Wednesday, April 30, 2008

I'm back!

I'm back to teaching full time again next week!
This time of year is the best part of the school year. They're largely independent, today I gave them a fairly vague social studies project, told them to make me proud, and they're off. There's been hardly a peep in my room for over an hour as they dive into their project.

This is also the time of year when they really start to gel as a class. Sure, there's still the, "Miss L., can't you do something about her, she's driving me nuts!" But now's the time when we've gotten to know each other well, and there's a level of comfort that causes individual personalitites to shine and be appreciated by classmates. Even if it's something a little goofy.

M. is the boy who never finishes a thought. Smart as a whip, always has his hand up in class, but inevitably when you call on him he says, ".....i forgot." Just now he came over to ask a question. Went like this, "Miss L., when we read our books and we're taking notes, can we........I forgot." The cool thing is, everyone else knows this about M., and loves it. It makes us smile in the midst of an otherwise boring essay that the delightful state of Michigan tells us we must write. Another student tells me M. is contagious today when she forgets what she wanted to say. It's just one of the things that makes this one kid unique, in a class full of unique kids.

Thinking about how much I enjoy all (well, almost all) of the kids in this class makes me think about my Father, and how He must feel, watching us, His kids. Obviously our sin doesn't please Him, but I have to wonder if he looks at our little personality quirks and just grins. Probably even more than that, cause he's the one who created us with these little foibles and idiosyncracies that make us who we are. And maybe, just like my class does with M., the rest of us in God's family can give some grace when those quirks show up; maybe we can remember to smile and value what God's uniquely created.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

God grant me the serenity...

After...
...being called a "stupid, gay, lesbian pervert"...
...being grabbed at, pushed, elbowed, and scratched...
...writing a barely legible detention form with a badly shaking hand...
...then trying to focus and get organized for a staff development meeting which I need to help run...
...going back and forth down the hall about 6 times because I repeatedly forgot something in my room...
...and finally, running into the doorjam of my room because I was in a hurry trying to finish a project and talk to three students at the same time.

After all of that, the other very naughty child in my room (not the one who thinks I'm a perv) observes me walking into the door and asks "What is wrong with you today?"
I sigh and ask, "Honey, did you ever have one of those days?"

...long silence...

"You mean one of those days? Like when nothing ever goes right?"

I say, "Exactly. One of those days when nothing ever goes right."

"Only like every single day of my life!!! Oh, man, that's like every day for me! I didn't know teachers had those kind of days, too. But really, not every day is like that, Miss L."

Ah, perspective. And from a most surprising source.
Cliche, but true - God doesn't give us any more than we can handle.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Falling in love

My student teacher is at a job fair today, so I'm "subbing" for him. Reading is the first subject of the day, and just happens to be my favorite. I, along with the other teachers in my grade level, scrapped the traditional reading program this year in favor of something new: reader's workshop. Instead of assigning a certain number of pages in a certain book for kids to read, students choose thier own books. The only requirements are the books have to be in their reading level, and something they're interested in. I teach reading skills using models from the books I'm reading, then the students get to practice those skills using their own books.

I have been amazed at the results. Gone are the groans of, "I have to read for how long?" And my kids' reading levels have soared - some of them have gone up almost two grade levels this year. That's huge! I don't know what genius thought up this approach to reading, but I am very grateful.

Among the many things I love about this new approach to reading, the ones that are standing out to me today are:

~ I love the hush in my room during this hour. Kids are at their desks, or curled up on a cushion, and the only sounds are the occasional sniffle left over from winter colds and the flutter of pages turning.
~ I love it when a kid who already loves to read finds an author he absolutely adores and begs me to be allowed to read one of that author's books, even though it's a little below his reading level.
~ I love it when a kid who hates to read falls in love with an author and comes to school bursting to tell me about the latest book he's read.
~ I love it when I see a kid rereading one of the books we've read as a class because it's just such a good story, he has to read it again for himself.
~ I love it when I call a kid over to talk with me about his book, and he says, "Wait, wait! I just have to finish this sentence! Aw, Miss L - you always stop me right when I'm at the best part!"

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Laugh or Cry?

What do you do when a child wants so badly not to be in school that they'll try anything and everything to be sent home?

The assistant principal made his way down to my room today and asked me to check through my troubled girl's desk. I asked what I was checking for and he told me a cell phone. I assumed she had taken one from her family, or a classmate. Nope - the assistant principal's phone. Took it right off his desk when she was sent to the office for another behavior problem this morning. Not only that, but when she was called down to the office and knew she was busted, she ditched it in the bathroom on the way down, then lied to both the principal and the assistant principal about it. If I hadn't seen her with it, she'd be sitting there still, denying everything. Pardon my French, but that takes some balls!

So what do I do when a child is behaving that badly, hoping to be removed from school? I focus on the good ones, the ones who make me smile, like T.

Today, when my partner teacher checked in on his group's project, it wasn't going so well. She took one look at it and said, "What did you do?"
His reply, "I don't know, but I'm ashamed of myself."

You have to laugh, or you'll cry; and how can you not laugh at a statement like that?

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Hallelujah!!

The big, nasty Social studies curriculum I've been working on is (mostly) done!!!!! I just printed out the first copy. I'm sure there'll be mistakes to correct, but hooray for the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing something that big!

Monday, April 7, 2008

But I like a cookie....

I am counting down the days.

Not the days of school we have left, either.

I'm counting the days till I get to go back to my classroom and back to my kids. Having a student teacher has been a different experience for me. He's doing a great job, and it's been really cool to see his progress as we work on different things. But now, he's to the point where he needs the experience of handling problems on his own, using the strategies we've talked about. Which means I can't be there. At all.

Which has meant I spend my days in the computer lab working on our new Social Studies curriculum. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed having the time to actually think about what I'll be teaching, the chance to really do some research and come up with lessons that will (hopefully) engage and challenge students, the chance to have a coherent plan for what I'll do in Social Studies. But, boy, have I missed the kids. Surprisingly, I go home more tired than I did when I was actually teaching all day. Staring at the computer, typing, researching online, tracking down yet another resource, are strangely draining. And there's no one here to make me laugh, or exasperate me, or celebrate with, or just plain interact with. It's just me and the computer screen. And the occasional 3rd grader who comes in to use a computer, but is too highly intimidated by the big, scary, 5th grade teacher to actually communicate with me.

And right now, thank God, there's D. D is in my partner teacher's class and is the incarnation of Hammy from Over the Hedge. Little guy, big cheeks, the attention span of a gnat, a constant ball of motion; D is currently talking to his math paper. "Take that! Ha! Take that!" Just begging for me to mess with him.

The ease with which I can freak him out is astonishing. One three second glance, and he grinningly whispers, "What?" Two more seconds and the grin gets wider while the whisper becomes squeakier, "Stop staring at me! I hate when people do that!" Two more seconds and the whisper-tone elevates to dog whistle level, "Stop it!" Poor, unsuspecting child has no clue that he's being used by a kid-loving adult craving any interaction with a student.

Must go try it again.....