11th Grade

I recently transferred from the middle school up to the high school to teach 11th grade. What an amazing difference...

I taught middle school for five years. During that time I have learned the art of selective hearing, the cryptic deciphering abilities necessary to read various middle school writings, energy coping skills and techniques. Although my time spent in middle school was fun, greatly appreciated and a definite learning experience; I didn't know what I was missing.

This high school thing is great. I can finish a sentence without someone yelling out. I don't have to speak to kids about silly things they have done or said. The only reason I have to place someone in the hall is to make up a quiz.

Okay, okay... I know. This was only my first week. Things could change...

But here I am teaching Macbeth- a dream text... Reconnecting with students I haven't seen since they were 13! This first week was a good one. I am so excited to continue.

Teaching middle school can be like being in the National Enquirer

Middle school, in and of itself, is filled with rumors, gossip, gross over estimates and hyperbole beyond belief. The middle school rumor mill does not discount, overlook or deny anyone. We're all subject to ridicule, especially teachers. I am setting this up to make it sound so much worse than it was... but kids love to spread rumors- some of my students like to spread them about me.

Here are a few of the rumors my students have spread over the past few years about yours truly:

1. I live in the ghetto.

Working in a rural/rural suburban district, my students have a view unlike others on life in the small city they live near. Occasionally I could tell when they watched the morning news or listened to the radio on the way into school. They would ask me about a street in the city and my apartment's proximity to the location. Even though I assured them I lived on the east side of the city in a "nice" section, they did not believe me. It was more intriguing for them to think of me as dodging drive-bys as I checked my mail in the afternoon.

2. My boyfriend has dreadlocks.

Only a few select students have actually met my boyfriend or seen what he looks like. I do not display pictures of anything except my extremely overweight cat. I don't share a lot of information with them regarding my personal life as it does not make them better English Language Arts learners. But, of course- he has come up. My students thought if I dated anyone it should be a former contestant on American Idol who happened to have dreadlocks. They said we would look "cute together." One rumor turned into another and I artfully- or so I thought at the moment- dodged boyfriend/relationship questions, which allowed their imaginations run wild. Hence the rumor, my boyfriend is a singing hippie with dreadlocks.

3. I am Buddhist.

I admire the religion and what it represents about people and how it communicates meaning and the idea of spiritualism, however I am not Buddhist. Throughout my years teaching, I have displayed several little Buddha figures. The kids ask about them and I tell them I collect them. It's true. I keep them as little reminders of what it is I admire about the religion and how I can best handle situations. I seem to catch them out of the corner or my eye when I'm about to say or do something when I might want to pause before following through.

Listed above are the three main big rumors. I am sure there are others I haven't heard about... I guess it could be worse!

The Countdown Begins...

I officially have two more weeks with my 7th graders. The ELA Exam is less than two weeks away. We have been reviewing like crazy and I think they have had it. Next week comes the big review stuff. We will be sticking directly to the testing format and completing several different test-structured practices, such as listening and taking notes, editing a paragraph for grammar and useage mistakes and of course, everyone's favorite- note the sarcasm- reading comprehension passages with multiple choice questions. I have been trying a different approach this year. I have seen my kids become somewhat apathetic to the idea of taking this test. It's been difficult to find motivators. Now that I am leaving, they don't even care at all. They are simply looking forward to someone new stepping in and starting all over again.

I asked my 5th period class to create their own multiple choice questions, modeled after the 1000s of samples we have examined this year. Some of them really took to this assignment and created thoughtful inferential questions. Others offered up the easiest multiple choice questions I have ever seen. I thought this activity would help them gain a different perspective on the test. They were confused at the start, but slowly created and discussed some key text features. I am not worried about this section of kids. It's some of my others who have been floundering all year I'm really worried about.

They can read. They can write. They are beginning to develop key critical thinking skills. They will be able to express themselves and listen and respond to important works and speech- but they may not receive a 3 on this stupid, one day examination of their knowledge for the past 7 years. I guess I am a little more nervous than I thought. Ideas?

Holy Work Load

Don't let the title fool you... I am very excited about the opportunity I am getting to move up to the high school to teach 11th grade English (and hopefully some other things). It's been challenging to really carve out time to do the things I need to do to prepare fully for "the big move" while setting up whoever steps into my classroom to take over.

I am also excited to find out who the superintendent selected to fill the middle school position I am vacating. This is a strange time for schools in NY. So many schools have been forced to cut staff due to budget concerns and the cut in funding coming from the state. The candidates I was lucky enough to meet and help interview had amazing resumes. They were all highly qualified, even if they were not exactly "middle school material." So many of the teachers we interviewed were there for the same reason; someone out there was hiring in this climate. I know our school will help at least one of them out... but there were so many others. I will keep my fingers crossed for all of them. This is a challenging time to be out there looking for any job, let alone one in education.

April 27th and 28th are our big test days. The new teacher will be in to get ideas and meet the kids on the 29th and 30th. I start in the HS May 3rd. Aggressive time line...

Moving on Up...

Yesterday I met with the superintendent, I'll be moving in April up to a high school position recently vacated by a colleague. This is all pretty exciting. I was met with mixed reviews from my current students but former students seem encouraged. I am nervous and excited all at once...

Final Poetry Projects

Last year, my students completed a very flowery final project for their poetry unit. As 6th graders, they created Powerpoint poetry books and in some classes, had books made representing the best poetry in their class. This year, I needed to create a different approach. They are getting older, and they have shown they understand different forms and elements of poetry. As 7th graders, the students will create chap books. I explained to the kids that chap books are no-nonsense approaches to demonstrating to a publisher what a writer is capable of. They were asked to for-go the pretty clip art and glitter and produce writing, only writing they are proud of. They created several different form poems for their books. I am excited about the type of writing they are doing. I can tell they are too! Each class last week, we had writing workshop time. I supported the students with a mini-lesson and shared a sample poem I wrote. Each day, they surprised me with their enthusiasm and ability to follow complicated form poem requirements, like the Villanelle! Each day, I wrote along side them and we shared our struggles and asked one another for rhyming words. For the past week, my classroom was really a community of writers. I had to give myself a little pat on the back for that one. Thanks for reading!

Time Off

Unlike many other teacher-people, I stuck around this February break. I have heard a few complaints about the lack of sun, warm temperatures , boredom... so this post is to convince myself not to partake in any such negative rambling...

Things I Have Enjoyed This Week Off:

1. I'll start with the obvious; sleeping in.
2. QT with my furry friend
3. QT with my "dog-phews," Clark and Brian
4. Making dinner all on my own for Matthew (I shouldn't count Monday and Tuesday. I heated up left over pizza on Monday and made a chef salad for Tuesday, but I did roll together turkey and ham into neat little spirals- that's something.) He's usually in charge of cooking- I am a mean prep chef though...
5. Reading books on my Kindle I would be too embarrassed to purchase at book stores for their stickers declaring their membership in Oprah's Book Club...
6. The chickadees I caught dancing around under the grill out front.
7. The female cardinals Mokey chirps at from the back windows.
8. The half bald squirrel stealing bread crusts from the garbage cans.
9. Catching up on laundry, using my new dryer sheets
10. Vacuuming with my new device, so much better!
11. Organizing my closet and moving my 1000s of cardigans to them bottom bar
12. Catching up with my favorite "Bravolebrities" (A totally guilty- I mean really guilty pleasure)
13. Not getting freaked out by "resolutioners" at the gym who do not wipe off equipment, they are either done with their resolutions or do not work at schools and maintain their normal schedule
14. My taxes are done and I didn't owe too much to the state
15. The steals I found on Piper Lime (a vegan bag and faux pearl earrings)

so many more I am not mentioning- but it's a start.

What did you like about this past week?