i just have to take a moment…

… to brag on a spanish 2 student.  she had a really rough year in spanish 1.  not struggling with the material, just a lot of stuff going on in her life that made normal functioning difficult.  this year she is an absolute jewel.  she is always coming up with the right answers, and acts so happy with herself when she does, that i just want to hug her. 

yesterday she came up to my desk and showed me all of the stuff she saved from spanish 1.  she saved all her notes (many of my students save their notes from 1 year to the next because they’re handy).  and then she pulled out an index card that i gave her last year.  she was in my most difficult class last year, and around christmas break, i took out some index cards and wrote a personal message and thank you to each student.  she still had hers.  i almost cried. 

but that’s not all… when she showed me her card, other students in the class started searching for theirs too.  all the students who had been in her class last year still had their index cards and had them that day.  i have to admit i welled up a little bit.

i can rest easy now

i’ve never been this caught up before.  really, i don’t know how it happened.  is it 4th year magic?  is it some store of energy i found this weekend? i don’t really have an answer, but i’m almost completely caught up.  i have 2 sets of tests left to grade, and they’re already halfway graded, it’s just a matter of finishing, and i think i can do that during my prep tomorrow, or even before school (fat chance).  my lesson plans are ready for the entire week, and i’m sure they will bleed into the next week because i always overplan.  my spanish 1 plans are ready for the next 2 weeks.  unbelievable.

really.  unbelievable.  incredible.  i think i’m going to sleep really well tonight.

well, the week wasn’t a total wash.

friday went much better all around. 

 in 1st period, my little singers wanted to go to the french classroom to sing their new song in spanish to them.  they’ve come a long way in the past 4 weeks.

 2nd period was leaps and bounds better.  i decided that sometimes classrooms that are full of negative energy can be turned around.  i did something completely out of the norm.  i brought in my double hot plate, some biscuit dough, chocolate and powdered sugar, and made them churros while they did a wordsearch on the new vocab (we just started a new chapter.)  i’ve never seen a happier bunch.  they amazingly all loved the wordsearch, and they kept coming back for more churros.  maybe on monday things will still be just as good.  i’ve had a hard time figuring out what exactly they like to help me in the planning process.  i know many people do not like the concept of “entertaining” students, i really feel like that is part of my job.  people who are entertained pay attention.  each class is different, so it takes time sometimes to figure out what makes each class tick. 

for instance, 4th period actually likes to learn.  i don’t have to work hard to entertain them.  they actually tell me what they want to learn, and what they think they need more review on.  what a concept!  when i was reviewing numbers with them a few weeks ago, they actually asked to review time (which i wasn’t really even planning to talk about in this chapter) because they didn’t remember it very well from last year.

on a side note, i’m really enjoying our new textbooks.  it’s rough adapting to new material again, but i like the overall philosophy this publisher has.  we’re using Exprésate by Holt.  It seems to focus more on fluency and it’s more grammar subtle than grammar exclusive.  i was a little concerned about the transition for the spanish 2 students between books, but after this first assessment, i don’t have many complaints.  it seems easier to promote open responses than before, and they feel like they have more options on tests and assignments than before.  and i, for one, enjoying seeing how their minds work.

well, i guess i should get back to grading.  fortunately, i’m mostly done with lesson planning for the time being.

you’ve got to be kidding me…

is the phrase that i have mentally said to myself several times today. maybe i need an attitude adjustment, maybe it’s the rain, or maybe it’s just all the crap that has been passed down my way today.

this morning, i woke up gloriously. i slept like it was supposed to be saturday. that wonderful, relaxing, alarm free slumber. i woke up fully rested… and then i realized i had overslept by about 30 minutes. in my time crunch morning rush, that is quite a bit of missing time. but i still managed to get out the door only 10 minutes later than usual, and arrived at school and got my copies and office errands run well before 1st period.

i get to my room, and there is a crowd already there forming. now let me preface this by saying that by no means am i a morning person. really, seriously, not a morning person. but, normally, i don’t mind so much having students in and out of the room before school (after 7:30), but i’ve had issues this week. first, i needed to do grades, and i don’t like having students in the room while i’m working on putting them into the computer. second, i’ve run later than usual this week and i like to have a little time to get things organized just the way i like them and to have my little moment of quiet before the storm hits. i’m normally at work and in my room by 7:15, and unlock the door by 7:30. yesterday i just left it locked and left the lights off until the bell rang because i needed to do the grades, and there were actually students BANGING on the door. i went to the door, opened it by a crack, and politely informed them that any more banging on the door would result in my rage. this morning, i was accosted by the same 2 students who were responsible for the incessant banging yesterday before i could even get into the room. i broke up the pda that was going on and told them to go hang out in the cafeteria because it was free breakfast day.

1st period went well. as usual. this is a really great group. i gave 2 quizzes to them today. one was on numbers, and the other was a pronunciation quiz. i didn’t think either was fairly difficult, and they enjoyed those who chose to sing for their quiz. it’s amazing what students will do for 3 extra credit points. a student in 6th period even came up with an “interpretive dance.”

2nd period has been my trial. there is a lot of negativity coming from the students and it weighs me down. there are just some mean kids in the class. it became really apparent today that i need to do my segment on immigration sooner rather than later. i’m actually thinking of making them take the us citizenship test just to show them how hard it is to become a citizen.

during 3rd period it all started to come apart. which is odd, considering it’s my planning period. to start off, DH came through my room on her way to the restroom and commented that my bookshelves were empty. (we just got new furniture, or rather, she got 3 new bookcases and a locking cabinet, and i got one small bookcase. and it came in while i was out last week when my mom was in the hospital so i haven’t had time to move stuff onto it.) DH is constantly trying to take over my storage space. i’m already storing crap for her, and she has at least 2 times the storage space that i do. and upon seeing empty shelves, she immediately said she was going to send her leftover textbooks to be put on my shelves. i responded with a vehement NO. this goes back a long way. during pre-planning, 2 former students came by to visit me, and while i was in a meeting and they were eating lunch in my room, she came into it and forced them to clean RAT POOP out of the place we normally store leftover textbooks. she insisted it had to be done that day. well, why couldn’t she freaking do it herself then. and then she proceeded to fill that space with her own CRAP. i was infuriated when this happened on so many different levels. the office between our rooms and another teacher’s is for joint storage, not personal storage. we each get a certain amount of cabinet space, and the rest is designated for specific things. like leftover textbooks. however, she didn’t know that i knew she did this. (i apologized to my former students profusely and then took them to lunch the next day.) so when she suggested taking my space for more of her crap, i lost it. but i calmly replied “why don’t you just use the space we used last year for textbook storage. i’ve already stored mine, i only had 4 leftover, and no level 1′s because we didn’t have enough books.” and then she said something along the lines of that space already being filled, and it’s not like i was using the bookcase. i just told her i hadn’t had time to put anything on it since it came in, and i wanted to use it. she’s still mad about it. whatever

4th period was just fine. it started raining buckets though. it’s been raining for a few days now, off and on, but around 11 it just started a torrential downpour. my back windows looked like we were in a car wash. hallways were flooding, the sidewalks were rivers, it was ridiculous. i was actually afraid of snakes on my way to lunch. at which i again got crapped on.

one of the secretaries from the office accosted me about a student. this student dropped my class yesterday. it’s a long story. he’s needed to drop it since the beginning of the year because he just didn’t get a good enough foundation in level 1. by saying that, i don’t mean i didn’t try to give him that foundation in level 1. i mean i exhausted every effort and could not make him do it. he did just enough to get by, and didn’t really learn much. she basically blamed me for his problems because now he’s going to have to take college spanish instead of using high school credit. i don’t think it’s fair to blame me, or any teacher for that matter, for the failure of a student. i can’t do the work for him, he has to take responsibility for his actions at some point. i just feel like he’s experiencing the consequences of just coasting for a year. and i especially shouldn’t have to answer to her. i don’t even have a reason, or really the legal right, to discuss his grades with her because she is not his parent. all this during lunch. this is why i normally don’t always go to the staff room for lunch. someone always wants to work or make me work during lunch, so ms. s and i usually just eat in my room, and gossip in good nature. but.. because it was shepherd’s pie day, i decided to go eat in the cafeteria. mistake.

then, in the midst of all this, an announcement was made saying we were under a tornado warning, and would be remaining in the cafeteria until further notice. (meaning until 1:15). this didn’t really turn out so bad. i just excused myself from this ridiculous tirade directed at myself and said i needed to help supervise since all the portable classrooms would soon be entering the cafeteria. crisis diverted.

why does it seem like all my conflicts this year are with other teachers or adults, and not any students? not one real conflict with any student this year. that’s actually preferable. i can avoid office personnel.

long time no post…

i’ve had a rough couple of weeks. first i was sick with the hacking cold of death. then, my mom was in the hospital for a week and that was stressful. progress report grades had to be turned in on friday, even though they didn’t hand them out to students until today, and there were errors galore thanks to the great technology upgrade we’ve had. i’ve had to go in early, like 6:30 early, every day to update my grades on the website because there is something wrong with my teacher computer, and blah blah blah they can’t keep anything fixed from the district level. and oh my word.

i threw a mini tantrum on monday night because i was sleep deprived. i’m over that now. not being sleep deprived (i’ve decided that comes with the job, and being an adult), but the tantrum part. i’ve tried not to take it out on students though. i did have to “bring the hammer down,” so to speak in 2 classes, though. really, minor adjustments. they were just not focusing. so, in one class it was just a matter of assigning new seats and opting not to play a review game with them before the test. in another class it was just controlling one individual. honestly, i love this individual, he is just one of those students who has a story about EVERYTHING and distracts the focus of the entire class unless i put my thumb on him.

in other news, our european tour for the summer has been filled. i can’t believe it. last year, we ended up with 11 participants. and that was after a 4 month sign up period. this year, we already have 30, after 2 weeks. and they’ve all paid deposits. our fundraising account is in the black, even after paying the airline deposit and the hotel deposit. unbelievable.

i’m going to end the random disorganization that is this blog now and go read a book until i fall asleep. (probably on the same sentence i start.)

sleepless in…

what am i doing up at this hour, you say? i can’t sleep. for good reason. my dad had to take my mom to the emergency room this evening because she was having severe stomach pains, and we weren’t sure whether it was appendicitis, or something else. it was something else. her gallbladder.

so, they’re keeping her overnight, and i was put in charge of taking care of the dog. who will not go to sleep. after spending about 2 hours trying to get him to lay down and sleep, for more than 5 minutes at a time, i have given up and put him in doggie prison. but now i’m wide awake and cannot sleep at all, and i have to “get up,” in less than 4 hours. boy, tomorrow is going to be rough.

guess i’ll try to go back to bed now.

planning blues (and maybe greens and reds too)

i love to procrastinate. in fact, that is what i’m doing right now. i honestly wish that procrastination were a profession, because i certainly think i’m a professional.

i’m in the middle of going over my plans for next week. i’ve basically got the whole unit planned for both levels, but as plans go, everything is in pencil. i stop at the end of every week and look at how much we’ve accomplished, and try to gauge how much will do next week, but things always end up different. it’s sometimes annoying to get behind, but i don’t have as much of a problem with it because most often it’s because i needed to spend more time on that issue. these are new textbooks and i’m not sure how long things are going to take yet. i have a general idea from how i taught the same concepts last year, but i’m using different activities.

it’s taken me a few weeks into the school year, but i’ve finally decided that following the text is just not my style. i really already knew this. i haven’t done that for the past 3 years, but the other teacher and i decided we would try to teach in the order of the textbook this year since they’re new to see how it worked. i already don’t like it.

i know that some teachers really like working on the same pacing schedule that other teachers work on in their department, but i feel like it’s suffocating, not to mention a little insulting sometimes. fortunately, our department is a bit more laid back in this area and as long as we cover certain basic points necessary for advancement to the next level, the order isn’t really so important.

that said, i’m breaking away from the text book. yes, i still plan to use it, but i’m not going in order because it just moves too dang slow and i feel bogged down by the amount of time they want me to spend on vocabulary. i’m tired of piddling around, and when the students start to wonder why things are structured the way they are in spanish, i know it’s time to move on to include a little grammar.

so we’ll so how this week goes. fortunately, i no longer fear dead time, because it doesn’t exist. whenever we get to a closing point in class and there’s not enough time to move on to the next concept, i just pull out my songs. this week we are going to perfect fray martín, and i’ll be giving them an oral quiz on it next week. since we started doing the alphabet, i also like to pull out my hangman games, which are easy enough to make up on the spot.

they also have an affinity for a game called “name that celebrity,” which isn’t really a game at all. i just created a slideshow a few weeks ago with a bunch of celebrities and students just have to say in spanish “ella es salma hayek” or “ella se llama salma hayek,” and they go absolutely bonkers. they love it, and it’s not even a game. it’s just a bunch of pictures. one student in my 6th period actually fell out of his seat trying to get my attention to call on him for the shakira picture. what i like about the game is that it is adaptable. my spanish 2′s are able to describe the people in the pictures, like “ella es rubia, guapa, y tiene los ojos azules” and so on. i think i’m going to have to go hunting for some more celebrity photos.

i really need to go plan and grade the stack/mountain of papers staring me down. i think i’m just putting it off because i already know what a long week this one is going to be.