what 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. 

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.

9.  i think standardized testing is a joke.

8.  i think a day of professional development is a joke.  i think it should be more than just one day a year.  

7.  just because it isn't in your contract doesn't mean you can't help others.

6.  i think that before you teach you must also spend a year in the corporate world.

5.  teachers are people too.

4.  just because i am a new teacher doesn't mean i'm naive.

3.  not all students are created equal.

2. sometimes teachers act worse than students.

1. not all parents are evil.  

what are some things you want to get off your chest?  are you scared to death to share things too?  

how 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.  :) 

top 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!

top 10 things i have learned this week..
10.  i have taught quite a few siblings and i've only been teaching 3 years.
 9. just because you are a teacher doesn't mean you know everything.
 8. showing your students that you can't do everything doesn't mean you are weak.
 7.  going to school with an ear infection and sinus infection makes for one cranky    
      teacher.
 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)
 5.  i truly love my job.
 4. opening my pay check is depressing.
 3. having those students that you can rely on makes all the difference in the world.
 2. teachers are people too.
 1. please and thank you are two of the most important words in the english
     language.

What are some of the things you have learned this week?      

Tag!

I was recently tagged by twentyfourseventeacher well since I'm such a rule follower (breaker, maker, etc) I am going to follow them.  

THE RULES:

1. You must post the rules.
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create 12 new questions for the people you tagged.
4. Tag 12 people and link them on your post.
5. Let them know you've tagged them

Fun Facts:

1. my ENTIRE class is pink, pink and more pink.  

2. purple is actually my favorite color.

3. i like things to look uniform so i like to write in all big letters or all small letters.

4. i get confused for being a student ALL the time.

5. i am obsessed with books and shoes.

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.

7.  i went to the olympics in atlanta. i didn't love it.   

8.  i'm super duper girly but my favorite outfit is sweats, a hoodie, and a baseball cap

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) 

10.  i call my students my babies, kids, (i learned that from my 4th grade teacher)

11. i wasn't expected to graduate from high school and now i have a masters degree

12. i am addicted to coca cola.  

answers: 

1. favorite part of monday? walking into work and seeing my kids2. favorite part of tuesday? watching glee with my husband

3. favorite part of wednesday? 

4. favorite part of thursday? staying after school with my yearbook kids

5. favorite part of friday? coming home and taking a nap with my puppy. 

6. favorite part of saturday? spending the day lounging around reading.(or watching college football with my husband!) boomer sooner! 

7. favorite part of sunday? getting caught up on the dvr and lesson planning while napping in between.  ( i love my naps!) 

8.  favorite part of spring? the thunderstorms.

9.  favorite part of summer? when it stays below 100 degree and going home to see my parents in south carolina. 

10.  favorite part of fall? when football season starts.

11. favorite part of winter?  when it ends! i dislike the cold weather. 

12. favorite part of the school day?  when my kids get as excited about a lesson as i am.  

Tag!  You are it!!! 

7thgrademathteacherextraordinaire

missklohnsclassroom

sweeeeetcaroline.blogspot.com

theinspiredapple.blogspot

I would tag more but I don't know that many teacher friends on the blogger world. I am still learning! 

questions:

1.  if you weren't a teacher, what would you be?

2. if you could travel anywhere where would you go?

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.) 

4. you get to invite a guest speaker to your class who would it be?

5. what are your three must have items for the school day?

6. snooze button or jump out of bed?

7. glass half empty or glass half full kind of person?

8.  do you have any secret talents? 

9.  what talent do you wish you had?

10.  if you were a superhero what would your superpower be?

11. what television show do you wish had NEVER been created?

12.  how do you deal with the stress of a long day?

i 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:
   my students don't learn about the civil war, civil rights, etc until high school - i teach 7th grade!
    most of my student's don't have the background knowledge needed for this unit.
     most of my students are hispanic and can't seem to connect with this unit.

here's where i need the guidance.  how do i get them to connect with this unit?

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?

any ideas?

hi 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!!!

i have an issue

I have an issue because I have so much to type but no time to do it.  I promise I will be back soon with lots of information from the NMSC.  Thank you for being patient.