Report Card Time!

All I have to say is thank goodness scarcasm doesn't translante into typed comments. This is hard!

xxOOxx

Observations & Reflections

As you know, I am currently doing the BTSA program through Burbank USD. I have a lovely coordinator who had arranged for us to visit some different classrooms today.
I love having the opportunity to visit other classrooms to scavenge new ideas and trash others that don't seem to work so well. The first classroom had a lot of trashing...
Wait! First, you should know that lately I have been questioning my teaching method. When you come into my room there are always students talking and we have a repertoire that I have come to enjoy. We talk to teach other all day. This is how I pictured my class running, but the doubt comes in when I look around the catholic school I am in and see more "traditional" (translation: students should be seen and not heard) teaching method in almost every class. My class is not crazy or disrespectful by any means, they are just not quiet.
Back to the observation... I was seated in the back of another 4th grade room as the students came in. Completely silently. It was wonderful. There was no chatter or horseplay. The class knew what was expected and complied with the teacher's every demand. I felt very uncomfortable. It was a cold environment with no smiles or traceable relationship between student and teacher. I'll remind you that I was in the room for all of an hour, but there was almost no student work on the boards and even the positive reinforcement seemed forced. I quickly realized that if I was uncomfortable, then the students were as well. It was not my type of learning environment.
The second room was much more comfortable. The students were encouraged to collaborate and help each other. There was a lot of interaction between the teacher and her students and there were many smiles. I'd like to think this feeling is what I portray in my own room.

xxOOxx

Cheating

Yesterday we had a Social Studies test. A necessary evil, I know. We took the test and moved on with our lives. Yesterday I also corrected said Social Studies tests (and due to the very creative title of this blog, you can see where I'm going with this).
2 papers.
Exactly alike.
Same multiple choice questions wrong.
Same wording in the short answer.
Same words crossed off.
No doubt in my mind that there was some cheating going on.
I was extremely upset. How dare someone cheat on my test! Do they think i'm stupid? What am I going to do? What were they thinking? How did I not see it happening? Oh my God! These kids are driving me crazy! How do I put my foot down. What is fair? WHO CHEATED???...these were all questions bubbling in my brain within 30 seconds of figuring it out.
I made the decision to ask them to confess, if neither did- both would get a zero on the test. Unfair for one person, but I was between a rock and a hard place.
I sent home the zero paper and a note.
Needless to say, I got 2 parent conference requests today :/
One side was very angry, one was very supportive and understanding. I hate being berated by parents for something that is out of my control. What could I have done? I can't think of another way to handle the situation that would've been fair to all parties involved (including the other students that didn't cheat).
Any Ideas? All I have to say is thank God for co-workers because by talking to them I feel reaffirmed that I did the right thing.
On a side note, the blog reached 1000 page views~!~ Thanks to my 5 loyal readers!! haha
xxOOxx

Worksheets are the devil

So, I went teacher shopping today because I realized that I needed some posters and other cool stuff. I am realizing that I really like teacher stores and that there are NONE left (except Lakeshore) but that's another post altogether... Anyway, I was looking for a book I had seen online about active learning strategies and/or how to teach History in a not-so-boring way. Out of about ten rows of books, I saw nothing but reproducibles and worksheets. No books explaining how to teach an interesting lesson... just worksheets. I bet there are students somewhere drowning in worksheets. I could plan my whole yearly cirriculum on worksheets alone. But worksheets don't grow dendrites (that's a book btw). I just couldn't believe how many books there were to photocopy for your class. Don't get me wrong, worksheets are good in moderation and for reviewing concepts, but NOT for teaching concepts. What do you think? Do you use a lot of worksheets? Did you actually like doing worksheets as a kid? I didn't. xxOOxx

Back to School Night

Why is it that many teachers can spend their days yacking kids' ears off, yet when it comes to parents...its a no go. I know I aways feel uncomfortable in front of a room of parents. Perhaps its because I'm used to being the oldest one in the room, and then suddenly everyone's older than me... whatever the case, it happens. So, today was Back to School Night and if I do say so myself, It went fabulously! I was nervous, so I made a little powerpoint to keep me on track. It was great and it turns out that I have a great group of parents (knock on wood). If everything goes as nicely as it has today, I might not give up this class at the end of the year. I'll just follow them to 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th! haha Seriously though, it's always fantastic to hear positive things from the parents and to be able to see where the kids are coming from. I hope the whole year is this great! xxOOxx

Thinking...

All weekend I have been thinking of all of the things I wasn't prepared to think about when I was preparing to be a teacher...
Here's my list:
*How do you use a room parent?
*How SPECIFICALLY do you come up with a final grade to put on the report card?
*How do you deal with other teachers?
*How do you plan field trips for three months from now when you don't even know if you will be teaching the right lessons for that trip at that time??
*How do you turn your brain off so that you're not thinking about teaching every second of every day?

Anyone who can answer the last one can have a cookie!!

xxOOxx

Day 1

So, the first day is over and it was fantastic! It's so nice when your expectations meet with reality. At first I was overwhelmed and bombarded by parents, but as soon as I shut the classroom door, I knew I could handle anything.

Don't get me wrong, not everything went perfect. I learned A LOT today such as:

*Don't be afraid to re-think an assignment or directions in the middle of an activity...sometimes it's just not gonna work.

*It's best to over-plan... those lessons take less time than you really think they should.

*Clarity is key. You say stack the tissue boxes on the shelves, they'll stack them until they're 10 ft. high! Observe:

*DON'T wear high heels on the first day!!!

*My family is the BEST! My day started with an inspiring text message from my wonderful fiance, and got better as my mom and sister dropped off these gorgeous flowers from my dad, mom, and sisters.

I had a fantastic first day and am so excited for day 2!

xxOOxx

My Fourth Grade Classroom

My room is FINALLY ready for business (good thing because the first day is tomorrow!!) so I thought I'd share some photos...i know you've been dying to see what I've

been up to :P

My Desk is already messy! haha

My OWN Classroom

FINALLY!! Welcome to Ms. D's classroom :D

So, this is what I have been working toward. This is what I have wanted for five years. This is what I have dreams of. This is MY classroom!!!!!

Do you share my excitement? I know, I know... it IS awesome!!! I have already made so many changes and have made many plans for this new learning space. I will fill you in as the room progresses. Stay tuned for many more photos to come. (and wish me luck)

xxOOxx

Last Day of School

This school year has been full of blessings for me. As it comes to a close I find it incredibly bittersweet. I have met and built relationships with SO many fantastic teachers. They have shown me what it is to teach with God's guidance (and patience!). I am astounded everyday at the sheer brilliance of our students and truly believe that they are capable of so much more than we give them credit for. This year I have been able to get to know the school better so that I am not COMPLETELY lost as afirst year teacher...I actually know what i'm signing up for haha! And this summer I will start setting up my own classroom!!!!

However sweet the sweet side is, there is also some bitter. Firstly, I will no longer get to take a half-day on monday and tuesdays :( and I will have to see the same students everyday! haha Seriously though, there are a couple teachers that I will miss dearly next year. Suzi and Moira, you have been such an inspiration to me. I hope that I can show as much love and patience to my students as you have modeled through your own teachings! I know your new classes in Pennsylvania and Ireland will be blessed to have you! xxx

Here's to a fantastic summer and a promising new school year!

xxOOxx

4th grade Sci-Fi

There is an astounding lack of material in this category. I am extremely depressed because I'd REALLY like to teach a Science Fiction novel next year (I'm trying to do one from every genre). Among the approximately ten books the librarian had on her list, there was the classic A Wrinkle in Time and a newer Newberry Award winner When you Reach Me.

I read When you Reach Me in 2 days and it was fantastic. It is a mystery that is inspired by A Wrinkle in Time but has no time travel until the very end of the book. It doesn't read like a Sci-fi novel, but is very intriguing and easy to read. I think it would be a good begining book for my fourth graders, but it kind of gives away spoilers to A Wrinkle in Time. This is tragic, because A Wrinkle in Time is one of my all time favorite books (and drips with sci-fi qualities).

So, my dear friends... I have a dilemma. Which book do I choose? Contemporary and easy to read or a classic that is more sci-fi??

xxOOxx

Teaching: Learning

The thing I love most about teaching is that there is ALWAYS something to learn. This week I had decided to teach the fourth graders about the parts of a computer. Problem: I know NOTHING about the parts of a computer. I figured it out thanks to this marvelous invention called the internet. It took a while but I put it all together and now the kids know exactly what a motherboard is (and so do I!!!).

xxOOxx

brainpop.com

This is a fantastic website with awesome animated short clips to explain everything from tsunamis to long division. The kids get SO interested in the videos and they learn so much too! I like it because the videos are only about 3-5 min long (so they don't take up a whole period).

Apparently, the whole site used to be free but unfortunately it isn't that way anymore :( There are still a whole lot of free resources, but I'm sad that not all the videos are accessible...

xxOOxx

BINGO

7 year old boy "D": "Ms. D, I don't want to do this anymore!"

me: "What D?"

D: "I don't want to play bingo, it's an old people game."

me: laughing

D: "It was made for senior citizens"

WHERE do they come up with this stuff??!

Since we ARE just glorified babysitters...

I found this on facebook and have been daydreaming ever since ;P

Are you sick of highly paid teachers?

by Meredith Menden on Friday, February 18, 2011 at 3:32pm

Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit!

We can get that for less than minimum wage.

That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours).

Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day.

However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

LET'S SEE....

That's $585 X 180= $105,300

per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).

What about those special

education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an

hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.

Wait a minute -- there's

something wrong here! There sure is!

The average teacher's salary

(nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days

= $277.77/per day/30

students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student--a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!) WHAT A DEAL!!!!

Make a teacher smile; repost this to show appreciation for all educators.

Share

xxOOxx

Ms to Mrs!

It's true!! I don't think the change in title is as apparent in any other profession. But, as a teacher it's abundantly clear whether or not you are married... its very patriarchal in my opinion, but whatever.

Soooo I am happy to announce that I will be going from Ms. D to Mrs. G! How exciting!!!

xxOOxx

Ms. D is a Chick Eater!!

This may look like a cupcake wrapper filled with chocolate rice krispies to you, but to a group of kindergartners, this was a nest for chick eggs... and I ate them :(

Let me explain... Like any other day as an elementary school teacher, I am barraged with sweets and candies. Not that I'm complaining, of course. Today it was one of the Early-Fives girls who came in with this scrumptious treat. It started out as a chocolate ricekrispy nest with 3 chocolate eggs inside. They gave me one, one for the kinder teacher, and one for the aide.

In the time that it had taken me to devour one of the eggs, the kinder aide had convinced four of the kinder girls that the eggs were real chicks that would hatch if they were REALLY quiet. She was pointing out a crack in one of hers, solidifying the point that they were real chick eggs.

I was popping the second egg into my mouth as I saw a little blonde-haired five year old giving me a murderous look. She looked at me like I had just killed a baby bird in front of her! We explained that they were just chocolate and I PROMISED they weren't real chicks- but it was too late... She just stared at me. Without forgiveness.

xxOOxx

Just Another Day...

"Ms. D.!! She brought a ladybug to class!!"

Me: "What?"

"You're not supposed to bring bugs to class! Right?"

Me: "Lemme see..."

She brought it from home...You never know what's going to show up in your classroom I guess!

xxOOxx

BBC Typing

When I started in this position there was NO lesson plans, NO schedule of what to teach, NO idea what had gone on in years before. So, I asked the teachers what usually happens in computer lab and what they would like me to teach. The unanimous request was typing.

Apparently, the prior teachers didn't thing learning to type was a priority in computer class... nobody had ever taught it before. Although I did find a program in my bottomless pit of a closet (a story for another time) so I installed it and began teaching the 3 & 4th graders to type properly. This program turned out to be quite boring & as a result, groans accompanied the lessons *never a good sign*. So I began searching online for a better program to buy & came across the best resource EVER: the BBC website. Among MANY other resources they have a typing program.

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing

This site is awesome for typing lessons for the following reasons:

1. It's FREE

2. It's musical

3. It encourages with an onscreen keyboard & tips.

4. It's musical

5. It has fun characters

6. It builds slowly with 12 different lessons

7. It's FREE!!!!

It's so much fun that I even learned to type better because I play it too :P

BUT, probably the best aspect to it is that the characters speak with a British accent. Because of this, I get to hear about sixty kids speaking with mock British accents! It's completely awesome and I laugh a little when they start calling each other "mate."

xxOOxx

Welcome to 2011!

2010 blew by like a breeze and 2011 will surely follow just as fast! I'm glad i've started this blog (even if nobody reads it) because it gives me the chance to look back and see all of the wonderful experiences i've had while teaching. Now that i've begun on this journey, I truly couldn't imagine myself on any other path. I wake up everyday (well, ALMOST everyday) happy to go to work. Both, the children and the adults that I work with give me so much hope and faith for the future.

So, here's to 2011. May this year contain more blessings, more happiness, more joy-filled days, and more wonder than last year.