Thanksgiving

Room 10 as well as the other 3 first grade classrooms had a Thanksgiving potluck last Tuesday. It was awesome, to say the least. I was surprised that so many parents brought items to share. Not that the parents at my ST school are more (or less) non-participatory than your typical school, but we ARE Title I, and 99.9% of these kids are on a free/reduced price lunch program. I personally would have changed it to only one class (or pair up with another class) for the potluck. Then the parents would only have had to make enough for 20-40 rather than 80+.

But they did, and the teachers supplied pizza, and the kids were So. Very. Full. After lunch it was chaos. One of my students had to just put his head down for awhile.

All the first graders made this "Albuquerque the Turkey" placemat, tracing their hands on construction paper and glueing beaks and waddles to the thing. They turned out rather cute, and I'll make a note to take a photo of one of the absent student's placemat tomorrow and post later.

Everything they did that day had a turkey theme: from the math facts, to a connect the dot activity sheet, to a story book. Hopefully, they will be turkey-ed out and we won't have to mention them for another year.

Sunday seems to be a good day to post. Except for last Sunday, I've been pretty consistent about it for several weeks now. So let's make Sunday my posting day. I'll try to up it to twice a week, but no promises. Which is sad, because there is so much I want to make a note of and comment on. I've learned so much this past semester.

Just say no!

A couple weeks ago (actually, closer to a month ago) was Red Ribbon Week. What I remember of RRW from my own elementary school years consisted of drug sniffing dogs showing off their skills, various competitions among classes for a pizza party, and copious amounts of thin plastic red ribbon tied to the fences, randomly or by design.

Considering that, RRW hasn't really changed all that much. Here's a breakdown of the activities my school participated in:

Monday - start of RRW; pass out those awful, scratchy, "red" but really orange, plastic bracelets that I always was relieved to take off at the end of the week; assembly by a puppeteer/magician with catch phrase "Too smart to start!"; beginning of prize give away at lunch time for students who have their plastic bracelets (each bracelet has a number on it)

Tuesday - nothing related to RRW (except the lunch time give away) because yesterday's assembly was so freaking long that teachers spend all of today catching up on academics.

(I'm not at my student teaching school after Tuesday of each week, but they informed me about it anyway)

Wednesday - students spend some class time working on "Too smart to start!" themed activities; depending on grade level, these activities ranged from drawing pictures of different ways to be "Too smart to start" through the physical, emotional, psychological, and economical effect of drugs.

Thursday - another long-ass assembly, this time a presentation from the local police force, sans drug sniffing dogs (boo, the dogs are cool); murmurs throughout teacher population of doing away with RRW in lieu for teaching actual content; the smarter, more savy, and thus better teachers breathe a sigh of relief (or a smirk of arrogance, depending on the personality of the teacher) for planning ahead and integrating RRW themes into academic content.

Friday - last day of RRW!; competitions in K-3 and 4-6 categories of who drew the best pictures/wrote the best essays about being "Too smart to start!" judged and prizes handed out; the entire school population can finally cut off those plastic bracelets and feel the blood circulate through that hand again.

The funny thing is, most kids at this school probably have more first hand experience with seeing the effects of drugs than any of their upper-middle-class, mainly white teachers. I saw some of the drawings they did; a blind person would have been able to detect the fakeness in some of those illustrations.

Which leads me to ask: are we really teaching students to say no to drugs, or are they the ones playing along, pacifying the adults? Who, for many inner city students, is the sole steady grown-up role model they have and thus want to impress. Because these are the people, maybe the only people, who have higher aspirations for them. Who view through jaded-but-still-rose-colored glasses, hoping that their students will reach that full-ride scholarship to a prestigious 4-year university, unscathed by the environment they live in. Most of these students know, at the bottom of their hearts, parts that they don't even know they have, that statistics are against them, as is practically everything else on the face of the planet.

But they still pop out with pat answers, play acting the dream for the adults who care so much for them and wish them so much better, because these kids know what it feels like to be disappointed.

Wow, I didn't mean to make this entry so angst-filled. On a brighter note, the essays by the older grades were less contrived. A few were quite good. Maybe it's just the natural tendency for younger students to please their teachers that make them do the fake-answer thing. I hope so.

A note on behavior management

This past week made me want to pull out my hair. What is with all the chatter? Is this how people grow up to be obnoxiously loud, especially on their cell phones?

I know I am WAY too lenient. I personally don't really give a damn if people are chattering and not listening to me during daily conversations. Their rudeness is their own problem, not mine, and if they have no desire to listen, well, I have no desire to speak to them.

However, obvious differences in a classroom environment makes me need to care. Students are not going to learn much if they are forever chattering away in personal conversations. Thus, the following will be implemented in strict order, with no exceptions, from now on. And if the Ss start to dislike me, so be it. I am there to teach them something, not be their friend. Or their mother. Which is a whole different issue entirely and, as always, deserves to stand on it's own at another time.

Anyway, my hiearchy of behavior management, moving up the steps if the previous doesn't work:

ONE nonverbal intervention
ONE verbal intervention, consisting of a warning to the next step if they don't shape up
ONE move to an isolation from the group (if at the carpet), or closer to me (if at grouped desks)
ONE phone call home
Ejection from classroom lasting no longer than 15-20 minutes
Principal time; which usually means some form of suspension/detention

Time wasted continues to be taken from recess.

I've done nearly all of these things up to isolating the student from the group. Which usually works and thus no more interventions are necessary. But I have trouble with the ONE of each level. Usually I give them so many second chances to prove themselves, the message being delivered now is that "the consequences to misbehavior are negligible."

But no more Teacher Nice. They will already have a second/third chance with the nonverbal and verbal warnings. It's time to stop babying them and put the responsibility of their behavior (thus the consequences too) on their own shoulders.

$$$$$ vs. $

My CT recently asked me why I prefer working at Title I, or equivalent, schools. I gave her a very impassioned and strong answer - something I haven't been doing for a while now (being impassioned, I mean). When I got home, I wondered why (haven't I been more impassioned lately, that is).

Hmm, maybe not being able to communicate in any coherent way plays a factor. The fact that a lot of theories is being shoved down my gullet right now doesn't help with developing my own opinions very much. Lack of reflection time.

Anyway, Title I schools are awesome. I know most teachers flee to the 'burbs - if they haven't quit already - because of better pay/benefits/local environment and students who don't live as tough a life as inner city kids. But these schools deserve a lot more than what they get. There is just as much talent, if not more, here. There is ambition, intelligence, hard work, and yes, even fun here.

Most of all, the vibe of Title I schools feels so much more comfortable to me. Many students spend the majority of their time at school. They get fed here, they play here, they see friends here, they come into contact with responsible adults who care about their well-being and provide the structure that they need.

Not that all these things don't happen at home sometimes. It's just other times, it doesn't happen at all. Reality bites, even for 7 year olds.

School is where they come into contact with books, stories, problems that they can solve, the social circles that are important to them, and a wider world they may not be able to see from home. These schools are more home-like, sometimes, than their homes. School is where they get flu shots, eye exams, hearing exams. Schools are the first level of detection for CPS, health issues, psychological needs. Some Title I schools open the campus for food drives, as storm shelters, or clothing drives.

Non-Title I schools, or at least the ones I've taught at, are...well...not home-like. At least not to me. The students in these schools have support elsewhere, so school life is not as important to them. They have computers at home, so it's not such a cool thing to use them at school. They have books at home, so getting them at school isn't a novelty. They have friends, responsible adults (although, again, sometimes not), social circles outside of school. Thus school is less a place of community, more like a bunch of buildings that they have to spend 6 hours a day in.

Frankly, the attitudes I see in non-Title I schools are much more intense. Not just about academics, but also about diversity. Students and staff alike.

Now, not all Title I schools are communities, and not all non-Title I schools are arrogant stuck-ups. It's just the tendencies I see. Most of all, I like Title I schools because these kids need me, in all my noobie-student-teacher-mistake-making-insufficient-management-handling glory.

And it's always nice to be needed.

Saturdays = Laze

I can't seem to tear myself away from the intarweb this morning and despite waking up at 7-freaking-AM for no apparent reason, I've yet to do much more than brush my teeth, wash my face, and eat breakfast.

Thus a to-do list! Crossing stuff off a list always motivates me to work, so here goes:

1. Fold laundry.
2. Write LP's for Monday and Tuesday. Send to my CT. - afternoon was MUCH more productive. The nachos didn't hurt either.
3. Prep tomorrow's Sunday school.
4. Write reflection on performance eval. Print.
5. Re-write/revise classroom philosophy paper. Print.
6. Clean bath. Get rid of ants! Seriously, where do they come from anyway?
7. Exercise: yoga and/or bike.
8. Read and write notes for math.
9. 4 hour nap - yeah, today's kinda a failure...let's see what the afternoon brings.


I'll probably add more, besides crossing off, as the day goes.

Teaching Prop. 8

First, this entry is NOT about same sex marriage in the sense of "should people of the same sex be allowed legally recognized marriages." This entry is about the misleading campaign against Prop. 8, specifically concerning "if Prop. 8 passes then public schools will be required to teach about gay marriage."

Let's make this clear: Prop. 8 in no way mandates anything about teaching gay marriage or public education. Look it up here or in your own snail-mail copy of the voter guide. It is what it is so let's not drag public education policy into it please. Believe me, the US educational policy has WAY more crap going on than having some political group loading it up with more false info.

Still, people believe those commercials are true! I've gotten some emails and seen some blog entries by educators who actually think they will have to teach gay marriage in their classroom.

Seriously? Use your common sense! Or, if you are lacking in the common sense department, continue reading the following.

Why US schools will never teach about gay marriage

1. Because the phrase "same sex marriage" is pretty self-explanatory. What on earth is there to teach about?

2. Have you even seen the boat loads of academic content standards CA students have to know by the end of each grade level?? Assuming there is something to teach about gay marriage, what teacher in their right mind would even spend the time in teaching it when across the nation a good 60-70% of American students are failing standardized tests?

3. Because the cons are mostly based on religious ideology and, well, we've already been there and done that when it comes to the debate about teaching religion in public primary/secondary schools.

4. Did I mention Good Lord There Are Already WAY Too Many Things To Cram Into A School Year And You Want Me To Teach A Topic 90% Of My Students Know More About Than I Do Are You Kidding Me I Am Quitting The Education Field For The Private Sector Damn It!

Side note: Ok, so I may be wrong about #1. Despite our nation's over-active, over-suppressed sexual imaginations, most people only have a very vague, or contorted, idea of what same sex sex is, physiologically speaking. Don't believe me? Ask someone what they think happens when people of the same sex do the monkey dance. More likely than not, the scene that pops out of their mouths from their heads resembles more like low-budget porn. What if they say they don't know? Just keep asking, they'll come up with something.

5. Frankly, I would have enough trouble teaching regular sex ed to 4th graders - The giggles! The snickering! Disbanding the many myths that a lot of students already hold! - that I would not even go there. I think my students' heads would explode. If not from hormonal build-up, then from the hilariousness of being forced to learn about sex from a person whom will probably experience the real thing much later than they do.

Side note 2: Teaching about social rights falls under a completely different category. If I am talking to a 5th grade class about America's slave trade and the wrongs of that period then extrapolating it to modern day injustices, and a kid mentions prejudices against the GLT community, then I can guarantee that I will not gloss over those facts. There are wrongs in this world. There are sad things that really should not be so starkly real, but yet, here we are. Will I put pressure and stress on students for having different opinions, or for having parents who check the "my student will go to study hall during this controversial lesson" box in the academic waiver forms? No, of course not. But neither will I teach something that is not a fact.

The moral of this entry is: do your homework before you vote! And, sometimes, people will lie and twist words in order to promote their own agendas.

But then, we've known that since kindergarten.

Activity of the week: poetry scaffolds

From Dr. N.L.C., professor of Language and Literacy at CSUS:


Use poetry scaffolds as a "starter" to familiarize students with writing different forms of poetry. Scaffolds are meant to be used through the following main steps (add more as necessary for age/academic level):

1. Show/read examples and discuss the characteristics of each scaffold.
2. Brainstorm words/phrases to fill-in-the-blanks.
3. As a whole class, complete one poem.
4. In pairs, students complete another poem.
5. Individually, students complete yet another poem. Edit, polish, illustrate, and publish in a class book.


The following is an example of a poetry scaffold:

I Meant To Today

I meant to ____________ today,
But _________.
And __________.
And __________.
I meant to __________ today, but __________ got in my way.


Here is an example of a completed poem using the above scaffold:

I Meant To Have a Good Day Today

I meant to have a good day today,
But I didn't have a good night's sleep.

And my parents continue to wait until a specific calendar day to turn on the heat so I was freezing.
Then my students were being squirrely today.
And I didn't teach my best today.
And I slammed my car door on my hand.
And the person I sold my iPod Touch to nearly two weeks ago still have yet to receive the package; which lead to an anxiety attack about money.
And my mother was in a mood, a loud, obnoxious mood.
And my caffeine wore off.

I meant to have a good day today, but fate got in my way.
- Ms. Ng


As evidenced, students have freedom of thinking outside the box when using poetry scaffolds. Words at the end of the lines do not have to rhyme, the meter can be irregular, and they can add/leave off certain parts to the scaffold. A poem is a "design of words," and that design can be (almost) limitless.

There are lots of poetry scaffolds; teachers always create and share, so a simple Google search will bring up many options.

Most importantly, have fun!

The Jermies

I am officially sick.

To be honest, I’m surprised I’ve lasted this long - first illness of the school year after 6 weeks - especially considering how my immune system has been famously downgraded since my stint in China.

Not that I blame China.

Nope, it’s the germs. The creepy, crawly, microscopic organisms I hadn’t yet built up a firewall against and hence over the course of that year, I got sick a whopping 6 times, each bout lasting 3-4 weeks. Breaking it down, I was sick for a nearly month every other month I was there. The effects of which I have yet to fully recover. And probably never will until the day my health insurance deems it suitable for me to finally remove my tonsils.

I was hoping it wouldn’t happen on my home turf, but apparently I am no match for kiddie-germs. They have killed me and me is ded. I’m sure those kids would be proud of their achievements.

Note: I’m not a fan of airborne, and recent studies have shown echinacea and zinc tablets don’t really work at all, but ZINC IS DA BOMBASTICFULNESS OF ILLNESS HELPING!!!! Vitamin C apparently still works, but your body can only absorb so much of it at a time, which means it’s a waste if I take a dozen Halls drops at 200% DV of vitamin C. I’ll probably still do it though. Just because they are addictingly good tasting. Cocaine pushers putting drugs in candy cough drops actually have an effective idea there.

Fortunately, class is suspended for tomorrow. Thanks to the Large Group of Professionals Who Enjoy Gathering Those of the Same Professionals Together, my professors will be in Tahoe conferencing it up.

And I will be in bed, staving off the return of the King of Phlegm.

Photo from Washington City Paper

Playing dead

I woke up this morning with idea after event after though running through my mind like it was the racing of the bulls, except with faster bulls and only one street.

Hence my breakfast of two Advil and a chocolate bar.

All the stuff that's been going is probably just hitting me now, creating shock and panic and freeze-mode. Right now, I feel for the fainting sheep when confronted with an umbrella that suddenly decides to open and chase after them.



Too many boxes to unpack all at once, too many people + their baggage to take in, too many changes to a schedule, which was really intense, but at least I was ready to follow through (can't say the same for the rest of my cohort-mates). All makes me just want to hid in bed this weekend.

Which is too bad because the weather is glorious - just after a night of rain, clean, fresh, cool, mellow sunshiny with a scattering of fluffy clouds just for fun. Maybe I'll manage a bike ride later.

Maybe.

For the love of language

Sitting outside the classroom, waiting for parent pick up today:

Issac*: Ms. Ng?
Me: Yes?
Issac: Do you speak Spanish?
Me: No.
Issac: Yes?
Me: No. (I shake my head)
Issac: Yes! (he nods vigorously)
Me: (thinks to myself, "Ms. Ng, you cultural dumbnut.") Oh, yes, "no" means no in Spanish.
Issac: Yes! You speak Spanish!
Me: (trying very hard to hold in the side-splitting laugher bubbling up) Si, I speak a little Spanish. Do you?
Issac: (huge grin) Yes!
Me: No?
Issac: (pauses and thinks for a moment - I could almost hear the cogs in his head clicking) Si!!

XD