parent-teacher conferences

Last night was parent teacher conferences and I would say I had pretty good turnout. Counting one parent who had to reschedule because her son was sick and one parent who I'm going to meet outside of school, I had 18/23 (80%) families come in.

In case I haven't made it clear before, I love my families. They were all dashing in from work and other commitments and they got right down to business. I even had two grandmas come because two moms just had babies within a week of each other -- and neither wanted to miss the conference. Over and over I can see that all they care about is the sucess of their child. It's not surprising, but it is encouraging when you have someone say, "Ok, well what can I do?"

My favorite thing about talking to families is hearing what my students say about school (or what songs they sing) at home. For example, TK asked her mom a question that she didn't know the answer to so she said, "I don't know." TK  immediately responded, "If you don't know, give it a go." Win.

halloween

Holidays are so much more fun with kids -- I'm a grumpy convert. I'm also dressed as my teacher idol (The Friz), but none of my kids know who she is. So when I said, "Who do you think I am?" I got some pretty good guesses:

• tooth fairy
• dinosaur
• magic dinosaur

We're working on it. I love seeing my kids dressed up. It's such a fun way to learn about the things that they love. And I only have three fairyprincesspinkwing contraptions to deal with.

Later today we are going to watch an episode of The Magic School Bus instead of doing math, and I don't even feel a little bit bad about it.

day 42

Still sick, but I'm owning it. Things I've accomplished:

• Lunch with DuckDuck and X
• All report cards entered
• All reading grades for quarter 1 entered

Today, we also got a new student. I haven't got a name for her yet but she's doing the quiet, shy act for today so I haven't seen much of her personality. Her oral language is proficient, but she can't spell her name. I'm hoping that means she's primed and ready to grow A LOT. 

October's almost over.

on false promises

For example, neuroscientists have long recommended "brain breaks" every 90 minutes in order to increase productivity. The most innovative workplaces have taken notice, offering everything from office yoga to flexible work hours and napping mats. At these companies, employee health and wellness has become just as important for the bottom line as cutting costs and balancing budgets.

While parents are recharging through lunchtime workouts in office gyms, their children are tethered to desks, stuck in classrooms all day with no hope of movement in sight. Clearly something's wrong with this picture. Can you imagine being forced to sit still and pay attention to someone droning on in the front of the room for six to seven hours a day with no breaks? That's what each school day looks like for the approximately 30 percent of school-aged children in the U.S. who are denied recess.

- Atlantic

urgency

Something that I have been lacking since the year began is that sense that we must learn everything there is to learn, and we must do it today. No exceptions. Yesterday, I began my second round of BAS (leveled-reading) assessments. I was pleased to find that 6 children have moved from pre-reading to level A. Unfortunately, I then looked at my tracker and realized that that is exactly where ALL of my students should be by next week.

Now I am feeling urgent.

day 38

Today was a hell of a day. Mostly the grown ups. From a conversation with my "partner":

Her: "Well if we work hard, raise scores, they'll trust us and give us more freedom."

"Unfortunately not. We had the most growth out of any grade last year and they don't listen to my perspec --"

"Well that's about to change. They recruited me and my kids..."

Awesome. I love competing over test scores.

parents

Excerpt from my texts with a parent:

"Thank you so much for volunteering."

"No problem. Anything for my [Texas]."

"He's a lucky little boy."

"I think we're the lucky ones."

educational research

We've been talking about research ethics for over an hour.

I know this already (Wellesley!) and I have an attitude.

sight words

I am really trying to find ways to make sure my kids meet the 100-sight-words goal for the end of the year. In an effort to better maintain and incorporate sight words I am:

• Introducing 3 per week now, to be upped to 4 in January
• Hanging them by the door so that every child has to read them coming in or going out of the classroom
• Starting the day by reading the Word Wall with my class
• Putting differentiated flashcards at every child's seat for them to practice
• Giving "spelling tests" each week to get a general idea of progress
• Tracking which words they know, rather than just how many (this should have been more obvious last year, but I didn't have a good system)
• Considering completely redoing the Word Wall

scenes from painting

frizz

70%

We are at an overal 70% alphabet mastery, as a class.

racing

The best part of my day today came during dismissal. Eli (pseudonym) was the last child to be picked up. He's a wiggler but his mom is about to have twins and in the wake of her contractions he has simmered a little.

While we waited, we raced. Back and forth down the parking lot until he was out of breath. Then, he sat down - tired - for two whole minutes.

day 31

Duck Duck (obv a nickname) raised his hand.

"When N is doing the wrong thing, I remind him by going like this [thumbs down]."

I am in love with this sweet rainbow-loving child.

october blues

Last year at the end of October I had a mini-meltdown. I was not sleeping, eating, or taking care of myself in any way - physical or emotional. And I was in denial. I remember thinking that I literally could not sustain myself on that routine for nine months. If you're a new teacher and you're reading this, it gets better.

However, even in my second year, I'm not happy. I don't love going to work. I don't feel excited to see my kids everyday. Even though literally everything is easier, I'm still not happy. Everything did not magically click into place. 

I'm fresh off of a three day weekend, in which I did everything in my power to forget that I have an all consuming job -- I went to the library, read half of On Beauty, wrote letters to friends, cooked a whole chicken, got a haircut, went out to dinner (twice!), cleaned my apartment. These are all things I would not have dreamt of doing at this time last year. 

I guess I'm confused because I still don't want to be here at school. I'm still not sure how on earth I am going to get my centers to where they need to be so that my admin will get off my back about small groups. I'm still feeling guilty that I'm having a life at the expense of my students' education. I'm still not motivated to go looking for the missing "October" sign for the calendar, or to fix my student gallery, or to clean off the tables, or to prepare for today. I guess this is October blues. 

an excerpt

From a letter than I had to write for N's Doctor:

·         Lack of ability to control impulse

o    Examples: Hitting classmates, getting out of line, playing on the stairs, touching things that are not his, scribbling on pages instead of doing work, talking out of turn.

·         Lack of ability to ignore distractions

o    Example: When there is too much noise, he will block his ears and yell or hum.

o    Example: He is required to wear a tie per school uniform, which he pulls off and plays repeatedly each day.

·         Need for attention from an adult

o    Example: If he is not called on first, he will yell or whine.

o    Example: If his behavior is ignored (I do not acknowledge negative behaviors, only positive) he will become very agitated and can cry for 15-40 minutes or more.

·         Need for movement and sensory stimulation

o    Example: Touches surfaces of everything, even familiar objects (i.e., lockers, tables, sinks, walls) repeatedly. This behavior distracts him from other necessary behaviors.

o    Example: Shouts and makes loud noises during lessons or in the hallways.

·         Difficulty with abstract thinking

o    Example: Struggles with questions during reading such as, “How do you think he is feeling?” or “Why do you think he is doing that?”

o    Example: Cannot always read the emotions or expressions of classmates - someone is crying because they were hit and he will say, “X is mad.” or someone is crying and N will laugh, not realizing they are upset. 

I am not sure that I will ever stop being mad about the fact that I cannot give this child what he needs.

day 20-something

I can't even remember. I'm sitting in the hallway while my kids are in Spanish because I can't sit in there and listen to them go bananas with another teacher. Since I'm in the hall I can hear a new teacher realizing that you can't ask Kindergartners to vote by hand raising because they cheat and raise their hands for everything.

After ignoring N crying for an HOUR, per my new strategy, I finally lost my cool and asked, "Do you even know why you're crying?!" He stopped crying, answered "No." in the calmest voice I have ever hear, and then resumed crying.

I have a presentation in class tonight and a paper due with it. After three cups of coffee I have realized that I just cannot do any more than I am currently doing -- thank goodness this is a one-time assignment.

Community schools rock.

greek proverb

A civilization flourishes when people plant trees under which they never plan to sit.