Heart Broken

So...I have truely become disappointed in one of my students today. She is my student assistant and has done great work for me. However, I am missing money from my wallet. I thought I caught her a few weeks ago getting ready to go through my wallet...I didn't say anything but decided that I would not allow her to be in my office again. Today, she was taking books out to my car...books going to Africa...and then returned my keys to my desk. And now I missing $20. I am super hurt! I trusted her...I try to trust all these kids. They come from lifes that are unfair, difficult and unloving. I try to remember that I might be the only Jesus some of these kids see but it's so hard because I open my heart and get hurt. Now I have to determine how to discuss/deal with this. She obviously needs to learn a lesson...but my emotions are high...I'm angry, hurt, disappointed. I need prayer! Guidance on how to deal with this appropriatly.

A Left Triangle

We are studying a geometry unit in my class. We have been working on finding the relationship betweeen the areas of the squares on the legs of the triangle and the area of the sqaure on the hypotenuse (the Pythagorean Theorem). One of my students raised her hand and said she didn't understand what she was supposed to be doing. I asked her to tell what she noticed about triangles that do satisfy the Pythagorean theorem. She told me "right triangles." I asked what she noticed when a triangle did not satisfy the Pythagorean Theorem and she said it's a ...triangle. I said I didn't hear her...she repeated...it's a ...triangle. I asked her to again repeat her self and she said it's a "left triangle." It was hard not to giggle but we cleared up her confusion! She made me laugh (later) and I needed it!

Anger

I am mentoring a student that has been recently suspended. She was suspended for lying. Are you kidding me? Suspended for 3 days for lying. Actually, she was suspended because the principal that dealt with her was angry. I have to admint, I have punished students when I was angry and it never helps the situation. In fact, may times I have had to go back and apologize. It destroys a relationship with a child and their heart.

It also happens to teachers. This last week has been the hardest week this year. My principal sent an email to the Teacher Leader for Literacy and myself. (I only teach part time. The rest of my days I coach teachers to improve their practice). In the email, he questioned our abilities to do our jobs. He continued to tear us down all week through back handed slap to the face through emails. We both know that something/someone has a TON of pressure on him and that his emails to us have been because of this pressure. However, we have done nothing to deserve what it is that we have received. We used to have a great relationship with him but because of his displaced anger...we have a broken relationship with him that will never restore itself back to the way it was. Becareful where your anger lies...it could destroy the people around you.

Taking back the Streets!

So...our current 8th grade class this year is a bit out of control! They had a rough year last year with expectations and are thinking they can still run the place! For the most part they act like normal human beings but in the halls they act like primates! So, my friend and I decided that they just needed some boundaries and expectations while they were in the hall and other places in the school. We called it "taking back the streets." We stood in the hall and just redirected the mislead behaviors and things were fine! We were a success! We took back the streets!

Expectations

Nothing amazes me more than how just sticking with a few high expectations changes how a student respnods to their learning. I have a couple of students that I believe have been given the message that they are "dumb," "not good at math," or "hopeless." By just telling these students that they can learn, waiting on them to try and then expecting them to explain their new learning, student begin to change their outlook on learning. Comments like, "I didn't realize this was so easy," or "I really understand this" make this job worth it! But oh, how education would be so different if teachers would just believe that ALL students can learn. They can! Teachers just need to figure out where the student is and what the next steps are for the students. I will admit, there have been many times that the limits to my creativity have shown...what the heck? What does this kid think? What am I supposed to do to get them back on track or on to the next level of this concept? This is when prayer comes in! It does help, creates an completely different learning environment when I pray before class...but in the moment works too! I have been silent in the blog for a while and it had much to do with many frustrations and challenges I have faced! When I realized that I wasn't praying about these issues and began to pray about them...life got better! Please pray for me and my students. Also, the teachers I work with. There has been many issues that are causing me to loose sight of my reason for being a teacher!

You want honesty? Ask a middle schooler!

Today was a flop! I was prepared to have a fabulous lesson with students that would excel in front of a teacher that needs some support in his own classroom. Needless to say, it didn't go so well! I tried to recover and take the lesson to a different place, but nothing seemed to work.
Later I asked one of my students what she thought of the lesson. She said it was ok. I asked her to be honest and she said, "I had no clue what you were talking about and I have no idea what we learned today." You want honesty...ask a teenager. When they feel safe to speak their mind, you will get more than you bargained for!

Paco vs. Paca

I have a student that has a particularly difficult name to say. It's Adaleberto. I'm not sure why, but my tongue can't say it! I've tried. Every time I attempt to say it, it comes out wrong and he laughs. Even worse, I accidently say it wrong in front of the whole class and they all laugh. Luckily for me, he has an outgoing personality. It doesn't seem to bother him much. Regardless, I decided to start calling him Paco. I told him until he taught me how to say his name right, I was going to call him Paco. A few days after I started this, a friend(another teacher in the building) of mine told him that I was trying to get better at Spanish and that I needed to learn to say his name correctly. She had warned me that she had this conversation so I wasn't surprised the next time I called him Paco. In a super respectful voice he said, "Ms. I was told you are trying to learn Spanish so you have to learn how to say my name right." He was so nervous to "correct" me but he was right. After class, I asked him to say his name for me a few times and I practiced all night long...ask Chad! Although, Chad thought I was saying "open" in Spanish. He doesn't speak the espanol! The next day I called him by his correct name during class and shocked the whole group! However, in the mean time, he has begun to call me Paca (replacing a Spanish word ending in "o" with an "a" makes it feminine). We still banter back and forth, me calling him Paco and him call me Paca, outside of the class period. It's amazing how something so small means so much to kids. At this point, he seems to be successful when interacting with me. He has had a rough past, behaviorily speaking. But life seems to be getting better for him...who knew Paco vs. Paca could be so great!

When should teachers be held responsible?

I am SUPER frustrated today. I have a student that I have been mentoring...basically all up in his biz-nas! He's a great kid but has not had any boundaries established either at home or here at school. His teachers from last year are know for not having the great classroom management skills and he ran any class he was a part of. That was before he met me! We became "friends" last year and I requested to have him in my class this year. Since most teachers don't request the more challenging kids, no one put up a fight...so I won him! He has once again become my friend this year! He's been working so well in my class (a completely different kid than the one I observed last year) and actually leading great math conversations at his table! He's blown away anyone who has seen him and has "known" him. He has been spending his lunches with me, some by his choice others not. Bottom-line, I've been working so hard on developing a good relationship with him and it has paid off!
Today he walked in my class and said he needed his stuff. I asked were he was going and he told me he couldn't go to school here anymore because his family moved and they wouldn't let him open enroll. They won't let him open enroll here because of his poor behavior last year. But I ask you, how can he be blamed? He just did what his teachers allowed! He lived up to the expectations they set for him...which were obviously low!
When will teachers be held responsible for failing our students? I can't believe that this situation is unique to my school. All accross America, teachers put the fault to the students for not learning. But could you learn from someone that hated you...or expected nothing of you? I admit, I had some crappy teachers in my time. But my parents and the expectations they had for me is what kept me on the straight and narrow...mostly ;) What about students whose parents don't seem to care. Even if their parent doesn't care...we should! If we don't teach these kids now...no one will...then we will pay for them to live in jail in 5-10years. I don't know about you but I'd rather have my $$$ going to schools instead of prisons.
So I ask again, to whoever is out there in cyber-world, when should teachers be held responsible for failing at their job...teaching ALL students?

The Handshake

Middle school students greet each other with crazy handshakes. They slap hands, snap, click their tongues, nod and say "what's up." On Thursday last week, I decided to make my students do my handshake before they walked in class for the day. I would shake their hand, pull my hand back, snap and kick my right foot up and slap my ankle. The immediately began to laugh and say "no miss. You can't do that." Yet they all stood their and watched their peers go through the same process over and over laughing each time as if it was new each time. One thing I have learned about middle school students are that they are easily entertained!
This day in class was amazing! It blows my mind how much a relationship with my students impact their learning. During the final discussion of the day's new learning, my students talked, shared ideas asked questions and gave each other feedback on their thinking. I could have left the room and they would have kept on going! Keep in mind, this doesn't happen everyday but when it does it make you feel like you are making a great impact on humanity!
This school year I have been assigned a GREAT group of students. I have several boys with, let's say, eccentric personailities. The girls are sweet and shy. Usually my girls are much more open and talk more freely but this group of girls presents a new challenge. I look forward to all that these students will teach me this year!