Decisions, Decisions

I did it.

I finally told my principal I'm not coming back next year.

For as long as I can remember, I've planned to stay home and raise my kids. I think I benefited from being raised at home by my mom. The time I spent working in a daycare only reaffirmed my conviction that raising my kids at home was the right thing for me.

I'm a little sad about setting teaching aside so soon after starting, but the little guy is more important. All I have to do is remind myself that I can go back to teaching once my kids are in grade school. The great thing about being a teacher is that I get to take breaks and summers off with my kids. I am grateful to have gotten a year of experience under my belt. I love teaching and I definitely plan to go back to it. All I have to do is keep my teaching license current by taking some online classes.

So, I told my principal. I cleaned out my cheerful classroom. Lots and lots of World History II books and files. Farewell classroom. I am officially a stay-at-home mommy and I'm so thankful that we can afford to do this.

Of course, this also means that the scary Civil War soldier lamp is back in my house.

I plan to chain him in the attic and feed him fish heads.

...the lamp. Not the baby.

The "Plan"

At the beginning of first block a few days ago...

Drake: (with great exuberance) Hey, Mrs. Frizzle?!

Me: (with mimicked exuberance) What?!

Drake: Matt and I have a PLAN!

Me: A plan for what?

Drake: For if your water breaks in class and you go into labor.

Me: Oh. Dear.

Drake: Don't you want to hear it??

Me: I don't know. It sounds dangerous.

Drake & Matt: NO WAY! IT'S AWESOME! So do you want to hear it?

Me: (tentatively) Suuure...

Drake: Ok, so your water breaks, right?

Me: Right!

Drake: And it's really gross and the whole class is in a panic. Then Matt will grab your hands and I'll grab your legs and we'll run out to the parking lot with you.

Me: *choked laugh*

Drake: And we'll steal a car and put you in the back seat...

Me: Wait! Aside from the whole stealing part, you guys are 15. You can't drive!

Drake: No, I just got my license today!!

Me: Oh. Dear.

Drake: Anyways, then we'll drive 100 mph to the hospital and the cops can't stop us because your in labor!

Me: All the way to the 'Burg?

Drake: Yup!

Me: And when we get there?

Drake: We'll toss you out at the emergency entrance and then drive back to school!

Me: That sounds like a terrific plan, Drake!

Drake: Yeah, we know! So, can you go into labor before spring break??

Me: I'll see what I can do...

Student Doodles

I learn a lot about my students when I'm grading their work.

One student, in particular, is very quiet in class. Very low key. Despite this, I know he has a great sense of humor. How? Well, he frequently will leave comments off to the side of his quizzes. Also, he's a bit of a comic sketch artist. Everything he works on will have at least one doodle on it. Even better, his doodles are often related to whatever we are learning about.

For example, Otto von Bismarck, Wilhelm I, & the Ems Telegram:

Of all of his doodles so far, though, this one is my favorite:
It's always nice to have a good laugh when you are in the middle of grading a large stack of midterm exams.

Missing Work

It always amazes me how many students fail to turn in most of their work. They may have done it. In class. In front of me. But it never makes it to the "turn in" box. Really?!? Even if I say "BE SURE TO TURN IN YOUR ____ BEFORE THE BELL RINGS!" It drives me nuts.

Grades were due yesterday at 3pm and I have 4th block planning. In other words, I had time to grade and enter missing work turned in last minute. So, I left the following message on my white board:

"TURN IN ANY LAST MINUTE MISSING WORK THAT YOU HAVE!!!"

To which my students during 1st block added:

"OR ELSE!"

To which my students during 2nd block added:

"I WILL EAT YOUR FACE"

To which my students during during 3rd block added:

"RAWR"

So, by the end of the day, my board read, "TURN IN ANY LAST MINUTE MISSING WORK THAT YOU HAVE OR ELSE I WILL EAT YOUR FACE RAWR!!"

Maybe I should stop telling the kids that my baby will eat them if they don't do their work?

Nah.

Crunchtime

It's times like this when I wonder why I ever assign anything... Oh. Right. So that my students will hopefully understand the material.No matter how good I am at the beginning of the quarter, I always seem to have fallen way behind by the time grades are due.

My First Guest Speaker

I had my first guest speaker as a teacher today.

I arranged to have a man by the name of Mark Strauss come and talk to about 140 of our students at our school today. He is a Holocaust survivor. He was 11 when his town was occupied in 1941 somewhere in Poland. He shared his experiences of living in German-occupied Poland with the students. He told the students stories about when the German troops first marched into his town, about 1000s being taken away in trucks to never be seen again, about living in the Ghetto and the horrors & necessities of everyday life, and about hiding in the home of a Polish Catholic woman for over 22 months until the Soviets came and ended the German occupation. He told about coming to America at the age of 16 and starting a new life.

It was quite an experience to be able to hear the stories first hand and in person. Our students were engaged. They were well-behaved (for the most part - I'm planning on eating the bad students later...). They asked so many questions. I was so proud of them. They really seemed to take a lot from the experience. So much better than a textbook!

Mr. Strauss is also an artist. He brought his Holocaust related art with him. It provided a great visual for the kids. It was also amazing considering that he's missing half his fingers. He had a bomb blow up in his hands... Some of his Holocaust-related works:Actually, most of his art is very cheerful & whimsical. I love his landscapes. I'll show you some of the prints that I purchased for the nursery in a later post.

You can check more of his art out at his website.

Another of the social studies teachers is working on having a WWII Veteran who survived the invasion of Normandy come and speak to our students in early April. I hope the little man holds off long enough for me to hear him speak. I would love to have the chance. Hear that, Baby? Don't come early! Either way, my students will have the chance to hear him and that's what's most important.

The Joys of Grading

Grading may be time-consuming and frustrating, but it is an important part of the teaching process. You get to know your students' strengths & weaknesses when you grade their work. You know which students have low reading and writing skills. You can see the correlation between the students who don't pay attention in class and low grades. You can determine which students need remediation and which students need to be more challenged.

However, one of my favorite side-benefits of grading is that I get to know which students have a sense of humor...

This is a quiz on the Enlightenment, Age of Absolutism, & Scientific Revolution that I gave my students last week. Click to enlarge the quiz, then read the Short Answer response. Be sure to follow the response all the way around the page...
I love my job!

So. No.

Someone in my first block class called me "Mrs. Prego" this morning. Before I could think better of it, I said, "Oh, we are so not going to start calling me that." Immediately after saying that, I realized my mistake. It's the perfect challenge to a teenager...

See what I mean?
I'm claiming that they are referring to me as the Queen of all spaghetti sauce. And I'm sticking to that.
Mrs. Prego?

So. No.

The Names Keep On Coming...

Here is the list of students' suggestions for our baby's name from last time...
"Landon Matthew
Christian Andrew
Sam is Amazing [Insert Last Name]
Byron Cole
Colby
Jayden
Caelin James :)
Jaquanafin (A.K.A. Fin Fin)
Logan (heart) Dawson
Baby Angel
Undecipherable Scribble --> Stop Stealing My Name
Tyler

With Love, US!"

Here's what my "baby name" board currently looks like...

The board is nearly filled up. The list of names has grown considerably... & the suggestions have become even more ridiculous. Excellent. That's what I was hoping for.

And here is the updated list... My comments are in parentheses. Arrows indicate other students comments about certain names.

"Landon Matthew
Chirstian Andrew
Sam is Amazing [Insert Last Name]
Byron Cole
Colby
Jayden
Caelin James :)
Jaquanafin A.K.A. Fin Fin <-- Really?? No way! No No! Hell naw! Yes Yes!
Logan *heart* Dawson
Baby Angel
Undecipherable Scribble --> Stop Stealing My Name
Tyler

With Love, US!

LeBron James
John Tommy
Amari
Tyree
Paris
Blanket
Miles Austin
Jesus
Morgan Freeman
(or is that Jesus Morgan Freeman?)
Siddhartha (founder of Buddhism)
James
Griffon
Boo Boo
Mike Rotch
Ben Dover (I was really expecting more of these...)
Frederick Douglas (US Civil War Abolitionist)
Richard the Lionhart (English king; Crusader; ca. 1200s)
Stewie
Zhalil Kyle
Hugh Jazz
Jamier
Frank
Micheal Vick <--spel beter! (seriously?!?)
Lil' Wayne
Cooper
Chester
Butch
Kirkegaard (Enlightenment philosopher)"

Student Solar Systems

I'm no science teacher, but I do teach about the Scientific Revolution. You know - Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton? Yeah. Those dudes.

Before teaching the kids about the Scientific Revolution and subsequent transition from a geocentric to a heliocentric universe, I have the kids draw what they believe the solar system looks like.

Most, MOST, of them will draw some planets orbiting around the sun. They may not have the right number of planets, the right names for the planets, or the right order of planets. They may debate over Pluto's status as a planet. Poor Pluto. But for the most part, the sun is in the center.

This gives me an opening to tell them they are all crazy and according to Ptolemy the earth was in the center. It's good fun. We get in a huge argument over it. Then I get to introduce them to the Scientific Revolution and they all groan because they've been hoodwinked. Like I said, good fun!

More entertaining, however, is finding alternate student interpretations of the solar system... Such as these... (click on images to enlarge)

The Government Conspiracy

The Chuck Norris Solar System

And my favorite...
I'll share more of this kids doodles another time. They are pretty entertaining.

The Game

Students brought this to my attention today... Apparently, they are all in the game...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_(mind_game)

Don't Put Me In A Hamster Ball

As I trip over a cord in the front of the class for the second time...

Ham: You are trying to give us all heart attacks. That's it! We're getting you a giant hamster ball!

Me: *raised eyebrow* Are you calling me a hamster?

Ham: It would be cute! You could roll around the classroom in your little hamster ball and be perfectly safe while teaching!

Me: I'll keep it in mind...

Fear the Belly

While walking around the room helping students...

Jamie: Mrs. Frizzle? John is being mean to me!

**Please note "being mean to me" is really high school flirting**

Me: Would you like me to beat him up for you?

Jamie: Yes!

Me: John? Stop being mean or I will belly bump you out of this world.

John experiences a fit of coughing (...laughter).

You Can Never Have Too Many Pens

I'm the kind of girl who uses pens to put her hair up and typically has at least one pen tucked behind her ear.

As a teacher, I'm doubly bad about this because I always need pens to sign passes (etc.) and I'm always distracted by a group of rowdy teenagers. What does this mean for me? It means that I'm often walking around class with two pens, one tucked behind each ear, without really realizing it...
It's the latest teaching fashion. That, or I'm trying to grow ant feelers.

I didn't really realize I was doing this until it was pointed out to me by one of my students. You can always count on them to point things like this out!

WHILE DROPPING OFF A MAKE-UP WORK PACKET IN A MATH CLASS...

Ally: Mrs. Frizzle, you look very sexy today in that color green. (Ally thinks everything is sexy. It's her go-to adjective)

Me: Uh, thanks Ally. You look very nice today as well!

Ham (yes, the same one): I love that she's pregnant and you think she looks sexy, Ally. By the way, Mrs. Frizzle, the pens behind each ear look, each going in a different direction, is a great look for you.

Me: Dang! I forgot. Have fun with math, guys! (exit room)

An Interesting Character

This semester, I have a student, we'll call him Ham. Ham is a verbally expressive guy. He likes to share his opinions with the class and he keeps us all pretty entertained. He's what I would call an interesting character. You usually have at least one in each class.

Here are a few of my favorite Ham moments from this week.
*****
WHILE EXPLAINING THAT I HAVEN'T FINISHED GRADING THEIR TESTS...

Student 1: Did you grade our tests yet?

Me: Nope. I'm a terrible person. I kick puppies, drown kittens, & kill small children. I fell asleep early last night before grading the short answer sections. Maybe by tomorrow?

Ham: You do all of that?! We should start a group!

Me: What? An intervention group to keep me from destroying innocent lives?

Ham: NO! We all do that stuff too! It could be like a club.

Me: You know your a little crazy, right?

Ham: Definitely.

WHILE WRITING ON THE CHALK BOARD...

Me: (pointing to the board) So what is supply & demand??

Ham: Hey, Mrs. Frizzle?

Me: Yes?

Ham: You have chalk on your belly.

Me: (glancing between my chalk covered black shirted pregnant belly and the clear belly imprint on the board) Huh. I wonder how that could have happened...

IN MY CLASS TODAY...

Me: We've just learned about the different routes of the triangle trade established by the Europeans. Now I'm going to show you a short clip from the movie Amistad which depicts the Middle Passage from Africa to the West Indies. Does anyone have any questions before we begin?

Ham: Mrs. Frizzle?

Me: Yes, Ham?

Ham: I like you. I was thinking about it just now and I've decided I like you.

Me: Umm. Ok. Thanks. A bit random and not exactly related to the Middle Passage... But, I enjoy having you in class as well. Now, back to that clip...
*****
Just a few class moments from the daily life of a high school teacher.

Organized Protests

Part of teaching social studies is teaching kids about organized protests and civil disobedience. Whether it be Gandhi in World History or the Suffragettes & MLK in U.S. History, the subject will inevitably come up.

When you are teaching 9th graders and you try to convince them that civil liberties are worth fighting for, they might interpret that as: we should organize a cell phone protest so that we are allowed to use cell phones in school throughout the day...

Which leads to emails like this from administrators:

"Teachers we need you to be in the halls between classes today. Some students are learning about protesting in classes and are planning on using cell phones and i-pods in the hall to protest not being allowed to use them. If you see them please confiscate them."

It doesn't matter that my fellow social studies teacher did mention to the 9th graders that having a cell phone in school is not a civil liberty. They're teenagers. They're not going to listen.

Darn social studies department. Always stirring up the kids.

I'll let you know if we have a riot.

Baby Name Suggestions - From My Students

My students have very definite opinions about what the first and middle names of my son should be. Are you ready?

"Landon Matthew
Chirstian Andrew
Sam is Amazing [Insert Last Name]
Byron Cole
Colby
Jayden
Caelin James :)
Jaquanafin (A.K.A. Fin Fin)
Logan (heart) Dawson
Baby Angel
Undecipherable Scribble --> Stop Stealing My Name
Tyler

With Love, US!"

Needless to say, they are mostly fired. But I enjoy hearing their suggestions. It provides me with daily entertainment.

"Water Water Water!"

Between each of my classes, I try to make a quick run to fill up my water bottle and go to the bathroom.

On my way back to my classroom from the bathroom the other day, I realized that I had left my water bottle sitting on the shelf by the bathroom door.

Since the bell was about to ring, I rushed back to the bathroom to retrieve my water bottle, all the while muttering "water, water water..." to myself (kind of like a crazy person).

As I'm doing this, I pass by two of my students who are busy gossiping about the immaturity and trials of high school boys and relationships. Very important gossip!

The next thing I know, they are squealing and hurrying after me saying, "OH MY GOD, HER WATER BROKE!! WHAT DO WE DO?!?!?"

My response: I start to laugh like a loon. I hold up my water bottle and explain (in between wheezing chuckles) that I just forgot my water bottle.

Of course, when the three of us walked into class at the bell, the two girls proceeded to tell the rest of my class about how I nearly gave them all heart attacks.

It's fun working with 10th graders.

The Lesson of the Day: Pregnant women should not go around muttering anything about "water"!

Snow Days Out the Wazoo

It's been a rough week for public schools. My week has gone something like this:

Monday - School canceled due to weather conditions.
Tuesday - 2 hour delay & 1 hour early release due to weather conditions
Wednesday - School canceled due to weather conditions
Thursday - 2 hour delay due to weather conditions
Friday - School canceled due to weather conditions

Like I said. Rough.

I'm loving, and I mean LOVING, it! A soon as I get the "school is closed" or "school is delayed" memo, I go running around the house hooting happily and laughing maniacally. I can't help it. It's too much fun!

I love snow and hot cocoa. We're in the area predicting 20-28 inches. I'm so excited. We're going to make O'Charlie's potato soup, have a baking party, and build an igloo!

My students have mixed feelings. Snow means no school. Hard to argue there. But many of them are "sick" of snow and fear that they will lose their Spring Break.

I don't have to worry about losing Spring Break because I'm having baby during Spring Break. MWAHAHAHAHA.

The superintendent of our school sent out an email this morning explaining the need for safety and how much consideration goes into school closings. He also informed us that he's not thrilled with the weather and attached the following photo:Yeah. He's had a rough week.

Operation Black-Eyed Scorpion

There's nothing like being a first year teacher. I've had such varied experiences during my first semester. I've been profoundly touched by the thoughtfulness of many of my students, I've come close to breaking up fights, I've witnessed one of my students get arrested in the hall right outside of my class, and I've been alternately frustrated and bemused beyond belief.

I learned a lot about teaching in my first semester.

I'm dedicating this post specifically to classroom organization. I made some major changes to my classroom between first and second semester. Last semester, my room was constantly a disaster area, it collected trash and handouts, and students never knew where to pick things up or turn things in. This semester, my room stays neat, students always know where to get things and where to put things, and everything is running smoothly. When things run smoothly, learning is much more likely to take place - and learning is my ultimate goal.

Last semester drove me nuts - I started to look like this guy on a daily basis:
This semester, I've been considerably saner and happier with my classroom, classes, and abilities as a teacher. Part of that is because I only have World History II classes right now (with an Honors thrown in). No US History. Having one content area cuts the prep work in half. Part of it is because I've now taught the content all the way through once and don't have to reinvent the wheel and relearn the content every evening. I can tweak my lessons and ideas from last semester. However, I contribute part of my returned sanity and peace to my "Strategic Battle Plan For Organization" or "Operation Black-Eyed Scorpion." (Thanks Love...)

First, I learned that I don't like traditional rows - too many kids too far away at any given time. Too easy for them to get away with putting down their heads or texting or shooting rubberbands at each other. I also learned that having any extra chairs or tables in the back of the room will result in an accumulation of papers and trash. Plus, the students will take any opportunity that they can to sit on them.

Last semester's classroom layout:

So, I took away the tables in the back and re-purposed them. I rearranged the desks so that no student is ever more than 3 desks away. I arranged them in a way which encourages discussion and worked with the flow of the room.

This semester's classroom layout:

I placed X's under each desk so that the desks don't migrate and always get moved back where they are supposed to be after group work. No student's desk is too close to a wall. It makes it harder for them to fall asleep. I'm mean.The center table holds classroom supplies - markers, colored pencils, rulers, staplers, hole punchers, glue, scissors, and highlighters. They are all in separate LABELED containers. It didn't take me long to figure out that high schoolers are terrific at destroying supplies unless you become Dictator Brunhilda With The Beady Eye. They don't put the caps back on the markers. They don't keep them sorted unless the containers are labeled. They are much worse than kindergartners.

Understanding that high schoolers have a knack for destruction, I ration their supplies to them. I keep an entire box of extra supplies under my desk.

It's also important to keep high schoolers constantly busy and learning. Any lost class time or free time will be taken full advantage of. You are more likely to have shenanigans and fights break out if you give them free time. Always overplan for class!

Keeping this in mind, I have something called a "Bell Ringer" - usually a journal entry or series of thought provoking questions that I have the students respond to in their class notebooks as soon as the bell rings. I used the bell ringer last semester, but my students didn't put much effort into it and some didn't do it at all. If it's not graded, they don't see why they should have to do it. So this semester, I collect their notebooks every day and have random notebook checks. It's working so well! They work quietly at the beginning of class while I take attendance and pass back graded work. WOO HOO! I have a LABELED box for each class under the central table.

I also implemented something new that I call the SOL folder. When it came time to review for the SOL at the end of last semester, at least half of my students didn't have any of their notes or handouts from throughout the semester. They're crazy. I kept everything when I was in school. However, many students don't have the organizational skills to hold onto their notes. So, I'm forcing organization on them. They leave their 3-prong SOL folder in my classroom. We occasionally add notes or a handout from the many different units to the folder. At the end of the semester, they will have everything they need to study.

Notice that those shelves are labeled? EVERYTHING MUST BE LABELED! If you want them to turn their homework in, you must have a labeled, stationary location for them to turn it in. If it isn't screwed into the cinderblock wall, then one of the students will move it, hide it, or take it apart. Trust me.Also, the desks in my classroom are your typical 1950s-way-too-small-for-high-school-students-and-very-uncomfortable desks. They have this annoying cubby in the bottom of the desk. Students like to leave their work and trash under the desks. It can get pretty bad. So, this semester, I told the kids that anything they left in the desks would get dumped in the trash each afternoon. So far, they are staying relatively clear.The daily bell ringer is always written on the white board in the front corner of the class. Students must always pick up handouts from the table by the door when they first enter the class. Consistent locations and consistent routine are key.

The objective, daily agenda, and homework must be written in the same place on the board every day. I didn't always have time last semester because I was always rushing last minute to get lessons together. This semester, I have it all up on the board at the end of the school day the day before. It works so well.

I realized that a lot of students confuse chronology and sequencing in Social Studies last semester. They assume that everything we learn is happening in sequence, when, in reality, the Renaissance, Reformation, and Age of Discovery are really all happening at the same time. It's just hard to teach all of them simultaneously. To help students understand when things are occurring in time and how they overlap, I've created a giant timeline on my wall. As we finish learning about different eras, we add them onto the timeline. It seems to be working well for the kids.

Another important lesson for a first year teacher - always have extra handouts (even if you have a set number of copies you can make a year...). Why? Because students lose their assignments. CONSTANTLY. Or they're sick and want their assignments right now. Even when you are clearly busy with something else. The solution is to keep extra handouts and file them immediately! If you keep your papers and handouts in giant piles (like I did first semester...) you can never find what the student needs when the student needs it. So file it.

And keep a binder of all of the notes and handouts that you give each day. Keep the keys for classroom handouts. That way, the students can always get their missing notes without your direct assistance. They can just get the binder. It's avoids big headaches.

I have a podium this semester. Not to lecture at. I walk around a lot when I'm teaching. Proximity is just one more way to keep your students from misbehaving. But the podium is useful in that I keep a few very important clipboards. Attendance and behavior. I track the number of warnings each student gets and how many times they are sent to in school detention. That way, I have all of that information on hand when I call their parents.
I'm also grading work as I get it - which is new for me. Last semester, my kids were lucky if they got feedback anytime other than around progress reports and finals. Bad, I know, but I had to sleep at some point. This semester, I grade work as it comes in and hand it back the next day. I feel like a real teacher.

I keep a stack of quartered paper from the recycling bin to write notes and passes on when necessary, but I also keep 3 planners on hand that the students must fill out for me to sign before going to the bathroom or to guidance (etc.). That way, I'm not wasting time writing 6-7 notes every class. I just have to sign it. It's also a deterrent for students who want you to just let them walk to the bathroom without a pass. Nope. Sorry. Not happening.

Oh. And stickers are great. High schoolers like stickers. I still like stickers. We are all still 3 on the inside.

Now, I'm working on implementing the rest of my ideas for the semester... Lots of reflection...

It's an evolving process...