I find myself struggling to catch up with my life. Summer is supposed to be a slower pace, with more gentle pressures than those of the school year. And yet here I am, scrambling to make it to each meeting on time, burning the midnight oil to finish grad school papers, walking around bleary-eyed with 4-year-old campers with way too much energy. This can't be summer; this is more like February or something. Good grief...
I'm taking a grad school class in which the professor thinks I have no life. (I'm pretty sure this is a requirement for the job. The university actively seeks professors with a similar perspective.) My summer job has started, and it's a hoot. We have 21 small kids this week. I always like this part. It's nice to be around a different age-group of kids than I am with during the school year. Four-year-olds are VERY different from 12-year-olds. We had a blast at the zoo, and next week we go to OMSI on our field trip.
Things have not changed on the home front. I have big plans for the spare room, currently full of boxes and stuff... but I always have big plans for that room. I would like to paint the bathroom... but I always want to paint the bathroom. I probably won't. At least our yard is nice. Back in March, Mr. Chandler and I set a goal for ourselves: to have our backyard finished by the end of May. We weeded and planted and watered and potted and trimmed and swept and whatever else, and except for adding some extra potting soil to existing plants, we actually accomplished our goal. It's a good thing, too, because now we're swamped and have no time to work on it. I had planned to sit around pruning things in pots whenever we let the dogs run around, but instead I'm trying to get through the reading for my class. Oh well. I have a parsley plant that's now 3 feet tall. It's kind of fun.
So this summer thing, this season that's supposed to be relaxing... I think it was kidnapped by aliens and is being impersonated by something evil, something that eats up schedules and time and sleep. I hope my students are having an easier time of it.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
How Many Questions Are on This Test?
School is out... and I've finally cleaned up and checked out of my classroom. I've turned in my keys and my ID badge, and I posted my grades... and I even attempted to go on vacation... and yet I still have all of these meetings to go to! When, exactly, does this school year end???
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Third Week of June
Monday
The speeches began today! Granted, the students who gave their speeches today were, in general, the most responsible of my kids (those most likely to be ready for such a huge deadline on a Monday in June). Even taking that into consideration, however, I was proud and pleased with the speeches they gave today. They did a wonderful job! Also, I found myself jotting down book titles as I listened so that I could check them out from the library later on. That might be the best evidence of how well they did – that what they had to say made me want to read the books for myself!
Today was also the first day that I accepted creative projects from students, and it was quite entertaining. One of the best creative projects was a cake that was decorated to look like a concentration camp (to represent the place where the writer of an autobiography was sent by the Nazis). The student presenting this cake had constructed a small wood-and-glue cabin to represent the camp barracks and a wood-and-wire fence that looked like barbed wire. It was impressive and showed a lot of effort on the student’s part. Also, it was quite tasty.
Tuesday
Of all the days to have to be gone…
I had a sub today. There are four days left in the school year (counting today), and my students are delivering speeches and turning in their end-of-the-year projects all week (for very big grades). And I have to be gone. The real problem here is that when the Director of Human Resources says, “Let’s meet next week on Tuesday. How about at noon?” I don’t want to be the only one that tells him no! He’s sort of in charge of everyone in the whole district, and I need him to take care of some stuff for us… Argh.
I’m reminded of one of my favorite movies – Grosse Point Blank – in which one character is trying to persuade the main character Martin Blank to join his union of professional assassins. Martin’s response is to ask, “This union… are there going to be meetings?” The first man says, “Of course!” Martin says (emphatically), “NO MEETINGS,” and then sends a volley of gunfire back at the first man. That’s how I feel… With the possible exception of the HR Director and Boss of Everyone, I really wish I could just tell people, “NO MEETINGS.”
Wednesday
And the speeches continue! More fabulous speeches, more amazing projects… I’m going to save this and remind all of my kids how well it went next year when they gripe about having to do speeches or projects. Take that, lazy preteens. Institutional memory is coming back to haunt you.
I uncovered a scandalous conspiracy today. In my first period class, three students chose to decorate cakes for their creative projects. Conveniently, one presented her cake to the class on Monday. One presented his cake to the class today. And the last said she would be ready to present her cake to the class tomorrow. VERY suspicious… almost like they planned the timing so we would be eating cake on three different days this week. In fact, when I asked one of the girls about this, she smiled and refused to answer. AHA! Caught frosting-handed…
Thursday
One day left. You’d think I’d be all over this whole “getting ready for the end of the year” thing since I’ve been complaining about needing a vacation or being anxious for summer for the last four months. I’m not. I’m not ready at all. I still have to get all of the speeches done and the posters graded. I have to finish grading the mountain of work in the Late Work basket. I have to clean up my classroom and pack up my curriculum crates and inventory the books. I have to post grades and then use those to do report cards. I have to clean out the mess that is my closet (affectionately referred to in the classroom as the Closet of Doom) and repack it with 7th grade curriculum to make room on my bookshelves for the 8th grade stuff for next year. I have to finish my supply ordering. Oh, and I completely forgot about getting ready for my summer job! I have to make a final decision so that Mr. Chandler can complete our shirt order for the summer. I have to look over and make corrections to the bus schedule. I have to finalize our craft order and make a shopping list for everything we’re not ordering.
This post is making me tired. I need a personal assistant and a nap.
Friday
THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! It’s finally here! And do you think it could go according to plan? Not a chance. I had lovely ideas about showing a movie. Since we studied medieval China in May, I figured I could show a movie that discusses ancient Chinese rituals and traditions – like Kung Fu Panda. But we weren’t done with speeches or book chats or creative project presentations. During the last hour of the day, we had yearbook signing. I planned to be there for the whole time, but an EA stopped me in the hallway and made me write in the librarian’s yearbook, and then a 6th grade teacher had a question for me, and then my phone rang and I had to run back to my classroom, and then… well, you get the idea.
After school, I went to the district office to interview the superintendent for my graduate class. She was very nice, but her secretary apparently only scheduled me for 30 minutes instead of the hour I’d requested. We were interrupted for a grievance hearing (that I, for once, did NOT have to be at), so I went back to school for a little while. Then I went to a going-away party at Edgefield for a friend of mine who used to be the counselor at my old school and is moving to Nevada. There were a few people from her new school and quite a few from my old school. Strangely enough, I spent most of my time talking with two of the teachers from the pod across the hall at my current school. Parties are not my thing. Oh well… Apparently I’ve skipped enough of them that my very presence is meaningful. People kept commenting on how amazed they were to see me there, how nice it was of me to come to the party, etc. I didn’t even have to come up with any witty conversation! (You see? There’s a reason I cultivate this anti-social persona… I don’t have to work as hard at social gatherings as everyone else. It’s enough that I’m there.)
Saturday
Weird. I’m sitting at the coffee shop blogging (avoiding my grad school assignments) while this group of people is holding some sort of political meeting behind me. It’s called the Coffee Party, and apparently it’s for people who want to gather and drink coffee and talk about various political issues. That sounds... like a recipe for disaster, actually. (It sounds a little bit like communism… It’s lovely in theory, but it doesn’t work in practice.) Anyway, I can hear the lady who is leading the meeting as she talks to the group. You know how some people have that annoying habit of asking themselves a question and then answering it? (Do I want you to be successful in life? Of course. Do I think you can only do that by graduating from Harvard and becoming a doctor? No, I don’t. That sort of thing.) This Coffee Party lady is doing that. After pulling out a chart and referring to it, she said, “What am I showing you this for? I’m going to explain why.” How weird… I think the Coffee Party is not for me.
The speeches began today! Granted, the students who gave their speeches today were, in general, the most responsible of my kids (those most likely to be ready for such a huge deadline on a Monday in June). Even taking that into consideration, however, I was proud and pleased with the speeches they gave today. They did a wonderful job! Also, I found myself jotting down book titles as I listened so that I could check them out from the library later on. That might be the best evidence of how well they did – that what they had to say made me want to read the books for myself!
Today was also the first day that I accepted creative projects from students, and it was quite entertaining. One of the best creative projects was a cake that was decorated to look like a concentration camp (to represent the place where the writer of an autobiography was sent by the Nazis). The student presenting this cake had constructed a small wood-and-glue cabin to represent the camp barracks and a wood-and-wire fence that looked like barbed wire. It was impressive and showed a lot of effort on the student’s part. Also, it was quite tasty.
Tuesday
Of all the days to have to be gone…
I had a sub today. There are four days left in the school year (counting today), and my students are delivering speeches and turning in their end-of-the-year projects all week (for very big grades). And I have to be gone. The real problem here is that when the Director of Human Resources says, “Let’s meet next week on Tuesday. How about at noon?” I don’t want to be the only one that tells him no! He’s sort of in charge of everyone in the whole district, and I need him to take care of some stuff for us… Argh.
I’m reminded of one of my favorite movies – Grosse Point Blank – in which one character is trying to persuade the main character Martin Blank to join his union of professional assassins. Martin’s response is to ask, “This union… are there going to be meetings?” The first man says, “Of course!” Martin says (emphatically), “NO MEETINGS,” and then sends a volley of gunfire back at the first man. That’s how I feel… With the possible exception of the HR Director and Boss of Everyone, I really wish I could just tell people, “NO MEETINGS.”
Wednesday
And the speeches continue! More fabulous speeches, more amazing projects… I’m going to save this and remind all of my kids how well it went next year when they gripe about having to do speeches or projects. Take that, lazy preteens. Institutional memory is coming back to haunt you.
I uncovered a scandalous conspiracy today. In my first period class, three students chose to decorate cakes for their creative projects. Conveniently, one presented her cake to the class on Monday. One presented his cake to the class today. And the last said she would be ready to present her cake to the class tomorrow. VERY suspicious… almost like they planned the timing so we would be eating cake on three different days this week. In fact, when I asked one of the girls about this, she smiled and refused to answer. AHA! Caught frosting-handed…
Thursday
One day left. You’d think I’d be all over this whole “getting ready for the end of the year” thing since I’ve been complaining about needing a vacation or being anxious for summer for the last four months. I’m not. I’m not ready at all. I still have to get all of the speeches done and the posters graded. I have to finish grading the mountain of work in the Late Work basket. I have to clean up my classroom and pack up my curriculum crates and inventory the books. I have to post grades and then use those to do report cards. I have to clean out the mess that is my closet (affectionately referred to in the classroom as the Closet of Doom) and repack it with 7th grade curriculum to make room on my bookshelves for the 8th grade stuff for next year. I have to finish my supply ordering. Oh, and I completely forgot about getting ready for my summer job! I have to make a final decision so that Mr. Chandler can complete our shirt order for the summer. I have to look over and make corrections to the bus schedule. I have to finalize our craft order and make a shopping list for everything we’re not ordering.
This post is making me tired. I need a personal assistant and a nap.
Friday
THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! It’s finally here! And do you think it could go according to plan? Not a chance. I had lovely ideas about showing a movie. Since we studied medieval China in May, I figured I could show a movie that discusses ancient Chinese rituals and traditions – like Kung Fu Panda. But we weren’t done with speeches or book chats or creative project presentations. During the last hour of the day, we had yearbook signing. I planned to be there for the whole time, but an EA stopped me in the hallway and made me write in the librarian’s yearbook, and then a 6th grade teacher had a question for me, and then my phone rang and I had to run back to my classroom, and then… well, you get the idea.
After school, I went to the district office to interview the superintendent for my graduate class. She was very nice, but her secretary apparently only scheduled me for 30 minutes instead of the hour I’d requested. We were interrupted for a grievance hearing (that I, for once, did NOT have to be at), so I went back to school for a little while. Then I went to a going-away party at Edgefield for a friend of mine who used to be the counselor at my old school and is moving to Nevada. There were a few people from her new school and quite a few from my old school. Strangely enough, I spent most of my time talking with two of the teachers from the pod across the hall at my current school. Parties are not my thing. Oh well… Apparently I’ve skipped enough of them that my very presence is meaningful. People kept commenting on how amazed they were to see me there, how nice it was of me to come to the party, etc. I didn’t even have to come up with any witty conversation! (You see? There’s a reason I cultivate this anti-social persona… I don’t have to work as hard at social gatherings as everyone else. It’s enough that I’m there.)
Saturday
Weird. I’m sitting at the coffee shop blogging (avoiding my grad school assignments) while this group of people is holding some sort of political meeting behind me. It’s called the Coffee Party, and apparently it’s for people who want to gather and drink coffee and talk about various political issues. That sounds... like a recipe for disaster, actually. (It sounds a little bit like communism… It’s lovely in theory, but it doesn’t work in practice.) Anyway, I can hear the lady who is leading the meeting as she talks to the group. You know how some people have that annoying habit of asking themselves a question and then answering it? (Do I want you to be successful in life? Of course. Do I think you can only do that by graduating from Harvard and becoming a doctor? No, I don’t. That sort of thing.) This Coffee Party lady is doing that. After pulling out a chart and referring to it, she said, “What am I showing you this for? I’m going to explain why.” How weird… I think the Coffee Party is not for me.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Second Week of June
Monday
The first speeches were given today! It was very exciting (for me) and terrifying (for the students). But all of the kids who gave their speeches today did a great job. My favorite part by far is when they talk about the themes in their books. I required them to identify big concepts the books deal with and, using those concepts, to pull out a universally applicable theme. It’s the sort of higher-level thinking that usually annoys them – “What do you mean, the answer isn’t in the book?” and that sort of thing… But they seemed relatively interested in exploring their own books this way this time.
Tuesday
I offered an after-school session both yesterday and today, allowing kids to stay and work on assignments they’re missing, quizzes they need to make up, and elements that will eventually go on their book posters. I was struck by the difference between my current students and the students at my old school. At my old school, they all wanted to type their projects; they seemed drawn to the computers in a way that my current students are not. My current students don’t seem to care and are perfectly happy to write out their assignments and projects, unless they have to finish the work at home. Perhaps the difference is related to access – my current students are more likely to have computers at home, while my previous kids (of a much lower socio-economic status) usually only had access to technology at school.
One of our school goals is integrating technology into education, but our current system doesn’t allow that. I would like to have a laptop lab for my classroom – a dedicated set of laptops that students could use with consistency, instead of trudging to the computer lab twice a year after I finally manage to get time on the lab schedule. Our students are sadly lacking in technology skills, including (but not limited to) their word processing skills, and the best solution to this is a little bit of direct instruction at the start and then regular exposure (practice). I usually hate applying for grants, but I might have to look into this. You know, in all of my spare time…
Wednesday
Holy cow. We had a “pride assembly” today, and it was quite possibly the craziest assembly I’ve ever attended. Our mascot is a mustang – Morris the Mustang – and the mascot costume involves a student as the front legs and head of the horse and a student as the back and back legs of the horse. As our drama teacher led the horse around by a lead rope, the student who was the back of the horse would drop wadded-up pieces of paper… as if the horse was pooping! It was hilarious, and the students loved the goofiness.
Thursday
We began rehearsing speeches today. So many of my students are really nervous about these speeches… I see a solution for them, but they don’t really want to take it. The obvious solution is more practice; instead they shy away from even writing their note cards. I’m thinking about designing some kind of lesson for next year that would teach my kids NOT to put off the tough stuff. If you ignore it, it will NOT go away. You’ll just have less time to work on it.
Friday
I began my workday today by interviewing the head secretary from my old school. I have to interview a bunch of different people for this graduate class I’m taking, and she was the first. It was nice to see her again, but hearing her perspective on her job, on schools, and on teachers and principals was even better. I wish everyone approached their jobs with the same mix of servant’s heart and efficiency. It was a lovely and encouraging way to start the day.
The evening was not nearly as encouraging. We’re in the midst of some very complicated contract negotiations with the school board right now, and we had another session tonight. We started out in public, facing each other across a table, but spent the rest of the time in our caucus rooms. We would send our spokesperson to meet in a side room with their spokesperson, and then she would come back and report to us what the other side had said. Then we would talk about our options and what we wanted to propose, and then send her back. During the waiting times, when we were sitting around while she was off in the side room, we got a little goofy. We played “Name That Show Tune” using someone’s iPod music library. We had mini dance parties when certain songs played. We drew cartoon pictures of an octopus attacking a school, a school bus driven by wild students (that was mine), and a monkey throwing fruit at kids and teachers while hanging from the top of the flagpole. (We were a little bored at times…) The negotiations themselves did not go well at all. We took some of our proposed changes back to make it easier to settle, and they added more proposed changes. We came down a little on money, and they dropped their offer more. (These people do not understand the concept of negotiating.) It was discouraging and exhausting, and I’m ready to sleep now.
Saturday
Mr. Chandler’s brother and his wife came over this morning to talk to us about the new house they just bought. It's very exciting... (And it's cute; I've seen it.) We all sat around in the back yard, enjoying the brief sunshine and watching our dogs play in the yard. They brought their border collie (my niece dog), who tried to get my dogs to play with her. Little Dog was confused by this, but he followed her around obligingly. Big Dog (who is still smaller than Niece Dog) would chase her or run from her when she chased him, but didn’t know what to do when she introduced a stick -- a fetching concept -- to the game. (We’re not big on fetching… we try to avoid letting Big Dog have anything in his mouth that didn’t come from his food bowl.) Anyway, a lovely, relaxed time was had by all.
The first speeches were given today! It was very exciting (for me) and terrifying (for the students). But all of the kids who gave their speeches today did a great job. My favorite part by far is when they talk about the themes in their books. I required them to identify big concepts the books deal with and, using those concepts, to pull out a universally applicable theme. It’s the sort of higher-level thinking that usually annoys them – “What do you mean, the answer isn’t in the book?” and that sort of thing… But they seemed relatively interested in exploring their own books this way this time.
Tuesday
I offered an after-school session both yesterday and today, allowing kids to stay and work on assignments they’re missing, quizzes they need to make up, and elements that will eventually go on their book posters. I was struck by the difference between my current students and the students at my old school. At my old school, they all wanted to type their projects; they seemed drawn to the computers in a way that my current students are not. My current students don’t seem to care and are perfectly happy to write out their assignments and projects, unless they have to finish the work at home. Perhaps the difference is related to access – my current students are more likely to have computers at home, while my previous kids (of a much lower socio-economic status) usually only had access to technology at school.
One of our school goals is integrating technology into education, but our current system doesn’t allow that. I would like to have a laptop lab for my classroom – a dedicated set of laptops that students could use with consistency, instead of trudging to the computer lab twice a year after I finally manage to get time on the lab schedule. Our students are sadly lacking in technology skills, including (but not limited to) their word processing skills, and the best solution to this is a little bit of direct instruction at the start and then regular exposure (practice). I usually hate applying for grants, but I might have to look into this. You know, in all of my spare time…
Wednesday
Holy cow. We had a “pride assembly” today, and it was quite possibly the craziest assembly I’ve ever attended. Our mascot is a mustang – Morris the Mustang – and the mascot costume involves a student as the front legs and head of the horse and a student as the back and back legs of the horse. As our drama teacher led the horse around by a lead rope, the student who was the back of the horse would drop wadded-up pieces of paper… as if the horse was pooping! It was hilarious, and the students loved the goofiness.
Thursday
We began rehearsing speeches today. So many of my students are really nervous about these speeches… I see a solution for them, but they don’t really want to take it. The obvious solution is more practice; instead they shy away from even writing their note cards. I’m thinking about designing some kind of lesson for next year that would teach my kids NOT to put off the tough stuff. If you ignore it, it will NOT go away. You’ll just have less time to work on it.
Friday
I began my workday today by interviewing the head secretary from my old school. I have to interview a bunch of different people for this graduate class I’m taking, and she was the first. It was nice to see her again, but hearing her perspective on her job, on schools, and on teachers and principals was even better. I wish everyone approached their jobs with the same mix of servant’s heart and efficiency. It was a lovely and encouraging way to start the day.
The evening was not nearly as encouraging. We’re in the midst of some very complicated contract negotiations with the school board right now, and we had another session tonight. We started out in public, facing each other across a table, but spent the rest of the time in our caucus rooms. We would send our spokesperson to meet in a side room with their spokesperson, and then she would come back and report to us what the other side had said. Then we would talk about our options and what we wanted to propose, and then send her back. During the waiting times, when we were sitting around while she was off in the side room, we got a little goofy. We played “Name That Show Tune” using someone’s iPod music library. We had mini dance parties when certain songs played. We drew cartoon pictures of an octopus attacking a school, a school bus driven by wild students (that was mine), and a monkey throwing fruit at kids and teachers while hanging from the top of the flagpole. (We were a little bored at times…) The negotiations themselves did not go well at all. We took some of our proposed changes back to make it easier to settle, and they added more proposed changes. We came down a little on money, and they dropped their offer more. (These people do not understand the concept of negotiating.) It was discouraging and exhausting, and I’m ready to sleep now.
Saturday
Mr. Chandler’s brother and his wife came over this morning to talk to us about the new house they just bought. It's very exciting... (And it's cute; I've seen it.) We all sat around in the back yard, enjoying the brief sunshine and watching our dogs play in the yard. They brought their border collie (my niece dog), who tried to get my dogs to play with her. Little Dog was confused by this, but he followed her around obligingly. Big Dog (who is still smaller than Niece Dog) would chase her or run from her when she chased him, but didn’t know what to do when she introduced a stick -- a fetching concept -- to the game. (We’re not big on fetching… we try to avoid letting Big Dog have anything in his mouth that didn’t come from his food bowl.) Anyway, a lovely, relaxed time was had by all.
First Week of June
Monday
Mmm… for Memorial Day, my indulgent husband took me to Barnes and Noble for an hour or so. What a lovely way to spend a holiday. I’ve wanted a B&N bag for a while now, and today I found the perfect one. Plus, we bought a new Newberry Medal book to start off our summer reading.
Tuesday
Mr. Chandler’s car was under construction this weekend, so he took my car to work today. After school, I walked to the Troutdale Starbucks to meet my best friend (Soldier Girl). It was nice to sit and talk, especially after a long, rainy day with restless pre-teens.
Tonight, as we were watching something funny and brainless on TV, I caught a phrase that I need to start using in the classroom. The twirly chair at the back of my classroom is still causing issues with my boys, but I think I found the solution. I can’t remember what show it was on, but the character in the show was having a similar problem with a chair. To fix the problem, he placed his chair in a state of eternal dibs. (What genius!) When his friends complained, he said, “Cathedra mea, regulae meae.” (That’s Latin for “my chair, my rules.”) I love it. I’m going to use that.
Wednesday
Wow. It’s only Saturday, and I’ve already forgotten what happened on Wednesday. That’s sad… I need a vacation. Perhaps a summer vacation...
Thursday
I had some students stay after school today. Some of them were making up a quiz, some of them were working on their projects, and one of them was there to serve a detention. I was supposed to be writing sub plans for tomorrow, but instead I spent my time trying to keep the students from distracting each other. (Okay, let’s be honest. I was trying to keep the one detention student from distracting all of the others.) I ended up staying at school until after 6 p.m. to get my sub plans done and my classroom set up for a sub. I’m really looking forward to this summer. At summer camp, if I get pulled into a meeting, there are four other adult staff members to keep things going, and they know exactly what to do.
Friday
My union president and I spent today in meetings together. This morning, we had a difficult meeting with a very troubled teacher who has some health concerns. I don’t know what she should do, but we wanted her to know what her options were. It was an incredibly awkward session, but then the teacher thanked us for coming to talk to her. Specifically, she thanked us for talking openly with her about things that no one else would talk about.
Usually I feel like my direct honesty is a curse; it weeds out would-be friends who aren’t willing to be genuine and causes the people I work with to pawn awkward conversations or confrontations off onto me. (Seriously, they give me all the tough ones.) To get through these, I think to myself, “I’ve been through worse. I’ve had to talk about far more difficult stuff with far more unpleasant people, and I’ve survived. I can do this.” It also helps me to tell myself, “No one else will tell this person the truth, and they’re obviously frustrated by that. I’m not going to be just one more person who gives them the ‘run-around.’ “ This approach has served me well over the last five years (which is about how long I’ve been paying attention to this stuff), and the people I’ve spoken with seem to appreciate getting the truth. About a month ago, I had an awkward talk with a teacher who was sending really angry, nasty emails to the union president. I basically told her she needed to change her tone, while still validating her concerns. Now she emails me to ask for my perspective on district decisions, school board decisions and statements, and union gossip. I’m taking that as recognition on her part that I tell the truth, and I like that.
This afternoon, our negotiations team met to talk about our contract negotiations with the school district. I’m not really a negotiator… I prefer to get to the bottom line and problem-solve. I’m too honest to start higher or lower than where I want to end up. I wouldn’t make it in a Middle Eastern market; I’m just not a haggler!
Saturday
I needed to finish a couple assignments for my graduate school class today, and my den is just not a good study location. There are friendly, cuddly dogs demanding ear-scratches, a variety of books that are way more interesting than my textbook, and Mr. Chandler’s huge flat screen TV (and my DVR). So we hit the open road in search of a more appropriate location. We settled in the lobby of one of our favorite hotels and ordered dinner from the lounge. It was nice, but I’m having a hard time with all of these spur-of-the-moment decisions. I need a plan. I need to have something planned, preferably ahead of time so I can look forward to it all week. I’m going to try to make a plan for tomorrow… I’ll let you know how it goes.
Sunday
So we came up with a plan. We bought a book of scenic drives in Oregon when we were at the bookstore on Monday, and one of the drives involves a route through the winery-packed area outside Forest Grove. It rained for most of our 3-hour journey, but it was still beautiful. The scenic winery drive wound through fields and forests west of Forest Grove and then led us through the lovely Pacific University campus. Then we headed south through more winery properties and eventually circled around an intriguing lake and recreation area (which I didn’t even realize was there). Then we headed back over hill and dale, as they say, driving across the highest point in Washington County and experiencing some pretty spectacular views in the process. We ended up in Tigard and made our leisurely way back home. It was so nice to forget about grading papers and reading textbooks and to just experience the scenery and talk. It makes me long for summer.
Mmm… for Memorial Day, my indulgent husband took me to Barnes and Noble for an hour or so. What a lovely way to spend a holiday. I’ve wanted a B&N bag for a while now, and today I found the perfect one. Plus, we bought a new Newberry Medal book to start off our summer reading.
Tuesday
Mr. Chandler’s car was under construction this weekend, so he took my car to work today. After school, I walked to the Troutdale Starbucks to meet my best friend (Soldier Girl). It was nice to sit and talk, especially after a long, rainy day with restless pre-teens.
Tonight, as we were watching something funny and brainless on TV, I caught a phrase that I need to start using in the classroom. The twirly chair at the back of my classroom is still causing issues with my boys, but I think I found the solution. I can’t remember what show it was on, but the character in the show was having a similar problem with a chair. To fix the problem, he placed his chair in a state of eternal dibs. (What genius!) When his friends complained, he said, “Cathedra mea, regulae meae.” (That’s Latin for “my chair, my rules.”) I love it. I’m going to use that.
Wednesday
Wow. It’s only Saturday, and I’ve already forgotten what happened on Wednesday. That’s sad… I need a vacation. Perhaps a summer vacation...
Thursday
I had some students stay after school today. Some of them were making up a quiz, some of them were working on their projects, and one of them was there to serve a detention. I was supposed to be writing sub plans for tomorrow, but instead I spent my time trying to keep the students from distracting each other. (Okay, let’s be honest. I was trying to keep the one detention student from distracting all of the others.) I ended up staying at school until after 6 p.m. to get my sub plans done and my classroom set up for a sub. I’m really looking forward to this summer. At summer camp, if I get pulled into a meeting, there are four other adult staff members to keep things going, and they know exactly what to do.
Friday
My union president and I spent today in meetings together. This morning, we had a difficult meeting with a very troubled teacher who has some health concerns. I don’t know what she should do, but we wanted her to know what her options were. It was an incredibly awkward session, but then the teacher thanked us for coming to talk to her. Specifically, she thanked us for talking openly with her about things that no one else would talk about.
Usually I feel like my direct honesty is a curse; it weeds out would-be friends who aren’t willing to be genuine and causes the people I work with to pawn awkward conversations or confrontations off onto me. (Seriously, they give me all the tough ones.) To get through these, I think to myself, “I’ve been through worse. I’ve had to talk about far more difficult stuff with far more unpleasant people, and I’ve survived. I can do this.” It also helps me to tell myself, “No one else will tell this person the truth, and they’re obviously frustrated by that. I’m not going to be just one more person who gives them the ‘run-around.’ “ This approach has served me well over the last five years (which is about how long I’ve been paying attention to this stuff), and the people I’ve spoken with seem to appreciate getting the truth. About a month ago, I had an awkward talk with a teacher who was sending really angry, nasty emails to the union president. I basically told her she needed to change her tone, while still validating her concerns. Now she emails me to ask for my perspective on district decisions, school board decisions and statements, and union gossip. I’m taking that as recognition on her part that I tell the truth, and I like that.
This afternoon, our negotiations team met to talk about our contract negotiations with the school district. I’m not really a negotiator… I prefer to get to the bottom line and problem-solve. I’m too honest to start higher or lower than where I want to end up. I wouldn’t make it in a Middle Eastern market; I’m just not a haggler!
Saturday
I needed to finish a couple assignments for my graduate school class today, and my den is just not a good study location. There are friendly, cuddly dogs demanding ear-scratches, a variety of books that are way more interesting than my textbook, and Mr. Chandler’s huge flat screen TV (and my DVR). So we hit the open road in search of a more appropriate location. We settled in the lobby of one of our favorite hotels and ordered dinner from the lounge. It was nice, but I’m having a hard time with all of these spur-of-the-moment decisions. I need a plan. I need to have something planned, preferably ahead of time so I can look forward to it all week. I’m going to try to make a plan for tomorrow… I’ll let you know how it goes.
Sunday
So we came up with a plan. We bought a book of scenic drives in Oregon when we were at the bookstore on Monday, and one of the drives involves a route through the winery-packed area outside Forest Grove. It rained for most of our 3-hour journey, but it was still beautiful. The scenic winery drive wound through fields and forests west of Forest Grove and then led us through the lovely Pacific University campus. Then we headed south through more winery properties and eventually circled around an intriguing lake and recreation area (which I didn’t even realize was there). Then we headed back over hill and dale, as they say, driving across the highest point in Washington County and experiencing some pretty spectacular views in the process. We ended up in Tigard and made our leisurely way back home. It was so nice to forget about grading papers and reading textbooks and to just experience the scenery and talk. It makes me long for summer.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
A Pop Quiz for ME
My favorite movie theater sends me weekly coupons because I’m a “member.” I’m not entirely sure how you get to be a member of a movie theater, but I’m part of their loyal patron group. Mostly they send stupid coupons, like discounts for weeknights on movies I never want to see. Occasionally they send me good stuff, and the truth is that I’d go see movies there with or without coupons. In addition to the weekly coupons and the ads for movies that aren’t even out yet, they include a “movie quote of the week.” It’s like my own personal pop quiz! I love it.
Occasionally my students try to give me pop quizzes with movie quotes, but they’re always super easy. (I think there’s some sort of insult buried in that! It sounds like my students think I have no life to the extent that they assume I haven’t seen even the most well-known movies…) Today, one of my girls tried a pop quiz on me. She said, “ ‘Allo, Poppet…” in a British accent and then grinned at me like I was going to be stumped or confused. (For those of you living under a rock, that’s from Pirates of the Caribbean.) I think I said something like, “Come on! You’re not even trying!” Oh well. At least my movie theater challenges me…
Occasionally my students try to give me pop quizzes with movie quotes, but they’re always super easy. (I think there’s some sort of insult buried in that! It sounds like my students think I have no life to the extent that they assume I haven’t seen even the most well-known movies…) Today, one of my girls tried a pop quiz on me. She said, “ ‘Allo, Poppet…” in a British accent and then grinned at me like I was going to be stumped or confused. (For those of you living under a rock, that’s from Pirates of the Caribbean.) I think I said something like, “Come on! You’re not even trying!” Oh well. At least my movie theater challenges me…
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Fourth Week of May
Monday
My students continued working on their invention papers today. They are so creative! Some of them came up with incredibly inventive things… inventive inventions? Also, I’m so thankful that my students have internalized the writing process enough to be able to work through it without me reminding them about every single step. Several students asked for transitions lists (which is wonderful because I forgot to mention them!). The next step, then, is for them to have several transitions memorized so that they no longer have to look at a list to remember them. I’ll have to work on that. I sense an assignment coming on...
Tuesday
Today’s staff meeting was a union meeting – 45 minutes of teacher association business. We have a great building rep who usually runs these meetings (and they usually only last 10 minutes). Today, she started the meeting as usual, but within 15 minutes, she and others were asking me to clarify or add information or answer questions. By the end of the meeting, I was standing up and taking all of the questions. I don’t mind, as long as no one else minds. But I have these moments -- and this was definitely one of them -- in which I want to stop and say to someone, “What the heck just happened here?”
Wednesday
You know what this party needs? A PROJECT!
Let’s end the year with a nice, solid performance assessment. How about a speech and a poster? Even better, let’s add a choose-your-own third option as a creative project. We just did a paper about Chinese inventions, so… let’s pick something else for our project. We just finished reading a novel together, but it might be nice if the kids can choose a book they really liked for the project. Let’s make it a book report of sorts. …a book report on steroids, really. This will be great. The kids can work at their own pace with specific project deadlines, and the last week of school will be dedicated to speeches and presentations (which means no extra grading for me). This is perfect! Why didn’t I think of this before?
(I did. I’ve done a performance assessment project at the end of the year for the last 7 years, and it’s fabulous. Last year, I did two of them – Night of the Notables for my language arts kids and another version of the book-report-on-steroids for my advanced literacy kids. Projects ROCK!)
Thursday
I love this part! I introduced the book project yesterday and gave the kids a chance to go over the requirements, the due dates, and all of the parts of the project and ask their questions. Today, they get to sign up for books. Every student has to pick a book to report on, and I love getting to hear the choices. Many of them surprised me by choosing books I didn’t expect. I’m excited to see what they come up with for their projects. It makes me want to do a creative project of my own for one of my books. (But I can't. I have too much grading to do. Ugh!)
Friday
I don’t work on Fridays anymore. Have I mentioned that? I keep getting pulled into meetings on Fridays, so it’s probably more accurate to say I don’t teach on Fridays anymore. It was kind of fun the first time – three weeks ago. But now, it’s just obnoxious. And I can’t say no; the meetings I’m getting pulled into are called by my union president and the director of human resources (my bosses’ boss). Good grief. Anyway, I had a sub again today. My students started compiling their notes so they can write their speeches next week. (That might be a good plan for Friday; I’ll probably need a sub again.)
After all of my meetings, I was able to get together with my dear retired teacher-friend Gretchen again. It was lovely to sit and talk with her about our families, about our hobbies, about our husbands, about our personalities, our faith... She is truly my kindred spirit, and it refreshes my soul to spend time with her.
Then my best friend (Soldier Girl) came over so we could forget about our long weeks by focusing on pizza and inappropriate cartoon shows. This is a fabulous start to the weekend.
My students continued working on their invention papers today. They are so creative! Some of them came up with incredibly inventive things… inventive inventions? Also, I’m so thankful that my students have internalized the writing process enough to be able to work through it without me reminding them about every single step. Several students asked for transitions lists (which is wonderful because I forgot to mention them!). The next step, then, is for them to have several transitions memorized so that they no longer have to look at a list to remember them. I’ll have to work on that. I sense an assignment coming on...
Tuesday
Today’s staff meeting was a union meeting – 45 minutes of teacher association business. We have a great building rep who usually runs these meetings (and they usually only last 10 minutes). Today, she started the meeting as usual, but within 15 minutes, she and others were asking me to clarify or add information or answer questions. By the end of the meeting, I was standing up and taking all of the questions. I don’t mind, as long as no one else minds. But I have these moments -- and this was definitely one of them -- in which I want to stop and say to someone, “What the heck just happened here?”
Wednesday
You know what this party needs? A PROJECT!
Let’s end the year with a nice, solid performance assessment. How about a speech and a poster? Even better, let’s add a choose-your-own third option as a creative project. We just did a paper about Chinese inventions, so… let’s pick something else for our project. We just finished reading a novel together, but it might be nice if the kids can choose a book they really liked for the project. Let’s make it a book report of sorts. …a book report on steroids, really. This will be great. The kids can work at their own pace with specific project deadlines, and the last week of school will be dedicated to speeches and presentations (which means no extra grading for me). This is perfect! Why didn’t I think of this before?
(I did. I’ve done a performance assessment project at the end of the year for the last 7 years, and it’s fabulous. Last year, I did two of them – Night of the Notables for my language arts kids and another version of the book-report-on-steroids for my advanced literacy kids. Projects ROCK!)
Thursday
I love this part! I introduced the book project yesterday and gave the kids a chance to go over the requirements, the due dates, and all of the parts of the project and ask their questions. Today, they get to sign up for books. Every student has to pick a book to report on, and I love getting to hear the choices. Many of them surprised me by choosing books I didn’t expect. I’m excited to see what they come up with for their projects. It makes me want to do a creative project of my own for one of my books. (But I can't. I have too much grading to do. Ugh!)
Friday
I don’t work on Fridays anymore. Have I mentioned that? I keep getting pulled into meetings on Fridays, so it’s probably more accurate to say I don’t teach on Fridays anymore. It was kind of fun the first time – three weeks ago. But now, it’s just obnoxious. And I can’t say no; the meetings I’m getting pulled into are called by my union president and the director of human resources (my bosses’ boss). Good grief. Anyway, I had a sub again today. My students started compiling their notes so they can write their speeches next week. (That might be a good plan for Friday; I’ll probably need a sub again.)
After all of my meetings, I was able to get together with my dear retired teacher-friend Gretchen again. It was lovely to sit and talk with her about our families, about our hobbies, about our husbands, about our personalities, our faith... She is truly my kindred spirit, and it refreshes my soul to spend time with her.
Then my best friend (Soldier Girl) came over so we could forget about our long weeks by focusing on pizza and inappropriate cartoon shows. This is a fabulous start to the weekend.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Third Week of May
Monday
We’re working through a novel right now in Language Arts, and today we were supposed to work through chapter 10. Chapter 10 is the big chapter; as I tell the students, it’s the chapter in which stuff starts happening! (By this point in the story, they’re a little tired of 120 pages about cold, hungry beggar children.) Chapter 10 also includes two deaths, one very tragic and one very violent, as well as some swearing from one of the characters. It is quite possibly the most depressing, and yet most action-packed, of all of the chapters in the book.
To ensure that my students handle this chapter with as much maturity that seventh graders can muster, I read the chapter out loud to my students. They listened with increasing attention as the chapter progressed, and in each class period, I worked my read-aloud skills for all they’re worth. As the paragraph involving the swear words approached (and after a hefty lecture to remind them not to react to or repeat those words), I sped up the reading and increased the volume to convey the character’s frustration. By the time we got to the section in which a beloved character dies, the students had no choice but to be listening. (Ex-drama teachers make entertaining readers!) Through the section describing the little boy’s peaceful death, the students were swept along until the story paused for them, and when it did, some of them needed the pause to let the tragedy sink in fully. Then we were off again, on the roller coaster of another character’s vengeful emotions as he leaps into action, helping his little group to escape, rescuing the little girl, and fighting the man responsible for the first death until the man dies and the children race for their lives to escape into the hills… where they finally stop to catch their breath (and my class and I along with them!).
There’s more, of course, in this monumental chapter, but hopefully you get the idea. I don’t usually get to do this; typically the students read a portion to themselves, or they divide up the reading and report to each other in groups, or students take turns reading as the class follows along. Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to be the reader, especially when you’re the most experienced reader in the room (experience reading dramatically and experience with this particular book). Even with such a dismal story, it was thrilling to get that chance. I wish there was more time in the year so that I could do a regular read aloud with my students.
Tuesday
A few weeks ago, I moved my classroom around so that my desk was at the back of the room. This also allowed me to locate the worktable and extra chairs at the back of the room, making them more accessible for use on writer’s workshop days or to visitors. Along with the worktable, I have a second teacher chair (padded, with arms, on wheels). This chair has turned out to be a student magnet. I didn’t realize it when I moved the classroom around, but this chair is the one drawback to the new furniture arrangement. They’re obsessed with the chair; they even argue with each other over who gets to sit in the chair. They flock to it every morning (and afternoon). They fight over whether or not the chair is considered “reserved” if Mrs. Chandler calls you over for something. (Apparently it isn’t.) When I assign them to the worktable for an assignment or for some writing time, they assume I’m allowing them to sit in the chair; they argue with ME if I tell them to move to the normal chair. It reminds me a little too much of siblings fighting for the front seat! I’m going to have to declare the chair a “no go” zone.
Wednesday
More evidence that Murphy is obsessed with me: I had a sub this morning so I could go to a meeting with a teacher at one of the elementary schools. I arrived at work early to write my sub plans and managed to be on my way to the other school in plenty of time for the meeting. As I pulled into the parking lot, my phone rang. It was the union rep at the elementary school calling to tell me that the meeting had been postponed until Friday.
Thursday
Today we finished the novel we’ve been reading in Language Arts. I took volunteer readers until no one else wanted to read, and then I finished the reading myself while my students drew pictures. This is the fun part: I’ve been asking them to draw pictures throughout the novel, and they’ve been pretty depressing so far. Finally, today, the pictures are suddenly much happier, showing glad reunions, successful voyages being completed, children finding a purpose in helping others… It’s quite uplifting!
Friday
I had a sub again today, thanks to a series of meetings with people who apparently forgot that I’m actually supposed to be a classroom teacher. While I was gone, my kids worked on a paper in which they were required to write a fake letter to a fake Chinese emperor describing an invention they'd created. Most of them used actual Chinese inventions that are described in our textbook, but a few of the most creative students made up their own inventions and tried to convince the emperor to try out their fake creations. I love it when they think outside the box!
My second meeting of the morning ended up lasting three hours. It was a crazy situation in which the principal of another school had asked me to talk to him about his strengths and weaknesses as a principal. It was awkward, but productive. When we left, he asked me to meet with him again in a month or so for follow-up, so apparently I didn’t scare him off.
For this meeting, we met at the coffee shop where I seem to hold all of my meetings. My next meeting took place at a restaurant a block away. Before the fourth meeting of the day, we stopped at the coffee shop again. After the fourth meeting, which came to a shockingly abrupt end, we met at the coffee shop again. While I’m sure the proprietor of the café doesn’t mind the additional revenue, he’s got to be wondering by now if I actually work in a real classroom at a real school…
We’re working through a novel right now in Language Arts, and today we were supposed to work through chapter 10. Chapter 10 is the big chapter; as I tell the students, it’s the chapter in which stuff starts happening! (By this point in the story, they’re a little tired of 120 pages about cold, hungry beggar children.) Chapter 10 also includes two deaths, one very tragic and one very violent, as well as some swearing from one of the characters. It is quite possibly the most depressing, and yet most action-packed, of all of the chapters in the book.
To ensure that my students handle this chapter with as much maturity that seventh graders can muster, I read the chapter out loud to my students. They listened with increasing attention as the chapter progressed, and in each class period, I worked my read-aloud skills for all they’re worth. As the paragraph involving the swear words approached (and after a hefty lecture to remind them not to react to or repeat those words), I sped up the reading and increased the volume to convey the character’s frustration. By the time we got to the section in which a beloved character dies, the students had no choice but to be listening. (Ex-drama teachers make entertaining readers!) Through the section describing the little boy’s peaceful death, the students were swept along until the story paused for them, and when it did, some of them needed the pause to let the tragedy sink in fully. Then we were off again, on the roller coaster of another character’s vengeful emotions as he leaps into action, helping his little group to escape, rescuing the little girl, and fighting the man responsible for the first death until the man dies and the children race for their lives to escape into the hills… where they finally stop to catch their breath (and my class and I along with them!).
There’s more, of course, in this monumental chapter, but hopefully you get the idea. I don’t usually get to do this; typically the students read a portion to themselves, or they divide up the reading and report to each other in groups, or students take turns reading as the class follows along. Sometimes I forget how much fun it is to be the reader, especially when you’re the most experienced reader in the room (experience reading dramatically and experience with this particular book). Even with such a dismal story, it was thrilling to get that chance. I wish there was more time in the year so that I could do a regular read aloud with my students.
Tuesday
A few weeks ago, I moved my classroom around so that my desk was at the back of the room. This also allowed me to locate the worktable and extra chairs at the back of the room, making them more accessible for use on writer’s workshop days or to visitors. Along with the worktable, I have a second teacher chair (padded, with arms, on wheels). This chair has turned out to be a student magnet. I didn’t realize it when I moved the classroom around, but this chair is the one drawback to the new furniture arrangement. They’re obsessed with the chair; they even argue with each other over who gets to sit in the chair. They flock to it every morning (and afternoon). They fight over whether or not the chair is considered “reserved” if Mrs. Chandler calls you over for something. (Apparently it isn’t.) When I assign them to the worktable for an assignment or for some writing time, they assume I’m allowing them to sit in the chair; they argue with ME if I tell them to move to the normal chair. It reminds me a little too much of siblings fighting for the front seat! I’m going to have to declare the chair a “no go” zone.
Wednesday
More evidence that Murphy is obsessed with me: I had a sub this morning so I could go to a meeting with a teacher at one of the elementary schools. I arrived at work early to write my sub plans and managed to be on my way to the other school in plenty of time for the meeting. As I pulled into the parking lot, my phone rang. It was the union rep at the elementary school calling to tell me that the meeting had been postponed until Friday.
Thursday
Today we finished the novel we’ve been reading in Language Arts. I took volunteer readers until no one else wanted to read, and then I finished the reading myself while my students drew pictures. This is the fun part: I’ve been asking them to draw pictures throughout the novel, and they’ve been pretty depressing so far. Finally, today, the pictures are suddenly much happier, showing glad reunions, successful voyages being completed, children finding a purpose in helping others… It’s quite uplifting!
Friday
I had a sub again today, thanks to a series of meetings with people who apparently forgot that I’m actually supposed to be a classroom teacher. While I was gone, my kids worked on a paper in which they were required to write a fake letter to a fake Chinese emperor describing an invention they'd created. Most of them used actual Chinese inventions that are described in our textbook, but a few of the most creative students made up their own inventions and tried to convince the emperor to try out their fake creations. I love it when they think outside the box!
My second meeting of the morning ended up lasting three hours. It was a crazy situation in which the principal of another school had asked me to talk to him about his strengths and weaknesses as a principal. It was awkward, but productive. When we left, he asked me to meet with him again in a month or so for follow-up, so apparently I didn’t scare him off.
For this meeting, we met at the coffee shop where I seem to hold all of my meetings. My next meeting took place at a restaurant a block away. Before the fourth meeting of the day, we stopped at the coffee shop again. After the fourth meeting, which came to a shockingly abrupt end, we met at the coffee shop again. While I’m sure the proprietor of the café doesn’t mind the additional revenue, he’s got to be wondering by now if I actually work in a real classroom at a real school…
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