On My Case Again

I've learned an important lesson today. "Stay out of the Principal's way."
This really all made sense before, but for some reason I like to keep proving myself over, and over, and over, and over again. I'm a people pleaser, and for some twisted reason, I keep wanting to impress this being we call the principal.
Today I had some incidents that bothered me very much, and I was at a loss of what to do.
T.K. had gone a little too far with her chutzpah act. I know she tends to get frustrated easily, but lately her frustration has been taken to a whole new level. Instead of asking for help, she started becoming angry and fresh. For example the incident with her test last week, the way she handed it in after 10 minutes. I had to force her to take the test back, I then sat with her, gave her extra time, and she ended up with a 97%.
When I marked that paper, I was ready to rip it in half. The nerve of the girl! She could've easily done well without my help, and yet she put up such a fuss!
I didn't say anything at that point, but it it did bother me very much.
Today, I gave the girls a literature quiz. The quiz was really supposed to be yesterday, but due to my excitement about my niece and everything, I told them it would be pushed off to today.
T.K. had given me a note yesterday explaining that she didn't understand what she had read in literature, and that I should take it into consideration. I gave the class the extra day, and told them to ask their classmates for help if they didn't understand the chapter that well.
Today when I gave the quiz, T.K. refused to take out a paper. She decided that because of the note she had handed in yesterday, she should be excused form the quiz. I told her that was unacceptable.
T.K. then took out a paper and marked it with a big zero, and sat with her hands folded as I began to read the questions. She marked her paper before I even began the questions. I have very little patience for things like that, and I could feel myself getting angry.
Later, as the class joined their history groups, T.K. refused to join them. Instead, she sat in her seat and looked at me.
I called her over and explained that I knew she was frustrated, but it couldn't be expressed this way. If she had a problem I'd be more than willing to help her, but not in this way.
She listened, and then proceeded to go straight back to her seat.
I was so shocked, I could've slapped her. I asked her to go to her group and she just looked at me.
The bell rang while I was still debating the issue of punching her.
I know that the other teachers have been having a problem with her too.
In 7a, S.G.L. was my recurring problem. It wasn't only me. Again, the other teachers felt this too.
This girl was more that just having a problem learning, it was affecting her socially too. Her father had been against having her evaluated, and so she was sitting in class suffering.
Like T.K. she reached a new stage, she began getting angry.
Not angry in the same way as T.K, though, she was going around breaking rules, and refusing to do any schoolwork because she hid under the excuse of being dumb.
I don't know a lot, but my guess is that scholastic work isn't easy for her, but I don't think she really tries. T.K. on the other hand, will study for hours and then blanks out during a test. S.G.L. is different.
S.G.L. won't study on her own, she insists on studying with her mother all the time. She'll never take out her notes (if she even bothers to write notes) and study by herself. I have a feeling that she's starting to give up before she even tries. She goes around telling everyone that she's dumb, so that she has an excuse to go and fail every test.
The teachers are climbing the walls with her, and so is her mother. We need her to be evaluated, but we need the parent's consent. The teachers all think that if something isn't done with this kid, she could very well turn out to be a child at risk.
She doesn't bother bringing her books to class or updating her journal. I finally gave it to her and sent her out of class for not having a book. She was flaming mad.
I cannot describe to you the letters that she keeps giving me. Every single test means I get another letter. She begs me to take over every test because she feels like garbage if she doesn't get 100%.
I began giving her easier tests, but as soon as one girl hands in he test, she stops working. She's so pathetically paranoid that the girls who are finished are going to look around and see that she taking an easy test. So on the one hand she tells everyone she's dumb, but on the other, she still wants to get 100%, but she doesn't want anyone to know she's getting help. Sheesh!
I was at my wits end, and went in to talk to the principal.
As I had expected, she spent more time criticizing my technique than focusing on the girls with the problems.
Finally, we arranged for her to call S.G.L.'s mother and I was going to call T.K.'s mother.
I did call Mrs T.K. and she was extremely nice, (everyone says she looks like my mother, and I think so too!) believe it or not, I let her do all the talking.
I asked her what was going on in the past week and a half that T.K. was acting this way, and she told me about all the pressure she was under etc. I barely said a word, I let the mother talk.
I learned a lot more that way. We ended off by agreeing that if T.K. needed any help I'd be more that glad to help her and that the mother shouldn't hesitate to call me.
It worked out well.
Now back to the principal. She criticized everything I did, and she even called me "hog" because she felt I spoke too much. (No kidding! That's why I became a teacher!!) I listened to her advice and that's why I barely said anything to Mrs. T.K., and it worked well.
I believe that what the principal tells me is right. She has lots more experience than I do, and she's dealt with many more people and situations. Everything she told me today made a lot of sense, but I disagree on one point.
I HATE THE WAY SHE TREATS HER EMPLOYEES!!
She's so careful that her teachers should always say the right things in the right way to their students, but she has no concept of how to treat people. Everything she told me could've been 100% true, but the way she told it to me was unacceptable. Calling a person a hog? (Even tough I probably do deserve it, I talk way too much!) That's disgusting and unprofessional. I can't stand to work under someone like that. If you don't treat your employees with respect, why should they treat their students well?
I'm so angry, I'd rather slap her than T.K.
S.C.W. a twelfth grader came up to my apt. before. It's convenient that I live near school and she has where to run during play practice!
I fell asleep before because I was so zonked, and while I was dreaming, I heard my husband talking to my mother on the phone. Even he told my mother he felt sorry for me. I'm working so hard, and all they do in this school is work you harder.....for the grand sum of $6,000 a year.

What a Day!!

My day was nuts!!!!
I was waiting all morning for a phone call that never came, so I kept my phone on all day in class. I was nervous and jumpy, just waiting for it to ring but it didn't until 3 pm.
When it did, it was with the good news I had hoped for, my niece (who is my age) became engaged!
My students had a field day when I picked up the phone in class, but I managed to keep them learning whatever I had to.
I had introduced the history project to them last week, and they were having a lot of fun with it. I gave them a lot of free time today for the projects so that I could sit down and digest my wonderful news.
I also began marking some of the things I needed to get done, because I believe I have a busy night ahead of me. I feel like a little kid, I'm so ready to jump up and down and make a fool of myself!
But the truth is, I'm really under a lot of pressure right now. We have report cards coming up, my rating sheets have to get handed in Sunday, and I have family matters to deal with as well. I didn't begin to fill in the rating sheets or do any comments on the report cards, I didn't even finish marking all my "Letter to Selves."
Pressure is an understatement.

Test Again!

It seems that all I do is give and mark tests.
And what a test this was.
It wasn't different than any of my other history tests, but this time I had everyone crying. Really I think they were just overwhelmed. They had tests every single day this week, and today they had history as well a science quiz.
C.C.K. was crying, T.K. handed in an empty test after 5 minutes, and L.K. almost did the same thing.
I was so busy running around answering questions, I thought I would lose my head. Between C.K, T.K, R.H, and L.K, I barely had the time to help everyone.
As girls gave in their tests I begged them to look them over and see if they had any questions.
I finished marking them, and I feel terrible. C.C.K. got an 85% while R.H. got a 97%. C.C.K. doesn't deserve that mark and R.H. only got this mark because I helped her. I'm so caught in the middle of this game. I'm literally going nuts now just thinking about their reactions when they see their marks. M.L. in 7b drove me insane. She crushes me to pieces, and unfortunately, she's not one of those cute kids who can crush you and you're actually able to love them back.
This girl waits for my sister to leaver her house every morning so that she can stare at her because this is the closest she can get to me. She gives me updates on my sister every day. She needs me to look at her and smile, but sometimes it ain't easy. Especially when I found out that my sister was going to take out a restraining order on her.
Today she kept interrupting me while I was helping other girls to ask me dumb questions that have nothing to do with history. She's extremely needy, and she feels special that she gets to see my sister every day, and that I give her easy tests. I think that because of the "special" attention, she thinks I love her and that I would do anything for her, even at the expense of other students.
I have to have a talk with her.
The second class was much cooler about the test. They even finished with time to spare. There were much fewer questions, and I think the marks show it. Of course D.T. got a 106% and M.L. got a 99%, but there were other girls who got in the 70's. I was happy to see that S.J. got a 97%. She works so hard, I really like it when she does well.
M.R. got a 70 something and I feel horrible. I wish I could go home every night with these girls and help them study so that they'd know the material.
I wonder if this is what my teachers felt like when I flunked a test. What could I do?! I wish I could give every single girl a mark in the 90's. I want them all to do well and be happy.
S.G.L. got her special test again, and I was disgusted. She did moderately well, she got an 80%, but she has this sick habit of writing self deprecating letters on all her tests. She's out to prove to her teachers that she's dumb. She is so focused on telling me how stupid she is, she didn't even leave time to write the answers on her test!
She's also horribly afraid that other girls will find out that she's taking an easy test. So as soon as girls finish their tests and begin looking around, she stops working because she's afraid they might discover her deepest and darkest secret.
I almost hate her for it. My job is hard enough without having to create special lessons and tests for girls like her. And with all that work my job is more than hard enough without having to become her psychologist.
We've requested that she be evaluated, but her father refused. This kid has a MASSIVE self esteem problem and it will NOT get better. The longer you wait, the harder it is to treat. I hope her father realizes that, and I sure hope he notices that soon, because if her doesn't, I might have issues of my own to deal with!
12th grade was cute today. Only 3 girls gave speeches, my cousin included, so I was left with some free time.
I called a girl up to the front and had her tell a story without using the words, "um" "like" "you know" and "whatever." Every time she said those words the class had to bang on their desks. It was cute.
It turned against me in the end because the girls did it on me too, but it was fun.
End of another week!

You do the Dirty Work

The principal requested to see me about having the class do a history project.
It seems that she's extremely worried about how behind my classes were in history. She decided that instead of me teaching the 13 colonies, I should have the girls put into groups, have each group prepare one section of the chapter, and then teach it to the rest of the class. It should take no more than a week and their presentations themselves will be considered their test.
It isn't a bad idea considering that this topic could take anywhere from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 weeks to cover.
I also liked it that the girls would be doing some of their own work instead of having me spoon feed it to them.
Because I smiled a lot, and really agreed with the principal, I believe she has put me back into her good graces. She was very excited about the whole thing and she even walked me to class.
That's when the trouble started.
The science teacher was doing life forms with them, and she had brought mealworms in for them to study. The worms were left under the windows all night, and by this morning they had literally frozen to death. Aside from the science teacher, everyone thought this hilarious.
When I walked into class, the board read the following:
"We cried and cried, it's very sad. The funeral will be held at 2:45 pm and we will be sitting shivah in room 406"
underneath this message, someone had been giving a history lesson, so she had written a bunch of history facts and my name.
When the principal saw all this, she thought that they had put my name under that message on purpose. She ran into that class to give them a talking to like they've never had. Aside from the fact that my name was on there, (which was a total misconception,) she was upset because two kids in the class had lost family members and funerals were not a joke to them.
I agreed that they needed to be spoken to, but I didn't like her approach, and I told her so.
The principal yelled at me too telling me that I'm very young and inexperienced and that I didn't know anything about how to teach young girls important lessons. She also asked me not to come into class and that I should wait out in the hallway.
So, for the second time in less than a week that I'm stuck walking in the halls while my class is being spoken to.
When I walked into class the girls were pretty upset, and they tried talking to me.
I turned the situation to my advantage and told them that I have a policy not to get involved in class politics.
I told them that I like to make my own impressions of my students and were I to be involved in every petty situation I might start looking at them differently. I might begin thinking of girls as troublemakers or as immature. I told them that I leave it in their hands to impress me and that not necessarily is the Principal's problem one that concerns me.
The girls were so excited and they told me how they loved that I'm so neutral. (I just hope they don't get their hands on this blog and see how much I really know!)
I totally don't mind the principal making issues out of tissues because now my students just like me more. It definitely makes my life easier. The down side is that the principal just wasted an hour of my classtime in a class that I'm already behind in. Yippee.
The principal also tried coming in to speak to both classes about the hygiene problem in the grade, but she didn't even get two words in before the bell rang.
I have a feeling that I'll be hanging around the halls for quite some time!

Snow!!!!

It began snowing at about 5am this morning. Don't ask me why, but I wasn't sleeping. I actually went and woke my husband up so he could come to the window and watch the snow fall. Being that he has some sense, he remained in bed. I, however went to all the windows in the house to see how the snow looked from different views.
I know, I'm still a kid at heart.
So basically, I went to school on about 4 hours of sleep. I'm getting the feeling that this is becoming my Sunday morning routine.
I must've called the school a hundred times, full of hope, believing that school would be cancelled for an inch and a half of snow. No such luck.
School was annoying as anything, the girls were antsy, and I was tired.
I had a funny experience in 7a though.
We were discussing how hard it was to make journey in the olden days, and of course, G.S. claimed it wasn't so hard. She was convinced it would be fine to wear her whole wardrobe one on top of another, and then she would always have what to wear.
So then I asked her where she would carry her food and provisions. She was sure it would be no problem to carry them.
I called R.R, T.K, and S.J. up to the front and I had them all bring their coats and scarves too.
S.J. was the smallest of the bunch and I had her put on her coat, hat, gloves and scarf. Then, I had T.K. put her coat on top of S.J.'s. R.R. then helped S.J. into the third coat. By this time, not only was the class in stitches, S.J. couldn't move.
I then had to give her food and supplies, so I packed up my heavy teacher's bag and placed it on S.J.'s shoulder. With this new addition, S.J. toppled over. Literally.
I thought the class got the message, and G.S. as well, so I asked S.J. to please take off her layers. She was crying with mirth as she told me that she couldn't move to take everything off.
I could barely keep the class under control, much less keep a straight face, as I asked R.R. to help her out.
R.R. had the guts to ask if she could take a picture of me first, and I agreed. I stood next to S.J. and R.R. snapped the picture.
I was happy for S.J. I know she likes me and I think the attention was good for her.
The bell finally rang, and I dashed out of there as soon as I could.
I realized as I passed the principal when I was leaving that I made a mistake by wearing my knee high boots today.
She gave them a once over, and by doing that she basically gave me a look that said, "Now that I know you have regular boots, you can't get away with short ones anymore."
Oh well, she has much to learn about me I'm afraid.
P.S. I just got a call from a third teacher who wore booties today. She said that the principal gave her boots "the eyes" but she didn't say anything.
I'm left wondering, did my speaking up to her work, or is it that she only wants to torment me?

Too Far

This week was just insane. I was so pressured. I had a ton of things to do this week, and somehow, the more I tried, the longer my list became. I felt like nothing was getting done no matter how hard I worked on accomplishing everything I needed to.
I was so looking forward to the end of the day, even before I got to school.
I got to school early though, I had to start preparing lessons again. The lessons I worked on during the summer were fast running out, and I had to prepare some more. It's tedious work, but it has to be done. I can't risk the principal coming into one of my classes and catching me unprepared.
Speaking of the principal, she was on a roll today. She called in a teacher who wears short boots and told her that she can't wear them anymore. She claimed (and I stress the word claimed,) that a mother had called the school to complain about the teachers wearing booties, and now the principal decided that booties are against the rules.
This other teacher wasn't wearing booties today, but I was. I had a strong feeling that I was going to get a talking to too.
I wasn't wrong. I was heading to my class after recess, when I was stopped by my chief of staff.
She called me over nicely, but by this time, even her nice voice makes my skin crawl, so no points on that end. She told me that she preferred that I didn't wear these boots anymore. She made sure to assure me that she had spoken to the other teacher who also wore booties, and that it wasn't only me. I had a hard time believing that, but whatever.
I got a little angry, and I had the guts to say so.
"Mrs. ______," I said firmly, "I wasn't you to know that I'm not happy. I'm already making a lot of changes fort his school, and I don't like being taken advantage of. If these boots weren't against the rules last week, or the week before, I don't' feel that I have to stop wearing my winter clothing just because you're trying to please a mother who called up. You can't please everyone all the time, I don't feel one mother is worth driving myself crazy for."
I think that over this week the principal has begun to learn that I have a mouth. I also have a head that can think for itself, and I have common sense as well. I don't know how her mind works, but I really don't care. I need her to stop messing with my life.
The principal quickly changed her mind, let me wear my boots, and told me that she was just giving me a head's up, and if anything came up she would let me know.
I'm fuming. I think she's pushing me too far.
7a was fun today. We had 5 kids absent, so out of 16 girls we had 11. This classroom is the one they use for hebrew where they're 32 kids together, so basically, we were 11 girls in a classroom with 32 desks.
I had everyone move up to the first two rows, and I moved my chair inthe front of my desk. We experimented with story hour. This is how we learned, and it was pretty nice! I wouldn't do it all the time, but it was worth it this time.
Twelfth grade was pretty fun, thankfully, it was over quickly.
I cannot tell you what a relief it was to come home and just stretch out on my bed.
Finally! The weekend!

Not Again!

Well this never seems to end.
My class was observed today too! For 20 minutes the principal sat in my class during writing. She came over to me, asked if she could see me during recess, and then thankfully, she left my classroom.
I came to her recess time, and she went on to criticize my writing lesson. I was doing personal narratives, and she got angry about it. She asked how I was teaching if she hadn't given me writing lessons.
I told her that she had never given me the lessons, but she had told met to teach, so I went online and did my own research. I got a lot of nice material, and the class was really enjoying. She got angry and said that her research was much more thorough, and she didn't really like that I was teaching with material she hadn't made up herself.
I hate this! I'm trying to be a good teacher, and all she does is criticize.
We went through the materials I had and then she said,"This is why I don't like when you do your own research. You're teaching memoirs, not personal narratives!"
I told her that memoirs and personal narratives were similar, and that I had done my research, and explained the difference to the class. She refused to listen to me, and she insisted that I tell the class that we were going to do memoirs instead.
I told her that I wasn't going to do anything of the sort. Besides that it was degrading for me to go into the class after two days and tell them to scratch their projects because we were going to do something different, I worked hard, and I didn't' feel that she was right.
She saw that I wasn't going to give in, and she just told me to make sure that this writing should not take more than 2 weeks, and then they would do memoirs.
I told her ok, but I already planned for this writing to take a month, the way she had outlined it to me on curriculum day.
I'll play it by ear.
Before I left, I asked her why she was going around checking all the girl's loosleafs.
The principal looked at me and very simply said, "Oh, that's just my way of checking up on what you've accomplished."
I was disgusted and I asked her why she couldn't just ask me. I mean, she was already collecting my planbook every week.
She just smiled and said, "Well, it's just part of my jobs."
She asked me if I would mind if she went into my class for 5 minutes to talk to them about an important topic, and being the good one, I told her it was ok.
Guess what? 5 minutes turned into an hour and fifteen minutes, and I walked into the class with 15 minutes left to the school day.
I was about to leave the building at the end of the day, when there was an all call asking me to come to the office. Frustrated, I went back upstairs, and met with the principal who proceeded tell me how disappointed she was with me that I had never called B.E.D.'s mother when she didn't come to P.T.A.
I really got angry then, and I gave it to her. I asked her why the mother didn't call me when she had a problem. The nerve of the principal to side with whomever opened their mouth to her. I told her I'd call the mother anyway, but I was upset at her for being so one-sided.
I got a little more upset when I realized that none of the teachers had called this mother, but the principal only called me up to tell me how disappointed she was in me. I guess she just likes to make me feel like garbage.
I assume the other teachers aren't jewels she feels she has to polish.
I came home so annoyed and discouraged, I was close to tears.
Even my husband sat down to seriously talk to me about school. I don't know if I can continue doing everything I do without pay, without appreciation, and without trust.

Oooh, Boy.

Today was horrid.
I spoke to G.S. about all her potential, and basically what her mother and I had spoken about at P.T.A. She didn't really seem very receptive, and I think she only heard what she wanted top hear, that I thought she was great. I have a feeling she went and told al her friends already. Oh well.
I had to talk to the principal about making a presentation with my class, and the small details it entailed. Last year, the class had made a wax museum and I felt that a wax museum wasn't going to bring out all the talent my students had to offer.
I had seen B.E.D. last night, and she was actually smiling during that dance. I wanted to be able to recreate that, and see her smiling more.
My co and I had come up with an exciting theme for our production, "Don't judge a book by it's cover."
The production is really about literature, and this was perfect. We also had the normal 7th grade problem, stereotyping. This topic is really what the class needs. The more we came up with, the more "wax museum" we cut out. By the time we were finished thinking, we had renamed it a production, and basically were wondering if we could eliminate the wax altogether.
Well, my co had gone to talk to the principal about something else, and the principal had brought up the wax museum. My co had mentioned that she really wanted more than just to cover the girls in vaseline and have them stand like dummies. The principal wasn't only not open to the idea, she was adamantly against it.
I knew I had what to deal with when I went over to her.
The truth is, I didn't really want to talk to her today, I figured it could wait until tomorrow. But of course, no such luck. The principal came over to me and asked to see me after school.
I went in to her, and she sat me down to talk. The first thing she went through was the wax museum. Right away I spoke up and told her that I didn't like the idea. She kept arguing that it worked out well last year, so why not do it again. I forced her to listen to herself and I told her that it was she who always told me to bring out the best in my students. I told her that this was the way I was going to do it.
So she tells me, "Well, you have less than 3 weeks to get this done, that's why I thought a wax museum would be best."
I asked her if she was serious, and she said that she was.
I put my foot down then and there. I told her that I was the one doing this, not her, and she should kindly not push her demands on my time. I was going to make my production, and I was going to do it when I was ready.
Well, the principal just pushed me off by saying that my co, her, and I would have to meet to discuss this.
Then she went on to the real reason she called me in. She told me that when she was in my class on yesterday (for an hour and a half) she had noticed that I sometimes contradicted myself. I was surprised, and I asked her to tell me where she had seen this. She stumbled a little, and she really had no answer.
She said that she had written it down somewhere, and she didn't quite remember what it was that I had said. She explained that I was a natural born teacher, a jewel, and she just wanted to polish me.
I told her nice and clearly, "I'm so grateful for everything you're doing, but calling me in here right now is only wasting my time. I didn't feel there was anything wrong with my lesson, but I see you did. I would gladly go look back at what you're telling me, but you can't even point out where I really went wrong. You basically accomplished nothing except making me feel bad. I would love to listen to whatever you have to tell me, but don't try to 'polish' me if you have nothing to show me".
I think she got the hint.
I left school fuming.

I Need a Vacation!

I was so tired last night after P.T.A, I barely got anything done. I marked a few tests, and then, tired to the bone, I fell into bed.
I woke up this morning in a panic. I was so pressured with a ton of things I had to do. I had to update my blog, create a new test, mark literature tests and essays, and I had to type up a sheet of review questions for my weaker students.
In addition to all that, I had to prepare for today's lesson.
I worked all morning, until I looked at my watch at 11:30 and realized that if I didn't get dressed soon, I would be late for school.
I felt weak and sick all day, and I was terrified of not being able to handle the full day.
Somehow I did it.
Not only did I do it, I managed under extreme circumstances.
5 minutes into my lesson, the principal came into my class. She went through every girl's looseleaf, and looked at all their notes. She even corrected spelling errors!
The girls were horrified, and to tell you the truth, so was I. A looseleaf is a private thing. Going through a looseleaf is like going through someone's diary. I know that I wouldn't want anyone going through my stuff, and I'm a teacher with little to hide. Imagine these little teenagers!
The principal stayed in my class until recess. I believe that it's a record. I now hold the record for having been observed by a principal for more than a 20 minute sitting. More than 20 minutes was unheard of...that is, until now.
The girls were so upset, and I couldn't tell them how I felt. Instead I had to try and defend the principal. How sick.
The teachers were livid too. They were disgusted and upset about her going through looseleafs, and they were terrified of being observed for so long.
I was just glad it was over with.
By the way, I gave my literature test back without approving them first. It felt so good!
I came home at night exhausted. I was sick, and overwhelmed by all the work I still had to do. I worked so hard in the morning, but somehow I felt that I didn't get anything done.
I called my husband home from the office, because I think I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I just needed to feel that I had someone home to fall back on.
I made supper, washed dishes, did schoolwork, more schoolwork, more schoolwork, more schoolwork...
There was a Chinese auction going on for the school tonight. All the money earned would go to sponsoring trips for the classes.
The teachers were all going to go, but I was too sick and too bogged down with work to move. I wasn't going to go, but my co convinced me, and a bunch of girls asked that I come watch them perform on their index cards. After that kind of invitation, how can I refuse? I'm just crazy over my students!
I went, even though I hadn't accomplished a thing, and surprisingly, I had a nice time.
I was so proud of the students who performed, and I spent a lot of time with my co, discussing the girls and their different talents. We're planning to put up a performance later in the year, and we were discussing which student would do well where.
I came home very late, and I still had a ton of work to do. I updated my blog, but I still have a test, the review questions, the essays, and a lot of preparation to do. This job takes every ounce of strength I got.
It's almost 1 am. I have to go to bed before my husband makes me call in sick tomorrow. I think I'll backdate the date on the blog so that this entry comes out on Monday even though it's already in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Ahhh...the life of a teacher!

P.T.A.

Not just any Sunday, this morning I had to get up early for P.T.A.
Understandably, I was a nervous wreck as I got dressed and prepared to leave for school.
The truth is, once P.T.A. started, I was so busy, I forgot to be nervous.
The parents came in, one after another, and I spent 3 hours talking nonstop. It was tiring though. My co and I were shocked at a lot of the mothers. A lot of them were not American, and most of them looked nothing like their daughters. Some mothers walked in and asked me to guess who's mother they were. I'm so bad at it, and I made a couple of mistakes.
C.O.'s mother was very sweet, I know her from down the block, and it was nice meeting her. She said that C.O. was finding school very hard because she felt she had to compare to her older siblings who are immensely talented.
I really pushed pursuing E.S.'s writing talent with her mother. She is such a great girl, and has so many talents, I hoped her mother knew she had what to be proud of.
One mother told me that her daughter, S.J. was a little upset about other girls getting an easier test. I explained to her mother that I'd rather have her daughter get a 75 with regular test, than a 95 with an easier one. After all, in life, no one hands you easy tests.
E.T. and Y.T.'s mother was very nice, but I felt that she compared her children a little. I asked her to tell me who Y.T.'s friends were,, and she couldn't tell me. I felt a little bit like she thought her daughters were taking care of each other and that they didn't need anyone else. We spoke for a while, and we decided that we would look into the friends issue.
S.F.F. mom was so nice, and I completely see where S.F.F. is coming from. Her mother didn't seem the type to stress on marks, she even said that she didn't do well in school either. I told her that as long as S.F.F. did her best, that's all I wanted. She didn't have to be 100 student, she had to try to do what she could.
B.G.'s mother was a PANIC! Right away, I was able to see where this kid gets her personality from. She was so funny and spunky, (Israeli) and now I totally she why B.G. doesn't try hard in school. No Pressure!
It was nice to meet S.G.L's mother in person, (instead of just over the phone all the time) and we went through some notes S.G.L. wrote to me on her tests.
D.T. mother was nice, and she kept telling all the teachers to challenge her daughter. She was so happy with the workload.
B.E.D.'s mother didn't come, and neither did R.R.'s. I sort of expected that to happen, but I would have liked to meet them.
T.K.'s mother was the nicest lady and we discussed how smart she is, and how I especially loved the sunglasses thing she pulled in class. I also encouraged her to save all of T.K.'s writings as she is a great writer.
T.J.'s mother was very nice and a little concerned for her daughter. All she wanted to know was if her daughter was a neb. Her younger daughter was much spunkier and she hoped that her daughter wasn't considered "nebby" by the other girls. I assured her that in elementary school where marks meant everything, not every child had a place, but I guaranteed that as soon as she got to high school, she would shine. High school offers much more extra curricular to the students and most girls end up finding their own niche.
A.L.'s mother and I had a long talk about her friendship with R.R. We both liked the friendship, but I wanted A.L. to have more friends. Both her mother and I were worried that the friendship might seem a exclusive, and A.L. should try and make that effort to get to know more girls and maybe spend less time with R.R. She also mentioned that she would like A.L. to switch classes, and I guess I'll have to look into that.
G.S.'s mother was a little shock, but very pleasant. I found I had someone to talk to in her, and she encouraged me to talk to her daughter about her being a leader in the class and reaching her full potential.
M.R.'s mother was the CUTEST lady in the entire world! She looked so young and sweet, and she was dressed, well, not to kill, but spunky and adorable! She was so cute and funny, and we just spoke about how mature and adorable her daughter is. I also mentioned to her that I figured S.G.L. was taking advantage of M.R. and asking her to study with her. Mrs. R. said that was true. I told her not to allow it, M.R. had to use her time for herself first, and then do chesed. S.G.L. needed a tutor and M.R. couldn't' t do it on her own. Mrs. R. agreed with me 100%.
M.L.'s mother was such a shock! She was this cutie Israeli lady with a short cropped sheitel. She was so understanding when I told her that I felt that M.L. was acting a little less mature than she usually was. I associated it to her being friends with C.O. and her mother said that it had happened before. I told her mother that I wasn't going to encourage breaking the friendship, but I just wanted M.L. to be aware of her image. Her mother assured me that M.L. was a mature, understanding girl, and that she would take whatever I said and really listen to it. So we agreed to speak to M.L.
In 7b, the mothers were just as nice and adorable.
C.K.'s mother was exciting to meet. I had spoken to her over the phone a couple of times, and she was very nice in person. We spoke about how well her daughter was suddenly doing. I had marked a history and literature test. She got a 90 on history, and a 95 on literature. (Compared to her last history test where she got a 61, this was amazing!) Mrs. K. also told me that her daughter requested that she tell only me that there was a problem with the personal hygiene of some girls in the class. I already knew this, and something had to be done, I would definitely have to look into talking to the class...How embarrassing!
C.S.A.'s mother is the high school principal, and she was the sweetest, most unprincipaly lady you have ever met. Of course I gave her all the compliments, and then came the topic of C.S.A. getting very stressed during tests. I have to speak to her about letting go a little.
L.K.'s mother was nothing like her. She was very serious, and down to earth. I told her about her daughter's failing to hand in several assignments, and we agreed to work on that together.
F.G.'s mother was exactly what I expected. Short, round, and her face looked just like F.G.'s. I told her a little about F.G. needing a lot of attention, and she totally knew what I was saying. I stressed that right now I was giving her a lot of positive attention, but it was only after a bumpy road.
T.K. had such a wonderful mother. We went through her friendship with R.H., which I felt was very competitive. I told her that I refuse to break up friendships, The girls have to do that on their own. I just wanted her to be aware that there is a lot of competition between the two. I also mentioned an incident that had happened last week where I spoke strictly to T.K. just so that the entire class should stop what they were doing wrong. T.K. was my scapegoat and I apologized. The mother was so thrilled that I apologized to her daughter, she was extremely impressed. :)
H.W.'s mother and I both agreed that H.W. definitely had more potential than she cared to show, and we both wanted to make sure that it was going to be used. She's a great student, I just think she can be the best. I also waited to know who her friends were. She's the type of girl who's quite content to stay home and read a book all night, she doesn't try to invest in friendships. I was slightly worried and pointed it out to the mother who said she would encourage H.W. to go out more.
I already knew F.F's mother from the copy room in school, and she was one of the first who came to see me. It was a relief to see her in the beginning, because I was so nervous. I discussed with her the possibility of her daughter being too good in the way she helped the rest of the class. Every other mother said that her daughter was friends with F.F., C.S.A., and C.C.K. It's almost funny (if it weren't so pathetic) how these mother's have no clue. Every insecure girl considers the 3 smartest, nicest girls in the class her best friend. I told Mrs. F. to make sure that F.F. knew how to say "no" to some girls who needed help.
E.F.G.'s mother was so convinced that her daughter was perfect, she didn't bother asking about her. She just went on an on about other things. She did say something very beautiful though. "A teacher has to pretend that one of the girls in the class is the kings daughter. Her only problem is, she doesn't know who it is." I thought that was very nice.
C.C.K.'s mother was my most major shock!!! She looked nothing like the sweet girl that sat in the front row of my class. Her mother definitely knew what a great daughter she had, but we also had to talk about how good she is. I need her to realize that she is not a professional tutor, and that she shouldn't do chesed before she took care of herself.
L.O.'s mother was another shock. She was a short little old lady with a hearing aid of all things! she seemed so fragile and old, that I felt bad telling her that I had a slight problem with her daughter. I managed to gloss it over by saying that she was so special because she was G.O. and that now the class looked up to her, and she had to realize that everything she did was being watched by everyone in the class. So that went ok.
C.S.'s mother also works in the school, so I already knew her, and she has the sweetest daughter, so she was a pleasure to talk to.
R.S.'s mother reminded me of someone I knew. She looked like R.S. and she seemed very nervous. I assured her that she had a great girl, and she just needs to space in a little in class. She warned me that R.S. has a low tolerance level, I already knew that, but I didn't say anything, and let her do the talking.
I very much wanted to meet R.H.'s mother. She came, but she didn't wait around for me. I want ed to discuss a lot with her, namely the fact that quite a few mothers had mentioned that their daughters were friends with R.H. and they all felt that it was competitive. I felt that R.H. needed her friends to make her feel good about herself, but she wasn't doing that for them. Instead she used them as a stepping stool to get higher. I didn't look at her in a bad way, it's a normal thing for seventh graders, but it's not healthy.
M.L.'s mother knew exactly who her daughter was, and she discussed a tutor for her. I told her that I was so proud of her daughter for trying hard even though she didn't always do so well. The mother walked out beaming.
The mother of M.P. was concerned at the way her daughter was coping with the workload. 7th grade is a lot of work, and her daughter, usually a laid back girl sometimes felt she couldn't breathe under the stress. I told her that I wasn't happy with the amount of work the girls had to get, and that I personally tried to give as little homework as possible. I told her to tell her daughter to pick 3 subjects to work hard on and sort of slack off a little on the others if she felt she couldn't do everything.
The principal walked in in the middle of one of the mothers and asked us to hurry up, because there were other people waiting their turn. The mothers hate her too.
This thing was supposed to be from 10 to 12, but I walked out of there at 1:15.
I came home zonked, and went straight to bed. I had a ton of things to do, but I pushed them all off. This job sure takes a lot out of me.

Tests!

Yesterday and today were spent taking tests. The girls took a history test Wednesday, and a Literature test today. I also took a test. My patience was tested to the fullest.
Giving tests aren't easy. Everyone has questions, and they all need to be answered at the same time. Some girls need a ton of help, and some girls just need attention.
I was looking over some of the test scores from last test, and I figured that I have some girls who need more time. I didn't think it was fair that I got 7b first. I don't specifically mean this class, but any class. My last test was given to the entire grade at the same time, and anyone who needed more time was able to go through recess, and even a little after.
This time, I was letting one class go first which meant that only one class had the option of extra time.
I decided to take some weaker students from my second class and have them take the test with the first class because I knew they would need and appreciate the extra time.
I spoke to M.R. first. I couldn't remember if she had needed extra time last test, and she said she didn't need it and besides, she was embarrassed to go into the other class.
I had spent the entire night on the phone with S.G.L.'s mother, and I was going to give her an easier test along with the essay of the regular test. I wanted her to take it in the first class as well, but she objected. S.G.L. was terrified with the idea of being labeled "dumb." She even refused to take the easy test because she didn't want other girls to see that she was given a separate piece of paper.
I had to arrange for her to have a real test with the special test stapled on in the back. And I had to arrange to get it on her desk. I managed. (Whew!)
I did get B.E.D. to come in to the other class, and it was great for her. She needed a full 3 hours to complete the test, and she got a 97 1/2. I was proud, but she has to be taught that she has to move a little faster in her work.
I spoke to C.K. before the test to assure her that I would answer her questions, and that she shouldn't giver her test in right away, even if she got frustrated. She was so relieved.
C.K. needed extra time as did T.K. and I was proud of the marks they got.
I spent all night marking them, and then today they took their very first literature test.
I went in to the 7a class first today, to give them a chance to take the test first. I called C.K. and T.K. to take the test first and the funniest thing is, every single girl finished before the bell rang. Even B.E.D.! I was so happy!
In the middle of the test, the principal came in to give back the history tests. I mark them and she takes them and goes through them and writes comments. The kids hate it, but it's part of school rules.
So anyway, she came in, and she stopped the test to tell them that there was no such thing as handing in a sheet that wasn't written in cursive. The girls were understandably upset. Actually, so was I.
To tell the truth, I find it much easier to read print than cursive. I feel that by seventh grade, most girls develop their own handwritings, and you can't change it. They discover on their own what is the most comfortable for them, and they go their own way.
Of course I couldn't tell the students anything, but I hope they won't take her seriously. What a killjoy. :)
I like to make the kids smile when they take a test, so I gave out some twizzlers during the history test. I told them it was really helping them cheat because a certain Indian tribe used to use strings for something very important. (The Incas used to tie knots in strings to keep records called quipus.)
I was thrilled to see every girl smile and understand my joke. I gave out jawbreakers today for no reason, but the girls seemed relaxed and confident today.
I went through some test without marking them, just to see how they did. I was definitely impressed! They're first literature test and the grade average was a 95!! This is unreal!
Sometimes I wish I could take these girls home with me and keep them. I heard something a while ago from an old, experienced teacher that really rang true.
She said, "At the end of every year, when a class I've gotten to know and love leaves my class, a little piece of my heart goes with them."
I feel the same way. I barely got a chance to know these girls. It's only December, but already I know that I'll miss them terribly.

"Nosenseday"

I was pretty confident today. I looked good, I felt good, and it was raining. (Don't ask, I just like rain.) Because it was raining, I wore a pretty pair of booties, nice and conservative, but still different and pretty.
I felt so good in the morning, I knew it couldn't last.
And it didn't.
The principal again. She took one look at my boots, and made a face that could kill. Now I'm lucky that the principal has this policy not to make you feel stupid in public, because I was surrounded the entire day, and she didn't have the opportunity to tell me something.
I have this feeling that she thought I was too pretty to teach in her school. I guess if you want to be a teacher in this school, you have to give up all femininity. Or, it could just be that she's picking on me!!
I know this sounds babyish, but this principal has a reputation for doing that- picking on her teachers. (Especially someone like me who refuses to bend to her mind control.)
I was happy, I taught a nice amount today, and I spoke to some girls.
My history test is on Wednesday, and I had to talk to S.F.F. about her taking an easier test, and M.L. who also needed one. I thought that B.G. could use some notes, but she didn't need an easy test, so I arranged some notes for her too. S.G.L. had a problem with last test. She gave back a blank test.
I spoke to her mother last time, and we arranged for her to take the test at home. She had it for three weeks, and when I asked her to give it back, it was still blank. I definitely had to talk to her too.
Of course, being Monday, my planbook was collected again, and I didn't have a plansheet for myself.
In the middle of class, I suddenly blanked out. I finished teaching everything I had planned for today, and I wanted to go on to something new, but I had no planbook to refer to. I improvised, and it worked out well, but I was so mad. Who am I writing a planbook for? Myself or the principal?
If you want to see it, look it over and give it back! But no, she takes it Monday and gives it back Thursday!!! Hello? Is there anybody in there?
Everyone is convincing me to start looking for another school to teach in next year. I don't really know if I want to, but this isn't the way things should work.
At least not according to my logic.

It Was Only a Joke!

Sunday again. I wish it didn't have to be the same every week. Why can't there be different names for days? Like "Icecreamday," or "Stormyday," or even "Stupiday?" Sunday sounds so fake. Please put the word "sun" in there. As if this day is the brightest and cheeriest day in my week. IT'S NOT. It's just the day I like to call "Function/on/little/or/no/sleep/day."
The principal wasted our entire first period on a dumb teacher's meeting, so she could prep us for PTA.
She started off with flattery, as she told us what great teachers we are. She then went on to warn us that we probably have the most under-appreciated job, and that we probably have the least paying job.
I interrupted with a wisecrack, "Probably? My cleaning woman makes more than I do! My father's illegal employees make more than I do!"
I honestly meant it as a joke, and the other teachers laughed. The principal though, didn't think it was too funny.
"That wasn't meant to be said." She told me, "It was out of place and uncalled for."
I was taken aback and replied, "I'm sorry if I misspoke, but I meant it as a joke. Obviously I knew what I was getting into when I signed the contract, I'm only making fun of the fact that you used the word "probably" in this context."
The principal didn't like my explanation, and went on to reprimand me.
Even the teachers noticed that she was taking it to an extreme.
Something is going on, and I don't like it. I'm definitely being picked on.

End of the Week

...And Thursday is the day where you just want to jump into the weekend, so you have absolutely no patience dealing with school.
My students were off the wall today. But I was nuts too, so it was ok.
I came into class, and the girls were trying to fix my desk. It appears that some screws had "fallen" out (with the help of my more devious students) and the desk was now standing on three legs.
No surprise to see that after everyone had returned to heir seats, C.K. still felt that she had to personally support the desk. She got a personal invitation, and we started our crazy day.
7a had prepared chalk, some flowers, and a stick (so that I could point at the map which is too high for me to reach) on my desk. They also left the lights off so that I would be convinced to give them some rest time.
Unfortunately for them, no such luck.
I actually managed to get really far today. We covered a lot of ground in History, and I think that after their test on chapter two next Wednesday, I'll be ready to give them the test on chapter three.
I have a feeling the principal has it in for me now. I don't think she took that conversation we had yesterday very well....
I got my planbook back today, and the principal commented on it. She wrote, "Your plans are very sketchy. Please see me so we can discuss ways to make your book more understandable."
One second here....is she forgetting that she's talking to master of detail here? I mean, would I take the time to write a blog if I were a "sketchy" writer? I have one word to say:
"BLLLLLAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!"
There, I feel better now.
My twelfth graders gave great speeches. I had a great time with them, and believe it or not, I can't wait to go back in next week.
Oh, wait. Next week is Thanksgiving. My husband has no work then because Thanksgiving the market is closed.
I wonder if I can get away with pretending to be sick...Or will that be too obvious?

Same Old, Same Old

Wednesday is the kind of day where everything sort of blends together, and you're not sure what's happening anymore. It's too far into the week care about anything. Even my students feel the same way.
It was a rushed morning, I had an appointment in New Jersey, and I barely made it back to school on time, but I made it.
My 7a class is really livening up, and G.S. is at the helm of their ship!
When I started teacheing history, G.S. and the rest of the class groaned. G.S. aked if we could do something different for a change. So I told her top come up to the front of the class, and start teaching.
She came up, but of course she souldn't think of a thing to say, besides picking up a paper and telling the class that it was pink.
It was the break the class needed, and we had a succesful day.
I ran home to be there on time for the pharmacy delivery (I have an EAR INFECTION!! I haven't had one sinceI was 2!) and I sat down and began doing school work. I did school work until 11:30 at night! I revised a history test, made up a literature test, created a histoy sheet on the explorers, marked spelling tests, and did a bunch of other things for school.
I cannot believe I get paid $534.10 a month.

Experience Shmexperience

During class today, I got called out by the principal.
First of al the good part. I got paid for the full month of October. I received the grand sum of $534.10. That's the only exciting part.
Then, as I was about to go back into my rowdy class, the principal confronted me by asking if I had ever told a student it was her fault for not knowing something when it was me who had made the mistake.
Now this was absurd. I am always the first to admit I made a mistake, and that the principal should have to coma and ask me was pretty weird.
So I tried to be diplomatic and I told the principal that I didn't remember such an incident. The principal looked me up and down and said, "Well the reason I'm asking is because we had a parent call the school to complain about you."
My heart went into my toes, as the principal suggested I see her after school to discuss how I could work on myself to be less abrasive to my students.
I gave her a dirty look and told her I'd see her after school.
And after school I made sure to go over to her. But I did that on my own terms.
I went in to her and without waiting for her to start, I started talking to her about a bunch of kids I was having a problem with. F.G. C.K. L.O. and a couple of others. When I mentioned L.O, her eyes lit up and she asked, "Oh, tell me about her!"
So I knew now what I had guessed all along, it was L.O.'s mother who called.
L.O. is a great girl, but she definitely got on my nerves lately. For example, yesterday, I was making a very strong point to the class in literature, and the girls were all sitting quietly just listening, It was self understood that this was not the time to ask questions or even write notes. I wanted them all to listen, and they were. Except for L.O. of course, She kept raising her hand noisily, and I could see that besides for making me annoyed, the class was bothered my her too.
Now, this is the season where everyone is getting sick, and I had a number of girls who weren't feeling well, so I figured L.O. needed something urgently. So I called on her.
I was ready to slap her when she calmly asked, "What's the date today?"
I totally gave it to her, I was so mad. And she does this often. Sometimes, she'll be so busy raising her hand with a question, she won't realize that I'm already answering her question. When that happens I refuse to repeat myself and I tell her it's her own fault she missed what I said. That's why I figured it was her mother that called.
I also know that L.O. is extremely sensitive and I heard her mother is too. That would explain her mother believing this twisted story.
Well anyway, I made the principal see my side of the story. And when she finally agreed with me, I asked her if she would call back the mother who complained to tell her that it was her daughter who was the problem, not me.
The principal said she saw no reason to call her, because this mother was already made happy.
Now I got really upset, and I shot back at her, "Well that mother is happy at my expense! And you know what happens now? That girl was told by her mother that she is right, and I was told the same thing by you! That means that this girl will continue doing what she's doing wrong, and I will continue doing what I do, and it's a cycle that will keep repeating itself. I guarantee that this won't be the last phone call you'll get from her."
The principal tried telling me something about her years of experience, but I cut her off. "I cannot turn into the person you want your teachers to be based on your experience. History keeps repeating itself because people don't learn form each other's mistakes. Don't try to fight the system. I will not learn from your mistakes, I have to make my own. And if that means talking to angry parents, so be it.
Don't try to protect me from those parents, because if I was right, I will defend myself all the way. And if I was wrong, I will be the first to say so. There is no reason you should be talking to the parents instead of me. You weren't there during that situation, you have no idea what I was thinking, and you don't know if it really even happened. Do me a favor, and let me fight my own battles. When a mother calls, give her my number, I will gladly talk to her."
The principal was more than a little shocked, but I continued to tell her that this was coming from all the teachers. I went on to tell her a little more, and then I picked up my stuff and walked out.
I don't think this will change a thing, but at least I got to yell at someone.

Nothing Much

It's Monday and I feel bad about not writing since Wednesday, so I figured I'd sign in, even though there isn't anything much going on.
Well, Thursday, my twelfth graders began their speeches, and they were pretty good. I was really impressed. Now I'm just stuck with the troublesome task of marking them.
Basically, I have their marks, it's just that I feel horrid being only a year older than they are and giving them marks that are going to go on their permanent records. Sheesh.
Yesterday, Sunday was a regular Sunday. Didn't sleep well the night before, (that was due to a surprise anniversary party in my honor!) and I woke up sick in the morning. I had to rush to school, like every other week, and I basically managed to get through the day without hurting anyone.
Well, anyone besides myself.
During class in 7a, I banged my hand down hard on the desk as I was trying to prove a point, and I banged my hand right onto a thumbtack. I almost howled with pain!
I pulled the offending tack out of my palm, and nonchalantly commented to the girls, "NEVER EVER bang your hand down onto a tack. It hurts like crazy!"
The girls had a laugh, and of course, C.O. was the first to offer to go and get me a band-aid from the office. She's just a cute little attention seeker.
She also brought up the topic of cancer in one of my lessons last week. I think she was provoking me, trying to see how I would take it since she, as the rest of the class knew I had been sick. I took it calmly, it's not a big deal to me, and I didn't mention that I had been sick. I just explained her misconception and we went on with the lesson.
Oh, to add to my misery, the principal observed me AGAIN (!) in my 7b class. I believe this is the sixth time already! More than any other teacher in the school. I absolutely hate it when she sits in on the lessons. And when she interrupts to give her thoughts and to partake in my lesson. It's a whole lot worse! Someone should knock some sense into her! ...Maybe it'll even be me....Well, only after I leave this school!
Today was just like yesterday. I went to bed sick, and woke up sick. There was no sleeping late because my husband's grandmother died earlier that morning, and the funeral was at 10. I had to rush out of bed, prepare my lessons, (which I neglected to do last night) and do a bunch of household chores.
I came to school in another world, but somehow I pushed through a day.
I had spoken to R.H. yesterday about her behavior in class, and I did see an improvement, but I forgot to call her over and compliment her, because my head was somewhere else. But R.H. wrote a great persuasive letter to an ice cream company, so she'll definitely be getting some praise tomorrow.
She actually wrote the letter because I promised the class an ice cream party at the end of the year if we persuaded this ice cream company to make some of their products kosher. So R.H. being the type of person she is, went and began writing to them.
What a cute character!

Curriculum Meeting

The principal wanted me to stay after school today for a curriculum meeting.
Actually, she had wanted to meet with me for the past week, but I was busy, and couldn't stay after school. Would you believe that she wanted me to cancel some of the things that I was busy with to talk to her? I pushed her off for as long as I could, but I figured Wednesday was as far as I could push it.
Turns out, today worked out just fine.
My husband had a business meeting today, and so I figured it would be fine to do curriculum planning after school. But this morning, the principal called to tell me that she was busy with PTA, so she would only be able to give me an overview of the curriculum in the afternoon that would only take about 20 minutes of my time.
So right after school, I found her in the office, but the eighth grade teacher needed to speak to the principal, so I let her go first. I figured that 20 minutes wouldn't be 20 minutes so it wouldn't be fair to make the other teacher wait. Turns out, the eighth grade teacher took a lot more than just 20 minutes herself. I managed to finish reading an entire book during the time I waited.
Finally, I went in for my meeting, and I guessed right, it did take much longer than 20 minutes. Try like and hour. Or maybe an hour and a half. Or more.
By the time I got home, it was almost seven p.m.
And this was only an OVERVIEW!
Problem is, I'm completely lost, overwhelmed, annoyed, and angry. I keep being hit by the same question. How does this principal expect me to teach what takes a public school 8 hours to cover, in less than an hour and a half a day?!?
I think I've learned an important lesson today. Nod and smile, and then do whatever you want.

So it's True!

Today was a great day, I got work done, had a great lesson, and avoided the principal all day!
There was one major "event" that bothered me.
I came to school early like I usually do, and found one of my class' morning teachers sitting there. Now she's usually there at this time, and that's when we catch up on news, and talk about our students.
Today she was beside herself with something that had happened in her class.
Her brother had gotten married last week, and because of it, she was behind with some of her sheets she gave out to the class. Today, she had given out more stencils than she usually did in an effort to catch up to where she should be. She gave the class the stencils to be filled out for homework, and although there was some grumbling and a general attitude of unhappiness, these stencils were for homework and that's that.
Well, one student came over to her after the class, and started talking to her in such a disrespectful, fresh way, that she was shocked.
This girl never uttered a peep in her class, and now she was saying things the teacher never expected to hear from anyone, least of all this quiet kid!
The student called her an idiot, and said that she was mean and crazy..and she did it all to the teacher's face! She even shook a fist at her.
The teacher told me she had gone to the principal, shocked, and the principal begged her not to say anything to anyone. This student comes form a very important, respected family, and she didn't want the word to get out. She told me that the girl's mother was called down to school, and something was going to be figured out.
The teacher didn't tell me the girl's name, but I guessed, and I got it right.
The teacher was shocked, and asked me if I had ever seen her act this way. I told her the same thing she told me, that she was the quietest girl in the class. I knew, because she was the one who gave me the index card saying that she went to an anger management class every Monday after school.
The other teacher was shocked! I was too, to tell you the truth. It's true that she had told me about her problem, but I had never seen it, so I kind of put it out of my mind, almost believing that it was a made-up story trying to get my attention.
Wow.
The bottom line was, we agreed to keep it between us, the other teachers never ad a problem with her so we didn't feel they had to know, and we figured that if the mother was being spoken to by the principal, the mother herself would probably tell the school about her problem.
What I can't figure out is, why does a situation have to reach this point before a parent will tell the school some important information that we should've known 100 years ago!?!?
I said it as a teen, and I'll say it as an adult.....I'll never understand parents!!

Eventful Days

I was out all night, so it was a royal pain to have to get up for school when my husband had the luxury of staying in bed.
School was uneventful except for one very funny incident that somehow came up in class.
C.C.K. said something about her being one of 10 children. Another girl, I don't remember who, said something about a family who had 16 children, and the media was making such a big deal of it. She couldn't understand what was so huge, because many Jewish families have lots of kids.
So E.F.G. raised her hand to say that the typical American family has a girl, boy, a cat, and a dog.
The class laughed, but then someone, I think it was M.L, asked me why it was that the "typical American family" had about two kids while we had so many. She wanted to know who decided on the amounts.
Immediately, a few girls began smirking, and I felt all the blood leave my face.
It's the kind of situation where you'll get in trouble for whatever you say, and if you don't say anything, it becomes a big issue with the girls who were smirking.
In an instant, I had an answer, and it came to me out of nowhere. "That's how we see how special we are as a nation." I told the girls. "Hashem knows that maybe they can't handle having 10 children so he doesn't send them 10 special souls. He trusts us to raise children well, to be able to give each child what he or she needs, and that's why we are given more children."
Even the smirking ones stopped smirking long enough to ponder this idea.
Now that was a close one!
I was up until forever marking their essays on "My Special Day," while my husband was making supper. (!)
The supper wasn't ready by the time I fell into bed, but I was so tired, I ignored my stomach and promptly fell asleep.
My husband took all phone calls that night and told all my friends that heaven help them should they call and wake me up before 10 Monday morning.
Monday was just a bad day. I don't know if it's because it'd the beginning of the week, or just because I woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
The kids were terrors. I couldn't get a word in edgewise with all the calling out I had all day.
R.H. was really taking advantage of her seat in the front, and using it to have personal conversations with me all day. I guess she thinks she's above raising her hand.
C.K. was still a problem. Calling out, making stupid comments, basically acting as the "class clown." My patience ran very thin.
When I reviewed history, C.K. interrupted me to ask me some dumb questions that wasted half of my day.
L.K. also raised her hand a MILLION times to tell me stories. I kept trying to ignore her hand, but she would start oohing and it got on my nerves. L.K. also kept raising her hand to tell me that they had learned this material a few years ago, and she was bored.
I lost it there. I banged on the desk and got everyone quiet. "Don't make me walk out of this classroom with a different opinion of you than I had when I walked into this classroom." The class was quiet, and I was able to finish my lesson.
In the other class, I noticed a friendship I didn't like starting to evolve. G.S., a major bully, was turning around to talk to R.R. my insecure. learning disabled kid, all through class.
I kept telling them to face front, and even warned them a couple of times, but this friendship was what bothered me more than the talking during class. G.S. is a bully who has no friends. She is using R.R. so that she can look at her disabilities and give her ego an even bigger boost.
R.R. is this insecure thing who gets very excited when a girl like G.S. actually notices her. Something will have to be done.
the principal came around to introduce the girls to our new guidance counselor. I was pretty impressed at the way the girls reacted. Usually, I would've expected a lot of snickering and maybe even some giggling, but these girls were just looking and listening, trying to get to know her. (If I know these girls, they're just sizing her up so that they can make her miserable! Hah ha aha aha hah!)
But seriously, C.C.K. and C.S.A were both looking at her in awe, as if they couldn't wait to run down to her and pour out their hearts.
The truth is, I wasn't a seventh grader so long ago that I shouldn't remember what going to a guidance counselor means.
It means ridicule and embarrassment once your classmates find out. I have no doubts that the timeless story will play out in this school, in this grade again.

Sunshades

7a is really shaping up.
I don't feel like I'm pulling teeth anymore, and I'm actually starting to look forward to teaching that class.
Yesterday, we even joked around so much, I barely managed to finish the material I wanted to cover. And I thought the other class was the slow one!
Anyway, I noticed that 7a had this big problem with their windowshades. The shades are way too thin, and I find the most of the girls end up squinting, and moving their seats around, to avoid having the sun in their eyes. It's a big distraction, so I commented that we had to take a vote in class to decide if we should ask the school for better shades, or just invest in good sunglasses.
So today, when I walked into class, a whole bunch of girls were wearing sunglasses.
I am so proud, I can't tell you. These girls are developing a personality!
And by the way, I had my own pair of shades in my teacher's bag, I planned to wear them into class, but when I heard that my students thought of doing it on their own, I let them have that moment of glory all to themselves.
Today was a 12th grade day. I was surprised to discover that these girls were actually taking my class seriously enough to have started to prepare speeches(!)
We spent the lesson finishing up the speech we had started before Yom Tov, and that took until the bell rang. I spent an extra two minutes telling them about the speeches for next week, and that was the end of my very loooooong week!

It's Only Tuesday?

It seems like I've been back at school for ages, even though it's only been about a day and a half so far.
I had to go in early today because the 6th grade teacher got engaged last night, and the teachers were throwing her a party. (Now I know what our teachers did in there...they partied!)
Of course I was the first to come, and the other teachers barely made it to school before the 6th grade teacher walked into the room. But it turned out pretty well.
I went down to lunch, which in itself is a royal pain, and leaned against the wall while the girls finished lunch.
Bored, I called over S.G.L. and asked her if she had finished and brought back my test that I allowed her to take at home.
S.G.L. blushed, and didn't answer me, so I asked her again if she brought in the test. She looked down and told me quietly that her mother wanted to call the principal about the test.
My heart plummeted to my toes. The last thing I need is for the principal to go analyze my tests. She previews all my things before they get copied, and she had of course seen the history test as well, but I don't need her to go through it thoroughly now and start finding fault.
I told S.G.L. that it was fine for her mother to call the principal, but I still needed the test back, even if it wasn't filled in. I told her that yes, I would discuss it with the principal, but she should definitely bring the test papers back to me.
It turned out that her mother felt there was nothing wrong with the test, she only wanted to discuss her daughter being evaluated, but I'll still feel better once I have that test back in my locker.
As I walked into class, ready to hand out my maps quiz on the middle east, I found 11 girls crouched under my desk, scrambling to pick up a million tiny tacks that were scattered all over the floor. One of my students had opened the desk drawer to find a piece of chalk, and the entire drawer had somehow come out and spilled all its contents on to the floor.
I was impatient to start my day, so I sent the girls to their seats and had them start their quizzes. While I had 5 minutes of quiet in the classroom, I bent down, took a piece of paper, and shoveled the tacks back into the drawer. It didn't take long, but with my luck, the Principal chose to walk in at the exact moment I crawled under my desk.
Mortification is not the word. I didn't think that protecting my delicate feet from those dangerously sharp tacks should've been a problem, but apparently, in this school, it is.
The principal was upset why I was the one bending down, when the students should've been doing it out of respect for me.
I tried explaining to her that I was the one who sent them back to their desks so that they could start their quizzes, and I explained it to her again. I turned around to check on my students and I caught them all looking and listening intently, taking gin every word. Sheesh.
She finally got my point, but she didn't want me to continue picking them up in class. I hate to sound fresher than my students, but as soon as she left I bent down to finish the job. After all, my feet deserve some respect too, don't they?
While we were discussing the social classes in the ancient Aztec empire, madam principal walked in again. She interrupted the class to brief me about the writing projects she wanted me to do with them, and then she walked to the back of the class and stayed there.
Now I was pretty flustered, I tried picking up from where we left off, but the girls were suddenly very quiet, and not participating.
I somehow managed to keep up my enthusiasm, and pretended that I totally didn't mind teaching with a person breathing down my back. Eventually she walked out, presumably to bother some other unsuspecting teacher.
As soon as the door closed behind her, 16 girls breathed a very loud sigh of relief. There was a two second gap of embarrassed silence, and they all started laughing. I had to fight to keep a straight face because I was dying to laugh too. That's a great disadvantage of being a teacher, you always have to set an example.
But I'm so happy this happened today. It just goes to show that no matter what the principal brags, and besides for F.G. who would walk in a garden with her, most girls are not comfortable being observed in class. The teacher's room erupted in cheers when I told them about this incident. One point for us!
Another, pretty disturbing thing I saw today was in the other class, 7a.
We were continuing with our creative essays, and as I was going around the classroom, I noticed that B.E.D. hadn't written anything yet. I was surprised, and went over to her to try and help her, and she was barely looking at me.
I left her with some advice and went back to the rest of the class, making sure to keep an eye on her. I noticed that her hands were literally shaking for the rest of the period. She didn't write a word, but her hands shook terribly.
I don't know what her parents think they're doing, but they're really messing around with their daughter's life, and as a teacher, there's only so much I can do.

Seat Change

OK, it wasn't so major. Well, it was, really, but it didn't have a major effect on my day.
The Co and I made a massive seat change. Every single girl got her seat moved. Most of them turned out pretty ok, some of them still need adjustments. But that's ok. It's one of the advantages of being a teacher. I get to do whatever I want with the 32 in my control. (Evil Laugh...)
We put B.E.D. in the front of the classroom, right in front of the teacher's desk. I liked her there. I kept an eye on her all day, and she even gave me some beautiful smiles! I guess sitting in the front put her in a place where she felt more involved in the class, and although she didn't raise her hand once, she did seem to be following along.
R.R. was absent, and that was a relief because I had forgotten to prepare her special sheets for her.
R.H. was put into the front as well, and it was a little disastrous. She tends to take over the class, because she's constantly calling out, and speaking out of turn, but being put in the front made her worse. Here she feels like she owns the place because she's sitting in such close proximity to the teacher.
I got a little nervous, but I started ignoring her every time she called out. I should've done it from the first day of school. It worked so well. She got so insulted that I didn't even turn around to look at her when she said something, that she got quiet very quickly. I might actually get somewhere with her.
C.K. was also put in the front, but on the opposite end of the room as R.H. I needed to keep an eye on her too.
G.S. took another one of the front seats in 7a, she's one kid I cannot take my eyes off if I want the other girls to be safe.
Seventh grade is full of little monsters. I wish there were a system to put all 32 of my kids in the front. Every single 12 year old needs to be watched closely.
Anyway, we were in the middle of discussing the story, "The Countess and the Impossible," a nice story about a seemingly strict, proper lady, who taught a Utah farmboy an important lesson in life. At the beginning of the story, the boy sees the countess as a strict disciplinarian, but it ends off where they're strolling around her garden together.
I brought this point up in front of the class, and asked them if they thought the countess seemed a little nicer at the end of the story then at the beginning. So the girls had an animated discussion on this, and basically, we came up with the conclusion that a walk around the garden is something you take with a person you're close and comfortable with, not someone like your school principal.
Well, F.G. raised her hand and said,"Well I have no problem walking in the garden with our principal." I think I almost fainted.
The class didn't all agree with her, but just the fact that F.G. wasn't shy to say that in class, just goes to show that something is very wrong in this school. There is no reason why the students should feel comfortable enough to walk around gardens with the principal, when the teachers live in mortal fear of her.
Help.
Later, we were doing history in 7a, when surprise, surprise, the principal walked in to observe me.
This must've been the third or fourth time she came in to my class this year, more than any of the other teachers, and I almost exploded.
She sat in on my lesson for about 20 minutes, until the bell rang at 4:15, and I didn't wait until she came over to speak to me. I ran for safety and made it to the teacher's room as fast as I could.
I don't need more compliments, I don't need more work, and I definitely don't need it from her. Not today anyway.
I stayed a while to talk to the other teachers and we all somehow managed to have a bad day. They all unanimously agreed that having the principal in for 20 minutes definitely made my day the worst day of all of theirs.
It was kind of fun sitting and kvetching with all those scary people called teachers. But the truth is, we're all just regular people with regular jobs, who manage to have bad days, just like everyone else put there.

Back to School

And of course, there is no better time to go back to school than on a Sunday.
After 3 weeks of sleeping late, who wants to get out of bed at 7 am, especially on a Sunday?
Well I had no choice, so I left my husband still asleep, and went down to school.
The day was actually pretty great, I loved being in the front of the class again, and the the girls seemed excited to be there too.
My co had to leave halfway during the day, so we switched the schedule, and for the last 45 minutes of the day I had both classes together.
At first I was a little nervous, but we started a new, very creative writing assignment, and pretty soon, the class was so involved, I forgot I was teaching both of them together. I had no discipline problems, it felt great!
I had come in on a Friday before Yom Tov to give the girls back their history tests, but R.R. was absent that day. I gave her test back today.
I was surprised to find that she was miserable with the 80% she got.
She came over to me after class, and we had a little talk.
I told her very openly, that if I could, I would open my roll book and show her that most girls average out at an 80. I told her that even I myself wasn't a hundred student in school.
She looked skeptical, but I told her further, that had I been a hundred student in school I probably wouldn't be doing all the extra things I'm doing for her.
The reason I am doing this, is because was a student like her,and I can understand what she's feeling. I told her that it was not because she was dumb that I was doing all this for her. It was because I believed in her. If I didn't think this was going to pay off, I wouldn't bother to work hard.
I think she seemed pleased by that.
I also told her, a little strictly, that I wasn't going to be around forever to boost her confidence. I warned her that if she doesn't believe in herself, no one will.
I hope this kid gets straightened out., but honestly, I think all she wanted was just a little bit of attention.
That's not a problem, but I wish she would start looking for positive attention. What she's doing now won't get her anywhere, except for maybe on my nerves.
just a side point, I went into the principal's office for something, and I walked out of there staggering under the load of work she put on my shoulders. I was a little, ok, more than a little annoyed, but learned to say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." and do absolutely nothing.
Yep, I'm learning the ropes in life.

Later That Night..

I just did something very scary. I called my first couple of parents.
OK, it wasn't so bad. The parents are regular mothers just like mine, and the funny thing, is that they feel like they have to excuse themselves for me. I think they think I'm this big person, when they're not getting that I'm probably younger than some of their kids.
So the first mother, S.G.L.'s mother, actually sent a note to school requesting that I call her. So I called her first.
She happened to be very sweet, and she wanted to discuss the matter that S.G.L. has a problem with comprehending what is going on class, and if Mrs. L. wouldn't study with her, she would flunk everything. The problem was that she had just opened a business in her basement, and she was too busy to study with her all the time.
Personally, I don't know why they keep promoting these girls into older grades. I know it's more complicated than just the way I make it sound, but social promotion is not an answer. If there is a problem it has to dealt with. By the time a girl is in seventh grade, the problem can grow to affect the student socially, as well as educationally.
The mother was very quick to agree to have S.G.L. evaluated proffessionally, she had already even discussed it with my co.
I offered to let S.G.L. retake the history test at home, where she had no time limit, as long as Mrs L. made sure that she wasn't looking back in her notes, and talking to friends about it. The mother agreed wholeheartedly, and personally, I don't think S.G.L. or her mother will be telling anyone about this anyway, they seemed to be a little afraid of having a reputation of being learning disabled. That in itself is a horrid attitude, but that discussion isn't for now.
My second mother, M.R.'s mother, also requested that I call her.
Now this one was a strange one. She wasn't calling to discuss her daughters at all! (I teach two of her daughters, one in seventh, and one in twelfth.) She was calling to find out information about a girl I went to school with that someone was trying to set up with her son.
I hung up the phone laughing. This mother was a character! I didn't mind at all that this is what she wanted to speak to me about, but it's a funny thing to call your daughter's teacher for. There were 90 other girls in my grade who were mostly pretty accessible for info, but she chose to call me. I had a good laugh.
My third mother was the one I dreaded calling. C.K.'s mother.
C.K. had been acting very fresh lately, and that's one thing I don't go for. At all. I had already spoken to C.K, but she didn't seem to care, because she "forgot " what we discussed in out little chat pretty quickly.
Surprisingly, Mrs. K. was very understanding. At first she tried defending her daughter by telling me that she only acted this way because she didn't do well on tests and school work.
I knew that, but I explained to Mrs. K. that her daughter might never be a good student, there are some girls who are not cut out for sitting behind a desk for 8 hours every day. But her daughter had a great quality, and that was her personality. I told this mother, that I personally believed that a good personality can get someone much further in life than just 100% on every test.
When she saw that I was on her daughter's side, she became much more receptive, and I explained to her that her daughter had so much going for her, it would be shame for her to ruin it by becoming sarcastic and fresh. Mrs. K. understood the point I was trying to make.
She tried explaining it away on her changing hormones (after all, she IS a 12 year old) she said it might've been her period or something.
I almost dropped the phone.
I appreciate it when a parent is comfortable talking to me as a teacher, but woah, this is one embarrassing mother!! I hope this kid never finds out that her mother spoke to me about her monthly visitor. I know that I'd have disowned my mother should she have done something like that to me.
Anyway, we left off on good terms, and those were my adventures tonight.
And my husband has just dubbed me with a new name: "Little Stinker."
Hey, he might be right, and that's ok....as long as those parents don't know it!

Test!

Also, another strange day.
I walked right in to give my test. I gave the test to both classes at once, and the other teacher proctored the other class. We switched in the middle so that I was able to take questions form girls in both classes.
The multiple choice really threw them off, but the essay is what killed them. I had girls going crazy trying to figure out what to write, and obsessing over how much they remembered (or forgot!)
In reality, most of the information they needed for their essays were scattered throughout the test, and if the girls were bright enough, they figured it out. I think most girls got it in the end. I read some beautiful essays on their tests.
Some girls got me so nervous though. The way they made a big deal over stupid questions bothered me to no end. And the biggest joke of all is that the girls whoa asked the most questions, occupied most of my time, and threw the crying fits were the ones who got the top marks in the class. Is that ironic or just annoying and selfish? There were so many girls who actually needed the help, but those girls don't bother to ask a lot of questions. They don't obsess over that extra point. Those girls just want to pass.
I used to hate those girls who would cry every time they got a 98, and wouldn't rest until they did enough extra credit to get a 100 percent. I used to hate them, and now I teach them. Now that is ironic.
I made the girls hand in their tests when the recess bell rang, and the girls who needed more time all came into one classroom to finish up. Guess who was there? Well, M.L. for one, (she got 103% on her test) and T.K. 7a, (who got a similar mark) and E.F.G. (another 103%). F.G. was there, snd she threw such a tantrum, I was tempted to rip up her paper and send her back to kindergarten. I didn't even think a 12 year old would be capable of throwing such a fuss. She was fresh, and angry, and downright babyish. And then she went and got an 85%. What is wrong with the kids these days?
T.K. (7b) stayed after, and I helped her out a lot, I really wanted her to well, it would do a lot for her self confidence, and in the end she did beautifully, she got a 72%. I'm very proud of her.
R.R. came back form the resource room, and I gave her a special test I had prepared just for her. She also almost threw a tantrum, but she sat down and tried. She said something to the effect of "Now you'll really see how stupid I am."
I got a little upset at her. I told her, "What is it that you want me to tell you? Yes, R.R. you are stupid!? You are not stupid, and stop trying to make me think so, now sit down, and start writing!" She looked at me, shocked, and then she sat down and took that test. (She ended up getting and 80!!!)
B.E.D. also needed more time. I had heard she was not smart, but I think she just needed a lot of time. I gave her until the end of the day. she got a 96%. Proud is not the word. Even my husband was excited!
After recess both classes got together and did an arts and crafts for Succos. It worked out very nicely, and I was happy we did it.
Of course, we couldn't waste an hour and a half on just an arts and crafts, so I read the girls a nice story that took about 20 minutes. It was called an e-mail from G-D.
Boy, did I get it over my head. After class, my co told me that I'd be in huge trouble about this e-mail thing. Parents were going to call the school, and the principal would kill me.
Mind you, this is not internet, this is just e-mail! Every kid in that class knew what e-mail was, so why would the parents call up?
I was regretting the whole day.
The other teachers tried to make me feel better by telling me that since we wouldn't be having school until the end of the month because of Yom Tov, it was likely to be forgotten, and never make it to the principal. I hope so.
My husband hates this. Again, it;s the same story, this is what I have to put up with for that kind of money? Blah!

What a Day!

I had to be in school early today to ship the girls off to the Yom Tefila.
It was starting to get really chilly outside, but I was running late, and in such a rush, that I ran the block to school without my jacket.
I walked through the doors to find my class already waiting for me to take them to the place, but guess what, no buses.
I had to WALK about 25 minutes to get to where we were supposed to be. And of course I had no time to go back and get my jacket, and then of course it started raining.
My students had a field day with me on the walk to the Yom Tefila. They were asking me all sorts of questions, and trying to get me to tell them what questions were on my history test. I was a little surprised. I don't remember ever being so comfortable around my teachers when I was that age. I guess things are changing.
Around halfway there, about 7 of my students who were walking right behind me began laughing hysterically. Every time I looked at them, they laughed even more, and I started feeling self conscious. You know how it is, I kept thinking there was something wrong with me to be making them laugh.
I kept checking my skirt, my tights, to see if they had a run, my wig, I was really starting to feel dumb. I think it's funny now, but I seriously could've cried at that point. My seventh graders aren't mature enough to come over and tell me what's wrong or funny, they'd rather point and laugh.
So I went over to them and I asked, "Girls, is there something I should know?" and the funniest thing happened. One girl mustered up all her courage to ask me if I had a sister named B.L.
I was so relieved! That was all they were laughing about! They were shy to ask me if that girl was my sister! (She is my sister, and they knew that because there's a children's book dedicated to my family, and it says both of our names there, so I guess my students put two and two together. I'm just glad they didn't see the later printing of that book that has about 6 of my siblings mentioned. LOL)
Anyway, the Yom Tefila was beautiful, and we had an uneventful walk back to school.
Except for a student who thought it would be funny if she rang my doorbell as we passed my apartment building.
I pretended not to notice, but I couldn't decide if I was flattered or not. On the one hand, it was pretty cool that my students liked me so much that they found out where I lived and kept track of my family members and everything. But on the other hand, it takes guts to go over and ring your teacher's doorbell the third week of school. Then again, it was G.S. who did it and that's not surprising, and like I said, the kids today are not what they used to be.
We got back to school where I just proctored the science teacher's test in one class, and I answered the girls' index cards.
B.E.D. wrote on her index card that she likes to read, and I had come prepared for that. I told her on her card to come over to me after class because I had something for her. She didn't come over, but I went to her and gave her a mystery book similar to the Nancy Drews she liked to read. She was in heaven.
I'm so happy.

Start of a Crazy Week

Sunday again. It's just a weird day.
We had another balanced literacy teacher's meeting, and of course, we weren't notified. So my students took 10 minutes to write a journal entry, and then they ran around the halls for an hour until we were dismissed.
Then, during recess, I found out that, guess what, I wasn't going to be teaching Monday. All the girls schools were having a Yom Tefila Monday afternoon because it was three days before Yom Kippur, and so that left an hour for teaching when we came back.
My problem was that the science teacher was giving a science test Monday, so that didn't leave me any time for the history review I planned on doing with the classes before their test on Tuesday. Great.
I walked into class after recess, took everything I planned to do with my girls and threw it out the window.
Instead, I told them all to take out their notes, and I spent a half hour in each class rushing through my notes, and telling them what they should be having in theirs for the test.
I was speeding through the material, trying to get everything in before the bell, and starting to get a little hoarse, when the principal walked in to observe my class. Oh Yippee!
So far, I have been the most observed teacher in the entire school. And every time, the principal walked in, it was at a bad time for me.
I just wanted that bell to ring so that I could run home and go to bed!!
I think Murphy's Law should be changed to have my name in the front of it.

What do I do Now?

Today was quite weird. The teachers had a meeting about a new program the school wants to implement called balanced literacy.
The balanced literacy is a fantastic idea, but I don't' believe it can be started in the seventh grade. I think that if it isn't introduced in the younger grades, the older grades are just too old to start learning to read in a new way.
But I enjoyed the meeting, it was for all the English teachers and it was informative and exciting. The problem with this meeting was that it took place during class time. The teachers were told to give the class quiet work to do, but they did the work like I'm gonna die my hair blue. The girls had a field day.
The meeting went until the morning recess, and after recess, my co and I were really pressed for time. We decided to split our class time in half. That gave me about 35 minutes in each class.
I had prepared a lot to teach, but once I realized how little time I actually had, I had to think fast.
We did some answering questions in our journals about the letter to self, and then we did a few short minutes of history.
I couldn't start something new with them, so I came up with an idea. I called it "Creativity Sparks."
Each girl took out a clean sheet of paper and I gave them a word. When I said "Go," they had to write down whatever came to their minds. It didn't have to make sense, they just had to keep writing. I told them I didn't care if they started off with the alphabet and ended up with pajamas. They just had to keep on writing.
The point of the exercise was to teach these girls to use their imaginations, and not to be afraid to express their creativity. (I found that was a MAJOR problem when it came to writing in my classes.)
When a girl put down her pen, she was "out." She wasn't allowed to continue writing, not even one word. When a student's mind went blank , she had to keep writing, she could write, :my mind is blank." It was all fine with me.
I didn't collect these. At the end of 3 minutes, every single girl had to put down her pen, even if she was in the middle of a word. We used the word "ice" in one class, and the word "fork" in the other. It worked really well.
And no one wanted to get out. At the ed of the exercise, I told the girls, that whoever offered to read their creativity spark out loud to the class got a plus one on any of my tests. The girls were all begging on me to call on them....even in class 7a!!! Maybe I AM getting somewhere!
I called R.R. over to me after school, we had a little problem with her "forgetting" to do her special homework. I told her that this was only a trial, and if she wasn't going to show me that she was going to try her best with me, I wasn't going got give up my extra time to her.
She basically got the point, but she told me that she threw out her "letter to self." Her reason? She claimed she had nothing to write, and she hated herself. Hmmmmm, haven't I heard that somewhere recently? I told her in no uncertain terms, that it was going to be handed in. I wonder if I'll ever get that letter.
She was walking away when I called after her, "By the way, I remembered about our appointment today, but it seems like you forgot."
R.R. blushed, and half turned around as she said, "I still don't think you'll have anything to say about me."
I answered, " I think you're wrong, and I think that if you'd really sit down and look inside yourself, you'd see all those wonderful things I see in you."
R.R.'s day was made.
Mrs. F, who works in the copy room, also a mother of one of my students, F.F. had called me over earlier that day during recess.
She told me that B.E.D. spent all her free time with F.F. in the F. family's house. She did her homework there, and called F.F. all hours of the day whenever she needed anything. She said that she sometimes spoke of her family problems, but she always told them never to tell anyone anything she said. She was afraid of her mother finding out. And the parents? Mrs. F. lived down the block from the D. family, and she described the mother as being extremely overprotective, and a bit unrealistic when it came to dealing with their kids.
The principal told me the same thing.
She said that a couple of years ago, the school had had B.E.D. evaluated for some strange behavior. The evaluation showed that she needed some serious professional help.
When the report was shown to the parents, they refused to believe it or do anything about it.
The school doesn't want to get involved anymore. They know that at this point it would be extremely detrimental to B.E.D. to talk to her parents again. The school is afraid that should the parents get the wrong idea, they might take B.E.D. out of this school and put her somewhere where no one will ever look at her twice. We don't want that to happen.
This kid is a bigger problem than I thought.
I spoke to F.F., and she told me what was going on. B.E.D. had no friends. She treats F.F. (a pretty popular girl) as her best friend. B.E.D. honestly thinks that her teachers have no idea about anything going on in her house. She's afraid to say anything to anyone, because she doesn't know whom to trust not to tell her parents.
The principal later told me that she had called Mrs. D. on Tuesday to tell her that some teachers had been complaining about her daughter being very reserved and about her not doing any work in class. Of course the mother denied everything.
The principal though, begged the mother to at least tell her whenever there was something going on with the baby, like this we would know when B.E.D. might have a hard time completing her homework, or paying attention in class.
The mother promised whole heartedly to work with the school, but we later found out, from Mrs. F. in the copy room, that the baby had been in the hospital since Thursday, but unsurprisingly, so one bothered to call us.
We're not working with very co-operative people.
I went home later and out of curiosity, I read B.E.D.'s letter to self. It was 4 pages long, and it had a nice long part about her sick brother. The funny thing is, she wrote about her older brother like he was still alive.
When I later asked the principal about it, she said that the evaluation they had done on her showed that this family keeps this boy very much alive. The longer I investigate, the more messed up this situation seems to be.
The bright side to this whole story is that B.E.D. confided in me. She knew that I was going to read her letter, so she obviously wanted to confide in me.
My shoulders keep getting heavier and heavier. I'm just missing that last straw in the camel's back to make me collapse.
Maybe I should give my husband a "piggy back" ride.