Picture Day

Today was picture day at my school and I feel like I have worked a full week (rather than a single day).

While it was nice not having to remind students to tuck in their shirts, or take off their big, dangly earrings, or put on their "school appropriate" footwear, the change from uniforms to personally chosen attire turned both their energy and noise levels up a few notches. Being a science-minded individual, I don't want to jump to conclusions and declare a mere correlation to be a causal relationship ... But I don't think I can take another school-wide dress down/up day!

So much for repeating the data ...

High School Lessons (#2)

If any other high school science teachers out there stumble upon this blog, this post is for you.

(You can thank me later ...)

Lesson #2: Tenth graders LOVE Bill Nye the Science Guy

Being that today is Friday, and we were basically wrapping up our latest chapter in preparation for a test next week anyway, I found a Bill Nye video at the library and decided to use it in class today. Not only would it take up 26 minutes out of my 50 minute period, it would change things up a bit ... My students have been doing a lot of "independent study" lately, which is basically just them reading at their seats and filling in answers on a worksheet.

I have only used a Bill Nye video once at my previous school and, for some unfathomable reason, the age group it targeted (middle school kids) seemed to think it was "dumb" and "stupid." Let's just say that is most definitely not the case with high-schoolers ...

From the second I announced that we'd be watching a video, I was bombarded with: "Is it Bill Nye the Science Guy?!"

This surprised me a little bit (I know that I've always liked Bill Nye but I had no idea he had a teen aged following), but the response to my answer of "yes" was even more unexpected. The cheer that erupted from the room was so loud, you would have thought that I had just given the entire class the next week off! And then, when the video started, all was quiet ... That is, until the theme song started up. There was bopping in the seats, shouts of "Bill! Bill!" in time with the music, and genuine giddiness and laughter as the video progressed. It's almost hard to imagine a student in this age group laughing at something that isn't filled with sexual innuendo, but they were.

They were loving it.

The act of watching this particular video sort of stripped away some of their "I'm-too-cool-for-everything" layers and they began acting like the kids they truly are underneath all those walls and reputations ... It was nice to look around the room and see them entranced by the video, heads propped up on elbows, eyes focused on the TV. It was nice to see kids filling my classroom, not mini-adults as they often pretend to be.

But, ultimately, it was nice to have a little reminder (after a long week) as to why I really do like working with this often volatile, always unpredictable age group.

The Warrior

I was all set to compose a long, rant of a post about why high school students don't really need cell phones (and the drama that inevitably comes with them), when I sat down at the computer and found my husband's notebook laying out ... He is currently taking an online Introductory Education course, a requirement for his degree of choice.

On the top page, written neatly in his cursive handwriting, was a brief note about someone named "Ruby Payne." Having gone through an education curriculum myself as I prepared to become a teacher a couple years ago, I was surprised that I had never heard of her.

Apparently, she said:

"People in poverty have three driving forces: relationships, entertainment, and survival."

Although I'm not teaching at an inner-city school anymore, I am still dealing with a lot of students who live at or near the poverty level, so this statement rings incredibly true for me. If I had to think about it, and categorize all of my day-to-day complaints, they probably would fall under one of those three forces.

Relationships. My students feel the need to talk (or communicate ... Hence the postponed rant about cell phones) to each other constantly. In the halls or during class, to other students or teachers like me, it really doesn't make much difference ... If someone is in earshot of them, they will make their voices heard! While talking about science is always welcome in my classroom, these kids aren't interested in that. They want gossip, stories from friends, or just that personal connection to another human being. I even have a student that, instead of sitting in his seat during study hall, gradually wanders out toward the doorway, presumably to chat with any of his buddies that happen to pass by during that fifty minute period.

Entertainment. Each day, at least one student will ask me: "Are we doing something fun today?" They want to be entertained. Unfortunately for them, our definitions of "fun" are quite often very different ... And they end up bored instead. These kids can't sit still for five, let alone fifty, minutes at a time, so they demand a good performance if they are going to behave like decent human beings. Even though I'm no stranger to the stage (I'm a drama geek through and through), I'm not exactly used to turning flips and using funny voices to keep their attention. It's, sadly, not uncommon to "lose them" to talking (see Relationships) every now and then. I'm pretty adaptable, so I've found that visual things (like demonstrations, hand gestures, my pacing around the room like a caged tiger) tend to hold their attention more than if I just speak to them from the front of the class. One of these days I should throw myself across the floor to keep things interesting ...

Survival. As much as it pains me to say it, many of my students do not care about science (or school for that matter). It just doesn't apply to them. It doesn't hold any value ... They don't think they are going to college, anyway. Students are simply there in their seats because they have to be. They don't participate. They don't review or study. Rather than try to excel (or, oftentimes, just try), they simply get through the day with as little effort as possible, so that they can go home and move on with their lives. This perceived misuse of their time and talent breeds apathy, and apathy often results in missing work ... Even work that is done together during class somehow fails to reach my desk.

Thanks to Ms. Payne, I have a better understanding as to why my students do the things they do. On some level, they can't help it. It is a part of who they are ... But that doesn't make things any less troubling.

Being a teacher and trying to inspire a generation of kids that think completely differently than yourself is, at best, an uphill battle. Some days I am up to the challenge ... Others, I just don't think that I'm strong enough to even make a dent in the front lines.

Fruits of Fall

This weekend, my husband and I spent the afternoon at a local apple orchard for its annual "Johnny Appleseed Festival." Both of us have always loved the fall season and everything that it brings, so little "excuses" to go out (like this festival) are a welcome thing for self-proclaimed homebodies like us.

It didn't hurt that it was an absolutely gorgeous day ... Blue sky, bright sun, crisp autumn air ... All the things that fall should be.

Anyway, as we spent our time wandering through the outdoor crafting booths, sampling food, and picking some fresh apples (like the ones shown above ... yum!) to take home, we couldn't help but muse over how nice it would be to do something like this "as a family" one day.

Yes, we are our own little family (complete with two, lazy cats), but it was all too easy to smile and nudge each other as we watched the little glimpses of our would-be future unfold around us ... Young couples pushing strollers, fathers escorting their pig-tailed daughters through hay mazes, mothers chasing their wobbly-legged toddlers as they took off down the hillside ...

I don't think I'm the only one thinking about babies now.

(I knew he'd come around!)

High School Lessons (#1)

I've been back at school for a full month, and I've been meaning to post a new "lesson" for some time now. Unfortunately, inspiration (and a moment to myself and my thoughts) has been in short supply.

In thinking of something to get this particular type of post started again, one exchange between myself and an Earth Science student stuck out in my mind.

Lesson #1: The more things change, the more they stay the same

While helping students with group work one day, a student (out of the blue) looked at me and said: "You think we're crazy, don't you?"

Puzzled, I walked over to her. "Why would you say that?" I asked.

"You just have this look on your face sometimes," she replied with a shrug.

This got me to thinking. First of all, it's not a good thing that my face has already given my thoughts away, and second, I find my students and their odd behaviors to be amusing rather than crazy ... Most of the time, anyway.

I guess it's just that these kids (all too often) remind me of me and my high school experience. Even though it's just over ten years from the time that I was in their position, things are almost exactly the same as I remember them. While the high school isn't composed of all-girls (as I was used to), the similarities are staggering.

I see the same cliques ... The smart kids, the slackers, the sports stars, the drama geeks , the musicians, the popular crowd ... There are the same complaints about uniforms, the distance between classes and lockers, the food being served for lunch, the length of the school day, and the amount of homework that is being assigned. There are the same clubs and activities, and there is a buzz of excitement at the mention of school dances. I've even noticed that there are the same types of teachers ... The strict ones, the goofy ones, the understanding ones, the scary ones, and even the ones that don't seem to "get it."

Yes, many of the dynamics that I remember are alive and well, only I'm looking at them from the opposite direction. On one hand, I feel extremely tired and just plain old being around these teenagers. On the other, the end of the day causes my own high school memories to come flooding back ...

And, if I turned out to be a well-adjusted, productive adult, there is hope for each one of my students!

Insert Evil Laughter Here

Today was a big day in my life as a teacher ...

I wrote out my first disciplinary referrals at my new school!

When you have two students using your markers as flying weapons of death, the decision is practically made for you ... In fact, sometimes, in the dull existence of an educator, that is just the thing to really get your day going.

I guess (on some level) I must enjoy it, because, at my previous school, I actually had a student tell me that the only reason I became a teacher was so that I could "give him detentions."

Well, no, not exactly ... But that thought really is an interesting one, isn't it?

The Occassional Gardener

During the summer, I would go so far as to say that I hate (hate hate) working in the garden.

The following are among my list of complaints:

• It's too hot and I hate sweating.
• I don't want other people to see me squatting down or bending over in my "work shorts" (which may or may not be a little too short).
• The dirt gets in my fingernails (which really aren't that long to begin with) and remains there all day no matter how many times I wash my hands.
• There are bees and other bugs that dive-bomb me.
• It's a pain to keep unwinding and winding the hose, and attaching and detaching the sprinkler.
• The next door neighbor's cat often leaves little poopy "presents" for me, that I loathe cleaning up ... It's not my cat!
• The plants always look dead anyway (I wonder why!?) so I don't ever feel like I've accomplished anything.

While I could go on and on and really mean each one of them, all of these things seem to change the moment September rolls around. For some reason, after that point, all I want to do is dedicate my time to gardening. For instance, last weekend I planted flowers ... Perennials, new and old, were split, plucked, moved, and replanted throughout my front and back yards. Then, last night, I actually took the initiative and mowed the front yard, something I usually pawn off on my husband.

I don't know what it is about the fall ...

Maybe it's because the summer heat is fading and everything, for once, looks green and healthy and vibrant. Maybe it's because I like the idea of having a "fresh start," a time each year where the problems of the past are erased and whatever I do now can actually impact next year's appearance. Maybe it's because I want an excuse from grading papers.

Whatever it is, I wish I had this type of motivation all year round!

Playing Favorites

Students just love to tell you that you are their all-time favorite teacher. While this sentiment does make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I have learned to take it with a grain of salt.

Case in point:

As I was circulating around the room today, helping students with the independent study assignment (basically reading the chapter and answering questions on a worksheet) that they were working on, one of the boys waved me over with a question.

After we solved his problem, he smiled up at me and said, "You know? You are my favorite teacher this year."

Thanking him (and reminding him to keep working ... Flattery does not exempt you from finishing the classwork assignment), I turned to go on with my circulating when I heard a friend of his whisper, "That's what you said to Miss P. in English last period."

At least I'm in the top two. :)

Stratocumulus

You know that fall is absolutely around the corner when you wake up to gray skies and rain and leave work to blue skies and sun.

I could sit around and look at the clouds all day ... Besides, it's good practice for when I need to teach this stuff to my Earth Science students.

Getting Older

My students have gotten over their "first week jitters" and are now more comfortable with talking to me. Before one of my classes began yesterday, one of my girls was curious as to how old I was.

"How old do you think I am?" I asked, instead of giving up the goods.

It's always interesting to play this little game. Sometimes you're pleasantly surprised by what a teenager thinks ... Other times, not so much ...

She looked at me, wrinkled her button nose, and thought for a minute. "I'd say you're about twenty," was her eventual reply.

Twenty! :)

I was still in college at twenty.

I doubt she really took the time to do the math ... But it made my day nonetheless!

(Especially since I'll be turning twenty-six tomorrow.)

Balancing Act

I find that, as a teacher, I must walk a fine line between being either a "friend" or an "authority figure" to my students. No matter how hard I try, it seems that one designation wins out over the other and, ultimately, complicates the year.

During my first year of teaching (with 5-8th graders) I fell into playing the "friend" role and was promptly squashed. I found that, in my urban situation, it just didn't work for the younger kids. They just didn't seem to understand the concept of getting respect by giving respect ... They expected to be treated fairly with no regard for how they treated me. Which, to their credit, was probably a familiar way of life to them ... I can only imagine how things were run at home. So, I resigned to let the year be as it was and I told myself that when I found a new job and got a fresh start, I would begin from scratch and make sure that I demanded the respect of my students ... Even if it meant that I had to be "unfriendly" sometimes.

Ha! Let's just say that's much easier said than done ...

Within the first two days of school this year, I had a student (we'll call her *Natasha) tell me that I was her favorite teacher ... Within two days! Natasha is in my final and largest class of the day, an Earth Science class. By seventh period, these students are bursting at the seams, ready to go home and begin their afternoon of freedom ... So, although their behavior is an improvement from the horrors of last year, they are far from "good" for the entire fifty minutes. Natasha is definitely among the talkers, but she follows directions when I ask and genuinely seems to want to do well in my class and hold up her end of the "respect bargain."

Then, there is *Katie from my earlier Earth Science class. She gives me "high fives" in the hallway and talks to me about her "crazy Polish family" during study hall. She, unlike Natasha, listens in class and just seems to want that closer connection, which is fair, since she is part of a small school environment. Who am I to deny her that?

I have always felt that being a teacher requires knowing your students and their individual needs and forming some sort of bond with them ... And my favorite teachers were the ones who did just that ...

Even so, I am tormented by the fact that I've begun to squander my "fresh start." I can see it slowly slipping through my fingers. I'm quickly taking on that "friend" role and becoming the teacher that everyone likes ... Which can be fine, but, do they respect me? It really only takes a couple occasions to establish that authority role, to show them that you are serious and mean business ... So my year is not too far gone if I wish to change the way my classroom is run.

It is just so incredibly hard to strike that balance!

(Again, names have been changed ... and will continue to be ... so that a mere google search will not unveil my secret identity)

Mid-week Exhaustion

I was looking through my photos from the summer the other day and I came across the album I put together after my husband and I spent a day at the local zoo.

This one seems to sum up how I'm feeling right about now:


That little creature is a rock hyrax (evolutionary cousin of the elephant, if you can believe it). Much like myself after a full day of teaching, it has collapsed in its tracks, completely tired and dehydrated from the heat of the afternoon.

I can't wait for "fall weather" to finally head our way. Days that reach upwards of 85 degrees in the beginning of September are no picnic ... Especially in a stuffy, non-air conditioned classroom where air flow is nonexistent.