Nerds R Us

First of all I have to share my answers on the nerd test.



It is really cute... some questions.... let's just say I couldn't really find an answer for them.

On another note, I have to tell you about 2 little nerds in my class.

Nerd #1 is a sweet boy who is picked on by everyone. We have sat down and talked about it and I've made the AP and counselors aware. Apparently he used to get beat up but that has stopped for the time being. Let me tell you that this kid is really going somewhere. I guess he has self-esteem issues, but with a little encouragement, he can really be someone special. For a few days I was focusing a lot of my energy on how to take care of him and make him feel special without drawing attention to him or letting the rest of the class know about it. We also decided on a sign that would be his way of telling me that something was bothering him, without him having to actually say anything and although he hasn't used it yet, I'm hoping he has enough trust in me to feel a little more comfortable in my classroom.

Then.... the full moon happened.

Nerd #2 is loud obnoxious and not quite the sharpest tool in the shed. He came in on the full moon day and exchanged some hateful words with another nerdy boy that I only heard about in a he said-she said conversation so I basically dismissed the whole thing. I dismissed it because I wasn't going to play that game, and I also dismissed it because frankly, I didn't care. Then, when I told the boys to go sit down, Nerd #2 throws his hoodie over his head and plops down in his desk and won't move.... won't take the hoodie off and I realize there is something really wrong. The bell rings a few minutes later and he still stays. I told him if he was going to stay, he had to talk to me. After a few minutes, he just started crying about the whole life's not fair thing and then going into to the "he always calls me bad words" speech. I felt so bad for him, but I explained that he can't say it back... it's just not right. Nerd #2 shut down again.

Well, this kid has a lot of issues going on in his head and I don't even want to know what they all are, but I want to try to help his middle school mind sort them out a bit. I thought of a plan I saw one time where a teacher wrote to this student in a journal that was just between them. I offered the idea to him and he looked questionable at first, but then I explained that no one will know about it and that he can write anything he wanted to in it. I suggested writing at least twice a week or so. We made a plan that he would take my attendance on the computer and then drop off his journal on my desk... then, the next day, I would leave it on my desk and he would pick it up after taking attendance again. He didn't seem overly thrilled with the idea, but I gave him a journal,walked him to the bathroom so he could clean up, and then I took him to his next class. I just hoped in my head that he would bring the spiral back the next day.

Who would have guessed that after that next period, he had already filled out 3/4 of a page about the whole incident and telling me that it felt good to be able to write it all down. Its amazing when you get a student to write down what's in their head instead of some silly warmup, how much emotion can be shown and how much learning can happen. As of now, he has already given me 2 entries and I just finished writing him back again. I think this is going to be a good year for both of us and you know what I decided? If he is the only student that I actually succeed in helping make a future for, well, then I think I can cross my arms, sit back and relax because I really did change a life.

Now... if I could only get my 7th grade basketball team to understand how to aim when you shoot the ball, life would be grand!

- coach b!

Grading Time!

I have never been so overwhelmed with anything in my life. The first day of school was a piece of cake compared to this.

I hadn't set up my grades yet before last week because I wasn't sure how I wanted to do them. I kept flipping back and forth between just straight up A,B,C etc... to having different points values for different things. It ends up that I do want everything to have different points values because I feel like it gives the student a chance to earn points instead of just take them away. (I know there are names for these two techniques but I am literally a zombie right now and can not think of either.) This ends up being a whole lot more work for me, but I am so happy that I am able to give my kids bonus points on certain things.

Now that I have set up grades, which was a whole fiasco in itself (basically because I am a new teacher and don't know the people to call when something doesn't work), I tried to input grades from home but lo and behold there were no tasks for me to enter grades under. Tasks are the different assignments that I spent til almost 7:30 on Friday entering into my gradebook.
#$%?!!!! Why does everything have to be un uphill battle? Can't it ever slope off for a while? And yes, I do realize that I have spent almost no time grading up until then so I have overwhelmed myself, but still this is ridiculous.

Luckily I have a cut and paste assignment today that will probably take all period. Then I assigned another follow up worksheet because we are still not getting the concept of electrons. I will start the students on those and then I hope that I will be able to go class by class today and finish up what little grading is still left all while being the most awesome question answerer, balancing on one foot, hopping uphill in the snow and holding a chicken... ok, not really, but that's what I feel like right now!!

have a grade-ful day today... or not!!! but make it a good one!!!- coach b

Periodic Trouble

Right now we are focused on chemistry. It has been a lot of fun, but I really want to do an experiment or something that just gets their attention. I have one in mind, but I can't find a way to do it. Also, we are hitting bumps in the road because these students just can't understand things they should have learned last year.... grrrrrrrr!!!!

There really is no way to know if they learned last year or not because they all had different teachers who you hope all teach the TEKS, but you never know. For the last 3 days we have been looking at the Periodic Table of Elements. It really is just one big mess.... not the table... the class. No one knows anything about it. Oh, they can find things, and they can color them, but don't ask them to do any math. "I just came from math class," is the whiny little answer you get in return. "I wish they would have stayed there," is my head's response to that. But they didn't and now you are forcing them to do awful math problems like 23 minus 11.

All my classes have an obsession with the number 6. For some reason they think it is the magic number. I can give them any problem and the first answer I always get is 6. The other day we talked about atoms being neutral and that neutral meant they had no charge so for each proton, they would have an electron. Right?..... nothing... over their heads. So I drew it on the board for them. Aha! The light bulb comes on. They I ask... so if there are 11 protons... how many electrons does this atom have? Guess what the first answer was.... yep, it was 6!!! I said, "How did you get 6?" The response was, "Well, I guessed."

Are you serious?!

To me, I might have well said... "If you want to get an A, all you have to do is tell me your favorite color" and then had some kid who yells out "FISH!"

"Are you serious?!" My kids know this is one of my favorite things to say... and now I say it even if I know they are right because it just makes them think a little harder. But seriously, we have been focusing on the smallest things about this lesson for 3 whole days because my class can't get their brains in gear so we have to keep repeating the same things over and over again.

Meanwhile, I am so glad to be having a girl's night tonight because it doesn't matter if anyone knows anything about periodic table, we just want to hang out and laugh and have a good time.... period!- coach b

Dress Codes

Yes, the dreaded dress code. No one likes it... parents, students, teachers and even administrators all wince when you even bring it up.

At our school, we have a great dress code. Our boys look very grown up with their shirts tucked in and their pants belted around their waists as opposed to sagging to around their knees. Our girls can wear the long bermuda shorts, but nothing shorter. Everyone looks so nice and tailored because they all have to have either a spirit shirt, a collegiate shirt (not jersey), an unmarked shirt or a collared shirt. The girls are not allowed to wear v necks of any kind or strapless unless there is a little white tee or something underneath. It is WONDERFUL!

But of course, there is a little work that goes along with it. This work includes stopping the pace of my class to make sure this kid has tied his laces or send that one down to the office because he has spikes on his bracelet. It is SO MUCH WORK I can't even stand it. The sad thing is. the kids are just trying to get away with it all, but it is my job as the teacher and staff member to call them on it.

Today we talked about this issue for a while because there is a new rule about ID badges and wearing them. The kids of course think they are ugly, annoying and on and on. Well, they have started handing out detentions during lunch, after school and even ISS for those kids who refuse. I think its crazy! Just one more thing to add to the list. Forget Blooms taxonomy... I just need to know if you are dressed appropriately to be at school in the first place. AHHHHH!!

I know its something we need to be safe in school and have a safe campus for our students to be able to learn but doesn't there have to be a line drawn somewhere?! And, I'm not sure we've completely crossed the line yet, but it irks me to enforce something and go on and on about this issue when I just wish these kids would dress reasonably and wear their badges. The part they don't get is that we have to do it too. Already this year I have had to go back to my car 4 times to get my badge... ridiculous I know... but still, I did it and I sighed about it and then I was done. I moved on and had a great day.

These kids just can't get over the dress code and all the "strict" rules. So we spend more time focused on that and no time can be spent learning chemistry or getting to know our class pets or reviewing for the TAKS or doing warmups and cool downs or... ok, you get the picture. I only have 45 minutes each period and when 15 minutes are eaten up with things I have to do before I can even start the class... we will get so far behind we won't even be able to catch up!

Now, I really do think dress codes make all the difference in the world... I just wish someone could come up with a machine or something that scans each kid when they walk in to make sure they have it all together instead of me being to one who has to be rough and tough about it all.

Here is a pretty cool video if you haven't seen it before. Scary, but if this can happen with one untucked shirt... then the possibilities are uncomfortably endless. -coach b

Dedications

I thought I would dedicate my classroom to my favorite teachers, but then I found myself thinking that no students would really care about all that stuff and time spent making a cute little thing would be wasted. So, instead I would like to take a few minutes and tell the ways that my classroom has been shaped using ideas from my favorite teachers. Of course, this isn't a full list, as I am always adding more ideas.

I started off the year telling my kids I had one rule. "Be Considerate." This rule comes from Camp E (an academic camp for g/t kids that I had the pleasure of attending and working at for 12 years) and the lady who used to be the director there. Her name was B.K. If you are involved with TAGT Education in Texas, then you might recognize the name. She was an amazing lady who did so many things to inspire us kids. Every year that I attended, I learned something new. Sometimes it was a good lesson and sometimes it was a good lesson that left me feeling a little uncomfortable with my previous actions. Now, although she is an inspiration, I'm not sure if she ever really remembered my name... but the best moment I remember having with her is the last day of the last camp she attended when she put her arm around my shoulder and called me by name and told me how glad she was that I was able to come that year. 9 months later, she passed away. I will always use this as a rule of mine because not only does it encompass everything that matters in a classroom, but it also is a mini-tribute to her in a way. She will never know how much of an impact she has had on me and hopefully on the people I try to inspire.

Another teacher that I pay homage to is Mr. Adolph. He was my 5th grade teacher and I will never forget him. He used to make us "copy the poster" when we were in trouble. The poster changed every once in a while but usually consisted of something like the Preamble. Well, I was quite the loud mouth at the time and spent many a day copying that dang poster. It got to the point where I would sometimes copy it twice and then take it home and copy the second one a few more times so I was ready when he asked me to copy it. I would just take out my previously copied sheet and hand it to him. Well, after he figured out I was doing that, I had to stop. Meanwhile, since I did copy it so much, I basically had it memorized which was great for when we had to say the memorized poster in front of the class. Mr. Adolph also had a little basketball hoop that we could shoot at depending on how many points we had received. He then gave different prizes for shots made. I use this technique in my classroom. Students receive tickets that they can turn in to shoot baskets... also helps that I am a basketball coach. They get the tickets for being a leader, cleaning their area, coming in for tutorials, good answers and just about anything else I feel like deserves a ticket. I'm not fully sure what the prizes should be yet, but I plan on making free homework passes and maybe extra point tokens or something.

In college I had a graduate student for one of my favorite classes. The class was called Sociology of Death and Dying and it was amazing. We talked about death in ways that I'm pretty sure would make most people cringe in their skin, but it was fun. Weird to say, but it was. We used current events to explain and examine occurances. We also talked a lot about religion, which at the time wasn't that important to me, but probably set the groundwork for what was to come in the future. We had speakers such as morticians, cow farmers, and kill-shelter workers come in and explain what it is like to encounter death in everyday life. We also had a penpal who was fighting in Iraq and would send us the most grotesque pictures of bodies on the side of the road with letters that explained how it was to be impacted by death daily. Wjhat I am trying to say is that this man was amazing. He knew how to take a topic and not only apply it to your life but force you to think long and hard about why you believe what you do. In my class, I have a "Science in the Spotlight" bulletin board. I have made it an extra credit grade if you bring in a current event that is related to science and a 5-6 sentence paragraph about it. None of my kids did it this week.... I was very dissapointed. But, not to worry, I can find enough current events to fill the board myself if I have to... and believe me we will discuss allllll of them. Earlier this week we talked about how scientists are trying to invent a Harry Potter-type invisibility cloak and all the realities that force it to be different than it is in the book. I will continue to encourage students to bring these and perhaps I will give them time in class one day to find one.

Not for a teacher, but another thing I have done to include someone in my classroom is to have dinosaur bathroom passes. They are literally little rubber dinosaurs from the dollar store that hang on a piece of twine from hooks next to the door. This is for my boyfriend, Matt. He loves dinosaurs and we have an inside joke related to the TV show LOST about them. I have a t-rex and a triceratops who I have conveniently named Rex and Cera. If you are a boy, you carry Rex, and if you are a girl, Cera. The kids really get a kick out of it.

I also have animals in my class and I'm not sure who they can be attributed to. I know that a science teacher at my mom's old school had a zoo of them. It also can go back to Mr. Adolph because he loved to have that hands on learning. There was also another lady at Camp E that had 3 doctorate degrees and taught animal husbandry... so from her I always had ideas of having animals. Right now I just have hermit crabs and a rabbit. Perhaps I will get more, we will see. They add a great deal of fun to my class. The bunny is active and we are coming up with a name for him right now. My hermit crabs actually chirp or something so the kids who sit next to them always try to swear they hear them and I just tell them they are silly and that hermit crabs don't talk... its a fun little game we play.

I know I am leaving people out. For one, my mom, but who can really pinpoint all the things that can be dedicated to her. At the very least this is my dedication because she so desperately :P wanted me to write about this new experience, but in all honesty, I'm sure there are numerous things that I do and say that pay tribute to her all the time. When they said the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, they must have had us in mind.

Well, that's all for now. Its Friday and time to leave!

-coach b

Howdy!

Yes, this is my first year teaching, but this is not my first time to keep a blog. I have previously kept a blog. I started it during college and it really helped me sort out those crazy years between "high school and parent's care" to "ok, now I'm really on my own. EEEk!"

I hope to keep this one up to date, although I have started kinda late in the school year, but geeez, give a girl a break... remember... its just my first year.

I work in a small town in Texas at the middle school. I teach 8th grade science and I am also on the girl's athletic staff where I coach 7th grade basketball and track... and help with volleyball on occasion. I'm a busy lady and I am basically flying by the seat of my pants.

But maybe I should back up a bit so you know a little more. I am originally from a very large city and am not used to not having a mall within 15 minutes of my house. I'm from a teaching family. My mom, sister, one set of grandparents, and more aunts, uncles and cousins than I know by name are teachers too. When I was younger, I always thought about being a teacher, but the rebel inside me made me look to other things.

I went to a huge college and got a great liberal arts degree. Then I moved to another large city and attempted to become somebody special without knowing who I actually wanted to be. Last December I applied for a teacher preparation program after I met a lady who was basically me 20 years in the future who had done the same thing. Yes, that's right I am a dreaded ACP candidate and I am very proud of it too! I completed all my pre-assignment training and am now in my internship year.

Not only will I be teaching and coaching this year, but I will be completing my post-assignment training and working a part time job at my favorite store in the whole world that is in another city. I will also be living many miles away from anyone in my family, my boyfriend, and basically anyone I knew prior to coming here. Its going to be hard, and I knew that coming in, but I am up for the challenge.

I do have to say that I already feel bad for my team leader though. I have been to her class more than once everyday and I usually start out by saying something like, "ok, i know we are doing a graph, but what exactly are we graphing? and where's the graph paper?"

Also, my coaching team... well, most of them take life VERY seriously... which is great, except if you are kinda silly and like to laugh a lot. I have found that not only do I have to keep on my toes and try to stay one step ahead of them so they don't sigh too loud, but I basically have to be not me. No silliness and definitely no sarcasm. I'm sure by the end of the year I will be a much more serious person after having so much practice!

On the other hand, the teachers I work with on the science team and the others on my hall are funny and much less serious. I sit with quite a few of them during lunch and am in stitiches most days. I love to share those odd student stories with them and of course listen to all of the crazies they have in class as well.

I came into this position wanting a nomination for Intern of the Year. I am still aiming for that, but with all the things I'm doing... I'm just hoping this year just goes by smoothly and that my students learn some things. I am an "out of the box teacher." I don't tend to like traditional methods like book work and lectures. My class is talkative, moving and full of silliness. Although I can be mean too. So far my favorite consequence is to have a kid read the textbook and answer all the questions and I'm stern enough to have 4 students doing that presently. I told my kids that we could have fun as long as I was happy and they were respectful.

Anyhow, I guess I can't give away too many details now. There will be more to come. Hopefully its as enjoyable as this year will be for me.

-coach b