tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76043529155191747362024-03-14T06:06:04.377-05:00Mrs. B's Worldwelcome to the wonderful world of middle school.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger245125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-70575041186895058712014-11-27T20:09:00.000-06:002014-11-27T20:09:14.404-06:00Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!Happy Thanksgiving Blogging friends! I took the year away from blogging because I wasn't in a good place mentally and needed to make some life choices. We moved to Texas after I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, I started teaching 6th grade Reading, Writing, and Social Studies, and I started working at a school that was HUGE. To say that I was overwhelmed was an understatement. My husband moved here two days after two big tornados in Oklahoma and I followed at the end of the school year on July 1st. After the second big tornado I was ready to move, I was excited to be near my in-laws, my niece and nephew, and let's be honest I always knew when I married a Texas boy this is where we would end up. The biggest change was that in December after lots of soul searching (and most importantly under Doctor's orders) I left my job teaching. The teachers were horrible to me, the administration treated me differently because of the color of my skin, and I was having the worst MS symptoms I've ever had. If my doctor had not ordered me to quit I would have suffered through this job until the end of the school year, but I decided to be smart and listen to him. I found a job teaching 15 months old at a Private School and while I was hesitant because I was worried this was going to be boring, and too much like a daycare I was pleasantly surprised. I fell in love with teaching again. I was able to be creative again and the hugs made my days better. I was given a wonderful teaching partner (we are all equal teaching partners) and thanks to this job I met my two best friends. Very high school to mention besties, but that's what these two have become actually no, they are family. At the end of the school year I "graduated" and was moved to the two year olds. I didn't think I could love my job any more than I already did, but for Older Toddler we work with Rice University and their Literacy Program and this Reading teacher is in love. I love being able to be creative. I was given a new teaching partner and while it has been a difficult transition I am happy. I spend my mornings with two year olds and my afternoons with four year olds. I love them! I love my school! I miss being with my middle school kids, I miss being with the at risk kids, but am thinking of starting to tutor next year instead of working all day. Bonus points! I can work as a classroom teacher for the morning only. I haven't decided yet, but we shall see. The school has a elementary school attached to it and for a while I thought maybe I would want to move to the elementary side, but I was asked to interview there and it went horribly. I am happy that things are falling into place in my life. I wasn't going to blog because well the name of my blog is Middle School Maven, so obviously that will have to change, but I have missed getting my feelings out. I have missed being able to read about what everyone is doing. I hope everyone is doing well (all 77 of you!) I also hope you will continue with my on my new educational journey whatever it may be. <br />
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Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-53746101339342304832013-06-11T12:46:00.001-05:002013-06-11T12:46:22.252-05:00I'm back! Dear friends,<br />
I am back! I am sorry for the absence but things have been a little bit crazy! I ended up helping with soccer this season and that took quite a bit of time (even though I wasn't a good helper.) I also became very disheartened with things going on at my job, so I had to take a step back. There were the scary tornados and that just messes with everyone. Don't worry I am fine! I work about 10 minutes Things are going to get better though because there are quite a few changes going on in my life. I will be making a huge move this year and I can't wait. I am moving to Texas with my husband (I can't wait to leave Oklahoma with these tornados!) The other change this year is that I will be teaching sixth grade Social Studies and English. For the past four years I have taught English and Reading so this will be a fun change. I don't have a sport to coach which will be sad, but I'm excited for this new adventure. I promise to be better at posting. Hope everyone is having a great summer break!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-27043676592064731622012-12-27T02:58:00.001-06:002012-12-27T02:58:31.630-06:00feeling like a bratty two year olda few weeks ago I had a conversation with someone at my school. looking back I shouldn't have had the conversation but I was looking for someone above me to "help me" make my decision and just to give a heads up on what might happen. the conversation went something like this me:"there is a seventh grade english position open at blank school and i won't leave you in the middle of the year but if it's open in the spring i will apply for it." superior: "blah blah but let me ask you this you don't seem like you really want to be a teacher because you are absent alot and well with that happened last year at intersession." me:"pause, i've always wanted to be a teacher." <br />
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a bit of background information for my readers. i honestly never thought i'd graduate high school, it was hard for me. (thank goodness my first high school had given me an extra math credit!) i now have two college degrees. yes i am bragging, gloating, etc. i have wanted to be a teacher since i was a little girl and i'm damn good at it. the reason i have been absent so much this year is that i am undergoing some medical tests to see what is wrong with me, it is probably some type of autoimmune disease but i won't know for sure until january 17, and to be honest aside from two days of a jewish holiday my ONLY reasons to be absent this year are due to the medical tests and two days of being sick (as in i have doctor's notes.) so judge away on that but i work with children full of germs, in a building that should be shut down but instead is undergoing construction with junk flying everywhere so yes i get sick. intersession last year you say? i was burnt out, but to be honest there were too many teachers and not enough students so i decided not to come back after one day. it happens but do NOT hold that against me for a year that is inappropriate and unprofessional. <br />
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there was more to the conversation that left me more angry than anything else but the thing that hurt the most was questioning whether or not i wanted to teach. i worked in the corporate world, and i worked retail so i can deal with petty people, but the minute you start questioning my passion for teaching is the minute i start to lose it. i am a great example of perseverance. like i said above i wasn't supposed to graduate high school thanks to one math class and let me tell you i worked my butt off in that class. i had a tutor, i went before school to meet with the teacher, but nothing worked and let me tell you in all of my schooling (yes i'm southern and that's a real word ha ha) my parents never had problems with the teachers, but my mama sure did call on my math teacher. i went to two DIFFERENT high schools, one in georgia one of the best in the state, and one in south carolina that wasn't close to being the best but i refused to go to private school so that was my fate. i digress sorry! i also took six years of college! my original major was five years (elementary education) but i had an issue with a professor who never believed me when i talked of my three different schools, in three different states, and then there was that whole issue with going to see my kindergarten teacher speak because she worked for the state department of education. my professor didn't like my kindergarten teacher and told my class she didn't believe half of what she had told us, me not being shy rose my hand and told the truth "she was the reason i wanted to be a teacher" she was/is. i had two fantastic teacher role models and she was one of them, the other being my 4th grade teacher but we'll talk about those fine ladies another day. so i went to see the head of her department because she wrote in my portfolio (which she lost in a move but found) that "she wasn't sure i would make a good teacher." well as i informed her department head, i had spent the previous summer as a teacher's aide and they were ready for me to transfer to a south carolina school so i could continue working for their school,(and the superintendent) had loved what i had done, and i had just come from working at a summer camp, running the arts and crafts center while being a counselor but no my letters of recommendation meant nothing compared to one professor who didn't know me. who tells someone their A work wasn't great, and that from one night class that was i put in late due to a scheduling error knew i wasn't a good teacher. so i switched majors figuring i'd become a teacher another way, which i did. <br />
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i am not ashamed of my journey to become a teacher because it proves what i've known all along, i'm good at it, and i want it. i love my job! i have hit my family up for money for my classroom, sports, yearbook, etc but no i don't want to be a teacher. why am i sharing this? i can't get over it! i can't look one of my bosses in the eye knowing that is how they feel. i want to say to them you aren't a good principal are you sure it's what you want to do? i wouldn't do it, but boy do i think it, when they ask me questions about "if i'm reading to my class like the other teachers." if you knew what ramp up to reading was then yes you'd know i read to my classes. was i wrong in sharing about leaving? probably, but last year i had a vp that i could bounce the these things off of and i needed that person that day. do i want to go work at the other school? no! why am i writing this? i needed to share and i can't sleep. <br />
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thanks! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-80290028883834986772012-12-22T22:42:00.002-06:002012-12-22T22:42:52.241-06:00Happy Holidays!I have been out of school for a week now! I spent the first 5 days of vacation at my grandparents in Florida. It was fun but now I am home with my husband waiting for the snow. I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, or Happy Chanukah! I hope everyone has a great holiday break and doesn't spend it working like I am. ha ha! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-56991024735754904132012-11-08T22:40:00.002-06:002012-11-08T22:40:35.060-06:00Remember me?Remember when I said I'd be back after fall break? OOPS! School started, yearbook started, personal stuff happened and well I'm back. I have been absent the past few days and oh it is horrible! I haven't been at school since Monday and it is weird. I hate missing work! We have a horrible time getting subs, and apparently (I was there this morning for two classes) my "sub" the man who covered my class (our alternative education teacher) didn't do much of the work I left for my kids. I have two of my classes for 90 minutes so of course I left TONS of worksheets. We are focusing on reading comprehension right now so what better way to get that going then reading comprehension worksheets. (what easier way to get grades while you are gone?) so this morning I had my first/second hour making up some of those worksheets because they need grades. I wasn't at work on Wednesday either and let me tell yall this, on my desk (which for once you could see) there is a bright green folder that says Emergency Sub Plans. I had one teacher text me about them (but I was sleeping so I didn't see the text) and no one else bothered to look. I have two teachers on my hall who know where I keep things, everyone knows that one of the teachers and I work together quite a bit so they could have asked him. EPIC fail! I did have another teacher find a worksheet on my desk and have them do that, which while it was a "quiz" on following directions it was something. I felt bad because normally my kids can just read but I removed the classroom library before Fall Break and haven't returned it. They weren't using it, and I need to go through the books to find new ones, get rid of the beat up ones, replace, etc. I was there this morning for my first/second hour so they spent some time this morning working on those reading comprehension worksheets. I gave them to the students so that they could actually use those skills we worked on. I also gave my other classes TONS of work (oh wait would it be the worksheets I had already assigned) to be finished. I handed them to the teachers, and then told them who they could trust. I am praying that some of it got done because I hate having to "waste" time and have the kids finish these assignments but at the same time I need them to understand when I am gone the work will be graded. Anyone else feel that way? Morale at school still sucks and it's funny because we just had a survey returned from the beginning of the year that explains about the Occupational Health of our building and some of the admin team think it's great. If they only knew (or listened to people) they would know that at least three teachers are thinking of resigning, quite a few are looking to "jump" ship, I can't even begin to tell you how many teachers are so burnt out and it's not even Winter Break yet. It doesn't help that some of the stuff we are doing is paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. I miss teaching. I miss working really hard on a lesson and watching it either succeed or crash and burn but I know that I worked hard on that. Now, it's impossible to get myself motivated to write my daily lesson plan. Yes, daily lesson plan and if I don't have a week's worth of lessons I will be reprimanded. Really? I understand wanting to know what I am doing but seriously people I barely have time to see my husband, get grades done, tutor (mandatory), try and cover, etc. At the heart of it I still love my job, but when is enough enough? When are people going to start listening to the teachers again? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-15881170126881794302012-10-21T22:46:00.000-05:002012-10-21T22:46:09.301-05:00Fall BreakI am on Fall Break and will return October 28. Happy Fall Y'all!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-88077175061048810162012-10-10T23:33:00.000-05:002012-10-10T23:33:36.110-05:00Thank You?When was the last time you were thanked for staying late because a student of yours was the last kid to be picked up? When was the last time you arrived early because another student needed help in Math and you teach Science? When was the last time someone you work with said Thank You? We spend so much time teaching our students how to be contributing members of our society that sometimes we forget to thank the other people working WITH us not against us. I am not one of those people who believes in rainbows and puppies only, but think about this. At one point or another most teachers became teachers because they "wanted to be the change in the world" thanks ghandi. You have to want to be a part of something to deal with our LONG hours, growing piles of paperwork (not grading related), cranky parents, cranky staff members, students (big and small), overcrowded classrooms, and germs just to name a few. I started thinking about this post because morale at my school stinks. We are in the middle of renovations (which will ultimately turn our school into an elementary school), have almost an entirely new staff, some of the old staff are those old scary teachers you read about in horror stories, the administration keeps piling more and more and more for us to do, and of course people are cranky. I am cranky! I am on the verge of burn out but do you know what keeps me going back each day? My kids! I have two small classes due to the reading program I teach and today more than half of the kids were taking another test so I had 7 kids, so I decided to try something new and it worked. It was wonderful! I gave each student a piece of notebook paper and then I wrote one sentence on top that they had to finish, I gave each student about a minute to read and write on each story and then we read them aloud as a group. They were hilarious! My kids kept wanting to this silly assignment but the best part? No fighting, no arguing, and they were writing (willingly.) While this assignment was going on I had a student come up to me to tell me he really enjoyed my class because he knew I cared. Those two reasons right there are why I go back each and every day. So, I challenge you to two things followers! 1 - Thank something that you work with for doing a great job! Don't mock them and say hey great job at making copies, but be sincere. We all need a thank you now and then. 2- Tell me why you go to work everyday. I'm honestly curious as to why each and everyone of you (ok all 66 of you) do what you do everyday. Are you a stay at home mom? Why did you chose to stay home? <br />
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Here is my Thank You to my 66 readers. I started this blog to keep in touch with friends and am starting to understand there are other frustrated but truly wonderful teachers out there, so thank you for putting up with the silly things in order to touch the hearts. Thank you! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-8116502851781432602012-10-03T00:53:00.000-05:002012-10-03T00:53:18.060-05:00Volleyball is OVER...Volleyball was finished on Saturday during the All City tournament at which my girls placed 5th. My only goal was for the girls to make it past round one and well we made it to round 5. I am super proud! With that being said I will be back later this week to post again.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-9524859503103643892012-09-16T23:50:00.001-05:002012-09-16T23:50:59.991-05:00volleyball...I am the head coach for the girl's volleyball team. We only have a girl's team for volleyball at my school and while I moan and groan I love it! I love seeing my girls play their hearts out (and this year win!) I love seeing the girls make new friends, some find their confidence, and some go out there and kick butt. There are some that still can't get the ball over, but try, try, try and I love that. Which that being said I won't be back until after Volleyball season which will end at the end of this month. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-19600722713258654872012-08-27T23:11:00.000-05:002012-08-27T23:11:04.619-05:00mental health dayToday I took a much needed mental health day. I spent the morning in bed snuggling with my sweet puppy and catching up on the DVR. I ended up spending Sunday in bed due to the fact that I have caught cold/virus number 1 for the school year and it's only been in season for a month. I then spent the rest of the afternoon reading, lounging, and reading. I had to go to school this afternoon to coach volleyball (which is a laugh of course!) and when I arrived at school I wished I had stayed at home. I found out that we have had more items added to our to do list, along with some silly people saying stupid things about me (just because we teach middle school doesn't mean we have to behave like middle schoolers.) I brought home some grading and yet I still haven't done it because I had to run some errands tonight and I have been trying and trying to make my lesson plans for tomorrow. I know exactly what I am going to do but I have a hard time filling out our lesson plan template. silly isn't it? I can't seem to explain in my lesson plans what I am going to do yet I am an English teacher who loves to talk. ironic much? speaking of being an English teacher who loves to talk I must confess that one of the reasons I stopped blogging was because I have a horrible love affair with run on sentences. I think that being self aware is impressive but I also never felt that my blog would ever get more than 10 readers so what did it matter, with that being said I will be having the rules of the blog updated soon. Sorry tangent 1 of the post is now finished! I am starting to think that mental health day was definitely needed but now I feel like I am stuck in a rut because I just don't care to do some of the stuff I am now being asked to do. I will do it because it's my job, and because I am a rule follower for the most part, but I want to know when am I going to have time to teach, see my husband, relax, etc. I know that being a teacher isn't always a job that you can quit at 6 but answer me this why are the teachers at school longer than the administrators? Why are having to pull test scores that are two years old from our students? Why are we the ones that are worried about getting in trouble when our teaching time is taken up by silly little things like vocab four squares that take up too much time? Sorry this wasn't meant to be a rant but let's face I'm sick of it being one of the last people at school everyday. I am sick of being there early and still not getting things done and getting in trouble for it. I have a life outside of school or at least I used to. Use your plans you say, well when you have meetings two days a week, tutoring two days a week, when do you time to use your plans? When will people let us teach again? I want to teach! I love teaching, I love trying new things with my kids, I love seeing the lightbulbs go off in their brains, I love hearing a student tell me that they loved my lesson (or even thought it was lame) because it meant they were paying attention. I went to school to become a teacher not a data entry, drone for the district. Do you ever feel like a drone? Do you ever feel like you can't really teach anymore? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-88438702366140722402012-08-25T03:34:00.001-05:002012-08-25T03:34:24.635-05:00today was...today was one of those days where i seriously thought "why, am i teacher?" and it wasn't because of my children. i will admit that my lesson planning isn't always as thought out as others, but i do know what i am doing since i have been teaching ramp up for the past three years (and it doesn't change!) but this week i did i planned an amazing lesson. i planned an amazing cross-curricular lesson AND i planned an amazing lesson with my low kids and another teachers honors class but sadly that lesson did not happen. why not? why did we plan this lesson? i know you are all on the edge of your seat for these details so i will tell you why and why not. we have begun the process of benchmark testing (insert groan here) and they (powers that be) are trying a new way to have my students test which seems to be working so i'm okay with it, but with that being said we were told that we would be holding our first hour for three hours when we were testing so we wouldn't have to worry about kids missing, kids rushing, etc. this is why we planned an amazing lesson because we were allowed to plan a lesson we wanted to do that obviously fit in with our curriculum, which we did. so, friday morning i come to school early and am talking with the other teachers about our lesson and then i run to get the lesson plan (did i mention i made a powerpoint for a few important things because i did) and when i get back they inform me our assistant principal told them oh they decided yesterday/this morning that we didn't have to hold our children for three hours anymore. i understand that due to distract wide pd we had about fifteen teachers missing (don't get me started on that! i go next friday!) these are brand spanking new teachers who look freaked out so i go talk to our new assistant principal and then our principal and they said "yes we don't have to hold, figure it out you can make something happen, etc." at that moment i am not proud to say i had to walk away so i didn't start throwing a temper tantrum or worse. we had ten minutes to come up with a new lesson, which wouldn't be so hard except it was a friday, quite a few teachers were absent, and my first hour is ninety minutes because my ramp up classes are ninety minutes. i managed to find some stuff for my kids to do, was it my awesome lesson? no, was i disappointed? yes, did everything work out? somewhat! the day only got worse from there but i'll blog about that and the interesting lesson we had planned later. i promise i can only relive this day piece by piece. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-7753696143148832552012-08-20T22:06:00.001-05:002012-08-20T22:06:25.836-05:00wowthank you so much for all the love and good ideas. i should probably update yall on the latest with my classes. the students that had already taken my class have now all placed in different classes, a few ended up with me as their on grade level teacher and a few went to the other 7th grade teacher. i have two small classes and one big class in my seventh hour. i am slowly working on getting everything planned that i want to accomplish this year. i have planned some awesome lessons and hopefully will be able to get my kids to where they need to be. thank you again for the support! it means quite a bit to me especially when i wasn't sure if i still had followers since my blogging is very sporadic. <br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-80193144417029315732012-08-12T22:10:00.003-05:002012-08-12T22:10:49.073-05:00never let them see you cry...i know that wanting to cry means i love my job. the reason i know this is because i want to cry because i feel like i am failing my kids. i teach a program i despise and the first benchmark of the year is coming up in a week and am beyond stressed out. why am i already stressed out after almost two weeks of school you ask? well, the first day was the rules, getting to know you, mumbo jumbo and then i realized that most of my students had already had my class. how is that? well i teach a class that is used as an intervention for 6th graders but because some schools keep their 6th graders so our former curriculum specialist told our principal and counselor that it's okay to let the kids who failed the class retake it. NO! it's the exact same course in 7th grade since i am not supposed to have the same kids. so now we are going onto week three of school and i am stuck with half a class of kids who have already had this class and won't want to read the same exact stories twice. i have told the principal, i have told the counselor but let's be honest this isn't high on their to do list so now i am stuck. did i mention these classes are 90 minutes long? i have spent time on figurative language, genre, and now what do i do? i need to get started but i know the kids aren't going to enjoy rereading a book they read last year. i am also stressed because our librarian managed to get a new job in the district so she was able to leave before we had textbooks checked out, books checked out. i was able to help a few teachers check out books but that meant i spent a day of my class time in the library. we also had a power outage last week and spent part of the day at the local high school hanging out in their auditorium. i don't want to fail my kids but i don't know what to do. i have no one to really turn to because our administration isn't so approachable, they are also in closed door meetings and to be honest they listen but don't listen listen. i also seem to be behind the other teachers and i don't want that to happen this year but it is already happening. i am frustrated and just want someone to tell me it will be okay. we have great new language arts teachers but the ones that aren't new, are okay. i have one teacher who wants me to hold her hand (she's been teaching longer than i have a been alive), my former mentor teacher who keeps trying to remind us she is a great teacher. (she was but now she's not as focused so they have placed her our department but not a core english class) and oh the pe teacher who likes to attend our meetings but told me that and i quote "am not a real english teacher because i teach ramp up." i am a real english teacher, i chose to teach my remedial classes and i also have one on grade level class so let's not get started there. so my question to all you teachers out there is what would you do? friday i had my students take an old benchmark (which i took too and it was super hard) so i think we will spend tomorrow going over it and discussing the things we don't know but how do i blend two separate curriculum's together? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-56905216372151848432012-07-25T09:23:00.001-05:002012-07-25T09:23:06.148-05:00two days....I have typed and retyped this post a few times now but honestly the only recurring part of the post is that I return to school in TWO days. That's right people TWO days. <div>
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I have been up to school a few times to "work" on my room. I put work in captions because I am not quite sure what I am truly doing but sometimes I am not sure it's work. I have so much that I need to do and so much that I won't want to do so mostly I stare at all the stuff I have. Anyone else have that issue? I am going with a new color scheme in my room this year so that will be fun. I used to have EVERYTHING pink but that got old. I kept trying to change it up but my old students (and their siblings) enjoyed the pink and hey if it's not broken why fix it? This year I am bringing in some blue. I brought in blue last year but this year I am even changing my borders to bring in the blue. I will hopefully upload photos soon. Anyone else changing things up this year? </div>
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Anyone else starting in a few days?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-59524386517972207932012-04-09T23:25:00.000-05:002012-04-09T23:25:11.611-05:00let the chaos begin...state testing starts tomorrow! (cue scary music here) i will be watching my kids test for three hours starting wednesday and when that is done i will be having a staring contest with those not testing for three hours. <br />
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we have to play educational games if we are not teaching and honestly sometimes my kids need a break. what would you do? any suggestions?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-6685080606084180562012-04-01T23:20:00.000-05:002012-04-01T23:20:38.928-05:00well hello again...I teach at a year-round school which meant that I had a two week spring break! I spent part of week one teaching intersession and then the rest of the week taking care of myself. I found myself starting to burn out mentally and I decided that wasn't going to help my kids so I took the rest of the week off. I felt bad not finishing intersession but we had more than enough teachers and not enough students so I did it and to be honest it felt nice. I spent the second week of spring break with my husbands family in San Antonio, Texas. I had a blast! My husband is the youngest of three and his brother and sister both have two children. I MELT when I hear the words "Aunt Jen" Prior to marrying my husband I had one nephew (and it was because I have known Parker's mom my ENTIRE life.) A week of hearing "Aunt Jen" and I still melt. This was my first family vacation with my new family and it was great. I loved getting to know my new family since we are all so spread out. What did you do for spring break this year?<br />
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One of the problems with a two week spring break was that the kids came back on Monday crazy, crazy, and crazy. We had beautiful weather (no air conditioning because that doesn't come on until the 15th!) and no one wanted to pay attention or review things we had previously discussed. Not to mention just like last year the America's Choice people showed up on the day we got back from Spring Break. I love our new America's Choice rep but seriously? Why would you show up then? I have been teaching for three years and have received two bad reports as a teacher and both occured last year from our old AC rep. The first one was the week after spring break and I had been gone the week prior to spring break for oh my wedding in South Carolina. The sub(s) had not done any of the work I had assigned so I had to come back to "make up" work with my kids. Strike One against me! The next bad review was the week after state testing. I hadn't seen my first/second hour kids (I teach 90 minutes) in probably over a week and right before the rep comes in my kids were telling me they didn't have to learn anymore because we were done with testing. Obviously I had a discussion explaining why that was wrong, blah, blah, well then I tried to take my kids on a virtual field trip and of course NONE of the computers were working. I had done this field trip with my other students and they had liked it, the computers had work, and now while I'm being observed nothing worked. It was horrible because I could see everything blowing up in my face but couldn't stop it. Not to mention the woman kept leaving the room so she would miss my having to discipline the kids and she wanted to know why all of the sudden the assistant principal had shown up in my room. I had called her to come down because I had warned the kids if they didn't start behaving she would be down to take some kids to ISS. Can you tell I'm bitter? These reviews didn't hurt me professionally but they hurt me personally because I put my heart and soul into teaching and well just like in the real world things happen to derail us. <br />
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Have you ever had that happen to you? <br />
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Wow this is a long post and please excuse the run ons, spelling errors, etc. I am not going to double check things because if I do I'll probably end up deleting things, writing more, you know the curse of being long winded. <br />
<br />
I hope you have had a good weekend....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-86169792677632056472012-03-12T00:49:00.000-05:002012-03-12T00:49:42.662-05:00happy anniversary to me!in honor of our anniversary here are a few pictures from the wedding. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdGdbqSqhY8N4IgUE6BkIcBqsDtNV35gEgiZxG6G2fME2925Yf3AwR-Sz1ngOOte3h2pJotPjZYyyIXRz1_5J7ZanVFVtXe8ni3X0rE_Jg6fBiw8IkkzO0JQ_RzzRsqP9JVxHSt0RjfI/s1600/us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdGdbqSqhY8N4IgUE6BkIcBqsDtNV35gEgiZxG6G2fME2925Yf3AwR-Sz1ngOOte3h2pJotPjZYyyIXRz1_5J7ZanVFVtXe8ni3X0rE_Jg6fBiw8IkkzO0JQ_RzzRsqP9JVxHSt0RjfI/s320/us.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnG9QTOafHSqpbzLJG9qzwt_iHswrBlvmHyRi0tXLmAe64ZRShUX-UrbwshYiz-oEk_XN5aQbogSOfmOrw4FZLbL6Vqnd3kEJtaErVj-SOYBcyfsnZ91EsBPeoUQL-_SMdX6wiMN-_F4E/s1600/wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnG9QTOafHSqpbzLJG9qzwt_iHswrBlvmHyRi0tXLmAe64ZRShUX-UrbwshYiz-oEk_XN5aQbogSOfmOrw4FZLbL6Vqnd3kEJtaErVj-SOYBcyfsnZ91EsBPeoUQL-_SMdX6wiMN-_F4E/s320/wedding.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfMneXYbYmjq1bfIeZ9se2PoxV2w8XyJZGcCavfnUxQ2Zw2ElDUTxX4TYkUF4OogYGQEhu3NFMNumbTzx0X7Ze7k__IEsKhtayfr1i5VcwCB2jcKXjOBe5ytBZmYU6TH5lDPuGNrIqws/s1600/wedding2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfMneXYbYmjq1bfIeZ9se2PoxV2w8XyJZGcCavfnUxQ2Zw2ElDUTxX4TYkUF4OogYGQEhu3NFMNumbTzx0X7Ze7k__IEsKhtayfr1i5VcwCB2jcKXjOBe5ytBZmYU6TH5lDPuGNrIqws/s320/wedding2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZi8OeovRF64oyCa825COxdcA77Wc_LzHnmvetDGzIngHsylpFaNlrMKcPkWDIY37HDWZfPuo2vRkbsDA1T3h-iaAI-nQ-o32vgfS3Lu5PLOPZq-26_S4iatxWmk1QJuANF0ZMisHymqg/s1600/wedding3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZi8OeovRF64oyCa825COxdcA77Wc_LzHnmvetDGzIngHsylpFaNlrMKcPkWDIY37HDWZfPuo2vRkbsDA1T3h-iaAI-nQ-o32vgfS3Lu5PLOPZq-26_S4iatxWmk1QJuANF0ZMisHymqg/s320/wedding3.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-2548885959577262272012-03-12T00:38:00.000-05:002012-03-12T00:38:18.130-05:00spring break, what is that?Friday at 4:25 i started Spring Break. What are my big spring break plans? I will be spending the next week teaching intersession from 9 - 3, then having softball practice. I will also be celebrating my one year wedding aniversary with my husband. The second week of spring break I will be outside of San Antonio with my husband and his family. I can't wait!<br />
<br />
Are you on spring break? Do you have big plans? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-21985546066153274832012-03-09T05:10:00.000-06:002012-03-09T05:10:01.969-06:00my feelings exactly!Kim at Finding JOY in 6th grade ( <a href="http://joyin6th.blogspot.com/2012/03/to-blog-or-not-to-blog-blogdentity.html">http://joyin6th.blogspot.com/2012/03/to-blog-or-not-to-blog-blogdentity.html</a> ) recently wrote an amazing post about blogging and I am going to use her post as a template today. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Author's Purpose -</span> <br />
I began blogging a few years ago for a few different reasons, my friends were blogging and I liked what I was reading, I had moved back to South Carolina and this was a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, I couldn't get on facebook at work (and I had a lame job) are the main reasons. <br />
<br />
I have kept blogging because I have moved back to Oklahoma and this is still a great way to family and friends to know what I'm up to. I have found amazing resources in the blogger community not to mention the fact that it helps knowing there are other teachers out there who care as much as I do. Who let me know it's okay to have a bad day and that it doesn't mean you aren't a good teacher plus I am starting to "make friends" via blogger. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">What can I share? -</span><br />
This one is a big one for me because my lesson plans are EXTREMELY rigid as to what I can and can't do. If you don't teach the program I teach then I can't help you but if you do then I'm an okay resource for you. I don't follow the rules exactly because I can't. Why can't I? I have big plans for myself and my future role in the education world (time will tell if i succeed) but it has a lot to do with helping with education reform and one of my BIGGEST convictions is that there is not one program perfect for every student. YOU the teacher have to have the ability to tweak things to work for you and not get in trouble for it. As a teacher we have a responsiblity to our students to help them succeed in life and for that I can't do something that I know will help my kids fail. I have spent quite a few sleepless nights with that issue and finally after a good talk with my admistration I know I am doing the right thing for my kids. <br />
I can share my thoughts, ideas, excitement and I hope I can make you laugh. I think I am funny but then again I am crazy enough to teach 7th grade English where the word ain't is so common I tell strangers to not say ain't. oops! <br />
I can also share my love of teaching! I was the student that no one thought would graduate high school (reasons being another blog post in the near future) and now I have a Masters degree from an amazing school in the South. (where they are beginning to get a fantastic football team!)<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue;">Options -</span> <br />
I will continue to blog and hope that my rambling, rants, and raves are read by at least one person that understands, or cares. I will also continue to blog because it makes me feel better. I know that teachers are underappreciated, underpaid, overworked, but I want to share about the good things too. Don't get me wrong I still will rant, but I will also make an effort to rave. <br />
<br />
So as my first rave thank you Kim for reminding me why I blog! Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-31390158971737335412012-02-20T17:25:00.000-06:002012-02-20T17:25:56.662-06:00what do you do?i have tried to write this post at least 15 times but i can't seem to get my thoughts in order. i have so much to say but i don't how to get it all out. do you ever have those moments? i have decided to make another top ten list for this post. i know i was supposed to make it friday but i didn't. i kept trying to write it and well it didn't work so hopefully this time it will. <div><br />
</div><div>10. i want to eventually work on education policy but i feel like i have so much to learn before i can even think about that.</div><div>9. i think standardized testing is a joke.</div><div>8. i think a day of professional development is a joke. i think it should be more than just one day a year. </div><div>7. just because it isn't in your contract doesn't mean you can't help others.</div><div>6. i think that before you teach you must also spend a year in the corporate world.</div><div>5. teachers are people too.</div><div>4. just because i am a new teacher doesn't mean i'm naive.</div><div>3. not all students are created equal.</div><div>2. sometimes teachers act worse than students.</div><div>1. not all parents are evil. </div><div><br />
</div><div>what are some things you want to get off your chest? are you scared to death to share things too? </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-9921729073179246252012-02-19T02:31:00.000-06:002012-02-19T02:31:15.814-06:00how many hats do you wear?i have been teaching for the past three years and in these past three years i have learned some amazing things. i have also met some amazing people. while teaching these past few years i have worn various different hats. what kind of hats you ask? i am the head volleyball coach (rule #1 is don't hit me with the ball!), assistant softball coach, english department head, remedial english teacher and on grade level english teacher, building leadership committee member, vice president of facality advisory comittee (drafted not volunteered!), yearbook advisor, and those are just the ones that are ongoing. my school is understaffed, underfunded, and underappreciated by the district. we are supposed to close in a few years to become an elementary school due to the MAPS project (which stinks!) and it upsets me. i teach some of the greatest kids ever and we are one of the few schools not overcrowded. this is not a woe is me post this is just a how many hats do you wear post? what are you actively involved in at school? do you wish you could do more or less? sometimes i feel like i don't get to see my husband (and we haven't even been married a year yet) but he gets that my job right now is very taxing. i love him for that understanding. :) <div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-13730377482914707072012-02-10T06:50:00.000-06:002012-02-10T06:50:17.395-06:00top 10 things i have learned this week....i love top ten lists! when "passing notes" in high school we used to make top tens for tons of silly reasons so i have decided to bring it back. i am hoping to make this a regular post for my fridays. we shall see! i always have the best of intentions but then life gets in the way. ha ha!<br />
<br />
top 10 things i have learned this week..<br />
10. i have taught quite a few siblings and i've only been teaching 3 years.<br />
9. just because you are a teacher doesn't mean you know everything.<br />
8. showing your students that you can't do everything doesn't mean you are weak.<br />
7. going to school with an ear infection and sinus infection makes for one cranky <br />
teacher.<br />
6. if you talk to another male teacher in the building you are automatically dating according to your students. (no matter that you are married)<br />
5. i truly love my job.<br />
4. opening my pay check is depressing.<br />
3. having those students that you can rely on makes all the difference in the world.<br />
2. teachers are people too.<br />
1. please and thank you are two of the most important words in the english <br />
language.<br />
<br />
What are some of the things you have learned this week? Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-264104588521544932012-01-31T23:24:00.001-06:002012-01-31T23:24:03.956-06:00Tag!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was recently tagged by <a href="http://twentyfourseventeacher.blogspot.com/2012/01/giving-it-shot-tag.html">twentyfourseventeacher</a> well since I'm such a rule follower (breaker, maker, etc) I am going to follow them. </span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">THE RULES:</span></span><br />
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. You must post the rules.<br />
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself on the blog post.<br />
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create 12 new questions for the people you tagged.<br />
4. Tag 12 people and link them on your post.<br />
5. Let them know you've tagged them</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One'; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fun Facts:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">1. my ENTIRE class is pink, pink and more pink. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">2. purple is actually my favorite color.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">3. i like things to look uniform so i like to write in all big letters or all small letters.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">4. i get confused for being a student ALL the time.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">5. i am obsessed with books and shoes.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">6. i speed read and while i love losing myself in books, it's annoying that i have to make sure my books have at least 200 pages before packing for a trip.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">7. i went to the olympics in atlanta. i didn't love it. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">8. i'm super duper girly but my favorite outfit is sweats, a hoodie, and a baseball cap</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">9. i am a freckled face red-head who's dad used to play connect the dots with her freckles when she was little. (with marker) </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">10. i call my students my babies, kids, (i learned that from my 4th grade teacher)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">11. i wasn't expected to graduate from high school and now i have a masters degree</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">12. i am addicted to coca cola. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">answers: </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. favorite part of monday? walking into work and seeing my kids</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">2. favorite part of tuesday? watching glee with my husband</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">3. favorite part of wednesday? </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">4. favorite part of thursday? staying after school with my yearbook kids</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">5. favorite part of friday? coming home and taking a nap with my puppy. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">6. favorite part of saturday? spending the day lounging around reading.(or watching college football with my husband!) boomer sooner! </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">7. favorite part of sunday? getting caught up on the dvr and lesson planning while napping in between. ( i love my naps!) </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">8. favorite part of spring? the thunderstorms.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">9. favorite part of summer? when it stays below 100 degree and going home to see my parents in south carolina. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">10. favorite part of fall? when football season starts.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">11. favorite part of winter? when it ends! i dislike the cold weather. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">12. favorite part of the school day? when my kids get as excited about a lesson as i am. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">Tag! You are it!!! </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';"><a href="http://7thgrademathteacherextraordinaire.blogspot.com/">7thgrademathteacherextraordinaire</a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';"><a href="http://missklohnsclassroom.blogspot.com/">missklohnsclassroom</a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><a href="http://sweeeeetcaroline.blogspot.com/">sweeeeetcaroline.blogspot.com</a></span></div><div><a href="http://theinspiredapple.blogspot.com/">theinspiredapple.blogspot</a></div><div><br />
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</div><div>I would tag more but I don't know that many teacher friends on the blogger world. I am still learning! </div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">questions:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">1. if you weren't a teacher, what would you be?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">2. if you could travel anywhere where would you go?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">3. if your students could see you as a student would they believe it was you? (my kids see me a super nerd, goody goody which might shock them to know i wasn't such a goody goody.) </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">4. you get to invite a guest speaker to your class who would it be?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">5. what are your three must have items for the school day?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">6. snooze button or jump out of bed?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">7. glass half empty or glass half full kind of person?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">8. do you have any secret talents? </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">9. what talent do you wish you had?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">10. if you were a superhero what would your superpower be?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">11. what television show do you wish had NEVER been created?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';">12. how do you deal with the stress of a long day?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Paytone One';"><br />
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</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-3869239077071332302012-01-22T20:29:00.000-06:002012-01-22T20:29:26.092-06:00i need guidance please!have any of you heard of the america's choice program? if not google it because that is what i teach and while i enjoy it most of the time shockingly it's not perfect. i am teaching two classes that are ninety minutes and one that is forty-five minutes. i love having ninety minutes to teach! i love knowing that if my kids want to read more of their independent reading book i can add ten minutes to that lesson. i have also found that my students are starting to enjoy reading more which as a total book worm makes me happy! tomorrow we start unit two and it is about the civil rights movement. i love this unit except for the following:<br />
my students don't learn about the civil war, civil rights, etc until high school - i teach 7th grade!<br />
most of my student's don't have the background knowledge needed for this unit.<br />
most of my students are hispanic and can't seem to connect with this unit. <br />
<br />
here's where i need the guidance. how do i get them to connect with this unit?<br />
<br />
i am also teaching my on grade level class (the forty-five minute one) about Virginia Hamilton and well see aboves' issues. Not to mention they are supposed to read in groups, and alone and well that's a cluster at it's best. the students have eight weeks to finish various virginia hamilton books that can't leave my class. how is that going to work? <br />
<br />
any ideas?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7604352915519174736.post-70279140784954886512012-01-02T01:40:00.000-06:002012-01-02T01:40:30.162-06:00hi i'm alive!i must first say i'm sorry for my lack of posting but i've been on vacation and most teacher's know that vacation means we run all those errands that we can't run during the year, we make all those appointments we can't make during the school day, etc. not to mention i decided to declutter my life at home and well i have a lot of crap. yes there i said it crap! i have been on break since december 9th but i taught three days of intersession and then my mother came to visit for a week. it was great having her! i then took a personal day and caught up on my dvr and the next thing i knew i'm going back to work in two days. i have enjoyed this long break but i think i would have enjoyed it more if i had been a tad more productive. i was very productive but i know i could have done more. i also got sick which never makes anything fun. i just wanted to let yall know where i have been and also that my blog will be undergoing a makeover so get excited!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3