Happy New Year!

It's just not New Year's without some traditional food. ...

It's a bit of a shock to realize that I'll be back in the classroom next week. Unfortunately, did not use my time as wisely as I wanted, but I figure all that extra sleep and lounging about was restorative and necessary.

Bubbles said to me on the last day of school, "I bet you're happy it's vacation because you won't have to yell at us all the time." Ha ha. So true.

It's also a bit of a shock to realize that half of the school year is gone. I've come to the hard realization that while I've made some good changes, and in some aspects the classroom has improved, it won't look like the "ideal" classroom I've envisioned. This is OK. (Or so I keep reassuring myself). I've got a lot to learn about lesson planning, classroom management, and the synergy between the two. 

Here's to a New Year that brings more learning and positive change.

taking the boring out of book reports

     I want the students to start doing book reports, but I wanted to experiment with formats that play on student strengths while still forcing (ahem, I mean requiring) them to display their understanding of the book. After generating a list of creative ideas, I ran it by my language-arts mentor, who suggested teaching each idea, then setting the kids loose.
     This semester I focused on movie posters. First, we looked at actual movie posters, discussing key elements and why they are created. Students broke into groups to analyze a poster in detail. Then, we talked about the book "Maui and his Magical Deeds"  and what genre it would fit into. (We decided it would make a great action movie). After laboriously collecting numerous copies of "Maui" from various public libraries, I had student trios use the books to sketch out their movie posters. (Note to self: it's harder to do this with a book that is a) out of print and b) not in your school library).
     I was truly impressed with some of the work generated. While most students took a straightforward approach, I had a few whose design showed a great understanding of the book and an ability to convey these ideas in a visually appealing way. I was also impressed with the composition of some designs. I hope to make an after-school run tomorrow to pick up some nice paper for the students to use for their finalized posters. It will be a good activity for Thursday, when the kids will already be thinking about vacation and not inclined to do any heavy work. ...

executive decision

I had the kids make window decorations using colored paper and markers, since they are fantastic artists and did a great job for Halloween. However, when people began making decorations consisting of a cluster of round berries with spiky leaves, I did announce that any such decorations in our room were HOLLY, not mistletoe. 'Cause all I need in the last week of classes before winter break is a bunch of kids chasing one another around the room, shouting about who has to kiss whom ...

numbers game

     I hate to say it, but days when Neo are absent run more smoothly.
     I guess it comes down to sheer numbers: if it's only King and Junior, I can keep closer tabs on them. I can still circulate and help my other students while regularly stopping by to monitor the boys' progress and check that they understand the assignment.
     With all 3 present, I'm yelling at Neo for running around the room and reminding King to sit down while trying to show Junior how to do that two-digit multiplication problem. Not to mention tending to the needs of my other students.
     I feel like I'm a bad teacher for saying that. Shouldn't I be able to keep 3 energetic boys in check?
     As I was getting Junior started with some measurement conversion problems the other day, he informed me that in sixth grade he wasn't going to act like this. He said he was going to sit down, be quiet and do his work. I didn't know what to say, to put it mildly. I told him that I was sure he had enough of that self-control for fifth grade, too.
     Have I really exhausted all of my options for dealing with the boys and getting them focused on learning? I believe that I've tried quite a few things, but are there other strategies I haven't considered? I've talked to the boys so many times about making better choices, why they are in school, etc. All the right answers come out of their mouths, accompanied by contrite looks. But not much has changed; they are still missing out on a lot of learning because of behavior. It's frustrating to keep talking and talking and see no changes. It's almost the end of quarter 2, and I'm wondering whether I should look into having one of them switched to a different teacher. Is that giving up? Or a strategic move that benefits that student and my entire class?
     Tough decision. 
   

dreams and rants: both off topic

     A few nights ago I dreamt that I was using a Holga camera. In the dream I was dashing from place to place, firing off photos.
     I woke up and realized that this must be the first step on the path to being a camera nerd. I have been considering buying a Holga, as I've never shot film before, and the unpredictability of a toy camera is appealing. Well, it's appealing right now. I'll no doubt feel differently after I've burned through a few rolls and gotten nothing with interesting color streaks, or light flares, just a bunch of cruddy photos.
     I suppose unpredictability, imperfections, and surprise typify my professional life right now. (Although I'm not sure why I want to introduce that into my non-school life, too?)
     *** tangent *** I'm all for free speech (being a journalist in my past professional life), but sometimes I'm irked by what I read in the papers regarding the furloughs. In particular, the people who write about how teachers should do the noble thing and work for free on furlough days. Can you imagine the outcry if we asked everyone in the state to do the same noble thing and work 17 days for free? Some people justify this by pointing out how much vacation teachers get via winter, spring, summer breaks. That is true, but I (and just about every teacher I know) spend significant break time prepping for work. Even after spending a full day teaching, I come home and spend several hours prepping lessons and grading work. Same goes for weekends. I think if you averaged out the hours, most teachers wouldn't have much more time off than any other state worker.
     I'm also irritated by the misunderstandings about professional development perpetuated by some government officials. One article I saw quoted an official saying something like, teachers will just have to stay after school and use their own time to work on lesson plans. (sorry, gotta look up the article and get the exact quote). News flash: professional development does not equal sitting around on my own writing lesson plans. What about collaboration with other teachers? Planning and working with experts in teaching language arts and math? Teachers are not technicians; we don't produce widgets, but tomorrow's compassionate, critical-thinking, literate citizens. Give the profession some respect.

an exasperating art

I think we are on seating chart #752. 

OK, so I may be exaggerating, but arranging seating is an exasperating art, even before factoring in long-running student feuds and students' relative levels of boy- or girl-craziness.

A sample of the thoughts running through my mind as I craft _yet_ another seating chart: 

Student A used to "go out" with Student B, and Student A still gets giggly when near Student B, so seating them together is out.

Student C is the queen bee of my room, so she cannot sit with certain girls. That is, unless I enjoy hearing them gab nonstop about "New Moon" and Jacob's rippling muscles.

Student D and Student A are good friends who claim they can focus when seated together, but I have my doubts.

Student F and Student G talk incessantly when seated together in the first row, so they need to be separated.

Student H and Student T are either best of friends or mortal enemies, but this changes hourly/daily. Best to seat them at opposite ends of the room.

Students T is mature and focused, but has a crush on Student C and gets distracted.

Student C and Student M like each other. Student M also started getting suspiciously high vocabulary test scores when seated next to Student C, so they can't sit together.

Student H spends 90% of her time looking at what other people are doing, then yelling out, "--- is eating candy/throwing erasers/spilling glue/sitting at someone else's desk!" at the top of her lungs, so she needs to sit facing the front and as close to me as possible.

Sigh. 

yeah, I know, but ...

     A colleague irritated me recently by talking about Junior. She noticed some misbehavior when I had a substitute teacher a few weeks ago, and since then has made several comments along the lines of "I don't like that kid."
     Anyone who reads this blog regularly, or semi-regularly, knows all about my experiences with Junior. Yeah, he can have an attitude. Yeah, he can be aggressive and mouthy, and just plain insensitive at times. But when she says things like that, all I can think is, Isn't that the problem? That he acts in ways that cause problems, but he really wants to do well in school and be liked? Yes, there has been many a day when Junior has not been my favorite kid, but I'm not giving up on helping him change for the better.

"Learning to Trust"

While at the library doing research a few weeks ago, I picked up the book "Learning to Trust" by Marilyn Watson and Laura Ecken. I had heard great things about it a while back, but never did get around to reading it. I was at the library doing homework after a trying day at school, and the subtitle seemed fitting: "Transforming Difficult Elementary Classrooms through Developmental Discipline." Lots of good stuff inside -- Ecken's two years with the same group of students is a compelling read. What I found most valuable is her sharing of real-life situations and how she talked to/dealt with students. Reading about her struggles was strangely encouraging. It reminded me that I'm not the only person still looking for a balance in how she deals with students, and how to work with them successfully as individuals and a group. Probably raised more questions than it answered, but I'm looking at that as a good thing.
    

endnotes ...

are evil.
     I thought the paper I wrote for my last program was "the paper that would not die," but this library reference project is in the running for an Irksome Award.
    9:30 the night before the paper is due: not the best time to be trying to fool around with your appendix of tables and keep having some of them disappear for some weird reason. Also a bad time to give yourself a crash course in creating a table of contents. It looked so easy when the professor showed us how ...
     Thank goodness we have resources eating up most of our middle block tomorrow, and I have a math CR to give as well. Otherwise I'd have no idea what to teach tomorrow. I do know that I will probably kick all the kids out of the room when the recess bell rings so I can whip the paper into shape. I also suspect I will be enjoying tomorrow's lunch of creole macaroni in solitary splendor, just me, my paper, and my computer.

    

parents: part II

     Seattle came up to me today and started conversation by saying: "So you know how I told you I'm an only child? I'm not anymore."
     Me: "Oh?"
     Seattle: "My mom is pregnant."
     Seattle, by the way, is chronically tardy (I was amazed to see him in school before the bell this morning). He generally rolls into class at about 8:30 a.m., or a good 45 minutes after the first bell. Consequently, he is too late/too much in a rush to have gotten breakfast. I've gotten into the habit of doling out a granola bar from my stash so I don't have to fret about him starving until our noon lunchtime. 
     My first thought about Seattle's announcement: will mom's pregnancy mean even more tardies? What about when the baby arrives in April? I hope life gets a little more settled for his family, but until then I'll keep scanning the supermarket ads for granola-bar sales.


     

parents

     It was Monday, and one of those Mondays when I wonder whether I am reaping some karmic payback for past misdeeds.

     When students misbehave after continued warnings, I have them call their parents to explain their misbehavior. I wrote mom's contact numbers on a piece of paper and handed it to Dimples. I explained that he could call mom and tell her how he was doing, or I could call her. Most of my students prefer to call their parents and tell them on their own. Dimples promptly ripped the paper into pieces, dropped the bits on the floor and refused to pick them up, then sulked in the back of the room.  One of those classic "Hmm ... so what do I do NOW?" situations that make a first year in the classroom so memorable. I ended up calling mom this evening and asking her to talk to him about today.

     Call home #2: Two girls, Bubbles and Shorty, got into a loud verbal argument after lunch. I told them to put the problem on the side for now - to ignore each other and focus on the lesson. They continued to argue, and I gave Bubbles a choice: take some work and go cool off in a different teacher's room or at the counselor's office. She refused both options, re-entered the classroom, and continued to fight. I had Bubbles call home, and talked to mom as well. I explained that Bubbles had not followed directions. Mom made an excuse, saying her daughter was too absorbed in thinking about the situation and couldn't focus. To give a little background: Bubbles is the same student who took off running about a month ago because she was upset. She can be happy and social, but is always on the lookout for students doing something wrong (and pointing it out in a loud voice).
     The last time I talked to mom, she had a bone to pick with me when I mentioned that I sometimes move Bubbles to a different part of the room so she can calm down and focus. She was upset that I moved Bubbles instead of the other student involved in the conflict. So frustrating -- I don't move her to punish her. My only motive is to keep Bubbles in the classroom so she can learn. 

     Not to give you the wrong impression: so far I am thankful for my contacts with parents. Many of them are very interested in their child's success. (The home visits I did at the start of the year helped enormously in making both me and the parents comfortable).  For instance, I was talking to Snicket's mom the other week. While giving the weekly vocabulary test, I walked by Snicket's desk and noticed that he had his notebook open. I took his test back and told him that I would make him an alternate test. I didn't use the word "cheating" at all, either in talking to Snicket or to mom. But when I explained what I saw to his mom, she said, "But that's cheating." I thought, THANK YOU for understanding why I am calling. 
     I always try to present information about the student in a caring, objective manner. I ask myself: How would I want someone to talk to me/share information about my child, if I had one? There are those days when the bell rings, the students rush out, and I am tempted to call and say: Your child was a pain in the butt from 7:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. That's why I don't call right after school, but give myself a few hours to think about what really happened and figure out a productive way to communicate the problems.

1,000 WORDS: think again

Sometimes right-side-up is overrated. When I uploaded this,
 I rotated it to see what it would look like, but I like it
 this way, the way it was taken.

something's wrong with my food pyramid

     6:45 a.m. Breakfast: a very small serving of Coco Puffs, washed down with coffee. Devoured while checking e-mail, printing out worksheets, and getting the room ready.
     noon. Lunch: part of a sandwich. Hastily eaten during a meeting with the counselor and my female students. Reminds me of the library-club lunches I used to have last year, which allowed me to get about 5 bites in after herding students out of the caf, chatting with them, then herding them back to class.
     3:45. Snack. I eat whatever's left in my morning cup of Coco Puffs while navigating traffic.
  

new books

     Things I like about my kids: that they got excited when I pulled out an armful of new composition books for the writer's notebooks we started today. I considered using their old journals, but decided to spend the $20 to show them that we were starting something new. Definitely worth the excited "oohs" and smiles.
     Field trip to-do list:
     write out stick-on nametags, since I never did get around to making those cute laminated clip-on ones most other teachers' kids are sporting.
     pack tissues, bandaids, hand sanitizer/wipes, and a lunch.

TeacherSpeak

    "Enjoys expressing himself orally" = shouts out answers without raising his hand and hollers personal questions at the teacher in the middle of the lesson. What I was inspired to write for Junior's literacy strengths while doing some language-arts planning last week ...
     I think I am allergic to field trips. We are heading to the theater this Friday, and Saturday I got a tickle in my throat. Monday afternoon I had the achy throat that usually precedes laryngitis, which means some students missed out on a much-needed, high-volume scolding. Luckily, I was out of the classroom for a teacher meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday was Veteran's Day, so while I am congested and coughing, I still have my voice. I also think immediately dosing myself with Zicam and drinking LOTS of hot tea helped ward off the worst.
     This will be my first field trip, since I was laid up with laryngitis for the courthouse tour in October. Wondering how a 40-minute bus ride with about 50 joyful and hyper fifth-graders will go. Will I need ear plugs? Aspirin?

apple slices, so to speak

•       I have students write down assignments and important dates on the whiteboard, and I spent all of today puzzling over one inscription: "Posepond spelling test Tuesday 11/3." I even surreptitiously checked the spelling booklet and a student's tablet, thinking maybe I had mixed up the lists and given them the "o" sound list. About an hour ago it hit me: the word was POSTPONED. They were scheduled to take the test Thursday, but I pushed it back. 
•      Secret: Sometimes teachers are just as eager (if not more) for recess and lunch to arrive. We just can't say anything.
•     I wore a slightly more "teacher" outfit today, because of my before-school meeting. Unfortunately, Junior's parents were a no-show. By the end of the day, my feet were killing me. Sandals, no matter how sensible, just can't compete with sneakers. My teacher wish list includes a professional-looking, cute and extremely comfortable pair of shoes. 

revolt?

     I mentioned in my last post that I had the marvelous opportunity to hear Robert Brooks speak about mindset. I gave my grade-level colleague and fellow first-year teacher a ride back to town, and, inspired by Mr. Brooks, we discussed our frustrations with certain grade-level-mandated practices. 

     Looks like we are going beyond talking and going to take action. Am I scared about it? Heck yes. Do I think our other colleagues are going to take it gracefully, with good wishes and understanding? Heck no. But will it benefit our students? I think it would only build our relationships and learning.

     Can't say much more about it than that at the moment, but stay tuned. 

can you spare some ... change?

     I interned at the local newspaper many years ago, and was amused by a little sign on top of one reporter's computer. It read: "Change is good. You first."

     With Orchid's help, I am trying to change up things in my classroom. Last week, I tried different activities to get the day started right: assignments with more of a personal connection that let students draw (they LOVE to draw). I think this is a step in the right direction: even my students who have trouble doing much in the morning were asking later, "when can we finish up that assignment?"
     I also did a mini-lesson that used the local supermarket to explain what a text structure is and why it's useful. The students were quite enthusiastic; a couple of my boys in the front got up and came to the board to point out the exact locations of different food departments. I'm still refining the lesson, but it was great to see them interested.
     I'm hoping for positive changes for some students as well. Junior did some things last week that led to an in-school suspension, and mom is scheduled to attend a before-school meeting tomorrow. I'm hoping Junior, his mom, the counselor and I can figure out together how to get him on track. I can tell Junior is frustrated with me, and I hope tomorrow's meeting will show us a different path. I see a lot of promise in him, but I'm not sure he knows that. The interesting thing about Junior is that I've noticed he kind of  orients himself toward me. For instance, he'll ask about the school shirt I'm wearing, or what my ethnic background is (he usually hollers these questions in the middle of a lesson). He is perceptive in his own way; when I was walking around monitoring and assisting students during a lesson, he noticed that I put my hand on students' shoulders while talking to them. He hollered something like, "Is that how you're going to discipline us now?"
     Today I had the fortune to attend an all-day presentation by Robert Brooks, who talks about educators' mindsets and how they affect a school environment and students. Lots of good stuff on motivation, choice and student ownership ... and just what I needed to hear before tomorrow's meeting!
    
  
  

An early trick

     I started off my three-day Halloween weekend by getting my car towed Friday morning, which puts me out a total of $200. Not the best way to occupy yourself on a Furlough Friday, let me tell you.
    

book binge

    Fall intersession = reading, reading, and more reading! Gotta make up for all that leisure reading time I miss out on when school is in session.
Books I've zipped through lately:

• "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Book 1 of "Buddha" by Osamu Tezuka (manga series)
• finishing up "The Elephant Vanishes" by Haruki Murakami, who still holds his spot as my favorite writer

     While I've been tackling my enormous pile of papers that need grading, and trying to be a little more planned-out for the upcoming semester, I've been thinking about how I'd like to mark the end of first quarter with a reflection. (Not to mention that I'd like to record some amazing stuff that came out during our last class meeting). But until then, I'll leave you with a little Murakami:

"Don't try so hard to be the penetrating observer. Writing, after all, is a makeshift thing."

                             -- from the short story "A Window"

first-quarter follies, a glimmer of hope

     Last week was "exciting," but the kind of exciting I'd like to leave behind as first-quarter folly.
First off, I had to physically steer Superstar out of the room a second day in a row on Thursday. He was angrier than the day before, and trying much harder to pull away. I had a student grab his things and help me walk Superstar to class.
     I got back to the room, heart still pounding, when two of my other boys started pushing each other. Two referrals in one day = bleh.
     Friday: I was tired and not feeling well, but happy to see the week end. Some of my girls got into an argument in class during language arts, so I pulled them outside for a quick talk. One of them got really mad and took off running. I had to dash after her and found her on the field. Luckily, she listened when I asked her to come over. I put my arm around her shoulders and walked her back to class.
     To deal with the interpersonal conflicts, and head off any more, I've instituted (with the help of my mentor teacher, Orchid) a weekly meeting for students to air concerns. I can't say how much I appreciate Orchid's assistance in this matter. I know she has a lot of commitments, but she's decided to help me run the weekly meeting.
     Our first meeting was Friday. It's interesting to see how the students respond to the meeting. About half of my students were very engaged, raising their hands and sharing concerns and possible solutions. The other half were bored, slumping in their chairs, silent. When I specifically asked one to talk about a fight he had participated in, he refused to speak. What troubles me is that these students won't even own up to being part of a fight, or calling someone a name, etc. I am willing to work with someone who can say what he or she has done wrong. Everyone makes mistakes; mistakes can be a valuable starting point for learning and growing. But how can I help them learn and grow when they won't even say that they've done wrong? To me, it is so important that students practice self-honesty; I _want_ students to say for themselves what's gone wrong.
Our class is definitely a work in progress. But I figure we can only go up.
Some very small good things:

• We filled up our good-news jar. On the way home I stopped by Costco to get the class brownie bites for an end-of-day treat. I plan to "challenge" the students to fill a much bigger jar.  No matter how rough a day I've had, it puts me in a different mindset to hear what things have worked out that day. I hope it helps the students too, to hear about the positive and not just the negative.
   
• The students, strangely, have been almost jumping out of their chairs with enthusiasm about multiplying fractions. The "duh!" revelation I had today: it's because they want to write with the pretty-colored whiteboard markers to answer questions on the board. Well, whatever works ...
  
• Pilot is feeling much more comfortable in class. I was so pleased when he raised his hand to READ ALOUD from a book during language arts this week. He's also started raising his hand to answer math questions on the board.

Small but significant steps in the right direction ...

1,000 WORDS: ready for some wander time

The best part about the impending week-long intersession: a free hour or two to wander around with my camera! This photo is from July; haven't squeezed in some serious camera time since then. Can't wait.

one itty-bitty good thing

     One of my mentor teacher's suggestions was to focus on positive behavior using a jar and marbles. For every positive thing noticed, the teacher would drop one marble in the jar. Marbles cannot be taken out, only added. When the jar is filled, students get a little treat.

     I debuted the jar today, with pompoms in place of the marbles. I told students that we were going to have a new classroom job -- "good-news collector." At the end of the day, the good-news collector would ask students to raise their hands and share what positive things had happened. It got a bit noisy today, but it was nice to hear students sharing about how they helped someone or someone helped them. I think this will also help me focus on the good things; I feel like I've spent too much time looking for bad behavior.

hey, what about that yellow brick road?

     7 more school days until our weeklong intersession. I feel bad for being so enthusiastic about a solid week away from my students, but it's true that I am looking forward to that time off.
     Neo, Junior and King always come to school early, so this morning I used that time to do some goal-setting with them. I had them write down on a card a goal (sitting down, listening, etc), why it was important, and how I could help them. It was a good chance to talk about: do you prefer me to stand next to you and quietly remind you, or are you OK with me saying something from the front of the room? King opted for just a hand on his shoulder; Junior opted for a quiet verbal reminder; and Neo, surprisingly, said he was OK with a reminder from the front of the room. I had them put the completed card in their desks then sent them off to breakfast.
     Superstar stopped by as the students were lining up outside. I didn't catch what happened (verbal teasing is my guess, or maybe someone made a rude gesture at him), but all of a sudden he put his sunglasses and backpack down and lunged toward the boys' line. I had to grab him by the arms from behind to keep him from hitting someone. One of my grade-level colleagues came over to help me steer him away. I ended up having to walk Superstar to his class, with my arm firmly around his shoulders the whole time. I turned him over to his teacher, but kept myself between him and the door because he tried to go back to my class again. I saw him at recess, and he was his usual cheerful, playful self. Again, a silent prayer of thanks that my students haven't hit their growth spurts yet; just about everyone is shorter than I am. I suspect those growth spurts are just around the corner, however; I started pricing deodorant/ antiperspirants this weekend because I walked past some students after recess the other week and noticed for the first time that they were smelly.  Good old hormones kicking in.
     Unfortunately, I didn't get to see how the goal-setting worked, because the trio were yanked out my room after recess. They were lined up outside, and the trio were horsing around, talking loudly, etc. I was standing next to them, trying to get them settled, when Junior and King's fourth-grade teacher walked by. In an instant she took in their behavior, bounded over in a few furious steps, and launched into a tirade that started with "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" (Yes, the volume and fury merit all caps). She then took them with her, to call their parents and explain why they were in trouble. They came back teary-eyed and cowed-looking to apologize to me and their classmates.
     The incident with Superstar reminded me of my first day on my school's campus, as a wide-eyed aspiring teacher. The bell had just rung for dismissal. I was sitting on a bench outside the library, watching the students disperse, when I saw a girl dash towards the front office. The vice principal was close behind, and he took her by the arm. She dropped to the ground and began screaming "let me go" over and over again. It was a striking sound -- to this day, I can't find a way to describe it adequately. The closest I can get is to say that it almost sounded like a robot, or a tape recording, because of its repetition. The VP restrained her and with help pulled her off the ground and into his office. That was my official "Toto, we're not in a comfy suburban school anymore" moment.
   I was talking to my sister recently about some of my classroom travails, and she tried to cheer me up by pointing out, at least your job isn't boring. Yeah, that's true, but it would be so nice right now to have a boring day.

cry me a river

     When I student-taught in fifth grade (it seems ages ago, but isn't really), I remember that one of the things that surprised me most was how often the boys cried.
     This observation holds true for my classroom. Boys who have cried lately: Junior, as mentioned in the previous post. Pilot, today. Biblio, today as well.
     My class had cafeteria duty today, so I marched the students over after recess. They didn't need everyone, so I had to take 3 students back to class. Pilot wanted to go back. I decided I wanted him to stay. He's so quiet and shy that I think any extra time he spends interacting and working with classmates is invaluable for his development. The students who were returning to class were standing against the wall, and Pilot walked over to join them. I told him he needed to get in the other line. He shook his head, but didn't say anything.
     When I said he was going to stay, he began to cry. I don't like making my students unhappy, but I felt the potential benefits outweighed his momentary unhappiness. As a shy person myself, I know how easy it is to follow the path that takes you _away _ from other people, instead of toward them, even when you really want to choose otherwise.
     This is my first mention of Biblio. He reminds me a little of me at that age. One of my clearest memories of fifth grade was a day when we were taking a spelling test.  I finished early and dove into a book. The teacher had to literally dig me out of the book to get me to join the class for the next subject; I hadn't heard the directions at all. Similarly, I will find Biblio sitting in the book corner, immersed in a book. He also leaves piles of books around the room. He is singularly disorganized; I've started checking his bag as he leaves to ensure he has his homework.
     Mom came in for the parent-teacher conference this afternoon, and Biblio sat with us. I started off by asking him to tell mom what he needs to work on. He said that he talks too much. We also discussed how he walks around the room, socializing and playing with things, instead of doing work. I pulled out the vocabulary practice from last week that Biblio had not completed, despite ample time in class. He got teary-eyed as mom lectured him about completing his work. He also had to show her his messy desk (not at its messiest point, but that's because we just rearranged seating and he hasn't had time to build his usual piles).
     Mom is very invested in Biblio's school success, so I'm looking forward to seeing some positive changes.
     All these tears remind me of what a friend's sage advice: "Remember, they're just little kids."

a fractious Friday

The worst part of it was that he smiled. 
I told Superstar to go eat breakfast, then gave Junior a serious tongue-lashing. We stood side by side near my desk, while his two compadres circled the room and eyed us but kept quiet. 
What happened? Superstar was on his way out of the room to eat his breakfast, when the Three Musketeers entered. They began to taunt one another. I recognized trouble brewing and headed over. I told Superstar to go outside and told Junior to come to the other side of the room to talk to me.
That's when Junior hurled the taunt of "little girl" at Superstar, then took a few steps past me and pushed Superstar. 
I grabbed Junior's wrist. He was smiling, no doubt at having played the tough guy in front of his friends.
Neo, to his credit, tried to defuse the situation, putting an arm around Superstar to prevent a push back.
The tongue-lashing included the statement that I was going to call Junior's mother and let her know what happened, because this behavior is unsafe and unacceptable. As the tirade continued, Junior began to sniffle.
I talked to Junior's mother on Saturday, and have a parent-teacher conference set up as well. 
In a way, I'm really happy that Junior cried. It tells me that he understands how unacceptable this behavior is, and regrets it. I'm looking forward to talking to his family in person.

It's that time ...

Parent-teacher conferences kick off tomorrow.
Tonight's to-do list:

• Call about 10 families that did not return the appointment form to see if they can be scheduled  
•  Sort a substantial stack of student papers to use as sample work  
• Go through the grade book to see who's been doing homework faithfully and who needs some parental reminders.

I ran over to my grade-level chair's classroom early this morning to ask: just what do I do with those 15 minutes of parent-teacher conference time? One more thing for a new teacher to learn ...
The kids whose parents I am most interested in speaking with in person did not bring back their forms. Scheduled a phone conference with one, but would really prefer face-to-face meeting if possible with the rest.
Had a great math lesson yesterday, team-teaching with two colleagues and the university prof who is helping us plan lessons. However, broke out the base-ten blocks today and had an awful time of it, as kids were more interested in constructing things than showing me what is the equivalent of one-fourth ...
One day I'll get this teaching thing down. Hope that day is coming sooner than later.

a little smile

Pilot moved here from the Philippines. He is extremely quiet and shy; a few weeks ago he refused to speak when I had students introduce themselves to a new classmate. But bit by bit, he seems to be getting a little more comfortable. Recently, I had students working in pairs to study vocabulary words. Each pair had to present their word to the class. I was surprised and pleased that Pilot read aloud the word's definition. It was in a very soft voice, but for him to speak at all in front of the class was a big step. I think it definitely helped that I had him work with his seatmate, Teddy. Teddy is gentle, helpful and friendly; I deliberately seated them together so Pilot would have someone to watch out for him.
Another sign of progress: In those first days of school, Pilot didn't smile at all. About a week ago, I instituted my hug-handshake-high five exit policy, as a way of closing the day and connecting with each student. He's started flashing a little smile as he shakes my hand on the way out the door.
The 3 Musketeers are still a handful, but repeated talks with me, the counselors (and some detention) may be helping them. I noticed today that they are reminding each other to "listen to the teacher." I remind myself each morning to be patient but firm and consistent, to be encouraging, to not give up. It feels like I ask the same questions over and over again, questions such as: What were you doing just now? (talking loudly without raising my hand, not listening, playing around). What are we as a class doing right now? (vocabulary practice, math, reading aloud). What different choice can you make next time? (ignore my friend who wants me to play around with him, listen to directions, ask for help if I don't know what to do). I strive to tell them that the work is doable for them, that I will help if they will try their best, and that I know they can make good choices. They do respond well to one-to-one assistance; I resorted to that today with Neo, because it looked like he wasn't going to do any vocabulary practice without it. It's just tough to figure out how to help all of your kids equally; I have some who need just as much academic help, but admittedly don't get as much because they don't have disruptive behaviors.  If there's some magic algorithm for figuring out how to help everyone equally, I'd love to know what it is!

1,000 WORDS: take a deep breath and press the shutter

Photography helps me calm down and look at the world in a new way. I especially like photographing plants and flowers (what my mom so poetically calls, "vegetation" : P), because being in a quiet spot full of green life is calming and restorative. I think I need a dose of that soon!

afternoon implosion

Monday started off well.
Heeding the counselor's advice to build relationships with my troublesome 3 Musketeers, I made a point of asking them about their weekend. More importantly, I modified my interactions with them. Instead of standing in the front of the room and directing them to take out their vocab. tablet or write in their journal when they were off-task, I made an extra effort to walk up to them and in my quietest voice remind them of what to do.
It worked very well for language arts. Knowing the 3 Musketeers often struggle with reading comprehension, I made a point of monitoring their work, offering help and encouragement, and gently keeping them on task. It worked so well that before lunch, the trio was sitting together but working quietly and diligently on vocab. and spelling.
The afternoon was a different story.
A colleague notified me that Superstar and Bling had been playing rough in the lunch line. After lunch, I let the class into the room but kept Superstar and Bling outside for a talk.
Things that went wrong: while explaining what happened, Superstar and Bling couldn't keep their hands to themselves -- I ended up standing between them to keep them from touching and pushing. Thankfully, my kids are closer to the runty side of the height spectrum, so it wasn't a problem.
Issue #2: While I was sorting this out, the 3 Musketeers kept opening the door, making faces at Superstar, and provoking him in general.
It's important to note at this point that Superstar, due to certain conditions, often has trouble getting along with his classmates -- as the counselor put it, he doesn't see or understand the effects of certain behaviors and actions. For instance, he tends to invade physical space, not let the other person talk, etc.
But it ticks me off mightily that the other students provoke Superstar. Sure, he can get in their face (literally) sometimes, and he does not always talk nicely to the other students. But I still think they can make the right choice of ignoring him, moving away, etc. if he is being irritating.
I finally sent both of them off to the counselor. Then the 3 Musketeers began their afternoon meltdown.
The class was doing a constructed response based on Friday's math activity, which required students to work in groups putting fraction and percent cards in order from least to greatest. Unfortunately, the 3 Musketeers had missed the activity due to a) sulking and b) talking to a counselor. Despite encouragement to try their best, they refused to complete the CR.
They also did not participate in our introductory lesson on decimals, although they kept up a loud commentary: when is school going to end? why is this so boring? etc. They had swapped shirts sometime during the day, and they then began to ask for permission to go to the restroom together and swap shirts. King wheedled that they "could focus" if they just had the chance to change their shirts.
I am a patient person (I think, although perhaps this year I'm going to change my mind about that), but by this time, I was thoroughly out of patience. I asked all 3 of them to talk to me outside.
Rookie mistake: it's much more effective to talk to them one at a time. Neo and Junior then refused to re-enter the room. King came in but refused to sit down, hovering near the door. He made several attempts to walk out of class but at least heeded my direction to stay inside.
The counselors came and had a good long talk with them. They apologized to me at the end of class.
I'll have a sub tomorrow and Wed. for professional development, something that could not have worse timing. While I'm disappointed that I won't get to keep reworking my approach to these students, maybe those two days will be a good time to reflect and figure out something else I think will work.

detective work

A teacher by necessity wears many hats. But I didn't know a detective's hat was one of them.

As I've been wrangling with boy dynamics, I've gotten increasingly worried about one of the participants. Neo gets extremely frustrated when reminded to sit down, get out his work, etc., and the look of sadness and anger on his face worries me. While his two co-conspirators also express frustration, they don't have the same sad and angry look.

Neo didn't get his homework tablet signed today (a daily requirement). I went through my usual list of questions: was mom or an adult home when he got back from school so he could get it signed right away? He said: yes, mom is home. Then he added that mom was always busy washing clothes or taking care of the baby, and would it be OK for aunty to sign it instead?

Having done a home visit, I know that there are a number of cousins and extended family in the home. It occurred to me this evening that maybe Neo is feeling a little neglected by mom, and that could have a great deal to do with his sadness and frustration.

It also occurred to me that while I've had a number of talks with Neo this week, I haven't asked him why he's so unhappy, and about what I can do to help him.

That will be the first order of business on Monday ...

1,000 WORDS: faint but beautiful

Took this photo on the way to my car after Open House.

mysteries of boy dynamics

Thursday is a happy day, because it means Friday is bearing down on us fast.
Had 7 families drop by for Open House, which is less than my grade-level colleagues, but more than I expected. They wiped out the chocolate-chip cookies. The families enjoyed looking for their child's picture and it was a great way to touch base informally with some of the parents.
Yesterday was a trying day, discipline-wise. Some boy-group dynamics kicked in and once they get distracted, it's arduous to get them settled. I ended up having after-school talks with four students. When they are in class and cavorting around the room instead of doing math, they are all smiles, trading glances with their male co-conspirators. Get them alone after school, and they will meekly tell you that they need to listen to directions, participate and raise their hands. Except for one, who trots out the correct answers but has a smirk on his face the whole time. I had to restrain my Inner Crotchety Teacher who would have blasted the smirk off his face by bellowing, "I don't like your attitude, young man!" Ahem. 

If you buy cookies, they will come ... (I hope)

Open House is tomorrow. My to-do list:

• Shove into the file cabinet or otherwise hide the enormous accumulation of papers, files, and stuff cluttering my desk. My professor asked this evening: who thinks they are organized? I wasn't even the least bit tempted to raise my hand.
• Get the kids to tidy the inside of their desks and wipe them down.
• Get the kids to hide their picture frame somewhere in the class, then write a clue for their parents.
• Wonder why haven't I thought about putting up student work before this.
• Frantically collect and post some student work.
• Put out the cookies, peanut butter crackers and juice and hope we get a decent turnout. ...

Cinnamim, anyone?

Things that make me laugh:

• That my kids know what a synonym is, and can use the word correctly, but pronounce it as "cinnamim." Sounds like it could be found on the spice rack.
  
• That my announcement of picture-taking for Open House resulted in a mad dash to the bathroom to wet down their hair and check out their reflection. Ah, pre-adolescence ... 

Trying to get it right

So I don't make a good draconian. Nor will I rank among the teachers in my school who make students quake in their shoes and fall into a wide-eyed silence. But I'm trying to turn my deficits into assets.

After a week or two of hectoring, nagging, lecturing, scolding and the like, I decided over the weekend (thanks to the frank and challenging advice of a mentor) to let the students formulate the rules instead of forcing (and often failing) to have students follow my set of rules.

We embarked on a loooong class meeting. We emerged at the end with 8 rules, a layout of consequences, and an agreed-upon "quiet signal." It was interesting to see that students understood what aspects of classroom behavior were prevalent, but not useful (incessant note-passing one of the main examples). Students autographed the chart and it occupies a place of honor next to the whiteboard.

How did our day go? We had one of the nicest language arts lessons yet, reading "Kaipo and the Mighty Ahi." Students were focused and found meaning in the story. The boys, however, had lots of trouble settling themselves after recess and lunch. I ended up putting my hand on individuals' shoulders, making eye contact, and asking, "Are you ready to come in?" to get them ready to be back in the classroom.

Here's hoping this is the first step to fostering self-management in my students!