Full Moon

One of my students keeps me rolling with laughter...He shouted out Cornbread when the answer was "lack of oxygen", he said "I'm a straight sapiens" in response to finding out the human genus/species is Homo Sapiens, and he recently told me that his Gra'ma gave him a whoopin' and when I asked what he did wrong he said, "nothin' miss, but when a black person say they gon give you a whoopin', it could be a year later and you still gon get that whoopin."

This is Dalls. He's great.

He's also about 6'4 and about 250-280 lbs. He towers over me, gives me huge hugs and smothers me, and always teases me. Example:
Me: "DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic..."
Dalls interrupting: "Spell Deoxyribo" (this is a command/challenge - insinuating i can't)
Me: "There are 4 nitrogen bases in..."
Dalls interruping: "Spell Nitrogen"
later
Dalls to another student: "ooh, I'm gonna see Harry Potter on Friday..."
Me interrupting in an effort to get him back: "Spell Harry Potter"
Dalls quickly replied: "y-o-u-r space m-a-m-a"

I had to think about it, then laughed out loud.

So why the title? Right before Thanksgiving, I gave a test. All my students were working quietly when Dalls got up to sharpen his pencil. On his way back to his desk he dropped the aforementioned pencil and bent over to pick it up. Unfortunately...I saw too too much of Dalls posterier. We're not talking a little crack, we're talking all crack.

I immediately said "Dalls!" and he snaps up and said "What?!" then apparently felt the draft and said, "Oh, sorry." then he kinda half-grinned/half-giggled and walked back to his desk. Well by now all the other students were like "what? what happened? what??" and I wasn't going to say a word to protect Dalls from embarrassment. But he came right out with it and said:

"I just mooned my teachuh."

The whole class busted out laughing including me. He's a spot of humor during my crazy 5th period that I have every day.

Starts with a C, or does it?

This year, October 29th in schools everywhere = kids spaz out because Halloween is coming over the weekend and they think it's a national holiday and therefore shouldn't have to work. I decided to try and outsmart them and "trick" them into doing work by giving them "treats". I happened to have some cupcakes and candy left in my room from my 4th period senior class that I quickly realized I could use as a carrot to keep my 5th period freshmen focused for one hour before the bell rang to release them to all their gremlin delight.

So I began to teach about Cell Respiration, and that after Glycolysis it depends on if there is Oxygen present as to whether it continues in Cell Respiration or undergoes Fermentation. We played hangman to get to big words they hadn't learned yet and I was rewarding them with treats for right answers all the while. My typically reticent fishies were eating out of my hand within minutes. (literally)

After discussing the aerobic pathway (presence of oxygen), I tried to lead them to the other pathway. I was looking for a response that was anything like this: anaerobic, lack of oxygen, no oxygen, etc. One student up front, who was feasting on his previous prize, muttered under his breath "lack of oxygen" while all the other kids were shouting things like "CARBON", "HYDROGEN", "KREBS CYCLE", etc. I barely heard this young man and quickly jumped to him to get him to say it loud enough for the others to hear.

I said, "YES, Dalls!, Say what you said again!"

With a mouthful of cupcake he shouts, "Carbon!" I said, "No, the other thing!" He swallows and shouts, "CUPCAKE!" I giggle and shake my head 'no' to get him to try again. To which he replies with all gusto, "CORNBREAD!!!"

I couldn't hold my laughter in. I love teaching.

Me vs. the 600 lb Woman

So today we are moving into Biochem basics: Carbohydrates, Proteins, Lipids, Nucleic Acids.

We had already discussed that Carbs are short term/quick energy and had shifted to discussing properties of Lipids (fats) and the fact that they are long term energy storage. I paused from the lesson briefly to illustrate the point and asked my kids this:

"If me and a 600 lb Woman...." (I have to pause because they are already giggling at the mental image) ..."are stranded on a deserted island, who will last longest?"

I'm HOPING they say something like, "Her, because she has more fat, therefore she will have energy longer." But here was the response I got:

"Her, cuz she gon eat you!"

September Changes

A few things I've noticed in September...

1) obviously the weather has begun to change. That has been a welcomed arrival, especially since my room is an outdoor access room. I bet the Japanese maple at camp is looking beautiful...

2) The first 6 weeks came to a close at the end of September. Survived the first one - and wow, what a ride. It reminds of being at camp in some ways. Your campers arrive on Sunday, they are tough, they try to impress, they are walled off. Then around Tuesday night/Wednesday morning they begin to let their guard down and actually allow you, as their counselor, to see their softer inside and they become so much more teachable. This first 6 weeks has very much felt like "Sunday-Tuesday". Some of the walls are coming down, most of the kids are beginning to get into a routine... so I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that we can move into the good zone for a bit.

3) Sadly, an Austin ISD teacher, who was voted teacher of the year in May of this year, has now in September lost her job because of a blog. Foolishly, she used real names, photos, and made derogatory statements about the kids and their families. Her blog was not password protected or blocked from search engines. She said she was keeping the blog as a way to inform her family and friends of what was going on in her world. Unfortunately, you cannot violate privacy rights of students. This morning, A good friend clued me in to this happening and it has been a good reminder for me as I blog. I'll likely use some seriously outrageous names for the sake of protecting the identity of the kiddos.

4) One thing that has not changed in September is the behavior of "Klopek". Today, Klopek came in and was excited to see we had new seating arrangements... until he discovered his spot was right next to my desk and that he was at a table "full of losers!" in his words. He tried to get me to switch his spot to "the cool" table, which I denied, he has earned no privileges in my book. Then he decided to get out a hat. This might seem insignificant, but everyone knows... it's an ISD rule, NO HATS on school property. Too many gang affiliations and so much more, so no hats. Period. So he gets his out, knowing he's going to push the rules. The other teacher tells him to put it away and he complies for about 10 minutes. Then gets it back out. I tell him, "Klopek, put it away." He moves it half way under his bag. I said, "No, I can't be able to see it whatsoever." He blows me off. So I say, "Alright, give it to me." Now he's mad. "You can't take it! It's mine." So I say, "Alright, then put it away, completely." Again, no response. So again, "Give it to me." Again, "You can't take it."
"I'm not going to take it, you can go see your principal about it." so I write him up... (sigh)... again. And off he goes, with his hat on now. Only along the way, he encounters the Head Fred Principal (HFP going forward). HFP is awesome, he is legit, enforces discipline and is well respected. HFP says, "Son, put the hat away." Same routine. Second warning. Klopek gets rowdier. Third warning. Klopek then calls HFP a "chicken sh*t". Now there's cops and the whole hoopla. You can't cuss at HFP, ever. So we'll see what Klopek's punishment is this time. Suspension I'm sure...I can't keep him in class long enough to teach him anything.

Pray for this: Klopek could be the type of kid who decides to bring a weapon to school to "show how strong he is." He is so very desperate to prove himself and be accepted. Please pray against that, and for the safety of all of us who encounter him or many like him every day. Pray that he finds the True Acceptance he is looking for in Jesus.

Schnitzel and Stuff

This week in class my kids got distracted and began asking "Trinka" (the Special Ed Teacher who is in my class 1st and 5th period every day) and I if our husbands were German.

Then one of the biggest tallest kids in class (think offensive lineman) who also happens to be African American, blurts out, "Oooooh, I wish I was German. Then I could say things like 'Schnitzel' and stuff!"

I laughed out loud.

5th Period Dynamics

3 students in my 5th period make an interesting dynamic...Klopek (whom I've already posted about), and 2 others we will name Saldy and Stivaker.

Stivaker is a sweet young man who needs a little extra help and love. He can get frustrated and angry, but for the most part he has been in good spirits everytime he's in my class. Last week someone stole a $100 bill out of Stivaker's wallet during gym class just because they could. That infuriated me. Then, the other day, Klopek called Stivaker "special ed", which greatly upset Stivaker because he indeed does need some extra time and attention. Another teacher helped Stivaker calm down and get refocused while...

Klopek and I had a talk that day outside. He has skipped class a few times, he's been suspended for cussing out another teacher. When he is in class he won't do work, he refuses to take notes, and he slums his way through tests and quizzes not even reading the questions. In our talk on Wednesday, (after making a huge spectacle of being asked to go outside) he said he thinks no one cares about him and he hates school and he doesn't want to do or be anything when he grows up. He said he picked on Stivaker because everyone else picks on him and Stivaker is lower than him in the pecking order so he was easy to mess with. I told him it's unacceptable to pick on a Special Ed kid. He wanted me to send him to the office, but because that's what he wanted, I denied him the "privilege" of getting out of class and asked him to go back in and get to work. He complied for a while, then put his head down and went to sleep. I gave up on Wednesday. Meanwhile...

Saldy. Saldy is one of my football players. He is mouthy and at times irritable, but every day I like him more and more. He asks questions, he tries to learn, and when he gets off task he is easily redirected (even if this happens many times in one day...). Saldy has taken it upon himself to be my protector. Wednesday, when Klopek made a spectacle, Saldy stopped me before I got to the door and said, "Mrs. Miller, I'll handle this." I smiled and said, "No, Saldy, I got it." He said, "No Mrs. Miller, what happens if he punch you?? Then I'ma have to go out there and handle it." To which I replied, "Don't worry, he's not going to punch me," and I went outside. When Klopek and I came back in, Saldy was waiting, sitting by the door, and his first question as he looks me straight in the eyes was, "Everything alright?" and he shifted his glance to Klopek who was returning to his chair. I told him everything was fine and we continued class.

So today, Klopek returns and again, refuses to do work. After asking him many times quietly and politely to get out paper and get started and he plain refused, I asked him to step outside. He abruptly stands up, says "THANK YOU, I wanna leave this class!" and grabs his backpack. I said, "Klopek, leave your backpack, you aren't leaving." He ignores me and keeps walking. I take a different path and get to the door and tell him again, "Go put your backpack down, you aren't leaving class." and then... explosion. "F**k you, f**k this class, I hate this S**t, stupid lame a$$ school." I say, "Go sit down."

Saldy leaps to his feet looking between Klopek and me. I tell him to have a seat too. I get the referral stuff out and the other teacher helps me fill it out (since I have NO idea how to do that!). And Saldy starts talking to me..."Mrs. Miller, let me handle this." I say, "No Saldy, he's going to the office." He says, "Mrs. Miller, he can't talk to you like that. I take care of this." By this time I'm finished writing and the other teacher escorts Klopek to the principal's office (where he receives 3 days suspension). And Saldy says, "Mrs. Miller, you know I got your back right? It's all for you gurrl, all for you." I just smiled and continued with class.

Pray for Klopek. Whatever has happened to him (or is still happening to him) is making him terribly angry and he acts out at school. He needs Jesus. and He needs an education, but he can't learn if he isn't in school, and he won't be in school if he keeps behaving this way.
Pray for Stivaker, that people won't pick on him so much.
Pray for Saldy, that he won't do anything crazy in the name of protecting.

Genius & Species

Yes, I meant to type genus incorrectly in the title. Let me share an "enlightened" dialogue from class today.

Me: So now that we have defined species, what do you think is a population?
Random Child Blurting Out: A city filled with people.
Me: Well, sort of. Yes that works when talking about economics and government, but think in terms of science.
Other RCBO: But Miss, I seen those signs when you come in and out of Tyler sayin' Population 80 thousand or somethin.
Me: Well, ok. Let's use humans as a scientific example then. We are a species too. Our species is Homo Sapiens, so together, we are a population of Homo Sapiens.
Still Another RCBO: WHAT? Say WHAT? Uh-Uh Miss. I'm a Straight Sapiens.
Me: (stifled giggle)

Rain Hypothesis

We are studying Hypotheses, Scientific Theories and Natural Laws right now as a foundation for Biology. Here's my own for today:

If it rains, then my kids will go nuts.

I have tested this Hypothesis as of 3:50pm this afternoon and proved it to be valid. 20 minutes remaining in the day and I couldn't capture their attention for anything. I spoke with Lori, fellow science teacher, and she said that actually, that Hypothesis has already made it past Theory stage and is the "Natural Law" category.

Used to love when it rained while I was at work... now... (sigh)...

Survival of the Fittest

Yes, this is post #2 today... I meant to post this earlier this week...but I was too busy trying to survive.
I picked a biology title because, Hey, I teach biology.

First week is complete! I hung on for dear life this week, and survived. Planning to use this weekend to get ahead in lesson planning which will help a ton. I was up at work until at least 8 or 9 every day this week just trying to prepare for the next day. But I hear this is to be expected your first year teaching.

I see some of my kids every day (1st and 5th periods), and others every other day (2nd, 3rd, 4th). It's called a modified block or a hybrid block schedule. I've gotten to know my every day kids really well, and I am glad to have them every day because they are special and need lots of extra attention. I've got 2 classes of seniors which I absolutely LOVE. They are my favorite so far, there is such a huge difference between seniors and freshmen.

The only class I'm not sure I have my "bluff" in yet is B-day 3rd period - freshmen. They are really pushing me and requiring way more directives than the other 3 classes of freshmen. If you'd like: pray for me to be patient yet firm with them, and pray that I'd have wisdom in how to capture their attention and lead them to learn.


Thought I'd include a few final pics of how my classroom ended up. The full finished product.

The things on the windows are "word walls" which is where we write vocab and other high traffic words. It's a good thing to reference back to.

The tables are marked with colorful paper microscopes to differentiate each person's seating location.

The supplies are out on the desks at all times, and with good discussion, so far none of it has been taken.

These are Social Contracts: We discussed for a few minutes how we all want to be treated: Them by me, them by each other, and me by them. We came up with similar words, so we agreed and signed that we would treat each other this way. Notice the difference in how 1st and 5th filled it out... both freshmen classes...




And I hung them on the ceiling for a permanent reminder that we all agreed. :)

"I'm a Bad Kid"

Let me tell you about "Klopek". (name changed obviously)
Klopek is a kid I see everyday. Thursday he wouldn't write anything down or do as I asked him to do. When I informed him "Klopek, if you don't write this down, you can't study for your quiz which is tomorrow" he replied, "I don't care, I hate this class." To which I said, "why?" and he said, "Because you are mean." Interestingly, in the same class I had 2 other kids tell me I was the nicest teacher they had this year. So I tried no to take it to heart and wondered what else was going on in his life...

Friday, Klopek returns to class and we get ready for the quiz. I give him his paper and he just pushes it away, gets out a marker and starts to draw in his spiral. Another teacher/aide I have in the room comes to him and asks why he isn't work on his quiz, and he says he doesn't care. She tells him he'll get a zero, and again, he doesn't care. So I come to him quietly and ask him to step outside with me while the other teacher monitors the class. He mumbles under his breath "I don't wanna talk to you!" Here's our dialogue:

Me: Klopek, why aren't you working on your quiz
Klopek: Because I don't want to.
Me: You know you'll get a zero right?
Klopek: I don't care
Me: We can work together to improved and replace grades, but I can't do anything about a zero.
Klopek: I don't care, I hate this class!
Me: I can't make you like the class, I can only help you learn.
Klopek: I don't even like High School, I wanna drop out. I hate it here.
Me: Why do you hate it?
Klopek: Well, I got friends, yeah, I got friends. But I'm gonna get jumped, or "T-ed" or beat up.
Me: Who is going to beat you up, is someone threatening you?
Klopek: No, but they will. Everyone says I'm annoying.
Me: Ahh, I see, so you are preparing yourself for the worst. Well, I don't think you are annoying.
(he looks me in the eyes for the first time)
Klopek: Even my family doesn't like me, They think I'm a screw up.
Me: why?
Klopek: because I'm 14 and I'm on probation. I messed up. I'm a bad kid. They don't like me.
Me: Klopek, You aren't a bad kid. My brother is also on probation (I didn't bother with the in-law explanation, didn't figure it mattered), and he's not a bad kid. In fact We love him very much. He messed up too, but he's not a bad kid. And you aren't either. We gotta get you working on learning, because I know you are smart. And if you learn, you can begin to get out of the situation you are in, but you gotta try. Can you go try on that quiz for me please?
(again looks me in the eyes)
Klopek: But I wasn't paying attention when you were teaching. I'm not going to pass.
Me: Just do your best and we'll work with it from there.
Klopek: Ok (looks me in the eyes one more time and half smiles).

He goes in and works on the quiz. I haven't graded it yet, but we'll see. But that conversation alone, Friday at 3:15 PM after a very long week of Setting Rules, Boundaries, Procedures, Lines, Expectations and teaching as best as I could - That conversation made it worth it.

First Day and Flowers

Today was my first day. I did as I was told and hit the procedures/rules hard, and will continue to review and revisit as needed. I hope to model teaching after my sister-in-law Stephanie's parenting: clear boundaries and expectations, patience, and deliberate training. We'll see.

My First 2 classes were filled with Freshmen who were terrified. It was funny to realize they were more nervous than I was! My 4th period was seniors who knew the drill, but they made me laugh. I had them working in groups on something and one guy starts yelling/conversating across the room to another guy... I said "Hunter, you are working in groups right now." to which he replies, "Miss, I choose him to be my group."  I gave him "the look" as I've been instructed to do, but inside I was laughing. I quickly informed him that his table is his group.

Then there was 5th period. This one will be interesting - seeing as there was almost a fight today on the first day. Fortunately I have a wonderful co-teacher in the room to help with the kids who need some extra guidance.

During 5th period I received these! My sweet sweet mother was so nice to send them to me today. And of course, all my kids said, "Miss, who day from?" and one replied "Mmmmm, bettah be her husband..." haha. I let them know, my loving mother sent them.

Is it a Touch Lamp?

Progress!

This week I have been in New Teacher training all week. I gotta say, Hal Bowman (aside from being a Tech Alum) was a very inspiring speaker. I was captivated and in tears by the end of the day. That was fabulous.














I have received all the "creds" - Parking Pass, Badge and Keys.
(Names of People and Locations will be changed to protect the innocent... haha)

And we've made progress in my room! It's looking really good now. All the green paint is gone off of the windows on one wall. And you can see the file cabinet that was previously tan and located by the chalkboard in the prior post is now black and next to my desk.

The desks are arranged with basic supplies available. This will hopefully cut down on the excuse for not doing work... "Miss, I don't have a pen." And on the back wall to the right are 3 calendars... this is where I will write assignments for students who miss. (I'll have basically 3 different types of classes, 2 of each - making 6 total classes)
This will cut down on 1) traffic to me and my desk and 2) the question "did we do anything yesterday" or "did I miss anything". They can just go look.

The center island is all black now. The chalkboards are still green. I'm going to try to get Maintenance to instill one more White board for me, and that top corner above the cabinet I think I will turn into a type of bulletin board. Maybe get some cheesey inspirational poster... or not.





But you might be asking yourself, "why is this post titled 'Is it a Touch Lamp?'?" I'll tell you.

While I was cleaning out a rats nest left behind by the previous teacher, I found this lamp. I studied it for a good ten minutes: "how does it work?" I thought to myself as I looked for a switch on the head, the chord, the inside, the underneath, everywhere. I started to put it in the trash saying to Jeff - "this lamp has no on switch, that's stupid." To which he brilliantly (no pun intended) says, "Is it a Touch Lamp?"

Sure enough. I never thought to plug it in and try that. DUH!

Getting My Class Ready

So I'm working on getting my class ready: E102. When I came in I thought, good grief, no one has showed this room love since 1987, how can kids learn in this environment?! But, I'm trying not to spend too much money in the process. This is the back wall...

Robyn had a great idea to add a blackboard to it, so with some paint, trim and an awesome husband...

This was the front area... yes, that is faux marble adhesive. gross. 

I peeled the sticky marble off the pole and under the TV and off the teaching island to the left of the photo and painted all three black. Jeff suggested adding chalkboard paint to the wood under the TV so I can write the date and other messages. Cute idea. Way to go Babe. 

And the desks... in almost every class room they look like this.

But I rearranged them with Robyn's help... we are going to try this. Supposedly with good classroom management, group and partner learning is the best. We'll see about the class management.

Still a lot to do. Gotta get the green paint off the glass on one of the walls. Not sure who thought that would be a good idea??? and there's still lots of things to go through, rearrange, take down, put up, etc. But we'll get there. Class starts August 23rd!