R.L. Stine

The school year has been going great!!! We had a little trouble near the beginning when our middle school students took to first part of the MAP testing and everyone with the exception of 3 or 4 students scored extremely below grade level. We concluded that the students did not take it serious but the director changed the afternoon schedule so that it focused completely on reading, just to be on the safe side and provide the extra help they may actual need. The students took the second test and did extremely better! So, while we did the reading intervention, I would read to my students. It began as something fun to do for Halloween. I am a Halloween baby so they know I like to go all out in October. I read a R.L. Stine book titled "Final Grade". My students got into that book as if they were watching a soap opera. I got composition books for them and had them make predictions and write about different topics that had to do with the book. I loved it. They loved it. When I finished the book, I bought another book titled "Silent Night". I began reading it and the students got into this one. But one day, they all suggested I get them individual books so they could take them home and read. Well, I couldn't this idea down. I bought 9 R.L. Stine books for each of my 6th graders. I got the books at a discount bookstore in town so I comfortable buying them. Plus, I had them hyped about READING! I had to keep it going. I brought the books to class and they just crowded around and took their picks. I also made bookmarks them. The purpose of the bookmarks is for them to write down any unfamiliar words on the bookmarks as they read, with the page number, and we discuss all the words in class. We look up definitions, listen to other students' definitions, or look up pictures online and view on the white board from the projector. My students have been learning great vocabulary and we are continuing to write in the writing journals. They even discuss in class what is happening in their books and read aloud. If there are any other things I can do to encourage reading, please let me know. I believe our reading intervention is over and we will go back to our old schedule on Monday after Thanksgiving break. I'm also using the journals for them to practice their writing and communicating skills in math and science (since I teach math and science). So if there are some wonderful ideas I can use (especially as a new teacher) please feel free to share!!! I'm always looking to improve. Thanks!

Summer Vaca!

Hi everyone!
Sorry it has been a while but I have a lot to share now to get caught up. I recently got a full time job at a charter school teaching middle school science!! Yaayyyy! I'm so happy! I started in April and worked finishing out the last 6 weeks of school. I really like it. I like the school, the staff and faculty, the program itself, and I just feel at home there. I felt that way from the beginning of my interview! That is a major thing with me: I can tell a lot about a school by how comfortable I feel there and how everyone there makes me feel like family. I've been to several schools like that, which is wonderful, but I have been to some where I couldn't wait to get out of the door! This was my first interview with a middle school. I was not at all familiar with working with middle schoolers other than at the private school where I worked previously. Thank God for that job because it really prepared me for this one! Middle schoolers are something else! LOLL. I believe it was a great experience for me. A lot different than my 3rd graders during my student teaching, but I loved them all the same. I have a way of finding something special in each and every student and it came in handy at my new school. Some students didn't believe they had anything special about them and just didn't care about anything. That attitude irritated me like crazy but once I observed and interacted more and just pried into their running wild brains and saw them from within. I would tell them what I like about them and what made them so cool. Even those that would try to talk their way out of doing their work. I would tell them how they are so clever with words and would win at a science debate game...if they completed their assignment so they would know WHAT their talking about during the debate. I always had to be a step ahead of them and I'm proud to say I was but it would (most of the time) be with a smile because I wanted them to use their whits for positives and for getting by. I would give students different jobs to fit there personalities to let them know that everything about them is okay and there really is a time and place to talk, play, run around, draw, WHATEVER! Plus, I got respect and if I didn't have that I would have been in trouble. I'm the type that will get on to a student that is disrespecting another teacher. If I see it, I will let them know I don't like it and they will apologize (along with any other appropriate consequences if necessary). But overall, my students really enjoyed me as their science teacher (some even drew pictures for me which I didn't expect from middle schoolers) and I can tell how much excitement I brought them regarding science. I set up a mini lab in the back of the room so students could go and grab a folder filled with materials and work with them at their desks as they finished their work. The mini labs included simple experiments that fit with the standards. I put the materials in a manila folder, name the experiment (something fun and catchy), put the directions on it, and added to the pile. Next year, I will have a basket to put them all in and it will be the MLB (Mini Lab Basket). So simple. I also plan on adding a sign-in and out sheet with a lab question to make sure students are not just playing and getting the point of the experiments and to account for all materials that may end up missing. Teaching science itself is pretty cool. It's my favorite subject. I actually started out as a Chemistry major before changing over to Education (my whole life's dream). There are so many creative ways to get the points through and give examples. I'm excited about my projector also. During my student teaching I had a SmartBoard. I don't have one now but the ceiling projector hooked to the computer works just fine! I can create all sorts of things to show or present or include the class in an online interactive game such as the one I did with ecosystems. Perfect. I had the students tell me what to do as I was at the computer. I asked questions and even though they were not up and clicking anything themselves, they were participating and THINKING. I love what I do! And I never give answers. I will walk them through until the answers come from them. I believe the content sticks better that way. It has a better impact. The cool thing about science is I get to ask WHY? and HOW? And more difficult questions like Why do think...? They hate it but I love it because IT WORKS!

Anyway, the school year is over now. I got to start at the end of the year when the students are the most wild and crazy. The other teachers all assured me that it was only this way because it was the end of the year (last day of school was a nightmare!! LOL). So I look foward to next year. I was offered the same position there for next year. I also had a training at the district office about the new online grading system (PowerTeacher) and I get to train the faculty and staff at my school. I'm so excited about that! Both training and using the new grading system. I used Intergrade Pro during my student teaching and this new one is suppose to be an upgrade from that (but still has its flaws). I'm just a big bubble full of excitement. As for the summer, my school is having a summer camp for kids ages 5-12 and we will have all sorts of activities for them to do. I'm doing the science station of course! Been planning my activities and just ready to get started. We had this week off and we begin on Monday the 15th. So I have the rest of the evening and tomorrow to relax then it's back to work!! Which is fine with me because it gives me something to do (and it's fun) and I can continue to save up through the summer. I've already said that next I'm taking it off (but we'll see how that goes lol). So I'm really happy right now. My vacation is almost over but I will get two more before school starts back. Going to Six Flags and Detroit, both for the first time so I'm super excited about that too.

Success!

Okay, I had been wondering how things were going to go with the new techniques and strategies I included in the classroom. So far it has been WONDERFUL!!! Students have been posting assignments and getting them out the way! I started off with 4 assignments just to let them get into the hang of how I it all works and wow were they engaged!! They were so focused I was so happy. I'm the type that likes to snap pictures whenever I see students having a wonderful learning moment, but I didn't want to distract them or ruin the mood, so I controlled myself. LOL But I am so proud right now! My class is working hard and seem to be enjoying it. We worked in one big discussion group today and discussed the reading assignments and what we have been covering in Economics and what's going on in the country currently concerning the same thing. I also introduced a new project to enforce what we have been covering in Economics. They will be planning a school dance or party with a budget of $1,000. We discussed the products and services that would be needed and how they would decide how much of what is needed (or not neccessary) and if it will fit the budget. These guys went straight to work!! They have the end of the week to have their plans prepared. I'm excitied to hear them. But I am so proud of my students right now. The next two days we will be preparing for our Friday tests and getting a heads up for next week. I am so proud of my students. I have to let them know that too.

New Ideas

Hi everyone. I just wanted to let everyone know that I have created a new blog just for my students. The purpose is to help with their writing skills and make it somewhat fun and interesting for them. On my blog, I will post the week's assignments and they are to complete the assignments and post on their own blogs that we created in class last week. I can check their blogs and grade their work. This helps with paper and ink usage, losing work or misplacing saved files. If the posts are not posted by the due dates, the grades will be given accordingly. My students will practice typing lengthy essays, which I will gradually lead them into. The assignments also include reading assignments with critical thinking questions to answers. I will also include their computer lab assingments instead of printing those out also. I got this whole idea from college. In one of my composition courses, this is how we did all of our assignments. It is also where I learned about how to blog and what blogging is. Been blogging ever since. Now my students are exposed to this feature and will have one more thing under their belts as they head into the college and career world. I hope that this proves to be effective. You all may even view the blog and let me know HERE what you think, what I could change, or some ideas I can use. I'm trying this out for the first time so I will be working out the kinks. The other purpose of this is to get my students motivated and SERIOUS about their education because it is SO IMPORTANT! They are so very intelligent, I'm just trying to get them to channel it into the right things and the right way. I thought this would be interesting to them since they are sooooo into myspace and facebook. So far it's going positively well. They worked on creating their blogs, and designing them. They were really into that, so lets see how things go tomorrow when they read their assignments on my blog. I'm also working on doing class discussions on different topics in social studies and their reading assignments. We will set the classroom up as if it is an exec office with a long table and talk. I want them to express how they feel about things and give their opinions. The purpose of this is to get them to back up what they say. If it's your thoughts, it can't be wrong, but how did you come to that? or why do you feel that way? I want them to THINK. Not just blurt out stuff and be done. Tell my why, explain yourself. And this will help in their writing because they will have to give supporting details. My plan is to have them turn in a research paper by the end of the school year. But we have a lot of work to do before then because some of them think a page is a lot. I don't know what kind of work they did in public school, but we have got to get on the ball if these guys plan to go to college after graduating. And I REFUSE to send them off unprepared. I had them take a GED practice exam (which the actual exam will be their exit exam) and I put together charts for each individual student and know each of their weak and strong areas within each subjuect. It took me HOURS to put together but it was worth it because I know EXACTLY what I'm working with. I've already started the journal writing. Students write about a quote or topic I put on the board. At the end of each day, they write 3 positive things that happened in school. I picked this idea up from when I did my student teaching. The principle had all us teachers do this each day to keep our minds on the good and positive things that happened through our crazy days. LOL So I provided the composition books (in different colors for students to pick) and have them practice writing, critical thinking, and thinking more positively. They like to point out the negative everything, so I want to help them see all the positives also. Eventually I will increase it to 5, then 10, and so on. Some are still getting the hang of it because they will write: 1. Didn't get in trouble 2. Did all my work 3. Got to go home early. LOL I want them to be more specific, but we will get there. =) For math, I am in the process now of putting together some review sheets with all the areas from the standards and we will just casually work with them. I think I will put together individual ones for each student with the areas they are struggling in. That way, as a class we are on the same page, and during independent work, they are working on that and the areas they are weak in as I come around to help. The same is for my middle schoolers. I need to prepare some charts for their weak and strong areas and I will do that by just pulling straight from the standards and recording what we need to work with. Lately, we have just been covering items from the standards sections at a time, but I don't think they had been covering a lot before a started so it's time to boogy. We have got to get on a roll and keep rolling until the last day of class. I'm excitied and want my students to be excited also. They give me so much grief during the day but I have seen what they can do so all that hassle they give me means nothing. They actually cannot understand how I put up with them. My job is not to "put up" with them, but to teach them. That is where my focus is. I know they can do it, but THEY have to know it, too. And that is my job; to help them KNOW.

My First Challenge as a Teacher: Motivation!!

Ok so now I'm teaching Math, Science, and Social Studies at a secondary private school. I'm realizing my work is cut out for me. I'm teaching middle school and high school. Planning and grading is chaotic. I'm sort of stuck on an issue. My students are behind in social studies, specifically history. I have started routines for math and covering what needs to be covered with great lessons and motivating activities. Science seems to be the biggest inteterest to my students so it doesn't take a whole lot to catch their attention with that, not that I don't try. But social studies is coming off as super boring already and I'm not sure what all I can do the make it more interesting. I did a game the other day where students had index cards with terms and definitions regarding the causes of World War 1 and the alliances. It was great practice and they really had to pay attention and listen. But while doing another activity where I had the students analyze a map with dots representing the population distribution in the US to help with critical thinking, I realized that I may have to take it further back. I had a student ask if slavery was in the south. I was stunned because to me it's obvious, but to someone who does not have the knowledge, it may not be and I just never considered that before. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to find the right resources for my classroom and school, make social studies way more exciting, give all my students all the knowledge they need to succeed in college and the career world, and provide them with the proper awareness of their surroundings and world, of themselves as involvled citizens and to grow as professionals. This issue is mostly with my high school students because I have lots of hands-on and exciting lessons planned for my middle school students. It is just difficult trying to reach my high school students without giving them "kiddie" stuff. I'm also trying to figure out how to get my students to come to school. Each day I have at least two students that do not show up (out of 9 high school students total). So I'm trying to come up with some sort of incentive or policy to help improve the attendence. My students are at this school because they struggled in public school because of distractions and behavioral issues. I can tell who my hard working students are and those who haven't quite realized how important this is. THOSE are the ones I'm really trying to motivate. I've been online all day trying to find ides and so far no luck. But I'm still trying and will continue until...well I won't because it's my job! I enjoy what I do so much, no matter the obstacles and challenges. They only make it more interesting.

And The Career Kicks Off

Hello everyone! Heres an update on what's going on with my career. I recently put in my two-week notice at the daycare I have been working at for almost 5 years. It's so hard to say good-bye to what has pretty much been a family to me, but hard times and changes in my life now require a little more than my part-time minimum wage paycheck and to something more in my field, what I really want to do: TEACH! I love my children dearly and have watched them grow up from learning how to sit up, crawl, and walk to climbing monkey bars and singing the abc's and months of the year. I will come back to visit them though, but it is time to move on.
I am currently on call for substituting and will begin another position as a GED instructor/tutor working with students in grades 6th-11th. I'm so excited! I will be getting great experience in the classrooms while subbing a few days out of the week and tutoring the rest of the week. I'm getting all of my resources together and continuing to do research and find anything that may benefit me and my students (I love to read). I'm also looking foward to getting a position as a long-term sub at a charter school teaching middle school history. All of these things going on has been an eye-opener for me. I realize that there is so much I can do and expand my skills to so many areas to the point that my dreams have been re-arranged to endless possibilities. I have no idea exactly what I want to do! LOL I'm not sure if I want to go into Special Education, Psychology, or Secondary Science (preferably Chemistry) or do it ALL!!! I know I eventually want to go back to school and get my Masters and Doctors and I also want to go into administration in my later years but there's no telling what eye-openers I will have by then!! Right now I would like to be nationally certified but not sure as to how to go about doing so and preparing. If anyone knows, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!! But I'm just at a point where I'm just excited and ready to get to work and help improve some wonderful lives in the community. Hopefully I will land a contract position for the 2009-2010 school year. I may have to look out of town and commute until I save enough to move, with how things are here in Aiken.
So, that's what's going on with me. I'm searching for some good resources I can use for middle/high school math, science, and social studies; how to go about being natioanally certified; and finding an elementary position for the 2009-2010 school year in or around Aiken, SC (anywhere in SC, maybe even Georgia and North Carolina). Well, be back soon!

Angry Teacher

Hi everyone. There is something very important that I want to get off my chest. I had a long and very heart-felt discussion with my younger brother today. He has special needs,LD that has not been diagnosed specifically, and VERY low self-esteem. For years he has been shy and oh so quiet, even at home. My mom was the same way when she was a girl but grew out of it by her senior year of high school but still has some issues. My dad and I were the social butterflies in school and had lots of friends and were the ones you also didn't mess with because even though we are friendly and not loud, we don't take to kindly to disrespect. I stress that so much in the classroom. I never want my students to disrespect each other or themselves. I want them to be proud of themselves, their classmates, and their school. Anyway, my brother is 20 years old and of course is not at the mental or cognitive level of a typical 20 year old. I was just explaining the inauguration today to him. For the past few years he has seemed to be really depressed. He doesn't smile and feels bad for even laughing. Today as we watched the inauguration festivities on tv I kept noticing how he just looks so unhappy and rubs his head as if he is stressed. I had to figure it out because he goes around angry all the time like everyone is against him.
So I came out and asked him what his problem is. I told him how he looked and how he is always so angry towards everyone and don't talk and don't smile. We talked for almost an hour, mostly him, and I was shocked at what all I heard. He told me how he didn't feel comfortable smiling or being happy because others are so mean and approach him with attitudes. He feels that he should do the same then. As he kept talking, the root of all this came out. When he was still in school, he asked a teacher a question and was unsure about her answer and asked her was she sure. He told me that after she answered him she turned away with an attitude and mumbled something under her breath. He said he felt bad about asking then. He said that ever since then she would look at him differently than the other kids and gave him mean looks. He would be afraid to walk past her or speak and she would then get on to him for not speaking. One day she was yellling at another student in the class and he just knew she was going to yell at him so then he became even more nervous about not knowing how to do something or making mistakes. Another day, the teacher's son was there and spoke to my brother and the teacher mumbled to her son, "Don't speak to him." My brother said that after that he didn't feel like doing anything, didn't feel like being nice or happy, and didn't feel like eating, and didn't feel like going outside or doing anything outside of his room. That hurt me so much because a few years back he did stop eating and lost soooo much weight! I weighed more than him and I'm a small 5'2'' petite lil' thing! My parents stayed on him and got him into eating again to gain that weight back but he never said what was going on.
He also told me how the other kids would not throw him the ball during games and would tell others not to. He didn't feel the need to be happy or nice because everywhere he turned someone was basically being ugly to him. After he finished "opening up" I was fighting back the tears. I then asked him he want to be happy and he honestly told me "no" because he knows it will not last and something else will happen to mess it up. He doesn't understand the reality that people of the world will be ugly but you have to look beyond that make room for those that are truely caring and loving.
Afterwards, I went to room and cried. I was hurt at all the mean things he went through and not having the understanding to deal with it. I was hurt that, as a teacher, I'm not sure how to help him. And also, I was hurt that a TEACHER was a contributor to this! I was so upset. I just wanted to go right up to that school and give that teacher a piece of my mind but that would be doing the opposite of how I just told my brother to deal with negative things. So I thought I'd go see my mom at her job and ask her some things since she dealt with low self-esteem.
I get to my mom's office and made small talk until she asked me what I was really there for. I told her. I could just see her heart sink. I asked her if she knew about any of it and she said no. All she knew was of one incident where the teachers was complaining to the class about something and he felt like they were targeting him. My mom went to the school and spoke with the principle and the teachers and they told her that they were talking about another student and my brother was a wonderful student. My mom said she knew something was up because it's like he got worst. But she said they weren't the only teachers. She said even back when he was in kindergarten she was told that his teacher would laugh at him. I was shocked to hear that because I know the teacher she was talking about. Even at the private school my parents put him in was saying stuff too. I don't know how my parents did it but I would have had to take some kind of action.
But it also just burns my heart to know that teachers act this way! I almost feel ashamed to carry the same title as these "teachers" because in my eyes teachers don't do that! I don't know if it is because I am a new teacher that I feel this way and I use emphasis on the 'almost' feel ashamed because I LOVE what I do and my students are the ones why I come home everyday with a smile. They may try me at times and have OUTRAGEOUS moments, but I always let them know I care and they are still special to me. They may make me unhappy or not proud by some choices they make but tomorrow is a new day. I hold nothing against them because it is a learning process. They know my expectations and they know the consequences. The choice is theirs. They are accountable. I can only be appreciative and proud, or disappointed. I will let them know when I am disappointed and WHY and then it's all up to them and I still care. Am I just being naive? I don't think so.
I am so hurt as a sister and deeply disappointed as a teacher. Now, I'm trying to figure out how to help my brother and work on being a teacher that uplifts students and not tear them down. I NEVER want to have that kind of effect on a student. So I am an angry teacher right now and thinks that we teachers need to do so much better! We are such a big influence we don't even realize it sometimes.

Lets continue to make POSITIVE influences on our students!!!