So that was a while ago....

I don't have a particularly good reason for not posting for so dang long except that I was all caught up in summer fun. And then I was all caught up in back-to-school prep. And now I'm all caught up in teaching again. But at least now I have stuff to write about again that's not just about going to amusement parks and watching baseball games and having drinks on patios and all that other good summer stuff that I hope you partook in fully! Nothing too extensive yet, but I'm sure we'll get there. We always do.

So. New year, new kids (well, a bunch new - and then a bunch that I had two years ago when I taught 6th grade - what will I do after this year when I have to get to know ALL my students and don't have any past relationships with any of them?). Generally it's good - I miss my kids from last year a bunch, but a few have already come to visit and even to help out as I set up my classroom, including the Antagonizer, Drama King, Athleta, and a few others. That's been nice (and was actually really helpful). And I know that at least a few kids did the summer literacy challenge so I've been starting to put together prize packages; I've got to arrange a time to get up to the high school to give them out.

Of my new students, only one is flashing warning lights so far; I have a couple of challenging ones (or so say their histories/reps) but either they're trying to turn over new leaves, or they're still on their honeymoon best behavior. We'll see in a few weeks. :) I do have one boy who wants nothing to do with me or anyone, far as I can tell, so I've got his counselor doing some research (he's new to us this year).

Friday I started my positive parent calls - I made twelve, speaking to about half the parents and leaving messages for the others. Everyone I talked to was delighted, and one mother said I'd made her whole weekend. That kinda made mine too.

I do have push-in sped support in one of my classes this year for half of the block; I haven't totally figured out how that's supposed to work yet. As long as it's not as bad as Ricochet's situation with Funsucker, I'm sure I'll manage.

Overall, the year is off to a great start and I can't wait to see where it goes from here! :)

(Image credit to Sally M)

Positive Parent Calls

I started making positive parent phone calls on Thursday.

This was something that one of my professors recommended to me while I was getting my certification, and I really liked the idea. Gives you a chance to touch base with the good before you have to call with the not-so-good, and helps get the parents on your side when you do call with the not-so-good because you've already demonstrated that you're not just looking for a kid to cause trouble. I hear a lot of people do this, but I don't personally know many teachers who do.

Though I did it my first year (it's actually how I originally got the Eyeliner Queen on my side), last year I never got around to it, and I regretted that. So this year I vowed to do it, no matter how busy I am at the beginning of the year.

I got through about fifteen - just a quick call to say, hey, your kid's doing well in my class so far, participating, doing their work, not causing problems. Some were slightly more personalized, but basically the same thing. I made sure I called on a few kids who have histories of being troublemakers, since those parents especially don't hear good stuff much. One, after I was explained why I was calling, said, "Oh, that's great - I was already giving him a dirty look that the school was calling so I'm so glad he's not in trouble again." Everyone I talked to was very pleased, and I left messages with the others.

The next day during my honors class, one of my girls told me that her mom had said to tell me that she'd gotten my message. I asked if she knew why I'd called; she didn't, so I told her. Then a few other kids I'd called started saying things like, "Oh yeah! My mom was so psyched! That was awesome!"

After a minute, a girl I hadn't called yet blurted, "Did you call EVERYONE last night?" No, I said, not everyone. I'd get there, but I hadn't yet. She nodded, but was clearly disappointed she wasn't in the first round.

I'm going to have to spend a few hours this week getting through the rest.

(Photo credit to tj scenes)