School Dreams.

So yesterday two of my good friends and I went down to Ikea to enjoy some Swedish goodness.

We didn't have any meatballs. But we did act like goofballs.

Last weekend I went with Nicole to the salvation army store in town. I got a lamp for 5 dollars. Because it was half off!!! AMAZING! But it didn't have a lamp shade. So when we were in the lighting section Nicole pointed out a very cool lamp shade.



I got this lovely shade and it's very happy sitting on my bedside table.

While we were enjoying a wonderful Mediterranean meal we were talking about school. My friend Jess mentioned that she had a school dream and then I said "watch - now we're all going to have school dreams."

- Sure enough last night I had a dream about school. It was the first day of school but I didn't know what classes I was teaching and was also late getting to work so when I walked in my classroom they kids were already there. It was awful.

I don't have to go back to work until August 9th but I'm already having dreams. This isn't a good sign for my sleep habits.

No Teacher Left Behind

Now I know we have heard of NCLB. But this week it was N-T-LB around my neck of the woods.

178 were on "The List" - this became a curse word around our campus for the last month and a half or so. I was not on "The List" - but a lot of my friends were. 8 in my department alone. And let me tell you - the tone on my campus was "No way - No how" - we were not going to lose any of our amazing, fantastic, stupendous*, down right cool teachers.

So the district and the union 'battled' it out. (They didn't have swords or anything - but that may have been amazing to watch) And to our delight gave us the option to vote early this week. 95% of the teachers in the district voted to keep our 178! And so all is well in the land.

It felt so good to know that our department would stay intact. We will be taking 7 furlough days next year. 3 teacher and 4 student days. That does make me think - now how am I going to teach all of this in 4 less days - but then again, homework isn't always a bad thing.



*I feel like the word stupendous is not used enough. It really is a great word.

Tweet?

To Tweet or Not to Tweet - that is the question.

There are a few teachers out there who tweet. I think that there will be an increasing number as the technology grows and becomes more accessible.

I was talking about Twitter with a few of my students and what they think of this phenomenon. Most of the kids in my Intro to Ed class use twitter - and all of them knew what it was. I asked them what they would think if a teacher used twitter to send reminders about projects and homework. The room exploded with support and suggestions.

The overwhelming consensus was that students (and they said parents too) would love it if their teachers were able to tweet they would 'follow' their teacher.

I'm very interested in this whole experience. And if it gets kids to do their homework, then I'm all over it... maybe

Rant, 4 days left, and Anthony Bourdain

Rawr! I want to know how to vote to save 160+ teachers.

I know that it has to be in a way that is good for everyone and that everyone must be informed. But there are a lot of fears about what will happen if we do lose all of those teachers. That will affect class size - and I can't imagine what it would be like to be in a room of 25 1st graders. How do you try and teach that many kids to read.

But then I try and think back to my own childhood and I wonder how many kids were in my class.

How is making this many teachers stressed out a good thing. I know that the district is trying to do what is best for it's people. That they really want to make decisions that will benefit all students. But all of this drama is driving people crazy.

Tell me how to save my friends. Tell me how to encourage people to save teachers. That's all I really want to know.

Okay - 1 day down 4 to go. Tomorrow should be a blast. If I can hold it together for 1st period. Those kids have been driving me a bit nuts. I just wish they would take what I have to say seriously. Must EVERYTHING be a joke.
I am also a part of Kristine's (shout out) 2012 class Lip Sync tomorrow night. I will be performing MamaMia all by myself. (This is when I secretly start singing All By Myself by Celine Dion) I have to mend the dress I am going to wear. and find some shoes. I really wanted red shoes, but nothing out there called my name.

Oh and you have to check out Molly the Owl my mom told me about it and it's pretty amazing. I showed it to my class today and we were able to watch for about 45 minutes. (This was during my Intro to Education class.) She is a good little momma owl. I have the page up and there are currently 16,000+ people watching the owl. amazing!

And Even though I was feeling pretty spicy when I got home after our 'I'm here to tell you stuff, but I am not going to really tell you stuff' meeting today - I turn on the TV for a little relaxation and there to my utter joy is Anthony Bourdain on the travel channel. So I'm going to try and grade a few papers - enjoy the rest of Tony - mend a dress - and see what Molly is up too.

Spring break - get here now!

zzzzz

The class stops and turns. There are a few students who start to giggle. They turn to look back at me and I am staring at the child who has fallen asleep - his head is down the paper that was supposed to have notes all over it was blank, and I continue to look in hopes that he will feel my eyes sending lasers* into his brain to wake him up.

So he wakes up but when I ask if he had a good little nap he says "I wasn't sleeping - I just dropped my highlighter."

Oh pumpkin. That's a cute little lie and I'm sure you are embarrassed that you fell asleep in class but let's be real for a moment. You were asleep - It's not the first time you fell asleep this week (he continued to catch some zzzzs three different times before the class was over). I feel bad for a split second - but then I think about the fact that I too would love to catch a moment of sleep - Hi who doesn't love a nap. EVERYONE loves a nap. But I can't sleep during class.
-
It makes me remember my first year teaching and the kid who slept every day of class. I think that kid ended my class having a 12%. I don't even begin to understand how that happens. He came to class everyday - he was always at school - but did nothing while he was there.

He sat in the back of the room, and slept. He the first thing he would do is comb out his hair. He had big hair. One day I got mad. I was so amazed that someone would not want the amazing education that I was handing out. So I yelled to the back of the room - Hey WAKE UP - he raised his head and said that he didn't have a pencil so he couldn't do his work. So I got a pencil and tossed it towards the back row. By the time my helpful little pencil had gotten to the back row the child's head was back on the desk and so the pencil lodged itself in his huge hair. He didn't know it - but the rest of the class was laughing so hard that he had to figure out why. That and I freaked out that I might have possibly hurt the kid. No worries - the kid was not harmed.

I know that kids will continue to fall asleep in class and I will continue to try and keep them awake with my amazing teaching skills. Or maybe just my loud voice.

*I don't really have lasers in my eyes - I don't know that I would really want them because I never want to hurt a kid. But maybe if I could move without making a sound so I could just stand there and wait for them to wake up. That would be great.

Is there a prayer for Teachers?

Cause I really really needed one today. I know all about separation of Church and State - and I'm okay with it, it makes my life less complicated.

But I need a silent little moment to myself sometimes. I have a few students who get on my nerves. I know I'm supposed to care for all of them equally, but as it has been written on the wall of the barn, All animals are equal - some are more equal than others. Thank you Animal Farm for teaching me these very important lessons in life.

Today I stopped no less than three times in one class. THREE - where I just needed something to get me through the moment. This is almost how it went down -

Me: So today we are going to begin learning MLA format - this will help you with your research paper we are currently writing.
D: What is MLA
Me: MLA stands for the Modern Language Association - a group of people who work to format citations and other formalities of writing.
D: Why do they do that
Me: So we have a consistent way to format papers and writing.
M: So Wait - do they have MLA in France
Me: I'm sure they have something to help them format papers - but we are not in France so it doesn't really matter.
M: oh...
Me: Moving on -

5 Minutes later

D: Wait - I don't get why we're doing this
Me: Well D we will be using this to help us format our papers
D: what papers?

At this point the whole class begins to roll their eyes.

Me: I'm not answering that question
D to his friend: I don't get it.

I have stopped - closed my eyes - and said a little prayer that I might be able to keep my sanity for another 20 minutes until class ended.

Now I am all for asking questions in a classroom - After all I was the kid who was told to Shut-up after asking what the Brazilians were feeling about Nazis moving to their country post WWII. But this situation today was just too much.

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday - I don't know how much more of that I could take this week.

convince me....

i am trying to get some good ideas for what to have my students write about for their timed persuasive essay they will be writing this coming Thursday and Friday. (We are on block schedule so i don't see my kids every day). They are doing a practice paragraph on if spanking is okay.

i have a wonderful resource through the school library - EBSCO - oh i love it. it's awesome. i can't say enough about it. They have a new tool called opposing viewpoints - they have a list of over 60 topics to pick from and give a 'point' 'counterpoint' and 'overview' of every issue.

the problem is that as i look over the list i see the topics that everyone writes about:
school uniforms, teen driving, teen smoking, bla bla bla.

i don't want the typical topic - but i also don't want something that is going to be too controversial. With sophomores it's kind of hit or miss. Sometimes they can be grown ups about the topic - or then there is the kid who makes a fart joke and can't stop laughing for ten minutes of class.

We are gearing up for the CAHSEE in March and i want them to be ready - this entails covering seven different types of writing. So we are spending about two and half weeks on each format. The next format will be expository writing, then personal narrative.

So my search continues for the perfect prompt. Something that will spark their interest but also be age appropriate. i'll be putting on my thinking cap for this one!

A slip up...

I may have laughed more in this moment more than my students. It was one of those slips that I didn't even think of while I was creating a Jeopardy game to prepare for finals. Check out the template here - So while we were playing this very fun game we came to the vocabulary section.

Students were supposed to give the answer - abated - but it was a fill in the blank question so here is how it looked.

The student ____ the teacher in order to avoid the fact that he was failing the class.

This is how I read it -

The student blanked the teacher.... *laughter and a red face ensued.

Reading this to a classroom full of 30 teenagers was not a good idea. I had to take a moment before we could continue on with the game. It was one of those moments that I will remember for a very long time. And I think I will also go in and change the way the question is written.

There is one of them in all of us

So many things to discuss! Amazing things have been happening.

First - I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to seeing Where the Wild Things Are - this has to be one of my all time favorite books. It makes me remember my childhood, my brother's best friend went as Max one year for Halloween. And for a few years when my school taught Lord of the Flies to sophomores I would start my unit by reading them this piece of literature. It's very important to roar a terrible roar - gnash your terrible teeth - and roll your terrible eyes when there are moments of insanity in life.

I dream of being queen of all the wild things. I would love to have a wild rumpus and then be able to sail back over a year and a through a month and end up where someone loves me most of all. The smell of something delicious is always drawing me back. The familiar life that keeps me happy - yet there is that willingness to have the adventure.

How do we build that in students?

More over - how have I been able to build this in students, in the past I didn't know what effect I had had on these students of mine. I knew that they enjoyed my class - listened to what I had to say but I don't know if I thought that I was changing peoples lives. That is what I set out to do when I became a teacher. It was not for the money (everyone knows that) and it wasn't for the summers off (Although those are nice!) but I really wanted to change the world. I was one of those novice teachers who believed that I could. Well in the last few weeks I have come to find out that I may be adding to the beauty in the world.

I've been teaching a class this year - Intro to Education - and I have a student who is taking it so that she can be like me when she grows up. I feel like I don't even know what to think about this. I never thought that people would say "I want to be like you when I grow up" - I mean I think this is every teachers dream, but I know that not every kid wants to be an English teacher. Heck, Most kids don't even want to be in an English class! So when some shy student tells me that she wants to help people the way that I helped her - I am flabbergasted!

This is a picture of the quote on my door. I see it every day multiple times a day.

I want to be true to it. I want it to be a mantra that I never forget.

When we begin to allow education to be free and honest and true the walls of hatred will break down and beauty and love will flourish.

Today is Gandhi's Birthday. 140 - quite the mile stone. He is a man who wanted to better the world around him - to make his people worthy of support and a voice.

A voice that is now recognized around the world. So much so that people in a sleepy little town like Murrieta get to appreciate his legacy.

So what will be the legacy that is left behind by this generation? Will it be technology - war - peace - hope - destruction - madness - intelligence - beauty. I hope that it is something amazing. Something so profound that I can describe it in words.

And that is what I try to work on everyday in my little world, My Monday to Friday - It's in the little things. The "Have a good weekend, and don't do drugs" farewell that I give to my students. It's in the analysis of Fahrenheit 451 that I have with my Junior classes.

So wild things - I'll keep on keeping on. And I hope you do too.

21st Century Learner

A Blog - Cellphone - Computer - Netbook - Ipod - PowerPoint - Publisher - Excel.

What does it take to become a 21st Century learner? Tomorrow I will be having my Into to Ed kids make a list of all of the things that they think a student needs to know for the next generation. The class is designed to help students think about what happens next in education. We have been learning about how the classrooms of the past were conducted and how much of what happens in classrooms today is the same as it was 10, 2o, and even 30 years ago.

We have technology in our classrooms and all around us but many teachers don't know what to do with it. Heck most days I go back to the tried and true direct instruction. It's because integrating good technology is hard. It can't be thrown in. It shouldn't be used to just to be used but rather to enhance the educational process.

The grant program that I'm working on has the ability to get new netbooks (don't even ask me when they will get to us!!) - and I can't wait to be able to use them with my students. They are always asking when will we do this or that with the technology that got promised to them a while back. I am feeling the same way. I can't wait until I can get my hands on the tech toys that I too want to explore.

My plan for this weekend is to make a webquest... I'll let you know how it goes :)

Can I tend to the Rabbits George?

I am in love with this book. I love teaching it - I love reading it - I love just looking at it. It has been two years since I have been able to teach it because I haven't had sophomores. This year I'm on the 10th grade team again.

George looks after Lennie in a way that all of us can relate too. There is always someone who we feel close to but we don't know why. Someone to protect and shelter from the big bad world.

One of the many reasons why I love teaching it is because it gives my students the opportunity to show empathy. They are not sure why they love the characters at first. At first glance they don't have much in common with two grown men working on a ranch in the 1930's. But as the story unfolds they begin to see the friendship that Lennie and George have built - and they find themselves in the text.

Not to mention that Steinbeck is a beautiful writer! So much so that I read my students the first paragraph and then have them draw what they see. It's a great imagery project and what 15 year old doesn't love to draw. I break out the 'colors' and away we go.

I read with enthusiasm - I do the voices - I whisper when called for - and hoot and holler when the characters do too. This does two things - it keeps me entertained as I read something multiple times during the week (This year I only have two sections of English II) - it also keeps the kids listening to what I'm talking about. They have an easier time keeping the characters straight too.

We are only 30 pages in but I am loving every second that I get to read this amazing novel. It has been banned across the nation and still draws great criticism. It deals with Sexism, Racism, Disability, Profanity, and Murder. That list of topics alone would turn many stomachs - but our district has been brave enough to let us teach it - and I am thankful!

A wild 4 day week.

So first let me start by saying that 8 years ago today - life changed.

Here is where I was in 2001.
Living in Flagstaff - loving college life. I was late for my desk shift early that Tuesday morning. I was supposed to sit at the desk from the hours of 7am to 10am. I ran down stairs and sat reading my book. Then I heard two people walk past me and say "We are all under attack - when will it stop". So I turned on the radio and began to listen. For three hours I could only imagine what was going on. I heard the announcers talk about a plane, and the World Trade Center, and how the towers fell. How it appeared that this was not an accident. So I continued to sit there in awe.

At 10 I went to my Spanish class. The TV was on in the classroom and so I was able to see what had happened. I didn't know how to think. I still don't know what to think. It is an experience that may not ever make sense. My professor told us to go home and call our families - to make sure everyone was okay and that we would progress as normal the next day.

I walked back to my dorm room and noticed that the sky seemed so quiet. Everything was just so quiet.

It's hard to put down in to words what that day was like. Today my students and I discussed the after affects of the 9/11 attacks. It was interesting to hear how they remember the day. These kids were around the age of 8 when this happened. So strange to think about it.

So this week we had Monday off. We did some laundry and got ready for the week.

• Tuesday was back to school night
• Wednesday was a late start and we had to work in our PLC (professional -learning - community) and that didn't go as well as we hoped. There is one person who is "in charge" of us and that person came in and sent us all into a tail spin.
• Thursday was a rally day so the kids were all excited about life - and not so much about learning.
• Today I felt like there was not enough time in the day. That and after lunch I felt ready to go home. I sometimes wonder if there was a way for me to grade papers in my sleep. It would be so nice to just wake up and have a nice little pile of graded essays.

This weekend I need to grade heeps of papers. HEEPS! but I do plan on enjoying time with the hubby and meg the cat - so it should make for a good weekend.

Fire Drills Fire Drills!

So Yesterday about 2:00 (we get out of school at 2:30) I am in the middle of teaching my Intro to Education class. We are having a really great conversation about what helping people is all about - they are about to get out a piece of paper and write their own philosophy of education - and I hear it... the sound is recognizable and I know it's about to hit... The Fire Alarm has gone off.

I teach in a portable building and so our alarms go off about 45 seconds after the rest of the schools. I say to my kids - "where are my keys - grab all of your stuff" - they look at me like they are a bit confused and then the ear splitting sounds begins in my room as well. So I grab my little red clip board - my keys - my M114 sign (we got these last year after an Eagle Scout took it on for his project. Now every classroom has a sign to hold up so students know where their teachers are) - but I neglected to grab my sunglasses. We walk out to the parking lot where we are to wait until the all clear. Then we wait. My students ask me what happens if the drill goes past 2:30 - and I assure them that it's probably just the foods room going a bit over board and we will be back to work momentarily. I was wrong. So wrong. So we continue to sit - and after ten minutes a student runs up to me -

"Mrs. Parsons, I just got a text from my friend and they said that the history department is on fire" -K
"K - I am sure that this is not the case, but there might be a building that's not doing to well" - me
"Oh Mrs. Parsons you know what I mean, wait I just got another text, yeah the air conditioning system is on fire" - K
"Well then, looks like this might take a bit longer than we thought" - me

My brain is thinking, I really hope this isn't true because it's 98 degrees outside and the blacktop is not helping. So we continue to wait... 15 more minutes. The other teachers are now beginning to walk around asking - what do we do if it goes past 2:30 we'll have a riot on our hands, the Friday of a three day weekend. And sure enough as the minutes ticked away, we began to see the natives get restless. They began to move towards the gates and murmur about what was taking so long.

2:30 - no movement
2:31 - nothing
2:32 - adults begin to look at each other and wonder
2:33 - zilch
2:34 - now we are beginning to complain
2:35 - we get the all clear - 3,400 children cheer!

I go back to my classroom and am sad that I lost the last 30 minutes of what was going to be a great lesson. But this is part of the joy of education. So I grabbed my purse, locked my door, and headed out for my own three day weekend. - I also had to take the 60 essays I have to grade too.

After a few hours of being at home I get a call on my cell phone from our fearless leader Mr. D -our Principal. It turns out that there was a problem with an air conditioning unit and sure enough there were some sparks that lead them to evacuate the school. He was sorry for the inconvenience at the end of school but that everyone had handled the situation with "Class, the Bronco way".

My Goodness what a start to a long weekend!