December 3rd, So Far So Good

Apologies for not posting lately- it's been a little crazy and busy. Last week, the week after Thanksgiving, was just madness and by the time the non-student day on Friday came around, I was more than ready for a day without students. I actually had a great and very productive day- Catherine and I planned, I talked with the guys about the upcoming week and teaching about Lewis and Clark, the department went to lunch and I worked on some of my BTSA things that are due at the end of this week. All in all, it was a feeling of accomplishment getting so much done.

Plus, I ended up getting absolutely everything planed for this week, which only leaves two weeks of planning. Plus, I have a day of training the last week of school so I'm literally at the point where I'm counting down the days until Christmas. Not because I'm not enjoying my job but because it's a vacation and I can sleep in and we'll have just finished a unit in seventh grade so no major lesson planning and of course Christmas and friends and lots of good books.

All in all though, things are going quite well. I made it through Thanksgiving and November without hitting a wall. These last two weeks with the kids have been great.

First period: They are my all-time favorite class. By far. Some of my favorite kids are in that class, they're enthusiastic and inquisitive and in general, just a good group of kids. They're really well-tempered and calm so they're actually the perfect class to have as my focus class for BTSA. Every time the BTSA lady has been in class, they've been great. They're definitely the class that I can joke around with, especially with these two students who are perpetually late (one has been on time for five days in a row now... we're trying to see how long the record can get).

Second period: My largest class and at this point, not yet on my bad side. They're a mix of really high-achieving students and some low-achieving students so differentiation is key. And sometimes difficult. However, they're pretty well-tempered as well and when I do have to get tough, they quiet down. I do have a couple of lazy-butts who literally do absolutely nothing and there's pretty much nothing else I can do about them. There's one student, very high-achieving, who doesn't know the meaning of be quiet which is hard to deal with because he does know the answers... he just needs to learn how to control himself and keep himself on task. There's also a slightly-lower achieving girl who is one hard worker- she just kicked butt on the last homework assignment and despite being slightly lower in achievement, she's very dedicated.

Third period: My small class, I believe my smallest of eighth graders. I used to not like this class but I feel much more comfortable around them now and I think my relationship with them has improved. They're also more comfortable around me and we can joke and have fun but they're also small enough that I can make them work individually if they lose focus or stop concentrating. Definitely lower-achievers but all in all, they get down to business, especially when they're in class. There are also definite "groups" in the class but because they're so small, no one really gets left out at all. I also have these absolutely adorable little Asian girls who are so hard working- and they are just so incredibly precious! I love them! And their little accents.

Fourth period: I LOVE THESE KIDS! There are only 21 of them and they are all incredible little kids. Some who don't do work but most of them are smart, hard-working, inquisitive, just so enthusiastic. And they're just a bundle of fun. They buckle down when it's time to work but I just love every single class period I have with them. Definitely tied with first period for my favorite class. Possibly my favorite class over all. Nothing bad i can really say about them.

Fifth period: I hate this class. OK, correction, I hate a few kids in this class. There's one student who has no GPA (aka 0.0 because he's failing everything), needs to be on a behaviour plan, does absolutely nothing but distract in my class and overall drives me up the wall. But because he's technically special ed, there's nothing I can really do. I've tried pretty much every single strategy that I know of and still nothing works. And the worst part is that he sets off two other students, one who is a retention student and the other who is actually decently smart. Honestly, when this first kid isn't in class, the rest are fine. When he is in class, he distracts, talks, makes inappropriate noises and comments and is a general disturbance. On the days when he's not in class, we've had a productive time so I'm working on seeing if he can be transferred to another fifth period class, one where maybe the discipline will work better. if he wasn't on the class, I really do believe that my relationship with the rest of the students will improve. The rest of them are not too hard-working (there are a few that are) but in all honesty, I can't fully focus on them because I'm too busy trying to keep the other one on task. Sigh, this class frustrates me.

Sixth period: My largest seventh grade class and definitely not has hard working. A few absolute gems but definitely the class that I have to be on their backs about turning in their work, focusing, staying on task and not yelling out in class. There are a few frustrating kids and a few kids that don't do their work but I do believe that sixth period holds a special place in my heart. There are definitely some that make me smile in spite of myself. In general, a good-hearted class with some problems.

So yeah, all in all, things are going quite well. After Christmas, its' only three more weeks until the second quarter is over and I will have survived the first half of my first year teaching. I can do it!!!!