four more days!!
sorry i've been away for so long. the week before last (when i last wrote) was really hard. after that, i basically had what i call a one day weekend--i had to spend saturday at my credential class. it wasn't too bad, but it was a really busy weekend. the weekend was fine but short. last week went fine, but it really just flew by, because friday was a holiday (veteran's day). last thursday night we had something called "danger of failing" conferences at school. apparently the school is legally responsible for informing parents that their kids are in danger of failing, so this night is one of the ways we do it. the parents can come from 5-7 pm and meet with teachers. all of the teachers are at tables in the cafeteria, and the parents come around and talk with you. however, it was pretty poorly attended, about 30% of parents whose kids are in danger of failing actually came and met with teachers. i had two parents come.
the whole parent communication thing is so ironic because in a school like mine, it takes so much energy to contact parents to deal with discipline and problematic academic issues that the kids who are doing well academically and really a pleasure to have in class never get acknowledged. i made two positive parent phone calls today for girls who have had frequent behavior problems. both of their moms had that "uh oh" sound in their voices when i told them who it was. it made the phone calls so dramatic. i hope that it felt good to both of them.
it's becoming so clear that the kids in my strategic class (double period) can pretty much behave if they have enough structure and work to do. i'm trying to develop something like a book report where they always have something to do when they finish work. jesse and i were just brainstorming about it--maybe where they have to write a report on every 10 pages of reading that they do, or every 15 pages or something like that. they're great kids and with format and structure almost all of them are fine (except for the two that i had to send to the vice principal today). for a lot of them, school kind of freaks them out because they are soo accustomed to failing. so their reaction is to misbehave instead of trying to see how they do. i wish that i was a better teacher so that i could boost their confidence, but the truth is that class isn't even that hard so i think that many of them do have those opportunities to be successful in my class. it's such a process, and i am just trying to figure things out as i go along.
i haven't even gotten to the most exciting parts of my life right now--well, last weekend was a three day weekend which i got to spend with my lovely boyfriend, mother, and stepfather. it was quite a treat to be at my mom and stepfather's house and relax and chill out and be cooked for and cleaned up after and get to snuggle with my kitty cat. (really my mom and stepfather's cat but...i love her a lot. and they're not possessive.)
so last weekend was a blessedly long weekend and...four more days of school until NINE DAYS OFF for thanksgiving. i am so excited. it's hard feeling burnt out, although last week and this week are/were manageable because of the upcoming break. the three day weekend last weekend felt like a week off, seriously. i do think that getting out of town helped.
so everyone tells me that i've gotten through the hardest stretch now. in the last 12 weeks, i was out sick one day, had a three day weekend after the very first week of school, and just had a 3 day weekend. those are the only weekdays i've had off of work since memorial day weekend in may. i worked on july 4 in training this summer. what a year, right? so after 4 more days of teaching (which i would be wise to go get ready for right now) i have a glorious 9 days off!!! (including 2 thanksgiving dinners, yum!)
on that note, i should attend to my 7th graders' essays because i promised i'd return them tommorow. it is kind of exhausting reading all of these essays--i read 60 over the weekend and commented on them. there's no way that i'm going to finish reading all of these in the next 2 hours, but i will try!
i'll try to write again this week. thanks for checking back and continuing to read.
the whole parent communication thing is so ironic because in a school like mine, it takes so much energy to contact parents to deal with discipline and problematic academic issues that the kids who are doing well academically and really a pleasure to have in class never get acknowledged. i made two positive parent phone calls today for girls who have had frequent behavior problems. both of their moms had that "uh oh" sound in their voices when i told them who it was. it made the phone calls so dramatic. i hope that it felt good to both of them.
it's becoming so clear that the kids in my strategic class (double period) can pretty much behave if they have enough structure and work to do. i'm trying to develop something like a book report where they always have something to do when they finish work. jesse and i were just brainstorming about it--maybe where they have to write a report on every 10 pages of reading that they do, or every 15 pages or something like that. they're great kids and with format and structure almost all of them are fine (except for the two that i had to send to the vice principal today). for a lot of them, school kind of freaks them out because they are soo accustomed to failing. so their reaction is to misbehave instead of trying to see how they do. i wish that i was a better teacher so that i could boost their confidence, but the truth is that class isn't even that hard so i think that many of them do have those opportunities to be successful in my class. it's such a process, and i am just trying to figure things out as i go along.
i haven't even gotten to the most exciting parts of my life right now--well, last weekend was a three day weekend which i got to spend with my lovely boyfriend, mother, and stepfather. it was quite a treat to be at my mom and stepfather's house and relax and chill out and be cooked for and cleaned up after and get to snuggle with my kitty cat. (really my mom and stepfather's cat but...i love her a lot. and they're not possessive.)
so last weekend was a blessedly long weekend and...four more days of school until NINE DAYS OFF for thanksgiving. i am so excited. it's hard feeling burnt out, although last week and this week are/were manageable because of the upcoming break. the three day weekend last weekend felt like a week off, seriously. i do think that getting out of town helped.
so everyone tells me that i've gotten through the hardest stretch now. in the last 12 weeks, i was out sick one day, had a three day weekend after the very first week of school, and just had a 3 day weekend. those are the only weekdays i've had off of work since memorial day weekend in may. i worked on july 4 in training this summer. what a year, right? so after 4 more days of teaching (which i would be wise to go get ready for right now) i have a glorious 9 days off!!! (including 2 thanksgiving dinners, yum!)
on that note, i should attend to my 7th graders' essays because i promised i'd return them tommorow. it is kind of exhausting reading all of these essays--i read 60 over the weekend and commented on them. there's no way that i'm going to finish reading all of these in the next 2 hours, but i will try!
i'll try to write again this week. thanks for checking back and continuing to read.
posted by Allyson B. at
8:12 PM
1 Comments:
Allyson,
I continue to enjoy your stories though they make me exhausted! Keep up the good work! I think you are making a difference!
Ethan
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