Weekend

It was a long week. Only three days in the classroom but it felt like forever. Regaining control after being away was harder than it's ever been. Some good things did happen though.

1. I got DB switched out of my class Wednesday morning. He tried to come into my class on Thursday and on Friday he stood by my door, but I just turned him away, because he is not welcome in my classroom.
2. Xander was talking up a storm Thursday morning. He seemed to think everything he was saying was the funniest thing. The one he really liked was, "Could you tie my shoe?" He would say it and just start laughing.
3. My kids actually did well yesterday morning. When I was meeting with groups I let them pick what centers they went to. It actually went very well. I may be on to something here.

In the past week I've also realized that an idle mind contains negative thoughts, at least in me. I tend to think of myself as a rather mellow, easy-going person. But I do also have a jealous/competitive side. And, oh how I don't like it. The one thing I want the most right now seems to be the one thing I cannot gain or maintain. All this negative feeling does is make me harbor ill will towards a person. And this ill will is the worst feeling. Feeling very jealous of a person, to the point of wishing to distance myself from them in all possible ways, just so I no longer feel that jealous urge. Wondering, why not me. I have yet to find a reason why. And of course tonight was just filled with reminders of what I long for, and I am not sure if people really notice, but it does feel obvious, at least for me. There are only a couple of things that would be able to settle my mind, but distances seem great. There is a huge gap that needs to be crossed.

Day

Returned from the First Grade Teachers conference. It was interesting. I went with my assistant principal and another teacher/AP pair from one of the other elementary schools. Again I was about one of 5 guys, two of which were presenters/keynote speakers. Conferences are good for sort of renewing my spirit. Got some ideas, some of which I will try to implement in my classroom tomorrow morning. One thing I will need is sleep. Spent so much time by myself today (yeah, by myself in rooms of 20-200 other teachers, I'm kind of self-isolating that way) and I need sleep to quiet my mind. I'm also starting a wishlist on amazon.com I'll post a link to it some day this week. My goal is now to get books and such donated to my classroom for my students.

Day...why is this such a long week?

I didn't write yesterday because I was up late cleaning my house for potential housemates. That and I wasn't really sure how to say that one student of mine ran through the driveway of the school and almost into a car, because he would not listen to me. That situation has kind of exploded in an unsafe way. Today he decided to snake around under people's chairs and desks when I told him to go sit down at his desk. Right now he is beyond all help that I can give him.

1. Today I actually made it through small groups without and interruption (first time this week). Though I'm still not sure where my TA disappears to when she is not in my room.
On more personal notes.
2. I got to meet two potential housemates. One will actually be replacing my leaving housemate at the school. Kinda weird, like he's being swapped for another person. Both guys seem really good though.
3. I got an email saying that I have been invited to have a phone interview for a position at Institute in Houston this summer. Now I just need to figure out a good time to do that and I should get as ready as I can.

All in all, a good day. Only have one more day left this week, and on Sunday I leave for Little Rock for two nights at a conference. I hope more students are at school tomorrow, so we can actually get through Friday tests.

Day WOW Tuesday

geez!! Tuesdays...not exactly fun times, but we got through a bit.

1. The average growth for a couple more students was a year. They are slowly bringing my class average of growth up to about 1 whole grade level for everyone.
2. Kind of a backhanded one, but I started the day with five kids, though the number out changed every two hours for the first four hours of the day.
3. One of my troubled students is finally seeing a counselor. She is seeing the same counselor that my little girl saw last year. Whenthis girl came from the appointment, just was really closed off and not entirely herself. Unfortunately I never got the chance to follow up with her.
4. My kids seem to be getting money, which is a very good thing. I'm not sure why addition and subtraction was so difficult for my kids.

Today was a day for sure. Xander got sick and left early. Probably would have been better if he didn't show up today. He got to my door dragging tail. I'm easily able to pick out if he is feeling well or not and today was one of those days. We are thinking that a trigger may be chocolate milk, at least that's what his mom thinks. He got back to my room after lunch and was able to tell me a sentence (small proud moment), but it was a warning sentence, that there was impending doom-doom. And boy was there ever. Math was made very difficult, as my students had to wait outside so the room could air out.

I hope all of my students are feeling better tomorrow. I'd like to get all of my kids together before I take off for a conference next week.

Day...the conference didn't happen

Which is fine by me. It gave me time to work with my kids instead of having to deal with one individual issue. I really tried to start fresh today. There was a lot of explaination in gentle voices.

1. I graded the math test I gave my kids on fractions and only two of 19 got a 90% while the rest got 100%. Even Day'Q got a hundred, and we covered identifying fractions in one day, after he missed three days of explainations. Best class grade on a test ever. If only Eudie was there.
2. I introduced coins today and a couple already know how to count them, but most don't, which is why they are in school to learn. The best part of the money was it became a mini-history lesson explaining the people on the coins. Oh the mistaken identity of George Lincoln on the penny. The little ones do not have the greatest concept of time. "He was president 140 years ago." "Is he still alive?" "nope...actually some people didn't really like him so they killed him." "Like Martin Luther King. White people didn't like him so they shot him." "Actually Lincoln helped try to free the slaves and help black people, which is why some people wanted to shoot him."
3. Xander was able to tell me a complete sentence today. He was able to generate the sentence on his own, based on something that had just happened. To realize the full glory of this achievement you need to realize something. Whenever I asked him what had just happened, he would just point and say a name or word. Today they were in line for lunch and Jay was behind him. Xander raised his hand when I walked by and I asked what happened. He looked at me and with all the concentration he could muster he was able to squeeze out the words. "Jay...he tried...to...bite...my head." My mind just clicked at that sentence. I had to pull him out of the line and tell him how proud I was of him. It did not matter so much that Jay might have bumped in to him, I was more excited at the fact that Xander got a thought out.

Overall a good day. It's tough to say that a few students can change everything, but it's the truth. We'll see if the conference happens on Tuesday. We'll also have to see if my TA will come back on then as well. I'm beginning to suspect her, but I have no idea. She doesn't even stop in my room to let me know where she will be during the morning. I hope she is not the one that complained to the principal on me, but I don't really want to think about it. Too many good thinsg happened. The math test, Xander's sentence, playing basketball with D-Troope, and the mini-history lesson and personal connections. A gentle end to a raucous week.

Day...Hrm...almost

It was almost a good day. We were good from the time they stepped in till about 11:40 AM. Then it all fell apart, yeah, just kind of physically fell apart.

1. I had another student grow about one grade level. That brings the average growth of half my class to about .95 grade levels. I just have the other half left.
2. While some kids did forget to do some questions on the test the average on the math test, on fractions, seemed to be about 90%, which is what I'm gunning for.
3. Xander, who is out for most of math with us sat down and did the test, and he got a 90%. That is a very good for him, and I'm very proud that he sat through and did the whole test.
4. Kind of backhanded good thing, but I heard that one student is getting moved out of my class. There will be no lost sleep over it tonight.

And he won't be allowed back into a classroom unless his mother comes in for a conference.

Day ...18 times, 18 times

Wow. Today was interesting. My kids were incredibly tolerant of the student that was trying to make trouble and be a distraction. They all kept trying to do their work as decided that he would try to get on my nerves. Did not let him, did not give him the chance. Handled it calmly, even-toned voice, served 18 times.

1. Like I said, my kids were with me nearly all day and doing their best not to pay attention to the distractions. We need to keep this up for the rest of the week.
2. I had two students grow one grade level in reading. One of those students is one of my most hyperbodies. According to the speech pathologist she is an angel in my class compared to her kindergarten class.
3. There was a reptile show at my school today. A man brought frogs, monitor lizards, and snakes. It was fun because I got to hold/wear a milk snake and a burmese python.

Today made me feel good about my ability to handle problem students. I just need to keep it up for as long as it takes.

Day...what was that, conference again??

Today I started a behavior log (document, document, document). I see it basically becoming a slight rant book. And I will leave it at school. Conference with the principal and counselor...blah blah, processing problem...blah, blah, power struggle (I knew that). I need to not let him frustrate me, I know that. He was causing a massive distraction, and the whole class was telling him to stop, and he refused, and he refused to give me the offending pencils...blah, blah, blah. I really do not like to complain without a suggestion to fix something. And for this boy I'm tapped. Everyone else I can work with..........

1. Bouncing back emails with my best college roommate during the day was a wonderful distraction. His writing/thought/language has not changed much. Not being in the mood for interpretation during school it seemed rather cryptic, especially that last one. But he always kept me thinking, and for that I will be forever thankful.
2. I had another student post one full grade level gains in reading today. Class average of the 8 students I've reassesed is .93 grade levels in one semester. go me!
3. My kids were flying through fractions again today like they really got it. They were all able to identify 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 and shade in the appropriate sections in a shape. This is the only time they have all gotten math at the same time so far this year.

bed before midnight, which is a milestone in its own right. I will not let any child win, and I will not let him control me and my reaction, and every child in my class will learn.

Day Monday Blues

Not necessarily a bad day, but another one of extremes.

1. I had one student, DB, post 1.4 grade levels in reading when I listened to him this morning. That is the biggest growth so far by a student.
2. All of my kids seemed to be able to identify fractions of 1/4 and 1/3. They seemed to be able to do the work remarkably well. It's interesting because for some of them addition and subtraction still baffle them.
3. I actually got Mr. Lane working with some students today. Mr. Lane is my foster grandparent. Sight is going, as well as hearing. We will slowly get him working in the classroom.

Also some not good things happened. I had one student have two major defiant trips. After the first one I'm almost positive that it is just defiance out of this boy, not any sort of disconnect.

Saddest bit of news I got. Speaking with a Speech Pathologist she said that she is not even sure why one of my students was in my class. She feels that he should not have even been promoted. She got his file out and the most disheartening thing I heard was that he got a 55 on an IQ test. Ouch! Also she said that he is very developmentally delayed.

But then again, if life were easy there would be more people alive. I did not take this job for an easy buck. I took it because I want to make a difference. The ones that are the lowest are the ones that can make the most significant gains.

Day ?!??!

Body sore from frisbee. Tummy nourished from good beef stew. No list tonight. Application still not submitted, but emails sent. Week mostly planned out. Found a free, fun game for the computer. Kind of like Guitar Hero, but just using the keyboard. And people can submit their own songs, so more open ended.

Got a tricky bit of news. Was told that one of my roommates will be leaving in two weeks. Where to, he does not know. He feels that God is calling him elsewhere. This has been his fifth year teaching. Just a couple of months ago he told me that he could never imagine leaving, and that people that leave in the middle of the year kind of irk him. He seems confused, but content. He has a trust in something that is not within him and he is willing to let that take him across the country. I truly wish him the best. In the past couple of weeks, since Christmas break, something in his life has changed. Many things have changed.

When people evoke God I really do not know what to say. I did the best thing that I could think at the time...I offered him beef stew.

Day yup

So it was an interesting day. A few things got done, I got blocked on a few others, and a student locked himself inside my bathroom, twice! But that is the way it goes some times.

1. C-Brown has improved over one grade level in reading and is now at about a second grade level! In one semester he went from sometime in mid-to-late kindergarten, all the way to second grade.
2. On the DSA spelling test 16 of 19 tested went on to the second level, compared with 3 of about 21 at the beginning of the school year. It is great to see growth.
3. I finally completed the first round of applications for summer Institute in Houston. I just need to submit them when the system decides it wants to work again.

Again another late night. I'm thinking it will be bed early tomorrow.

Day uh huh

Too late to want to type, but I shall proceed.

1. All of my students did their mid-year DIBELS assessments. I have not seen their scores, but my lit coach said that they all did very well.
2. I was able to reasses one of my students with the DRA, which can give their grade level equivalent in reading. The student, Kaydie, went from a level 4 to a level 14, which was equal to one whole grade level. The best record of student growth I have ever had with a student, one whole grade level in one semester.
3. On a more personal note I was able to update my resume finally. I'm actually kind of happy with how it turned out. More work will be done tomorrow before I try to apply for the jobs. My application and letter of intent are the doorway to a summer job in Texas.

Yes yes yes, I'm up too late, but that resume needed to get done. I'm trying to get better and I will not give up on my resolution yet. I did take a nap earlier, so I'll count that for sleep.

Day something or other...too long off

After a short break it was back to school at J. F. Wahl Elementary. The thing was not everyone seemed to get the memo...which leads me to number one for the day.

1. I was missing five students today. Not that I like it when they are absent, but missing 25% of my class on the first day after break kind of helped to smooth the transition back to work.
2. Dil-Bry was able to stay in the class all day. Probably did not handle it the best way (sort of went back on my word), but for over half the day, the last half, he was cheerful, participating, and working like I expect of everyone.
3. My Assistant Principal reminded me of the conference in Little Rock at the end of January and she had me fill out the registration form. That means in two weeks I'll be going back to Little Rock.
4. I got a memo from my Literacy coach that said we would be doing mid-year testing tomorrow. Normally that would have drawn groans, but I'm really looking forward to see how much my kids have grown in a couple of months. I'll also try to work with her to get DRA's done again to see what sort of reading level growth my kids have done.

In the new year it is good to reasses where I am and where I'm going. I've got to update my resume for a job application that is due Friday. I am also looking forward to the opportunity to replot my year. I've got to make significant gains, and if I can see whre shortcomings are I will have a better idea how to shore them up and give my kids the challenges and opportunities they need.