It started raining today. My favorite weather. I suppose because I get all melancholy and such... The cool crisp air, the scent of the rain on concrete, and a hot cup of orange tea makes my day.
This year so far I am enjoying the few moments I get to sit and breathe without interruption. I know in the future those moments will be few and far between. I treasure the time right now that I have before my life gets into too much of routine that I forget to stop and smell the roses so to say.
Life has been better here where we moved to. The northern part of California tends to move at a slower and less stressful pace. It took some getting used to again for me to slow down. Here I sit during one of those times... The laundry is done... granted not put away yet ;-) But it is finished and I am able to relax for a few minutes before I have the next project to move on to.
The house we have been living in has been partially under construction. We are painting, replacing, and fixing different things around the place. Paint is on most of the walls and now that the rain is here we have to get a few more things fixed before we are able to fully move in all the furniture and unpack all the boxes. I really dislike living out of boxes.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
The 36th year...
Today marks my 36th year on this earth... Yes, my birthday is today. And how do I feel now that I am 36, you ask? Hmmm.... a bit like I did yesterday. I feel much loved and cherished. It is the first time I have ever had a student give me a birthday present... (a bag of gummi worms and gummi bears) :) Two of my classes sang Happy Birthday to me and the same student who got me the candy also bought the class mini cupcakes. :) I feel loved! Never before have I had such caring students. What a difference a few hundred miles makes.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Lier, lier, pants on fire...
One of my students decided to lie about his reading score. We do Accelerated Reader and he took the tests all last year and this year. He knew that he wouldn't have to read as much if he scored lower.
Little ole me, a former special education teacher, noticed that he scored higher last year than this year. I did a little investigation and 'Oh my!' I found that he got a really high score last year (not a fluke). He also scored a full grade and a half lower than his last score in May of last year. Hmmmmm... suddenly I saw a red flag.
When I alerted his mother she asked him about his reading skills. He said he "doesn't like to read, not he doesn't know how to read..." He admitted to his mom that he faked his scores last year and already this year. Tomorrow, the poor little fellow will re-take his reading test a third time this year. Since, he knowingly blew it this year twice. I think some consequences will happen...
Little ole me, a former special education teacher, noticed that he scored higher last year than this year. I did a little investigation and 'Oh my!' I found that he got a really high score last year (not a fluke). He also scored a full grade and a half lower than his last score in May of last year. Hmmmmm... suddenly I saw a red flag.
When I alerted his mother she asked him about his reading skills. He said he "doesn't like to read, not he doesn't know how to read..." He admitted to his mom that he faked his scores last year and already this year. Tomorrow, the poor little fellow will re-take his reading test a third time this year. Since, he knowingly blew it this year twice. I think some consequences will happen...
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Similarities
At school we have been using Project Wisdom in Advisory. The first week was called New Beginnings and this last week was called Clean Slate. I don't think the students quite all get why a clean slate is a good thing. Many of them haven't been through anything really tough yet.
It is different to be in a community where the children are protected and cared for rather than treated as equal to an adult. Having experienced teaching in a poverty stricken area and now an area where people are a little more careful with their money I am shocked by the differences in the children.
I see how children can be treated as they should be. Protected from bits of society that are rough and exposed through conversation and knowledge rather than experience. The children I worked with before had seen too much and experienced too much for their young fragile minds. It hardens them and creates a pattern they wish to remain in the rest of their lives.
I am so very thankful to be able to see the differences and be a part of the plan in life to help guide young minds in the directions that they should go. To encourage and strengthen them is a blessing. When before I was just helping children remember that they are only children and that life is not about growing up so fast.
It is different to be in a community where the children are protected and cared for rather than treated as equal to an adult. Having experienced teaching in a poverty stricken area and now an area where people are a little more careful with their money I am shocked by the differences in the children.
I see how children can be treated as they should be. Protected from bits of society that are rough and exposed through conversation and knowledge rather than experience. The children I worked with before had seen too much and experienced too much for their young fragile minds. It hardens them and creates a pattern they wish to remain in the rest of their lives.
I am so very thankful to be able to see the differences and be a part of the plan in life to help guide young minds in the directions that they should go. To encourage and strengthen them is a blessing. When before I was just helping children remember that they are only children and that life is not about growing up so fast.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Refresing
There is hope in parents... I guess for the last 10 years I have been dealing with parents of students who didn't really give a hoot as to how their children acted. They always had some excuse as to why their students can't do this and can't do that.
Back to School night was tonight and I was shocked at how many parents told me to call them or to email them when their child acts out! There is hope in humanity. There is hope in parents actually parenting their children to be respectful of others.
Working in a impoverished area really takes its toll. Some people have no clue what it is like to work in those trenches where the parents are just as awful as the students with disrespect. Even the special ed parents don't fully get how hard a teacher works just to maintain classroom conduct for 10 minutes! It is a never ending battle and I pray for those teachers that they can continue in their chosen line of work. Bless them!
Back to School night was tonight and I was shocked at how many parents told me to call them or to email them when their child acts out! There is hope in humanity. There is hope in parents actually parenting their children to be respectful of others.
Working in a impoverished area really takes its toll. Some people have no clue what it is like to work in those trenches where the parents are just as awful as the students with disrespect. Even the special ed parents don't fully get how hard a teacher works just to maintain classroom conduct for 10 minutes! It is a never ending battle and I pray for those teachers that they can continue in their chosen line of work. Bless them!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Survival
Lately, it feels like I have been just getting by. In reality, I have been. It is hard living out of boxes and with only a little fridge. The joys of moving into a house from an apartment. Slowly but surely things will come together. I'm just glad my classroom was ready for students this last week and that I will be ready for Back to School night next week.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
First Day at School
Today was my first day teaching general education. It is such a lovely thing. The students are in need of a good teacher. Already I see I have my work cut out to challenge those who need it and help those who are struggling.
The biggest challenge I am going to find for myself is speaking and writing English. I tend to throw in made up words and speak in not so perfect sentences. A lot of it comes from living in Hawaii for a year. I picked up quite a lot of pigeon while there. I came back with an accent that my mother did not like. She had a really tough time with it. I on the other hand did not.
Anyways, back to how my first day of school went. I had students do a free write today about a picture of a kid snorkeling. It was interesting how many of the eighth grade students couldn't write as well as the seventh grade students. The creativeness of the seventh graders is beyond what the eighth graders could produce.
Which leads me to know that I have much more to do to get many of the students up to where they need to be. The school lost 70 API points this last year and I see where the deficit is in the eighth grade. I already feel the pressure of this and I know that I can do the best that I can for these students this year.
The biggest challenge I am going to find for myself is speaking and writing English. I tend to throw in made up words and speak in not so perfect sentences. A lot of it comes from living in Hawaii for a year. I picked up quite a lot of pigeon while there. I came back with an accent that my mother did not like. She had a really tough time with it. I on the other hand did not.
Anyways, back to how my first day of school went. I had students do a free write today about a picture of a kid snorkeling. It was interesting how many of the eighth grade students couldn't write as well as the seventh grade students. The creativeness of the seventh graders is beyond what the eighth graders could produce.
Which leads me to know that I have much more to do to get many of the students up to where they need to be. The school lost 70 API points this last year and I see where the deficit is in the eighth grade. I already feel the pressure of this and I know that I can do the best that I can for these students this year.
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