Happy Happy Day

I might have a job next year! Yay! They're looking at needing a new 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade teacher for next year. Hopefully enrollment stays high so that this can actually happen. I would love it so much! As many problems as I have had, I can look back and realize ti was just my first year. I know better now. I can do better.

And if I can stay here, I'll have all my experience to draw upon! Yay! Yay!! Yay!!!

I'm trying to write a short article for Project PLN talking about my first year. I hope it goes well.

Kids are crazy. It's the end of the year. I'd feel bad except all of the fourth graders have senioritis (our school ends at 4th grade). AIMS is over so they feel like they're done. They don't realize there's a lot left to talk about!!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better. I'm trying to decide if I should give Ms. Popular the second incident report. I think I might not.

SUPER TEACHER

Okay, so I'm not a super teacher. I have found some tools that a super teacher would use though!

http://www.superteachertools.com/

This is an awesome website full of Flash Games that all us teachers have to do is input questions! Make this a homework assignment and the kids can create your questions for you. It's fool proof!

I love the Millionaire Game. And we used Hangman today to uncover a definition.

Pencil Sharpeners

Let's talk about one of those small little annoyances of being a teacher. I'm not talking about teaching, or management, or anything even remotely seemingly attached to school.

I'm talking about a pencil sharpener. I've gone through two this year, with a month or so lapse where we didn't have one at all. My second one just died, this time I made sure to KEEP my receipt so I can try to get a refund. The blades are still nice and sharp, they just aren't turning any more to grind down the pencils.

How much money do you spend every year on pencil sharpeners?

Oh I can't wait for the day when everything is computerized... I'll throw away ALL the pencils, have the kids do quick-work in pen and everything else typed. Yippie!

State Standardized Lessons

Our first day of State Standardized tests is over. I'm not at all sure how well the kids did, considering that on the sample question most of the kids didn't do very well. (Personally, sample questions should be super easy.) However, they didn't think it was very hard so we'll go from there.

Tomorrow is reading. They need to slow down. They need to go back and check. 99.9% of them don't ever go back and reread. I talk till I'm blue in the face and they still won't go back. I wish that the story was reprinted after every single question and would show up line by line to FORCE the kids to actually LOOK BACK. But oh well.

And math. Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear.

I'm going to be happy when AIMS is OVER.

It's okay.

I've been really upset the last two days. I don't know why, other than the stress of AIMS.

Had a long talk last night, got upset, cried, read a book and got over it. Today I came to school less happy, but was able to be more productive. But... crap. I forgot to do syllables. Oh well...

It was a lot more successful today. We go through what I wanted us to get through. Solved some seriously difficult math problems.

Still running into the same problem with x and division. Had one girl fail the test again today, stay in at specials and be able to do every single problem I posed to her without a single bit of effort. She actually solved more in that time then I did because I spent some time helping the 2 other students there. She knows how to do it, just... isn't bringing it. In her words, "I just get so excited that I forget how to do it."

Oh dear.

Upset in Arizona.

I feel so terrible right now. I broke down on one of my fellow teachers, crying and upset.

This is the situation:
AIMS starts next Tuesday. NEXT TUESDAY. I've been working hard on multiplication and Division. Get them to know it, to own it. Half of them use the traditional algorithm. The other half use the extended algorithm. I prefer the second because I can catch my errors better (which is better for the kids.) I gave a quiz today and 3/4 couldn't get 2/2 multiplication problems correct.

This scared me, badly. After school I asked the teacher in the room next to me for advice. He did give it, but in the middle I just fell appart. I started crying and couldn't get a hold of myself, threw the pile of quizzes onto the floor and just... ouch. If I had been one of my kids I'd have sent myself out to the hallway to calm down. But Professionals don't leave the person that you asked to help you so you can calm down. You just do it. And I did eventually put myself back together, but now I have a sick stomach and am crying even harder because I repressed it.

And now I'm a little ticked off at one of my students. He didn't do his reading group reading and didn't do the assignment. Dad asked that I email when this happened, so I did. He told mom he had done it, so mom was confused and emailed me. I said, "You know, I might have gotten it wrong, I know he didn't write it but I'll ask if he had read it." Asked the child, "Did you read it." Student-"I had a little left to do." Me- "So you didn't finish it." Student- "No." So I wrote back and said, "I talked to him, and he said no, he hadn't finished either." Child went home to mom today and she talked with him. "Did you finish the book?" she says, "Yes, just not the assignment." says he. Email to me from mom, "I'm very confused and want to just let this drop." Me- *fumes*

Lets count up the power that has shifted here.
-1 point from Mom because child now knows she won't keep after him for the truth.
-1 point from Teacher because he thinks that Mom will believe him over the teacher.
+2 points to child who still isn't going to do the assignment and can now lie whenever he wants to to Mom.

ARGHAOIUREALEKJ~! My ideal of every child can learn (maybe not on grade level... but they can learn!) and that every child is good and only taught badly is suffering. BADLY. AREOIAUJGLKAJPERUOIAE. I don't know if I should cry or scream right now.

AIMS

I'm stressed. I'm finally admitting that I'm stressed out over my mind.

I'm not going to be coming back next year unless a miracle happens. I signed a limited contract that said that I was not guarenteeded a job next year. Before anyone gets RIFed, I'll be rifted.

Shoot, server is down. How the heck can I work if I cannot GET to my resources?

*goes away*

It's time to quit.

It is time to quit this profession. I have absolutely lost my love of teaching. I can no longer manage a classroom. I can no longer get students learning. I have failed 110%.

My head hurts so badly right now. And I started the day so happy I could have died from happiness.

Oh! Shoot, how could I forget?

I'm having problems with a child called Spike. He's had numerous interventions placed to help him get himself back on track but nothing is working to improve his behavior. If anything it's getting worse.

While watching conference today I had a thought (I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.) After rebuke there needs to be an increase of love towards the one that has been rebuked. Have I been giving Spike the love that I should after he gets in trouble?

If I can do this maybe it'll make a difference where nothing else has.