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
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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
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
Sunday, November 1, 2009
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)