observation

The weirdest thing happened toward the end of the observation...the class started working I was getting some student edits in, different people had moved around to get supplies and then suddenly, like the seven minute lull, everyone was in their seat, working independently, and just doing. I looked at my class, looked at the principal, looked back at my class and said, " This doesn't happen very often. They are acting like the stepford classroom." He, in turn said, that he had poked his head into several classes this week, and each time the students were also at work. Weird!
Oh, and team t-shirts got a lot of positive feed back from other teachers and students. Part of the discussions for citizenship week included a Nickelback video (on youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-QfLJbEN3k )

started crying while watching...i'm such a wimp

GO Team!

Tomorrow I get to be observed by the principal again. He's coming into my E.L.L. Social Studies class. This is the group I get to have the best connection with(and not only because I see them for more than 30 minutes each day). Every morning these kids are asking me to sing. I'll admit, I started it. The morning announcement end with : Have a _________ day. And some of the days have been "zippity do dah," "supercalifragilistic," "groovy," or "snappy." And to help explain the word I have sung snippets of songs that have the word. some days, I draw a total blank. Snappy had me demonstrating snapping my fingers and singing a bit of "Fever." (From a PBS pseudo-commercial). So tomorrow, we'll be dressed in our team t-shirts (team international) finishing up the discussion on citizenship week video of the day, and then working on the "This land is my Land" project.
The project has the students studying about their home countries using the five themes of geography (location,place, regions, movement, and human and environmental interactions). So there will be some chaos and only minimal teaching. The best kind of day for me! But not too sure how observable it is. oh well, this was on the schedule, so not changing it now.

Caring and Collaborative

Another one of those teacher 1/2 days. We started with a staff meeting. Caring and collaborative is sort of the school catch-phrase for how we are to work together as a staff. the staff meeting started with sort of an enforced form of being caring and collaborative members of the school/community. A couple of the United Way folk spent the first fifteen minutes of the staff meeting encouraging us all to give more than we did last time. Admittedly this appeal does not get me feeling at all jazzed and warm and fuzzy. I prefer my giving to be directed in a way that I know that I agree with rather than some blanket organization that has its own people make that decision. This is not to say that i am against the idea of the United Way (supporting a lot of good organizations), it's just that I want more of the control....and yes I AM a bit of a control freak on the things i can control. Then the meeting moved on to Thank Yous. Our principal did this last year, so at least I knew what was going on. Various people gave a verbal thank you to someone on the staff. The principal provided candy for the recipients. Another way to show what a caring and collaborative group we are.
I sometimes question myself..."Am i being caring? Do I collaborate?" I think one of my biggest struggles is that I am used to relying on what I can do, that I don't/won't ask for help. I have a colleague who knows some of the financial struggles last year posed and has offered from time to time to float a loan. (If you didn't know, teachers here get paid once a month so sometimes payday is pretty far off). I haven't taken her up on the offer because of that self-reliance streak that say, "only from family."

So I wonder by not allowing someone else to be caring, am I being collaborative?

And another day of meetings

I'm not exactly sure which it was today, a waiver day, and in-service, or maybe something else; but for once i found the meeting more interesting than usual. Instead of going to one more ELL meeting (and some of those can be well, let's just say on the somnabulistic side), i chose to meet with the social studies people.

Let me say this first, i haven't had a social studies class for almost six years, so most of the teaching has been pure joy and generally my planning is not a paper thing. Can't write a rough draft 'til after I'm finished, so planning is often backwards for me. I see exactly what i want to teach and then can write it down. We were a very small group (influenced I think by the no child left behind act, many of the teachers who could be teaching social studies are sticking to reading and writing so once again have left behind most of what was once fun about learning...and although Bush may emphasize citizenship, without a model all the readin', and ritin', and rithmatic, can be dull, but i digress). Just some of the sixth, one of the seventh, and a few of the eight grade teachers met to discuss not only what we are doing individually, but also looking at how we were linking to state and district learning requirements.

Since my ELL social studies group has all grade levels, i really did want to hear what other teachers were doing to see if what was in/on my mind fell in with what others were doing. Happy to say that, "Yes, it did. " And now on the front seat of my car is my curriculum. Or the beginning of it. I might even type it up and tweak it a little over the weekend. And i am even a little ahead of schedule is some ways. Coming up in a couple weeks, the school is celebrating "Citizenship Week." I can honestly say the my group has already been discussing what it means to be a citizen. And for a room of mostly non-citizens of this county not an easy topic to grasp. That same week, i will again be observed by the principal (yippee!).

On a family note, remembering Mom and smart, sarcastic, opinionated...i think we all have had at least one of those qualities bite us on the butt....

October and it gets busier and busier

In the last week i have taught my regular classes and subbed for someone in the afternoon everyday since last Thursday. I'm not really complaining, don't get me wrong, i love teaching little 6th graders about sea-floor spreading and the mid ocean ridges. It's just getting a little tiring when you couple it together with meetings (teacher book club - Tuesday, team meeting Wednesday, MYD meeting -Monday, and volunteering once a week at one of the sports events-usually Wednesday). There are days that I get to school at 6:45 just to get ready for classes that start at 8:20. I can't prep after school since there is someone else in the classroom I share. The computer that I am supposed to use doesn't recognize me and the work order is on back order. it's just a little overwhelming this week. No, I'm not complaining and you can't make me say that i am!
And now for something completely different (thank you Monty Python)... One of my co-workers is doing a canned food book drive. Sounds weird doesn't it. My co-worker is part of a service project for a food bank and is looking for gently used books suitable for children between the ages of six months and 16 years. We can feed the child but sometime we forget that kids need the books that will spark their imaginations. My school district is pretty evenly split in the rich side water side and the poor side highway side. We may not be literally on the other side of the railroad tracks, but what our kids have is pretty sad. So when your thinking about how to create more space in you own homes, if you have a book or two that your own kids have out grown (but not wore out) let me know and I'll find a time to visit and pick them up.

bless someone with the joy you have received