Posts Tagged “student”

Welcoming Spring with a Few Funnies

Spring Fever has hit the students in a large way. They have become bouncy and loud and though we attempted to corral them in the classroom, their minds are really outside in the sunshine. I have to admit, I’m kind of out there myself, it’s pretty contagious. So, just in case the fever hasn’t hit you, here are a few funnies to help lighten your mood.

In 4th grade, Mrs. K’s student “Jeanette”, who receives special ed services, had been helping to sort papers after she finished her assignment. She was still diligently working away when the Guidance Counselor, Mr. E., entered the room for his class lesson. Mrs. K remarked to “Jeanette” that she could put that work down for now, so she could pay attention to Mr. E. Jeanette turned and with a huge smile on her face said, “It’s ok Mrs. K, I can still do it cuz I’m MULTITASKIC! You know, that means I can do more than one thing at a time!” And she continued to sort, occasionally glancing up at Mr. E. (I do believe Multitaskic needs to be entered into the next edition of Webster’s. )

Also in 4th grade, Mrs. S had been working individually with “Maya”, reteaching a math concept that “Maya” was really struggling to understand. It was just about time for lunch, so Mrs. S invited “Maya” to get her lunch and bring it back to the room, so they could continue to work while they ate. Since eating in the room with the teacher is a pretty cool thing to do in a 4th grader’s mind, “Maya” was all for it. As she left, Mrs. S told her to think about any questions she might have that they could work on when she returned. A few minutes later, “Maya” returned with her lunch, sat down and looked at Mrs. S. Mrs. S. had the math work ready to begin where they had left off, and before she returned to it, she looked at “Maya” and said, “Did you think of any questions we can start with?” “Maya” looked at her very seriously and said, “Yes, Mrs. S. I have a question.” Mrs. S asked what that question might be. “Maya” looked at her very intently and asked, “How does the bus driver get on the bus?” Mrs. S has determined that next time, she’ll clarify that questions should be about the subject at hand!

And from my own Title group of second grade girls, “Denise” looks at me one day and says, “Mrs. R you look like my aunt “Sandy”. “ I smiled and jokingly said, “Oh, is she old too?” “Denise” said, “No, she’s not old, she’s DRUNK!” Really, I promise…..it’s just SPRING FEVER!

No H1N1 this time!

It’s been a long strange school year. Earlier in the fall my district had about with the respiratory type of flu, and we did see some H1N1. There were times when over 20% of the student population was absent. In fact there were classrooms with as few as 6 students in them for days at a time.

Well, this week the “pukin’ flu” (as one student put it) hit my building, with a vengeance. It started with just a few, but just a couple of days in there were students lined up in the office sharing garbage cans as they waited for their parents. In every classroom the upchuck has hit the floor/desks/rugs, causing all teachers to have the “if you are going to be sick, just GO! - You don’t have to ask permission” speech. Students are being made aware of the location of every garbage can, and every bathroom. Again, hand washing is being stressed and the use of hand sanitizer is on the rise. However, I have come to the conclusion this is to no avail – those “pukin’ flu” germs are going to infect us all, they are on a mission.

This is why I feel that way. On Wednesday a guest teacher in a first grade classroom was trying to get students ready to go home about 2:45, so they would all be ready to board their buses at 2:55. During this time it’s really just managed chaos as snow pants, hats, mittens, scarves, boots, and coats get layered on and backpacks get loaded. In the midst of all of this, one little girl tells the teacher she doesn’t feel very good, then she immediately punctuates her sentence by vomiting all over her shoes and the floor. The rest of the children immediately start reacting with “EEEEEWWWW!”, “That’s GROSS”, “Why’d ya do THAT?”. The guest teacher holds her composure, and calmly stops a teacher in the hall to take the ill child to the office, and send a janitor back to the room. As the regular teacher is taking the ill child from the room, another student (yep, in the same room) vomits all over the floor and another student’s backpack. At this point, in desperation, the guest teacher asks the remaining students if anyone else is feeling ill. The second ill student is shipped off with another teacher as the janitor makes his way into the room to try to clean up the damage. (There is not enough money to get me to do that job.) While this clean up is going on, the guest teacher manages to get the rest of the students in line and starts down the hallway to the buses. On the way this class has to dodge 2 more “puddles” of vomit, deposited by students headed home. I don’t know if this guest teacher will ever return, perhaps in the spring after the “pukin’ flu” is gone!

Seriously, some days, I feel like I work in an ongoing Monty Python movie…….. “There’s always room for a thin mint.”

Is it really all about the “class” ?

As a teacher, you know there are differences in “classes”….not just in a classroom, but the class as a whole. It’s hard to explain to those outside of education who think all students show up for the first day of Kindergarten knowing their alphabet and how to write their name. It’s hard to understand just how much that is not reality; how you can have a class with a child who has never held a crayon and a child who is already reading.

At my elementary, last year’s 5th grade class was a tough one. There were many students with some pretty serious behavior issues, many with very poor home situations and many who were receiving special education services. We knew this class was going to be challenging when they arrived in kindergarten, so many of the students were at risk. Over the 6 years that they spent with us, we tried to build them up, give them strategies and tools, and set them up for success as they moved on to Middle School.

A few years ago I was talking to the social worker at our school after a student in my daughter’s class committed suicide by hanging himself in his parent’s garage. They were juniors at the time. Mrs. K. said something that has stuck with me. She said, “That class has been edgy and intense from the beginning. They want to push the envelope and change things.” She went on to compare that class to the “over-achievers” in the Senior class that year; the “clowns” in the sophomore class and the “socialites” of the freshman class. Mrs. K. went on to say that by the time a class gets to HS, they have developed a “class” personality and it seems to stick - even after graduation. I have often thought back on that and wished she was not so prophetic.

Today my daughter got a call that a young man from her class had shot himself and died. He is the fourth to commit suicide, from her “edgy, intense” class. (This class graduated 3 years ago.) This is a small town folks….4 kids from a class of 120ish. She and her classmates will now come together again, hold one another, attempt to understand and then go on as best they can. I will hug my daughter, tell her I love her and how important she is to me and those around her. I will try to help her get through another loss - too many for one so young.

As I go through this with my child again today - my mind wanders to last year’s class of fifth graders, who are struggling through their first year of Middle School this year. I think about some of the tender hearts, insecure souls and how hard they worked to get as far as they did. Those students, “my kids” that I really didn’t want to send over to Middle School. The hard ones, seem to touch you more than the easy ones. I pray that they do not find this answer….the adolescent years are so cruel, so hard, ……I pray they will all find the strength they need. I hope against hope that Mrs. K will be wrong, and this weak challenged group of students will turn out to be the class of “survivors”.

Grandparents Day!

Students LOVE it when their parents come to school to spend time with them. If a mom or dad decides to be a “room-helper” for the day you can see their child puff up with pride and confidence, because they can show mom or dad the ropes. But that’s nothing compared to Grandparents Day!

Every year Kindergarten and First grades hold Grandparents Day in conjunction with the holiday music program. They work hard to make special invitations to give to their grandparents, prepare a special poem and clean up their desk so it’s neat and tidy to show off. As I move through the classrooms I will hear about which Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Poppa, Grammy and Grampy are going to be attending. For those students whose grandparents are unable to attend there is a photo wall where they can share pictures and write a little paragraph or two about their grandparents. It is so much fun to hear their stories.

Last year I helped out in a First Grade classroom on the actual day. As Grandparents arrived, each child excitedly introduced their grandparents to the class; “This is my Grampy. He likes to fish with me.” “This is my Nana Peters, she’s my Grandma, but we don’t call her that, we just call her Nana.” “This is my Grandma and Grandpa, they live on a farm.” My favorite introduction of the day was; “This is my Gramma. But she’s not like an old kind of Grandma, she’s still fun.”

I don’t remember having a Grandparents Day when I was growing up. I do remember that my Grandparents often came to my programs and school activities. I was lucky enough to have Grandparents who lived close enough for me to spend time with them regularly. I would have LOVED to show them off at school. My introductions would probably have gone something like this: “This is my Grandma Brown, we create new recipes for ice cream drinks in her kitchen.” “These are my Great-Granparents, Gramma & Grampa Stump. They live on a farm, let me milk cows, gather eggs and ride a big horse.” “And this is Grandma and Grandpa Loomis. Grandma lets us make bread with her and Grandpa built us a go-cart out of a lawn-mower engine.” Of all the special days we have at school, I think this has to be the best one!

Armed with hand-sanitizer………

I made it through the week. The flu outbreak, whether it’s H1N1 or just the normal seasonal flu, has begun to hit our district in a big way. Over 20% of the students in our building were absent for 2 days last week. Teachers have also been ill; so many that they are unable to find substitute teachers for them all. Reading teachers get the call in this case, and I enjoyed a day in a fifth grade classroom.

The major weapon in our fight against the germs, is hand sanitizer. As students come into the room – “Please sanitize your hands.” As students enter the computer lab – “Please sanitize your hands”. As students leave the computer lab – “Please sanitize your hands”. As students leave for art…..well….you get the picture. Hand sanitizer is everywhere! As I spent the day with the fifth graders, it occurred to me, perhaps we need a better weapon – these kids are sanitizing every time they turn around and they are still dropping like flies.

Wednesday morning I was headed to the office to get some supplies. I passed one of my few well colleagues on my way. “Don’t go in the office”, she said in a low growl. HHHHmmmmmm. I had to go into the office, I needed these supplies. As I rounded the little hallway from the teacher work room to the office area I almost stepped on a student! Upon further observation, the principal’s office is full of students, the little hall is full of students, the guidance counselors office more students. The nurses’ office, FULL of students with pans and the office, well, it looked like a triage scene from MASH. As I gathered my supplies, I held my breath, then got out of there as quickly as I could. On my way out I passed another colleague…..yup, I too growled, “DON’T go in there.”

There is hope on the horizon however. Friday they held a flu shot clinic for students and about half of the parents sent permission for their children to get shots. Although the shots were given quickly and few students actually cried, the effects of the trauma were seen throughout the day. One teacher asked a student to hold the door for the rest of the class to go by and got an overly dramatic, “But……I got the flu shot…..I can’t do it”. I overheard two 4th grade girls talking on their way out the door at the end of the day. One must have gotten the shot and the other not. The one who received the shot was reliving the trauma. “First they poke in this long needle, and you don’t feel it right away but then…….this whole thing of PAIN shoots all over your whole body…..and you think you might DIE!” It just makes me wonder how many kids who got the shots will use that as an excuse to get out of their weekend chores.

Excuse me, I need to go disinfect my table, pencils, chairs……..well……my world.

How gullible do they think we are??

Every year, without fail, students try the SAME tricks to get OUT of trouble or to cover up that they do not have their assignment completed. I have begun to address a few of these in my initial meetings with students and most of them seem to appreciate it, learning quickly that they are just better off to DO the work. But there are always a few who just have to try it. These top three “cover-ups” test my patience more than flat out cheating.

Strategy #1 – Hold up your response journal and pretend to be reading from it. Yup, I am actually going to ask to SEE your entry if you try this particular cover-up. When I do, I inevitably get this response, “Well, that’s what I was going to write but didn’t have time.” My response to this is always the same as well – it goes something like “Nice try, perhaps you’ll have the time to get it written while you are in study hall.”

Strategy #2 – Raise your hand and then say you forgot what you were going to say. Early onset Alzheimer’s runs rampant in elementary schools. Normally, I tell the student’s to make sure they have a real answer before raising their hands. No extra credit will be given for forgetting. Besides, everyone knows they didn’t really have an answer anyway, they aren’t fooling anyone.

Strategy #3 – Just guess, if it sounds good enough, she’ll buy it. I am continually amazed at how many different just plain guesses they will try! They just keep throwing stuff out there hoping something will stick. The best defense to this (that I have found) is, “show me where you found the answer.” That statement deflates them immediately as they realize, “oh, she’s not going to buy it.” In fact, just last week in one of my 4th grade guided reading groups a student actually said, “You guys, quit guessing, you know that doesn’t work with Mrs. R.”

After a LONG week, I mentioned this to my husband the other night after a particularly “task avoidant” student pushed all my buttons that day. He assured me that it wasn’t just me. There are those that cannot be rehabilitated. He knows this because he sees adults where he works who will work harder NOT to work, than they would just working. Somehow, his attempt at consoling me didn’t make me feel any better.

Rigor and Relevance

The staff in my district is focusing on Rigor and Relevance, it’s our professional development task this year and the focus of curriculum committees. I like the creativity it gives me as a teacher to develop new lessons or add to one I use annually. I took a leap this semester in the name of Rigor and Relevance, with my 5th grade guided reading group. This particular group is made up of the highest achieving students in that classroom, many are also TAG students. I chose The Monument by Gary Paulsen as their first novel. I had read this novel but not previously used it with a group of students. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it.

As we are reading, the students are creating a “Novel Guide”. We discuss the book, and the students choose what they feel needs to be addressed and how they think other students would enjoy completing the activities. Upon completion, I have spoken to two other classroom teachers who are willing to use the guide with their students and provide feedback. My students are SO into this assignment.

They are pretty creative, and have used illustrating, describing, and real-life connections by finding websites that add to the understanding of the novel. We have had some very interesting discussions as well. When the main character meets the artist the town has hired, she uses the word “pervert” to initially describe him. Every one of them had made a note to use pervert as a vocabulary word, so this meant we needed a working definition. They struggled and finally we looked it up in the dictionary. I don’t recall the entire definition but “deviant behavior, often sexual in nature” was part of it. This brought giggles, of course. They decided their working definition would be “child molester, creep, all around person to avoid”. As we were wrapping the discussion up, with a very straight face, “Trevor” says, “Well, some people have called me a pervert, and I guess today, I learned I really am NOT one!”

A couple of days later, we are discussing a line from the novel, “Well, there’s seeing and then there’s seeing.” This remark was made in connection with art. It didn’t take them long to figure out it the character was talking about emotion. I pulled up a few “masterpieces” on the computer for them to look at, and then to try to see. One of these was an abstract by Picasso. Again it’s Trevor who says, “Wow, that one makes my eye’s hurt. I can’t “see” that one!”

We go on to talk about other mediums that have emotional effects on us, movies, books, and music. Music was a raucous discussion, as they all had strong opinions. I asked if any of them enjoyed “classical” music, since none had mentioned it. Once more, Trevor pipes up, “Is that like “The Beatles”?”

Yup, I can get a handle on the Rigor……Relevance….that’s going to take some time I think.
(By the way, I LOVE this guided reading group! They are so open to new ideas, so willing to try and to learn…..I think their Novel Guide is going to be super.)

Character Counts…at school…..

On Friday, my elementary school had the first of 6 total “Character Counts” assemblies. We couple these with a “pride” activity. Each teacher has a small group of students from grades K thru 5 assigned to them. I have 13. Each month, my pride group and I will get together to do some activity relating to one of the 6 pillars of character that is part of our “character curriculum”. The character traits we focus on are Trustworthiness, Caring, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, and Citizenship. This month was trustworthiness. As we were talking about this in my group, and as I thought about it on the way home, I wondered how many of them hear this message any place but school.

Trustworthiness – I have heard many students say, my mom or dad just signs my read at home/planner/homework, even though I don’t always do it, so I won’t get a bad grade. Are they going to be there when to do the same when their child doesn’t want to do their real world job??

Caring – gets set to the back burner daily. I watch as students push and shove each other to be first in line for just about anything. I see parents pull away from the school with their children unrestrained by a seatbelt. Small things become such big things.

Respect – I could go on for days about this. The lack of respect teachers are shown by society as a whole is astounding. “You wanted to be a teacher because you get summers off.” (Yes, I couldn’t have wanted to make a difference or contribution to a child’s future…that surely wasn’t the reason. I am tens of thousands of dollars in debt with student loans, JUST so I could have summers off. ) Students are disrespectful to teachers, but what amazes me more is when I see them acting the same way to their parents. As a parent I would be appalled if any of my children told their teachers to “shut up”, or “f off”. I teach elementary students, I have heard and seen both.

Responsibility – is almost a lost commodity. Students don’t complete and return homework because their mom didn’t put it in their backpack. Parents don’t attend conferences because no one reminded them that it was this week. In the public realm, people sue at the drop of a hat because after all, it wasn’t their fault….whatever “IT” is. The bigger fallout from this is that students don’t believe they have any responsibility in their learning….as a teacher, I should spoon feed them, just pour it into their heads while they sit and maybe “guess” at the answer rather than look it up. It’s a struggle to motivate students when they don’t believe they have any responsibilities at all.

Fairness – THAT is one all the students talk about, but don’t really understand. It’s not fair they get that….never mind that “they” earned it. “What do you mean we don’t all get a sticker, just the winner does?” The world is unfair, the teachers are unfair – it’s only fair when I get what I want. We hear a great deal about the lack of fairness, but not so much about behaving fairly.

Citizenship – is a big concept. It comes in all sizes, school, city, county, state, country, and world. What does it mean to be a good citizen? Following laws when it’s convenient or helping clean up the park? Even those important citizens in the eye of the media, politicians and community leaders have trouble with this one.
Now don’t get me wrong, I do not think I am perfect at all. I have failed all of these traits, and probably will again. I don’t mind the dialog with my students and they seem open to the ideas. I’m just wondering if maybe we shouldn’t invite the parents too?

Kindergarten Logic and Language

As I have said before, I try to stay away from the Kindergarten rooms in my elementary building. Not because the students aren’t adorable, energetic and fun, but because their verbal filters have very large holes. They will and do say anything. Being the teacher, I have to have an appropriate response. Sometimes THAT is just too difficult for me, the laughter erupts before I can stop it.

Mrs. Mc. has been a Kindergarten teacher for many years. She is a bubbly, practical, patient, down to earth lady and I am continually amazed at her ability to live in the Kindergarten zone. At an after school debriefing last Friday(hot fudge sudaes at McDonald’s) she told our close knit group a couple of stories that had us all chuckling….so I thought I would share.

# 1. She has her students bring in photos of themselves when they were younger and their families, etc. Anything they feel is important that they would like to share with the class. One little guy brought in a few pictures, all just of him. As he showed the pictures, he would say, “Dis is jus me.” “Dis is a picher of jus me.” So, Mrs. Mc. asks him, “What’s the story behind the picture?”

He says, “Nuffin.”

She says, “There’s no story?”

Carefully, he turns the picture around to show Mrs. Mc. the back of it and tells her matter of factly, “Dares nuffin on da back, Mrs. Mc., see.”

Yep, figurative language can be a problem in Kindergarten. She did clarify, and then he spent the next 20 minutes telling a story she was pretty sure had nothing to do with the picture he was showing them.

#2. One of her students got in a little trouble at recess for pulling down his pants and shaking his naked behind at a group of little girls. One of the teachers on recess duty relayed the story to Mrs. Mc. and the second delivered the little offender a few minutes later. Mrs. Mc. says to him, “So what happened at recess?”

“I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember, well, I guess I have enough time to wait until you can remember. You think about it.”

At that the little offender says, “Well, I do remember.”

“Why did you tell me didn’t remember then?”

“I think if I tell you how bad I really was you won’t let me have center time. But if I can’t member, then you don’t know it’s that bad, so I can still go to centers. But, now I’m just BUSTERED.”

“Bustered?”

“You know, when your mom says, “Now you did it BUSTER.” And you get it big trouble.”

“Yes, you’re right, you are bustered.”

In Kindergarten you learn new vocabulary every day! I sure hope there is a special place in heaven for Kindergarten teachers because they have earned it.

Testing 1-2-3…….

Yep, with the beginning of a new school year comes testing. Scores are required to report to the State; scores are needed to place students in reading groups, math groups and on and on. It’s a flurry of testing – whoops “assessment”! (Oh, the thousands of trees who have sacrificed their lives in the name of assessment!) I am all for assessment, ongoing, authentic assessment that guides instruction in a meaningful way. But assessment for a “number” on a report…..that’s busy work. Regardless of my personal feelings, the assessments are done. They do however provide some chuckles along the way.

A fellow reading teacher was listening to a 2nd grader, “Denise”, read the list of Dolch Words. Denise was one of my Title I students the year before. She excitedly told me that she “hadn’t really learned anything over the summer, didn’t even read a book” when she greeted me on Unpack Your Backpack night. SUPER! Well, Mrs. S. might have guessed that without actually knowing from the lack of success she was having with the list. As the list went on (220 words) Denise started saying, “Um, you can just put a check by that one, I knew it last year, I just don’t remember it right now.” But at least she was being fair! She also said to a few, “I’ve never seen that one before in my life….better not check that one!” I believe I will be seeing Denise in the Title I room this year too.

I was administering the BRI to a new 4th grade student. I explained the test and told him after he read it he would be retelling me the story and answering some questions. He responded to this by saying, “So, can I read slower so I can remember stuff better?” YEP! That’s actually NOT considered cheating on this test. I assured him that would be an excellent strategy to employ.

And finally in 3rd grade, again on the BRI test, I am asking the questions that go with the oral reading segment. (It is about a bear that comes to a cabin looking for honey and wakes up the person who is sleeping. ) The question is, “What would you do to keep the bear away?” The student answers, “I wouldn’t keep him away….I would want to keep him. I would make a trail of honey and put a card with my name on it so he would know who it was from. I am a good animal person like that. We would be friends, and I would pet it.” All I could think was “I am staring at the next Grizzly Man, Timothy Treadwell.”

Can’t we start Guided Reading already????!!