Well, I have almost made it. We have very few days until the 30th... last day of school and I am just racing toward the finish. This year has been full of ups and downs. I have found that I still love kids and that I do love teaching. I have decided that coaching is not for me and I am looking for a science (or similar) teaching position only.
I went to a job fair the other day and was blown away by how rude districts feel they can be. Everyone thinks that you should have already put you applications in their system and no one wants to talk to you until you have... sad.... for them. Seriously... then what is the point of coming to the job fair!!!!??? Of course there were many new teachers there and one of them just hit a bad note with me. She just wouldn't stop talking about herself... funny of me to say that when that's all I do on here... but she was the annoying kind and I just pray that we don't end up at the same school next year.
I did get a couple of good hits and even a phone call today inviting me in for an interview. I am calling back tomorrow to tell them "OF COURSE!!!"... in a much smaller and less desperate voice. I am hoping to find a district that is towards the big city without being the big city. One of the principals told me I was the top of her list so you know I filled that application out on Monday night.
I am looking forward to my next assignment. Whether it be as a teaching only position here or another school district, I know it will be exciting and new... again. As for the title of my post... well I just know sometimes at the end of a race you get going so fast that you can't help to fall over yourself... so I am trying to slow down my pace and just coast into the finish... mostly out of fear that I might land face first.
Thanks, Library Girl for prompting me to write this one. My access had been cut off to this site for a while, but now I am back... strangely... again!!!
make it a great day or not... the choice is yours!!!- coach b!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Genetics and Pregnant He/Shes
Well, we are working on Genetics in class right now. I find it to be really interesting as the students realize different things about themselves. I used an example of my mom and dad passing on genes of hair color to my sister and me which they seemed to enjoy. Then... I had the ever dreaded question about the pregnant man... who is actually a woman in disguise. It was a very interesting conversation and even though it made me a little uncomfortable... the kids really seemed to be interested and had lots of questions.... sooo we talked about it for a while and then... miraculously (maybe because of their new found enthusiasm)... they did all of their work. It was awesome!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Teaching... The Sisyphus Way
This year has been full of ups and downs... mostly ups but but recently downs. I struggle to stay ahead in knowledge and energy of my students each day. I think up new and creative ways to give them material and have them experience and learn it and in my personal belief I am doing pretty well... until yesterday.
I received an email in the morning from our district PR person that said nominations for things like "teacher of the year" and "staff member of the year"... along with "rookie of the year." Scrolling down to our school I was surprised to not see my name there. See, when I was hired, I was the ONLY new teacher at the whole school. I tried so hard to fit in and make it seem like I wasn't SOOOO new. I have stayed late and come early, tried to join committees and oh, by the way I teach 8th grade science which is a TAKS level and I coach 7th grade basketball and help out with pretty much all the other sports. So when I say I come early and stay late, I mean that I come before the 7 am time for athletics and stay well after the 5 pm end of athletics... think 10:30 pm with janitors kicking me out.
Well, in January they hired this new teacher and let me just tell you about her schedule. She comes to school at 9am... teaches 3 classes of computer, has 2 conference periods and then goes to assist with high school sports. Are you kidding me? She even told me herself that her job was a cake walk. But, guess who my school nominated for "rookie of the year." That's right... half-day girl.
All I could say yesterday was WOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW! I was shocked. It was like a big slap in the face.
Some people talked to me about it later on and told me they felt the same way.... but these are all people that you would call "pee-ons," people that don't mean anything because they are just other teachers and not the great administration that we have at this school. My fellow pee-ons did make me feel better because they told me I was their rookie of the year and I thanked them.
Later on last night I was looking for some files on my computer and came across this paper that I had written in college for my "Sociology of Death and Dying" class. It was about Sisyphus who if you are not familiar with is the guy who pushed the rock up the hill only to have it roll back down so he can push it up again... for eternity. Well, our paper was related to the fact that we all go through the monotony of every day pushing of rocks only to have it fall while we sleep so we can get up again the next morning and do it again. Its a very negative but somewhat intriguing way to look at life. In my paper I talked about how our lives aren't just one hill and that there are a bunch of hills connected where the valley in between the next 2 is always a bit higher than the one before. So we are making progress but its like a 3-steps-forward-and-2-back kinda thing. I probably argue this because I refuse to believe what I do every day won't lead to anything and if you know me I am determined enough to have a success of some kind no matter how small.
OK, now that I have thouroghly confused you... let me tell you how this all goes together. We have to teach the Sisyphus way... well not the original way, but the way I talked about in my sociology paper. We can not wait for someone to tell us "Great pushing." We can not be in it for the awards... or for the recognition. We have to be in teaching to feel the little victories. As teachers, you already know what they are. Tying shoes, light bulbs turning on, passing a test, finally getting multiplication in 8th grade, and having confidence to stand up in class and give a speech are all examples. You can't ask for more than that. Occasionally you will get a valentine's or a big hug, but if we (and I mean me...) search for those awards to be handed to us everytime we stay late or help out a student who isn't even in our class or grade level... then we will be constantly stuck rolling our rock up the same side of the same hill forever. We will never be able to get our boulder into the next valley so that we can prepare ourselves for the next small victory. If we teach the old Sisyphus way where we beg for praise then at the end of our lives or careers we really won't have anything to show for it except a boulder sitting at the bottom of the smallest hill. When we teach the new Sisyphus way, we can end our careers and even die knowing that we made a difference in our students, our community and maybe most importantly ourselves because we were able to give ourselves victories instead of waiting for someone to give them to us.
So, I am ok with it now... and I hope this other girl feels good with her reward because it seems to me this might be the only one she's received all year. I, on the other hand, have watched and shared successes with over 100 students this year and that is definitely something to be proud of!
I received an email in the morning from our district PR person that said nominations for things like "teacher of the year" and "staff member of the year"... along with "rookie of the year." Scrolling down to our school I was surprised to not see my name there. See, when I was hired, I was the ONLY new teacher at the whole school. I tried so hard to fit in and make it seem like I wasn't SOOOO new. I have stayed late and come early, tried to join committees and oh, by the way I teach 8th grade science which is a TAKS level and I coach 7th grade basketball and help out with pretty much all the other sports. So when I say I come early and stay late, I mean that I come before the 7 am time for athletics and stay well after the 5 pm end of athletics... think 10:30 pm with janitors kicking me out.
Well, in January they hired this new teacher and let me just tell you about her schedule. She comes to school at 9am... teaches 3 classes of computer, has 2 conference periods and then goes to assist with high school sports. Are you kidding me? She even told me herself that her job was a cake walk. But, guess who my school nominated for "rookie of the year." That's right... half-day girl.
All I could say yesterday was WOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW! I was shocked. It was like a big slap in the face.
Some people talked to me about it later on and told me they felt the same way.... but these are all people that you would call "pee-ons," people that don't mean anything because they are just other teachers and not the great administration that we have at this school. My fellow pee-ons did make me feel better because they told me I was their rookie of the year and I thanked them.
Later on last night I was looking for some files on my computer and came across this paper that I had written in college for my "Sociology of Death and Dying" class. It was about Sisyphus who if you are not familiar with is the guy who pushed the rock up the hill only to have it roll back down so he can push it up again... for eternity. Well, our paper was related to the fact that we all go through the monotony of every day pushing of rocks only to have it fall while we sleep so we can get up again the next morning and do it again. Its a very negative but somewhat intriguing way to look at life. In my paper I talked about how our lives aren't just one hill and that there are a bunch of hills connected where the valley in between the next 2 is always a bit higher than the one before. So we are making progress but its like a 3-steps-forward-and-2-back kinda thing. I probably argue this because I refuse to believe what I do every day won't lead to anything and if you know me I am determined enough to have a success of some kind no matter how small.
OK, now that I have thouroghly confused you... let me tell you how this all goes together. We have to teach the Sisyphus way... well not the original way, but the way I talked about in my sociology paper. We can not wait for someone to tell us "Great pushing." We can not be in it for the awards... or for the recognition. We have to be in teaching to feel the little victories. As teachers, you already know what they are. Tying shoes, light bulbs turning on, passing a test, finally getting multiplication in 8th grade, and having confidence to stand up in class and give a speech are all examples. You can't ask for more than that. Occasionally you will get a valentine's or a big hug, but if we (and I mean me...) search for those awards to be handed to us everytime we stay late or help out a student who isn't even in our class or grade level... then we will be constantly stuck rolling our rock up the same side of the same hill forever. We will never be able to get our boulder into the next valley so that we can prepare ourselves for the next small victory. If we teach the old Sisyphus way where we beg for praise then at the end of our lives or careers we really won't have anything to show for it except a boulder sitting at the bottom of the smallest hill. When we teach the new Sisyphus way, we can end our careers and even die knowing that we made a difference in our students, our community and maybe most importantly ourselves because we were able to give ourselves victories instead of waiting for someone to give them to us.
So, I am ok with it now... and I hope this other girl feels good with her reward because it seems to me this might be the only one she's received all year. I, on the other hand, have watched and shared successes with over 100 students this year and that is definitely something to be proud of!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Astronomy Bangs!
Ha! That was supposed to be a take off on "Geology Rocks" but it doesn't really have the same kinda umph! to it.
Anyhow we are on the unit I have been waiting all year to study. ASTRONOMY! We started by just looking at some cool pictures and other stuff that could get he kids excited. I wish we could dive in deeper, but we are doing a semi-big project. I have 25 groups who each have something related to astronomy to research. They will have to make a small poster over their object or concept and then they will have to create a 3D model or just a drawing to show their object. WWE will be displaying them all at the back of the classroom in this elongated corner so that it can look and feel a little more like outer space. I think the kids will really get into it because they all got to (kinda) pick a topic they were interested in and they will be doing this for the whole next week. Plus, no one will be soley in charge of EVERYTHING and they get to create a big mural in the classroom. (I wish I could just paint the back wall black but seeing as how I am new and all, I don't really see that happening.) So, down comes the "useless" word wall and up goes the space wall!
And then we will be on to genetics... and then review for TAKS (ugh!) but good at the same time because this year is almost over!!
-coach b!
Anyhow we are on the unit I have been waiting all year to study. ASTRONOMY! We started by just looking at some cool pictures and other stuff that could get he kids excited. I wish we could dive in deeper, but we are doing a semi-big project. I have 25 groups who each have something related to astronomy to research. They will have to make a small poster over their object or concept and then they will have to create a 3D model or just a drawing to show their object. WWE will be displaying them all at the back of the classroom in this elongated corner so that it can look and feel a little more like outer space. I think the kids will really get into it because they all got to (kinda) pick a topic they were interested in and they will be doing this for the whole next week. Plus, no one will be soley in charge of EVERYTHING and they get to create a big mural in the classroom. (I wish I could just paint the back wall black but seeing as how I am new and all, I don't really see that happening.) So, down comes the "useless" word wall and up goes the space wall!
And then we will be on to genetics... and then review for TAKS (ugh!) but good at the same time because this year is almost over!!
-coach b!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Shout Outs!
Every week on Friday our AP comes on and announces shout outs... It is usually very annoying because it takes up about the first 10 minutes of class... or maybe it just feels that way.
"What is a shout out?" you ask. Well, the office has a box that it encourages students and teachers to put shout outs in about each other and the great things they do. Teachers can write about students and students about teachers.
Well, today, I guess one of my students wrote one about me. (Thank goodness I didn't groan when they came on today... haha.) It was very sweet and they just said that I cared about them and really encouraged them to try hard and not give up. I think it was from one of my track kids because they called me "Coach B" and most of my science kids just call me "Ms. B" but I don't know. I wish I did know who it was because I would like to just say thanks and make sure that they know I appreciate it and that it made my day.
My students are so great and I wish I could just have a big group hug with all of them! (I know I'm corny...)
have a great weekend! -coach b!
"What is a shout out?" you ask. Well, the office has a box that it encourages students and teachers to put shout outs in about each other and the great things they do. Teachers can write about students and students about teachers.
Well, today, I guess one of my students wrote one about me. (Thank goodness I didn't groan when they came on today... haha.) It was very sweet and they just said that I cared about them and really encouraged them to try hard and not give up. I think it was from one of my track kids because they called me "Coach B" and most of my science kids just call me "Ms. B" but I don't know. I wish I did know who it was because I would like to just say thanks and make sure that they know I appreciate it and that it made my day.
My students are so great and I wish I could just have a big group hug with all of them! (I know I'm corny...)
have a great weekend! -coach b!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Update and Observation
My prickly thorn has decided to withdraw and transfer to another school district. Sorry if he is coming to yours but I couldn't be happier about it.
Also, my consultant came today. We were finishing up our atmosphere stations. We have been doing 8 different stations. They are all 20 minutes each so it has taken us 4 days to get through them. Being the last day, it was really easy and I didn't have to teach them much of anything. I had a class of only 11 when she came because 2 were out. I was also fortunate enough to have a cold front coming through on the same day that some of my students were starting on their weather vocab. One of the terms is air mass.... and I was able to show them a picture that showed them what the air was doing today and how it would be very cold outside after school. YEA!!! for "perfect" weather. Anyhow, I was given good comments on my observation.
Have a good weekend!
coach b!
Also, my consultant came today. We were finishing up our atmosphere stations. We have been doing 8 different stations. They are all 20 minutes each so it has taken us 4 days to get through them. Being the last day, it was really easy and I didn't have to teach them much of anything. I had a class of only 11 when she came because 2 were out. I was also fortunate enough to have a cold front coming through on the same day that some of my students were starting on their weather vocab. One of the terms is air mass.... and I was able to show them a picture that showed them what the air was doing today and how it would be very cold outside after school. YEA!!! for "perfect" weather. Anyhow, I was given good comments on my observation.
Have a good weekend!
coach b!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Have a Nice Fall!
Today in class, a student was being very disruptive, so disruptive that other students were asking him to be quiet. It escalated into a very ugly situation which ended in 8 detentions for him for each time he talked back to me. I thought it was over at that point.
I was on my way down his aisle to assist another student. That is when he stuck out his foot to trip me. I did trip but I did not come falling down or anything. I'm pretty sure that everyone in the class saw what happened because even though it was quiet due to testing, after that it was SILENT enough to hear a pin drop.
I guess the admin doesn't think tripping a teacher is a big deal. All they gave him was a day of in school suspension. By the way... it is his 2nd day back from the alternative school from previous behavior issues that have nothing to do with me. I am so close to done with him, I can hardly stand it.
Now, the good things about my day: Technology came over and set up my 2 student computers... another "finally." They decided there is no internet wiring for the computers except by my desk so they have to have another guy come out and fix that. They also sorta set up the document camera... even though it was already set up yesterday. Somehow they forgot about the spliter so another (yes, more "anothers") will come back with that as well.
Annnnnd... its Valentine's Day. I got 3 Valentine's from some of my favorite kiddos. Plus, the boyfriend is coming to see me so I think he has something planned.
Happy Valentine's to You! -coach b!
I was on my way down his aisle to assist another student. That is when he stuck out his foot to trip me. I did trip but I did not come falling down or anything. I'm pretty sure that everyone in the class saw what happened because even though it was quiet due to testing, after that it was SILENT enough to hear a pin drop.
I guess the admin doesn't think tripping a teacher is a big deal. All they gave him was a day of in school suspension. By the way... it is his 2nd day back from the alternative school from previous behavior issues that have nothing to do with me. I am so close to done with him, I can hardly stand it.
Now, the good things about my day: Technology came over and set up my 2 student computers... another "finally." They decided there is no internet wiring for the computers except by my desk so they have to have another guy come out and fix that. They also sorta set up the document camera... even though it was already set up yesterday. Somehow they forgot about the spliter so another (yes, more "anothers") will come back with that as well.
Annnnnd... its Valentine's Day. I got 3 Valentine's from some of my favorite kiddos. Plus, the boyfriend is coming to see me so I think he has something planned.
Happy Valentine's to You! -coach b!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Celllllebrate Good Times, Come On!
I finally have a document camera and I am so happy I could run to the top of the tallest mountain in one try and still have enough breath to yell for everyone to hear:
"I FINALLY HAVE A DOCUMENT CAMERA!!!!"
I am a very happy girl/teacher and they are even coming back with a spliter. So we are already a quarter of the way into the 2nd semester and I FINALLY got a document camera. I can't even tell you how excited I am because it means instead of making millions of copies, my kids can just see it on the big screen. YEA!!!!!
And PS... We are doing yet ANOTHER benchmark for our kiddos. I'm tired of them and this is only the 3rd one for me... the poor 8th graders have had 3 in each core class thus far... no wonder they are done with it. Blegh!
-coach b!
"I FINALLY HAVE A DOCUMENT CAMERA!!!!"
I am a very happy girl/teacher and they are even coming back with a spliter. So we are already a quarter of the way into the 2nd semester and I FINALLY got a document camera. I can't even tell you how excited I am because it means instead of making millions of copies, my kids can just see it on the big screen. YEA!!!!!
And PS... We are doing yet ANOTHER benchmark for our kiddos. I'm tired of them and this is only the 3rd one for me... the poor 8th graders have had 3 in each core class thus far... no wonder they are done with it. Blegh!
-coach b!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Not Speaking
Today I have almost lost my voice. I am sick but it's nothing serious... not enough to waste a sick day. I am taking Advil Cold and Sinus like it's going outta style! My kids are being pretty good. We are only in the 3rd period. I have to flash the lights to get their attention cuz I am so used to saying "Be quiet" which probably isn't a good thing. What I find funny though is after they realize that I am not able to talk loud, they all lower their voices too... makes me want to "be sick" more often.
I love my 8th graders, they are so sweet and overall a really good bunch of kids. I wonder if this is across the nation or if I am just lucky enough to get the good ones!
Have a good... and quiet day! - coach b!
I love my 8th graders, they are so sweet and overall a really good bunch of kids. I wonder if this is across the nation or if I am just lucky enough to get the good ones!
Have a good... and quiet day! - coach b!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round
And I am now the person who helps that happen. I'm not sure if I'm excited or just feel silly, but I am officially a bus driver as of this morning. I had to get this license so that I could drive as a coach. It has taken me since October... really August, but I didn't start trying til October. I only failed one test the first time and it was by 1 question. ARG! But I retook it immediately and did fine. All other 4 written tests were a whole lot easier and on my bus driving field test today, I made a 93!!!! (And that was after I forgot the procedure for picking kids up at a stop.)
We also had to parrallel park... a bus... yes, a bus!!! Its so crazy.
Anyhow, I am a bus driver now so tell your friends and family to get off the road... and since its a bus... the sidewalks too!!!
-coach b!
We also had to parrallel park... a bus... yes, a bus!!! Its so crazy.
Anyhow, I am a bus driver now so tell your friends and family to get off the road... and since its a bus... the sidewalks too!!!
-coach b!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Mini-CAST
Anyone who is anyone in the science teaching world of Texas has heard of a little thing called CAST. It brings lots of science people from all over the state together once a year to share ideas on how to teach and what to use. I was able to attend the mini-CAST in my area this weekend and I had a ton of fun. I even used some of the stuff today.
There is a collaborative at UTD for the Geology unit. It extends from K through 8th grade and I received black line masters and materials to teach it. The cool thing is that they do really fun experiments. They taught plate tectonics using snacks.... icing, graham crackers, and fruit rollups. They told us great ways to teach convection... including what I am doing today as a review. I just put a beaker on a hot plate and put some paper holes in it. As the water boiled, the kids could see that the paper was sinking and floating as the water cooled and heated. Pretty neat!
I also sat through one about atoms. It went all through atoms without actually saying any of the key terms... which isn't helpful for TAKS, but is really helpful for having kids visualize atoms. They even gave us samples so that we could take it home and do it ourselves. SO SIMPLE!
I visited some helpful boothes. At one of them I bought a blow-up "beach ball" that has good geology review questions on it. I think it was more specifically about the rock cycle, but you could use it as an assessment, and also give it to kids when they are finished with regular work. I haven't opened it yet, but I am hoping I will get to make some of my owrn for other topics so that we can use them for our TAKS review days. At another one, I bought some cut outs that I have had laminated and my teacher aide is working on cutting them out (poor thing). But one set is used to draw out the rock cycle and another set we will use in the future to do the phases of the moon on a regular calendar. Its a whole class lesson. The last booth that I found really helpful was an Astronomy booth. These guys live pretty close by and they can either come to us or we can go to them and they will share their telescopes with us as well as let the kids take a picture of the stars and nebulas. HOW COOL! The pictures are then put on a disc for us to take back with us. One of the 7th grade teachers and I were thinking of starting an Astronomy club. This would be the perfect field trip for us and its free as long as we can drive there. (And guess who will have their CDL license at the end of the week. WHOOP!)
The last class I went to was about polymers. They introduced us to the concept and then showed us all kinds of experiments and demonstrations we can do with them. We did density in preforms (fat test tube looking things that were originally created to be blown into 2 liter coke bottles but have small defects which put them in the toss pile.) They gave us samples of fake snow, the chemical that soaks up and holds liquid in diapers, and some crystals that absorb so much water that they become 95% water, but when they dry out they return to the original size.
The only thing I noticed that dissapointed me was that there were not a lot of young teachers there. The age difference was HUGE! They kept referring to things that either happened before I was born or while I was too small to remember. I already feel out of place with my students sometimes but this was the other extreme. I know these teachers have been around forever and they want to teach us but I just want to find a way to get more young teachers involved in these conferences and stuff. Personally, I would not be successful if it weren't for the mentors that I have. It just makes me sad that other new teachers aren't taking the time and effort to make themselves and their students excel.
Have a great week... I know I will! -coach b!
There is a collaborative at UTD for the Geology unit. It extends from K through 8th grade and I received black line masters and materials to teach it. The cool thing is that they do really fun experiments. They taught plate tectonics using snacks.... icing, graham crackers, and fruit rollups. They told us great ways to teach convection... including what I am doing today as a review. I just put a beaker on a hot plate and put some paper holes in it. As the water boiled, the kids could see that the paper was sinking and floating as the water cooled and heated. Pretty neat!
I also sat through one about atoms. It went all through atoms without actually saying any of the key terms... which isn't helpful for TAKS, but is really helpful for having kids visualize atoms. They even gave us samples so that we could take it home and do it ourselves. SO SIMPLE!
I visited some helpful boothes. At one of them I bought a blow-up "beach ball" that has good geology review questions on it. I think it was more specifically about the rock cycle, but you could use it as an assessment, and also give it to kids when they are finished with regular work. I haven't opened it yet, but I am hoping I will get to make some of my owrn for other topics so that we can use them for our TAKS review days. At another one, I bought some cut outs that I have had laminated and my teacher aide is working on cutting them out (poor thing). But one set is used to draw out the rock cycle and another set we will use in the future to do the phases of the moon on a regular calendar. Its a whole class lesson. The last booth that I found really helpful was an Astronomy booth. These guys live pretty close by and they can either come to us or we can go to them and they will share their telescopes with us as well as let the kids take a picture of the stars and nebulas. HOW COOL! The pictures are then put on a disc for us to take back with us. One of the 7th grade teachers and I were thinking of starting an Astronomy club. This would be the perfect field trip for us and its free as long as we can drive there. (And guess who will have their CDL license at the end of the week. WHOOP!)
The last class I went to was about polymers. They introduced us to the concept and then showed us all kinds of experiments and demonstrations we can do with them. We did density in preforms (fat test tube looking things that were originally created to be blown into 2 liter coke bottles but have small defects which put them in the toss pile.) They gave us samples of fake snow, the chemical that soaks up and holds liquid in diapers, and some crystals that absorb so much water that they become 95% water, but when they dry out they return to the original size.
The only thing I noticed that dissapointed me was that there were not a lot of young teachers there. The age difference was HUGE! They kept referring to things that either happened before I was born or while I was too small to remember. I already feel out of place with my students sometimes but this was the other extreme. I know these teachers have been around forever and they want to teach us but I just want to find a way to get more young teachers involved in these conferences and stuff. Personally, I would not be successful if it weren't for the mentors that I have. It just makes me sad that other new teachers aren't taking the time and effort to make themselves and their students excel.
Have a great week... I know I will! -coach b!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Someone Needs a Hug
Well, yesterday I was called down to the pricipal's office. Hmmmm... Yes, that's what I was thinking. I was racking my brain to think of anything I had said or done that was not in line with standards. It ended up being about something I wasn't even expecting.
Without getting into toooooo many details (OK, this is a long story full of details about an angry parent... you've heard it all before!)
... An angry (and possibly crazy) mom received a text message from her daughter yesterday after practice. She told her mom that the coaches were running them too hard and a lot of girls were throwing up and stuff. She also told her mom that she blacked out while running. OK, so 1 girl threw up (she was looking pale for most of the morning before it happened)... 30 minutes after practice was over... because we had to end early so they could get their schedules for the new semester... and this was after they had come back from doing that. And.... crazy mom's kid never once told us about this blacking out bit.
This started a whirlwind of miscommunications from the daughter to the mother to the nurse to throw up girl to the coaches to the daughter back to the nurse and the mother and eventually to the principal. Apparently the mother said we were being too hard on her and blah blah blah.
Ok, this girl has no medical issues, has been cleared to do anything within reason and is never the last one. She is always middle of the pack... in conditioning, in game playing, in practice, in everything. She's not great, but she's doing a good job. I barely even notice her sometimes because she is a shy and quiet girl. So I don't understand why 3 weeks before the end of the season there is a huge problem with the mom-daughter combo.
I was eventually told by the principal to exercise caution when doing conditioning so that nothing happens... OK, not a problem. Then we had to decide on a consequence for using her cell phone in the locker room and usually we handle this with running, but under the circumstances, we thought that would be the worst thing to do. So we gave her a referral saying that she broke the rule of no cell phone use in the locker room... much less the school. (DUH!!!)
I brought her in and talked to her about it. I asked her to let me know if she doesn't feel well because I can't read her mind and we had a good talk. At the end I told her she was still receiving a consequence for the cell phone use and she signed the referral. She then asked to call her mom which of course I said yes too. Well... a few minutes later the mom wanted to talk to me. (I knew this was a bad idea but what do you do when a student is handing a phone to you and saying... here.) I took a deep breath and just calmly told her what was happening. Somehow in the middle of it she called me a liar 3 times and also accused me of not caring for her daughter as well as giving her an office referral for blacking out. I was so confused and agitated that I literally had to hang up on her right after I managed to say, "Ma'am, I'm hanging up now. Please call the office and we will set up an appointment to meet with the principal, athletic director and the two of us." I have no idea if she said anything else after that... I ran to meet the principal and warn him of what was about to happen and within 2 minutes she was calling him to say she was on her way up to school.
Now, this is where my part of the story kinda ends. I talked to the principal this afternoon and he said crazy mom (no, he didn't use those words) had been in his office for 2 hours and that I would not have to meet with her after all. He also told me that one of the attendance clerks was also called a liar more than once in the meeting they had with her. WHEW!!! So glad I didn't have to be there!
Oh, and I must add that this all happened during our Math TAKS simulation... you know, when everyone should be focusing on ALL the students and crazy mom's daughter went off to her test after being worked up by her mom.... I feel sorry for the whole family and I have decided I will never do well as a principal because I could not handle that.
I have also been reassured by the coaches and the office staff that I was in the right for working my kids hard and using running as discipline. After all, its athletics... and like they always say--- If you don't like it, get out.
WHEW! And that's the story of crazy mom... and her sweet daughter who will probably be just like her some day.
-coach b!
Without getting into toooooo many details (OK, this is a long story full of details about an angry parent... you've heard it all before!)
... An angry (and possibly crazy) mom received a text message from her daughter yesterday after practice. She told her mom that the coaches were running them too hard and a lot of girls were throwing up and stuff. She also told her mom that she blacked out while running. OK, so 1 girl threw up (she was looking pale for most of the morning before it happened)... 30 minutes after practice was over... because we had to end early so they could get their schedules for the new semester... and this was after they had come back from doing that. And.... crazy mom's kid never once told us about this blacking out bit.
This started a whirlwind of miscommunications from the daughter to the mother to the nurse to throw up girl to the coaches to the daughter back to the nurse and the mother and eventually to the principal. Apparently the mother said we were being too hard on her and blah blah blah.
Ok, this girl has no medical issues, has been cleared to do anything within reason and is never the last one. She is always middle of the pack... in conditioning, in game playing, in practice, in everything. She's not great, but she's doing a good job. I barely even notice her sometimes because she is a shy and quiet girl. So I don't understand why 3 weeks before the end of the season there is a huge problem with the mom-daughter combo.
I was eventually told by the principal to exercise caution when doing conditioning so that nothing happens... OK, not a problem. Then we had to decide on a consequence for using her cell phone in the locker room and usually we handle this with running, but under the circumstances, we thought that would be the worst thing to do. So we gave her a referral saying that she broke the rule of no cell phone use in the locker room... much less the school. (DUH!!!)
I brought her in and talked to her about it. I asked her to let me know if she doesn't feel well because I can't read her mind and we had a good talk. At the end I told her she was still receiving a consequence for the cell phone use and she signed the referral. She then asked to call her mom which of course I said yes too. Well... a few minutes later the mom wanted to talk to me. (I knew this was a bad idea but what do you do when a student is handing a phone to you and saying... here.) I took a deep breath and just calmly told her what was happening. Somehow in the middle of it she called me a liar 3 times and also accused me of not caring for her daughter as well as giving her an office referral for blacking out. I was so confused and agitated that I literally had to hang up on her right after I managed to say, "Ma'am, I'm hanging up now. Please call the office and we will set up an appointment to meet with the principal, athletic director and the two of us." I have no idea if she said anything else after that... I ran to meet the principal and warn him of what was about to happen and within 2 minutes she was calling him to say she was on her way up to school.
Now, this is where my part of the story kinda ends. I talked to the principal this afternoon and he said crazy mom (no, he didn't use those words) had been in his office for 2 hours and that I would not have to meet with her after all. He also told me that one of the attendance clerks was also called a liar more than once in the meeting they had with her. WHEW!!! So glad I didn't have to be there!
Oh, and I must add that this all happened during our Math TAKS simulation... you know, when everyone should be focusing on ALL the students and crazy mom's daughter went off to her test after being worked up by her mom.... I feel sorry for the whole family and I have decided I will never do well as a principal because I could not handle that.
I have also been reassured by the coaches and the office staff that I was in the right for working my kids hard and using running as discipline. After all, its athletics... and like they always say--- If you don't like it, get out.
WHEW! And that's the story of crazy mom... and her sweet daughter who will probably be just like her some day.
-coach b!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
On Top!
Today we FINALLY found out the results of (MOST... I say most because the idiot scanner we have to grade these just happens to leave out some... but fortunately they are not ones that I particularly want to be counted) our TEKS check. My kids did the best out of all 4 science teachers. WOOOOO HOOOO!!!
I'm so excited for them. I even told some of my classes about it today and when I see the first half of the day I will tell them too! Ok, so I am pretty sure it is because we went over all these concepts the day before... so I was feeling pretty uncomfortable with being almost 10% higher in passing rate than any other teacher, but then I looked at the breakdowns and I don't feel so bad because my sub pops that I need to focus on are still doing poorly and as a whole I still only have on average a less than passing score. So, even though we went over these the day before, we still have some work to do. All my kids who failed this test will have mandatory tutoring during a two week span, at least 1 day each week... just so we can recover the concepts they are not so great at... or in other words... the whole test! Also, I really learned why question wording is so important. A whole bunch of my kids missed a question where the answer had the word "diminishing" in it. Well, my kids apparently see a word like that and then just pick a different answer. I would have thought that 8th graders would know this word, but.... no... this must be a very big vocab word. So, guess what word will be given some space on our next test or quiz?!?!?!
Tomorrow, we have a TAKS math simulation day. So I get to be a hall monitor because I am not technically certified yet. Can't decide if this is a good or bad thing yet, but I'm looking forward to not having to teach anything and kinda looking at my schedule for the next week or two.
My mom always says I jump too much from one thing to the next, so I will not go into other topics such as how I was called down to the principal's office today (and YES I still have a job) or 7th grade basketball, or projects as test grades, or first days of the new semester, or... well, you get the idea!!!
-coach b!
I'm so excited for them. I even told some of my classes about it today and when I see the first half of the day I will tell them too! Ok, so I am pretty sure it is because we went over all these concepts the day before... so I was feeling pretty uncomfortable with being almost 10% higher in passing rate than any other teacher, but then I looked at the breakdowns and I don't feel so bad because my sub pops that I need to focus on are still doing poorly and as a whole I still only have on average a less than passing score. So, even though we went over these the day before, we still have some work to do. All my kids who failed this test will have mandatory tutoring during a two week span, at least 1 day each week... just so we can recover the concepts they are not so great at... or in other words... the whole test! Also, I really learned why question wording is so important. A whole bunch of my kids missed a question where the answer had the word "diminishing" in it. Well, my kids apparently see a word like that and then just pick a different answer. I would have thought that 8th graders would know this word, but.... no... this must be a very big vocab word. So, guess what word will be given some space on our next test or quiz?!?!?!
Tomorrow, we have a TAKS math simulation day. So I get to be a hall monitor because I am not technically certified yet. Can't decide if this is a good or bad thing yet, but I'm looking forward to not having to teach anything and kinda looking at my schedule for the next week or two.
My mom always says I jump too much from one thing to the next, so I will not go into other topics such as how I was called down to the principal's office today (and YES I still have a job) or 7th grade basketball, or projects as test grades, or first days of the new semester, or... well, you get the idea!!!
-coach b!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Floored!
Yesterday I found out, to my surprise, that 8th graders really do know more about science than they let on. After receiving the questions and answers for the TEKS check, I decided that my kids would never pass because out of 25 questions they knew about 5... that we had learned this year. Some of the questions were review from 7th grade but it seems like that was an awfully long time ago for them.... so I gave them a review.
Another teacher told my I shouldn't talk about doing that because its wrong, but I don't feel wrong about it. I didn't give any answers and I didn't even ask the questions on the test. However, I held the test in my hand and went over the different concepts that it covered. Perhaps this is wrong, but I don't think so.
It was amazing how much my kids knew about things we haven't covered yet this year. I would start out each thing by saying, "Tell me what you know about (earthquakes, hurricanes, food chains, etc.)." And then I would guide them to tell me more specifics.
In particular, some things I was surprised at:
*They were able to draw and label the rock cycle, which we had been going over, but never in a graphic form before.
*They knew that hurricanes were stronger over water because the warm ocean water would evaporate and give the hurricane more energy.
*They understood concepts like predation, habitat loss and generation cycles.
*They knew that rain water is filtered by soil and having cement on the ground makes pollutants run into the river.
*They could tell me about faults and mountains as well as how weathering and erosion could affect those things.
Let me tell you, I was so happy yesterday. I wish we could have days like that all the time. Each class was fully engaged and ready to answer the next question... no popsicle sticks needed! Now, as I type, my 3rd period class is working hard on this TEKS check, and I just hope they were able to retain some of that knowledge they shared with me yesterday.
I feel so prepared because I have all their semester exam reviews waiting for them to take. Tomorrow we are doing a mineral ID lab which should be pretty fun. Monday I won't be here and because of the crazy exam schedule next Tuesday, I will have different classes doing different things, but hopefully it will all work out. At the beginning of this week I was on a down. Seriously, I lost my keys for five hours and I thought I was having a mental breakdown, basketball was stressing me out and I felt like the whole world was against me. Today I am doing a whole lot better. We have basketball game tonight and even though we won't blow them away, I am pretty sure that my team has a bit of a clue now, so we should be ok. Yes, and I can't wait to start our new unit and be finished with all this talk about rocks!
Another teacher told my I shouldn't talk about doing that because its wrong, but I don't feel wrong about it. I didn't give any answers and I didn't even ask the questions on the test. However, I held the test in my hand and went over the different concepts that it covered. Perhaps this is wrong, but I don't think so.
It was amazing how much my kids knew about things we haven't covered yet this year. I would start out each thing by saying, "Tell me what you know about (earthquakes, hurricanes, food chains, etc.)." And then I would guide them to tell me more specifics.
In particular, some things I was surprised at:
*They were able to draw and label the rock cycle, which we had been going over, but never in a graphic form before.
*They knew that hurricanes were stronger over water because the warm ocean water would evaporate and give the hurricane more energy.
*They understood concepts like predation, habitat loss and generation cycles.
*They knew that rain water is filtered by soil and having cement on the ground makes pollutants run into the river.
*They could tell me about faults and mountains as well as how weathering and erosion could affect those things.
Let me tell you, I was so happy yesterday. I wish we could have days like that all the time. Each class was fully engaged and ready to answer the next question... no popsicle sticks needed! Now, as I type, my 3rd period class is working hard on this TEKS check, and I just hope they were able to retain some of that knowledge they shared with me yesterday.
I feel so prepared because I have all their semester exam reviews waiting for them to take. Tomorrow we are doing a mineral ID lab which should be pretty fun. Monday I won't be here and because of the crazy exam schedule next Tuesday, I will have different classes doing different things, but hopefully it will all work out. At the beginning of this week I was on a down. Seriously, I lost my keys for five hours and I thought I was having a mental breakdown, basketball was stressing me out and I felt like the whole world was against me. Today I am doing a whole lot better. We have basketball game tonight and even though we won't blow them away, I am pretty sure that my team has a bit of a clue now, so we should be ok. Yes, and I can't wait to start our new unit and be finished with all this talk about rocks!
Monday, January 7, 2008
Scheduling
We have our semester exams next week. No teachers have any clue about well, anything. Not that I am the most organized, but seriously, this is ridiculous.
I will be absent on Monday. These are the things I need to know hopefully by tomorrow...
Are we having basketball practice early in the mornign during exam days?
When are my kids taking the test?
When will they have time to review?
How long or short should the exam be?
Can I give them a review sheet? (Will I have time to do that?)
Meanwhile we are still trying to cram in the last bit of geology but I have a couple of cute little experiments to show them during this time... just to break up the monotony!
Life is good... teaching is hard... coaching 7th grade basketball causes night terrors!
-coach b!
I will be absent on Monday. These are the things I need to know hopefully by tomorrow...
Are we having basketball practice early in the mornign during exam days?
When are my kids taking the test?
When will they have time to review?
How long or short should the exam be?
Can I give them a review sheet? (Will I have time to do that?)
Meanwhile we are still trying to cram in the last bit of geology but I have a couple of cute little experiments to show them during this time... just to break up the monotony!
Life is good... teaching is hard... coaching 7th grade basketball causes night terrors!
-coach b!
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