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?

Poetry 180

I am in the middle of teaching one of my favorite units (although we're on break this week), Poetry. I am happy to report most of my students can identify instances of personification, metaphor, alliteration and assonance, but they lack the confidence it takes to bite into a poem... They are still worried about whether they are "right." I have tried from the beginning of the year to instill in them inquiry, versus memorization of teacher dribble and regurgitation. For 7 years they have learned to memorize and spit out what is on the state test... what about just thinking, connecting, questioning? Regardless, this has spurred me to take a different approach.

I found the website poetry 180, 180 poems for the 180 days of American High School, or something like that, awhile ago. Billy Collins, Poet Laureate of the US, selected the poems for the website. While at Barnes and Noble, I stumbled upon two anthologies based on the website. I'm hoping my delve into contemporary poetry will inspire my students to contemplate the friendly side of poetry... we'll see... Here is one of my favorites from the second anthology (180 More Extraordinary Poems for Every day Life).

POEM
Bill Knott

Fingerprints look like ripples
because time keeps dropping
another stone into our palm.

I would ask my students... can you find the simile? Who might the speaker be?

Poor attendance, poetry and Presidents' Week

I received a saddening e-mail from my assistant superintendent last week. I have very low enrollment for my summer program for creative writers. (And by low enrollment, I mean none.) I am certainly not a marketing expert, but I know this means I need to take more aggressive action. I have started lobbying in colleagues classrooms, writing announcements to be read over the PA system in the mornings, and punishing naughty seventh graders with the assignment of creating posters for the hallways advertising my course. It would be nice not to have to teach summer school this year, although I will do it. I am hoping high school students are so wrapped up in the aftermath of midterms that they haven't thought about their summer plans and once they hear some of my announcements, they will be spurred into action.
This was the first full week of my poetry unit. I am disheartened at my students' reaction. I don't remember my kids from last year being like this. It's been more difficult to prove to them they know quite a bit all ready. I think I need to re-think my approach. Each new batch of seventh graders reacts differently. Next week, I will give them a poem of the day for the warm up. This will increase the likelihood- I hope- of each kid finding at least one poem they think is "okay." As an adult who loves poetry, loves thinking about it, writing it and researching it, I am having a more difficult time thinking about what my kids will relate to. Honestly, they reference Shel Silverstein frequently, which is fine, but that seems to be the only style of poetry they are familiar with and respond to... What's a teacher to do?
Not that this is an excuse, but the kids have seemed especially out there lately. Perhaps it's the stress of midterms facilitating an unsound mind. Most teachers say they can tell when it's a full moon. Kids start acting more wild or weird than usual. As a middle school teacher, my tolerance for the strange is pretty high, but last week was completely and utterly strange.
Several examples I cannot/ will not share specific details, but they involve students making threats to do harm to themselves and others, writing sexually explicit reading log entries and biting . Oh the poetry I could write...
That brings me to my last subject... next week is a vacation week. Thank goodness for Lincoln and Washington. If they did not have birthdays in the same month, middle school would get pretty hairy. In the 1970's, during the energy crisis, state officials developed Presidents' Week as a way for schools to help conserve energy. New York and few other states have maintained the tradition. I, for one, am very grateful. A lot of non-teaching folk think it's silly to have holiday break and then not even one month later have this February break. Those people have never experienced a bite on a pinky finger from a stressed out 6th grader...

Midterm Week: The Most Boring Week Ever

I know they're necessary... but I really hate midterm week. I rarely have a class. I am merely watching over kids as they take midterms for other subjects. (Although on Tuesday they will take mine...) My plan right now is to use all that time to grade while proctoring. I also want to start planning some new lessons for my poetry unit using the new SMART board in my classroom! I know the government has a website Poetry180. The site offers one poem per school day for high school students in America. I used this site quite a bit when I taught summer school. I'm trying to search for new ideas to get some interactive lessons going. My kids dread poetry; I want to make it better for them. Any ideas?

Yea!

I got it! The catalog for summer courses for credit was published! It looks like I'll finally get to teach Creative Writing!

New Ideas, Tough Decisions

If you saw CBS' Sunday Morning Show, you may have seen the segment dealing with creativity. I wish I had the fore-thought to start the DVR when it came on, but now-a-days, I am sure there is a version "downloadable" (new verb I just made up) on YouTube. The summer class I might get to teach has got me focused on collecting examples of creativity across the content areas. I am looking for art, technology, science anything! This segment was perfect. It captured the spirit of creativity I was hoping to encourage in potential creative writing students. Creativity comes in so many shapes, sizes, areas and ideas. How can I bring more of that into all of my classes?

This weekend my "Smart Board" is being installed. I have been waiting for this thing since October. One of the coolest things I can do is hook up my Kindle to the board and point out specific passages and ideas to students. This is will definitely come into play in the summer. I can just imagine reading items together, examining sentences, words and ideas interactively. The potential for lessons just shot through the roof! I have one lesson I have been dying to do again, now that I have a permanent Smart Board... there's no waiting. One website I enjoy using is a Create your Own Comic site. I use this to help students grasp the idea of inference and using text clues to draw conclusions. The kids look at the position of different characters and create the potential dialogue for said characters. We take turns showing one another different scenes, writing different dialogue and moving/working backwards.

It has been brought to my attention one of the teachers in the high school is thinking of retiring at the end of this year, but definitely by next year. This has got me thinking about putting in for a transfer to teacher AP and Gemini classes. A lot of training is involved. I don't want to say the job is more labor intensive than what I do now... but it is a different type of laboring. Seniors in high school need 12th grade English to graduate. They're writing serious reserach papers and preparing for their entrance into the workforce or post secondary education. Having recently done these things I feel like I have an advantage on one side... conversely I questions whether I can weather the transition from middle school.

I love middle school. I love the students, I work with amazing teachers. My principal allows for collaboration and ideas to flow freely (not that the high school principal wouldn't, I don't know really...) but I am.... comfortable. I have always wanted to teach the classics... encourage the dicsussion and controversy that comes with this literature. But part of me wonders if that's still what I want.

When I first got into teaching, I pictured myself discussing William Golding and Shakespeare, Harper Lee and Chaucer... I didn't think I'd be fearing a state test, introducing how to write an essay and using the lyrics of Miley Cyrus songs to help teach poetry and rhyme scheme...

From this uncertainty can come great rewards... I think about a quotation I love from Neiztche
"One must experience chaos in life to give birth to a dancing star." Or something incredibly close to that... I will have to track down my copy of Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Ideas??

The Triggering Town

When I was an undergraduate student, I read a book on writing by Richard Hugo, entitled The Triggering Town. This holiday break I re-read the book and re-highlighted, re-notated...

This got me thinking about how important it is to show my students I am a writer too. I have to share that part of what I do... Art, writing, teaching, education don't occur in a vacuum. Their lives are so different from mine, our experiences rich for their own reasons. Will they be able to see that? Do they think of themselves writers?

"I think literature should be studied for the most serious of all reasons: it is fun. For a young writer it should be exciting as well (Hugo, xii)."