I have taught Pre-K 3 & 4, 5th grade, 7th grade, and now 8th grade! I am having a blast. I do feel like I am drowning, BUT it is just part of the experience. We are currently writing, but it won't last too long because we have to go back to reading and analyzing literature. In fact, this paper is based on literature! That is SOOOO much better to teach, at least for me. I know that I have to teach SOME writing in 8th grade, but it is not EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE!
We have been reading "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe, and the kids LOVED it. It is gory, mysterious, and gruesome. 8th grade kids couldn't ask for anything more...As we read, we watched a theatrical production of a monologue. They were gasping and murmuring as the story was being told! It is wonderful to see that you are able to give them lessons that interest them. I had them analyze the story for diction and imagery and how those things created the menacing tone. They were all enthralled with being able to pick the description word for diction and imagery! Next, they had to write an essay explaining their analysis. They are enjoying finding the quotes from the story to prove their opinions. When they see that their peers have a different quote to prove their descriptions they get excited to share and prove theirs. I LOVE seeing them want to do this.
I am blessed beyond measure and enjoying myself greatly! I am thankful for this opportunity!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
New Journey: 8th grade English
I have taught 7th grade English for three years, and every year, I have asked to be moved to 8th grade. Clearly, I have NEVER been moved. This week, I got a call from my principal saying that I was being moved to 8th grade for the coming school year. I was so shocked, it took me a couple of hours to really comprehend this new journey.
I have wanted to move for so long, and now I am worried, I will not like it, or I will not be a good teacher.
However! I remember that my calling is to teach. If I can teach MATH to kiddos (and I can....it has been successfully done) then I can teach 8th grade ENGLISH without a hitch.
Okay, maybe their will be a hitch or two, but that is the true test of a good teacher....can s/he adapt fairly quickly and seemingly without a hitch when needed?? There have not been many hitches that have stumped me along the way, and I do not expect any for this coming school year.
I am sad to leave my team and my 7th grade Writing department, BUT I am thrilled to not have to teach Writing EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE....okay every single day of the school year only....
Father,
As I approach this school year, and I have some repeat students since I am moving up to the 8th grade and so are they....please help me start with a clean slate with them and help them start with a clean slate with me. We all need to have a successful year, and we need to make sure that we do not hold any preconceived ideas or grudges about each other...I thank you for this wonderful opportunity, and I thank you for allowing me to better my teaching strategies and abilities with this new challenge. I am looking forward to this new journey. Please equip me with the wisdom, strength, compassion, and love I will need to be a successful teacher AGAIN this school year.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Mrs. ABC
I have wanted to move for so long, and now I am worried, I will not like it, or I will not be a good teacher.
However! I remember that my calling is to teach. If I can teach MATH to kiddos (and I can....it has been successfully done) then I can teach 8th grade ENGLISH without a hitch.
Okay, maybe their will be a hitch or two, but that is the true test of a good teacher....can s/he adapt fairly quickly and seemingly without a hitch when needed?? There have not been many hitches that have stumped me along the way, and I do not expect any for this coming school year.
I am sad to leave my team and my 7th grade Writing department, BUT I am thrilled to not have to teach Writing EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE....okay every single day of the school year only....
Father,
As I approach this school year, and I have some repeat students since I am moving up to the 8th grade and so are they....please help me start with a clean slate with them and help them start with a clean slate with me. We all need to have a successful year, and we need to make sure that we do not hold any preconceived ideas or grudges about each other...I thank you for this wonderful opportunity, and I thank you for allowing me to better my teaching strategies and abilities with this new challenge. I am looking forward to this new journey. Please equip me with the wisdom, strength, compassion, and love I will need to be a successful teacher AGAIN this school year.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Mrs. ABC
Summer School: DAEP style
My last two summer's have been spent with kiddos from the DAEP (Disciplinary Alternative Education Program) in my district. These students have been given consequences either from the state or city courts or their home campus based on their poor choices and actions. Many of their consequences come with about a 90 day stay at the alternative school. If these students do not complete their number of days BEFORE the school year concludes, they are required by law to begin the subsequent school year at the DAEP campus, instead of their home campus. For 8th grade students going to 9th grade, this is a "bad" thing. They will not be able to start their high school careers at their home school, with their friends.
So, the DAEP program allows for a select few students to come during the summer at NO CHARGE to the student or parent. The program is four days a week for 6 weeks and ONLY 8 am-12 pm. All the students have to do is come to school on-time, in dress-code and do what they are asked or told to do for the four hours they are present. This should not be a hard thing to do, but for many of these kids, even though they are the among the "best" students on the DAEP campus, it is a very challenging feat. Two students have already been kicked out, and they will spend their full term at the DAEP in the fall, NONE of the days they spent with us this summer will count for them; they simply wasted a portion of their summer.
That being said, there are a few really great, funny kiddos. One of them in my second group struggles with English and Reading as a whole and requires quite a bit of help and guidance from me. While helping him the other day, he looked up at me with an amused yet quizzical look and said,
"Mrs. you must really like riding your bike; your calves are huge!"
I snickered to myself and said in an amused voice, "thank you..."
I knew what he meant. :) My calves are fairly defined generally, but they are even more so now that I have been riding my road bike, this summer.
He didn't think anything of his statement and didn't realize that what he said was incorrect, and he whole-heartedly meant it as a compliment. I took it as such, but it really made me realize how socially handicapped our students are, and how poor their vocabulary really is.
He had no idea that was an inappropriate statement or why it would have been considered such.
He had no idea that he should have used the word defined or a synonym of it instead of "huge". In his world, defined is ONLY used in academic terms when talking about the meaning of a vocabulary word.
As teachers...okay, ME as teacher-- I need to better understand where my kiddos are socially and what vocabulary they know as "academic" versus "social". There is very little PRIOR KNOWLEDGE with these kids--in their lives. Situations like these could so easily be turned into "teachable moments" BUT I am so shocked sometimes by what they do not understand/know that I just sit in shock...and awe at the situation for a while.
Lord, help me be better on my feet when situations come up that I could use to teach my kiddos even more than the prescribed curriculum and state standards. I do not want to embarrass them or make them believe I think they are stupid. I want them to know that I am there to help them better themselves, and I want them to be able see how learning to use words correctly and appropriately will help them become more successful in their lives. I want to help them see that their lives CAN be different and BETTER than what they are currently. Their lives DO NOT have to forever be just as they are right now. These kids are children of God, and they have a destiny. I want them to reach this destiny! God has a plan for them, He wants to prosper them, He does not want them to hurt. Please Father, help me be a guiding light in their lives.
In Jesus' precious name, Amen.
Mrs. ABC
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Schools Out for Summer!
This year was intense to say the least. I enjoy teaching, but even this year challenged that joy. I am not sure what was so exhausting about this year, but I am glad to see it end. Last summer, I taught six weeks of summer school while taking 12 credit hours of Masters coursework, writing three thesis papers and an action research project, all to graduate the Friday BEFORE I was to report back to work for the school year.
This many things on my plate and not having a "real" summer could have been the culprit, but this summer, all I am doing is teaching 8-12 Monday-Thursday for 6 weeks. I will have two nice trips to take as well. Here's hoping that the next school year will be lighter on the stress, and allow for the joy of teaching to be restored.
I am glad that I am teaching this summer because I was bored with only one week in, and I still have time to do what I want in the afternoons and on our three-day-weekends. :)
God is good, regardless of how I am feeling.
He knows just how to lift my spirits and let me know that I AM doing the right thing!
On the last day of school a few of my "old" students, who are eighth graders came by my room and in tears hugged me to tell me that I was the best English teacher they could have ever had, and where I hope that stays true, I am hoping they are blessed with AMAZING English teachers in high school.
There was a student that I did not have as a student, but had to deal with in ITS which is In Team Suspension, the step before an office referral for ISS (In School Suspension). This student came from another school in the district and had SEVERE attitudinal issues. Being that I am a fair but strict teacher, I get some of the harder ITS students to deal with (at least this is what the teachers that send them to me, tell me). So, this student spent something close to 10 days with me in ITS in the FIRST six weeks. That is CRAZY. In that time, we talked through the situation at school, about issues with certain teachers and we discussed how teachers are people, too, and we have bad days and crappy attitudes sometimes, too. I encouraged the student to respond differently to the teachers they had issues with and to sit and talk to them about the issues they had in class.
Finally, this student stopped coming to my class! I was ONLY a 7th grade teacher again! When I would see this student in the hallway, I would speak, and ask how everything was going. I would get random visits from this student throughout the school year, just to say hi! So, on the last day of school, while I am sitting in my class with my advisory (homeroom) kiddos, this student walks in and says, "Bye, Mrs. Clemens; thank you!" and I got the biggest hug EVER!
THIS IS WHY I TEACH!
This wasn't even one of my "roster" students and I touched her life!
Father, thank you for giving me the love, wisdom, and understanding to help you touch the lives of my goonies!
This many things on my plate and not having a "real" summer could have been the culprit, but this summer, all I am doing is teaching 8-12 Monday-Thursday for 6 weeks. I will have two nice trips to take as well. Here's hoping that the next school year will be lighter on the stress, and allow for the joy of teaching to be restored.
I am glad that I am teaching this summer because I was bored with only one week in, and I still have time to do what I want in the afternoons and on our three-day-weekends. :)
God is good, regardless of how I am feeling.
He knows just how to lift my spirits and let me know that I AM doing the right thing!
On the last day of school a few of my "old" students, who are eighth graders came by my room and in tears hugged me to tell me that I was the best English teacher they could have ever had, and where I hope that stays true, I am hoping they are blessed with AMAZING English teachers in high school.
There was a student that I did not have as a student, but had to deal with in ITS which is In Team Suspension, the step before an office referral for ISS (In School Suspension). This student came from another school in the district and had SEVERE attitudinal issues. Being that I am a fair but strict teacher, I get some of the harder ITS students to deal with (at least this is what the teachers that send them to me, tell me). So, this student spent something close to 10 days with me in ITS in the FIRST six weeks. That is CRAZY. In that time, we talked through the situation at school, about issues with certain teachers and we discussed how teachers are people, too, and we have bad days and crappy attitudes sometimes, too. I encouraged the student to respond differently to the teachers they had issues with and to sit and talk to them about the issues they had in class.
Finally, this student stopped coming to my class! I was ONLY a 7th grade teacher again! When I would see this student in the hallway, I would speak, and ask how everything was going. I would get random visits from this student throughout the school year, just to say hi! So, on the last day of school, while I am sitting in my class with my advisory (homeroom) kiddos, this student walks in and says, "Bye, Mrs. Clemens; thank you!" and I got the biggest hug EVER!
THIS IS WHY I TEACH!
This wasn't even one of my "roster" students and I touched her life!
Father, thank you for giving me the love, wisdom, and understanding to help you touch the lives of my goonies!
Friday, March 2, 2012
Are your parents still together?
This week has been very challenging.....again.
Thursday, while my students were doing a writing sample for the state, they had to write about someone they admire or someone who has influenced their lives (positively or negatively).
While writing, a student in my fourth period class, whom I call Barney Bernabe, asked, "Mrs. Clemens, are your parents still together?"
I responded, "Yes, they are."
He took a deep breath and said, "Wow! You are SO lucky!" At the same time the rest of the class exhaled in awe.
This gave me pause.
Earlier this week I was reminded (through the misfortune of one of my students) how lucky I am to have my parents for a completely different reason, but just two short days later, I have realized that I take for granted the good things that come with having parents that are still HAPPILY and JOYFULLY married.
For being so much older than my students, they teach me so much daily. Their lives are remarkably challenging. The sadness seems to never end. My heart breaks...
There is no "organized chaos" in their lives, and I am beyond grateful to share the understanding that 90% of the time the chaos in my life is organized, albeit chaos.
Maybe the changes that need to happen in my classroom this year are supposed to happen in me! I hate learning lessons....especially when it is my goonies teaching me.
They make me feel like I do not have anything useful to teach them when their thoughts, fears and feelings are so profound. I know that this is NOT the case; I do have things to teach them; however, that does not make it any easier to know my life is blessed, and theirs seems so disheveled and unstable. I want them to live the blessed life I did....or at least one excruciatingly similar.
Thursday, while my students were doing a writing sample for the state, they had to write about someone they admire or someone who has influenced their lives (positively or negatively).
While writing, a student in my fourth period class, whom I call Barney Bernabe, asked, "Mrs. Clemens, are your parents still together?"
I responded, "Yes, they are."
He took a deep breath and said, "Wow! You are SO lucky!" At the same time the rest of the class exhaled in awe.
This gave me pause.
Earlier this week I was reminded (through the misfortune of one of my students) how lucky I am to have my parents for a completely different reason, but just two short days later, I have realized that I take for granted the good things that come with having parents that are still HAPPILY and JOYFULLY married.
For being so much older than my students, they teach me so much daily. Their lives are remarkably challenging. The sadness seems to never end. My heart breaks...
There is no "organized chaos" in their lives, and I am beyond grateful to share the understanding that 90% of the time the chaos in my life is organized, albeit chaos.
Maybe the changes that need to happen in my classroom this year are supposed to happen in me! I hate learning lessons....especially when it is my goonies teaching me.
They make me feel like I do not have anything useful to teach them when their thoughts, fears and feelings are so profound. I know that this is NOT the case; I do have things to teach them; however, that does not make it any easier to know my life is blessed, and theirs seems so disheveled and unstable. I want them to live the blessed life I did....or at least one excruciatingly similar.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Leap Day/Leap Year
After school today, I had ONE student show up for tutoring. During this time I was filling out a form that needed the date. As I wrote, "2.28.12" on the form, I remarked that this is a weird year.
The student said, "Weird year...what do you mean?"
I said, "February has 29 days in it this year. That is weird; it only happens ONCE every four years."
His expression was completely priceless. He looked at me as if he had NEVER before heard about this phenomenon.
I said, "The 29th of February, when it happens...is called Leap Day and it makes the year 'Leap Year'. You've never heard of this before?"
He said, "Huh....nope. Leap day?"
This is just another shock to my system.....it absolutely BLOWS MY MIND......my goonies have such little prior knowledge......social knowledge. It is no wonder that putting things into perspective for them is so difficult.
He didn't even know that February normally DOES NOT have 29 days....
Prayers for sanity are appreciated....AND prayers for helping me know how to best reach my rugrats....
Thanks,
Mrs. ABC
Sudden shock
Today, I received an email for a withdrawal grade for one of my best students. This student is a very strong reader and writer and although, too talkative most of the time, like many of my students, this student is precious.
I was so surprised by this, as was another co-worker of mine, so we did some research. I found out that this student was living with friends currently. Mom was in the picture, but has been AWOL for quite some time, leaving this student with the friends.
At some point in the past this student and Mom were beaten while at the friends' house, and had to spend some time in an abuse shelter. The threat was finally out of the picture and this student and Mom were able to move back in with the friends. Since then is when Mom went AWOL.
This past week Mom tried to commit suicide, she was unsuccessful, but was subsequently placed on life support. This weekend the family made the decision to pull Mom off life-support.
So fairly short story, even shorter, this student lost Mom. This student will be moving to live with older brother in a completely different city.
I feel so sorry for my student. I CANNOT imagine having to deal with ANY of this history at my age, but especially not in the transforming and challenging years of pre-teen adolescents.
Life is too short. Make sure you regularly, if not daily, tell those around you that you love them, and how special they are to you.
Please keep this student in your prayers. Comfort, peace, and eternal love are definitely needed right now.
Blessings,
Mrs. ABC
I was so surprised by this, as was another co-worker of mine, so we did some research. I found out that this student was living with friends currently. Mom was in the picture, but has been AWOL for quite some time, leaving this student with the friends.
At some point in the past this student and Mom were beaten while at the friends' house, and had to spend some time in an abuse shelter. The threat was finally out of the picture and this student and Mom were able to move back in with the friends. Since then is when Mom went AWOL.
This past week Mom tried to commit suicide, she was unsuccessful, but was subsequently placed on life support. This weekend the family made the decision to pull Mom off life-support.
So fairly short story, even shorter, this student lost Mom. This student will be moving to live with older brother in a completely different city.
I feel so sorry for my student. I CANNOT imagine having to deal with ANY of this history at my age, but especially not in the transforming and challenging years of pre-teen adolescents.
Life is too short. Make sure you regularly, if not daily, tell those around you that you love them, and how special they are to you.
Please keep this student in your prayers. Comfort, peace, and eternal love are definitely needed right now.
Blessings,
Mrs. ABC
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