on education, tenure, reform...

today begins TCAP

it's been in the news

word has spread through the community

it's on all the school signs

everyone knows...this is TCAP time

for us:  Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program

achievement tests

hours and hours of reading and testing for the kids

pure torture

not developmentally appropriate

but yet, it's what we are expected to do every year

it will soon be a part of how i'm evaluated

it will soon be a part of each student's year end grade

for third grade...8 and 9 year olds we give

448 MINUTES OF TESTING

yes, that is nearly 7.5 HOURS of bubbling in little tiny circles

excessive??

appropriate??

in Tennessee we test grades 3-8 each year

third grade is the longest test of all

who came up with that brilliant formula?

you want to know the other excellent plan?

we give both of the longest tests (Reading) on the same day

and this year we started smack dab in the middle of the week

so not only are the kids already tired

after they have read the first 2 or 3 stories they have already started random marking for the other 20 reading passages and questions left

brilliant!

teachers used to have some control over what we tested and how we tested it

so in a perfect world, i may have started with an "easier" and shorter test just to get them started

and them paired it with one long test per day

who wants to take a reading test for 2.25 hours when you are 8 and 9 years old??????

they have just started to master all parts of reading (phonemic awareness, comprehension, fluency, etc.) and put it together successfully this year

tomorrow we will give all of math in the same day

it's not as long, but what i find hilarious about this testing week are these requirements...

i have to take down or cover up every single thing in my classroom that may give a "clue" to an answer

mind you, things have been on my walls all year and the kids rarely reference them

never the less, down it will come or i climb on desks and chairs to cover it all up

alphabets, posters, charts, calendars, etc.

BUT, students are allowed to use calcultors and multiplication charts????????

kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

what are we really testing if students can simply calculate a problem?

if i tell my students multiplication facts are so important you have to memorize them and know them without hesitation all year long

and then on the one big test i give them a mulitplication chart

we haven't used one since last semester

can you imagine giving a third grader a calculator during a two hour test???

what do you think they will be doing...playing not calculating!

i find both calculators and a mulitplication chart a huge distraction for my kids, so i don't give them out.

maybe for the higher grades, but for us, no.

during this week we stress for kids to...go to bed early, eat a good breakfast, get to school on time

but what about the other 35 weeks of the school year?

are they any less important?

during this week we send any students with behavior problems, attention problems, etc. to small groups to test.

but what about the other 35 weeks of the school year?

i have to deal with them in a large groups setting, teach, discipline, contact parents, etc. all on my own.

during this week, we do not have homework.

but what about the other 35 weeks of the school year?  should i not give homework then either?

during this week we get a sack full of healthy snacks each day for the kids to eat.

but what about the rest of the year?  should a snack break not be equally important when we are oh...say...'just teaching'?

during this week we get a packet of neatly sharpened pencils.

but, what about the rest of the year?  yep, you guessed it...no pencils!

during this week we can have another adult/proctor in the classroom to help "administer" the test

but for the rest of the year i'm juggling it all alone!

during this one week students are expected to sit still at their desk and not get up for over an hour at a time.

but what about the rest of the year? 

i mean, if i'm "supposed" to be teaching in small groups, doing learning circles, centers, small groups, project based learning, tiered lessons, differentiated instruction, etc, etc. etc...

why are we then tested and measuring student growth in a way that doesn't compare?

what i'm saying is this...

if we (students, teachers, parents, community leaders, the media, district officials, state officials) put the same level of importance on the 35 weeks of the school year when we aren't testing

the one week we are testing would be a breeze! right?

kid's get confused

they don't understand the level of importance of these sorts of tests.

they don't understand why everyone is talking about it, making posters, having pep rallies, talking it up.

there are even local churches holding prayer walks in the schools

and i think that is great, but we need prayer walks all year long!

teacher tenure has been in the news a lot lately

education reform is all over the place

i'll be the first to say, public schools need improvement because we do

but, teachers can't be the only ones to take the blame of the big fat failure we've seen in recent decades.

it's interesting that magnet schools, private schools, and many charter schools have not experienced the decline that we have.  what's the correlation?

look at society, where are our morals, family values, ethics, and common sense?

when you don't find those things among the people you encounter everyday

then you won't find it among the student populations of public schools either

the behavior of some we see and hear on a daily basis is so absurd, so wrong, and so inappropriate it's crazy

we've all been desensitized to it now

and everything is accepted in the name of "you have a right to a free education with free transportation, and many times free breakfast, lunch, school supplies, and field trips"

and, i'm not talking about people who really need those things

i'm talking about people who abuse the system and then send their children to school with the same mindset

the sense of entitlement

the knowledge that we can't really do anything to them for their outrageous behavior

we have to take it all

because we are public schools

if you really want education reform

we need to begin to see this "free education" for what it really is

a gift

13 years of access to teachers, specialists, books, technology, tutoring, opportunity, etc.

and for those few who do not want to recieve the gift

they shouldn't be forced to make the rest of us miserable

they should be able to experience another gift

the gift of hard work

the 'hard to reach, hard to teach' students should understand on some level if i don't have an education

what will i be able to do in life

besides live off of the government?

what are we really teaching them when we allow some students to destroy the very system others have so fiercly fought to protect?

these days if you can't make it in your zoned public school, you get transferred to another school, if you can't make it there you go to an alternative school, if you can't make it there, tax payers have to pay for individual teachers to teach you at home.

you see how twisted the system is?

but what is the alternative?

if they drop out, they are surely to end up in juvenile or prison one day.

so when you see teachers out picketing about tenure, benefits, or education reform

please know that it's not about us trying to just disagree

it's about us standing together with a united voice and saying you have no idea what we go through on a daily basis

mr. president, arne duncan, congress, state legislature, state deptartment of educaiton, school board

all of "those people" who make the decisions about who is a master teacher or highly qualified or tenured or whatever

all of "those people" are not in schools each day

most of them have never even been a teacher

they only enter a school for a photo op, a ribbon cutting, or an awards ceremony

the precious few who have been teachers

got out of the classroom so fast it would make your head spin!

doctors are reviewed by a board of doctors

lawyers are reviewed by a board of lawyers

accountants are reviewed by accountants

teachers are told what to do, how to do it, and measured as effective by everyone except a teacher!

those of us fortunate enough to be working under good administrators are blessed

and i have it so good

most of the students at my school and in my room are wonderful

most of the families are great

but, it's that small percentage of "others" that really take away your feeling of accomplishment on a dailyy basis

your feeling of success, pride, and can do attitude

and that is the hardest part for me

feeling like i'm giving my best to the majority

when the minority are using up the majority of my time and energy.

enough said
moving on...

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on education, tenure, reform...

education nation

The nation is a-buzz this week with the special 'Education Nation' forum in New York City sponsored by NBC and others who have lots of money. Educators are listening and the teachers on my team have a lot to say...as usual! I'm not sure why these 6 ladies are not in charge of everything, because somehow in our 20 minute lunch period we sound off our ideas and opinions on most everything that has to do with education in between scarfing down our microwaved frozen entrees.  I teach with rock stars for sure!!

There is a new documentary out called 'Waiting for Superman'. A documentary made by a wealthy filmmaker who sends his own children to a private school in LA. He was on the "education" panel I watched on Sunday night along with singer/songwriter, John Legend. Did I miss something because I never knew John Legend was a teacher or had spent time inside a classroom? And then to my surprise, Oprah jumped in on the bandwagon last week and featured these issues on her show both Monday and Friday with a similar panel, but no teachers were represented.  Maybe we should get rid of all teachers and bring people like John Legend, Bill Gates, the movie producer, and the great Michelle Rhee from DC public schools into the classroom for a long while.

These panels (with no educators present) speaking on education reform is kind of of like having a spokeperson for abstinence who was not abstinent...hello Briston Palin??? I mean I don't have anything against her personally, but don't become a spokesperson and advocate for teens and preach abstinence and true love waits when you couldn't do it not do it yourself! True love waits...it waits until I'm in the back seat of the car with my boyfriend who tells me he loves me and I think sex translates to love. I could be a spokesperson for abstinence and BONUS, I've actually been abstinent! really, I have! but the thought of a 35 year old, single, never married woman being a spokesperson for teenagers would send them all out running for people to do it with! ha!!! but I digress}

now, back to our regular scheduled program~

Some of these people on the stage this week have no platform to speak against public schools...How many of these "reformers" have their own children in public schools? It's so interesting, in the hours and hours of debates and town halls that I've watched or read about so far very few people have brought up the words "parents" and/or "home life". People outside of education say we {teachers} are making excuses, but when do we hold parents accountable for their child's success? When do we work on the societal problems that have a huge impact on children? When do we start holding the children responsible for their own motivation? Everyone wants to blame teachers and while they are a big factor, there are many many more things that go into student success and until we stop this rhetoric and work on ALL the things that affect children, no one wins.

In the teacher town hall meeting that was aired on Sunday, the audience was full of teachers from across the nation. That room of people could have stayed and talked for hours and hours. There are so many problems with the way our education system is run today that nobody can even agree on where to start first! People are passionate about tenure, the length of the school year, charter schools, uniforms, teacher pay, evaluations, standardized testing, and on and on the list goes.

People have compared the United States to other countries around the world and we rank somewhere between 20-30 in Math and Reading.  But, of the countries whose students score above those of the students in the United States, how many of those schools are all-inclusive? We have to education everyone. We can turn no one away from our schools. Do these countries include everyone in their school systems??? Because to me, this would sway the survey results. Also I wonder if I moved to any of these countries if they would provide an English teacher for me if I didn't know the language. Would I even get an interpreter? Imagine the financial resources that our country spends each year providing Language services and interpreters for students and families who don't even speak English! Now, I'm not suggesting that we stop services to these students; I'm only pointing out that our resources are spread very thin in order to "meet the needs of every student".

Tonight on Larry King, Larry asked his education "panel" of folks "what is more important than having a great teacher?"...and THANK YOU to Ben Stein (of all people) for having a clue and answering "great parents"!

The bottom line is so easy to my colleagues and I. Kids will NOT succeed in school if their parents are not involved and pushing them to do so. The best teacher on the planet cannot make a child learn if the parent isn't holding that child accountable. If cheer-leading practice, football, and dance {for 7and 8 year olds} is more important than reading together, completing homework, and going above and beyond what even the teacher asks, then we'll never win this war. If you have no control over your kid, then how can we?   If you bad mouth the teacher at home in front of your kid, how will they ever show us respect?  If you don't know where your kid is at night, if they are involved in gangs, if you don't even know their teacher's name, your kid will not succeed.

Poverty is a huge issue.  Teaching in schools in inner city areas face an incredible challenge for even the best educator.  Teaching students who come from generational poverty and uneducated parents is a very hard battle.  Schools and teachers alone cannot make up for the deficiencies at homes and in neighborhoods. Some of the more recent charter schools are even set up like dormitories or boarding schools so students from underprivileged backgrounds have some hope of success, literally living at school from Monday-Friday. This would obviously be impossible to replicate on a national scale.


I am not trying to point my finger in any one direction here.  I think there is enough blame to go around to everyone.  But, I'd like the general public to know that hey...teachers are just regular people.  We are humans and can only do so much in the time we've been given.  We are not Superman!  I would like to see a huge reform...a real reform of our educational system.

And believe me, as a {new}parent, I'm even more fully aware of what my daughter needs to do in life in order to be successful.  I want her to have a great education, but I know as her mom, it's up to me.  I am the greatest determining factor in her future success.  I will not sit around and blame a teacher somewhere down the road for the cause of my daughters shortcomings.  I'm her parent, if she is lacking something, then it is up to me to teach it to her, fill in the gaps, or find someone who can.  I can't just plop her into school as a Kindergartner and expect in 13 years she will be college ready.  I have to work with her every night, weekends, and summers to take advantage of every teachable moment I can in order for her to compete on a global level with her peers for scholarships, internships, and future job opportunities.  Choosing a career for her...around 16 years from now will be vastly different than it is even now.   She will have to be a problem solver, a technology wiz, quick thinker, and bilingual just in order to be competitive.  While I do hope that her school career will pave the path to accomplish these things, I'm doing my part now also.

I'm hoping for real change, but I fear this week is just a big political stunt to get buzz words about educational reform out in the public's mind.  Next week everything will be quiet again...

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education nation

a little confirmation

don't you love it when God send you a little confirmation when you are in the midst of trial or doubt? from my previous post you may remember I was/am searching for my passion in my career (teaching). When I started teaching I was the most enthusiastic and creative teacher, but over the last 13 years that enthusiasm has waned over time. Most of the time I still love my job, but it seems mundane.

When we got back to school on Tuesday all of my little buddies came in anxious to greet me and I was reminded how much I enjoy my class. They are perhaps one of the most delightful groups I've had in recent years. Because of that I would LOVE to share my joy of receiving a referral for my daughter with them...but that is another story and may not happen.

However I had to share with you these two sweet 'love notes' two students gave me. It just reminded me of how much third graders look up to their teachers and love them. It put a little kick in my step for the week!

and here is a little note from one of my boys...simple but sweet!

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a little confirmation

it's a cold october morn...

and i haven't turned my heat on yet! i was waiting to have my heat serviced before I turned it on and they aren't coming until Monday. too bad for me that the high is 48 degrees today! I'm also waiting for the gas co. to check my gas logs before i turn them on and they are coming on Monday as well. naturally the forecast for next week is highs in the 60's and 70's...i won't need the fireplace on then. so this morning i made a pot of coffee and have many layers on...my thermostat says my house is 58 degrees! that is cold!! lucky for me i do have an electric blanket on my bed for nighttime!

I'm beginning my week of fall break today! we have a whole week off for the first time ever (we normally don't get a fall break in my district) so this break is a welcome relief! i have a very long to do list on my table but I'm taking it easy today as i merge into my break.

i have a praise to report on this post ? well, the situation reached it's peak with said student a few weeks ago when her mom called to basically tell me her daughter was a rude and disrespectful person because i did not send home enough happy notes (read: push the blame on me). of course, how could i single handily change the total persona of a person in 5 short weeks?? it must be my magical powers...but probably more likely it's that she has little to no responsibilities at home, gets everything she ever asks for, and has no consequences at home. Therefore said student is in shock at school to have to obey the rules like all of my other friends! Also mom told me her daughter is NEVER a problem at home (LIAR) and is only a problem at church and school!!!!!!!! At the end of the conversation, when she saw I was standing firm about the fact that her daughter's problem was not my lack of "happy notes" but rather her inability to accept authority, rules, and consequences...her mom hung up on me! Yes, she hung. up. on. her. child's. teacher! Now, I ask you ...would you hang up on your doctor, nurse, accountant or attorney? No, I don't think so! Teachers are the only professionals that get treated like crap on a daily basis and some people think it's justified. So sad. (I won't even start on the pay) This is why we need fall breaks, spring breaks, and summer breaks!!

OK...now to the praise! It's been about 2 weeks since this scenario and I've really prayed and tried to begin loving this child. It's hard. But, it's getting better. She has many positives and I did try to tell her mom that. Fast forward to Friday...the day before fall break...my principal comes to my room to tell me he was moving rude chick to another classroom when we return from fall break! I have to admit I was giddy with glee and happiness! She was the thorn in my side for the first 9 weeks of school and I dreaded my days with her because I knew she was going to suck me completely dry!

Don't get too excited for me because the other part of the story is that he is also switching another (boy) student into my room. Basically me and this other teacher are switching out two student/parent problems. This does not happen often and I usually don't recommend the principal bending to parent complaints. However, when the parents are so unwilling to work with you and are keeping a "check list" of sorts on everything you do and say to their children it does become an issue. So I'm getting a possible new behavior problem, but he's a boy and I can usually handle bad boys better than bad girls so I'm happy!

So thanks to anyone who prayed for me and my situation. I consider this a blessing and am looking forward to the second nine weeks of school!

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it's a cold october morn...

Girls Getaway

I'm about to head out on a girls getaway weekend with my three best friends! I can't wait to get out of town but had to post this hilarious 'teacher story' so you all could get a great laugh while I'm gone.

Figuring out student's pronunciation of names is always a challenge. You never know what syllables the parents want stressed and vowels may be long or short anymore because hey, let's face it....people are not hooked on phonics anymore! The normal "rules" for pronunciation do not apply. Throw in the dashes, hyphens, and accent marks and a name could be pronounced any number of ways, but this is the best one yet!

Name: Le-a

How might you guess to pronounce that?

Leeeeah or


Leah or perhaps


Laya....but no....it is actually pronounced




wait for it....
make sure you are sitting down...


Ledasha because as "mom" put it....
the dash is not silent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

enjoy and share!

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Girls Getaway

the un-lovable students...

I need more patience, lots more! please pray that i don't loose my job because i couldn't handle one of my students this year...and by couldn't handle i mean can't take her constant back talking, rolling eyes, stomping her feet, being mean to my kids, self entitled to everything personality, spoiled, rude, and disrespectful attitude any longer! now i loves me some lack of discipline challenges each year. i love to mold and shape them into the 'maze way' and watch their parents look on in a-maze-ment (pun intended!) give me some bad boys and i can work with it. give me some un-organization and i can go with it. give me some low performers and i can do it! but, don't give me the attitude riddled girl who has always gotten her way. i can't do that! I need more patience, lots more!

i AM NOT one to give up easy and i DO NOT send my kids to the office because i think it shows them you have given up and you have no control over them. bad thing to show them on week 5 of school! however, i have gone against my own better judgement and sent Ms. Horrible Attitude to the office on Wednesday and she was put in In School Suspension for Thursday. It was the best day of the school year, Thank you Jesus! The whole feeling of my classroom was dramatically different with this little **** out of the room. But this morning I am faced with walking back in the rink with her inside the ropes again and I'm not ready for the fight that will be ahead. I really am trying to let some things slide and not provoke her, but there are rules and my rules must be followed. She is the kind of student that once she gets in trouble, even for a small thing, she melts down and is horrible the rest of the day. I need more patience, lots more! The sad thing is the rest of my kids are really good hearted little friends. They are sweet, excited about learning, and appreciative. I. really like them. But one bad apple does spoil the whole bunch sometimes and this is a classic case. I need more patience, lots more!

OK, I'm about the journey on to school. i can do this, i think i can, i think i can! i have done it for 13 years....oh the thrill of the fight ahead!

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the un-lovable students...

looking forward to fall...

these are just a few little things i'm lookin' forward to decorating my home with this fall! i know, i know...the summer heat is still upon us and fall doesn't officially begin to mid september but i've already got my creative juices a flowin'! my summer decor is coming down and fall decor is about to go up!




but, before this goes up i am planning a birthday dinner for my sister:) and a baby shower for one of my besties at the end of august! i'm going to spend the weekend working in my front yard (i did my side yard this weekend). i've got a lot of weeding to do and some planting/digging/ and replanting! should be fun!

the first week of school is almost to a close and i think i've got a pretty good group of kiddos! there are always exceptions to the rule, but i think i'm going to like them!

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looking forward to fall...

Happy Birthday, President Lincoln!

You probably didn't know (unless you are an Elementary School teacher!) that today (February 12th) is President Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday! We invite an Abraham Lincoln impersonator to our school every year. If you live in the Middle Tennessee area, you can invite him to your school by visiting his website. His similarity with the real Lincoln is a bit eerie, but the presentation is fabulous!

Don't forget to check out my giveaway at the post below if you need a free blog makeover!

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Happy Birthday, President Lincoln!

Christmas Tradition #21

Christmas Tradition #21

School Christmas Party

Ok, so this tradition isn't a family thing. But of course every year I celebrate 'winter holidays' (because we can't only call it Christmas anymore) with my class.

This year's gift for everyone was a wallet and a miniature globe...thanks the Target's dollar bin this summer!

Good food!

For this relay they had to run to the chair, put on mittens, unwrap a hersey kiss, eat it, and run back to line and tag the next player. Very fun!






For this relay, they had to hold hands and pass Christmas bows down the line without using their hands...I didn't expect the 'germ passing' element of this game because when we started they all wanted to use their mouths to pass with! Gross!!! I originally thought they'd use their chins and elbows, but they did differently. I thought the parents were going to die when they used their mouth!

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Christmas Tradition #21

Field Trip!

This Thursday we took our first field trip to the Sam Davis Home which is a historic home of a confederate hero from our area. It is a beautiful home on almost 200 acres of land. The kids loved seeing the cotton crops, the old home, the museum and everything else that went with the trip. Here are some good pictures of our fun day out of school...

We took part in some 'old fashioned' games like potato sack races.

We took a hay ride on the way to pick a pumpkin.

This is the Sam Davis Home

We got to each pick a pumpkin and take back to school. Next week we will paint them into globes as we learn map skills and the names of the continents and oceans. I'll post pictures because they usually turn out so cute!

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Field Trip!

True Story...

Yesterday was parent conference day, so we had a day without students. We have a neighborhood next to our school and sometimes the kids come and play on the playground when school is not in session. So yesterday some boys were playing on the playground and a teacher whose room is beside the playground had her window open. One of the boys said, "Man, I have to go pee"...she thought this was interesting and poked her head out the window (he didn't realize she could hear him) and she said, "What did you just say?", he said, "I had to go pee"...she said, "And, did you"...he said yes, mam. Yes, he just went ahead and peed outside on our building! So she said, "Meet me at the door"...she later discovered this was one of my good friends, one of my sweet student who had made the infraction on the playground.

She went on to take him to the janitors office to get some bleach water to clean the side of the building with. The janitor said, "What did you do?"...the boy said, "I pissed outside on the playground!"

She told me that this morning and I thought it was soo funny!!!

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True Story...

Thank you!!

My most faithful blog follower, Suzy, sent me a $25 gift card to Staples (my favorite office supply store) for School Supplies! I think she felt sorry because of this post and wanted to help a teacher!! Suzy, thank you so much! That is so sweet of you!!! I'm going to buy something really great to use in the classroom (I have a long wish-list) and I'll post pictures for you to see.

The Science lessons and experiments with rocks are still in progress...check out these little geologists:





All of those rocks came from a hands on science kit we get 4 times a year. Honestly, I never opened any of them last year because who can concentrate on 'hands on activities' when you have complete thugs and crazy people in your classroom?? The rocks would have become weapons and they probably would have aimed them at me! But this year, these little sweeties have gained all my admiration!! I wonder if I can loop all the way to 12th grade with them??


This is a picture of fossils from my grandfathers collection. He was an avid collector of fossils (aka rocks if you asked my grandmother) and he would sit and study them for hours. He has them all categorized with index cards to describe what they are. He cleaned them and shellacked them to keep the nice. My kids are loving the chance to look at them!

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Thank you!!

Fun Experiments with my class

Since I actually have a great group of kids this year, I was able to do some fun experiments with them this week. I hope the trend continues throughout the school year. I've found since I have taught school for 12 years (mostly third grade) that each year I'm able to incorporate something different into each year. Some traditions stick and some are tossed out depending on their success rate. Last year I was so burned out I didn't do many interesting things with the group I had, however this year I'm motivated to improve. For one thing I was bored and I know my kids were bored too. I made a promise to myself not to let standardized testing take the zha zha zoom out of my teaching. After all, it's in the fun things that kids actually learn and grow...not to mention remember as the year goes on. My two favorite things to do is to scrapbook and cook. So that's what I'm incorporating this school year into my classroom. The learning is still taking place, so don't fret people!

Lemonade was invented in Paris in August of 1630 when sugar imported from the French West Indies dropped in price. Despite its Parisian roots, lemonade in Europe is quite different nowadays – it's carbonated. It's been really hot here, so Friday afternoon we celebrated this 'invention' and made our own. The kids were able to wash the lemons, cut them in half (with supervision), juice them, measure the sugar and make a 'mixture', and then we added bottled water. They were surprised it tasted so good.

We are studying Rocks and Minerals and we took the time to also make some 'igneous' rock (chocolate chips melted and then cooled again), 'sedimentary rocks' (layers of wheat and white bread pressed together), and 'metamorphic rock' (same bread rolled together with a rolling pin). The loved it and actually "understood" about the different types of rocks!

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Fun Experiments with my class

School Update

I've finished two weeks of school now and am now back on a routine and schedule like regular working people. But, oh how I miss my lazy days of summer they went by so quickly. I have 22 lovely friends this year who I have really enjoyed getting to know. For the most part they are sweet, funny, and smart. I have some really nice parents who are able to help when needed. You know, it's funny... when you have a class you really enjoy being with for 7 1/2 hours a day you actually are inspired to do more fun things with them. I'm planning some fun activities for them this week as we begin our rocks and minerals unit in Science. I'll try to post some pictures. I'm incorporating some cooking activities for random holidays and interesting events such as last week was the anniversary of the 'invention" of lemonade...

Lemonade was invented in Paris in 1630 when sugar imported from the French West Indies dropped in price. Despite its Parisian roots, lemonade in Europe is quite different nowadays – it's carbonated.

So we're making a large pitcher of lemonade to enjoy because it's still very hot here and the kids love learning these random things. Also, I always bring a large plastic clear bottle of ice water to school each day and it has a slice of lemon or lime in it. My kids have noticed that and asked me about it last week. One little boy asked "where do you buy the lemons?"...so sad! He'd actually never heard of putting fresh fruit in drinks and certainly didn't know where to buy lemons! So I'm buying some super fine sugar, lemons, water, and a large pitcher to make our special treat this week. I have lots of other ideas for this year, but I need to buy a counter top toaster oven to make some of our future concoctions.

If you are interested in searching for other random holidays you can search www.holidaysforeveryday.com

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School Update

The First Week of School

Before

After

After countless hours of working in my classroom it was finally ready. I think I worked (for free) about 10 days, plus the one day that I spent in court all day to testify for one of my student's in a custody battle. It always amazes me the conditions in which teachers are expected to accomplish a great task. If I had not gone into work for 10 days my student's would have walked into the room in photos #1-4. Can you imagine? I spent another 2 - 3 days on the hunt for the cheapest school supplies for my new friends. I went to Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, Walmart, and Target on the hunt to find pencils, glue, and folders for as cheap as possible. Do you know they do not supply teachers with pencils and paper? Who could imagine?? Our school system is currently being 'taken over' by the state because we haven't met AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) on our standardized tests...No Child Left Behind. I wonder if it has ever occurred to these 'higher ups' to maybe give teachers some ding dang paper and pencils????? Don't get me started about working conditions, technology, and appropriate textbooks for every child?

Disclaimer: We do get $100 for "setting our room up early"...by my calculations that is about $1.00/hour, they are so nice! We also get $300 for supplies throughout the school year. I spend about $1,000 a year, from beginning to end...that's only $700 of my own money, not too bad I guess. So I probably have it better than most places. The first year of teaching, I spent probably $3,000-5,000 on stuff to get started....making a grand total of $21,000/year!!!!! I wish I had kept a total. Each year since then my expenses have gone down. Tip for any new teachers out there: Don't do what I did.

I also work at a school that ROCKS and my principal is the BEST person you could ever meet. So even if they cut my pitiful salary in half I would still work there...well maybe I'd have to make more money, but you get the point! I LOVE my school and... bonus this year I think I will actually LOVE my students!

The first week of school went by quickly. I have 22 new friends and they seem to be a very likable group...I may not have to break up any gang activity this year (yes in third grade)! My parents seem nice and supportive.

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The First Week of School

The countdown continues...

Only 5 more days of school until my blissful 10 week summer vacation! One of the best perks of being a teacher is the wonderful schedule and as I've mentioned before after this particular school year I deserve it! After my therapeutic session of writing the 'countdown' post I had an 'anonymous' comment left on the comment section. Evidently my harsh and seemingly insensitive tone struck a nerve with someone. I thought about her comment for a while and had many thoughts.

First of all I write my blog in order to chronicle my life as a whole. It started as a way to pass the time during the paper pregnancy stage of the adoption, but later I realized it will include my journey through adoption, my family, my career, my spiritual life, and so much more. After I started blogging I realized it was a healthy way for me to record my feelings about life and where God has lead me, what God is teaching me, and how I'm measuring up...so to speak. I'm not perfect, never claim to be, never will be. I make mistakes and I've made a lot of mistakes this year in my classroom. I'm human.

However, I still believe passionately in my calling to be a teacher in public school. I believe I do make a difference. My students have made tremendous academic, social, and personal gains this school year and will leave my classroom a better person than they were.

I love my kids and I love my students...THAT is why I care so deeply about all of the situations that I wrote about. I know I wrote with a sarcastic tone...sarcasm and humor is how I write and how I speak sometimes. So please don't get offended at how I may describe my students. After this school year ESPECIALLY I don't need to be criticized because I can promise you I've put up with a lot more than what most people could have dealt with.

In her comment she wrote "have you ever considered you are in the wrong profession"...absolutely not! Just because I've had a bad day, a bad week, or a bad year doesn't mean I need to find a new career. Interestingly enough, that is exactly what most teachers do though. They get burned out, feel unappreciated and quit, they move on. Many of them are excellent teachers or have the potential to be excellent, but our school systems and society beat them down so hard they can't get back up.

I am a Middle Childhood Specialist with the highest credentials a teacher can achieve (National Board Certified Teacher). I'm proud of my career, my achievements, and I will continue to teach and hold the bar very high for my students. They need a challenge and they need high expectations. We should not accept anything less that their best.

There is always room for improvement and that is why I'm so glad I get to start each August new and fresh with a different class...a different set of challenges. (Hopefully this year it won't be quite so many challenges!) I spend my summer "vacation" reading and researching the web for new teaching strategies, new behavior management techniques, new and fresh ideas. I never recreate the same class experience from one year to the next.

What I would love to know is who 'anonymous' is and how you found my blog just out of curiosity. Thanks to the two other ladies who commented on that post! Your thoughts are very encouraging! In the future if you don't like what you're reading on a blog, just don't read it. And please don't pass superficial judgements on people because of what they write when you don't know them personally.

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The countdown continues...

Let the Countdown begin...

Yes folks, I have only 10 more days of school and I'm counting the hours and minutes until I can walk out of that classroom. One of those days is an in service day, one is a 1/2 day, and one is Fun Fest, so if you are really talking about real "instructional" (and I say that loosely as we all know the last week of school is about me giving kids busy work so I can somehow complete the mound of paperwork required to send these kids on the to next grade) time I only have 7 days left. The mere thought of finally being rid of this particular class makes me break into a fine rendition of "If you're happy and you know it clap your hands..."!!! In two weeks when I head off to the beach I'll be changing the lyrics to "If you're happy and you know it have a cocktail"...I'm not a lush, so don't go AA on me but this year has been really difficult.

For all of the non-educators out there, I know you find this hard to believe. How could 8 and 9 year olds be so difficult. They shouldn't be, but this in a nutshell is what I've been battling:

* 5 boys that have made up their own gang, complete with graffiti, hand signs, and a name...this has been going on all year. They are B.A.D., rude, disrespectful, and just plain unlikeable. Sorry people, I'm being honest here. All year long I cannot get a complete sentence out of my mouth (maybe that is one reason they cannot write a complete sentence...they've never heard one) before they are looking around at each other sharing hand signs and laughing. I told them all if I see them them put their hands in any kind of funny 'sign' I would give them so many write offs their pencil would be permanently stuck to their hand as they go into 4th grade next year. Do you think that kind of discipline is going to win me any 'Teacher of the Year" award??

* 3 ADHD kids NOT on any medication. I'm not a proponent of drugging our children, just drugging them when I'm expected to teach them something. I promise if any of the parents in question had to actually be with these kids for 7+ hours a day and if they were held accountable for actually teaching them a skill they would do something about their children's lack of ability to sit for longer than 10 seconds. These kids will be whisked away to daycare and/or summer camp before you can say "School's out!" and next year the teacher will have the exact same problems I've had. The parents will promise to do something, but yet do nothing. Perpetuating the problem so the kids will have virtually no success in school and will begin hating it. This could lead me into a whole other topic of 'if parents could actually parent and discipline their children we wouldn't have to medicate them' but that is another story.

* One boy came to our room in December and quickly 'joined' the aforementioned gang. He is repeating 3rd grade after he should have gone to summer school. He decided not to get up and attend so therefore he has to repeat the whole grade. He comes to school when it's convenient for him, usually he chooses "bankers hours"...you know he'll roll in about 9am after we are finished with at least one subject for the day. He's smart, in fact so smart he knows how the system works so he knows he can't fail again no matter how lazy he is. He'll be a great citizen because of these wonderful lessons he's learned from watching his parents raise him so well. (notice my sarcastic voice here)...I'm thinking of nominating his parents for 'Parent of the Year'.

* One boy in my room is involved in a custody battle between mom and dad. I was subpoenaed into court one day to testify in this situation.

* One boy has severe emotional issues and has an undiagnosed mental illness that makes it impossible to function in a typical school day. It's 'undiagnosed' because mom has refused testing for so long that nobody wants to fight her about this. It's hard to tell her the truth because she has only an elementary education herself and thinks with every conversation that we're just wanting to 'put him in resource'. Really that is not the goal here, the goal would be that your son had the communication and social skills of a 10 year old (he's been held back before too) and not a 2 year old. The goal would be that your son could go to recess and play with other children instead of stand and cry and scream for no apparent reason. The goal would be that I could get through the day without some adult asking me what is wrong with this kid...to which I have to respond "don't know". This 5-star mom sent me a note with the last report card (in which I gave the kid a D+ in Reading) and it said how I was an awful teacher and I hadn't "learned him anything this year" everything he has learned she taught him....you think, because I couldn't tell???????????????

* Another boy has major problems at home with crazy parents and as such deep emotional problems he can't control or doesn't control his need to go to the bathroom. He has a BM on himself every day, several times a day in fact. He wears pull ups (now) and misses a lot of class because he spends his time in the bathroom or nurses office changing himself each day. It's so sad, again I could explain a lot here but it would be TMI!!

* One girl saw her dad die of a drug overdose last year and her mom gave her up to live with her grandmother. She's lived through a lot!

* One boy is a kleptomaniac, steels anything within reach. He gets mad frequently and pushes his books off his desk and throws his desk and chair around. MAJOR problem, but I actually kind of like this kid.

* One girl in my room lost her mother this year, she and her 2 siblings moved in to live with an aunt who is fabulous, but not her mom. She's buried her mom, moved to another state, changed schools, moved into another living situation, and has earned straight A's all year...she's a superstar! But, still I haven't had time to help her deal with her life because of the other idiots in my classroom.

Do you see why I need a drink on my vacation???????? These are just the problems I'm rambling off at the top of my head. I haven't even gotten to the actual teaching part. After I've dealt with these emotional and behavioral problems I love the fact that I have 10 minutes left in the day to teach the other 7 subjects! I really have some (very few) students who are super sweet and well behaved. I want to tell their parents I'm sorry their child has had to deal with such...but isn't that a good life lesson for them?

As I close, I want to tell all of the fabulous teachers out there "Happy Teacher Appreciation Week"...did you know you should have appreciated the teacher in your life this week? Probably not because it's warped in with Mother's Day, Graduation, Nurses Day, among other Hallmark created events. I'm so lucky that my school did 'appreciate' the teachers by creating a 'spa' in one of our vacant portables. We were able to go during planning for a massage and yummy food. Our wonderful administration gave us a school logo polo shirt and said 'Thank You". Sometimes that is the best gift of all..



If you are a teacher in need of a great laugh or just love teacher stories, check out this blog. It's so funny and I can usually relate to everything she has said.

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Let the Countdown begin...

Crime Stoppers

OK, yes this was the scene outside of my third grade classroom around 9:30 a.m. this morning! Interesting, huh? This is what went down...around 9:15 they announced we were under a "lock down" and so I locked my classroom door and went on with usual business. We have drills a few times a year and have had a couple 'real' potential problems. But, nothing really on campus like today. I noticed after a few minutes that I heard a helicopter circling our school and he kept getting closer and closer. I called another teacher's room and asked her if this was the 'real thing' and she said she thought so.

OK, my kids were diligently working on a reading assignment and I kept walking by the classroom windows looking at the helicopter. Then I see 3 young boys running around outside as if they are looking for a place to hide. They crawl under one of the portables you see in the picture. I totally freak out for a second! I mean, I'm seeing real criminals right outside my window! I call the secretary and tell her and she calls the police (who were already on campus or really close) they proceed to come around the the portable area and 2 of the guys come out. The police had very large gun aimed right at them. (I think at least one of the boys were armed too) The police were yelling at them "get down, get down" and my kids heard them. They were looking at me like, 'what's up?' Meanwhile the third boy is still hiding under a portable (the one on the side of the picture with the red door) and the police didn't see him for a moment. I call the secretary again and tell her where the third guy is. Finally they get him out too. They handcuffed them all and away they went.

You can read the whole story here.

Overall, it has been a very exciting day! My kids did very well with all of the commotion and we're all thankful that nobody was hurt in any way. Needless to say, I'm ready for the weekend!

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Crime Stoppers