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