Dogs in the Fog

My dogs were in the fog this morning.  They kept disappearing then reappearing.  My dogs vanished into the corners of the backyard.  But once I set the food down, they made their way over to the food by sense of smell!  It was pretty wild!

Amazing College Thoughts

Daniel is a resistant reader and sometimes is surly and disrespectful.  But we had an advisory day and we talked about colleges and careers.  He came up with the idea that the two year degree was like elementary, the 4 year degree was like middle school and the 4 plus years are like high school  Good thinking from someone who hates school. I hope he does go to college.  He says he wants to be a banker.  Would I trust his bank with my money?

Team Player

I was sailing along so smoothly and everything was going so cool!  My kids and I were going to really get some great stuff done.  Then I got moved out of my classroom because another teacher was having issues with her formerly friendly group.  My b asked me to do this.  The only thing that really saves me, that makes this bearable, is that my kiddos are alright with it.  Thank God for my kiddos!  We will still try to have a good year.  As for the rest:  God don't like ugly and he ain't too keen on pretty.

It is Labor Day Weekend

Interesting first two weeks!  I have 6th, 7th and 8th grade students who are struggling readers.  I have all levels and I teach Read 180.  We have moved students around quite a bit due to scheduling conflicts, but I think most of this is done now.  I still have one more day off, tomorrow, Labor Day.  Happy Labor Day!

The Third Day Back! Some Explaining to Do

So far the beginning of this school year has been awesome!  We teachers got some disheartening news concerning our superintendent, and the news media has been all over the story.  I guess when the FBI comes to your office to pick you up, you got some explaining to do!  At least some of that money the super makes will stimulate the local economy in the form of a good team of lawyers.  There may even be some vacancies behind all this.  I just pray that our leadership tries to focus on helping our teachers help our students be successful for this school year!

Reflections of the Last Day

On the last day of middle school, I discovered how tech savvy, how creative, how considerate and caring of each other, and how much fun my eighth graders are.  Can you say Rebel?

With the clouds of TAKS testing, STAAR next year, masking true teaching and learning, education has become as monotonous as a bubble sheet. So I didn't realize...

The only bubbles I worried about today were from the sodas my eighth graders had in the computer lab.  How did I end up here with this group?  On the last day of middle school, our 8^th graders go on a field trip to one of the amusement parks.  Some of the teachers go with them, and that leaves some of the teachers on campus. I stay on campus in my air-conditioned room.

I tried to pick a group that I know, starting with two from my first period class who were not going on the field trip.  I didn’t ask why.  I was supposed to get 25, but I only got 11, 3 girls and 8 boys. 

They like to dance.  They like to Rebel.  They like to pretend they are fighting and film it for facebook.  It looks so real!  This is the part where I cringed.  If I stop it, I am a bad teacher.  If I allow it and someone gets hurt, I am a bad teacher.  If my admin walks by, I am a bad teacher.  What do I do?  I don’t want an incident on the last day of school.  I had to do something, but what?

I set a time limit for the wrestling.  What sport are 6 of these guys going to be in high school?  Wrestling!   They went back to dancing!  Thank you God!

The group hugs and the unashamed tears on their young faces were a reflection of the realization that this was the end of their 8^th grade year.  These eight graders had me speechless.  These young people with their bright, youthful enthusiasm for life broke through my cloudy circumstances and showed me what a blessing it still is to be a teacher.

Year of the Pencil!

This was a good year, but there were some ups and some downs.  Like a pencil, you had to be sharp one end and flexible on the other.  Which end of the pencil did I use the most this school year?

First, pencils up!  I taught Read 180 and I taught Drama/Study Skills.  Only those two subjects, not 4 different subjects with no prep period.  The PLCs were informative, intense and infrequent.  We knew what our mission was.  The new A B schedule was new and exciting.  At first.

Ok, pencils down!.  The A B schedule was confusing and challenging.  At first.  Some students were not right academically and behaviorally.  At first.  The changes in the way discipline is handled was not user friendly.  At first.  The painting of the building was an interruption for everyone.  At first.

As I chew on this pencil, I have to wonder which end of the pencil helped me out the most.  Being sharp helped me with my students and my colleagues. I learned to watch for emotional meltdowns and blowups. People were upset when Romo got hurt. Being flexible helped me get through benchmarks, standardized testing, and state and federal budgetary concerns.  I still have a job!  Thank the Lord!

So which end of the pencil did I use the most?  Well, thinking back, I had to be more flexible this past school year, so I wore my pencil eraser out early.   But I was sharp, I bought extra pencils.

Delicious Account

Delicious has been sold to the guys who created YouTube.  I already set up my new entryway.

Happy New Year!

Man this is a great year so far!  I got good stuff going with my kids and the Read 180 and the Drama Study Skills class!