All I Need Are Minds For Motivatin'

My Favorite Things

2008-01-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

So I was weightlifting at the YMCA last night, when I realized that a majority of these posts have been had some sort of negative connotation to them. I feel as though I am only portraying the bad parts of my job, which is far from the truth. Sometimes you just feel the need to vent, and what better way to do that then to write out the day's events on the Internet? I'm changing the trend with this post.

There are so many things about this job that I truly enjoy. One thing about this job that I absolutely love is that it there is no such thing as a "normal day." I do not work in a cubicle, I do not have a daily work routine. In summary, I do not have a "9-5" job. Each day keeps me on the edge of my seat! (in some cases, literally...as in when I fell out of my chair).

The second thing I love? The staff! There are so many good people at this school that I just cannot say enough about how caring and genuine that they all are. We all get along very well, and there is definitely no "cliques" or partisianship among the staff members. If people disagree in a meeting, grudges do not seem to carry-over outside of the meeting. I cannot say how supportive they have been throughout my first year of teaching.

And although I complain about the students quite a bit in this blog, I have failed to accurately say how much I enjoy them and the many many times they touch my heart on a daily basis. Some of these kids have such rough lives at home that I feel as though they have such gratitude to be in a 'safe spot" for at least a part of their day. The majority of the students are so polite, so bright... just have such a bright future ahead of them that I feel honored to have at least played a small role in their future successes.

I recently asked my students to complete an anonomous survey for me (the day before Christmas break) that asks them what they like, dislike, and want to see changed in social studies. Some of their responses were very thought provoking, and some brought tears to my eyes... whether it be from laughter or from their kind words.

For instance, here is what one student had to say about social studies...

normally i would hate social studies, but Mr. Anderson makes it really fun! For a first year teacher I think he's done extremely well. I have fun all the time just because he knows how to help students learn in a fun way. I really like the activity we're doing in class now on how government makes laws! I probably wouldn't have understood what was going on if we hadn't done the activity.

Some students shared a little bit about themselves in their survey as well...

I've pretty much liked a lot of [the class]. You are a very good teacher and I've learned a lot and I hope that after Christmas break I will get more together.

One person had some words of advice as to how I can improve myself as a teacher...

Mr. Anderson's stupid, but funny jokes liven up the class. He puts things into terms we can understand. I enjoy his everlasting good composure and attitude...keep on wearing the awesome ties!

I also enjoy when they throw-in their own slang...

Well this has to be one of my best classes, not because of grades, but I like it best. I liked when Mr. Anderson made a fool of himself, and took us outside. You know, Mr. Anderson is a pretty cool kid.

What other profession can you receive a performance review such as this?

I also want to make a small list of my "favorite things" that have happened so far this semester. The list includes the following...

1) Surviving!
2) My homeroom taking 2nd place in the school's canned food drive with $68 donated and over 1,000 items brought-in...breaking a school record. I had nearly 800 bricks of Ramen noodles in my car with their donated money.
3) Doing the "Electric Slide" at the school's staff vs. student volleyball game.
4) My 8th hour students encouraging me to try-out to be in the school play (as a part of the dance team). One student telling me, "it's your time to shine, Mr. Anderson!"
5) Teaching, and learning with my students, how to make balloon animals in homeroom.
6) Instilling the "Spirit of '76" in my students by teaching them about the Boston Tea Party...which amounts to me putting my tie around my head (Rambo style), giving them a "revolutionary pep talk," then storming the troops outside to the Liberty Pole (tie still on my head) with a bag full of chalk and having them write anti-King George III graffiti on the sidewalk.
7) Chaperoning the school dances
8) Winning a cheezy Christmas candle/lamp thing at the school's White Elephant gift exchange.
9) My mentor, who keeps me sane and is always willing to offer advice.
10) Holding a "Mock Congress" session with my classes. I separated them into the House and Senate (me being the President) and had them work together to pass 5 laws that could be enacted for one week. Laws included chewing gum, listening to iPods, etc... I vetoed about 35 bills. Then taught the students that, in eight years as president, Thomas Jefferson failed to veto a single bill (hence why he is a "wimp" in Mr. Anderson's eyes).
11) My parents showing-up on open house to "see how their child was doing."
12) My parents' never-ending support throughout the year.
13) Unexpectedly leading the school in the National Party fight song.
14) "Dr. Hansen" and the whole special ed crew

Mid-year Blues

2008-01-21T14:35:00.001-08:00

I'm back in the blogging business! I've missed writing because there has just been so much to do in the life of a first year teacher. In-between lesson planning, correcting papers (see the attached photo of my living room a few weekends ago), meetings, and paper work, writing in a blog is the last thing on my "to-do" list. However, today I've made some room.

Today was a blue day due to a number of factors. Number one being that it is snowing quite heavily outside. Therefore, the students were very restless with anticipation of school canceling early (which it did not). The weather jumped from negative three to about twenty today. Although it amounts to jumping up the thermometer from "frigid" to just plain "cold," it is still a twenty-degree increase.

Additionally, last night the Packers lost. It was a difficult game to watch after such a successful season. It is hard to imagine a football team having a major effect on the attitudes of so many of your students and co-workers. However, living in Wisconsin, that just comes with the territory. As the green and gold do, so does your Monday morning attitude...even after an NFC Championship Game that should have been won on more than one missed opportunity :(

The end of the 2nd grading quarter is wrapping up on Thursday. Last week, I made a number of phone calls to about twenty parents (of whom I took the liberty of calling in my unpaid time off of school) to update them that their child is in danger of failing social studies in the next week. I called to inform them that their child's quarter success could be gained or lost in a matter of seven days. Many parents were appreciative of me calling, and I've seen improvements in many of these students grades.

However, what really gets me irritated, is when YOU care more about the student's grade more than the student and their parents combined. I called the parents of the five children who are literally failing social studies, and I gave them an ultimatium: that if they turn-in all missed work by today, that I would ensure that they pass with a D-. Two of these students turned-in work (one hands me his missing work and feels the need to inform me that he missed playing video games for a month because of me. I told him, "you're welcome").

One of these failing students told me today that she left it at home "even though I have it done and my parents signed it, I can't get it because no one is home until later tonight. Oh, by the way, do you have another copy of today's homework? I lost it." She was actually pretty tricky about how she told me too... in the middle of the crowded hallway, on my way to class, with three of her friends surrounding her; thus preventing me from giving her a stern lecture. I said if it is not in my hands tomorrow, she fails social studies.

Then, on my way out the door into the cold, the principal comes up to me and says that a parent called him today to say that she's been trying to contact me all week to talk to me about her child's progress (which made me wonder, "Why didn't she just call me up? Plus, what she said is a bold-faced LIE because I left a message on her phone asking her to call me, and she failed to do so... unless the janitor has secretly been taking my phone calls, erasing my caller ID at night, or hacking into my e-mail and deleting all the messages).

I'm 23 years old... do I really have more responsibility than these parents?! It's ridiculous!

On top of that, I have a really cool lesson planned for the students this week. We are going to have a class debate on Wednesday as to whether or not we should have Andrew Jackson's face on the $20 bill replaced with Dr. King's. Students were separated into teams (which I even tried to put students into groups with their friends).

The student's replies to my efforts? "That's gay." I was up until 11:30 at night, planning this lesson, and they feel the need to tell me that my lesson is living an alternative sexual lifestyle. Fantastic.

I sometimes wonder on my 30 min drive home from work... is this all really worth it? What if I were to get a desk job somewhere, where I don't have to deal with irresponsibility, or have to bring my work home, and still make 2x as much money?

Then I remember overhearing a student say to her friend today that, "last night I couldn't sleep. So, I got out of my bed, went to my computer and typed my opening speech for our class debate on Wednesday. I'm so excited!"

Not to mention, "Doctor Hansen" giving me a fist-pound and telling me, "Mr. Anderson, you're such a cool dude!"

. I better get going. Gotta go set the alarm clock... so I'm ready for school tomorrow.

Twilight Zone

2007-11-06T19:00:00.001-08:00

Last week was a rather odd week... might I add that "odd" is not used in a good way. Friday night was just one of those times where you sit down, reflect, and thank God that He has blessed you with so many good things in life. In one week, three of my students had faced a life or death situation regarding their health while at school (might I add that two of these events occurred in one school day, combined with an unexpected fire drill).

Emotionally, this job is taking a lot out of me... a LOT out of me. There are so many highs and lows in the emotional life of a teacher that I literally go to bed exhaused every day. You find out so much information about these kids' backgrounds and home lives that your mind bounces to every end of the spectrum possible. Every day, from the minute you enter the building, your emotions can range from extreme anger to compassionate sympathy, or confusion to utter amazement.

Most of the information that you find is stuff that you did not expect to know. Maybe a student, who has been a complete angel in your class, is also a frequent visitor to the local police station. Another student may have all of the creative talents in the world, but lacks the mental ability to spell their own name. Yet someone else may give you a hard time every single day in class...only to find out that they do this because they NEED attention due to the fact that the divorce going on at home has suddenly trickled down to the kids' lives. It is the hardest and most challenging aspect of this job by far.

Yet, despite the fact that these students have so much going on with their lives, they still continue to (as they said in the '60s) keep on truckin'. And it gives me inspiration as well.

Speaking of emotions... I chaperoned the school dance on Friday! It was my duty to keep the peace and prevent any unwanted behavior from ruining the special evening.

A middle school dance can be summarized as such: an entire gym packed with teenagers (who are either wearing too much cheap purfume/cologne, or have yet to discover the wonders of deodorant) jumping up-and-down to loud and obnoxious music while drinking Mountain Dew, eating greasy pizza, and fighting tears of a ruined relationship. It was fantastic! I must say that there was never a dull moment throughout the entire night.

Finally, an event occurred today that summarizes why I love middle schoolers. Today was the beginning of WKCE testing for students at our school. I was required to proctor the test to my third hour classroom.

I was working on my gradebook at my desk during the test when I spun around in my chair to reach for a book on the bookshelf behind my desk. It appears that my chair needs some WD-40, because as I spun around, the old chair released a lound groan that sounded very similar to an individual passing gas. I looked up, and thankfully the students were unphased... except one. The quietest and most well-behaved young lady was so red from holding back her laughter that I thought she was going to explode. Finally.... she did! She burst out laughing, and (apparantly everyone had the same idea as she did) everyone else burst out laughing as well, me included.

Where else but in a middle school classroom? :)

Parent Phone Calls

2007-10-20T21:43:00.001-07:00

I was paging through my calendar this week and noticed that there is only about a week and a half until the quarter/1st grading period ends! Where has all the time gone?!?

Knowing this brought mixed feelings. First, relief that I have survived the first quarter of the school year (and I'm still employed!). However, this fast-approaching deadline brought a sense of panic because I know that I have a number of students who are currently failing my class and there are a number of parents who are uninformed.

I never want to see a student fail my class and I completely understand that students have a lot going on with their lives outside of school. For instance, at a recent tennis match, one of our players' parents was telling me that her daughter (who is on the honor roll) is so busy with after school, sports, activities, and music, that it is not uncommon for her to be up doing homework until about 11:30 or midnight!

I also understand that it's not just the honor students who have a lot of activities on their nightly plate. I know of at least four of my students who are experiencing parents who are going through a divorce and are having some very difficult home issues. I know that as a teacher I probably should not say this, but these students are dealing with problems that are a little bit more important than learning about the difference between a Puritan and a Separatist.

To ease the panic, I drove to school this morning (Saturday), blared AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" on the radio (kidding!!) and started from the top of my gradebook and called every parent of students who were receiving a "D" or lower. I ended up calling about 12-13 parents on a Saturday morning, and to be honest, I was pretty scared throughout the entire ordeal.

What surprised me the most about calling these parents is that not a single parent was upset at me. In fact, (most) were extremely thankful that I took time out of my weekend to call them and provide them with an update about their child, and expressed relief to know that there was still time for them to raise their grade. One parent even called me on a cell phone to tell me that she and her child were in the car on their way to the middle school so she could get her social studies book, and wanted me to let them in if the door was locked (I let them in 5 min later). It made me feel good that these parents actually had my side on this whole ordeal.

There are two parent calls that stuck out during this Saturday morning. One good, one bad...

The bad parent was initially glad that I had called. However, she started getting upset with me that I had not called her sooner in the school year so her child could work harder to obtain a grade higher than a D or a C. I calmly told her that I understood her viewpoint, however we were working on group projects for the first half of the quarter and that my class did not start doing daily work until 3 weeks ago. The parent then continued to provide me with her thoughts about how most teachers don't call until it's too late and that she really dislikes how that situation is handled on a school-wide basis. Thankfully, the five years of "Culvers' Customer Service" that I have under my belt began to kick-in, and I told her that if she had a problem with the way her other teachers handle things that she should consult administration and quickly ended the conversation without blowing a gasket (I never thought I would say this, but if I could, I would thank the many rude and obnoxious Culvers' customers that I have dealt with over the years for providing me with the patience and ability to deal with "tough" parents).

The phone call that positively stuck out in my mind was the mother of a young girl in one of my classes. The mother started sharing her frustrations with raising a 13 year old daughter and how she is struggling to decide whether to let her child be independent and fail on her own, or pressure her into working harder on her school work. "However," she told me, "my daughter has told me absolutely nothing but good things about social studies and she just adores you as a teacher. She comes home everyday and shares the fun and exciting activities you are doing and what you have planned for the week. She really enjoys being in your class and you are definitely one of her favorite teachers, so I'm sure hearing that she's failing you will cause her to step up her progress."

The mom's comments made all of those long, and sometimes painful hours of lesson planning definitely worthwhile, and we'll see how not only her student, but all of these students respond in the coming weeks.

Also, we had our last day of tennis last Thursday, so you will be reading a few more blog entries than I have been posting lately. I appreciate you for still reading this! There will be many more stories to come, I'm sure.

Busy Busy Busy

2007-10-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I understand that it has been a long time since I last wrote a new blog entry, but that is due to only one reason... teaching has been taking up nearly all of my freetime!

It has been (what I've been told by the school veterans) the most hectic two weeks for social studies teachers for the entire year. This is because last week we held our annual student council convention. This project is described by some as "cooperative learning at it's best."

The convention was first held exactly 44 years ago and has been a school tradition every year since. It is an event that people in the town are very proud of because it has been held for such a long time.

To describe this monumental project in a short statement, I would say this: the entire student body crams into the gym for the morning and elects their student council president. However, because there is so much more to this event than just that one statement, I will describe everything that happens leading up to the event.

The convention kicks off in social studies classes where 8th grade students are asked in early September if they would be interested in running for student council president (this year, we had nearly 26 students decide to run). These twenty-six students spend the entire week hanging signs, handing out stickers, wearing t-shirts, and campaigning during recess in an effort to obtain votes.

After a few days of campaigning, the entire school meets in the gym during homeroom to hold a Primary election. All twenty-six students give a one minute speech in front of every single one of their peers about what they will do if elected president. Platforms range from "getting iPods into study halls" to "repainting the school lockers."

The next day, students vote in their social studies classes for the top three candidates. Once the top three candidates have been announced, preparations begin for the "Party Convention."

In the week leading up to the convention, students are assigned a state to represent and are asked to research some background information about that state. The students are assigned to states based upon the number of electoral votes each state receives in our national election (for instance, this year our school assigned 3 students to Delaware, and 55 to California).

Traditionally, all social studies students meet in the gym and paint huge state posters that hang in the gym during the Convention. However, this year we tried something new in which only the 7th grade spent time hanging posters while the 8th grade made campaign videos and web sites (it was a very trying few weeks in which I had 30 eighth graders running around the school with video cameras... largely unsupervised!).

When the day of the convention arrives, it is a huge party. The school band plays pep songs, the students do the conga line, and dress in appropriate attire for their state (one student, from Utah, dressed as a honey bee because he researched the fact that Utah is the Beehive State). The entire convention is run by students; complete with a party chair person who possesses a gavel and rings a bell when its time to "get down to business."

One by one, a state representative comes to the front of the gym and says a prepared speech such as the following:

"My name is George from the great state of North Carolina, famous for our Civil War history, the Tar Heels, and the birthplace of flight. North Carolina is proud to announce 4 votes for Joe, 6 votes for John, and 12 votes for Tiffany!"

The entire crowd cheers and holds up signs until all the states have been announced. The winning candidate then gives a victory speech and shakes hands as the crowd leaves to their 4th hour class.

The whole project has completely drained me of all energy...but it was worth it! Politics is a subject that does not gain much interest from teenagers, or Americans in general (case in point: the reelection of our current President). However, the students had an absolute blast with the video recording, web page designing, and energetic activity leading up to the event that I now understand why it has been a 43 year tradition! What a fun project!

We are now starting a unit on the Pilgrims and early colonists. Today, we learned what a primary and secondary source document is, and analyzed the story of Pocahontas by watching a clip from the Disney film and comparing it with a journal entry from a Powhatan Indian. The kids were really engaged in the activity and I'm excited to be learning new things every day, not only about history, but about teaching and improving myself.

Scratchin' and Survivin'

2007-09-19T17:36:00.001-07:00

I don't have much to say on this post other than today was a good day! I got a lot of work done, our class projects are going well, and I can see the students starting to get ideas and believing in what I'm trying to teach them. Going to bed at 8:30 definitely helped and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's 8th grade team meeting where I plan on recommending two students for "Student of the Month" for their hard work in my 7th hour class (with the special needs students). Tomorrow will be good! Time to correct papers and tighten up my lesson plans!

URGH

2007-09-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

What a day, to say the least. Probably the most hectic and wild day of my teaching career. My head is spinning from the day's commotion, and I have no doubt that I will be heading to bed in the next thirty minutes (right now it is 7:24pm).

Today was a special day for the school, and especially the social studies department because it was the 43rd annual "National Party Rally Day." This means that students who signed up to run for student council president last week had to present their two minute speech to the entire school at an hour long morning assembly. The school band plays the fight song, students get all reved up, and twenty-four candidates make a two minute speech that includes such promises as, "allow iPods in study hall," "free cookies during lunch," and "bring back the snack shack (ala carte line)".

After the speeches are presented, students vote for their favorite candidate. The top three students who win the primary election move on to the school's convention (held two weeks later for campaigning purposes) where the electoral college selects who will become the school's new student council president.

The day started off great! My shower was hot, my coffee wasn't too strong, and the Cubbies won the night before in the bottom of the 9th inning... meaning I could have bragging rights for another day.

I arrived at school where I was told that the teacher who usually does the emceeing of these events called-in sick and they needed a replacement. I knew that the other teacher REALLY dislikes speaking in front of the school, so I stepped up to the plate and prepared for the big event occuring after third hour.

While my first hour study hall was setting up the gym for the big event, a student came up to me in tears, explaining that she was not going to be allowed to speak at the event because she didn't turn her speech into her teacher in time... despite the fact that I told her that she could turn it in the morning of the event. The girl was going ballastic, but eventually things were ironed out and she was allowed to give her speech.

Yes, I made a mistake in telling her that she could turn in her speech on the morning of the event. I should taken initiative and been more informed on the due date. Part of being a first year teacher...

The assembly began and ended without a single problem. I emceed to rave reviews from the teachers (and students) and helped lead the school in a rousing rendition of the school fight song.

After the assembly was completed, I returned to class and began my study hall supervision. Study hall began with me sitting down in my chair, and after reaching for an item on the far end of my desk, resulted in me falling out of my chair and people laughing at me. Thankfully, I pulled out the classic one-liner, "... and for my next trick," and the ole "watch me pull my thumb off my hand" gag. The students were laughing more at how the situation was handled more than the situation itself. We'll see if the kids are bragging about how they were there when Mr. Anderson fell out of his chair.

To make things worse, during study hall, a situation involving one of my best students and a suspicion that she was skipping class led to a conference with myself, the student, and the principal that took up nearly my entire lunch hour. The student entered the office in tears, but the situation was ironed out and some miscommunications were cleared up. Thankfully, the principal was very pleased with how I handled the situation and commended me for taking appropriate measures. (I'm just going to say this... it really hurts to see a student in tears and making someone cry will NEVER be something I take pride in doing). To put the icing on the cake, the superintendent was in the office during this time, and saw the whole meeting occur. Fantastic.

So after choking my lunch down and sprinting to class, I found it very difficult to keep my head on straight for the remainder of the day. There were a billion things running through my head about every situation that had happened during the past four hours.

After the final bell rung, I had to coach a tennis match that lasted until about six at night. I love tennis and I really enjoy coaching. But today, it just was not something I felt like doing :( On top of that, a student left the match in tears. I really don't know why because our team won, but I guess that's part of being a thirteen year old.

To sum up my day...
1) Had to unexpectedly give a speech in front of, and manage the behavior of over 500 students.
2) Fell out of my chair and landed on my butt in a room filled with 31 thirteen year olds.
3) Made not one, not two, but three girls cry.
4) I was in the principal's office

To cure my pain, I drove through McDonalds and ate dinner on the drive home (nothing a #2 with a Coke can not fix, right?). I'm currently in my gym shorts, typing while watching "Star Wars" on TV. Possibly going for a run, but I think I'd rather just recharge the battery right now.

It was by far my roughest day of teaching... let's hope this is the roughest it gets!

"You look a lot different in real life"

2007-09-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

Last week was kind of a rough week when it came to classroom management. Students are finally beginning to see how far they can push me, and are anxious to see how I will respond in regards to their attempts.

I have never been a fan of detentions or in school suspension. As a teacher, I feel that sending a student to detention or ISS is the sign of a teacher who can not handle his or her classroom. As a former student, I internally begged for my instructors to give some wanna-be class clown a size twelve in their rear end. In fact, I cheered for the teacher in nearly every situation when a student was giving them a hard time. So, the conflict of interests that I'm possessing has caused me to believe that classroom management will be my number one issue throughout this first year of teaching.

A young lady gave me an especially hard time in study hall last week. I have this student three times every day; once in morning study hall, once in social studies, and once in lunch study hall. Throughout the first week of school, she has been out of her seat an average of six times a class period. The students are fed up with her attempts to get out of class or desire for attention. I know this because I see at least four sets of eyes roll every time she walks toward my desk. Something needed to be done.

This young lady earned two detentions from my in the FIRST WEEK of school. I just couldn't handle it any more. The constant nagging, begging, and pleading for any sort of random thing made me longing for my days of substitute teaching in kindergarten and first grade classrooms. At least those little tykes said their pleases and thank yous.

I scheduled a meeting with the principal to see what sort of ideas he had when it came to dealing with young females such as this. I wanted to avoid any sort of lounge talk, fearing that I would be provided with unfair biases and unnecessary information that I do not need to know about her and her family.

The principal was very open and candid about how the situation should be handled. In fact, he scheduled a meeting involving me, him, this student, and the school's counselor to discuss her behavior (good cop/bad cop as he put it).
The meeting worked very well, and this girl has kind of backed off giving me a hard time. In fact, today she came up to me and stated, "Mr. Anderson, you should be very proud of me. I didn't get out of my seat today in study hall more than twice." I congratulated her and thanked her for her hard work.

I believe that it's a good thing that I worry about this stuff and I can honestly say that it keeps me up at night. It is a chess game with these kids... what move will they make next, and how can I block it from happening?

Not attempting to make stereotypes in any way, but typically the athletic kids (aka jocks) are students who give me the hardest time during class. They tend to talk out of turn way too much, make irresponsible comments, and cause the most problems for all of their teachers.

In order to keep these kids on my side, I decided to attend their football game this past Saturday. I asked the students where to meet and what time the game started. Many of them scratched their heads and seemed puzzled that a teacher was interested in attending a game; yet there was a buzz in the air on Friday afternoon about how their teacher was possibly going to be in attendance.

Whether or not it was a joke (I'm assuming that it was my mistake and not their's), the students gave me the wrong location as to where the game was going to be held (although I can easily see how it was confused... athletic complex versus athletic club). But I managed to attend the game and arrived at half time.

As soon as I arrived on the football field, the players started poking each other, and one by one, they were turning around and waving at me and yelling, "Mr. Anderson!" with big smiles on their faces. A couple of them ran over and gave me fist pounds. It was great! Big, brutish jocks in their football uniforms, yelling and waving at their teacher in the crowd!

Today in class, all the football players made sure to point out to their classmates that I attended their game. Everyone of them asked if I saw their "big play," and one of them even came up to me in the hallway, showed me his "battle scar" and bragged about how he had to go to the doctor to get checked for bruised ribs. Weird? Yes. But they thought it was the greatest thing that I was there to see the bloodbath happen.

One of the students even pointed out to the whole class that, "Mr. Anderson looks a lot different in real life!" I asked him to explain what he meant by "real life." He replied, "Well, here you dress all heighty-tighty; but at the game, you just looked just like a real person." I don't know what he meant by that, but I'll just take it as a compliment.

The Doctor is In

2007-09-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

The 120 students that I am currently teaching have been very well behaved during my first week of school. Most students raise their hands and have been following our classroom rules. Sure, there have been some talkative students that I have had to have "hallway conferences with," and I can already point out individuals whom I will likely have to make a phone call home in the next 7-14 days. However, all and all, these students have been great! I've been learning more from them than I believe they have been learning from me. Every single one of them has a very unique personality and I think I'm getting the hang of all of their names.

Toward the end of last week, I have come to the conclusion that there has been a class that is quickly becoming one of my favorites to teach. My seventh hour social studies course is composed of about twenty-four eighth graders with an even mix of boys and girls in the class. However, what sets this class apart from the others is that I have about five students who possess various forms of down syndrome and cognitive disabilities.

I was a little intimidated to have such a large percentage of students possessing such strong educational needs. Although they do have an aid with them at all times during the day, I was still concerned about my personal preparation and lack of experience in teaching students in special education.

After the first week, any intimidating feelings that I once possessed have completely disappeared. These students are the most pleasant individuals (not just students) I have ever been around. Their enthusiasm for life is something that I really envy! They enter the school building with a huge smile on their face, never miss an opportunity to say "good morning" to me when they see me in the hallway. Even more impressive is that they always say their "pleases" and "thank you's"...even when I hand them homework.

Their sense of humor is something that is truly special as well. One of the students, we'll call him Jonathan Hanson, raised his hand in class the other day while the students were working in groups of three. I came over and asked him, "Jon, how can I help you?"

Jon kind of gave me a frustrated look- a look that made me concerned that he was going to make a scene in class. He picked up his paper, pointed to the top, and said, "Mr. Anderson, please don't call me Jon. My name is Dr. Hanson." Sure enough, Jonathan's worksheet had a name written at the top reading, "Dr. Hanson." The doc then looked me in the eye, gave me a huge smile, and gave me a big "thumbs up." We both burst out laughing and my cheeks hurt by the end of class. I was later told that day by his aid that Jonathan told her, "Mr. Anderson is SOOO cool!"

My respect for seventh hour is not all about these five individuals. The remaining 20 have my complete admiration as well in the way they embrace and take each of these students by taking them under their wings.

I recently allowed the class to work in groups of three on an in-class project. The special ed aid and I had a brief talk about whether the five students should work with her, or cooperatively with other students. I suggested that they get involved with their classmates for the first project, and if changes needed to be made, we could make them. She agreed.

We began looking around the room and eyed-up groups which we felt would make good matches for these five individuals. She and I politely asked groups if "so and so" could join; hoping that a scene wouldn't erupt where we would need to lecture an adolescent about including students with special needs.

To my suprise, not a single student batted an eye at the thought of allowing one of these boys and girls to join in their group. One student even said, "I'd love to have ____ join! Come on over!" to which all members of the group welcomed him with a high-five. It was really a great scene to witness thirteen year olds, students who are traditionally very cruel and torturous to anyone different than they are, to embrace an opportunity to help a peer. I have a strong feeling that this particular class will be a very special bunch.

First Day Jitters

2007-09-04T19:22:00.001-07:00

I never thought that teachers would be MORE nervous than their students the night before the first day of school. Personally, I thought teachers lived in their classrooms up until high school...

Last night it took me over an hour to iron my clothes, clean the bathroom, set my alarm (not one or two, but three alarms total just to be on the safe side) and do some last minute reading before the big day. I was very appreciative that my family and some friends gave me a call to wish me luck. It made me feel like people were out there cheering for me to do well, and I have no doubt in my mind that they all were.

Before bed, I continued reading the textbook that the school district provided me, entitled "The First Days of School." I determined that reading this book was both a blessing and a curse. It is written in a manner that emphasizes how important the first day of school is; stating that it sets the tone for the entire year. The authors include a lot of very helpful hints about how to make a strong first impression on the students. So, I made a "First Day Battle Plan" with a list of items that I wanted to remind myself once I entered the classroom the next morning.

The list I made included such things as to smile and say hi to every student who enters your room, have the seating chart clearly posted so the students know where to sit once they enter, write your name and class on the board, and introduce yourself to everyone as soon as the bell rings with a welcoming smile. I especially wanted to remember to write my name and class on the board because I recently read a book about adolescent psychology. The book stated that the absolute worst thing that can happen to a child at this age level on the first day of school is to walk into the wrong classroom and be embarassed in front of all of his or her peers.

I turned the lights off in my room around 10:30 and I could do nothing but stare at the ceiling and wonder what I still needed to get done. I ran through a list of things in my mind and had successfully completed all of them, but it didn't help me from imagining every worst case scenario. So, for the first time in a long time, I went in my closet and dug out my Bible. I looked up a passage about worrying and found a very comforting passage in Matthew where Jesus discusses the pointlessness of worrying. I feel asleep shortly afterward.

I woke up the next morning at 5am after drifting in and out of sleep. I popped out of bed and immediately took a shower, had a cup of coffee, and was ready to hit the road. I really found a lot of comfort while I was getting ready in that a rerun of the "Cosby Show" was on television. It was one of the later episodes in the show's running because Theo, Bill Cosby's son, was beginning his first day of student teaching.

The roads were very clear the entire way to the school. As I took the off-ramp from the interstate, my iPod started playing AC/DC's "Highway to Hell." Needless to say, I quickly changed the song to "Thunderstruck". However, the fact that the song came on brought a big smile to my face and really calmed me down.

There were a few teachers who got to school as early as I did and were busy putting the finishing touches on everything in their classrooms. I quickly got my room prepared, and a little while later, the 7th grade literature teacher entered my room and asked if I was nervous. I said an abrupt "yes," to which she smiled and said "that's good because that means you want to do well."

I grabbed my attendance sheet and headed downstairs. My first class of the day was a study hall in the school cafeteria. The bell rang and the students entered. I stood outside of the cafeteria and smiled and welcomed the new (and very frightened) seventh and eighth graders. There were a few students who walked past me whom I coached on the basketball team last year who had big smiles on their faces and said a very geniune "Hey Mr. Anderson!" asked how my summer was, and gave me a high five. It really made me feel good and kind of made me say to myself, "This is what it's all about."

The bell rang and I walked in the cafeteria and looked at my 14 students. It kind of had a nice ring to it... MY fourteen students. Not "my cooperating teachers," not "my observation class students," they were mine! And what did I do? I started sweating uncontrollably not knowing what to do next! Four and a half years of college, and I was stumped...

So I briefly collected myself and thought back to the battleplan. I introduced myself, explained my rules for study hall, and handed out an activity I had found that was supposed to get the kids out of their seats and mingling around with fellow classmates and teachers. It went very well and the students were not "too cool" for it. The sweating eventually stopped and I was very confident.

The rest of the day went as smoothly as possible. Not a major problem occurred in any of my remaining classes. No child vomited (and most importantly, I didn't vomit), so all and all, it was a very successful day. The students seem to enjoy me but I know they will test me throughout the first week. Hopefully things go as smoothly as they did today!

School is... inservice

2007-09-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

The time has come for me to put my teaching license to use! The school year is just over 24 hours away from beginning, and it has been a hectic past few weeks! Things have been moving at such a rapid pace that I'm having trouble catching my breath. However, I know that things will die down shortly once the school year begins.

Where do I begin? I moved into my new apartment on the southeast corner of Madison on August 18. My Dad and I hauled everything in on that Saturday, and I have slowly been unpacking ever since. However, I believe that all I have left to do is decorate the walls and hang some pictures!

I started working on my classroom around August 23. It was very difficult to begin tackling the monumental task of preparing the room because two teachers (the retiring one, and the one who unexpectedly moved to a different district) left a lot of teaching items behind. I needed to make a series of phone calls to ensure that they had no intention on retrieving their stuff a few weeks down the road, but I eventually got the "ok" from these teachers, as well as the secretaries, to begin assembling my own room!!

There was a method of thinking preached throughout the summer by a few members of the Union Grove janitorial staff: "If you haven't used it in six months, or have no intention on using it in the next six months, you don't need it." By last week Friday, I had thrown out a variety of items that included moldy blankets, student assignments from 1973, pieces of broken chalk, and probably Abraham Lincoln's old stovepipe hat. The janitors told me they were happy to see so much stuff being thrown out and said that they "love it when new teachers come in because it gives us a chance to 'clean house'." Not a day went by last week that I wasn't in the building until six in the evening organizing and throwing things away. The janitors have been extremely friendly and very happy to see what the new room looks like.

Last week all the new teachers had their first inservice meetings. On Monday we all met at the local intermediate school building where we were given a "crash course" on how to sign-in to the school district's computer system. We were also taught how to use Skyward online gradebook and the school's email account. The training started at eight in the morning and lasted until about noon.

On Tuesday, we all met at the intermediate school where we had our "mentor/mentee breakfast." All new teachers were given special gift bags and had our pictures taken for the town newspaper. We also were given a welcome ceremony by the teacher's union! They informed us at the end of the meeting that they were going to deduct eighty dollars a month from our paychecks (Norma Rae seemed so nice in the movie! What happened?!)

My mentor is my co-eighth grade social studies teacher. He and I get along great, and he always has some neat teaching ideas or hilarious story from years past. He's been teaching at my school for about thirteen years and right now we are reworking the school's big social studies project for the year pertaining to the student council. A lot of teachers seem to have some skepticism with changing a 43 year tradition, but there are also a lot of teachers who are excited about seeing some fresh ideas.

Wednesday consisted of the "welcome back "ceremony at the high school. All the teachers in the district attended this meeting where the superintendent introduced the new staff, gave awards for teachers who have been teaching for 10, 15, 20, 30 years, and also gave a "kickoff" speech. Some students from the high school also sang a song.

After the meeting at the high school, we had our building meeting in the school library. Our new principal went over his expectations and procedures for the year. His style is a lot different than the last principal's, but I feel the staff and students will get along with him very well. The entire middle school staff went to Culvers for lunch after the meeting, and then we returned for our eighth grade team meeting. I'm very happy that everyone in the school gets along so well and that they jump at opportunities to be social with each other outside of school.

I was later asked after the meeting if I would be interested in coaching tennis for the upcoming school year. I eagerly accepted and am looking forward to getting invovled with some after school activities.

Thursday was our first union meeting at the high school. The meeting was rather anti-climactic, but there was some discussion pertaining to changes to the health care plan that occurred during the summer.

After that meeting adjurned, we had our "social studies department" meeting with the high school social studies teachers. We discussed the changes made to the district's geography test and also talked about revamping the eighth grade social studies curriculum around Christmas.

We left the department meeting and walked to the community park across the street where the school board members hosted a cookout for the teachers. The weather was absolutely beautiful and I had a great pork sandwich, yet sadly did not emerge victorious at the raffle drawing (I was ONE number away from possibly winning $50 in cash!).

I continued working on my room after lunch and headed back to school the following morning until about noon. I plan on spending all Labor Day at the school doing some lesson planning and trying to be as prepared as possibly for the first week. I'm not that nervous about starting, but I bet at this time tomorrow, I will not be getting much sleep!