BackToTheThemePark

I haven’t had a roller coaster of a week like this since my first year… Both kids and adults had some real low points this week, BUT there were a couple of redeeming times that ALMOST made up for them.

Let’s talk about the lows:
1. Rushing kids into the hallway before they were quiet/mentally ready and having them flip out which required and an administrator to step in to yell at them for me…
2. Experiencing EXTREME disrespect from children who fight/yell/run in the hallway and having no idea how to respond…
3. Advising a mother to have her child skip a field trip… causing her to cry and me to feel HORRIBLE
4. Having girls repeatedly skip, come late, or leave class early and not having an effective consequence…
5. Having one of my best boys who I LOVE get in a fist fight with one of my boys who can’t HELP but to get into conflicts because I wasn't monitoring them.
6. Prepping my kids for standardized tests… with more standardized tests

And now a couple of bright spots:
1. Visiting a KIPP charter school, getting to observe the teacher who I replaced AND actually being able to bring a lot of what I saw BACK to my own classroom : )
2. Being observed by my PD from last year and having her see that kids are actually learning (at least a little bit) in my class!
3. Finding to great ways to start math that my kids REALLY enjoy
4. Having kids that ROCK: They were able to take a state test, do a make-up test when they were done and THEN go to math class… incredible!

Coming soon: The solutions to all the above low points… hopefully : )

Love!
Ms. Newton

Where’s the Love?!

7th grade girls spell drama with a capital D, and I can’t handle it any more. This week girls that I had never seen before literally appeared in my classroom for the sole purpose of yelling at each other…

The other kids in the class either ate it up or were pissed that, once again, personal conflicts got in the way of us getting through an entire lesson which at this point is my number one frustration and concern. Once we get class going, everything is fine, but it’s like herding cats to get the whole class up from lunch, homework out and started on the work for the day… My only goal for the week is to speed up the process. The plan is to time EVERY transition and on Friday to reward the class that is more efficient. We’ll see how that goes : )

The other eye opener this week was that, with grades due for the 1st marking period, it was obvious who I had let fall through the cracks… There are a couple quiet girls and their parents in particular that I really need to reach out to. There are a ton of opportunities to ask for help, especially during the morning “37.5” minutes but students have to come. If I make sure to mandate the extra time as well as possibly splitting up the days based on gender, I wonder if attendance would increase.

Also, I have two students that it seems like no matter what steps I take to help remediate just do not understand the material. It has to be SO frustrating for them to come early, stay late, call me, and still fail every test. I am no expert on learning disabilities, but it definitely seems like they each have an additional hurdle that they are dealing with and that they could use some tools to overcome them. Unfortunately, having students evaluated for those resources is a process and parent support is required. However, not making this a priority last year is on of my greatest regrets, and I am committed to following through this time.

So, as always, there is lot to do and only a limited number of hours, but my prayer is that I am focusing my energy in the right direction to best serve my kids, and my biggest fear is that I am not…

Finally, I conducted Teach For America phone interviews yesterday to look for the upcoming core, and it’s interesting to see a) who is interested, b) why they are applying, and c) what are their qualifications. My group was a mixed bag, but I had a couple that will make excellent teachers for reasons that I don’t think I could have pinpointed a year ago, and I am just sad that I won’t be able to follow up.

I hope the fall continues to go well and that there is a lot for you to be thankful for during the upcoming holiday season. As always, my door is always open… we’ll I actually don’t have a classroom door, so come visit!

Lots of love,
Ms. Newton

End Of MP1.

Last Friday ended the 1st marking period of Year 2; it is CRAZY how fast time is passing. As a whole, it is impossible to express how or why this year is SO much better than my first. I can count on one hand the number of times that I have cried (which I couldn’t say about some weeks last year), and while there is still a ton to work on in my classroom, students are learning and no one (to my knowledge) has written a persuasive letter to the principal asking to be removed from my class (yea… that happened last year.)

This week was good but a crazy one. Finishing up the marking period always means a lot of completing late/missing work for the kids and a lot of reflecting on my part. So, while S was envisioning and writing about “her life as a Native American”, I was wondering how I could make sure kids were quiet in the hallway so other classes could continue even during transition periods, why the period after lunch always ends up being 25 minutes, how I can keep kids from going to the bathroom multiple times every day, and what to do about the extra 37.5 minutes I was given to help out my kids in the morning…

The Election Day PD is on Tuesday and there will be some changes come Wednesday. I’ll let you know : )

The other big part of the week was Halloween which included a fundraiser for the little girl in the DR that my homeroom sponsors, a “party” on Friday, AND gang initiation.

The fundraiser went really well, we sold “Halloween Candy Grams” (little notes that students could send around to a friend) for $1, and we surpassed our monthly goal of $35, and I was really proud of the kids.

BUT I was NOT proud of a lot of their behavior during the party on Friday… I had made treats for the kids and played music… however, this did not compare to the dance party in the other homeroom, and my kids felt terribly shafted by life and had the need to express their disappointment OVER and OVER again…. In the future, I will be more purposeful about making things “fair” and establishing realistic expectations.

Regardless, very few kids actually even experienced either party because of the “gang initiations” starting on the 21st and ending on the 31st. There were rumors that 140 girls were going to get “slashed” (when a gang initiate puts a long cut down someone’s cheeks) as part of the ritual. I’m not 100% sure if it is true, but everyone was extra careful at the end of the month, and about 50% of my kids stayed home on Friday out of fear of getting jumped after school…

SO, as always life in the Big Apple to be an adventure, but everyone is hanging in there and there is very little reason to complain.

I hope everyone had a successful and enjoyable Halloween; talk to you soon.

Lots of love,
Ms. Newton

Things Are Picking Up.

"HE touched me, well SHE was looking at me funny, HE talked about my MOM… MS. NEwtoN!”

This week marks the last five days of the 1^st marking period and school is now in FULL swing… Kids have remembered how much they like talking, remembered how much detention sucks, and then forgotten gain…. Love-sick middle schoolers have gotten together, broken up, broken heats, and “never even been noticed” by that special someone. They have loved me, hated me, and decided they loved me again… 7^th grade is a roller coaster, and it’s best to just make sure you are buckled in.

School drama is ramping up but still manageable... “SmartBoard” distribution is tricky.

As far as learning goes (that’s the goal right?!) Teaching the same content in math a second year rocks, and kids are slowly but surely mastering the material. However, social studies reached a low point on the 16^th when I realized how little content we had covered based on several factors including my inexperience and the glacial pace that 7^th graders take notes… Fortunately, my predecessor had left me all of his materials (daily packets) that I had foregone using in order “to do it myself” (damn independent streak). But, this week I brushed them off, and I am happy to report a 90% average on the last exam : )

Yesterday included a great fieldtrip to the Bronx High School Fair. For those of you unaware, in New York City, middle school students must apply to high schools, similar to the college process for seniors. It is a matching process based on your grades, test scores, attendance record, etc… in which the kids rank their top 12 choices and are then selected by the high schools.

The high schools vary by selection requirements, size, focus, and everything else imaginable. And, if you aren’t careful, you can end up in a bad situation, so good information is key. The fair was overwhelmingly crowded but the kids learned a lot about the process, their choices, and enjoyed a mean game of Spoons over pizza after wards. Even one of my shyest student who attended e-mailed me to let me know she loved it.

So, there is one week to Halloween, followed by Election Day on the 3^rd, and Thanksgiving shortly after… It doesn't appear that things are slowing down any time soon, but that’s part of it.

I hope all is well and that this fall is off to a great start for everyone. Talk to you soon.

Lots of love,
Ms. Newton

Some Weeks Are Sprints

How a week can be so short and still so exhausting is beyond me. This week NYC public schools had off because of Yom Kippur (a BIG "thank you" to all of my Jewish students… none actually come to mind).

Tuesday was a “normal” day- well, as normal as kids can be after a 3-day weekend.

Wednesday was the trip to the American Natural History Museum (yep, the one from Night at the Museum AND The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler). The trip was nearly a complete success except for the unfortunate fact that the general education teachers (that’s me) planned it just for the classes they teach- not the 7^th grade special education or bilingual. This was a huge oversight on our part and caused some definite hurt feelings... We are now holding weekly teacher meetings, so this should NOT happen again.

Thursday and Friday were attempts to fit in a week’s worth of curriculum which went well enough. However, I have really been disappointed by the quiz grades so far… Because my management is SO much better this year, I just assumed that kids were “getting it.” Unfortunately, that is ABSOLUTELY NOT the case (especially in Social Studies), so it’s back to the drawing board to brainstorm some ways to make the lessons/key points more memorable to my students... We're talking about study skills on Monday! PS: Please send any ideas my way.

Next week is a long one- 5 days plus a graduate school midterm and project BUT it’s followed up by Columbus Day. God bless that man and his accidental “discovery.”

Lots of love,
Ms. Newton

PS: There are very few things that I love more than NYC adn Central Park in the fall. The humid summer leaves behind air that is thin and crisp and the outdoors smell like apples and Halloween. Please come visit!

Week2… And Done.

The 2nd full week has come and gone, and I continue to learn more about my students each day.
For example, we had our first test this week, and while kids conceptually understood all the questions, many made so many multiplication/division errors that the grades were less-than-stellar. The difficulty with teaching math really is that students 1) are at SO many different levels and 2) are certain that they are “not good at math” NOT because they are not capable but because some past teacher did not do their job of imparting them with the basic skills that are critical as they advance in school…

So, academically-speaking, it was definitely a learning week for me. However, I also continue to discover more about their personalities each day. This week, a conflict between my girl, C, and my man, M2, blew my mind. It started with an “I thought she was talking to me, so I told her to shut up,” and ended with an “I’m going to have my cousin come in and kick your ass.” Nearly all fights start with something stupid, but I am constantly surprised by how quickly things can escalate, esp. in the middle school.

Additionally, it seems that in the Bronx, there exists a particular need for respect that when broken (or perceived as broken) can turn a simple conflict into a full-on fight. It is often a class conversation, and I have still not been able to figure out exactly how to personally deal with it other than watching what I say trying to make sure that I’m always perceived as fair and respectful.

Hmm… more on that later.

Other highlights included a 7th/8th grade parent’s night that was slightly changed by the administration and didn’t have quite the expected turnout but ended up being a successful evening complete with a mom bringing in Mangú (Dominican mashed plantains) as a thank you the following day AND a chance to talk to the parents of both kids involved in the conflict. Also, I have found some EXCELLENT classroom helpers that have simplified my life.

Yom Kippur on Monday (yay!) and a fieldtrip to the Natural History Museum on Wednesday :) hopefully mean that this week will be a much-needed time for student and teachers to recharge.

I assume the fall and its accompanying nostalgic feelings have found you as they have found us here in NYC. Enjoy the cooler weather, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Lots of love,
Ms. Newton

Eek. Where do we live?

Ok, teaching Social Studies is mind blowing. I have tried to start out easy to make students feel confident. The question of the day, "What country do you live in?" wasn't quite the low ball I excpected. After receiving "North America" and "New York" as responses, I realized that my work was going to cut out for me this year...

"He's a Mathemagician"

On Thursday we played "Around the World" in class. It's a great game where kids challenge each other one-on-one solving mental math problems with the goal of beating everyone in the class and making it "around the world."

One of my students who struggles in certain subjects stood up, and you could tell the students were a little nervous and expected him to quickly get out. However, much to everyone's surprise (including my own) he began DOMINATING. Someone had obviously drilled him on his multiplication facts, and he quickly beat 10 other students.

This went on: students cheered, clapped, and one exclaimed, "He's a mathemagician!"

It's my new favorite word, and I hope you add it to your own vocabulary repertoire.

Only in the Bronx...

Yesterday I walked by a man selling live lobsters on the street corner. He was walking around with two in his hands: little rubber bands over their claws and all.

I was on my way to lunch and didn't have any cash, but I wish I did...

Year TWO.

Hello, and welcome to Year 2 of my Teach For America experience. I have just completed the first FULL week of teaching at my new school after a LONG, MUCH NEEDED summer, and I can NOT tell you how different the second year feels already.

After the first day which was followed by 5 hours of grad school (joy), my teaching friends and I cautiously shared stories of first day AWESOMEness- worried that someone's day was less-than-stellar and not wanting to gloat. Thankfully, our fears were unfounded, and we quickly realized that nearly everyone was able to have their children walk in two straight (well... straightish) lines without talking – a feat NEVER accomplished by the average 1^st year.

So, a quick recap on my new teaching situation. I now teach math and social studies to two sections of 7^th grade- 701 and 702- with about 32 kids in each class. Similar to my last school, the students are mostly Latin- Puerto Rican and Dominican. In general, my kids this year are AMAZING. They are well trained (thank you, 6^th grade teachers) to work and to be respectful. They are also SUPER enthusiastic to learn.

I have hit up most of you for IU and Purdue apparel because the classes were dubbed the “702 Hoosiers” and “701 Boilermakers” which they LOVE. At the most recent “Big 10 Kickball Game”, I count tell you how many “Boiler ups” and “HOOsiers” I heard.

Teaching itself is going well, and the kids really appear to be comprehending the material… However, I will give you the full update AFTER their 1^st tests this week.

In general, so far so good. I am still cautious that things could turn sour any day, but 7 good days- I will take them : )

Love!

Ms. Newton

PS: Shout Out to Alicia for being the first to visit my classroom this year. You are obviously ALL invited, and I would love to see you in the BRONX soon!

Quick Summer Update.

Well, I have not truly interacted with a middle schooler in at least a week, but that does not mean that I haven’t been working hard for the (wo)man (Wendy Kopp, that is) over the summer.

Last Tuesday, I finished my two grad classes: Calculus 2 and another random course that covered pretty much the exact same material that I taught this year. Six hours a day at Lehman College may not have been my ideal way to spend my summer; however, it did add structure to my day, allow me to see my TFA friends, and bolster my teaching confidence. What ended up happening in the non-calc class was the teacher was so frustrated by the dichotomy of levels (tfa and non-tfa) in the course, that he had us teach the other students. It ended up surprisingly well, and I am happy to say that “my pupil” called today to tell me that she received an 80% on the final!!! Maybe I should look into adult education…

Immediately after grad school finished up, my apartment turned into a veritable Hotel Manhattan, and I enjoyed the company of my brother and his IU friends as well as one of my best friends, Emi, who is a TFA teacher in Indy. The two trips were very different, but I thoroughly enjoyed the company of both Len and Emi and encourage anyone interested in visiting the Big Apple to come any time : )

As a whole, the summer has been AMAZING. A great chance to reflect, enjoy the company of friends, explore New York and to look at the bigger picture of the education reform that is so necessary to improve our country and the lives of its citizens ( a great article, btw: http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/socialsector/achievement_gap_report.pdf). People warned me that I would get bored, but I certainly have not experienced that yet...

Regardless, I am getting progressively more excited for the start of the school year. I met with the 7th grade team last week for an extremely productive meeting, and I promised myself to put in a couple solid 9-5ers this week to prepare next year's materials. The thing that I am most excited about, however, is to meet my kids, and I am hoping for a Back-to-School Bash soon ; )

However, there is still a month left, and Friday brings a trip to Colorado to celebrate Jess and Graham’s wedding! Make sure you send a shout out if you have the chance.

Ok, well, if I am going to actually be productive tomorrow, that’s going to require some sleep tonight. I hope that everyone is thoroughly enjoying their respective summers, and I hope to hear from you soon.

Lots of love,
Ms. Newton (Katie for the rest of the month)

PS: My goal is to get a cross country team started at 211. Please check up on that and send any coaching advice…

School's Out For Summer : )

Ok, I am officially the worst blogger every, and for those of you that have continued to check despite my lack of new entries thank you: ) I promise to keep it up next year.

Where to begin… well, since I last posted, I am happy to report that my classroom has continued to get MUCH better towards the end of the year. It may have been the constant fieldtrips to hold over their head, their new-found maturity as 8th grade approached, or the swine flue epidemic that kept a number of students home that initiated the improvement. However, whatever the reason, my kids and I finally found the groove and math was a much better place.

All things considered, the year ended of on a high note. The last day of school was a tear-filled mess when 753 parted ways knowing that things would never be quite the same after the summer. 753 had become a family- dysfunctional at times- but a place where quirks and struggles (from the students and adults alike) were embraced and everyone supported each other. Even Lionel, the class clown who bragged about being at the school longer than all of his teachers (it took him a couple of times to pass 6th grade) had to excuse himself to the bathroom because “he had something in his eye.”

After school, I met with my principal for my review. I was really excited that she recognized my growth, and we agreed that I was in a good place for the 2nd year. Unfortunately, after the review, I received the news that I feared the most. Because of the recent budget cuts, there was no way that the school could pay two math teachers per grade. Thus, the other first year math teacher and I were being “excessed”- cut from our school and asked to find another teaching job somewhere else. I was devastated. I had finally felt confident at 303 and was really looking forward to teaching 6th grade the following year. I hadn’t even had a chance to tell my kids goodbye…

Yuk… well, there was nothing I could do about it. So, I informed Teach For America and arranged an interview the following Friday. I took a trip to PS 211 about 3 miles away from my old school and was given a job on the spot- 7th grade math and social studies. I am definitely a little concerned about the social studies curriculum, but the man that I am replacing (a 2nd year TFA member moving to a KIPP school in NJ) has been extremely helpful and provided me with all of his materials. I have since met with him and most of the other 211 middle school teachers, and am still not thrilled with the transition but feel a little better about the change. It seems that 211 has a lot of solid teachers but there just are not the systems in place yet that there were at 303. I am hoping that I can bring a lot of the lessons that I learned at 303 to my new school and plan to learn a lot from them as well.

So, the year was marked by ups and downs, and while my first year is not something that I want to repeat, it is definitely an experience through which I learned a ton and my students hopefully picked up a couple things along the way as well. I will miss my kids and will never forget that first group of students with whom despite our struggles I grew such strong bonds. I know that we will stay in touch, but I know that we must move on, and I am looking forward to a whole new batch of kids to love and to learn from. More on that later, but for now, I am off to enjoy the beautiful NYC summer and a bit of rest and relaxation : )

Wow it's been a while...

It was a BIG week in the life of a 7th grade math teacher, but I happy to report that both me and the kids made it : ) We started our first interdisciplinary unit on Monday as a 7th grade team on NYC. We had this great trivia game planned, and all the subject teachers stopped their own content and taught about New York related themes for the following three days. Unfortunately, all of the changes meant that kids were NUTTY and after the craziness of Monday and Tuesday, I really did not think that I was going to be able to make it until the end of the year.

However, something improved- the kids got used to the schedule, the weather improved, or the progress reports that were distributed that scared a couple of students into working harder… not sure- and after Wednesday I know longer wanted to kill myself or a child. The two girls in my class that I have particularly struggled with were even excellent- one even ended up hugging me, and I didn’t cringe : )

As always, some teacher mistakes were made, I decided to finish a take home final and come into school on Thursday exhausted and not well-planned, this OBVIOUSLY turned out poorly, but Friday was a good day, and I and the kids are excited about the NYC tourist itinerary they are doing in math.

This weekend was the 303 retreat, and I am happy to report that a number of major issues were addressed. We are rewriting the math curriculum to make it more problem solving based and to emphasize the basic math skills. I think it is really going to meet the needs of our kids. Also, we discussed writing a sex ed curriculum over the summer, and I believe my mom is going to help. This is something I am SUPER invested in, and is a definite need of our kids who are struggling with making choices that are way past their years.

So, we’ll see what Monday holds for tomorrow, but I am glad to be at a school that is filled with good people and so focused on the needs of our students.

Ps: Happy Mother’s Day to all the awesome moms out there who have put up with us as 7th graders : )

Bowling, Testing, and Rice Crispies

The week started of well. We had MLK Jr. Day off, so another 7th grade teacher and I took our kids bowling to reward them for their test scores (aka the “80% Club”). The fieldtrip was a HUGE success. Kids had a great time, got along well, and no one was lost along the way : )

We are trying another field trip today and attending a contemporary dance performance in Chelsea. The student mix is a bit odd. It is my same smart (but slightly nerdy boys) that decided to come along, my girls that are smart and leaders (but WAY talkative), as well as a couple of those anomaly students that really don’t fit into a certain group. It doesn’t surprise me, because I would say for the most part, they are the same kids that I hung out in middle school. However, I don’t know how Demannis and Albert are going to feel about the performance…

This week was filled with ridiculous highs and lows. It was the state English Language Arts exam and, for the most part, students did really well. I was impressed by their ability to focus silently all morning; however, they were CRAZY in the afternoon. Not being able to go outside during lunch didn’t help, and for future tests, I am just planning on having them play review jeopardy or BINGO…

Speaking of testing, I am just not sure how we are going to get through everything before the state math exam in March. There are 20 instructional days left- at least 4 of which include a “practice” or “predictive” math exam. I am all for knowing where my students are, but it is so hard to do else on those days especially with so few days to remediate or to teach new standards…

The low this week was silly, but it is the first time that I could say that I was truly disappointed in my students. I had brought in breakfast and rice crispies for my kids on the testing days. However, because we used the rice crispies as a reward for games, I had to save some for my 2nd class of the day. I told the students that no one else could have a rice crispy at the end end up class, but when we lined up for music, two students were eating them! I was disappointed but told them that they had a chance to redeem themselves with their hallway behavior because they had a fieldtrip on the line. Unfortunately, they were awful in the hallways AND when I came back, the rice crispies were gone…

I know they are just kids and that they were just rice crispies, but I felt very personally disrespected and underappreciated. I really thought that I was building solid relationships with my students and that this was a huge step backwards. I ended up sobbing in the office and in front of the kids who felt pretty bad… but are hopefully starting to see me as a real person and not just a “teacher.”

We had a talk about it the following day, and they really did try harder. They are such amazing, intelligent, and hard-working kids. They have gone through more in their 1st 12 years than I will in my lifetime, and I just want them to act and to represent themselves like I know they can.

I am off now to go meet my children for the show. I will let you know how everything goes and hopefully we will all leave a bit more cultured : )

Lots of love from NYC. Hope to hear from you soon!

Ms. Newton

Teaching… the saga continues.

In school, we talked a lot about New Year’s resolutions and personal goals. Mine and my students’ tended to be mostly school related, probably because that is what we spend most of our time doing…

Here are mine:
1. Make math class more fun and engaging
2. Provide incentives (both a consequence and a reward) for everything
3. Build relationship with students

The rationale for #1 is math is fun/satisfying when you get problems right, and that is enough for about 20% of my students. The other 80% who struggle to “master” concepts taught to them by their first-year math teacher, don’t think continually missing problems is very much fun… So, they check out or disrupt class which perpetuates the problem and creates a crappy
environment for everyone.

This past couple of weeks, I tried to teach in new and creative ways- movies, raps, powerpoints, etc… Kids tended to be more engaged, BUT they were not as clear on how to do the problems, and we went back to the original problem of math sucks because I don’t understand. SO new plan-> I will “teach” in a straight forward way (example problems) as well as one other method, and we will practice using “fun” math games and activities. This also provides incentive to listen to the lesson which brings me to goal #2.

Providing a consequence and a reward for… everything. Maybe my memory is a little rusty (and my parents/teachers would disagree), but I am pretty sure that when I was in middle school, I did things because I “should” do them. Examples: homework, study, following instructions, etc…

That rationale works for about 80% of my students (they are pretty great); unfortunately, that other 20% can ruin things for everyone. So, I have tried to be more proactive and not making screaming at the class my only punishment. So, I am now going bowling on MLK Day, handing out certificates, calling more parents, and holding lunch detention like it is going out of style. We’ll see how things go, and again, I’ll report back.

Finally, the last goal, which is the most fun but also one of the hardest/time consuming is building relationships with 7th graders. In general, my students are pretty fantastic, and it comes pretty easy with some of the students (aka the ones that I tended to hang out with in middle school- studious girls and nerdy boys) but the “popular” girls and “bad” boys are a whole different breed. I would love to hear any suggestions, but basically, it seems like they just love, well, themselves. So, I have tried to use more student pictures on Powerpoints, to hang out after school to talk about them, and to take more fieldtrips. Again, no life-altering changes yet, but there have been some small “wins.”

So, those are the goals… I apologize for ranting and appreciate anyone who made it to this point of the blog. I’m doing my best to figure things out and think things through. Unfortunately, I tend to repeat the same mistakes and have yet to find a “good teacher” check list. If anyone finds one or has some advice they would like to pass along, I would appreciate it.

As always, I hope that you and your own New Year’s resolutions are doing well. Please stay in touch and come visit soon.

Lots of love from NYC,
Ms. Newton

Student Shout Outs (we do this in class, and I thought that I would share it with you)

• Brian, Damian and Tasheara for setting up the class mailboxes and passing out work



• Brittany and Emily V for coming up at lunch to talk about math every day this week.



• Danielle for staying after school until 5pm to make up her missing work



• Bridget and Mimi for having me check their homework every day



• Christopher, Daniel, and Lionel for re-taking a test they failed (granted, I had to physically pull them into my room after school) and raising their grade like 60% each!



• Frankie, Avon, and Christopher for working SUPER hard to be functional

First Week Back: Are things finally looking up?

I apologize for my lack of entries over the past several months. There is not really an excuse other than the “1st Year Teacher Emotions Chart” clearly articulated the way I was feeling through most of November and December- solidly in the “Disillusionment Stage” and at the bottom of the roller coaster. As the weather started getting colder, kids got crazier, graduate school started finals, and the 7th grade curriculum got harder… I didn’t really want to bring anyone done with tails of teaching woes, because, truthfully, compared to all the junk that goes on in my student’s lives, my situation is a cake walk. So… I chose to wait until I had some positive things to say, and I think that I can begin “blogging” again.

It is now 2009, and I have officially made it through my first full week of school. To be perfectly honest, after 10 days in Indiana with friends, family, and plenty of rest, I was not necessarily looking forward to heading back to school… dreading may be a more appropriate word. However, while this week was plenty of crazy, there were some wins. According to the aforementioned chart, I am in the “rejuvenation” stage of teaching, and it may be the lack of graduate school or the nice sleep bank that I created for myself over break, but I really enjoyed the past week.

At least with my advisory (but also in my other two classes), I have started to form relationships with a number of the students and there are more moments than not that they actually listen to me (or look like they are). Even the days that my team teacher was absent, class went on and students (at least a couple of them), learned the material. I have really enjoyed spending time with the students after school- hearing about their lives and listening to the ever-entertaining 7th grade gossip. Rumor has it that one student even said that I was “cool” last week, which has yet to happen… ever.

AND with graduate school not starting until the 26th, I have been able to spend some time with my roommates and friends eating real dinners NOT purchased at Dunkin Donuts on the way to night classes at Lehman College : )

I don’t know how long this upward climb will continue being, well, upward; however, the next couple of weeks will hopefully give me enough time to get ahead, spend more time with my kids, and get back in the swing-of-things before I start the first real math class I have taken since 2004…

I hope everyone else’s holiday season was filled with good food, friends, family and some much-needed rest. I wish you all a very happy new year and look forward to talking to you soon.

Much love,
Ms. Newton

PS: My New Year’s Resolution was to write an entry a week- please give me a hard time if I don’t.