Frustration

I have had a day and a half. Every class seems to complain more and more everyday. They do not learn from previous days and I have to go back and re-teach daily so that we can learn something new everyday. I have bribed with points and different things so that the students will put more effort into their work and into their attention spans. I have had more discipline problems this week than I would care to mention, plus a mother on my back about make-up assignments. She would like her son to be able to make up his work while he has been out on suspension. Our policy clearly states that the student is not allowed to make up work after their second suspension. He is working on his third. I have had to pull in my principal, assistant principal, his counselor, and his special ed teacher on this. Fortunately, they have all backed me up on this because I am following school policy. This week has not been my favorite, but hey just 12 more days of school until Christmas break!

Sooo far behind

Does anyone else feel that they are so far behind in their curriculum map that you feel like giving up? I do! The students I have just seem to take so much longer to "get" things. I have tried different strategies and I have tried different reward strategies, but nothing seems to motivate these students to learn or retain information. Has anyone else noticed this total lack of motivation? I have some students who panic about their grades and I have some that have a zero for their interim report grade. I have no contact numbers that work for parents and I am not the only teacher at my school to encounter these problems. This seems to be an epidemic at my school and no one seems to know how to fix it. It does make me feel better that I am not experiencing these problems because I am the new teacher, but it also discourages me.

Re-arranging

I have a reinforcement class in which most students are special ed and I have to gear the work toward the special ed students. I have some exceptionally smart students in there too that are not getting the education that they deserve. I don't really know what to do about this. The behavior in this class is horrible of course because of all of the behavior modifications that are required. Most need individual attention and that is fine,but I have a big class for a reinforcement class. I do have a special ed teacher that is in there with me, but he is just there to back me up. He has no clue about Biology and it is hard sometimes. I have talked with the registrar about getting some of the kids that don't need reinforcement out of that class for next semester, but the students that can be switched are not the really bright students that I was hoping to get into another class where they can excel. I would have two assignments in the class, one for the special ed and one for the other students, but by the time I get the special ed students going I don't have time to get the others going. If I try to get the others going first, the special ed students get off track and I can't get them back. It is a catch-22 and I am not sure what to do about it.

Chaos and Weddings

These are pictures from my wedding in October. We just got them back the week before last. Dr. Zimmerly asked me to post these. I will tell you that it is not a wise decision to plan a weddding, get a new job, try and get a Master's degree, buy a new house and move all at the same time. I don't know how I still have my sanity. The hard part was prioritizing all of these things at once. I am so glad most of these items are now checked off the list!

I am still called Ms. Garrett at school although I have been Mrs. Sellers for close to 2 months. I almost forget I have a new name because of this, but I answer to either now, haha!

Where did November go?

I noticed I did not post during the month of November, oops. I was trying to get through with Biomes and such with my students. I was interupted many times by AEA days, Thanksgiving Break, and testing. I barely got in a test before Thanksgiving.
Speaking of AEA days, I enjoyed some local offerings. I got to go to Project Learning Tree. This was an activity based workshop. It gave me alot of good ideas of how to get the students up and out of their seats and learn at the same time. We also got a free book (YAY) with these ideas split into age levels and state framework compatibility. The next day I thought was going to be so much fun because it was labeled Science in the Park. We got to go to Pinnacle Mountain State Park. We learned about ecology, but it didn't seem to lend itself to school-based learning. I didn't take much away from the workshop that I can implement in the classroom. It was good to be outside for the day though!

Book reviews

I have recently read Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella and Dorothy on the Rocks by Barbara Suter. I will start with Sophie's book. I really enjoyed this book. It was a good light read about a woman who has a car accident and doesn't remember anything that has happened in the past five years. She wakes up in a hospital with her last memory being of her night on the town with friends 5 years earlier. When she wakes up, she has a better body, better clothes, and a gorgeous husband. Unfortunately, she doesn't remember getting any of these. She spends the rest of the novel finding out about her life and improving upon her already improved upon life.
Dorothy on the Rocks is about a 40-something year old named Maggie. This novel takes the reader through the ups and downs of being a single, older woman who hasn't fulfilled her dreams of being a famous actress/singer. Through the book she starts a romance with a much younger man who seems perfect. Later on he meets a tragic fate and she learns that he was not that perfect. She also has a fairy godmother who is a representation of a dear friend she lost to AIDS. The book it heart-breaking at times and at times you find yourself laughing out loud.

High schools that work

I recently went to a High Schools That Work professional development day. Our school is no longer with HSTW, but the district invited us to attend anyway. We are currently with America's Choice and on another year of school improvement. During this workshop, teachers from different schools in the district were taught new literacy strategies. We were given new tools to use in the classroom and I was excited to see that I was already familiar with a few. The main tools that were taught was Cornell notes. This was one of my strategies from my 25 that I submitted to our class. It made me feel good to be able to discuss strategies in depth with teachers that have been teaching for years and to be able to teach these teachers something new. I also shared some of the strategies out of our book with these teachers and they absolutely loved them. I liked this workshop and if anyone gets an opportunity to sit in on one of these I highly recommend it!