Article 23
I'm excited about next year. After hammering out my schedule for fall, I am relieved to know I will be pulling out my same group of this year's 7th graders, not only for math again, but also for...
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Tuesday was auction day. I was a little disappointed because one of my characters was suspended and could not participate. He's had a pretty good year overall, but did something dumb at the last...
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The year is winding down, and I feel relieved and melancholy all in the same breath. It's been an up and down year, no doubt, but overall, 2012/2013 will go down in history as one of my better school...
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Article 20
Many people have this image of teachers as spending their summer, feet up, toes in the sand, soaking up the sun on some exotic beach. The reality for most of us, though, is:For me this summer, I am...
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Article 19
First two days down... my feet hurt. My back hurts. My head hurts. Did I mention my feet hurt??All in all, a good two days. The first one went by so quickly I didn't have time to breathe, with new kids...
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Some days, you just have to remind yourself to breathe. The week seems to be zooming at the speed of light at the same time it is dragging like watching paint dry.We're off to a great start overall......
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Some of you are friends on Facebook but others aren't.. but I thought I would post HERE my status updates from the first three days:Day one, check! Actually a pretty good day overall. I'm beat, it...
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Some random reflections on Week One:Kids are FUNNY. Especially middle schoolers. They see the humor in the weirdest of things. If you can learn to see the world through their eyes, life is much easier...
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Every September 11, we are all transported back to that day...I was teaching 8th grade history - excited to be in a regular classroom, an opportunity to do my own thing, after 5 years of being in...
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Article 14
Tonight I blog with sadness and a little anger, and a lot of frustration.Education today is all about the mighty test score. We test kids and test kids and test kids. But there is more to education...
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Today's big news? I FIXED my speakers :D ALL BY MYSELF. Anyone who knows me knows I cannot even manage to get a DVD to play in my home DVD player 9 times out of 10. Forget anything more complex.In...
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Today is the last day of MEAP testing. Whew... I am sure glad THOSE scores will be used to evaluate me.Disruptive students.Wrong audio version of tests so students were cycled in and out of classroom....
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Today is opening day of deer season. I swear every other school in the state has a day off, especially since it falls on Friday this year. But not us, ooooohhh no!So here were are, with half the kids...
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Article 10
Seriously... you want to evaluate (not judge.. because that is something entirely different, right??) me and my teaching on test scores. Fine, dandy, makes about as much sense as most things we do in...
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I don't believe in giving up on kids. I really honestly, down in my deepest of deeps, don't believe in giving up. But sometimes, I feel like I am backed against a wall, and am simply trapped, with...
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Article 8
It seems more days than not, I feel like a failure. It seems too often I focus on what's going wrong, instead of believing things are going right. But the past few days have given me some pats on the...
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The countdown to summer calendar says 26 days left. 26 days to finish teaching these 8th graders everything they need to know to be successful in high school..... I have had them for 3 years. Ups,...
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Article 6
Why I hate cell phones in the classroom..............Dad texts daughter to tell her her cat died.REALLY??? SERIOUSLY???????????#1 Don't you think that could wait until school is over?#2 Don't you think...
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Article 5
Gather 4 data points to prove my worth, my effectiveness....Let's examine my possibilities:-MEAP tests that students took last October, which tested them on content from the previous year-GLAD tests...
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I had an absolute meltdown this morning.. in class... I am so beyond frustrated with the behaviors of my students I am at the end of my rope. I know we are at the end of the year and they are ready to...
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Article 3
At the beginning of the school year, we are all like fresh eggs, just gathered from the hen's soft nest, still warm, full of nutrition and potential.By June, we are like burnt fried eggs, beyond...
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Article 2
The school year will officially be over at noon tomorrow, at least for students. Staff have to be here, technically, until 3:08, and then again next Monday, for our last day of professional...
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Article 1
Summer time = LEARNING TIMEParents, don't just let your kids sit and vegetate all summer. Get them involved in some sneaky learning. Here are a few ideas: 1. Check out your local library for summer...
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Article 0
The end of June... the school year's dust has settled, for better or worse. It's done.I've moved past those last few days of school when I just wanted to be DONE, when I couldn't wait for those kids to...
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I haven't blogged in forever, for a number of reasons, but today's history class was so good I had to share.We are studying the War of 1812. I showed a Crash Course video about the war to begin with,...
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