Monday, October 27, 2008

"I want to learn how to speak Mexico"

So, in my alternative certification program, we have to do these classes once every two weeks. Basically, these classes show us different things about lesson planning and tests and blah blah blah. Most of what they teach only work in perfect world scenarios....a lot of the time, you just don't HAVE the time. They mean well, but hey--I don't be doin' half the stuff we learn about. Anyways, these classes are about an HOUR away from my school. Today, I was doin' good till I got to that dam 75 and then I was in traffic for the next 30 mins of the drive. So I'm listenin' to my Robin Thicke and just wishing I was already at the place. I'm driving, CLEARLY minding my own business when WHAM! I struck another car. I was making a left hand turn. Duke had to have seen me cuz my blinker was on and everything. I took the blame (which my stepfather later told me I shouldn't have) and was just real cool about it. Meanwhile, my whip is DONE-ZO for this week which thwarts the ill Halloween plans I had jumping off this friday. I SAY GAT DAM! If it ain't one thing its another. Now my pockets is finna be hurt until next paycheck and my thanksgiving trip to Cleveland is no doubt out the window. However, Thank God no one was hurt because that's the important thing right? DAM ALL THAT, I NEED MY CAR! Hey, I mean--people always say "Thank God you ain't hurt" but you know good and full well in the back of your mind you are pissed cuz of a) the money you got to spend to fix your car and b) the fact you gotta be hitchin' rides for the next week or two. Wompity womp womp!

School

Well, today we are wrapping up Energy. We have been on Energy for about 3 weeks and I am giving them a test this Friday. I gave them way more homework (formative assessments) so the test grades should be a lot better than what they were before. I hope so. Tomorrow, I don't really know what we are going to do--I have a lab planned, but I don't even know what the lab is doing, so I'd have to run around first thing in the morning to see how to set it up. I'll be honest, a lot of them time I just WING IT. I may have a general lesson plan/idea but depending on the class period, what works in 2nd may flop in 7th. So, hopefully I'll get some divine intervention and some awesome super cool lesson will pop into my head early tomorrow morning (which has happened ya know) I put in grades this past weekend and dammit what is with these kids and this homework? AND IT'S THE SAME PEOPLE, all the time. It's like "have I ever gotten homework from you?" Then some kids readily admit to doing one teacher's homework one night and another's the next night and blah blah blah. I'm like...look--homework is extra practice for you guys. Little to they know, test questions will be a compilation of homework problems, or problems very similar to them. Then, there were people who I couldn't believe they did it! I know for one guy who turned it in, I was like "WHAT? You did it!?" So the homework issue is getting better for some....but for others, they clearly do NOT care. I've written in planners and put comments on report cards---in a minute, I'm about to start calling home. Other than that, this Chapter was a lot easier than the section on Chemical Properties and chemical changes. I REEEEALLY hope these benchmarks are better because I used the book more in my lesson planning. Everything the book covered, I covered. There are some additional standards that I need to sprinkle in over the next couple of days.....I'm still working on how I am going to do that. I want to do something on Benjamin Franklin, and Micheal Faraday (invented the electricity generator) and I also what to do some more discussions on the importanance of energy conservation.

Parent Teacher Conference

Today, we had a pt conference with one boy and his mama. first, can I please discuss why the mama showed up wit' this mysterious character....that I wasn't sure if it was the dad or a brother or whatever. So I'm lookin' "him" throughout and the conference and then I'm like "wtf...is that a GIRL!?" So after the mama left, the other teachers of course brought up the mysterious "man" and I was like "yo....that was a girl." So the one teacher goes and asks the boy who was that and he was like "that's my aunt" LOL. Anyway, this kid is really nice but he just talks too much about the other students, and then they talk about him and its just back and forth....blah blah blah. Smart kid--SMART. He gets caught up in the dumb stuff though and that's what's going to hold him back in life. He also is absent 2-3 times a week, and has said on numerous occasions that if he doesn't feel like going to school his mother doesn't make him go. She looked light-weight out of it to--shaking her leg all crack-head like during the conference like she had somewhere to go. She definitely didn't look like she was coming from work either. Anyways, I like the boy and I don't want him to get in trouble any more than he already has.


So this didn't happen in my class, it happened in the social studies class. They were talking about how some countries speak more than one language or whatever and then talking about languages some of the kid's would like to speak. One chick said "I want to learn how to speak Mexico" Viva la educaciĆ³n!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Some day I'll....Make a man....OUT OF YOU!

I've never been a huge fan of Dora the Explorer....back when I was rebelling against force feeding another language down kid's throats, but I've since grown out of that, but this is the teacher character from the show. To people who know me, they know that this picture is DEAD ON! I mean, I want to personally write the creators over there and thank them for this wonderful woman--a black teacher wit' locks. CAN LIFE BE ANY SWEETER!?

So since I've last wrote A LOT has gone down. For one thing, benchmarks came back and they were piss poor. Looking back, I definitely should have taught everything instead of assuming they could use common sense (like questions on lab safety) It was really sad and pretty much all of my class periods were below the district average. The only class that wasn't was my GT class, which, obviously...they were GT. This time around, I am definitely giving MORE homework and we are going to follow the book more. This should give us a boost in our scores the next time around. I know one thing I messed up on was I was just focusing on things that were not on the test---which pissed me off royally. I went over variables and measurements ALOT and that was no where to be found on that dam thing. They had like 3-4 questions on safety and I didn't even touch on that....they had another one on there on models and I didn't touch on that. Womp womp womp. I try not to think about it and just focus on the future tests, because I have GOT to do better. Fortunately, 6th grade science isn't a TAKS subject so I've got some lee-way. However, regardless of that, I want my students to be prepared for the 7th grade. Now, its hard given that most kids don't really like science (hell, I still don't even really like it) so I'm fighting just the sheer will of students who honestly do not give a care. This unit we are on now is energy, and they are starting out with group presentations (which are appalingly BAD I might add) to give them an introduction to the unit. However, I can see that this probably won't help much as an introduction and will have to teach just as hard, if not harder, so the students can get it. lol My poor babies. They worked so hard on there posters, but they don't understand the concept of "putting things in your own words." They just copied sentences from the book and didn't really process that they'd have to explain the sentences....they just half read them/stumbled over them in front of the class. Saying words they don't even know the meaning of. I feel like the scene in Mulan where they had the rag-tag bunch of soldiers and they were like "how the heck we supposed to form an army outta these guys?" That's how I feel, but I know by the end of the school year I will see some noticeable changes in these kids....at least that's what I tell myself. lol So yea, benchmarks sucked and what sucked more is the other Science teacher BLEW me outta the water so of course my "teammates" didn't let that golden opportunity of making me feel worse about the situation go. So I've now I've got to do better than him or at least on the same level as him the next go-round. So much competition! They don't really tell people this but there is definitely competion amongst teachers and the performance of their students. People hold out on what works instead of sharing because they want their scores to look good compared to others. They make jokes about the lower scores of other teachers and all that jazz. It's kind of cut-throat.....or it can be. I mean, even if the scores throughout the district are bad, you can at least say "well, my class did better thant he district average" but not focusing on the fact the district average was a 17 and your class did a 27. Like, EARTH, HELLO, all that s** is bad. But that's how they make you feel---the ram test scores down your throat and so anything small you turn into a win, when in actuality it's all a LOSS. So I hear I am fighting just so HALF of my class can meet expectations.....cuz not even that met them the last time. It's crazy. But hey, that's what it is. And how the heck are we supposed to prepare students for these kind of questions if I can't find a decent test!? I have to make my own because the ones the book provides are crap...they are too easy and don't question the kids the same way as on district exams. That really ticks me off, not to mention I emailed some other science teachers about the tests they use and none of them have gotten back to me, not even to say "oh, well I make my own." But I mean hey, that's what I am talking about. They say its about the kids and we want you gusy to collaborate and then they have policies in place that say the top teachers will get extra money if they outperform the other teachers in there same subject. C'mon, who'd wanna share anything? I'm tryna get that bonus to pay off something.....screw that other guy.

Parent drama
So the other day, this one girl doesn't get along with her group and decided she is going to do her own thing. She asks me for construction paper to make her own poster...I say no (obviously) she is a group and she is working with that group. She cops an attitude and gets up and says she wants to go to another class, the office, blah blah blah. So I tell her if she wants to go to another class she has to take a science book with her, she says "no, that's ok." as if I was giving her a CHOICE. So she goes back and forth with me, PRESENTING me options as if I'm supposed to oblige to her demands. Then says to another one of her classmates "she don't teach us anything." LOL And honestly, I hadn't taught them anything---I made the idiotic assumption that they had the capability of teaching themselves something (each group was assigned a section in the chapter that they were going to present on, which, with this particular group failed misserably) So even when she said that, I didn't make a big deal about it and continued on with what I was going to do. So at this point, she's just down right defiant and doesn't want to sit in her seat, standing up with her backpack like she finna GO somewhere. At that point, I'm like just call your mom, I don't have time for this right now. BIG MISTAKE. I ended up on the phone wit' her mama for dang near 30 mins....while I'm supposed to be teaching. I know to NEVER do that again; next time, I'm going to tell them I'll have to call you back. She goin' on and on about how her daughter don't get along with the other students, how she saying they don't like her ideas, and how this problem happended ever since she put her kids in a district with other black kids. And I'm thinking...."hmmmmmm" Now, this lil' child that I am referring to is not some sweet, quiet, innocent little child. She didn't pick up on this sass in the past 3 years....she got that kinda sass you know has been around for quite some time; she didn't pick it up from her "peers" because no child has EVER spoken to me the way that lil' girl did---and I mean even the ones that you would consider real problem children. But hey, parents always see the best in their kids...sometimes they just are in denial. So that incident just totally blew my high. And that student, I had trouble with her mouth before--she talks to dag on much, and she likes to be in charge---so I'm thinking the real issue is she was not able to be in charge in that group and she didn't know how to handle it. I remember she was in a group before and I had issues with her because she wanted to do something and got mad when I said that's not right, or just "no." So yea, now she is on my radar. Well, actually, she was on it before, but now she just found herself a permanent spot.

Drama....why is it so much drama wit' these kids? They're only in the 6th grade. Drama between the girls, the boys, the boys and girls. I'm getting sick of it. I mean hey people, we work in groups in science--DEAL WITH IT. It's something that won't go away...science will always just be one of those subjects you will tend to work in groups in. But these kids, they will actually not work on something and I just don't process that. What makes you think you can sit there and do nothing just because she touched your pen without your permission. So you about to take this 50 over a dumb glitter pen???? Or something that happened 3 weeks ago??? Who is really losing here....I think you. I can't believe its kids out there that will take fails like taking a biscuit in the breakfast line. I feel like when we were at that age, yes, we had drama in the classroom, but we didn't let it effect out work--we dealt with it after school or during lunch, or PE. These kids bring their drama into the classroom, thus involving the teachers, WHO COULD CARE LESS, but now we are dragged into the situation. It's like, c'mon guy--give me a break! Sit down and do the work--that's all I care about. If you want to discuss a personal issue with me then you'll have to do it on a time when I'm not supposed to be teaching. Smh.

I got a rag tag bunch alright---REAL RAG TAG.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

I PUT THAT ON THE HOOD CUZ!

I be tryna not to yell ya'll--on me. Today, I told myself whenever I felt myself getting ready to yell, I just say to myself "calm down, and ask nicely" I'd say about 40% of the time I actually did this. After two times of "quiet" I'd eventually have to go to the front of the class room and get loud. We gon' try it again though, and this time I'mma push for 50% of the time. Which, I think ya'll pretty much get this, but with some of my classes this works. With others---eeeehhhh, notsamuch! However, whenver I do this (yell, that is), I ALWAYS make a point to apologize to the people doing right and if I know specifically who it is, I thank them with things like "thank you ___ for working quietly" or "good job group over here doing what I need for you to do." But yea......some days and some classes vary. Like today, the problem period (as always) was 3rd; and its usually just a couple of rotten apples. But when you got a rotten on at EVERY table, yikes. One lil' boy in particular, who I don't know, no disrespect, but I think somebody is bigging him up at the crib and he must have a power position at the house. I swear when somebody asks ME a question, he takes it upon himself to answer, and I'm like "wait a minute, so and so was asking me" He's the kid that when I pose something or say something to the class, he got to be the only one to actually respond back, and I'm like "I'm not talking to you" and he just be lookin' all dazed and confused like that is impossible....how could someone NOT be talking to him!? I'll have to look on his file to see if he is an only child or something, cuz he seriously does this A LOT, and it ain't just in my class--he talks in EVERYONE'S class. Big mama or something gassin' that lil' boy's head up something SERIOUS, cuz he swears up and down he is just the s***. You could tell. Now, I mean, I want my kids to feel confident in their abilities and whatnot, but to a realistic degree. I kow ya'll probably can understand what I am saying, there is absolutely NO humility to this dude's game right now, NONE. And its like, look--if you was that bad, you'd be in GT, or we would have nominated you for GT, and we DIDN'T. GT just ain't about smarts---it's about discipline and behavior; it's a 3-fold game. Wit' my GT, I can let them talk, because I know if I just stand there at the door they'll understand that its time to be quiet. Other classes, if I let them talk its like an out of control train, LOL. It's actually funny. If the room is dead quiet, and I mess around and ask a question? Oh lawd. It's like I said "OK EVERYBODY..............TTTTTAAAAAAALLLLLLKKKKKKKK!" They get the asking and telling me stuff and it's like "uhm, all I said was who don't understand" LOL. I kinda chuckle to myself about it, but uhm yea---back to OL' BOY. Now, when I can, I usually let him take the leadership role in group work, but like you said B, er'body don't wanna be on that group tip, and independent SILENT work needs to happen sometimes. He can't get that. And he swear up and down he is just so smart, so sometimes I give him more challenging work, and he can't even rise to the occasion. Now, there's about 3-4 or four other kids in that class that I KNOW are too bright for the level that most of the other kids are on, and I usually give them a more challenging worksheet (when we do them, which is about once a week) and he be like the only one who didn't finish. And it's like "oh my bad, I thought you wanted to be challenged?" Instead of doin' the work, he still in everybody else desk and face looking at what they're doing. And in terms of callin' the mama.....that ain't do NOTHING. Not a dam thang, cuz nothing changed. Perhaps mama is all talk, or she don't know how to give a proper beating, I don't know, but I swear it's like I never even called. And what's funny is I called, and the homie down the hall called---IN THE SAME WEEK. What happened to the day when people was actually SCARED of getting calls home? Scared of gettin' beat or yelled at about how you actin' up in school!? I mean dang, you can't even be good a full week!? This dude was good like...uhm, NEVER. The next day he was back to the same ol' same ol'. Po thang. His mouth is gon' get him in trouble....he can say something to the wrong person and get GOT. He is smart though, I will give him that, he just need to focus more on his work, and he would focus more if he didn't think he was so dam smart. Smh. Now mind ya'll I don't be saying the boy is dumb or not as smart as he thinks he is to his face, lol, what kinda teacher do you take me for? However, it is something that I have DEFINITELY picked up on, and its hindering his success more than hurting him. Anytime you thinking corn oil is more dense than air---you need to reevaluate ya life, fam. And gon' try and actually DEFEND that ridiculousness of an answer...I mean even the content mastery (kids are a little off grade level, but not as low as special ed) kids figured that out. But i'mm work wit' him ya'll...it's like at this point, I'mma have to break you down so I can build you up properly. But I will build him back up, I ain't just gon' leave him broken---I PUT THAT ON THE HOOD CUZ!!!!


Randomness, but why one my lil' girls keep quoting that dam "i am martian" (and why did I totally FORGET who to spell "martian" and had to look that ish up in google lol) Anyways, the one girl keeps saying that mess to me. Muhf***in' lil' wayne is destroying our youth ya'll. She anotha one that's light-weight gone....po' thang.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Where's the Rest?

So, this weekend pretty much ALL I did was grade the composition notebooks for my classes......yes, all OF THEM. Well, my GT class, I didn't even really need to grade because I know they are on point. So they got perfects for all of their labs. Now the other classes, I had to go through, and boy, I was not happy with some of what I saw. For one, a lot of people don't FINISH the labs, which is an issue. I can see that with certain class periods, I'll have to give more time because they don't have great time management skills. Some of my class periods, I can say "Ok you guys, you don't have much time--you need to get to work" and that is exactly what they do. Other classes, I can say that, but it just goes in one hear and out the other. When we do labs, I expect them to at least have their analysis section, and starting their conclusions. For one class, why some people don't even have their procedures and materials listed?? It's like "dam...what are ya'll DOING!?" I hate to spoon feed my students, because that is just enabling them, but something has GOT to give because they aren't working to their full potential, and if they would just get over the fact that I am NOT going to spoon feed them, they could actually do work. For one class, I have only two A and Bs and dam near the whole class got a C, and 4 people are failing. That is by far my worst class. That is my class with the biggest discipline issues as well, and I have no doubt in my mind that is a direct reflection of those issues.

Classroom management is serious business, and it can make or break you with a class. On wednesday, I will try this concept where you separate the class into groups and give each group a different topic or work project. This is what we call "flexible grouping" I've been scared of this because kids are in a sense supposed to "monitor" themselves while I, the teacher, work with the group of kids are lower level. Pray for me ya'll that this works, I am trying this on wednesday. I know with one class it will be a big stretch, and I have the idea of penalizing groups' grades everytime I have to verbally tell them to get back on task. WE SHALL SEEEEEEEEEE

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Teachers After Dark

So obviously its been a HELLA long time since I've said anything in this piece---a lot has gone down too, so this blog may be a little long.

For one, let me be the first to let you know teachers are regular a** people. The overwhelming majority of them, from what I see, are not green-eye idealistic bambies who go around singing "We are the world." Some of them, I actually even wonder they teach, cuz most of what they do is gripe about what their students, administration, or other teachers aren't doing. Bell rings at 3:45 and half the parking lot is empty by 4. Some even have schemes on how they will miss days by going to workshops, lol. Which, in defense of the person who told me this, I think they were just trying to be funny because they haven't missed many days. During lunch, they talk SMACK about kids as if they were kids. They talk SMACK about teachers like nobody's business. The more I think about it, the more I realize that to some people, teaching really is just a job. While I got into it because I want to one day change the way african american children are educated, others may not have the lofty of a goal. Some just enjoy math, so they teach math. Others aren't sure what they want to do in life, so they just teach for the time being. There are a plethora of different motivations behind why we do what we do. One thing I do appreciate though is that teachers, or at least the ones I work with, are extremely down to the earth and they keep it painstakingly real. I feel if they were more "lofty" they'd be taking themsevles too serious, and wouldn't let their hair down. I enjoy lunch, and laughing at something a kid did or said, and yet knowing that each of us at the end of the day want ALL of are students to succeed and do well---even the ones we may laugh at or shake our heads at. I mean, people, we are human still. Just because we work in a field that has zero tolerance for that kind of behavior (for the most part) we still can't help it if a child says something kind of off, or is low on the attractiveness scale (a teacher, and i kid you not, on a regular basis stands by the fact that he had the ugliest girl in the world in his class last year). The best thing we can do is hold it in at least until we get around each other, but laughing in a kid's face is a big no-no. But let me tell you---it gets HARD. Most of the time, I can play it off because other students are laughing, and I can kind of gauge whether or not if its appropriate to laugh, because I have one student who says crazy stuff ALL the time, but she knows what she is saying is ridiculous. If I know a kid honestly thinks what they are saying is right, or they really aren't sure, I don't even think that is funny and I jump down everyone's throat who is laughing.

But I will definitely tell the other teachers what wonderful thing that was said and we may get a good little chuckle out of it.

But hey! WE ARE HUMAN. Imagine dealing with kids allllllllllll day, I mean, they got a show called kids say the dardenst things, and boy, DO THEY. If you watched that show and were told "now, no matter what they say---no matter how dumb it is, you CAN'T laugh" Do you think you could handle it??????? It takes skill and finesse. I don't know why I went off on this tangent, but I guess I just wanted to let people out there know, because I was surprised at how loose with the tongue teachers got behind closed doors. People think we've got it all together, UH-UH. We are just really good actors. lol



Now, onto another revelation I've had---TEACHERS KNOW HOW TO EFFING PARTY! Man, ever since I beacame a teacher whenver I go out and get a lil' loose and I am with a pack of teachers, and we get pretty crunk. I went to a spot two weekends ago and we were teachers, but you probably wouldn't have guessed because we were all on the dance floor when everyone else was acting lame. Last weekend, I went to a coworkers b-day party and they was playing "lean wit' it rock wit' it" and the cupid shuffle, not to mention her margaritas probably make your favorite bars drinks fseem like drinking a flat sprite. lol Good times! Teachers after dark....we know how to get down with the get down. I remember in institute, my instructor told me that as a teacher, you have to calm down and that most of the staff wouldn't be very into partying and all that, and that as a teacher, you have to keep in mind who you may run into. blahze blahze blah. That was effin' hogwash and she worked at a school with a bunch of lames. At my school, there is generally a happy hour outing at least once a week; this week there was two lol. Their tolerance is crazy though, so I mean they can knock 'em back and you wouldn't even know they were drinking; I'm the only one where everyone KNOWS my limit and can see when I've reached it lol. One of the teachers I joke is an alcoholic cuz he is always talkin' about beer (I mean a lot). In no way shape or form are these teachers dry as I was expecting them to be, and they are much older. In fact, when one of the teachers had a party, hella people were mad they didn't get invited....and these people were like mid 50s and ish. lol I'm like "what you gon' do at a club ANYWAY!?" lololol But that's just how it is....and I don't think its just my school. I mean, teachers are people, and we still like to do regular people stuff. Sure, we gotta be on the low, but all that means is don't wear any school labeled attire when you're out, and maybe go outside the city limits when you finna get down. Good thing for us there is no where to seriously party where we work anyway, so I ain't got to worry about unknowing grinding on a father to one of my students. Whatever we do, its in moderation.....ain't nobody got time to be drinking every night when you got papers to grade and lesson plans to make exciting. But yea, teachers after dark---I think that should be a reality show, it would be great. lol


Aiight ya'll, I'm really supposed to be grading but I decided to take a break and update you guys. Next time, I promise it'll be about actual classroom stuff---like how students wrote in their journals (their english teacher told me) that they hate my class........whatever, I take it as they either a) can't handle the work load b) don't like being told to shut up or c) don't like that we can't do stuff on account of people acting up. The only people who I obviously am sorry for is those in the 'c' category, the rest of 'em need to step their game up. GET DOWN OR LAY DOWN!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

So I Suggest Ya'll Stay Healthy.....

LOL

One of my students actually wrote that in an assignment that she turned in to me. I miss that age, where you didn't think writing how you talk was a problem. Meanwhile, the chick who wrote this STAYS in a fog. I call on her, and she say "I don't know"....I swear, I'm sick of I don't know. You think they'd know by now, that doesn't faze me--you don't know? Well, we gon' figure it out but I am not going to call on anybody else. I'm that teacher that calls on the people who DON'T raise their hand, not the ones that do. Why call on someone who I know KNOWS it? I need to get those kids that don't get it, and work on them.

Anyways, I've been kinda ghost--grades is due so I was hittin' it hard these past couple of nights, and I was just tired. Can you believe its the 3rd week already? Also, as I'm putting in grades its already some people who got like 50 and 60 percents. I don't even grade hard....hail, we ain't really DONE nothing. Most of the grades are based on effort, and I've only assigned two real homework assignments. Can we discuss why some papers I can't even enter a grade in because they don't write their name on their work? I'm like...HELLO, how old are ya'll? I think its just me....I know they don't do this for the other teachers, I REFUSE to believe that they do. What else...oh, how you lose assignments that you not even supposed to take home? I mean, for classwork, I should at least how the work---now whether or not you completed it, that's a different story. But how for classwork I have missing assignments? What part of the game is that? smh This week, we did another lab "experiment"/ activity. It involved water, never again. Took 'em the lab, one girl broke something....mind you, we weren't even using beakers. She is a walking, talking, accident! Can't carry a bucket of water wit'out getting half of it on the desk or the floor. Sometimes, I just wanna be like "you can't POSSIBLY be this dumb....get it together man" We had to call two parents today, matter of fact, we've had a LOT of parent drama this week. One mama ain't had a clue about what her son is doing in school. It's the third week and she's like "his backpack is always empty....planner? I've never seen that" I was sittin' there just shaking my head---my fellow teachers was like "hmmm, somebody LYIN' " She said she checks his backpack everyday, but what is he doing with the work? Is he throwing it in the trash on his way home, is he putting it in the bushes? Is he even that smart to understand to do that? Anyways, we had a nice long convo and real talk, I felt bad for her. I know she prolly felt dumb as hail cuz she was just TOTALLY outta the loop. She was trying though, which I give her that. Today, there was no REAL change in her son's work....at least not in my class; he still ain't doing nothing. What happened to the good ol' days when kids was actually scared of their parents? I mean, I got a couple that get shook offa phone call, but I think a majority don't care a hill of beans. One dude hung UP on his mama. You write in their planner....nothing changes the next day, which i think is bull, I think these kids just scribble an initial, in which, hey, I could see myself doing that as a child. Anyways, this one kid---we having a conference with his mama next week (the kid who hung up on his mama) The bad thing about it, he ain't even THAT bad! He just be doing stupid stuff; he not getting into fights, he's not cussing and throwing furniture, he's not being totally disrespectful (at least not to his teachers, he was disrespectful to a woman who was not one of his teachers), he just won't work and you have to tell him two and three times to do something. I think I have like two actual assignments from him....the rest are just in limbo, or in his backpack, or GOD knows where. He's just wreckless. He's too easily distracted, which I find is his major issue. Ephiphany! I think I'm going to have him move to the front....although I already got one bad kid in the front, I don't know how two will work. If everybody didn't have an issue with EVERYBODY, then I might be able to pull something off. But its like nobody likes anybody....everytime I move someone, I get groans and moans. Sooooooo much drama.

I'm definitely getting used to the idea of being a teacher---the days go by quickly to me. I still dread my 3rd and 7th period, in which i don't think there will be anyway to get around that lol. They'll just always suck. womp womp womp. At one point today, I was standing in a sea of chaos....one dude (the guy who is having a conference next week) was actually RUNNING in MY class room. Mind you, there's not even enough space to go anywhere. People were talking loud, he was flicking water in some girl's face. I just stood there for a minute, shook my head, and was like "OK! EVERYBODY....SIT.....DOWN!" I mean, the WHOLE class just got shut down. I was the fasciliator of the experiment instead of them doing it, which they were the ONLY class who got shut down. They are ALWAYS the only class to get shut down; my other classes, while they may be noisy, they still managed to get work DONE. Which, hey, I don't mind noise as long as I know the end result is happening. But that 3rd period....nah. They just doing whatever. Playing. I dont know, but I shut it down. I didn't have time. I DON'T have time. lol After I shut it down, things calmed down and it was quiet. Maybe they can't handle not having a teacher in charge....nah, that ain't it. Once again, I think its in my class. I'm going to ask the other teachers how do they manage to do group assignments with this particular class. Then, when I write stuff on the board, they claim they can't see. WOMP WOMP WOMP. I wanna say "man, sit down--YOU CAN SEE" lol But we gon' see...we gon' see. Tomorrow is another day. 7th period is ok (the main culprit has been absent, which, I am beginning to wonder where he is.....) so its just 3rd period that's left on the crazy list.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

We gon' make it though....

LOL, now before you even go there, its just a little joke---you had to be there. Today, I went over some assignments I am going to have them do for the year; a weekly current event (I got that from a middle school teacher I had) and a Science report about a famous scientist. Which, why when I asked them if they had ever heard of Benjamin Banneker they said "NOOOOOO!" smh Anyways, so like I said before, these kids love to just ask questions without even processing what instructions I may have given, or even thinking about what I asked. So the one kid, I could already tell it was gon' be a DUMB question (cuz he had already asked a couple) so I told him to run it through his mind, and really think about it. So he asked it....and as soon as the words left his lips I just looked up in the sky. The rest of the class sighed and moaned as well, everybody KNEW it was a DUMB a** question. LOL So I was like "Aww man, I'm leavin'--I'm leavin' " and I start walking towards the door, while this guy is trying to justify his ridiculous question. Other kids are like "Nooo! Don't leave!" One lil' dude was like "Maaan, I'm comin' wit'chu" LOL So that was the lil' funny of the day. Of course, I calmed the class down and said "the only BS and that was a dumb question. Almost dumber than a girl asking if she could print a report on blue paper...uh, how about NO. I got so many excuses today as to WHY people couldn't turn in current events and reports "I don't get a newspaper" "My printer don't got no ink" "My print don't go no paper" "I looked and I didn't see no science section in the paper" LOLOL I'm like....wow....we have a computer lab, and I have two computers in the back of my class with printers. NONE of those are valid reasons as to WHY you can't turn it in. Excuses, excuses, EXCUSES. That's all I hear, all the time. It's gon' be tough, but I'mma break that bad habit quick.

Ok in terms of discipline...same ol', same ol'. Talking to the same people tellin' 'em the SAME things. One thing I notice is these kids are just sooooooo confrontational. If somebody brushes past them, its got to be an issue. If somebody giggles while you said something, it's an issue. If somebody LOOKS at them for too long, it's an issue. I had to pull one girl to the said, for the SECOND time, to talk to her about her temper and smart mouth. We gon' see if anything happens.

Last thing, so today, the kid's had to take a standardized test. He came in late and sat down in his seat, KNOWING he didn't have an answer sheet---he even put his folder to prevent people from "cheating" So when I found out, and ask him why he didn't say he anything he sat there.....liiiiiiiike, EARTH. lolol Poor guy. We gon' make it though, WE GON' MAKE IT!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

My Hypothesis...

Ok, so this is the start of week two. I finally got my blue bcbg's specks so I was able to rock some blue today. Which, let me say a liiiiiitle bit on that. Ok, so I put in my order for these jonts like 3 WEEKS ago, and at this point, I'm a lil' PO'd and I want my stuff. So I randomly decide to drop in tomorrow and see what's what. So I tell them my name, one girl comes back wit' my glasses. I'm like? Huh? How long have they been in. Bunch prom queen lookin' chicks, lookin' at each other. At least my students have the sense to come up with an excuse or grunt or say something, they just silently looking at each like I'M the dumb one. And I didn't even get no cloth with my glasses!!!

Anyways, back to what I wore; Nuttin' too deep---fuscha RL 3/4 sleeve shirt, blue dickies, blue Calvin Klein hills. Ya know, just tryna keep it nice for 'em. Funny thing, I was walkin' down the hall this morning and my crush was like "Brown" ( we refer to each other by last name) I'm like "how you know it was me?" Cuz he hadn't even turned around. He laughed, but didn't really give a definite answer. So that made my day start out a lil' bit nicer. We actually shared quite a few words today...and he came into my classroom twice. Once to.....uuh, I don't know why he came in (hmm, that's good too :) but later on it was to let me know of a team meeting we were having. So, in THAT department, my day was EXCELLENT. He looked nice today too, I'm tellin' you boi....we do not PLAY.

Ok, on to actual schooling. The main focus of today was complete sentences. Actually no, our REAL focus what on conclusion paragraphs, but we couldn't get those because they couldn't give me complete sentences. It got so bad, I just said "LOOK! YOU'RE SENTENCE SHOULD START WITH "MY HYPOTHESIS" OR "THE HYPOTHESIS" IF IT DOES NOT, CHANGE IT" And also, I don't know what it is about my directions, but every time I tell 'em to do something, they give me a bunch of questions. Of course, this doesn't apply to my GT class. At first, I always thought there was no real difference in my GT class and my regular classes, but now I know--there is a BIG difference. No lie, I'll write the SAME directions on the board---GT, no hands raised. People get to work. Other periods, "does these questions go wit' this chart?" "I don't get number 3" "I don't get number 2" "Where is my composition notebook?" Just on and on and on and on and ON. I'm like "Put you hand down, and answer the questions. This was the set up: I wrote a hypothesis for them to use, and I had a data table complete with numbers, this table had "Results" next to it. I gave clear instructions, "based on the following results, write a conclusion paragraph" matter of fact, that's what I did for GT. For the regular classes, I gave them questions to answer. I GAVE THEM TO THE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER. You shoulda seen it....just hands flyin' up, ain't even TRIED to comprehend what I'm askin' them to do. With this group, I didn't even write it....I told each group, INDIVIDUALLY, before they even walked into the class what their assignment was. Literally, like in their face, "answer the questions on the board" Then, when they ask these silly, SIMPLE, RIDICULOUS a** questions, they look at me all funny when I just stand there and look at them with a dumbfounded look on my face. I don't say it, but I'm thinking "you can't POSSIBLY be this stupid" Or maybe it's just stone cold LAZINESS. Or maybe they can't read....I don't know. But they gon' have to start following these instructions. And I'm sorry, but really--that's what it is. I said it before, and I'll say it again---KIDS IS SOFT. Too many people was lettin' 'em get by wit' just straight BULL. "Why do you think your hypothesis was right or wrong" You'd think I was askin' 'em for the square root of the circumference of the earth. "Discuss something we didn't talk about it in our activity" And I know I wasn't too over their heads, BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE GOT IT, it's like everybody was lost, that's a sign that usually you really just too far gone, but again, some people got it. Again, lost faces. And I don't know if its because nobody required then to actually THINK or if they are tryna play me. Regardless of what it is, I'm not finna dumb it down. They need to get it now, sooner than later. I ain't the one, and I let 'em know on the regular "uh uh, that's too easy--you are in the 6th grade" This is isn't about just passing a test, this is about preparing them to successful in life. I read some of what these kids want to be when they grow up, and I'm thinking "ok, I got my work cut out for me" How you want to be a lawyer and you can't write a complete sentence? Can't spell legibly? Uh uh, boo--that ain't gon' cut it.

Ok, in terms of behavior....same ol', same ol'. A lil' bit better, but I know there is more room for improvement. And one lil' girl, I think she must like the boy or something cuz she always grinnin' and hit on him and this and that. Those two were just back and forth today, back and forth. Basically, these kids don't need to have one IOTA of free time, I mean like not one milisecond, I just need to have work in front of them CONSTANTLY. It's like that saying goes "give a ___ an inch, and they take a mile" only this group takes like 10 miles and I only have 'em half an inch. lol I love 'em though, just as funny as they wanna be. They get my nerves, mind you, but I just maintain....maintain, maintain, maintain. The most important thing is that I am able to teach something, and not just yell the entire time. But like I said, there is always room for improvement. I stopped by my mentor's room today, and she said that overall I am doing well. My assisstant principal always wrote me a praise note for my lesson about the scientific method. My Principal came in today and walked around, and I think she thought it was cool too. I had my objectives on the board (big deal down here) and I was in the proper dress code. The students were taking notes, and I hope the ones she looked at had something on their papers lol.

Tomorrow we do some testing, so I'll get a break. I'm doing seat changes in most of classes too, so I'll let you know how that works out. Also, not related to the classroom, but I got a lil' change august paycheck and it's official ya'll---I'M ON THE COME UP PART OF MY LIFE. Chaka says life is a dance......so right now, I'm bankhead bouncin' and doin' the electric slide. BOOGIE OOGIE OOGIE.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

First Week

So I've officially made it through the first week of school and honestly was not bad at all!!! It could've been a lot worse, and I think people were thinking it is was going to be worst. I got so much "advice" from different people....you gotta be strict that first day, you gotta be firm, don't smile, etc. In my mind, I swear I thought I was gonna get kids who were just gonna try and play me as soon as they got the chance. Quite the contrary....only a small minortiy are still trying to play me, the rest are that hard to get a handle on. In terms of smiling, ya'll know me--I laugh at any given moment. However, my smiles aren't all bubbly and "welcome boys and girls! Today we are going to learn about the scientific method!? Doesn't that sound GREAT!?!?" Naaaah, that ain't me. Real talk, most of the time the only time I'm smiling is when I'm laughing at one of the kids, they eiter said something off the wall, or are acting a fool and I don't understand why they keep doing wrong.

I've got a large group, LARGE. Sometimes I don't know how I manage, and its just me. This past friday, my mentor came in to see how I was doing, which reminds me, I got to ask her about areas of improvement for me. She'll probably say I need to work on my classroom management, which she is right. lol What I think is good, may not be what someone else thinks is good. Me personally, I don't mind talking, just not the point where its like there is no learning going on. I already had to make some phone calls, and I don't mind making more, matter of fact, for two people, that's their next step. I've had to separate friends, and I honestly could give to hills of beans about it. And at that this point, I'mma hit you where it hurts---you're grade. You know one girl had the audacity to say about an assignment "UH UH, you grading this??" I told "Uhm, that's my job!" These kids got it twisted, its like they don't even know the purpose of schools and teachers. Too much work is simply given a check and that's that. Of course students wouldn't take grading seriously. I was tellin' my dude, this kids nowadays is SOFT. Teachers be holding they're hand through every little step that they don't know how to do nothing. I see what my program meant by raising expectations. There's a worksheet for everything, so of course, I shouldn't have been surprised when students ask me "complete sentence?" and "you can't start a sentence with 'because'?" I'm not even going to talk about the spelling....I asked one boy "what is that word?" He paused, and was like "I don't know..." I WAS READING OFF HIS PAPER. Kids can't write legibly; it's a shame. I got my work cut off for me ya'll....

To celebrate my first week, I went to a staff fishfry. We played rockband and wii and had slammin' catfish. My lil' man was runnin' all over the place dancing all in the way. It was a good time, teachers now how to get down. I left the lady's house at about 10:20 and they was STILL goin'. There was alcohol there, so I don't know how crazy stuff got, lol. I'mma have to ask. After that, my homeboy had a function at his place, so I went to that. Again, mostly teachers lol. Only one dude there wasn't, and that's cuz the hiring is lame. As my good friend says they was "knockin' them b****es back" LOL. I ain't gon' front, I got a lil' bit enebreated and helped my team punish in some "flip cup." That was first time for me gettin' a lil' bit gone...it felt weird. I knew there was problem when I was readujusting my eyes and no one turned off the lights, and when I had to gather myself when I got up off the couch and made my may to the bathroom. Good times, good times. I went on to tell my homeboy about my teacher crush, and I went on and on, this dude passed out mid sentence. lol That's how I knew I was a lil' bit gone too---people who know me KNOW that I don't just be readily givin' up personal information. Oh, and they had Jay-Z unplugged going.

I got money to actually manage and started a savings account. I plan on stopping by best buy and putting in a sound system. Things ain't half bad down here in Texas ya'll......

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

That call and response.....

Ok, so this is the third day and it went a lot smoother than the second. For one, I got to dive into instruction, so that was great. The students don’t have books yet but please man, I don’t even NEED books. I got activities, and they got paper to take notes. BOOM, head shot. Anyways, todays objectives were to identify scientific problems, come up with problem statements/questions and hypotheses. Don’t worry, we WILL be focusing on this HARD CORE for the next three days and ALL the time during the year because we will do labs at least once a week. I got to remember to review---I was asking some of the students what they didn’t like about their last year’s science class and that was a major thing, teacher didn’t review. Which I’m like “dang...how can you not review?”

Anyways, the example I used to go over the Scientific method was the story “me and my dog roscoe” I went through all the motions of saying that everyday after school, when I come he is barking. I then go through EACH step of the method using that example, making sure I hit those key vocab words. I was like “I think he is hungry” THAT IS MY HYPOTHESIS, and i made sure I pointed to hypothesis on the board. Of course, I made my story very colorful and they were really into it (I was actually kinda surprised) And you know me, I’m a comedian, and a GOOD comedian just feeds off her crowd....so I rolled with it. lol I would be like “So I walk through the door, and what do I hear!?” and the class was like “WOOF WOOF!” lol That’s that call and response for ya. But don’t trip, they were learning. I explained to them that I was now in the “re-test” phase...whenever your hypothesis is wrong, you go BACK and try something else. After I took my problem question/statement “Why is Roscoe barking when I get home” thru the scientific method, I made them come up with their own, which the MAJORITY did. Matter of fact, I was supposed to take their folders home and provide feedback on ‘em, my bad. Today was a really good day, so tomorrow their warm up will be straight away to come up with a problem statement and a hypothesis. In fact, for those who didn’t do it in class---that was their homework. Anyways, all of periods were able to get through the lesson and I made some good timing. With my GT class I made REALLY good timing and they actually have a leg up on the other classes and did it in less time (class is cut in half by lunch, and they take 5 mins for a bathroom break). I think its because I started them straight out with a problem statement for a warm up instead of definitions like I did for the other classes.

Ok now for discipline issues---I had to son a couple of kids, but it was really just for minor stuff, ain’t nobody cussin’ or throwing chairs or tellin’ me what they ain’t gon’ do. Just kids who have a hard time not making side comments, which I understand---shoot, that’s me all the way lol. One lil’ boy I had to send him out for a a minute or two to regroup, and when he came back he was straight. he go try and play me about the scientific method, which about that, CAN WE COME UP WITH ONE UNIFIED METHOD!? Why some places its 7, others its 4, some its like 10, I”m like “wtf?” At one point I said “Well this ain’t last year...in MY class, these are the steps you need” lol I was tired of goin’ back and forth, then they can’t even come to agreement on what the steps are. Gon’ roll they eyes like I’M wrong...ha! Anyways, my crazy periods were still my crazy periods (3rd and 7th) lol 7th period just has a problem in the hallway...in the class it ain’t really an issue. Now other teachers, namely this sweet old lady are havin’ issues wit’ people IN the classroom. One lil’ boy, who I heard was bad in other classes yesterday, was straight in mine today AND yesterday. He said to me “I’m being good Ms. Brown” and I’m like “yea, in MY class but you need to be good in everybody’s class” One lil’ boy, which I was surprised, already had a call home. Again, he be pretty straight in my class, he’s called out a couple times, but it was to answer a question. (which if I have to tell someone to raise their hand one more time to answer a question, lol I’mma.....eh, I’mma tell him to stop callin’ out lol. I just be glad they involved, I honestly don’t care if they call out. Long as its about learning....can I even be mad?) Anyways, I’mma have a chat wit’ him when he come to my class tomorrow and express my disdain in what I heard.

Dr. W---I had to have a lil’ pow-wow wit’ him today as well. Actin’ a fool in the line, tryna be the class clown.....eh, he ain’t trying, he is. Cuz what he says gets a rise out of the line, so he does something, they laugh, and they stand in the hallway. Stressing to these kids to TAKE responsibility and NOT do what is expected is hard. It’s like “ok, if he is talking to you, look away and don’t respond” “if you know he tryna be funny, DON’T LAUGH” It’s hard though...so, I just made him my line monitor, so now he GOT to be quiet cuz he has to set the example. I'll let ya'll know if this works or not. Other than that, he is cool. He reminds me of myself, STAY wit’ a joke on lips and an excuse right after it. I told him that I was picking on him...he know he be doin’ wrong and he still do it. This girl Dr. D, she got a lil’ temper---A LOT of these kids do, be always gettin’ buck wit’ somebody tellin’ them “you NEED to not” it’s like, ok.....so you think you bad. lol ALWAYS especially the girls....rollin’ the eys, rollin’ the necks....I just laugh lol.

what else, OH, why I leave my room keys at home this morning? I discovered this at 7:20 and school starts at 7:45. Thank God I don’t stay far away and was SPEEEEEEEEDDIIIIIIIN’ down the road. 20 mph in a school zone? SIKE. lol People who know me, I KNOW ya’ll ain’t surprised. I also forgot to tell my class to switch and they got to PE about 10 minutes late lol. Of course I was like “why ya’ll ain’t tell me ya’ll had to switch!?” LOL I hope I didn’t say “ain’t” but I’m pretty sure I did. lol I gotta work on that.......

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Ya'll gon' learn...

I swear I told this to EVERY period I had today, something must've happened last night cuz we had to get BUCK on a regular basis. Why the teacher down the hall got in some boy's face THAT WASN'T EVEN IN HIS CLASS!? He stay talkin' crazy to his kids tho, and its funny cuz he is the NICEST person on our staff probably lol. Well, from my experiences at least. And that's the dude I have a crush on? That was sexy as hail....lol. But anyways, like I said---they were ackin' a stone cold FOOL today! hmmm hmmm hmmm so lemme go thru my classes.

1st period
this is my homeroom period, and actually, they were pretty good. Oh wait, so they came in, and they were talking, then some lil' boy said "ya'll talk to much" WELP, that was it---they had to go back outside and get it right....and (and this was alreayd after they had to go back outside to try agian) when they go back outside, they stand there for like 5 mins. And me, I just walk up and down the line, tellin' them what they did wrong, stuff like that. Got inside the class, it was cool. They got kinda irrate when it came to choosin' a group name, and some girl got called fat. You know I don't tolerate that, so I had pull lil' homie to the side and let her know put downs WILL not be tolerated, and they are necessary. Of course, I had to throw in "the only person allowed to laugh at ANYBODY is ME" but then i was like "but I won't do that, cuz I respect you" SIKE. Nah, I'm just playin', I don't be laughing at them....unless they just do something straight ridiculous, in which I hide my laughter in a question. Then, some lil' girl got MAD when another group snickered at their group name. I was like "uh, uh, apologize" And I got the WHOLE class to apologize. Then just to make it seem like me I was like "And to be honest ALL YA'LLS GROUP NAMES IS FUNNY" and proceeded to sit at my desk and continue assigning group names and seats. One chick said she ain't like working with boys....which I felt bad, cuz she was the only girl. But I have two groups like that, I told she gon' have to work it out and try. She did, so I made sure I gave her props. And for some reason, she always cover her mouth when she talk...I don't quite get that.

2nd period

PLANNING AKA CHILL TIME

3rd period

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Boy, ok, LOL, and I'm sittin' here laughing just thinking about it. So, we have very STRICT hallway procedures and rules. Absolutely NO talking, and hands must be by your side. You must be facing forward and there should be a square separating each student. First of all, they walked in my class actin' hella crazy, talking and stuff. So i'm like "hmm, let's take it BACK outside." Why we had to do this three times though???? Did they think the Kid was playing or something??? Not I said the cat.....and of course, there were so many different colorful things I said in the hallway. I can't even describe the tone of voice I use when I talk to them....I sound like a basketball coach or something. I was grabbing the space between my eyes. at one point I said "the only person that should have an attitude is me" and I said "ya'll gon' learn" AT LEAST 3 times. Then, we they did get in the class, they were straight....SIKE. I had to move this chick from her homegirl because they were joking. In fact, at one point, they were in their seats----but I heard some talking, so I made them stand back up and go outside to start over. Oh yea, that's how we get down. So yea, they did their work, that was cool, had a cool lil' discussion, so then its time to go. I comment and look at the clock and say "it's almost 10:50" and one lil' boy is like "huh" and somebody else said "what?" And there was a convo about what time it was......And I"m like..."HOLD UP" "quite frankly, you need to be ashamed you can't read this clock, but just go on' head and get a digital" and I tapped my wrist. Then I said to the lil' boy "It's 10:50 bruh" and that was the end of that. That's a dam shame, but this ain't math, and I ain't got the time to teach people how to read clocks. Talking out of turn? I don't tolerate it. One lil' girl had her hand raised, I was like "you can go on' head and put your hand down cuz I'm not gon' acknoledge it" WHAT? Dam, that was a lil' harsh---but I can't take it back.

4th period

science prep, basically a tutorial class. Two kids. I asked them some science questions and they asked me some random science questions, then commenced to talkin' about who talking to who and I heard "but they didn't hook up or nothing" SIXTH GRADE PEOPLE.

5th period

GT, gifted and talented class. They were pretty straight. No real issues. With this class, their period is cut in half by lunch, so I really have NO INSTRUCTION time. lol I remember some lil' boy in the lunch line was gettin' ready to say something and as I was listenin', it was starting to sound like an EXCUSE, so I just held up my hand and said "save it" I swear I be cuttin' off excuses. So one girl said that I should get them early, I said "that's perfect, and that's what I'm going to do" When I saw her classmates tryna get one her I said "Oh, and don't get on her because I was gonna do that anwyay---I was just looking to see if one of ya'll would come up with it first" So yea, that was the only issue for that class.

6th period

PLANNING, met with my team to go over some house rules and such

7th period

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. THESE LIL' sumama's was actin' IG'NANT!!!!!!!! lololol It was so funny though, I couldn't help but laugh. The one lil' dude--straight up, he remind me of homies I had in middle school. Let's call him Dr. W. Dr. W STAY wit' an excuse on the edge of his lips....."it wadn't even meeee" "aawww what I do" "he hit me" "i ain't say nuttin'!" "why you pickin' on me" And it's like dawg....I CAN SEE YOU! You don't even have the sense to talk when I leave, you talk smack dab in front of my face. So he was my talk while we were outside, and I had to send him to the other homie teacher for some "attitude readjustment" Then, whatever he does, the others think is funny. So the one lil' boy, I was like "young man, what is your name? (which I didn't ask him to remember, just to call him something, cuz I forgot it) Ok, I don't think anything he did was funny, YOU should be looking forward right now" Lil' man looked EXTRA shook LOL. Then, there was something else where I was like "You're last name is NOT brown I do NOT need to hear any commentary from you." This class actually got a chance to sit down in their seats too, but I heard some gigglin' and I made 'em get up. At this point, I was not doing so well to contain my laughter. Straight up hilarious. I mean, I wasn't hee-hawin', but I was definitely chuckling. I was like "shoot, ya'll might as well stand here 'till 7th period" By that time, I was askin' them questions I didn't even want answers to. I was like "Do ya'll like standing out here? DO NOT answer that question" I did at least 3-4 of those. Real talk--they ain't answer it either, and it was funny, cuz you know that face on a kid's face when they gettin' ready to answer a question wit' an excuse? You know it looks when they get cut off? That face is golden. Mr. W had it on his face one time and I just had to laugh. I told 'em they broke the record, they had to do it 4 times. That whole lil' ordeal wasted like 30 MINUTES....but I gotta do it now so into the 3rd week we can use up the 50 mins they give us to learn.

Man, it's a good thing I didn't get observed today--it woulda been a WRAP. My sarcasm was through the roof today. Man I hope I don't get any phone calls from parents...... lol

8th period

They were even more rowdy, and I was rowdy wit' em. This one lil' girl was funny as hail and had me dying. She reminded me of myself. But I just found out I won't have them in 8th period anymore !(but I have them during other times of the day) 8th period was our lil' laid back chill class. That kinda broke my heart when the teacher told me that...dam schedueling mishaps.

Random comments:
"You should be looking forward---if I see your eyes that's a problem" of course, this was in the hallway. I be gettin' on kids I on't even know....and don't let 'em have been in my class earlier. I be like "Dr.____ what's the issue? " I'm going to say MOST of our "plays" take place in the hallway cuz these kids act brand new like that don't know about these rules. At one point, I wanted to say that..."why ya'll actin' brand new?" lol Maybe tomorrow.....

I said something in class and the homie came in and was laughing. I don't know--I think some of them maybe though I mighta been soft, cuz I smile alot and joke during meetings. On the first day, I was like in super teacher mode, and I'm only gettin' more and more into it. So by reading this, I hope you don't think I'm crying and extra mad or sad and doubting my decision to teach. When I tell you today was HILARIOUS....trust, I am NOT kidding. These kids had me dying; it's like "do you enjoy me playing your life??" Dang, this blog was long as hail, but seriously---I wish ya'll could been there. I swear you woulda thought it was like the funniest thing ever.

And DESPITE alllllllllll these plays that I do, kids still be like "heeeeey ms. brown!" when they se me in the hallway and smile when they walk past or say "bye ms. brown" LOL. I LOVE MY KIDS, especially the bad ones :)

Monday, August 25, 2008

Fa Real? That's It?

So today was my first official day as a teacher and from jump it was pretty straight. It was funny looking at the brand new shoes....made me think about when I was their age. They all have uniforms so basically you're shoes are you only chance to shine. One kid in my class had a shag, no lie. I'm sorry but I laughed at him...how the hail you got a shag in 2008? But apparently down here, they are making a comeback. Anyways, In the morning, I had a couple of kids who liked to talk...but honestly, I got them before it got way out of hand. As soon as they came in they had work to do---who cares if it was only the first day. This technique proved VERY successful and kept the class busy and occupied, which didn't allow for noise to arise. I also asked them questions that will actually help me with them later on down the line. I had a FULL class too...but that never became an issue. I am taking a note from a professor of mine and I address my students as "Dr.____" They liked this, and the parents did as well. Plus, it saves me from having to pronounce these crazy a** first names their parents so aptly named them. It's like "Do you or don't you want your kids to be successful in life....." I won't go into details about the names cuz I'm NOT trying to be sued. However, if you are a close friend or family member, I'll tell you some the next time we have a phone convo. Anyways, when I went over rules, they listened quietly. And it is great when someone asks a question and a student can give them the answer....best feeling in the world. It is also another way to play the life of a student....am I wrong for this? I hope not. I don't even answer, I just like "uuhm, class, did I already answer that question?"


My Gifted and talented class was actually the worst (meaning they get a 8.5 out of 10) One girl had the audacity to burp in my class--I started to play her life but I kept it cool because I didn't want to put her on blast. Little side comments and laughter was a constant. Think I care you commended (that means they scored like 95 on a specific standardize subject test)? You betta sit there and be quiet. Someone will get made an example out of tomorrow....and I already know who. But other than that, they were pretty cool. They get my sense of humor which is great. Me not using sarcasm, yea right....I don't give a dang what the "experts" say. This is actually my most diverse class. Speaking of which, pretty much every class has at least one white person, an asian, a couple latinos, and the rest are negro. Sounds like a sweet gig to me.....

Last period was my science prep class, and they are already my lil' homies. I let that get out of hand, lol my bad. It was like 5 of 'em tho, so I figured "eh, who cares?" Don't trip though, tomorrow we will actually be doing WORK so their won't be any sidebar conversations. We basically just talked about random stuff for 30 mins after I went over the rules and procedures. One girl already said I talk white....which is the first time I've ever gotten that. The other chick said I am very "proper" and I was like "yes, that's how it will be in the class." Not only will I teach science but I will teach etiqute and manners. But these are the kids who need the extra help, and are kids who I can already tell will shut down on someone they don't like, so I established an open environment with them.

My staff is hilarious, and I love them. You know how black folk are.....talkin' crazy in meetings and stuff, it's great. I've already seen some of them get ig'nant wit' kids in the hallway, ON THE FIRST DAY! That is too trill. The male teacher next door got buck with his kids on a regular, pretty much everytime I walked by. I have a crush on him too....definitely don't know why. Sike, I do, it's because he was one of the first people to actually speak to me and give me some pointers lol. This should pass as time goes by. I had to put a couple in check in the hallway---not talking means NOT TALKING. The teacher next to me was kinda overwhelmed so I had to make sure her class was quiet while she was helping a student. They were talking I was like "uh uh, why are you talking? The only voices I should be hearing right now are adults. Face forward and hands to your side." (I be gettin' them lil' suckas in check when it comes to lining up boy!) They did this and that was that, no more talking from them. See, the thing is people think kids are bad and don't know how to act and I'm like "uuuuhh, do you ever reprimand them and tell them what NOT to do?" It's not rocket science folks.


So basically, the first day was NOT as bad as people made it out to seem---I didn't have to be a mean version of myself, I was just myself. Maybe that means I am already a not-so-nice person, who knows.