Library

My library is leveled according to Fountas and Pinnell (which most teachers at my school don't do, actually). Since I teach K-8 I have books ranging from A-Z. Of course that means I don't have a huge selection. All of the books that I do have I either got from other teachers who could spare a few or I scrounged some up in the basement. I guess the ESL teach last year didn't have a library?

Word Wall

According to my region it should be "interactive" so if you can see, the sentence strips are sitting in clear pockets (I made them by cutting up and taping together transparencies). On the back of each word there are definitions and example sentences that the kids can refer to. A few times they have actually done this, but most of the words up there they actually don't need to reference that often. It's actually kinds of a challenge for me to have a word wall since I teach K-8 so they all need very different words.

Updated picture of my classroom

More to come . . .

Vacation's over

I am so not ready to go back to school tomorrow! I'm sure once the week gets going it'll be fine, but for now I just can't imagine that tomorrow I have to get up early and go to school.

Vacation Reading

If you are even mildly interested in the Middle East, I recommend checking out this blog by journalist Michael J. Totten. It's a mix of political commentary and travel writing. Easy to read and very insightful.

If you are slightly obsessed with Lebanon as I am, you'll want to start reading from the September 2005 Archives when MJT moves to Beirut.

We found her!

In case you haven't checked the comments over at the Education Wonks Mz. Smlph is alive and well.

I'm here, I'm here! I didn't know I was so sorely missed! The long story short is that my coworkers found my blog, along with the blogs of my two roommates who work in the same school. I received a nasty comment saying that I was racist, immature, and poorly raised. The anonymous commenter, who is not as anonymous as she thinks she is, was upset because I had criticized some of my colleagues (without naming them) and a nearby university (without naming it).

Anyway, I freaked out and had a couple sleepless nights, but things are kind of blowing over now. Even the superintendent knows about my blog, and I'm in no danger of being fired. I took the site COMPLETELY down (after saving everything as a text file), but when I have time, I'll definitely be setting up a new blog home.

Thanks again for your concern. It really means a lot to know you've missed me. You can always reach me by e-mail.
Mz. Smlph

Good to hear. I'll be waiting for her new blog to appear.

Came across this today . . .

Does anyone read this teacher blog? Is it a joke?

My interview

I found out at my interview that they are actually considering me for a senior staff position instead of a resident adviser position. There are two senior staff positions that work as assistants to the director of the Florence program: the Resident Director and the Activities Director. They said that the RAs are usually college Juniors or Seniors and that with my experience and knowledge of Italian and Florence I would be suited for a senior staff position. I was excited to hear that.

They asked a lot of questions about what challenges I thought I would face being responsible for high school students on a five week study abroad. In my application I had said that homesickness would probably be something that students would face and that I would be able to help them with that. In the interview she said that in her experience directing the program in Spain she didn't find that to be a problem at all. What she really wanted to know was how I was going to handle these students who are probably abroad for the first time and in a country where there is no enforced drinking age. (The program has a zero tolerance policy for alcohol). She also wanted to know if I would be able to be firm about rules and possibly have to do unpleasant things like send kids home from the program who broke them. She said we all want to be loved but that isn't the best thing (I immediately thought Machiavelli). I responded with several anecdotes from teaching. Classroom Management 101.

I would leave for the program immediately after school ends in June. My flights, room and board would be covered. The only thing they said about salary was that it depended on the position and experience. I am still wondering if they pay based on a your-lucky-to-be-working-in-Italy-and-therefore-we-don't-pay-that-much attitude or more based on the responsibility of managing five RAs and 50 HS students. I didn't ask because the truth is I will probably accept the job either way so it doesn't really matter.

At the end of the interview they said that they had several people to interview for senior staff positions and would let me know by the end of March. That seems like soooo long. I was so hoping that they would immediately say "You're perfect. You have the job!" (Does that happen often?) And, if they don't choose me for senior staff would they still select me for the original position that I applied?

Now I am nervous. I so want to go. It is going to be really hard to wait over a month to know what I will be doing this summer.

Interview Tomorrow

Tomorrow morining is my interview for the summer resident adviser position in Florence. I'm not even nervous about the interview, I'm just excited to talk about living and studying in Italy.

This isn't the first time that I've thought about working for a study abroad company. When I was an exchange student in Florence and my year was coming to an end, I tried to come up with some schemes to stay in Italy. One of my ideas was to work for a study abroad company. It seemed like the perfect job because it would be a real job in a foreign country (as opposed to working illegally in the leather market, waiting tables or teaching—all things that I have done). At the time I wasn’t able to find any opening that would allow me to stay in Italy and work after my exchange ended.

Since then I’ve become distracted by a lot of other things but I still think about the idea of working for a study abroad company. Living in Florence and being the director of the program would be an ideal job for me. I’ve looked at a lot of bios for people working for various companies and it seems like most of them have studied abroad, speak at least one other language fluently, and have several experiences working abroad. A lot have also studied international education and have either a masters or a PhD.

I think I’m definitely on my way to having a lot of those qualifications having studied abroad, been an exchange student, I have a BA in Italian and speak fairly fluently, I taught English in Italy for a year and have spent a couple of summers working in Greece. I’m working on my Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language. I would also love to study International Education or International Relations or something like that. (I’ve seriously thought about going to the School for International Training). I’m not 100% sure that this is my ultimate career goal; there are still so many things that I would consider doing. I’m definitely keeping it as an option though. This summer I may have the chance to take another step in this direction.

So, not only am I excited about the chance to go back to Italy for the summer but I really think that this could be a stepping stone to becoming a director if that is what I choose to do. I would also have a chance to see how the organization works and if it is really something that I want to do.

Wish me luck tomorrow.

A possible career choice

Another one of my schemes for staying in Italy when I was an exchange student was to work for a study abroad company. It seemed like the perfect job because it would be a real job in a foreign country (as opposed to working illegally in the leather market, waiting tables or teaching—all things that I have done). At the time I wasn’t able to find any opening that would allow me to stay in Italy and work after my exchange ended.

Since then I’ve become distracted by a lot of other things but I still think about the idea of working for a study abroad company. Living in Florence and being the director of the program would be an ideal job for me. I’ve looked at a lot of bios for people working for various companies and it seems like most of them have studied abroad, speak at least one other language fluently, and have several experiences working abroad. A lot have also studied international education and have either a masters or a PhD.

I think I’m definitely on my way to having a lot of those qualifications having studied abroad, been an exchange student, I have a BA in Italian and speak fairly fluently, I taught English in Italy for a year and have spent a couple of summers working in Greece. I’m currently working on my Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language. I would also love to study International Education or International Relations or something like that. (I’ve seriously thought about going to the School for International Training). I’m not 100% sure that this is my ultimate career goal; there are still so many things that I would consider doing. I’m definitely keeping it as an option though.

This summer I may have the chance to take another step in this direction. I applied for a job as a resident adviser for a high school level study abroad program in Florence (where I lived for two years). Not only am I excited about the chance to go back to Italy for the summer but I really think that this could be a stepping stone to becoming a director if that is what I choose to do. I’ would also have a chance to see how the organization works and if it is really something that I want to do.

I was called for an interview this Wednesday so I’m really excited to see how it turns out.

Woo Hoo! It's Friday!

And the start of break!

The sunny day makes it so much better too, don't you think?

It's funny a lot of kids at school today didn't even realize that there was no school on Monday. They're not nearly as excited as the teachers to have a whole ten days off! After school was insane today though. For some reason the last day before break warrants canceling all after school programs, so at 2:50 today the halls erupted into pure chaos. The kids who are usually picked up by their after school program leaders were running wild!

I walked out right at 3:00 and caught a bus and both trains right after one another and got home in record time.

I don't really have any specific plans for the break. An old friend from high school is coming into town tomorrow so that should be fun. We haven't seen each other in a few years but thanks to myspace it doesn't feel like nearly that long. I have my interview on Wednesday and that is about it. I do have a lot of work to do for grad school and of course there's always stuff to be done for school, but I promise to take some time for myself this week.

Summer Job?

About three weeks ago I was browsing one of the TFA web sites and saw a posting for a summer job opportunity as a resident adviser to a study abroad program in Florence, Italy. This is totally the perfect job for me this summer. I lived in Florence for two years and try to get back every chance I get. When I signed up for TFA I'd pretty much resigned myself to not traveling for the next two years (due to lots of bills to pay off, small teacher salary, and needing to save any possible extra money for big travels after the two years). So this could be the perfect answer. I could get paid to spend the summer in Florence!

I'm already fantasizing about seeing old friends, going to my favorite restaurants, hitting up the beach on weekends . . .

Well, they called me for an interview yesterday! I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I'm already getting excited at the possibility of being in Italy in four and a half months.

Mz. Smlph? Are you there?

I helping to spread the word. Has anyone seen Mz. Smlph?

Bits and Pieces of a Wednesday

Today my principal came into my room and asked me if I needed any software for ESL because she had some "software money" that needed to get spent today. I said sure! In fact, there were some sales people that I talked to on Friday at our school who told me about some interesting software program. At the time I just listened to their pitch and then went about my business thinking there was no way I'd get it. Looks like I'll be getting some new software after all.

As my Principal turned to leave she said "Oh, and I ordered that science kit you asked for."

Wow. A great day for ESL. I'll take all of the resources I can get!

* * *

I noticed today that one of my kindergarteners' teeth are black and have cavities on the fronts. I asked him if he brushes his teeth every day. He said no. I showed him the brushing motion and asked "Do you do this every morning?" He shook is head no. Do you have a tooth brush? No. I asked my other two K's and they both said they did. So sad. The boy doesn't even own a toothbrush. (I realize that sometimes five year olds don't exactly know what they are saying but by the looks of his teeth, he does.) I think that I am going to do a lesson on brushing your teeth. It will involve sequencing, giving directions, and reading ("I like to brush my teeth" includes sight words that they are working on). I think we'll go to the sink and practice. And then, best of all, they will go home with a new toothbrush and toothpaste.

* * *

8th graders decided on a theme for the yearbook.

2 Good 2 Be 4gotten

Why, why, why?

We had some great discussion about the other themes that were so much more mature. I tried to advocate for "Is this the end or just the beginning?" and the other adviser really talked up "One story. Many voices." We did have some kids who really liked those two (they did come up with the themes themselves), but in the end the overwhelming majority of the kids wanted "2 Good 2 Be 4gotten."

Well, it is their book and we're letting them do what they want.

Things that were supposed to happen today but didn't

1. ESL Professional Development
2. Deciding on a yearbook theme
3. Going to the gym

Isn't it great when your whole day is wrapped up nicely in a theme? Unfortunately my day was full of unrealized things that needed to get done.

This morning I got to school and rushed to see two of my groups before I had to leave for a professional development meeting at 11am. At 10:15 I rushed downstairs to the office with my coat on and saw my name on the white board "Ms. M, ESL PD, 8:30-12:00." Somehow I failed to get that message in time. My principal still thought I should go to the meeting. I waited for the B14 for 20 minutes then when I finally got on the bus it went half a block and then was stuck in the middle of the street behind a semi making a delivery to a 99 cent store in the neighborhood. I finally go to the meeting at 11:25 and the meeting finished early at 11:35. So much for that.

I got back to school just in time to pick up one last group of students. After school we met our yearbook staff but there were only five students there. We talked about the themes but I didn't want to make a decision without the majority of the staff there. We tried to form some committees and get some work done. Without even realizing it we worked until 3:45. (I know, not really that much more but at least the kids aren't counting down the minutes until they have to leave. They really do want to be there.)

And finally, I got dressed and ready to go to the gym. I bundled up in my winter gear and snow boots to brave the massive puddles. I got to the gym and realized that I'd forgotten my wallet. They said that if I didn't have my gym card I needed my regular ID. I told them that I'd forgotten my ENTIRE wallet (therefore no ID, no gym card). I begged and pleaded for them to let me in. I offered to give any secret information that they wanted. They turned me away.

4th Grade Reading Centers

My group of fourth graders comes to my room four times a week for a 90 minute block. This is my most consistent group as I see them at the same time each week. One of my goals for this group is to increase their reading levels so just before the Christmas break I started a sort of "Centers" rotation. In the first 15 minutes of the lesson I do a "mini lesson" where I tell them what they will be working on at the centers or I model a skill for the reading or writing center. Then they rotate between the Independent Reading, Writing and Conferencing centers which are 20 minutes each. Then the last 15 minutes of class we share about a book or do exit slips or something to wrap up the class.

So far this set up is working really well. We do the centers two out of the four periods that we meet. I really like it because the conferencing center gives me time to work one on one with students (I only have three in this group). One of the students is on a mid first grade reading level so I am helping him with sight words, phonics, spelling patterns and reading fluency. The other two students are on a fourth grade level but one seriously lacks comprehension. While the other does pretty well, he needs someone to push him to work hard and read books that will advance his level. I'm lucky that I only have three students so I can really differentiate by making different graphic organizers and activities for each student for each center.

The students definitely notice that they are not all working on the same things at centers. I've spent a good deal of time talking to the students about how each student is working on what they need to become better readers. The main issue is with the one student who is on a first grade level. He feels embarrassed to be reading "baby books" and the other kids see me working with him on sorting words by short vowel sounds and yell out from their center "That's easy!" Of course then he hears me trying to get a student to identify the main idea and (having been listening in) he says (correctly) "That's easy. It's . . ." I just keep telling them that every one is different and needs help with different things.

To try to motivate my lowest reader, I showed him a book that is on the level that I want him to be at by the end of the year. I told him that if we worked hard he would be able to read this book on his own. He wanted to try it right away so I let him. He was barely able to read a paragraph. I told him that I see him trying and that he'll definitely be able to master this book by June. I think that that book will be a sort of marker of his progress.

The main thing that is stopping this from being a perfect situation is that the students don't really like doing the centers. They always complain when it is a centers day. I'm not really sure why they don't like it. Maybe because they are expected to work quietly and independently for a full 60 minutes? A couple of other kinks that I am working out are planning something for the writing center that takes them a full 20 minutes so they don't finish early and finding enough books that are on students' correct levels (I have a really small library). I also talked to my mentor and we discussed making some of the centers activities seem more fun. One idea of hers was to make a mobile with the main idea and key details hanging on string from a hanger. They could go for that. I'll have to think about some other ideas as well.

I am determined to keep this up until the end of the year in any case. I know that the one on one time has been the most beneficial thing that we've done all year. I am already starting to see progress with my lowest level student.

Coming up with a theme

We had another good yearbook meeting today.

I started out by reading a poem from one of the yearbook company websites called "What is a yearbook?" I wanted to give them a little inspiration for the task of the day: coming up with a theme.

I brought in a list of 2300 yearbook theme ideas. I gave each student two pages and asked them to read through the list and circle any that stood out to them. I reminded them that a theme should be something that is representative of their class and school. I gave them a couple of examples from the list of themes that had depth and could be incorporated into all sections of the book (student life, academics, etc.) and then some that were probably specific to a certain school and wouldn't work so well for ours. They all worked quietly while going through the lists independently. Then I had them form groups of four and discuss their choices and narrow it down to two or three. Finally they presented their top choices to the class. (Wow. That was practically a five step lesson plan, wasn't it?)

Here is the list they came up with:

*Past, Present, Future

*Proud to be

*To be continued . . .

*Is this the end, or just the beginning?

*Many voices. One story.

*2 Good 2 Be Forgotten

*A dynasty like no other

*Caution: Contents May Be Hot

*Excuse yourself from the predictable because we are unpredictable

Apart from the last four choices (which all came from one group that selected about twenty favorites) I was pretty impressed with the themes they chose. The students presenting the ideas from each group had good reasoning behind each selection and how it related to their graduating class.

Monday we'll try to flesh out the ideas and see which ones will be able to carry through the book before taking a vote.

Time just flies in these meetings. We actually get about 25 minutes to work by the time everyone get to the room. I'm really impressed with the motivation and behavior of these twelve eighth grade students though. I've NEVER seen that many eighth graders at my school in one room on task and sitting in their seats participating. What a pleasure.

What a Day!

First the good stuff.

We had 12 students for yearbook today. The past two days had just been a revolving door of students asking for permission slips to stay and inquiring about the yearbook so today was the first day that we actually got to talk to the kids that are going to be working on the yearbook.

I started by sitting them in a U and giving them a quick, but firm, lecture on how they are all here to work on the yearbook because they want to be here. I told them that if anyone isn't here to work hard, contribute ideas and listen to each other that we will send them straight home. If we have to, we (the two advisers) can throw together the entire yearbook in two weeks on our own. (It's nice to actually have that kind of leverage.)

Then we got to talk about the huge task ahead of us. I talked about the different sections of the yearbook and we took ideas for spreads. I told the kids several times that the yearbook is about their 8th grade year and they can make it what ever they want, all of the ideas are going to come from them. The advisers are just to guide them but they will be creating the book on their own.

The kids seemed really excited about working on the book. A lot of them have older siblings that got books in previous years so they already had some ideas to share. There seem to be three natural leaders emerging in the group. One volunteered to write a letter to the AP proposing a few of our ideas and another asked if we would be able to stay beyond the 37.5 minutes each day to get everything done by March 20th. (We'll definitely be staying late a lot, don't you worry.)

The plan for tomorrow is to start coming up with theme ideas for the book. I have a list of a couple hundred for them to look thorough. We told them that that will just be a starting point and most likely they will want to adapt it to fit our school and their class. By Monday we'll form some committees so that we can get started on content.

* * *

As for the organization of the 37.5 minutes, it's non existent at my school. Just five minutes before the school day was to end, an announcement was made that there wouldn't be two rounds of busses, just one at 3:30 (after the 37.5 minutes). Kids who take the bus but aren't in the extra tutoring time were to just hang out until then (In the auditorium or in there regular classrooms it wasn't made clear). And of course DON'T SEND THEM TO THE OFFICE!! I'm not sure if this was meant to be just for today or indefinitely but all the teachers were about to explode with frustration after that announcement.

* * *

Now for quotes of the day from our fabulous APs.

To a teacher calling her office about a disruptive student:

"I am an Assistant Principal. I supervise adults not children. I am not the dean. Deal with the student yourself, I have a lot of paperwork to get done."

Then, when talking to another AP I commented about the middle school teachers having to give up more preps than the elementary teachers for Circular 6:

Me: "Wow, that's rough that they have to give up so many periods."

AP: "They were supposed to be using those periods all along to do things for us. But instead they just sit around."

Me: "What about using those periods for planning?"

AP: "They don't need those periods for planning. We give them everything. We give them the books. We tell them when to use them. They don't need to plan anything!"

This is the kind of administration I'm dealing with.

* * *

And I just can't write any more about this today. I'm so worn out from this day. I'm about to head off to the gym and sort of free my mind. (I just started going after the Christmas break and I'm not really sure how I survived without it before.)

A (sort of) informal observation

Yesterday morning when I came into school I saw a memo in my box stating that I was going to be informally observed during fifth period and to have a lesson plan on hand for "perusal". I noticed it was dated a few days before and asked the principal when on Friday she had put it in my box since I check it several times a day and did not see it. She said that she put it in on Saturday. I told her that I have lunch during that period so couldn't we do it tomorrow? She said it HAD to be done today. I told her that the only afternoon classes I had were the 4th graders who were taking a science test and the 8th graders who were finishing up writing an essay that they've been working on for weeks so there is no lesson plan. She said she would just look at the original lesson plan for that day and not to worry since it was just an informal observation anyway.

So, she came in 8th period and I had my lesson plan out with a post it note giving her some more background on the lesson and all of the chart papers posted that we had created that day. By some small miracle all of the 8th graders were actually working to revise when she came in. She watched the lesson for about twenty minutes and when class ended she asked if she could have the copy of the lesson plan.

Today she comes by my room asking me to sign some papers. I say, "OK. What am I signing?" She says that they're my observation reports but don't worry I'll like what she wrote. After class I read the report and I got an "S" and all of the comments she put down were really good. She used my lesson plan to explain what had gone on in the original lesson and that she actually observed me in the conferencing portion of the lesson. Under "area of improvement" she said she would order me some thesauri so that the 8th graders can use them in the revisions of their essays.

So I guess I can't complain that I was sort of tricked into an observation since she really liked my lesson.

Day One

So today was the first day of the next three years of this strange situation.

There are still so many unanswered questions. What about kids who aren't doing the extra tutoring but then are staying for extended day (which we are continuing with)? Or what about all of the after school programs at our school (we don't have enough rooms for them all)?

None of these questions were answered today. In fact, we weren't given any instructions on procedures for the dismissing of classes and the picking up of small groups. The other teacher doing yearbook and I had already decided that I would go up to her room at the end of the school day and stay with yearbook kids while she dismissed her regular class. This worked because they didn't have to go downstairs and come back up.

I saw the confusion downstairs though as I went down to see if any of the 8th graders somehow got left behind downstairs. (They hadn't.) Administrators were directing traffic and managing the chaos. There were some teachers who had no students and others who had more than ten. It's definitely going to take a while to sort all of this out.

Also, no one thought to adjust the periods to account for ten less minutes in the regular school day, so my last period with the eighth graders was cut short. I told them that I would be letting them leave my room at 2:45 to get their stuff and then totally forgot and ended up dismissing them five minutes late.

Still no word about needing lesson plans or giving out grades like I've read about on other blogs but give it time. Even if my school does want that it will take time for them to get on the ball and let us know about it.

More updates to come.

More thoughts on the 37.5

This article in the NYT got me thinking about the 37.5 situation in my school. The article points out that while in some high performing schools kids will get after school enrichment programs rather than tutoring. In some of the lowest performing schools, some of the kids with 1's and 2's will be left out because there just aren't enough teachers to meet the needs of all the kids at just 10 students per teacher.

I know that at my school we were supposed to choose our students based on a list we were given of students with 1's and 2's. These children were sent letters saying they were mandated to attend. )Teachers also handed out letters to students saying they could voluntarily attend.) As I mentioned before we also have a couple of enrichment programs going on. We have two teachers doing drama, two teachers doing yearbook, one Spanish enrichment group, and some program called Orchid (I'm not sure how many teachers are participating).

That's at least 6 teachers (60 students). I find it hard to believe that at my school we don't need every possible teacher targeting the students with 1's and 2's. I'm not complaining. I'm happy to be doing yearbook and not math. And I think that these programs will be fun for the kids (who can't be selected if they have 1's or 2's). I just wonder what sort of accountability there is for the schools to offer enough math and reading tutoring where it is needed. Are we leaving out at least 60 kids who need the extra help in core subjects out because of these enrichment programs?

* * *

And as a side note, as of Friday there were still plenty of teachers who still didn't know what they were supposed to be doing for the 37.5 minutes. I guess they won't have anything planned. Frizz, your school gave you lesson plans??

Yearbooks, Yearbooks

So we pretty much decided on a yearbook company today. Lifetouch is getting us the books in the $32 ball park while Herff Jones was in the $50 range. Basically the decision was made for us at that point. Our deadline for finishing the book is going to be March 20th. That's so crazy. I don't know how we're going to pull this off. Normally this would be the final deadline not the first and last. We can get the surveys and other stuff together, that shouldn't be too hard. I'm wondering how we're going to fill a book with no pictures. We need to come up with 80 pages of pictures in a month and a half. Should be interesting.

Another disappointing thing is that we are going to go with a stock cover. We don't have time to create our own silk screen cover. While the stock ones are prettier than a lot of silk screens, it totally wipes out the idea of having the kids come up with and develop a theme on their own (which I think is a key element in making a good yearbook). The stock covers already have themes on them (for example "Our Time to Shine").

Basically this year is just going to be about getting the book out in a semi presentable manner. Hopefully next year we can do more. The Lifetouch rep was already saying that if we sign up early for next year we can get bonuses such as foil covers and fancy end sheets. If we stick with the same set up next year where we work on the yearbook in the 37.5 minutes, I think we'll be able to start the book from the first day of school.

Next year will be a much better book.

My Blog as a T-Shirt

Ever wonder what your blog would look like as a T-shirt? Go here to find out.

An update on the 37.5

So just two days after the letters were sent out informing parents of the new school schedule and after school 37.5 minutes, our union rep sorted out the time issue. We will be ending the regular school day at 2:50 and the extra time will begin immediately putting us out at 3:27.5.

It's a whole week later and they haven't sent a correction letter to the parents. Hmm, I wonder when they're planning on doing that. Also, many of the teachers still aren't clear on what is going on.

You would think that Monday, our last official PD, would have been a great time to talk about what is going to happen starting Monday the 6th. No, we didn't do that. Instead, we sat there in the auditorium for thirty minutes waiting for a TV to get set up. At 3:30 the nurse (who was showing us a mandatory video) finally got the TV working. It played no more than five seconds before one of our APs interrupted the video to make a quick announcement about handing out promotion in doubt letters. Someone asked about the "extra ten minutes" and after seeming confused she quickly said what the new schedule was going to be. She was speaking at lightning speed and ignored questions that teachers tried to ask. Then they resumed the video and that was that.

That always seems to be the case at my school. The most important information is either left out or rushed through. I have no idea how Monday is going to go but I'm sure that it will be worthy of another post.

The first of many glitches to come

Today we passed out letters to certain students in the school telling them that they were mandated to attend the 37.5 minute sessions M-F. (Every teacher submitted a list of 10 students that they wanted to "target.") We also gave letters to students selected for enrichment programs such as yearbook and drama (they didn't get to choose what they wanted to participate in).

The first thing that I noticed about the letter was that it stated that we were switching to a new schedule. School would now be in session from 8:30 a.m. until 2:50 p.m. The 37.5 minutes would begin at 3:00 and finish at 3:37 1/2.

Hmmm . . . This is not what I remembered reading about the new contract. Somehow my administration is trying to get an extra ten minutes a day (40 minutes a week) out of us. They say that this time is for dismissal. Still, it is time that we are working.

Luckily, our union rep is all over this. Usually he doesn't push too hard for things but this, he says, isn't right. He said that he already mentioned it to the administration but they didn't agree with him. Now he has to take it to his people.

I was so glad that I heard him talking about this in the teacher's lounge today because I brought it up to some teachers and they didn't even know that school was supposed to end ten minutes earlier with the implementation of the new schedule.

Anyway, now once this all gets sorted out we're going to have to send out new letters most likely resulting in everyone being more confused than they already are about the whole situation.

Starting to Plan a Yearbook

Wednesday my yearbook co-adviser and I met with the rep from Herf Jones to discuss getting our yearbook started. One of our AP's (previously mentioned in testing posts) insisted on being in on the meeting. She came late and interrupted what we were discussing. She started asking about prices and telling the rep that the prices he was giving us weren't as good as they got with the previous company. She then told him "Well, these ladies will be entertaining other companies as well so they'll get back to you and let you know." She then stood up and shook his hand and basically pushed him out the door. We weren't done talking to him but she decided the meeting was over. Luckily I had warned him in advance that she was a bit abrasive (to put it lightly) so hopefully he didn't take it personally.

After the rep left she went through the yearbook that she advised in 2003 and told us exactly what she wanted us to do in this year's book. She kept saying that things were a "tradition" when to us they looked more like page fillers to waste space. When we offered up ideas she said "Oh, no that just won't work." One particular suggestion was to take individual pictures for "Senior Superlatives" (rather than a group photo with no names attached) so that "in twenty years they can look back and remember who was who." Her comment was "THESE kids won't keep the books for twenty years. They have them for a couple years and then they'll get rid of them." That really irked me. When you created a yearbook you're supposed to go into it with the mind set that you are capturing memories to be treasured for a life time.

I didn't know that I was signing up to recreate the exact book that our AP made two years ago. I think I'm going to be pretty frustrated at times having to work with her (she's not my immediate supervisor so I usually don't speak to her) but we're still planning on implementing most of our ideas and in the end our book will be a hundred times better than anything they've had in the past.

We are so not ready for this

I read this article after seeing it linked to Nancy's blog.

Here is an excerpt I found interesting:

The city has mandated that 290,000 of the city's nearly 1.1 million students attend the tutoring, and 40,000 more have been asked to attend voluntarily, city officials said yesterday.

All of those students and their parents have been notified, officials said, but many parents of children not selected for tutoring have yet to get letters explaining the new schedules.

Really? That's funny. The TEACHERS at my school don't even know what kids will be attending.

We don't even know what the new schedule will be. A lot of schools got to vote but we haven't even heard anything about it. I know that they are at least discussing something though because I was in the office today working on the computer and I heard the principal telling one of the after shool program directors about some possible scenarios. I guess as usual the teachers will be the last to know.

All I know it that I am signed up to do yearbook. We're having our first meeting with the Herff Jones rep on Wednesday. The AP (mentioned in previous posts) said to make sure she gets to attend because she wants to be there to negotiate the best price. As you can imagine I'm not too thrilled that she's going to be there.

So hopefully doing yearbook will kind of leave me out of this chaos a bit. (Probably wishful thinking though). It will definitely take more than 37 1/2 minutes a day to get a book published by spring so I'm in for a lot of work. I'm just glad I won't have to teach these "small group tutoring sessions" which will be more than double the size of my regular groups, by the way.

When does this thing start again??

Day two wasn't much better

Today was so disorganized.

It's hard to believe that things can get so confused when our AP has been talking about this test and how she has been making plans for it since the first day of school. Really what she's all about is not having to take the blame for anything. The biggest take away from the info session on Monday was that we better not go calling the region about any problems during the test. She told us the two phone extensions that she could be reached at during the test and made sure that we knew letters would be in our files in no time if we did anything wrong.

So back to today. There was a lot of confusion with what I was supposed to be doing with my group of 4th and 5th graders this morning before the test. First, the teacher that I was proctoring with said I was to read to the 5th graders in my room and then bring them down to the testing room (as per our AP). Then, another teacher with 3rd/4th special ed said that (as per our AP) we were to take her 4th graders down to our testing room so that she wouldn't had to read for two grades. We scrambled to find enough chairs and desks for all the kids. When I finally saw the AP she had changed her mind yet again and told me to take the 5th graders to my room and keep them there. So then I had to run up to my room and cover up all of my posters before the kids got there and then tell my co-proctor that chairs and desks were no longer a problem.

Of course, the plan that I presented to the AP yesterday was well thought out (and at least one day in advance). But she said no and so caused all this confusion this morning moving people around (which is exactly what she said she didn't want to do). This is just a prime example how, with her, nothing is a good idea unless it comes from her. The good news is that our kids didn't have to take their tests with two simultaneous read alouds which was the most important thing.

As if this sounds bad enough, there was still more chaos to come.

When we finally had all the kids where we needed to be we had no answer sheets. The testing gong went off at 9:15. I asked our hall monitor if I was supposed to wait to start until we had them and she said yes. She made a call to the AP who hung up on her when she asked where they were. Our monitor sent people looking for the answer sheets. As it turned out, NONE of the kids had them.

Finally, at 9:40 the AP comes by my room and yells at me for not having started the test yet. A few minutes later I'm told by someone else to start the test with out the answer sheets and they can record later. Ten minutes before time is up I tell our hall monitor that I still don't have our answer sheets. She leaves and comes right back with them.

Still no one knows why the answer sheets went missing for so long.

Testing Day

I have heard that there were schools that had the logistics of administering the EL*A all worked out. I heard that these schools had a plan for how kids entitled to extra time would leave their classrooms and where they would go. I heard that they worked all this out at the beginning of the year and have practiced it every time they took a practice test. I heard that all the kids and all the teachers knew just what to do.

Here's how it happened at my school.

Two days before the test:
*Our AP/testing coordinator asked that a master list of kids entitled to extra time (special needs, ELLs, 50*4s) be compiled.

One day before the test:
*We had a meeting about the procedures for administering the test in which little mention was given as to how these extra time kids would get to where they were going. *We had to rework the entire pull out schedule because the AP scheduled all grades 3,4 and 5 to take the test in the same room even though there were over 50 kids.
*We had to rework the schedule again because no one took into consideration that some kids getting pulled out for extra time would already be getting extra time in their inclusion classes and therefore didn't need to be pulled out.

The day of the test:
*We scrambled to get all kids where they needed to go.
*Somehow, one teacher's kids didn't get picked up (or he didn't send them-no one is exactly sure what the procedure was supposed to be). Those kids missed out on an extra 15 minutes to answer questions.

All of these things could have been taken care of had we planned this just a little bit in advance. It is very unfortunate that those kids missed out on extra time that they are entitled to.

Looking at the schedule for tomorrow another teacher and I foresaw a problem with the grouping of the extra time kids. I have the 4th and 5th grade ELLs in one room and she has the 4th and 5th grade resource room kids in another. We were concerned about this because tomorrow is the listening section and each grade has a different read aloud passage. We wondered why we couldn't split it up so that I take all the 4th graders and she takes all the 5th graders. I went to the AP and proposed this to her and she told me no. She said she didn't want to make more changes to the schedule and move so many people around. I told her about our concerns. How are the kids supposed to concentrate on a read aloud when there is another being read on the opposite side of the room? She said she didn't understand how "two adults couldn't read to a small group of kids so that their voices don't project to the other kids." I told her that we are just thinking about giving the kids every chance to succeed on this test and we didn't want to take any chances that they may get distracted. Her final answer-No. She doesn't want to make changes to the schedule.

Why is she willing to sacrifice the success of the students? Would she rather take the chance that they don't hear the read aloud than let anyone know that she didn't think through her planning for the test.

The things kids say

Today a little kindergarten girl who is in the same class as three of the boys that I pull out asked me, "How come you never pick up the black kids?" We had a little conversation about which kids I pick up and why. Then she saw the Speech teacher, who also picks up kids, across the hallway and pointed to her and said "And she picks all the black kids."

A day in the life of an ESL teacher

Today was a prime example of why it's so hard for me to get anything accomplished with my kids.

Just before the start of 7th period I went to go pick up my 4th graders for the last two periods of the day. The lesson plan for the day involved introducing a new book that we were going to be reading aloud.

I walked up to the third floor and went to the first classroom where I had three kids to get. Only one was there. Two had been picked up by the AIS teacher because she didn't come in the morning at her usual time. The one boy who was there was busy writing "I will not walk on the cafeteria tables" 100 times. Apparently he had gotten up on the table and walked the length of the lunch room. The security guard (who is a scary, scary lady) demanded that he turn in the 100 sentences to her by 3pm. His teacher told me that he had already finished his essay for her so she was letting him do it. I told her that I needed him to come to ESL and participate and besides it would be more punishment for him to do it at home. She agreed to give the security guard the 50 that he had finished and tell her that he'd finish the rest at home. I left the room, with him in tow, off to make two more stops.

I got the 5th grade room where I had one girl to pick up. My usual procedure is to open the door and wait in the doorway. The kids see me, grab their folders and come to the door. Neither I nor the teacher have to say anything. Well today the teacher (who I should mention has really weak management skills and is the third teacher to take over the class this year) starts yelling at the student to sit down she is not allowed out of her seat. She says that she is coming with me. The teacher yells at her again and then comes to me to tell me that kids can't just be getting out of their seats whenever they want. I explain to her the procedure but she doesn't get it. I say OK and ask her what she would like me to do. She decides I should ask her and she will tell the student to leave the room. I agree (I don't want to argue) and then she starts telling me about all the problems she is having with this student. Then she gets out her anecdotal log to show me all the times she has misbehaved today. I ask her if she can please give permission for the student to leave now because we are wasting class time. I leave the room with two students now, on the way to pick up the last two from the library on the second floor.

The two students wait in the hall as I go into the library. The AIS teacher was more than happy to give me two of her ten students. Then she asked me if I had them 8th period too. I said yes and she said "Oh, but they have gym. You can't deny them gym!" Even though this is the same schedule we've had for the better part of the year, the kids started getting all upset and saying "I hate ESL. You always pick us up."

Twenty minutes later I finally get to my room with all four kids. I open the door to loud music coming from the other side of the room. I get my kids seated and ask the coaches to turn off the radio. They turned it down but not off. (They also continued a loud conversation and cooked their lunch in the microwave).

I got started with the lesson. It was partially saved when I introduced a soft ball to toss around during conversation (only the person holding the ball can speak). They had participated well and mostly wrote to a prompt for ten minutes. The entire time they were counting down to two o'clock when they could go to gym though. At two I gave in an let them go back. There was no way I could do a read aloud with all the noise coming from the other side of the room, let alone how antsy they were.

I took them back to class. When I got back to my room the coaches had left and I had the room to myself for 8th period.

I can't win.

* * *

Oh, yeah. Happy New Year. I had a great break in sunny Arizona!

Day Off

I took the day off today.

Actually, I had been planning to take it off, strike or no strike. A good friend of mine is visiting from Memphis and we haven't seen each other in five years. It was just my luck that the strike happened to fall on the same day that I was planning on taking off. So, instead of going into the city we had a lazy day in Brooklyn. We slept in, walked around Park Slope, went to lunch and had coffee at the Tea Lounge.

I'm all set for transportation tomorrow though. I found a ride with another teacher at my school in anticipation of last Friday's strike so I knew that I would have a way to get to school. I had volunteered her to drive about four other teachers who live near us/on the way to school but I was the only one with her contact info so this morning at 7am my cell phone was ringing off the hook with people trying to get rides.

We're all set with a plan for tomorrow though. I'm second to get picked up at 8:30 (which is pretty cool because school usually starts then). What a weird way to end the last week before break.

Random Tidbits

It's been a little while since my last post. Lately I either haven't had anything to say or I've just been too tired to sit down and write. So, here's a little update from the last week.

My supervisor from the region (I can't remember her acronym) came to see me for the third time this year. This was the first time that she stopped by when I didn't have a class. She stayed and talked to me for two and a half hours! I'd like to say that it was really great and she helped me a lot, but actually, I felt like she was talking to herself most of the time. I'm not sure exactly what her role is. Is she there to make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to? (She said she wasn't.) Or is she there to help me with instruction? (She didn't do that at all.)

Anyway, there were actually two good things that came out of the conversation. The first was when I asked about observing some other ESL teachers. I told her that I wanted to visit some other K-8 Pull-out teachers so that I can see what they are doing, how they have their rooms set up, what they are teaching, etc. She gave me some names and has since introduced me to some teachers. Hopefully I can get those observations set up soon.

The other good thing was that we got to discuss the ridiculous room situation that I have. (On her previous visits she hadn't realized that I was sharing my room with two other people. As if I would divide my already small classroom in half by choice.) I told her about all of the disruptions that I have been having in my room and she was appalled. When I was at the regional office last week we both spoke to the head of the ELL department and they are planning a visit to my school next week. (I have my fingers crossed but I'm not expecting any miracles).

* * *

In other news, I am now a co-adviser to the 8th grade yearbook at my school. One of the 8th grade teachers (and fellow TFAer/friend) got a yearbook in her box with a post-it on it saying in effect that she was the new yearbook advisor. (The post-it did ask her to "accept" the position, but clearly this task was being handed to her since she was a new teacher who wouldn't rebel and say no.)

I offered to help her out. Actually, I'm REALLY excited about this. I worked on both my junior high and high school yearbooks. I have a lot of great memories of yearbook camp, photo shoots, and rushing to get pages in before a deadline. And now I have a book to show for all that work. I can't wait to get started leading these eight graders to produce a book of their own.

My co-adviser and I haven't had a chance to meet and start planning yet but we have some time since we're not allowed to start with the kids until after the ELA test. I am slightly concerned about how we're supposed to produce an entire book in just two to three months but I have to remind myself that this isn't going to be an award winning high school book. Still, I have seen the books from the past years and I know that anything we do will greatly surpass what they have done in the past. The books left a lot to be desired with some pages completely lacking pictures and several pages completely devoted to teachers and administrators. I want the kids to know that this is *their* book about *their* 8th grade year. It's not about teachers' inspirational quotes or 8th graders' thank yous to the administrators.

Producing this book is going to be a ton of extra work for both of us (advisers) but it will be worth it. And, as a bonus, we get to use the 37 1/2 minutes after school which means I won't have to plan for "small group instruction" (which by the way would be more students than I usually teach).

* * *

Today I went to the monthly ESL professional development. The topic of the meeting was the new "Science Initiative" in the region. Basically the science people got together with the ELL people and decided that we should try to teach language in the context of science for the benefit of all. Last year was all about the "Math Initiative" and we were told that we shouldn't forget about that. The presentation consisted of a quick run down of what the science initiative is followed by what's hard/easy for ELLs in science. Then we did a *40 minute* jigsaw activity to model what we could do with our kids. Then the meeting promptly ended.

There was no discussion of how we are suppose to teach science in ESL. I understand teaching language through content areas but where in my schedule do I do this? Do I devote a period a week to science, half of the periods, all the periods, or maybe simply use science books for a read aloud? All of these questions were running through my head as they were bringing the meeting to a close without time for Q&A. I asked after the meeting and, after giving me a look as if this were obvious, they told me that this was just a suggestion. If we want we can try it out and see how it works for us but if not that's ok too. They are not mandating anything.

The meeting actually got me thinking that I might be able to try this out with my fourth grade group. Right now I see them for four 90 minute blocks a week. I just started do reading groups (or centers) with them this week (for two periods a week). For the other two periods I could use science as my content area to teach vocabulary, language and writing skills. I think this would be fun for the kids, give me a focus on what I can do for unit themes, and hopefully help the 4th graders on their science exam in the spring.

During the first part of the meeting we had a presentation from a sales rep who showed us some really great materials to use in our classroom. Coincidentally (or not) they introduced a new science kit with Fountas and Pinnell leveled readers in them as well. I'm going to talk to my principal about ordering the science stuff. She did recently tell me that I had some money to spend for ESL (actually, I asked) and I'm sure that they will be all about efforts to raise test scores.

What do you think about that Ms. Frizzle?

* * *

I am really looking forward to going home for Christmas. I haven't been home since TFA induction in June so I haven't seen most of my family since then. And, as a bonus, the weather will be 20 to 40 degrees warmer there. That said, I'm not in a total pre-Christmas funk. Actually, I'm feeling pretty good. I've read/seen the graphs showing the slump that first year teachers usually go through leading up to Christmas before then starting to rise again after the New Year. Maybe I already hit that low, or maybe it will come late for me and in January I will be hating life. For now though, I feel like I am finally getting organized and on track. My schedule is now set, I'm planning on a weekly instead of daily basis and I have some idea of what I want to teach until June.

* * *

Lastly, I went to an information session at the TFA office last night about working at the summer institute. It's going to be in NYC this year and for NYC corps members only. As a first year corps member, I'm only qualified to apply for operations director positions (as opposed to instructional positions). There are only six positions available at each institute so it might be pretty competitive. And, institute starts just 5 days after school gets out (staff will get there the day school ends). I'm still thinking about whether or not I will apply. It sounds like an interesting opportunity though.

They don't want to work

Reading this post at Tim Fredrick's ELA Teaching Blog reminded me of my 8th grade group. I hear similar complaints from them on a daily basis. Especially when it comes to writing.

"Why do we have to write? We always write when we come here."

"Last year, our ESL teacher let us read. And have parties."

They especially hate it when a lesson continues for more than one day. Here I am proud of myself that I am teaching a lesson that is building on itself and giving the students a chance to expand upon what they learned the previous day and all I get to hear is complaining.

"But we did this yesterday."

"I already did this. I'm not doing it."

"Why are you already teaching us stuff that we already know?"

Basically, it comes down to them just not wanting to work so they give any excuse that they can come up with. About two weeks ago I gave them a writing prompt and all four students refused to do any work. They were in my room for about thirty minutes and between all four students there were two sentences on paper by the time they left the room.

What were they doing for all that time? Two were trying to do their homework from another class. (I repeatedly told them that homework was to be done at home and they had an assignment to do). Another said he couldn't do it because he didn't know how (to read the prompt and write about it).

Last week went a little better. They were somewhat engaged during the instruction part of the lesson. They put up a little resistance at first but then started raising their hands to participate. It all fell apart when it came time to work independently. They just refused.

This is my only group that doesn't want to work. I am trying to make what we do seem relevant but so far it is not working. So far we have spent two days working on writing recipes. (I chose this topic because I noticed that they really liked talking about food so I thought that they would like this assignment.) Tomorrow will be our third day working on this assignment. I can already hear them now saying "Again?" I need to get them to wrap up this assignment before it totally fizzles out. Only one of them has the ingredients listed for the recipe so I'm hoping that tomorrow I can get them focused to finish.

My First Snow in NY!

My alarm clock went off at 8:30 this morning and just as I was turning it off thinking that it was a mistake and I could go back to sleep, I remembered the plans I had made last night to go to brunch at 10 o'clock. Then I remembered that it was supposed to have snowed the night before. I sat up in bed and looked out the window but, being as blind as I am without my contacts, all I saw was a big blur. A big white blur. I put on my glasses and sure enough it had snowed quite a bit. I was so excited to go out and see snow that I forgot how much I had wanted (just two seconds earlier) to curl up into my down comforter and go back to sleep.

I bundled up in all of my new gear. I was so warm and my new boots were amazing. At 9am there weren't many people out on the street so fortunately I had my new boots to stomp a pathway through the fresh snow.

I met up with some friends in Union Square and we headed down 2nd Avenue until we came upon Virage. We had a yummy brunch and then walked around Washington Square Park. We also popped into a couple of shoe stores looking for boots for my two friends who weren't quite as prepared for the snow as I was :)

*No, the picture isn't of me. It's of my best friend Malinda and her boyfriend Al.

My Fifth Grade Girls

Yesterday I started reading Any Small Goodness with my fifth graders. So far it is going great. I chose the book because I thought that they would be able to relate to the main character, Arturo, a boy who moves to L.A. from Mexico with his family. Of my three fifth grade girls, one moved to the States from Mexico, and the other two have parents who came from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

We finished the first chapter today which is about how Arturo's name is changed to Arthur by his teacher. He likes his new American name until he learns the significance of his name from his grandmother. While none of the girls had had this particular experience, they loved hearing the Spanish words in the story. I asked them how to pronounce some of the Spanish words and the girls laughed at how Arturo likes to mix English and Spanish coming up with words like "Por Please." They could also relate to Arturo's grandmother going into luto, mourning, after the death of her husband.

The best part was that they actually understood all of what we are reading. At the start of class I asked them to recap what had happened in the story the day before and they were able to remember all of the highlights. I'm excited to see what we can do with this book since they are so interested.

I rearranged my schedule and added a fourth girl to this group this week. She's an eighth grader who is on a fourth grade reading level. (Since I have to see her for eight periods a week, she'll come to ESL for four periods with the fifth graders and four periods with the eighth graders). She is a good fit with this group and I think that this will be better than the last groupings that I had.

This student has an interesting situation since she has been in ESL since kindergarten and speaks almost no Spanish. Her mother came to NY from Puerto Rico while her father was born in Brooklyn. She told me that the only time she speaks Spanish is with her grandparents but her mom mostly translates for her. It is unfortunate that in all of this time she has not been able to test out of ESL. Her reading and writing skills are so low that it is preventing her from passing the NYSESLAT (the English proficiency test). This is clearly a case of a student who should not be in ESL but insted getting help in other ways.

Anyway, back to today . . .

I think that she may have felt a little left out since she did not relate to the story as much as the other girls. When she said to me that she didn't understand the Spanish words I told her that I didn't either, "that's why the book has a glossary." She told me that she wanted to read next and then realized that one of the first words was a Spanish word. She said she didn't know how to pronounce it. I told her that I didn't either but we could ask the other girls. I hope that this is helping her to not feel left out. (Even the teacher doesn't know some of the words). I was happy at least that she volunteered to read even though her reading isn't as good as the other girls.

All Ready For Winter!

So, this is going to be my first winter living in snow. Sure, I've *been* to the snow plenty of times to go skiing, but I've never actually had to go about my day to day life in snow. And let me tell you that I'm slightly panicked seeing as the last 7 winters I've spent in Arizona or Italy (and I grew up in Northern California so no super cold winters there either).

I've been getting some advice on essential items that I'll need to get me through the snowy season. This weekend my sister came armed with my mom's credit card so we went (early) birthday shopping for me. I think I'm just about ready now. Let me know if I forgot anything.


My new down coat. I got it at Macy's the day after Thanksgiving. It was ridiculously crowded in the store, but worth it for the sales.


Snow boots! Yeah! I've never owned snow boots before. I saw some other (cheaper) boots online at LLBean that I was going to get until I read Ms. Frizzle's post about her boots that are furry on the inside. Then I saw these and knew that I had to get them. I can't wait to wear them.


I never knew that long underwear came in silk but apparently it is the best kind to get. I bought two pairs, one in cream and one in black. They're on their way from LLBean right now.


My sister bought me this hat/scarf combo at the Gap. She laughed when I put the hat on but I won't be laughing when it's snowing and I'm warm!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had so much fun at the parade.

One of my friends from school met my sister and I at a diner near my house where we had breakfast. We got to the parade just before 9 and easily found a spot to stand where we could see everything. (We were between 66th and 67th Streets). It really wasn't that cold either. Plus, we had a huge thermos of hot chocolate to keep warm. From where we were standing the parade lasted less than two hours.

Now I'm just finishing up the stuffing and we're off to a friend's house for dinner.

Thanksgiving is Coming

One more day!

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year. My sister is coming from Arizona to spend Turkey-day with me. She's getting in at 5am on Thursday and then we are going to the parade! Yeah! (I know, I know. It's going to freezing and it's going to be crazy but we used to watch it every year on TV so we kind of have to do this.) Then, for dinner we're going to my best friend's apartment (in Williamsburg). There's going to be a random assortment of people but I think that's the best part. And, I'm making my famous stuffing so thanksgiving will be complete.

(Oh, and the four day break from school will be nice.)

Ugh!

Today was such a waste of a day. I was called into the office this morning and told that I had to watch the 5th graders take their state social studies test. Since there were three of my students who needed extra time it was apparently my job to supervise them taking it even though it took up all of my morning when I had other groups of students that I was supposed to be working with. The worst part about it was that there were only twelve students that needed extra time in the library but our AP got THREE teachers to supervise (the speech teacher and the resource room teacher were also there). What a waste of time for all of us. They have already told me that I will be supervising for the ELA as well.

I was only going to mention it . . .

. . . but J posted the entire letter that teachers in my region got from UFT president Randi Weingarten. The micro-management is out of control and I hope that this helps. (I have my fingers crossed).

No kids tomorrow . . .

. . .which means no lesson planning tonight! (I'm sure that tomorrow, no less than an hour or two into the day, I'll be wishing I was with the kids and not training on how to score ELA tests in February).

To celebrate our night of freedom, I went to dinner with another teacher from my school. We decided to splurge and went to the Al di La Trattoria in Park Slope. It was amazing. After living in Italy for three years I never have high expectations for eating Italian food in the States. This restaurant was soo good. It actually reminded me a bit of one of my favorite restaurants in Florence, Baldovino.

The food isn't traditional Italian recipes (which I tend to find boring after a while since all the restaurants have the same things on the menu), but more creative. We had mussels in a garlic and wine sauce for an appetizer. I had the Tortelli with pumpkin in butter and sage that was to die for. For dessert we shared a pear and chocolate cake. And of course to finish off the meal I had an espresso. Even apart from the food, the atmosphere felt like Italy. Unlike a lot of restaurants that are trying hard to look like Italy, this one felt like a trendy (rather than traditional) restaurant that you would *actually* find in Italy. If you can't tell, I highly recommend it.

After the last two days of thinking of Italy so much, this was just the thing to get me into full on I-need-to-be-in-Italy mode. I need to calm down. Italy isn't in my future for probably the next two years (at least), even though I hate to admit it.

One of my favorite things about living in Italy was going to dinner (or especially lunch) on a whim and sharing a great meal and glass of wine with a good friend. At least I can still have moments like that being a teacher in NYC.

Day Dreaming Part II

Over the last two days I've read almost all of this blog about an American woman who moved back to Florence with her husband last year. I've been so engrossed in it for a number of reasons. Mainly because I can visualize everything that she is doing. Florence is such a small city; every street she mentions, restaurant she goes to, or piazza she talks about, I know. I can also relate to her. Just like when I lived in Italy, she is constantly trying to separate herself from "those Americans" and feels like she has to prove herself with her Italian language abilities. I, too, often found myself saying things that were more complicated when a simple two word reply would have sufficed just to show that I do speak Italian.

After reading her blog I looked up this international school in Florence. Just to look. I've thought about working here since the first time I lived in Italy. Part of the reason that I wanted to teach in New York for two years was that I knew that it would give me some experience to apply for jobs like this over seas. As much as I would want to be back in Florence again though, I really do want to try living in a new country. Italy is so familiar and I'd love to have a new adventure. Maybe a couple of years in Egypt and then back to Florence . . .

Day Dreaming

Classroom in Guatemala



Classroom in the West Bank



I came across these two pictures of classrooms in Guatemala and the West Bank. I decided to save them and maybe do something with them in my classroom. I'm not sure what yet. I may use them as a talking point and then later post them in my room showing where they are on a world map. I'd like to find some more before I do anything with them though.

Looking at these pictures got me thinking about going abroad again. I really haven't had much time to think about it since I got to NY. I'm so busy just trying to get through each day (and occasionally taking in the fact that I'm living in NEW YORK--another dream of mine) that I haven't had time to think about going anywhere. Seeing these pictures reminded me.

I would love to teach in an international school. Just before applying to Teach For America I was thinking about teaching in Egypt. I've been wanting to go to the Middle East for a long time. As it turned out, this year wasn't the time to go, but I'm thinking of possible applying to schools there after my two (or three, or . . .) years are up here in New York.

I also stumbled across some blogs of Americans living in Italy today. I put aside the teacher blogs bit and spent a good chunk of the day reading ex-pat blogs and reminiscing about living in Florence.

Almost Friday!

Whenever other bloggers haven't posted for awhile I wonder where they went and if they dropped off the face of the earth. I've been here all along reading and checking comments, I just haven't had the energy to post. I still don't actually, I just started feeling guilty for being so neglectful of my blog.

So, my last post was about my really awful day with the 4th and 5th graders. It's gotten better since then. I've started giving them points for good behavior and bribing them with candy. (I did individual points one day and group points another). It seems to be working so far. Even my most problematic kid was like an angel the first 45 minutes but then he fell apart the second half.

It's hard for me to keep a system going and stick with it. For example I really liked the points idea for dealing with the 4th and 5th graders, but I only see them all together twice a week. Then it's just the 4th graders alone and that is a completely different dynamic. Then today one of them was absent and I only had two students in that class and it was soooo easy. I didn't even need to bribe them. See, things are never consistent so it's hard for me to be.

Today, though, I noticed that when I walked the two 4th graders to my room they immediately lined up against the wall outside my door to wait for me. I was expecting them to just walk right in. I always make the 4th and 5th graders line up by the door because I tell them exactly what I want them to do when they go inside. When I bring the three kindergardeners or the two 2nd/3rd graders, I just let them walk in. I don't have behavior issues with them. So, even though there were just two of them today, they still knew that they always wait outside. I realized that I guess I do have *some* routnines that I am doing consistantly without even realizing.

The Good and the Bad

Today was a rough day.

Well, the ending was rough so that put a damper on the rest of the day which went just fine.

My biggest group of students is six 4th and 5th graders. Two of the boys like to cause a lot of trouble but the girls (all in 5th grade) are generally well behaved. They want to participate and are usually engaged. I do have to work to keep them from chatting to each other all period though.

Today was a different story. The girls (and one in particular) would not stop calling out, making comments to other students and talking back when I told her I was taking points off. The boys were a bit sneakier causing their trouble more quietly so that they didn't get called on it as often. This led the one girl to start pointing out everything that the other students were doing. It just got worse and worse as the 90 minute period progressed.

I am so frustrated because I expect that six kids can be have themselves. I don't have a huge class of rowdy kids running around and yelling; I should be able to handle a measly six kids.

Part of the problem is that the space that we are in is so small. Students are sitting way too close together and don't have enough personal space. Then, if I need to separate someone there is nowhere for them to go. I have one small table on the back wall that I could move a student to but they would not be any farther away from the other students.

The space was just part of the problem today though. I don't know what I am doing wrong. My procedures are in place. I have the students wait in a quiet line outside the classroom before we enter. I remind them that they have to enter quietly, sit down and begin the Do Now. One student picks up the composition books from the back table and then they begin on the Do Now.

That's about where the smooth procedures get derailed. They take FOREVER to copy down their heading and the DO NOW question even though I remind them how much time they have left. Usually after I've given them 5-10 minutes to do this they have barely finished copying the question or they've written it down but not responded. I think that today part of the problem may have been that the question was too hard for them. They didn't understand what I was asking. ("Why is it important to know who your audience is when you write a persuasive essay?" We talked about this yesterday.) I'll have to work on that.

Well, tomorrow is a new day and I will try again. Also, I only see the 4th graders tomorrow and that always seems to be easier than the two grades together.

***

In brighter news . . .

The coaches are starting to be nice to me. I don't know what happened.

Last week one of them was in a better mood than usual so I took that opportunity to ask her for help with teaching my kindergarteners their letters and sounds since I know that she specializes in early childhood. She was very helpful and gave me a lot of good ideas.

Since then, things have been going better. They say good morning to me when they come in the room and actually talk to me during the day.

Yesterday, I foresaw a huge fight coming--it never happened.

There was a tall box belonging to the math coach that had been sitting on the dividing line of the room since the first week of school. I had been using it to put my hand outs and clipboards on while I teach. Well, yesterday she finally got rid of the box. I replaced it with a small desk because I NEED a place to keep all my stuff while I teach and there is no other space at the front of the classroom. Knowing how things have gone so far, I was SURE that she would have a fit and say that it was in the way (it's slightly bigger than the box). I was all prepared for what I would say.

She never said a word.

I don't know what's going on with them but I hope that it continues. I asked them for some advice with my rowdy kids today and they did help some. I think maybe they like it when I ask them for advice. I'll keep on asking if that's what it takes.

The nerve of some people . . .

Yesterday I was at our monthly ESL meeting for the region. I was sitting with two other TFAers and one other woman. The guy had missed the last ESL meeting because his school hadn't told him about it. He only found out about this meeting when he arrived at school that morning via a post-it note. Luckily the meeting was being held just down the street from his school and he was scheduled to do push-in for the majority of the meeting so it wasn't a big issue. He was planning however, to return to school to teach the last period, his history class. He mentions this to us and the woman sitting with us starts going into how he can't leave the meeting because it is mandatory. He explains that he learned about it last minute and that his school was expecting him back. He also said that it was a really difficult class and he didn't want to leave them with a sub--he needed to be there with them. So, this woman continues to go into how he can't leave, his school knows he has to be there, "and what? so you're NEVER going to take a day off the whole school year?" He says no, he's going to try not to. She tells him that he is entitled to his 9 days and he should take them off. He tells her that he just wants to show that he is dedicated and build a good rapport with the principal. She says that they don't care if he takes those days off--they're his. Sooo, he goes to the facilitator of the meeting and after arguing with her for a while about how he needs to get back to his class, she lets him go. After he's gone the woman sitting next to us turns and says "You know he's not going back to his school. He just wants to get out of here." I so wanted to smack her. The other TFA teacher said to her "We actually know him and he IS dedicated to his students. He really WANTS to be with his students and he really WON'T take any days off this year." She just couldn't comprehend that this could be possible.

Random

I don't know why this strikes me as odd, but I can't get over hearing people talk about the Yankees and being upset that they didn't make it to the World Series. I don't even care about baseball it's just that I am used to always hearing about the Yankees as being the team that everyone hates (apart from the random few that are diehard fans but that everyone else shuns). Last night (or was it the night before?) I heard the new anchors talking about how they were bummed that the Yankees lost and I though to myself Even they like the Yankees?? Oh yeah, I keep forgetting that this IS New York. Is this a strange observation?

* * *

I just have to say that today was the nastiest weather. And this is about the WORST weather that we get all winter in Arizona. I don't know how I'm going to make it through the Winter!

Holiday Reading

Check out the Carnival of Education hosted this week by Jenny D.

Thoughts . . .

I don't know how I am going to be able to go back to a full 5 day week next week. These last two have been so great. Not that I have done anything interesting, but the random days off have given me time to catch up and plan. Last night was the first night that I had my planning for the next day done by 6pm so that the evening was all mine to veg. Over the weekend I also planned a month-long reading unit and writing unit for my group of second and third graders.

Yeah! Progress!

But that's about where it ends with my long term planning. I'm hoping to get some more accomplished this weekend. I want to tackle my 8th grade writing plan next.

I'm still struggling with what exactly I'm supposed to be teaching these ESL kids who all speak English. I know that they all need a lot of help with reading comprehension and writing so I am trying to focus on those areas. I just keep questioning myself all the time as to whether or not I am doing the right thing. I'm constantly worrying that I am pulling them out of some important lesson in their classes and that this ESL program is becoming detrimental to them rather than helping them. Maybe if I were more confident about my teaching skills and what I am teaching them I wouldn't feel this way.

And, I know that maybe I shouldn't speak too soon, but I'm not sure if I like being a pull-out teacher. Yes, I have so much more freedom than all of the other teachers. And, yes, especially in my region, where micro-managing is taken to an extreme level, I'm probably the only teacher in the school who doesn't get told what to do. I just keep seeing all of the classes and wishing that I were a classroom teacher. I would love to have my own class of second graders.

I still love the kids in ESL, and the idea of being the first teacher of new arrival students--only that's not my situation. I think I could really get excited about teaching a self contained ESL class. I'm just not in the right neighborhood for that.

Three day weekend!

First day of the long weekend and it's pouring down rain! Well, this should be conducive to all of the planning that I told myself I would do. I won't feel so bad for not getting out of the house an doing something! Though I might pack up my books and head over to the Tea Lounge on Union Street to get some work done. I love that place.

I do feel guilty though that in my first months of living in NYC I haven't had any motivation (or much opportunity) to explore and do fun stuff. During the school week I never get out of Brooklyn and even then I only see my classroom, the subway and my neighborhood. Every Friday night the new teachers at my school go to happy hour. That's usually the biggest outing of the week and I'm generally home by 10 which seems so late! Ah, the life of a teacher!

***

Today I got my order from Amazon.com. I got the 6+1 Traits of Writing book. I really love the concept and want to know more about it. I have all the rubrics for the model (from various workshops at Institute) but I don't really know where to start with implementing it. My plan is to get through some of the reading this weekend so that I can incorporate it into my lesson planning.

I'm hoping to use the 6 Traits to help me take my students beyond the bland Four Square Writing that they are currently doing. I'm going to emphasize that these Traits are applicable to Four Square writing (which they have to do in every single class and in every grade from K-12). I, however, don't plan on using the Four Square in my class. I really despise it. I know that I can get away with that for two reasons. The first is that no one in my building (administrators, coaches, other teachers) know what I am supposed to be doing therefore no one ever checks on me, I've never had my AP come into my room and tell me what should be on my walls or that my bulletin boards aren't up to date, etc. (I'm really sort of loving this freedom). The other reason, and probably most important because this is a justification that I could actually give an administrator, if asked, is that I have to prepare them for the NYSESLAT in the Spring which does not use the Four Square. In fact, it provides it's own graphic organizers which, if used like the Four Square produce the most horrifically organized papers. (I know this from the diagnostic I gave). So, I'm really looking forward to getting to know the 6 Traits and implementing them in my classroom.

Ok, so I'm going to stop procrasinating now and get down to work!

New KIPP School

KIPP is opening a new charter school in Houston to serve the students displaced by hurricane Katrina. The school will be largely staffed by Teach For America teachers who were also displaced by the hurricane.

I think this is such an inspiring story. I give major credit to KIPP as well as the TFA teachers for jumping on this and making every effort to make this school year meaningful to the students.

Teach For America in the News

Here is a link to an article in the New York Times that gives a basic run down on Teach For America. For those familiar with the organization, the article doesn't present anything new but I thought it might be interesting for those who may not have heard of Teach For America.

Professional development

I completely understand that in theory professional development can be a great thing. Veteran teachers and new teachers alike can benefit from new instructional strategies and revisiting or perfecting the ones that they already use. Why then is our hour-long professional development every Monday such a waste of time?

Actually, I think I can answer my own question. It might have something to do with the fact that our PD is presented as one session in the auditorium to every teacher in the school regardless of what they teach.

Our first session was on protocol for teaching Math to the new standards. There are a lot of teachers who don't teach math. (Me for one). This week we had a session on Four Square Writing. Leaving aside my personal thoughts on the Four Square, this session seemed at first to apply to more teachers than math. Then the presenter said that she would only be speaking to writing in grades 3-8. She said that teachers of the early grades should just "sit back and see what the rest of the grades are doing." There is a K-2 Four Square, but she wouldn't be discussing it. What a waste of time for those teachers. So they are clocking the required number of hours, but they are gaining nothing from it. Why not just let them go home (or work in their classrooms) if the PD is explicitly not applicable to them.

At the end of the hour I saw the two gym teachers make a bee line for the door. I hadn't even realized that they too were forced to suffer through these weekly trainings. Will there ever be even ONE session applicable to them? I highly doubt it.

What if, instead of meeting whole school in the auditorium, we had smaller more specialized PD sessions? We could team up with other schools in the district so that Social Studies teachers, math teachers, early elementary teachers, etc. could work separately to really focus on their teaching areas. Then, PD might actually serve it's purpose of helping teachers.

Expectations

There are certain things that the students at my school do without being instructed.

You don't have to tell them how to write the heading on their papers. It has been so ingrained into them that it just comes naturally. When a first-year teacher tries to present a particular way of writing the heading for her class, they promptly tell her that that isn't the way it's done. She's doing it all wrong.

Last week I gave reading comprehension diagnostics to all of my students. When I collected their tests, all of them had numbered the paragraphs in the reading selections. Someone had taught them that this is what you do when you take a test and they didn't need anyone to remind them.

They knew what was expected.

Wednesday we had a fire drill at my school and I caught a glimpse of how orderly the students could behave if only the expectations were set in place. I fully expected our first fire drill to be utterly chaotic. Based on the madness every day when just a third of the students go to lunch, I could only imagine what it would be like when the entire school poured into the halls to try and exit the building.

I was completely mistaken.

Somewhere along the lines, the students had been taught how they were expected to behave during a fire drill. The consequences for misbehavior during a fire drill must have been pretty clear too because every student was perfect. Students were lined up in perfectly straight rows. No one so much as whispered to another student. And everyone walked out of the building in a calm and orderly fashion. Another TFA teacher at my school commented, she had never seen so many students in the hall at one time. She had also never seen the hall so quiet.

All of us first-years were so amazed at how well behaved they were. This just proved how our school could be if only the expectations were set. Did the administration not see this as well? If the students can behave like this during a fire drill, why can't we expect this of them every day?

I feel like the focus is always on the small insignificant things rather than the imortant issues. Don't even think about writing the heading incorrectly but go ahead and run around the classroom and talk back to the teacher. Where are the priorites?

The same goes for the expectations of the teachers. The administration comes around checking to make sure that all ten memos are posted and that the bulletin boards have student work that is not a day over two weeks old, but does anyone even stop to see how the lesson is being taught and if the students are engaged?