades in the computer and the other 6 hours writing the lesson plan on Sunday? I don't think so. So my lesson plans are not on time. Can someone say pressure? Very bad words. Then I have 2 young men in a class that feel it is necessary to disrupt my class every chance they get. Show off in front of the class. Disrupt the learning process. I told another young man to get a book for SSR. His own. From the library. And sit down. He said no. I said detention. He said no. Detention was served. It is very ironic I am teaching The Lord of the Flies. I feel like I am living it. In my 5th period, a girl asked my if we could have a party tomorrow. Yeah, right, with our AYP status. Poke...Blink....Poke Then I had one of the disruptive kids in my ninth period. I am tired and irritable. He is doing his little disruptive bit. I catch kids cheating. One a girl I like as a student a great deal. I am perturbed. Then I catch a kid with headphones on without permission. I confiscate the computer and headphones. I find Halo on the computer. The game the students had set up with a character with the Principal's name to kill. And then I find out which student set up the character with the Principal's name to kill. One of my favorite students. Very bad words...Poke...Poke...Blink....Very bad words...Poke...Poke...... Lovely.

"Puht" Boy and Revising

Athena — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:50:00 GMT

First, "puht" boy got 5 days lunch detention for doing no work in my class. He still won't do any work, though. I checked on him in detention today. He is still trying to do his essay. A five hour five paragraph essay. He is still on the first paragraph. In other news, today's lesson went very well. Last year, I spent hours revising and marking up papers for grammar and mechanical mistakes. I'd return the papers and tell the students to revise. I'd get back the exact same papers again with no changes!!!! Today, I had the students partner up. I had them exchange papers. I told them to find the errors. I promised one m & m for every error and one homework pass for every twenty errors. Oh, boy, they went to work!! Some found 60 mistakes. All found at least 20. I told the original owners to correct the mistakes and turn in the papers tomorrow. We'll see if they will make the changes. But, at least, they got revising and editing practice. The only modification I made was that I didn't like counting out 60 candies. So I changed it to 1 candy for every 5 errors. I don't like using food as rewards in the classroom, so I am thinking of making the exercise a grade in the future.

The Detention Essay

Athena — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

"It sucks to be me" girl asked today if she could split her detention into two days. I said no. She served it tonight and was very well behaved. In my detention, students have to spend an hour writing an essay explaining what they did and an apology to me. Then they can spend the rest of the hour doing homework (usually mine since it seems like no other teacher gives out homework in the whole world and their little minds are going to explode.) I have heard many teachers say they do not like writing as a punishment. I don't think my detention essay is a punishment. It gives students a chance to tell their side of the story and I do believe an apology is due and good. I am not so naive to believe the apology is heartfelt, but I think it is good manners. Also, this way I have documentation of what happened in writing. Sometimes, I will even respond in writing and we will work out teacher-student conflicts that way. I really like this because the students have to wait for a response. There is no thinking while someone is talking. There are no listening problems because everything is read and in writing. And...our kids need all the writing practice they can get. This young lady's apology was very nice. I have my doubts if it is heartfelt. Well, maybe heart felt until volleyball season is over and detention doesn't interfere with her practice. We'll see. I hope I am pleasantly surprized.

Darlings

Athena — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:09:00 GMT

I didn't want to teach pre-advanced placement English to freshmen this year. I wanted to have all the same students I had last year. When the new lady wanted to switch preps, I was not thrilled. However, I agreed to it because I was a 1st year teacher last year. I know. The pressure. I now have 3 preps. I am so glad to have these students in my classroom. They have NO make-the-teacher wait-time accumulated. They never keep me waiting to give instructions. They do their homework. None of them have a chip on their shoulders. Many of the girls are volleyball players. One girl had gotten knocked out for about 10 minutes. When she woke up, she cried, "How I'm I going to get Miss Athena's homework done?" The girl was UNCONSCIOUS for 10 minutes and she is worried about my homework?!! Wow. Last Friday, I actually had students in my classroom until 5 pm finishing up homework! And today, after I gave them their autobiography assignment, they wouldn't leave my classroom. They continued working after the bell! Wow. Another student, a young man, was worried about whether he could keep up in the class. He exclaimed, "But I'm was a NEWCOMER last year." I told him his teachers wouldn't have put him in Pre-AP unless he could do it. He is doing fine, but I reassure him all the time. (A newcomer is a student directly from Mexico and usually has poor English skills.) Wow. I don't know if it is a honeymoon going on to long. I just worry I will burn them out. I am trying to give them something fun and interesting after the first stressful 3 weeks of class. I know we are not supposed to play favorites, but, secretly, they are becoming my favorites. I just wish they didn't look so scared. I know in one way this is a good thing and they will let me teach them. On the other hand, again, I am worried about burnout.

Attitude

Athena — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:07:00 GMT

I had another student today having an attitude attack. I teach a young man that attends the infamous 8th period class. He has turned in no work in three weeks. His average is 0. Yesterday, they had to write a 5 paragraph essay for 50 minutes. He wrote 1 paragraph. He shut his laptop down and put his stuff away at 10 minutes to the bell. I informed him we work until the bell rings. He ignored me. He is standing around, distracting the students who were working, and generally being a pain in the you-know-what. I told him to sit 4 times. He ignored me each time. Of course, I kept him after class. I asked him to sit again. He said no, he didn't have to and he is not my puht. Puht?!!!! I asked him to sit down so I could discuss the problem. He said no and that I can't make him do work because he doesn't want to do it and he is not my puht. Puht?!!!!! I am in "oh, no, he didn't" mode and went to close the classroom door. I explained that I have the authority to tell him to sit in my class. I have a job to do and if he is not sitting, working, and listening he is interfering with my job as an educator. And that is against the law in Texas. A one-hundred-and-fifty-dollar-fine. So if I want him to sit, he will sit. And work. And listen. And I asked him what on earth is a puht?!! (I thought maybe it was a Hispanic thing. All in all, most Hispanic students are very respectful and very sweet.) He was saying pet. Is asking a student to sit down in a seat an unreasonable request? It's not like I was asking him to stand on his head. I just wanted him to sit down in his seat. He could talk to other students...the bell was about to ring. I said it forcefully, but not demeaning. Well, maybe by the 4th time I was frustrated, but I was not demeaning. I made him practice "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am" a couple times and let him leave. Today, again, he did not work. I contacted the parental unit and the principal.

Detention

Athena — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 02:32:00 GMT

Today, the "it sucks to be me" girl decided to talk to her friend two rows away while I was giving instructions on how I want their emails to look like. I told her three --got that three!!!- times to stop talking. She was telling some story in Spanish and just ignored me. After class, I asked her want she had to say for herself. She said, "I'm sorry?," as if questioning if that was the right answer. I told her she had detention at 4. She asked if I could make it at 6. What scares me is I considered it. I am such a pushover. But I told her no. I'm on my second beer lesson plan writing spree by then. [;)]Grin.

Intervention

Athena — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 16:38:00 GMT

O.K. the year is going well except for one class--8th period Sophomore English. I had Jerry removed from it and it is better. Except now they are all failing!!! The students in there will not do any homework. They do not want to listen. They are very good people, just not good students. There are 11 students in the class. 4 students are on the lower end of the ESL spectrum. (All my students are ESL. Some are more ESL than others. Does that make sense? Some speak English perfectly. Some speak absolutely no English. These students = no English) 1 student was commended on TAKS. Plus, they have class at 2:25 and have one more class after mine. They are bouncing off the walls. What did I do? First, I gave them all progress reports and told them to have their parents sign. I put personal messages on all the reports including one good thing about their child and why their student was failing. I gave them on Wednesday along with a seating chart. I also had a long talk with them about what we need to achieve in this class. By Friday, they were taking things seriously and doing work. I am intrigued by something the Science Goddess (link here) said on her blog about grades being about power in her September 7 post. So I gave some of the power to those students. We made a list of behaviors we want in this class. Interesting enough, number one for both the teacher (me) and the students is "Listen." So now I think they feel empowered and invested in the classroom. I plan on reviewing the list everyday and revising it once a week. Grades. One of my education professors said "Grades Smades." Sometimes I feel the same way. All I care is that they learn the skills and material to help them communicate. But I have to have somehow to give them feedback. Plus, I have to make sure they are practicing their writing. I monitor this through grades. This is my job, right? We will see if the "plan" works. I think another factor in the subdued feeling in the class is a couple of parents got on their students' cases. I really need to call the parental units more.

Personal Life and Teaching

Athena — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:54:00 GMT

Sorry I haven't posted for a whole week. Life has gotten away from me this week. I would just like one day--one day!--that everything is caught up. Housework, lesson plans, laundry, grading, reading--all caught up. I need some air. Miss A over at Confessions from the Couch (link here)has a tag called "Can I have a personal life?" At first, I thought thank God that doesn't apply to me. You see, I'm really a homebody. Nothing I like more than be home, secure and comforted by the thought all's right in the world. I don't drink (except for during writing lesson plans), smoke, or party. I enjoy decorating my home to make me comfortable. I have one companion, my dog. However, teaching is hard on this lifestyle. First, every time I go to the store or any where in my little town, I run into students...and their parents. I always introduce myself or have the student introduce me to their parents in Spanish. I shake hands. I smile. Then I kinda run away. The kid looks so scared I will say something bad about them to their parents. But, I kinda believe the grocery store in the frozen aisle next to the ice cream is not the place to discuss a child's faults. Besides I just want the ice cream. On Friday, one student asked me why they never see me in Mexico. (It's just across the river. Not even 2 miles away.) I told the kid I was too busy working to go anywhere. I am up at 5 am and at school by 7 am. I work through lunch and school gets done at 4 pm. 3 preps and a TAKS preparation class to plan for. Oh, yeah, and an enrichment class I have to teach once a week. Plus, in one of my classes all the students are failing so I have to plan an intervention and write it up to cover my you-know-what. Oh yeah, I am a sophomore class sponsor and in charge of organizing everything. And I am going to Austin for a conference in a week and I have to plan something the students will actually do...for a week! I get home at 6:30 (I'd really like to get home by 5 to watch reruns of Stargate, but that doesn't happen often.) One to two hours of decompression and just breathing and it's time for bed. Mexico is not on my list of priorities. I can't even imagine if I ran an extracurricular activity or had children. My poor dog. When I go to bed, I swear she is sighing from the boredom of her life. I love my job and I love doing a job that is important. But, for the first time in my life I'd like to have a personal life. I like the fact that I am never bored. For the first time, my job does not bore me to tears. I'd like to just have some time to read and crochet and needlepoint and keep up with a tv series again. Whiny post, huh. I'm am still more happy with my life than I have been ever in my life. Did that make sense? Even though I am overwhelmed with my life and work right now, I would really not want it any other way.

Brain Erasers

Athena — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 19:38:00 GMT

I got a lot of questions about what a brain eraser is. I got these from a company called For Teachers Only . I had trouble last year with students having no writing utensils. This would drive me crazy because the students would waste 5 minutes asking their neighbors to borrow a pen or pencil. The students would tell me other people would "steal" their pens or pencils. I don't know what is going on in our school when there are very expensive cell phones and other electronic devices in kids backpacks and the thieves are stealing pens and pencils!!! Also, I would "loan" my pens to these unfortunate victims of the literary thieves. Pretty soon, I am in the schools supply closet getting new pens because I am out. There is no limit to what we can take from the supply closet. However, I feel like I am wasting valuable school money. Not to mention what the office ladies are saying in Spanish when I walk in and out with boxes of pens all the time. So, I heard about this company "For Teachers Only." They sell those little golf pencils. The misprints are very cheap: 144 for $4.95. I got two boxes. And I got 1 box of regular size pencils for myself. But the company only takes orders of $25 or more. (There is no shipping cost.) So I bought 50 of the little brains. They are not good erasers, but they are cute.

I'm Good

Athena — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 23:30:00 GMT

The past few days classroom management wise have been going great. No real problems. I'm amazed after I struggled so much with it last year. The only real problem I have is getting the kids to pay attention to me. That I solve my timing all the time I wait. Then the accumulated time for the semester is their semester test time. If they accumulate 20 minutes, their semester test is 20 minutes. (They have a semester portfolio, so they do have assessment.) Plus I've told them the class with the lowest time by the end of six week gets brain erasers. Everytime I hold up the timer, they shush themselves. I am very thrilled with how easy the classes are to manage. I think it is a mixture of having great kids and my sense of humor. Sometimes it is a bit sarcastic. But the kids know me this year and I know them. I guess that helps. The issue I am having is with planning. I three different classes to plan for. Plus, a TAKS tutorial once a week and one enrichment class after school. Class goes from 8-4 and I am really dragging with all the material to cover. I didn't get home yesterday till 6:30 pm. I try to put some time into my classroom, plus we have to produce and communicate data on our progress on our walls. Last year, I only had to write one set of lesson plans and this year, three! I am sitting here just enjoying the beer I keep in my refrigerator for emergencies and I have to still work to do. Is it legal to prepare lesson plans with a beer buzz? (I am at home and not at school)

My Educational Background Meme

Athena — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:31:00 GMT

I was tagged by Miss A at Confession from the Couch . 1. Is School 2.0 about technology or pedagogy (teaching methods)? I have no idea. I did Google the term. It looks like some sort of plan for improving schools. I have never heard of it. So I will say both. 2. What were 1-3 things you had to ”unlearn” to become an effective teacher? A. Like Miss A, lecture as a teaching strategy. B. To be so idealistic. 3. Did you learn these poor practices in your teacher preparation program, or somewhere else? If so, where. A. Lecture is how I was taught. Very old school. B. That's the way I am. 4. Describe the philosophy of your teacher preparation program in 25 words or less. My teacher preparation school was great. They had this little chart. and they hit on everyone of those points. Especially the reflective part. I got very tired of reflection but it is a very big part of teaching. 5. What age/grade level do you teach? When did you attend school at that level? I teach 9th and 10th grade. (I am very old.) 1983-1985 6. When were you in your teacher preparation program? 1987 and 2005-2006 I will not tag anyone. If someone wants to steal it go ahead and link back to me. Thanks Miss A! This is my first meme and I feel very welcome in the blogging community! It's so wonderful to have a supportive community of educators to communicate with! Maybe that's what School 2.0 is supposed to be.

My First Day of Class

Athena — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:09:00 GMT

I survived the first two days of my classes. I have 3 preps: English 2, Pre-Advanced Placement 1, and Pre-Advanced Placement 2. I have a very serious classroom management plan this year that I have to stay consistent with. Plus, I have many of the same students from last year. However, I am sad because in teaching the pre-AP, I lost about half of the students I had last year. I see them in the halls and I just want to hug them and drag them into my classroom. I have to stop being so territorial. They are not my students anymore. This year I have conference 1st period. I guess that's ok. I figure I can make copies and get ready for the day. Maybe stop arriving at the school at 6 am like I did last year. I have to remember to get coffee and pee before 2nd period. 2nd period is pre-AP 1. It is all freshmen. These are really sweet kids. They get things done. They take everything seriously. I gave all my students the behavior syllabus. When I had it translated into Spanish, my friend the translator jokingly called it "The Bible." I like that. Instead of reading the whole thing to the students all periods played a game. The class was separated into two teams. One person from each team would go to the back of the room. We made a wide aisle ending in a chair with my three hole punch on it. I asked a question that was on the syllabus and the person who found it would run up, touch the punch, and answer the question. That person got a m & m. When the game was over, they would count up the m & ms. Whichever team got the most candy got a homework pass. This game worked very well. 2nd period students would run and push and scream during it. However, as each period progressed, the students got more "mature" and didn't run as much or have as much fun. Pre-AP 2 came in like a hurricane. They were all over the place, especially the girls. I sternly gave them a lecture on how to come in the classroom. I was very mean and strict. Then we played the game. Period 3 had student I had had before. The highlight of my day was a girl I had last year who gave me a very hard time. She would make snide comments and talk in class all the time. When I introduced myself to the class today I said, "You might think it is a good thing or a bad thing that you have me as a teacher again this year." And I looked at her with a pointed stare. She let out such a long stream of Spanish that I laughed at. She said "It's going to be a long year." I told her, while laughing, "It sucks to be you, huh?" She wouldn't even look up and look at me! She just laughed. Later, I whispered to her that I know we didn't get along last year,but that was last year. I told her I liked her and knew she was a good person. Period 4 had mostly kids I had last year, but one new girl. I told her to pay attention and be quiet today. She just laughed at me. First, I sent her to the hall for about 5 minutes. Then, I had her sit up front with me and used her as an example in explaining the consequences of bad behavior in my classroom. She was pretty serious by the end of the period. (And on day two, she was all serious and very good.) (This sounds very mean, I know, but it worked.) Period 5 had the student that allegedly stole my projector last year. He had gone to DAEP for most of last year. This is such a sad child. I see such pain in his eyes, but he is so clownish and rebellious. I really don't know how to handle him. Plus I am not thrilled he allegedly stole something from me. Period 8 was again kids I had before. One student I will call Jerry just cannot admit he ever does anything wrong or that I am harassing him. He did not bring a pen to class. He got up 3 times while I was talking just to go through his pockets. He distracts other students by talking to them. I explained the rules and consequences and pointedly outlined the ones he was breaking. I think I will be talking to his mom soon. sigh. Our classes go to 4 pm, so it ends up being a long day. I just have to stick to the "plan" and keep my sense of humor.

Pictures of My Classroom

Athena — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:33:00 GMT

Finally! I got most of my classroom set up. This included climbing up and down a ladder many times. My butt was so sore!! The above picture is my rules poster I made using Microsoft Publisher. You know the printer cartridges I was complaining cost too much money? The school had some and gave me some. The only bad thing is I used up the color cartridge doing this poster and the two quotes above the board. The quotes are "Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body" and "If you think it is good enough, it is not." This is the front of the room. The students can use whatever supplies on this desk without asking. I told them if they do not bring Kleenex, they have to use the brown paper towels. They have told me their noses will fall off if they use the brown paper. I'm not kidding. This is my "nest." I have forbidden students from going back there. I have a little stereo and all the neat things I got from students last year. I love this area. Last year, I never had I space I liked. I was constantly moving things around. This year, I have everything I need around me. And I am at the student's backs. I can see everything they do on their laptops. Finally, the best part of all. The view from my brand new window. I love it!!!!!

Goals for My Students

Athena — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 02:54:00 GMT

I want my students: 1. To learn to love learning. To learn how to learn on their own. Tense Teacher (link here) says it better than me. 6. One of my teaching goals is… to encourage my students to think for themselves. Most of them believe that school is all about adults telling them what to do all the time, and while they publicly profess to hate that, the truth is that they’re lazy and would prefer that someone always tell them exactly what to do. That’s why I love teaching literature — most of the time, answers are often open to individual interpretation. In other words, everyone has to think for himself or herself I just want to read that to my students. 2. To learn to communicate as an educated adult. I want no emails with "u" as u or "r" as r. I want to be able to read and listen to them clearly expressing themselves. My students do not realize that the first draft is just that: a draft. In order to be clear and concise, they have to work with the material they wrote. 3. To learn that there is a great big world out there. While that world is scary, it has wonderful and interesting things to experience and offer. Some of those wonderful and interesting things might just be their destiny. For example, I expose them to literature with points of view they may not have considered before or even agree with. But, the exposure can lead them done the road to be more rounded, tolerant, and intelligent than they would be without my instruction. 4. To learn that hard work will get them somewhere. The only way to succeed in my classes is to do the work. The only way to succeed in the world is to do the work. Some of us have to work harder than others. I want them to realize that's ok. Life is about the journey, not the destination.