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.