Today I had just excused my last kid for the day, and was in the hall stapling up some artwork. I could hear Mrs. 4/5 Teacher saying goodby to one of her students, in a chortling sort of tone. Her student left, and Mrs. 4/5 Teacher sees me in the hall. She walks towards me, and says, "I have a real nice class!"
I looked at her and said, "Well, I have a real noisy class." I went into my room and closed my door.
If it works out for me, she'll soon be feeling a little less happy at the end of the day...Just like all of us!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Dear Teacher...
These are excerpts from letters written to me by some of my students on the first day of school:
"If I had a $100.00, I would save up enough to by a horse, even though I have one (Angel isn't as young as she used to be...)"
"When I grow up I want to be a model and a judge..."
"I'm hoping to study a lot about music. I want to be a musician. I don't have to tell you why..."
"I like you Teacher. You are a nice Teacher. Teacher, what do you do for a living?"
"When I am an adult my career will be in law. I love to read so I think that I would enjoy studying law and being a lawyer. I also want to do hair if I have time."
"If I had a $100.00, I would save up enough to by a horse, even though I have one (Angel isn't as young as she used to be...)"
"When I grow up I want to be a model and a judge..."
"I'm hoping to study a lot about music. I want to be a musician. I don't have to tell you why..."
"I like you Teacher. You are a nice Teacher. Teacher, what do you do for a living?"
"When I am an adult my career will be in law. I love to read so I think that I would enjoy studying law and being a lawyer. I also want to do hair if I have time."
Friday, September 25, 2009
What's Your Excuse?
This is an actual comment written on the Recess Slip of two of my boys today who came in late from lunch recess:
"Both came to nurses office conmplaining they were injured in the privates. From what I'm getting from both is there are witnesses-happened while in line."
"Both came to nurses office conmplaining they were injured in the privates. From what I'm getting from both is there are witnesses-happened while in line."
A Friend Is A Stranger You Haven't Met
My class is very boy-heavy. I assumed that the whole 5th grade was this way. There is one other 5th grade class, and two split classes: a 4/5 and a 5/6. There is a .5 teacher who pulls the 5th graders out of the split classes for the morning and teaches them math and science. One day I found out that when she pulls out those 5th graders from the two splits, she has ONE MORE GIRL than boys.
How can this be when I have 19 boys and only 8 girls? I checked with the other 5th grade class. She had 17 boys and 9 girls, slightly better than my ratio. So that meant that in the two split classes, they had an even boy/girl ratio. I began to actively pursue this inequitable distribution of boys and girls. I brought it up continually to my principal over the next couple of days. Finally, she asks to see all of us 5th grade teachers.
We have a meeting, and this issue is brought up. Turns out that the 5/6 split class has five 5th grade boys and six 5th grade girls. Pretty even. Remember, my class is about 30% girls, 70% boys. Now the real inequity was in the 4/5 split. Her class in general is girl-heavy. But for her 5th grade students? Eight girls and six boys! There is the problem. She had as many 5th grade girls for half her class as I have in my class of 27. So my principal asks us to brainstorm solutions to this. Of course, they all just sit there. No one wants to speak up or make any changes. Particularly the 4/5 teacher, who's class is nicely girl-heavy, and she spends the first two hours of her nice day with her 10 (yes, that's right: 10) nice fourth graders. That's a better ratio than you'd get in a private school!
So I suggest some movement of kids to make the ratio of boys to girls more fair. The 4/5 teacher just thought this was a bad idea because, you know, the kids have already bonded to their teacher, and this would be so hard on them. Plus it would be hard on the teacher. But she did offer to take a couple of my boys, as long as they were boys who could "handle the split." Do you know what that means? Good boys only wanted here!
I definitely am not giving up any of my "good" boys-I need them all when my class is the highest in number with the worst boy-girl ratio. And I have a handful of boys who need to be medicated, if they aren't all ready. Plus, let me tell you, if I was lucky enough to be able to spend the first two hours of my day with only ten little charges, when everyone else is dealing with a full-size class, I'd feel so guilty that I'd offer to take some problem kids. And they would be 5th grade boys. She wouldn't have them all morning-only in the afternoon.
I didn't say much at the meeting, other than that I expected to not get new kids for quite awhile. The 4/5 split only had 24 kids in the class. I said I expected the new 5th graders to go there until her number is brought up. Unless the new kid is a girl, and a good one at that.
I left the meeting, but continued to think about this whole thing. And I just was mad about it, and particularly the "offer" of help I had received from the 4/5 teacher. Plus, we only began school last Tuesday. I really don't think bonding is an issue yet. Heck, my class is so hard that I've barely bonded at all, unfortunately.
I sent an email to my beloved principal from home, saying just that. I told exactly what I was feeling, and how I felt Mrs. 4/5 Teacher certainly COULD take a couple of my problem boys, since she wouldn't even have them all morning, and the fact that her class is girl-heavy means a calmer atmosphere for them. They probably actually would do better. And we're not even talking about giving her my worst boy who has psychological problems (not my diagnosis-it's true).
She emailed back that I made some good points. I went to talk to her the next day, and we selected two boys that aren't easy boys to send to Mrs. 4/5 Teacher. I'm pretty happy with the ones we chose-they add to the chaotic atmosphere in my class. Again, it's not my very worst kid. If I could have only gotten rid of him, that would have been good. I think my principal is thinking we may be able to get him into a behavioral program, though, that's at a different school...That would be nice.
The only thing I had to check on before we decided definitely which two boys to send to Mrs. 4/5 Teacher's class was if either boy was the close buddy of one of my other boys whose mom is dying of cancer. This particular boy had been placed into my room specifically because his best friend was there. So my principal did not want to move either of those two boys. I just had to find out who his buddy was.
I picked up my kids from PE. As we walked back to the classroom, I walked beside Jose. "Jose," I said, "Who is your best pal in this class?"
He answered, "Oh, I guess the kid behind me...Or maybe Alex..."
Alex was the boy we couldn't move, then, and he wasn't one of the boys I had selected. So I was happy. I just think it's funny that Jose thought the "kid behind him" was perhaps one of his best buddies-even though he didn't yet know his name!
How can this be when I have 19 boys and only 8 girls? I checked with the other 5th grade class. She had 17 boys and 9 girls, slightly better than my ratio. So that meant that in the two split classes, they had an even boy/girl ratio. I began to actively pursue this inequitable distribution of boys and girls. I brought it up continually to my principal over the next couple of days. Finally, she asks to see all of us 5th grade teachers.
We have a meeting, and this issue is brought up. Turns out that the 5/6 split class has five 5th grade boys and six 5th grade girls. Pretty even. Remember, my class is about 30% girls, 70% boys. Now the real inequity was in the 4/5 split. Her class in general is girl-heavy. But for her 5th grade students? Eight girls and six boys! There is the problem. She had as many 5th grade girls for half her class as I have in my class of 27. So my principal asks us to brainstorm solutions to this. Of course, they all just sit there. No one wants to speak up or make any changes. Particularly the 4/5 teacher, who's class is nicely girl-heavy, and she spends the first two hours of her nice day with her 10 (yes, that's right: 10) nice fourth graders. That's a better ratio than you'd get in a private school!
So I suggest some movement of kids to make the ratio of boys to girls more fair. The 4/5 teacher just thought this was a bad idea because, you know, the kids have already bonded to their teacher, and this would be so hard on them. Plus it would be hard on the teacher. But she did offer to take a couple of my boys, as long as they were boys who could "handle the split." Do you know what that means? Good boys only wanted here!
I definitely am not giving up any of my "good" boys-I need them all when my class is the highest in number with the worst boy-girl ratio. And I have a handful of boys who need to be medicated, if they aren't all ready. Plus, let me tell you, if I was lucky enough to be able to spend the first two hours of my day with only ten little charges, when everyone else is dealing with a full-size class, I'd feel so guilty that I'd offer to take some problem kids. And they would be 5th grade boys. She wouldn't have them all morning-only in the afternoon.
I didn't say much at the meeting, other than that I expected to not get new kids for quite awhile. The 4/5 split only had 24 kids in the class. I said I expected the new 5th graders to go there until her number is brought up. Unless the new kid is a girl, and a good one at that.
I left the meeting, but continued to think about this whole thing. And I just was mad about it, and particularly the "offer" of help I had received from the 4/5 teacher. Plus, we only began school last Tuesday. I really don't think bonding is an issue yet. Heck, my class is so hard that I've barely bonded at all, unfortunately.
I sent an email to my beloved principal from home, saying just that. I told exactly what I was feeling, and how I felt Mrs. 4/5 Teacher certainly COULD take a couple of my problem boys, since she wouldn't even have them all morning, and the fact that her class is girl-heavy means a calmer atmosphere for them. They probably actually would do better. And we're not even talking about giving her my worst boy who has psychological problems (not my diagnosis-it's true).
She emailed back that I made some good points. I went to talk to her the next day, and we selected two boys that aren't easy boys to send to Mrs. 4/5 Teacher. I'm pretty happy with the ones we chose-they add to the chaotic atmosphere in my class. Again, it's not my very worst kid. If I could have only gotten rid of him, that would have been good. I think my principal is thinking we may be able to get him into a behavioral program, though, that's at a different school...That would be nice.
The only thing I had to check on before we decided definitely which two boys to send to Mrs. 4/5 Teacher's class was if either boy was the close buddy of one of my other boys whose mom is dying of cancer. This particular boy had been placed into my room specifically because his best friend was there. So my principal did not want to move either of those two boys. I just had to find out who his buddy was.
I picked up my kids from PE. As we walked back to the classroom, I walked beside Jose. "Jose," I said, "Who is your best pal in this class?"
He answered, "Oh, I guess the kid behind me...Or maybe Alex..."
Alex was the boy we couldn't move, then, and he wasn't one of the boys I had selected. So I was happy. I just think it's funny that Jose thought the "kid behind him" was perhaps one of his best buddies-even though he didn't yet know his name!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
First Day Moments
*First thing in the morning I had my students work on writing me a letter telling me about themselves. As they worked on this, I went around to each student to check on his or her name before I made their name tag. I have learned to do this; too many times I have put "Nicole" on the nametag, only to be told that she goes by "Nikki..." Waste of paper and effort.
So, as I walked around, Leonardo told me he goes by Leo. Katelyn told me she goes by Katie. Rebecka told me she goes by Becka. Then I get to Tyler. Not much you can do with his name, unless he goes by "Ty." But he has something else scribbled on his post-it note.
"What's that say?" I ask.
"Ty Ty. That's what my friends call me," he replied.
"Well, sorry, but I'm not calling you Ty Ty, and I'm not putting that on your name tag. I'll stick with Tyler."
"OK," he said.
*I did an activity with the students that I call "3 Facts and a Fib." The idea is for each kid to write three true facts about himself or herself, and one made-up fact. Then the students take turns sharing their facts and fib, and the rest of the students try to guess which one is the fib.
Some kids can be very clever with their facts and fibs. But not Anthony. He got up to share: 1. I'm smart. 2. I'm strong. 3. I'm silly. 4. I'm ugly
Now, I knew right away that he intended the "I'm ugly" to be his fib. And I am glad he has such a high opinion of himself (the "smart," according to his records and the work I saw him do yesterday, was, in fact, the real fib...). But, he did set himself up here. The kids began to guess the fib.
"Your smart!" they'd say, meaning, that was the one that was the fib.
But Anthony did not get upset. In fact, he would shake his head in a "I fooled you!" manner, and say, "No, that's not it..."
He had us all fooled.
*One other boy (I have 19 boys, so it'll take me awhile to get them straight) got up to read his facts and one fib. He read three things.
"You were supposed to have four things!" the other students cried.
"Oh," he said. "OK. Just a minute and I'll make something up..."
I think that was the fib.
*Conversation overheard on the playground between two first graders:
First kid: I got them at Discount Shoes! 40 bucks!
Second kid: Wow!
So, as I walked around, Leonardo told me he goes by Leo. Katelyn told me she goes by Katie. Rebecka told me she goes by Becka. Then I get to Tyler. Not much you can do with his name, unless he goes by "Ty." But he has something else scribbled on his post-it note.
"What's that say?" I ask.
"Ty Ty. That's what my friends call me," he replied.
"Well, sorry, but I'm not calling you Ty Ty, and I'm not putting that on your name tag. I'll stick with Tyler."
"OK," he said.
*I did an activity with the students that I call "3 Facts and a Fib." The idea is for each kid to write three true facts about himself or herself, and one made-up fact. Then the students take turns sharing their facts and fib, and the rest of the students try to guess which one is the fib.
Some kids can be very clever with their facts and fibs. But not Anthony. He got up to share: 1. I'm smart. 2. I'm strong. 3. I'm silly. 4. I'm ugly
Now, I knew right away that he intended the "I'm ugly" to be his fib. And I am glad he has such a high opinion of himself (the "smart," according to his records and the work I saw him do yesterday, was, in fact, the real fib...). But, he did set himself up here. The kids began to guess the fib.
"Your smart!" they'd say, meaning, that was the one that was the fib.
But Anthony did not get upset. In fact, he would shake his head in a "I fooled you!" manner, and say, "No, that's not it..."
He had us all fooled.
*One other boy (I have 19 boys, so it'll take me awhile to get them straight) got up to read his facts and one fib. He read three things.
"You were supposed to have four things!" the other students cried.
"Oh," he said. "OK. Just a minute and I'll make something up..."
I think that was the fib.
*Conversation overheard on the playground between two first graders:
First kid: I got them at Discount Shoes! 40 bucks!
Second kid: Wow!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
I'm Somebody!
Summer is over and school was slated to start August 31, but we are on strike. This is big, becuase our district has never been on strike. Teachers here have been lied to by both the district and the union for years, and it has just been the last few years, with new union leadership, that teachers have become informed about how badly they are paid, and how good teachers in other districts have it. So with our three year contract up, and bargaining not going well, or even close to going well, we voted at a General Membership meeting to go on strike. We have officially been on strike since last Thursday, but students have only missed 4 days of school so far. Many districts in our area are not starting until next week, after Labor Day, anyway.
Anyway, I came to this district 5 years ago and saw how badly teachers had it here. I began to get involved in our union right away. I figured it did no good to complain if I didn't do anything about it. I became our building alternate union rep, and last year became the main rep. I enjoy it. Also, last year I worked on the Bargaining Support Team all year long. Every Monday we met for 2 hours after school. It was a lot of time and effort, but I enjoyed working with the group of people there.
Being on the Bargaining Support Team gave me lots of jobs to do whenever we had rallies or meetings or the like. I was always involved and helping to run things. Yes, I felt important. The height of my feeling of importance was when we had a rally in August at one of the middle schools. The district had taken a halt to bargaining sessions, as they said they were at an impasse. So a State Mediator was hired. We held a rally before the fist bargaining session with the mediator. When I showed up to help, all the people there from WEA who have been helping us prepare for a possible strike were there, saying, "Oh, good! You're here! We need you to do..." And I'd do it.
Once we started to actually strike, my sense of importance disappeared. Every school has a Picket Captain, and we were encouraged to get someone other than ourself to be in that role, so I did. But our Picket Captain now became the important one-not me. I felt sad.
Then the other day our members of the Crisis Team came to our school to deliver items we might need like bubble wrap and tape to pad the bottom portion of our sign sticks to make them more comfortable to hold for hours on end. One of the items they delivered were plastic coverings to slip over our signs to keep the signs dry in inclement weather. They actually call these "condoms."
When the Crisis Team was leaving, one gal said to me, "Will you be here first thing in the morning?"
"Yes," I replied.
She hands me the rest of the plastic coverings. "Then I'll just leave these with you, and you can get them out to anyone who didn't get one," she said.
I was overcome with joy. "You mean," I said, "that you are making me CONDOM CAPTAIN?"
I began right away to take my job very seriously. I made myself a button with "CC" on the front, and then around the edge I wrote my motto: Keeping You Protected. I started to make sure everyone was protected. I found that the male teachers were the most resistant to wearing a condom. One wanted to just fold his up and put it in his wallet. As if trying to give the impression that he goes on strike a lot...I could see right through it. I was pretty adamant that everyone wear their condoms.
The younger teachers also were embarassed to put one on. I don't think they were comfortable hearing me talk about the importance of wearing a condom. I think perhaps they thought I was too old to know much about condoms, but I actually had lots of pointers to share with them. I like to believe that I'm helping them to be much more responsible now and in the future. Condoms are important.
I myself am so happy to have such an important job once again. I emailed some of my friends from Bargaining Support Team who, like me, were feeling bereft of an important job of late. They were jealous; they wished they, too, were Condom Captains, but they hadn't been appointed by their Crisis Team. I did stop by their school on my way to mine, just to make sure that they were protected. They were. I knew they would be.
Sometimes I get worn out, since I have this added responsibility of being Condom Captain. But I wouldn't trade that responsibility for the world!
Anyway, I came to this district 5 years ago and saw how badly teachers had it here. I began to get involved in our union right away. I figured it did no good to complain if I didn't do anything about it. I became our building alternate union rep, and last year became the main rep. I enjoy it. Also, last year I worked on the Bargaining Support Team all year long. Every Monday we met for 2 hours after school. It was a lot of time and effort, but I enjoyed working with the group of people there.
Being on the Bargaining Support Team gave me lots of jobs to do whenever we had rallies or meetings or the like. I was always involved and helping to run things. Yes, I felt important. The height of my feeling of importance was when we had a rally in August at one of the middle schools. The district had taken a halt to bargaining sessions, as they said they were at an impasse. So a State Mediator was hired. We held a rally before the fist bargaining session with the mediator. When I showed up to help, all the people there from WEA who have been helping us prepare for a possible strike were there, saying, "Oh, good! You're here! We need you to do..." And I'd do it.
Once we started to actually strike, my sense of importance disappeared. Every school has a Picket Captain, and we were encouraged to get someone other than ourself to be in that role, so I did. But our Picket Captain now became the important one-not me. I felt sad.
Then the other day our members of the Crisis Team came to our school to deliver items we might need like bubble wrap and tape to pad the bottom portion of our sign sticks to make them more comfortable to hold for hours on end. One of the items they delivered were plastic coverings to slip over our signs to keep the signs dry in inclement weather. They actually call these "condoms."
When the Crisis Team was leaving, one gal said to me, "Will you be here first thing in the morning?"
"Yes," I replied.
She hands me the rest of the plastic coverings. "Then I'll just leave these with you, and you can get them out to anyone who didn't get one," she said.
I was overcome with joy. "You mean," I said, "that you are making me CONDOM CAPTAIN?"
I began right away to take my job very seriously. I made myself a button with "CC" on the front, and then around the edge I wrote my motto: Keeping You Protected. I started to make sure everyone was protected. I found that the male teachers were the most resistant to wearing a condom. One wanted to just fold his up and put it in his wallet. As if trying to give the impression that he goes on strike a lot...I could see right through it. I was pretty adamant that everyone wear their condoms.
The younger teachers also were embarassed to put one on. I don't think they were comfortable hearing me talk about the importance of wearing a condom. I think perhaps they thought I was too old to know much about condoms, but I actually had lots of pointers to share with them. I like to believe that I'm helping them to be much more responsible now and in the future. Condoms are important.
I myself am so happy to have such an important job once again. I emailed some of my friends from Bargaining Support Team who, like me, were feeling bereft of an important job of late. They were jealous; they wished they, too, were Condom Captains, but they hadn't been appointed by their Crisis Team. I did stop by their school on my way to mine, just to make sure that they were protected. They were. I knew they would be.
Sometimes I get worn out, since I have this added responsibility of being Condom Captain. But I wouldn't trade that responsibility for the world!
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