I know, I know.

It's been forever. And I'm probably not going to get any better at this for a while, because of a big personal thing - I'm pregnant! Due at the end of the school year (which is nice because then I get the summer with the baby).

So while I am still dealing with absurdities, hilarities, and heart-breaking truths on a daily basis, I'm spending more of my time outside of school thinking about baby stuff. Nursery decor (the plan is neutral walls with pops of color - but WHICH colors?), names (it's hard to find ones you actually like!), eating enough protein (dude, you have to eat a LOT of protein - I had no idea), getting enough exercise (something I'm terrible with during the school year so I have to really focus on it), and everything else that goes with growing another person.

On the school front, things are pretty good. I have great kids - the only one that I was struggling to like got expelled, which is unfortunate for him since he was way behind academically as it was, but better for the other kids since he was expelled for gang activity, including jumping a kid in in the bathroom during a class one day (no, for real. I was stunned when I heard about it. This is apparently our worst year for gang activity in at least 7 years). The kids are working hard and learning a lot (I think....), and have been generally positive about my class overall. Sure, some are slackers and some could have better attendance, but most of 'em are rockstars.

Lots of former students have come back to visit. Most are doing okay, though not as well as they should be - too many of them have at least one F. It kills me that Fs don't matter ONE IOTA all the way through elementary and middle school (at least not in my district - we assign kids summer school, but if they don't go, they still go on to the next grade), so when they get to high school, they've had no experience with consequences in this arena. Some of them are doing great, which is super nice to see. One has been expelled - he was caught with a knife and it was big enough to make it an immediately expellable offense. He hasn't actually come to visit but I heard about it from other kids. So that was depressing. But no matter what, they're at least coming to visit.

Due to budget cuts, we're down staff, so everyone is stressed about that. Class sizes are up, which means grading levels are higher and classroom management is more difficult. I'm doing okay with both for the most part, but part of that's because I've revamped what I grade - no more grading random crap that doesn't actually matter for anything. They still get lots of feedback on their work before the summative assessments (more, probably, honestly), it's just more in individual conferences, which I think is good anyway.

Overall, though, life is pretty good (knock on wood)! I will start posting again periodically but certainly not as much as I was doing in past years - other things have just taken priority for now.

Sometimes what we learn is totally unrelated to my planning.

Yesterday, as we were working on writing topics lists, I got a truly fabulous question from a kid. I'd been modeling, and I'd mentioned how my dislike of Insane Clown Posse is something I could potentially write about someday. A kid had inserted that he thought juggalos were weird.

After, when my kids were working on their own lists, another student raised his hand. I trotted over to help. He said, "Miss Teachin', I thought juggalos were fake."

What? "Um, I think they think they're real...."

"Oh. But....wasn't there a movie about one of them?"

I stared at him for a second, totally lost, till another kid piped up, "No, dude, that's gigolo - Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo."

"Oh, riiiiiight." And work resumed. Temporarily.

Then a third student joined in. "Okay, yeah, but what's the difference between a juggalo and a gigolo?"

I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not. Luckily, my movie buff scoffed at the foolish question. "Juggalos, like, wear makeup and do weird stuff. Gigolos are male prostitutes. Pfft. Duh."

"Ohhhhhh," responded the questioner, clearly embarrassed.

I don't know how much else this kid learned yesterday, but at least his vocabulary expanded a bit.

Today it happened.

Today it happened.

Today we gelled.

Today we were a community.

Today I started to love my new students a little bit.

I haven't been posting because...well, for a variety of reasons, including some things going on that I just don't post about (for example, an issue with a coworker that I don't want to get into), and being really, really busy, and just not feeling like writing....

But mainly because really I just wanted to say, "I miss my old students! Waaaahhhh! These new ones aren't as good! Waaaaaahhh!" And how fun is that to read? Not very.

But today it started to come together. I'm sick right now, and honestly probably should have stayed home today but I thought I'd feel better than I did and it was too late to call a sub without a true emergency, so off to school I trudged.

Anyway, the kids were great - everything we did, they did right away, without complaint, fully engaged. At least 10 kids finished books over the long weekend, and were super excited to get new ones and talk about what they'd finished. Several kids who'd been absent on Friday came in to get their makeup work (I know, it's a little thing, but OH it matters). They were kind to each other, asking questions when we shared work and bringing up things they'd heard from other people that they'd been interested in or excited by. A bunch of them told me they hoped I'd feel better as they left. It just....went really well. And I started to think, okay. I can do this. It's going to be a good year after all.

I may never love them quite as much as last year's kids, but that was my first class and they were just all-around remarkable (most of them, at least). These kids are great too, I know that, and as long as I'm starting to love them some, it'll be fine.

(Image credit to Shermeee)

I know I'm using way too many exclamation marks, but that's how I feel!!!

Dudes! So exciting! I just heard from my first student who is officially participating in my Summer Literacy Challenge!

She wrote a memoir and will be emailing it to me - I can't wait to read it.

This thing just might happen!

NOT goodbye. See you later.

On the last day of school, I wanted to say something to all the kids, give them a little goodbye speech. I decided to write it out in advance, to make sure that I included everything I wanted to include; you get in the moment and you forget stuff and then after it sucks that you left out something important....so this is what I wrote:

Here’s the thing. I’m not good at goodbyes. I don’t like to lose people that I’m close to, people that I love, and so I don’t like to say goodbye.

So here’s what you need to know. First, this is not goodbye. This is….see you later. Because you’ll come back and visit next year, and you’ll contact me this summer about your summer literacy challenge or just to say hi, and you’ll keep in touch, and it’s not goodbye.

I have loved every minute of being your teacher. You are all so amazing – smart, kind, funny, creative, brave, silly, sweet – awesome. I am so glad I came to 8th grade this year so that I got to have this experience with you all. It has been my privilege to get to spend a few months, or a year, or two years with some of you, as your teacher.

I’m sure I have learned as much from you all as you have from me; maybe more in some cases. I wish I could be your teacher forever, that I could go with you to high school and just keep learning and growing together. But I can’t (which I’m sure some of you are really glad about), and that’s why you’re going to come visit.

As you go into your summers and you celebrate finishing 8th grade and starting high school, as you spend time with your friends and your families, as you have fun and sleep and play games and read and write and live….remember to be happy. Remember that you shine, that when I look into this room I see the glow that comes from deep within every one of you. Remember that you can change the world, and that you can be the people that I teach my future students about.

In Freedom Writers, when Miep Gies comes and talks to the students, one student gets up and says that she’s his hero. And she says that they are the real heroes and their faces are engraved on her heart. You are all heroes to me. You all do things that are heroic every day, whether big or small. You are heroes. And your faces are engraved on my heart.

I cried when I read it, each class. Each class, at least a few people cried too. (Over a third of my first period was openly weeping by the end. LOVE the power of language.) Each class, after I finished, the class had a brief moment of complete silence....and then each class, everyone started clapping. Each class, as they filed out, every single kid came and hugged me - even my homie who didn't like my class. Maybe the speech helped him realize that I'd meant all of it, everything I'd said to him this year, everything I'd tried to do to help him; maybe he was finally able to let go of whatever was going on with him enough to be in the moment more clearly....or maybe he just didn't want to be the one kid who didn't hug me when all his friends were. :)

Actually, one kid did not hug me, just waved, but that's of course totally fine; he and I got along okay but we certainly weren't close. And on that last day of school, we were hugging up a storm everywhere: during the awards assembly, in classes, in the post-class celebration....a lot of people got their 12 hugs a day for growth (and then some) that day.

Before I read the speech for the first time, I felt a little weird. Would they think it was lame? Would they be like, dude, don't be pathetic? And some of them probably did feel that way - but I don't care. I'm an emotional person and I wanted them to know how much I care about them and how much I have enjoyed being their teacher. I wanted to end the year with that. Some of these kids were there on my very first day of being a teacher ever; I wanted to close out their middle school career with....well, with joy.

They promised to come visit. They better keep that promise.

(Image credit to megarooo)

Beginning of the end.

The tears started for me on Friday, when I had kids do my end-of-year evaluation. This one was more extensive than my trimester ones:

In this class, I feel I learned: a lot some a little

I tried my best in this class: all of the time a lot of the time some of the time

The pace of the class was: just right too fast too slow

Ms. Teachin’ is patient: all of the time a lot of the time some of the time

Ms. Teachin’ is concerned about me and my life. Yes No

I liked this class. Yes No

The following were the three most important things that helped me as a reader this year (pick 3):

_Booktalks

_Classroom library

_Conversations with classmates

_Independent reading time in class

_Personalized book recommendations

_Public library

_Readaloud

_School librarian/library

_Teacher who reads

_Other _______________

Any comments?

The following were the three most important things that helped me as a writer this year (pick 3):

_Class magazines

_Creative choice

_Mentor texts

_MyAccess

_Portfolios

_Self-assessing/reflections

_Sharing work in class

_Teacher who writes

_Using technology

_Writing in a variety of genres

_Other ___________________

Any comments?

One thing I enjoyed was...because...

One thing I didn't enjoy was...because...

I wish we could have...

I did a good job with….

I could have done better with

Ms. Teachin’ did a good job with...

Ms. Teachin’ could have done better with...

I feel Ms. Teachin’ cares about me as a person and a student when...

I feel Ms. Teachin’ does NOT care about me as a person and a student

when...

(Optional) Anything else to add?

Only one kid said that he had not liked my class, and that was okay; he struggled a lot personally the second half of the year, and he just did not like my touchy-feely style. He didn't like any class, though, so I don't take it TOO personally. And the evaluations were helpful - I need to work on my patience, as most kids said I was patient "a lot of the time," but I also got some "some of the time"s. Which is probably true, so that gives me a goal for next year. I still have to go through and really analyze all of it, especially what kids said was most helpful in their reading and writing growth, but that gives me something to do this summer :)

But why I cried.....two kids wrote things in the "Anything else to add?" section that just made me lose it. One was the Antagonizer (who I struggled with all year - we had our ups and downs every week, sometimes every day, but overall he did better for me than in most of his classes). He wrote that he was sorry if it ever seemed like he was mad at me, that when he was mad, it wasn't at me, it was that he was mad at himself for his behavior. Not only is that a crazy good insight to have about yourself, but it was so nice that he apologized for some of those difficulties.

And the other one....oh my. This was a student that I had in 6th grade too, and we always got along well, but I never thought that she particularly loved me - she's just not one of those effusive kids. But what she wrote....

She said, "I have loved my 8th grade year in Ms. Teachin's class. She is always here for us, her students, and we always know we can go to her with any problems. I wish I could have Ms. Teachin' as a teacher every year."

I wish I could have Ms. Teachin' as a teacher every year.

The tears just came when I read that, because.....I mean, seriously, how nice is that? You see why I love this group of kids? They say awesome stuff like that!

Between that and the kid who'd said that I'd made Language Arts her favorite subject when she'd never liked it before, I can't imagine better compliments.

(Photo credit to jenny downing)

Notes of love

I'm in the end-of-year-grading-and-planning-madness throes, so this will be super short (why did I assign a massive project due the week before school got out? Why have I not finished my summer literacy challenge already? AAAAAAAHHHHHH), but I just wanted to say one thing.

I've mentioned before that I write all my kids notes at the end of the year, focusing on something that they're good at. It's my way of giving every kid an award instead of just a handful of top students; I still do that (we have to), but this way everyone gets something positive to take with them as they leave.

What I hadn't thought about before was that not only is that good for my students, it's good for me. Spending time thinking about each and every kid and what their strengths are....it's such a nice way to end the year, especially as some of them are starting to act out a little bit (that whole approaching instability thing). I'd rather keep my focus on the good things about each of my students; it's better for all of us.

So even though I'm swamped with grading and planning and cleaning my room, I'm still taking the time to do the notes. That little bit of positivity is what we all need right now.

(Image credit to Tim Morgan)

Temporary reprieve

We've been working on major research projects for the last several weeks and have accordingly spent a lot of time in our school library. The library is conveniently located right across the hall from my room, so it's easy for me to run back and forth if needed.

As we were heading over today, I realized that I'd forgotten a list of topics that I needed so I turned around to go grab it. It took a couple of minutes of searching before I found it and went back to the library.

When I entered, one of my boys came running up, looking alarmed. He grabbed my arm and hissed, "Ms. Teachin', you almost got scared, but that lady in brown got it instead!"

Though I was not at my best today (new cold....bleah), this still seemed somewhat nonsensical. "What?"

"I was hiding behind the door and I was going to scare you and I heard you coming and I jumped out and went, 'Boo!' but then it was that lady instead!"

I looked around. Another teacher's class was in there too, with a sub, and the sub was wearing brown.

He continued, "Ohhhhhhh, it was so embarrassing! She was like, 'Ahhhhhh!' and she jumped back and went like this," and he threw his hands up to demonstrate.

I started laughing. "Guess it serves you right for trying to scare me!"

He nodded solemnly. "Oh, it does. Next time I'll make sure it's you first."

I guess I better be ready!

(Image credit to GVician0)

Teacher Appreciation Week

I like Teacher Appreciation Week.

I don't work in one of those schools where the PTA goes all out and does big luncheons and gifts and things for teachers; we don't actually have a PTA (don't get me started on our lack of parent involvement, let alone engagement - Larry Ferlazzo would be so disappointed in us....), so not much happens there. Anything that happens is really coordinated by individual teachers, and so it's sort of hit or miss, but the things that do happen are really, really, really nice.

The seventh grade math teachers this year had kids write a Thank You Gram to a teacher in the school that they appreciated. Since I taught 6th grade last year, I got quite a few - some from kids that I knew loved me, and some from kids that were surprises. One even from a girl who really disliked me (or at least I thought she did....guess not). They were super sweet, and I will treasure all of them.

In my class, I asked kids to write letters to a teacher that they felt had really helped them with something, had really made a difference in some way. I asked them to be specific about what it was they appreciated because specificity is always good, and to write something that is at least four or five sentences long. And I told them they could write to anyone - to any teacher they've ever had in our city's metro area. All they had to do, if they were writing to a teacher from another school, is put the name of the school and the district at the top of the letter, and I'd get the letter to them. I did this last year too, and I felt it was a little more authentically appreciative than insisting on them writing to a teacher currently in the building.

Naturally, a lot of kids wrote to teachers at my school. But a lot didn't. I have letters to send to elementary teachers, guidance counselors and teachers at other schools (again, that mobility thing), even teachers who have moved out of the state (I'm Facebooking two people to get current addresses).

The letters are so sweet. I got several, of course - and I don't say of course because I think I'm such an awesome teacher that I deserve a bunch, but because I'm the teacher in the room asking them to do this. I don't want letters from kids just because they're looking at my face while they write them, only if they actually mean it, but I think at least a few probably wrote to me because I was there. Which is fine - but I'd rather they wrote to someone they really feel helped them.

Some of the letters I got, though, were so touching. I got one from Drama King in which he called me his hero (especially nice considering the last few weeks' ups and downs), and one from the Chowhound, in which he said he wished I could go to high school with him. I got one from the girl who'd written that she feels like I don't care when I don't notice that something's wrong; she wrote that I do notice when something is wrong, and that I'm the only teacher she's ever told a few personal things to because she knew I cared.

My very, very favorite letter was from one of my quietest students. She works hard, she always gets everything done, she will do and redo her work until it's good enough....she's awesome, but she's not one of the kids who comes and talks to me about stuff or who hangs out in my room or any of that. But her letter....oh my.

She wrote that she'd never liked Language Arts before this year but this year it's her favorite subject. She talked about how much she thinks she's grown as a reader and a writer. She finished by saying that I am one of the most unique teachers she's ever met.

As a teacher, hearing that you've changed someone's perception of your content area? That's a humbling and incredible experience.

I keep every single letter I've ever gotten from a student. I have them in a file; I don't go through them very often but they're there. Mostly it's because I don't feel like I can just dump these heartfelt and appreciative feelings into a recycling bin and walk away from them. That just seems so cold. But it's also so that I can go back and read them when I'm feeling down or irritated or something.

I will cherish these letters. And I hope that the teachers I send the other letters to will cherish theirs also. It's a little bit of extra work for me, but I think it's worth it. I know how meaningful it would be to me to get letters like these from former students who aren't even in my building anymore. I hope someday I get one, but until then, and honestly even after, I'll keep these notes both in my filing cabinet and my heart.

(Image credit to cello512)

Saturday school

Something cool happened yesterday.

At least, I thought it was cool.

On Wednesday, one of my most delightful but most challenging students, Drama King, stopped in after school with a friend of his, Short Stuff. Both of these kids are fabulous, but Drama King has been somewhat....difficult this year; he's feeling pretty burnt out on school and he's not getting a lot of work done. He's supposed to stay after school to catch up on his work and it happens now and again, but not with any regularity. Wednesday was a day he was supposed to stay, but he came by to tell me he couldn't because his mom needed him to go somewhere. After he told me and I told him how disappointing that was, he stared off into space for a moment. "I just wish I could come in on Saturday."

"Yeah, right," I said. "You don't ever do any work over the weekend."

"That's because I put it off and put it off! But if I could come in and do it here, I'd totally get it done."

I looked at him. "Really? You'd actually come in?"

"Yeah, I would. It would be different because I wouldn't be tired from a whole day of school. But no one's here and I can't do it."

Was this true? Did he mean it, or was he just trying to get me to stop being mad? "Um...I have a key. If you really want to do this...we could do it."

"I really want to do it."

Short Stuff chimed in. "Can I come too? I want to get my work done too."

Wow. "You guys seriously want to do this?"

Yes, they said, they did.

"Then I'll talk to administration and see if it's okay. I'll even bring donuts."

I got permission the next day. And I figured since I was coming in anyway, I might as well let anyone who wanted to join in. So I opened it up to all my kids - explained that I knew a lot of them were behind on projects we're working on, that it can be easier to get work done at school than at home, that I had grading to do so I would do it at school and then they could get help on stuff if they needed it. I even told the other 8th grade Language Arts teachers so that their kids could come if they wanted.

A whole bunch of kids said they were coming; I hoped it was true. But then Saturday came, and I started to second-guess. It was a beautiful day - who'd want to waste it at school? And they'd said they'd be there, but they say a lot of things. I bought two dozen donuts and two gallons of milk (also requested), but as I drove, I wondered where I could donate everything when no one showed.

When I got to school, 9 kids were already waiting outside.

Over the four hours I was there, 17 students showed - 15 of mine and two friends. They worked for anywhere from one to three and a half hours, and while they probably didn't work as solidly as they could have, they generally got a LOT done, and those who didn't get a lot done at least got more done than they otherwise would have.

Seventeen 8th graders at school. On a Saturday. By choice. Sure, the donuts helped, but still.

I am so damn proud of them. It was a great idea of Drama King's, one I never would have thought to suggest - but I sure will in the future.

(Image credit to Chris.Corwin - okay, it wasn't quite THAT crowded, but still.)

A creative consequence.

On a field trip today, Honey, the girl who asked if she could call me Mom, was apparently unaware that I was walking nearby as we were trudging up a hill to join a group. We're having beautiful weather here, but that meant that we were all baking in the sun as we went. One of her friends called back to her to hurry up; she responded with, "F---, n---a, I don't wanna f---in' run," as she flounced along the road.

I was, like, ten feet away.

I promptly called her out on her choice of phrasing. She was appropriately horrified that I'd heard her and quite apologetic, but that didn't seem sufficient to me in this particular case. I'm not big on detentions or referrals with cursing; they just don't usually seem effective. So I decided a language consequence would match a language infraction quite nicely. "If you're going to use language like that when we're out in public, I don't want you calling me Mom anymore. You're done with it."

"But ---"

"Nope. Done."

She tried to argue again and I told her that I wasn't discussing this then and we needed to get with the group. I figured later I'd catch her and we'd have a conversation about appropriate language for public and how it might offend others and how it makes her look bad....but I never got a chance. Honey found me.

"Ms. Teachin', I want to apologize for what I said before. It was rude and inappropriate and I shouldn't have said it, and I'm really sorry. And I won't do it again." She stood with her head hanging contritely.

"Thank you, Honey. I appreciate that."

"You're welcome. So......" She glanced up from under the curtain of hair shielding her face. ".....does that mean I can call you Mom again?"

I laughed and said that she could, as long as she kept the rest of her language within my expectations for decorum.

I don't know if it will last, but I like it as a new consequence for now....

(Image credit to circo de invierno)

"Honestly?"

"Yeah. Honestly."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last year, one of my best students was Miss Enthusiasm. She's a brilliant writer and was always super engaged and super awesome in my class. Now, this was true in MY class - not every class. For some reason, she connected with me in a way that she didn't connect with all of her teachers, and that was reflected in her classroom performance.

This year, she and I have stayed pretty close, and have recently gotten closer. She's started volunteering to help me in my room on Tuesdays after school (she was the other kid there during Tuesday's awkwardness) and she sort of does some work and we chat and she gets some attention that she clearly needs.

A few days ago, she asked if she could become my student assistant; I had one, actually a friend of Miss Enthusiasm's, as a mentoring thing, but she's probably getting expelled (another post - I'm not ready to write that one yet). So I could use a new one, and I think it might be useful for Miss Enthusiasm. Like I said, she was a rock star for me, but that's not true of every class, and since she respects and admires me, she doesn't like it when I'm disappointed in her behavior.

Anyway, today after school we went to talk to her counselor about it. I'd already broached the subject and her counselor had been reluctant since it's so close to the end of the year, which frustrated ME. We were trying again.

The counselor was in a meeting when we arrived, and while we were waiting, I asked ME, "So...why DO you want to be my student assistant anyway?" I figured the practice answering wouldn't hurt.

She thought for a moment. "Honestly?"

"Yeah, honestly."

"Because....being around you makes me feel good. You're always happy, always positive. I like that about you. Sometimes I'm having a bad day at school and I'm all upset, and then I hear your voice, and then I'm like, 'Aw, Ms. Teachin'!' And I just....feel better."

It's hard to know what to say to a compliment that big. It filled all of me, and all I could respond with was, "Well....that does seem like a good reason." I paused. "And....thanks."

She smiled.

We kept waiting.

Nothing had really changed.

But I will never forget this afternoon.

A mid-April prank.

You know, one of the things I enjoy about my job is that it's always surprising. Whatever else it is, it's always surprising.

When I was in the office at one point today, another staff member stopped me. She pulled me into an empty room and closed the door. I had no idea why, but her daughter is a student of mine, so I was starting wonder if she was upset about something.

She looked at me for a moment. "Okay. Athleta has been bugging me to ask you this. She says you've had this glow, and you've been really happy, and --"

And I knew exactly where she was going with this. "Nope. Not pregnant."

She smiled. "Okay, just wondering. She's been bugging me to ask you for days so I thought I would. She just keeps saying that you're glowing and so happy and you've been wearing skirts."

Really? Because I'm happy and wearing seasonally-appropriate clothing, I'm knocked up? "I'm happy because I like my job and I'm wearing skirts because of the weather! That's so funny she asked that." I told the mom my story from Friday and we both chuckled. "So now you know," I finished. "Wait - don't tell Athleta, okay? I'm going to mess with her now." Hey, she didn't ask me herself, she made her mom do it - she deserves a little prank.

Her mom agreed not to tell and I started plotting. Athleta usually comes into my room to hang out before school. Assuming she does that tomorrow, at some point while we're chatting, I'll suddenly sit down with my hand on my face. After a brief pause, I'll say something like, "Sorry. I just haven't been feeling too well in the mornings some days."

Then I'm going to start talking about a name that someone mentions. I'll muse aloud, "XXXXX....that's a really pretty name. I like that." And then I'll go write it down on a piece of paper at my desk.

I even got another teacher to help. She's going to come in and say that she just heard and congrats! And I'll thank her, and then if a kid asks, I'll say that I won this thing, being purposely vague.

I think it's gonna be hilarious. We'll see how long it takes before Athleta says something or gets someone else to.....

(Image credit to Daquella manera)

Worth giving up 11 hours of my Saturday?

The field trip that was causing me so many concerns was today.

In general we had a fabulous time; all but one of the kids showed, which for a Saturday ain't too bad. One had to leave early due to an injury from a few days ago, and another went home sick, which was a shame for him (and for me, because I missed out on an hour and a half of the conference as I waited (...and waited...and waited) with him for a parent to show up).

Three of my darlings got into moderate trouble; it almost became real trouble, but something good happened. They had skipped out on one of the conference sessions and texted me to see if that was okay. It wasn't, and I called them to find out where they were so I could go discuss it with them in person; as I hung up, I heard Drama King say to the other two, "I think she's mad."

When I got to them, I started with, "I'm not mad."

"Yes you arrrrrrrrrrre, Miss!"

I stopped them. "I'm not mad. But I AM disappointed in you. I'm not going to tell you that you have to go back into the session; you can make your own choices. But you should know that if you don't go back to the sessions, you're banned from my room for the rest of the year [all three eat lunch in my room almost every day]." And then I waited.

Grins (he's one of those kids who smiles all the time, even when he's in trouble - he often gets in more trouble for it) asked, "If we go back in, will you still be disappointed in us?"

I shook my head. "Nope. If you go back in, the slate is wiped clean and we're good, assuming the rest of the day goes well."

For a moment, no one said anything. Then Grins spoke up. "I don't want to be banned from the room....but I really don't want Ms. Teachin' to be disappointed in me. I'm going back in." He looked at his friends, and after a moment, they agreed. They got up, and went back.

Were they perfect the rest of the day? No. But they tried. They tried hard. And they did fairly well. It's good to be respected....or maybe just to have a carrot that you can use as a stick when needed.

Another highlight of the day came when one of my kids told me I would not be working at my school next year because I'd be moving to the high school to teach her there (adorable), and then later asking if I could adopt her because I'm so fun. I declined, so she asked if she could call me Mom. I said she could call me that, but I might not realize to answer.....I was immediately Mom or Momma T (for Teachin', of course) for the rest of the day to four of them.

Another one won a book that she didn't want, so she said I could have it for my classroom library but not yet because she has to do something to it first, which turned out to mean sign it to me. :)

And three of my seventh graders (kids I had last year) agreed that while they really like all the 8th grade Language Arts teachers, they're going to have a fit if they don't get me next year. They planned it out: where to lie down, how to kick and hit their fists at the same time, just what they would say (along the lines of "It's not faaaaaaaaair! I want Ms. Teeeeeeeeeachin'! NONONONONONO!"). Clearly they will not actually do this, because if they even try it, I'll kill 'em, but it was sweet.

They are so cute. I love my kids.

To answer my title's question? Definitely.

Doesn't matter if you're not TRYING to be rude...

Today's high was in the mid 70s. Everything's greening up and daffodils and crocuses are popping up all over the place. My local park is jammed after work; while I was running yesterday (week 1 day 3 of Couch to 5k - I can feel myself improving!), I saw two girls actually lying out in bikinis.

I have spring fever, and baaaaaad.

So last night I went and got my first pedicure of the season, and today I wore a cute new dress that I picked up in Beijing.

Now, I am not always the fanciest dressed teacher around. I wear jeans on our school pride days (because my school pride shirts are all pretty casual - hoodies and t-shirts and the like) and often one other day as well, and I wear a skirt maybe once every three or four weeks. Pants are easier when I end up sitting on the floor to conference with kids, y'know?

Thus I expected a few comments about my fancy-schmanciness today. And I got them.

Most were very positive.

"Ms. Teachin', you look so cute!"

"Ms. Teachin', that's such a pretty dress!"

"I love your outfit, Ms. Teachin'!"

Those were my girls. My boys were less sure what to say.

Sweet Child o' Mine went with, "Ms. Teachin's wearing a dress?"

Which I said was not the MOST complimentary thing I'd ever heard, so a friend of his countered with, "You look like a flower that's just....uh.....starting to.....uh......you look like a flower." I said that was better; this is a kid who said a few weeks ago that I'm like a second mom to him, so I thought it was a sweet effort.

My favorite, though, had to be the student who came up to me after class. He looked at me and said, "Ms. Teachin', I'm not trying to be rude, but that dress kind of makes you look pregnant."

Yep. JUST what you want to hear about your cute new and, yes, empire-waisted summer dress.

I pointed out that just because you're not trying to be rude doesn't mean you aren't still being it.

He nodded, and kept staring skeptically at my midriff. "I'm just saying that's what it looks like...."

"No, honey, I'm not pregnant. I'll keep you posted, though."

Just then one of my girls came in for the next class and gasped. "Oh, Ms. Teachin'! You look so nice today!"

I called to the boy, "THAT'S what you say, my friend. THAT'S what you tell someone."

I don't think the dress makes me look pregnant; I can see where he got that, and it's not the most body-flattering silhouette, but since I'm not looking to impress a bunch of teenagers with my figure, I'm good with that. I will say, though, I did go ask a friend for reassurance. She said I looked very cute and not to worry.

Might not wear that dress again to school, though.

(Image credit to housingworksauctions - my dress looks NOTHING like this one, except for a similar waist-line)

Jokes are funny!

April Fools' Day went well. I had two jokes per period - a real one and a distractor.

The distractor was a fake test (on the board: "You have 5 minutes to study for a test on everything we have learned to date this year. It will be worth 50% of your grade for the trimester.") which totally panicked blocks 1 & 2 until the kids I had enlisted to help with my REAL jokes were like, "Ha ha, April Fools?" To which I replied, yep, just a joke, gotcha! And we all chuckled and got down to business.

Then first block I had two co-conspirators. A few minutes into class, Drama King whispered to a neighbor that he was going to call Brilliant One as a prank on him and me. Brilliant One had (as planned) left his cell phone on and so it rang loudly, startling everyone. They'd both been acting obnoxious since they walked into my room (again, as planned) and I'd given them both two or three warnings. So when the phone rang, I acted like I'd had it. "That's IT," I said. "I'm done. Give it to me. It's going to the office."

"But, Miss," Brilliant One whined, "it's not my fault. I didn't do anything! And it was Drama King calling me! He should be the one in trouble, not me."

I whirled around in a masterful demonstration of rage. "Both of you, OUTSIDE. NOW."

They argued and I insisted; once outside, I kept yelling at them as I handed them previously prepared passes to the office, where they were going to wait for five minutes and then come back, and individual packets of eye drops (just saline) to use as fake tears.

We had one hiccup - right after I sent them and pretended to call, I turned around and my AP was in the doorway. "I was walking by and heard," she said. "Want to fill me in before I go deal with them?"

So we went out in the hall and I frantically whispered that this was a prank we were pulling and that they weren't actually in trouble, to which she chuckled and said she loved it. Apparently when she got to the office, she pranked them by shouting at them to get to her office right away....at which point, she then said that we were all really good actors and good job.

They came back a few minutes later, "tears" dripping. I asked if they were just back; they said no, that they'd be suspended for either three or five days, the office was just deciding. I said maybe next time they'd remember that there were consequences to actions. We went back out in the hall to congratulate ourselves and then came back in and shouted in unison, "April Fools'!"

Second block was simpler. After we got through the fake test hilarity, a kid asked me, "Ms. Teachin', was that you I saw on the news last night winning the lottery?"

I sighed exasperatedly. "Well, I wasn't going to tell you all yet...but since he brought it up, next Friday is going to be my last day."

Gasps of shock and a few "oh no!"s.

"Yeah. I won the lottery, and I'm going to travel around the world on a hot air balloon."

General cries of whats and reallys and why a hot air balloons and are you going to buy me somethings rang out.

I kept going for another minute until I couldn't keep a straight face anymore, at which point one of my girls said, "Wait.....April Fool?" And I laughed and 'fessed up.

I forgot to do my second prank third block (I was going to say they'd apparently been so bad at lunch yesterday that they weren't allowed to go to the lunchroom and were going to have eat in my room for a week, writing a daily essay about appropriate behavior in different parts of the school), but maybe I'll add it in tomorrow.....

I didn't get pranked much by kids - Brilliant One did tell me that Drama King was absent at first and my face fell, till he April Fools'ed me. And then one other thing that damn well better be a prank: Sweet Child o' Mine told me he was going to be a dad.

"Haha April Fools'," I said.

"No, really, Miss, I am."

"HA HA APRIL FOOLS'," I replied.

"Well, she's not sure yet, but she thinks she is," he amended.

"HAHAHAHAHA APRIL FOOLS'," I kept insisting.

He never admitted to the joke but his best friend did whisper to me that it was one, so I REALLY hope that's true. I did tell them, though, that if it is true, he needs to start reading to the baby right away because research shows it's the best way to get the kid started right. May as well push some of my reading philosophies when I can, right? All the boys in my room found that very interesting, so maybe they'll remember that for what better be way in the future.

Now I have to start planning for next year!

(Image credit to Mykl Roventine)

"Can't I get it NOW????"

We're in the throes of our state tests right now; days and days and days of them. After kids finish each test, the only thing they can do (other than sit or sleep) is read. While some of them do just want to sit, most pull out their books as soon as they're done and dive right in.

Yesterday, the Chowhound came running into my room between his first and second blocks. I don't have him till third so I asked him what was up.

"Oh, I finished my book during the test so I need the next one." (He's reading the Bluford High series - so great for reluctant readers!)

"Okaaaaaaay....but I'll see you in half an hour [shortened classes for testing]. Can't you get it then?"

He stammered, "But - but - but we're not doing anything in math today, just having free time, and I want to keep reading! Can't I get it NOW????"

"Of course you can, calm down, it'll be fine!" We found the book and I wrote him a pass so he wouldn't be late.

A choice of free time or reading, and he chose reading.

God, I love my job.

(Image credit to luis de bethancourt)

(Lack of) Anger in the Classroom V

A while back, I wrote about how one of my biggest challenges as a teacher is my anger. Getting frustrated with student behavior or performance, and just....losing it. And how one of my primary goals this year was to reduce my level of anger, because, y'know, it's really not a good thing.

I posted a few times about how I was doing with the situation - up and down for the most part. And then I kinda forgot about it. Well, not about the issue, per se. I forgot about the posting updates. Life. It gets busy. You know how it goes.

But last week my trimester ended. And one of the things I do when trimesters end is have students complete an evaluation.

It's not long, just 12 sentence starters, based off this form. Specifically, students finish the following, based off my class:

I am awesome at...
I need more practice with...
One thing I had trouble with was...because...
One thing I enjoyed was...because...
One thing I didn't enjoy was...because...
I wish we could have...
In the rest of the year, I would like to...
Ms. Teachin' did a good job with...
Ms. Teachin' could have done better with...
I feel Ms. Teachin' cares about me as a person and a student when...
I feel Ms. Teachin' does NOT care about me as a person and a student when...
(Optional) Anything else to add?

It helps me figure out what's going well, what's not, what I've taught thoroughly, what I need to reteach, what I need to keep, what I need to change. I always give kids the option of filling them out anonymously, and about half of them do, though honestly I always know who wrote each (I'm weirdly good at handwriting recognition. It's odd. I don't know).

I emphasize that I really want them to tell the truth because it matters to me and I use the information to drive my instruction, and they do. They're generally remarkably honest, sometimes depressingly so, but either way, helpful.

Tonight I read the evaluations. And again, they were remarkably honest, occasionally depressingly so, but always helpful.

I definitely have some things to work on (talking too quickly, explaining vocabulary thoroughly, assuming kids get stuff when they're still confused), though a few I don't know how to deal with (like adding more reading time, which about a third of my kids mentioned as something they would like more of. We have 20 minutes of independent reading every day already. The only way to add more time would be to cut the readaloud, but about a third of the kids listed that as the thing they enjoyed most, so......?)

But a few....a few made me cry.

One thing I had trouble with was reading because I hated reading. One thing I enjoyed was reading because I like reading now. (Oh, I'm so proud of him.)

Ms. Teachin' did a good job with...
explaining things and being helpful.

Ms. Teachin' could have done better with...
she did a good job at everything.
Don't gotta answer for this one.

I feel Ms. Teachin' cares about me as a person and a student when she....
takes time to help me when I'm stuck.
tells me that I need to do something better [I LOVE that this kid recognizes this!]
doesn't raid my fridge [okay, honestly, that one just made me laugh]

Anything else to add?
Your [sic] cool.
I like this class better than what I had for reading and writing before.
You rock.

And the one that really made me lose it, from a student that I got for the first time at our midyear change (I'm welling up again just typing it)....
Ms. Teachin' is the first teacher that I know that doesn't scream.

I'm getting better. Got a ways to go still....but I'm getting better.

(Image credit to StickBus)

Wow.

A student told me I'm her role model. She wants to be a teacher because of me.

I was speechless.

I still am.

Best note ever.

Yesterday in class, about five minutes before the end of the period, one of my boys (Drama King) very blatantly pulled out a piece of paper and started scribbling on it. He passed it to his neighbor, who dramatically scrawled back. Et cetera.

I ignored. I figured they were writing something ridiculous - something about liking pizza, or the Superbowl, or any number of other dumb things that 8th grade boys can write about. Didn't need to get involved. Until.

At the end of class, Drama King "accidentally" threw the note on the ground in front of me. "Oh no! I hope Ms. Teachin' doesn't notice our note!" he cracked.

"Seriously," Brilliant One, his partner-in-crime, agreed. "I really hope she doesn't pick it up and read it. That would be terrible."

"Yeah, way embarrassing. Boy, I hope she doesn't get it."

They were trying so hard; I had to play my part. So I picked up the note and read.

Drama King: Ms. Teachin' is a great teacher!

Brilliant One: I know! She's like one of the best teachers I've ever had!

Drama King: Me too! She's awesome!

Brilliant One: I'm so glad she's my teacher.

I kind of died. Because how cute is that?

Y'all, I know I say this, like, all the time.

But seriously?

We have the best damn jobs in the world.

(Image credit to parislemon)