Breaks My Heart....

One quote that I wish I never have to hear again:

"Can I come do my dentention tomorrow because my family is going to visit my brother in jail today?"

Absolutely heartbreaking.

Jingles

At the end of last semester, Catherine and I had our kids write jingles to sum up what they knew about the Aztecs, inca and Maya. Here now, a month later, are the top quality ones.

(this one is sung to the tune of "Dashing Through the Snow")
Dashing through the swamp
In a one llama open sleigh
Through the grass bridges we go
Yelling Quechua all the way.
People about to die
By being sacrificed
Oh what fun it is to collapse
Someone else’s land!
All the slaves and warriors
They were sacrificed
Just to be tribute to
The gods in the skies.
They started to collapse
When Pizarro came and robbed.
Their king never returned
Because he was kidnapped.
We used chinampas to farm
To grow tobacco, tomatoes, and peppers.
Sweet potatoes corn and beans
In their swampy area.
They saw death, they saw death
As an honorable thing!
Oh they thought that killing
People was a sport.

(this one is sung to, I believe, "My Name Is" by Eminem..... and it did NOT get a good grade because I TOLD them a hudnred times to focus on more than just killing people....)

Hey kids, do you like violence? (yeah, yeah!) Do you want to see us the Maya, Aztec, Inc stick three-inch nails on each one of our eyelids? (OK!) Then you better watch us sacrifice all these people and play the death game. (Alright!) Which is the reason why we’re all gonna be extinct in exactly 100 years of less, expect the Inca. (I know!) Hi, our cultures name is (huh?) our name is (what?) our names are the Aztec, Inc and Maya (awesome!). Now watch up buy slaves just with one llama to stick a sword through his guts and eat them (Cool!). Now watch me sacrifice this person by cutting his head off with my sword (Sweet!) We’re all gonna die now because we’re all gonna be sacrificed now. Remember out names, the Maya, Aztec and Inca (Yes!) (Uh…. Die sound) Time to celebrate by eating our crops now!


(not sung to the tune of anything really...)

I am the Maya
I do the farm work
While my sisters do the chores
I believe religion
Is the center of life
Our people invented
The number zero
Our people sacrificed
All our slaves
We know…. How to….
Protect us with walls
So you better not mess with us at all
Bt if you ever want to meet us
We’ll never be there
Teotihuacán is our capital
And we disappeared
Oh…
I am the Aztec
I get educated till
I’m ten
You better pay a tribute
If you don’t want to die
You can visit us by the gulf
But you better not betray us
Like Hernan Cortez
He is the reason
We all are dead
Oh…
I am the Inca
You can find us
By the Andes
I hope you’re healthy
Cause you have to climb high
I live on a farmland
The mountains are hard to farm…
We don’t use chinampas
So terrace farming is for us
We call our selves
The “Children of the Sun”
You better not betray us
Or we’ll kill you all
You better not be
Francisco Pizarro
Because we’ll kill you all
So which one of us do you like the best?
Is it me?
Is it me?
Is it me?
Or is it me?????

(sung to.... what else? Yes, "Jingle Bells")

Jingle bells, Aztecs kill, conquistadors are from hell, we hate them, they hate us, they are conquering us, oh! This battle will be recorded in the best codices in Tenochtitlan, we’re running out, of food, from our chinampas, ah Quetzlcoatl must ate us, he needs more sacrifices, what fun it is to die from the Spanish armada tonight, oh!
Jingle bells, Incas, tell, stories from oral tradition, right now they sing of Pizarro conquering civilization, first he wanted gold, then he took Sappa Inca, then he held him ransom and ended up killing him, oh!
Jingle bells, Mayas are scholars, they invented zero, they were great stonemasons, they had a calendar, and used a codex, ho ho ho, they played death ball, talk about organized culture, this concludes my presentation.

(this one too is sung to the tune of.... nothing....)

Maya, Aztecs, Incas too… Let us tell you something new!
Sacrifices were important. Religion made an impact too… the Maya and Aztecs in Mesoamerica, he Incas lived in South American, so let us tell you something new.
The Incas loved their llamas, for they were essential for their needs: traveling, fertilizing crops, wool for clothing, and transport too! The Incas used terrace farming for growing leveled crops while the Aztecs used chinampas as floating gardens to grow food!
Aztec, Mayan calendars, keep track to play their games. They use their hips to hit the ball, losers get sacrificed after all! Inti, Chac, Quetzlcoatl, are the sun gods that the three empires praised! Incas, Aztecs, Mayas did religious sacrifices to please their gods as a tribute all in all!
Men were priests, warriors, hunters too. Women cooked, made clothes, created medicine. Women often married to Royal Families who lived in distant states, which created an alliance! These were the Mayan roles! Girls were taught to stay home, but those who got pregnant were honored. Women were skilled craftsmen too. Men were told to be tough and were farmers, artisans or traders. They could join the noble class, by doing one act of bravery. These were the Aztec roles!
The Mayas weren’t so nice. They threw captives into watery pits to please their gods, which wasn’t very polite. Aztecs, Incas, were conquered by conquistadors. Cortes defeated Aztecs, where Pizarro defeated the Incas
Nobody knows how Mayan’s empire collapsed. Aztecs are dead because of Cortez. Inca’s ended because of the Spaniards. Hope you enjoyed our jingle and maybe it will become a single.

From JJ

This isn't necessarily about teaching but it IS about books- therefore I deem it appropriate for this blog (plus, I'm the author- I get to choose to put whatever I want in here....) So here goes.

1) One book that changed your life.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I loved it as a story when I was little and then when I grew up, I felt a strong connection to the symbolic ties- Aslan sacrificing himself, Edmund's temptation of Turkish Delight and being a prince, the power of family and friendship. Plus, things just get better as you read on and continue to see symbols in the other six Chronicles of Narnia.

2) One book that you have read more than once.

The Outsiders. It's short but so incredibly powerful that as soon as I get to the end, I just want to go back to the beginning and read it all over again. (It's also possible that I want to do so because the last lines and first lines are the same....)

3) One book you would want on a desert island.
Honestly, probably The Idiot's Guide to Survival. Seriously, I highly doubt my abilities to keep myself alive on a desert island. Now, if I was just chilling on a desert island for a long time by myself, I'd probably want London by Edward Rutherfurd because it's loooooonnng and keeps me captivated.

4) Two books that made you laugh.
Anything by Bill Bryson but especially Notes from a Small Island. Parts like "My neighbor is a darkie", "Colins Crapspanties", "Don't call me bub....", pretty much made me snort with laughter the entire time.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. So bizarre (no wonder, coming from the likes of Douglas Adams) but also so hilarious. It teachings you how to fly, reminds you of the dangers of tax evasion (being dead for a year), the answer to the Big Question of Life, the Universe and Everything (42) and features at one point of a cello player. Plus, how can you not laugh at an alien who spends his entire life going around and insulting every single person in the entire universe?

5) One book that made you cry.
Only Revolutions by Mark Danielewski. By the time I got to the end, I was so entranced by the love Sam and Hailey had for each other than by the time the book concluded and it wasn't the happy ending I was expecting, I had tears running down my cheeks.

6) One book you wish you’d written.
The Little House on the Prairie books. First of all, I grew up wanting to be Laura Ingalls Wilder. Secondly, because she wrote it, she obviously experienced so much history- living in Indian Territory and being removed by the US Army; living in the Dakotas before they were states; experiencing the locust plagues that often happened in the midwest. She lived such a life, seeing all these things! I'm jealous!

7) One book you wish had never been written.

Honestly, I can't think of one right now (at least something significant- I kind of don't like all those self-help books, which I never read, but I guess they're useful to someone...) but when I was in eleventh grade, I HATED reading Tess of the d'Urbervilles and honestly wished that Thomas Hardy had spent his life doing something else. Maybe he would have been a good blacksmith?

8)Two books you are currently reading.

Before. I just stared it so there's not too much to say although I have been enjoying the first few chapters. Also, technically it's not reading but it is a book so I say it counts. I'm listening to The Da Vinci Code on CD when I fall asleep and it's been interesting. As a basis for Christian belief, it's crap, as a story, it's decently captivating. But as a written piece of work, honestly, it's also kind of crap. Dan Brown is not the world's best author... not even close. But at least he can hold an audience.

9) One book you’ve been meaning to read.
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Colin's told me for teh last four months to read it. I've given it a start but didn't have a chance to finish so I'm got to go back and give in another try this summer, possibly when I go to England since I'll have lots of time on my hands.

Life and Times of Die Fuhrer

Here is the paper on Hitler written by the kid in my fifth period that i referenced below. All spelling and gramatical errors are left in their original form.

Hitler Report

Hitler, the man who started and caused depression and angered others deeply. He was borned in Austria. He lived a poor life and later became homeless then soon je joined an army in Germany. theen leaders of Germany and Hitler started world war one. Then later on the war was ended, germany lost. Soon Hitler came to realize he hated Jewish people. He started well known racism. As hew as in the army his rank ascended. He had plans of massacreing Jewish people. So he did, which started the Holocaust. by then he became a leader of a fierces party, Nazis. His political party and military soon took the swastika symbol, symbol of which many type of people worshipped. Those people were very angry but were massacred too if you were against Hitler. Many Jews were so afraid of him he was soon known as a tyrant, fierce, dictator. during his plans the "Holocaust" killed many Jews. Attacked cities of the eastern side of Austria and eastern Europe. He'd also killed pople who are not the same as him or normal or something that he is not. That whole event caused world war two. Almost all countries that were against him teamed up to defeat Hitler and the nazis. Not long till other countries learned his teachings and ways "communist". After a long period of tie USA and other countries defeated the outrageous party and Hitler. He decided to kill himself, "suicide". The terror and fear was ended but not al was done. Most of the Asian countries went through his ways, "communist". Many people's lives were taken even the young were taken out, and mostly Jews of all kind, young, old and middle aged. Most were glad that that event was over. Soon other countries did communism but some were ended. And now still today they still do his teachings. Never the less we hope pain of our wounds will heal from the past.

Wow. Speechless.

Brother Future

When I was in eighth grade, every single class watched "Glory". Great movie. Plus, who doesn't like Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman and Andrew Braugher. Depending on time and everything, I may even show it to my own kids. What I had never heard of before was a movie called "Brother Future". Mark and Hau told me about it and I later went to go google it. The first thing that popped up was "science-fiction story...." and I was like "wow, um, OK...." Then I read further and got a little more worried. Basically, "Brother Future" is a story about a black kid named TJ from Detriot who's got a lot of street cred and basically thinks that he can do better hustling and making money from the street than goign to scool. He doesn't care about his past or his heritage- he's jsut interested in making money. One day, he's running from the police, gets hit by a car and wakes up in Chartleston, 1822. When I read that, I thought "Oh man, the kids are going to laugh me to Kalamazoo and back." While in Charleston, he is caught and thought to be a runaway slave. He's sold to a man name Mr Cooper at a slave auction and goes to work on Master Cooper's plantation. He meets a bunch of peope there- a friend named Josiah who is trying to read, Josiah's gf Caroline, the black slavedrive Zeke and Mortilla, a paml reader who tells TJ that in order to get home, he must help another slave without getting anythign in return and then find the big tree. Again, kind of cheesy and I'm getting concerned with the reactino of the kids.

Over the course of TJ's time in the plantation, he gets himself whipped, accidentally gets his friend Josiah whiped, hits on caroline, tries to run away and then ends up going to meet Denmark Vesey (woohoo! Real person!) He becomes involved with a slave revolt, led by Vesey and other slaves, including Josiah. Josiah, TJ and Caroline all try and escape after Zeke rats out the plan to Cooper and the two evil men chase after the three slaves. TJ stalls them while Josiah adn Caroline escape. Cooper shoots TJ and he falls from the shot, right under the big tree (after, of course, helping out someone without getting something in return.... cue cheesy music....). He awakens and leanrs that he really needs to know about his past and his heritage in order to know himself and learns that to help yourself, you have to help others. The end. Happiness all around.

So, by the time I decide to show this, I'm worried. I was borrowing the video from Mark, so I didn't know how the kids were going to react. But it turns out they were captivated. It really ended up not beign cheesy at all. The acting was decent, there weren't to omany bad lines, and best of all, the kids really got a sense of what like was like on a plantation in pre-Civil War times. I was really quite relieved. Incidentally, TJ was played by a young Phill Lewis, who now is apparently a character named Mr. Mosely on The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, whcih the kids loved, and Denmark Vesey was played by none other than Carl Lumbley, who played Dixon on Alias.

So, I definitley will be showing Brother Future again in the future (no pun intended....)

Long Overdue Update

So, first semester has come and gone and we're into the third week of second semester. It's been a crazy last few weeks and honestly, I just haven't been motivated to update. But here, first of all, is a little recap of all my classes and how they're going.

First period- they're doing just fine. The only problem is that in the last two weeks, I've gotten two new students. One of them is from out of the district/county and doesn't know what the last thing that she did was. The other student came from a school in the district and when I asked her what she was learning, she said she didn't remember. I replied, "How can you not remember? You were just there last week!" To which she replied that she hadn't been in school for two weeks because she had been suspended for fighting. Well, fan-frickin'-tastic. Where do these people come from!

Second period- The only major problem with this class right now is my loud-mouth, life-enthusiastic kid who needs to just tune down the loud-mouth life-enthusiasm. he's a great kid, smart, highest (usually) grade in the class but just needs to learn when it's appropriate and when it's not. Hopefully he'll start to learn the more he has to stay after school. By the way, I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but the rentention kid from fifth period who moved is now back and in my second period. And honestly, he's been fine. Still rolls his eyes and says "oh my god" but he's been doing his work and hasn't been rude or out of line so that's been nice.

Third period- Due to several kids moving or transfering into other periods, I now have 18 kids on this class and they're amazing. I love them. It's hard to believe that three months ago, they were a class that I didn't like and was having issues with. I think the fact that it is so small helps. I can connect with them on another level and can give them individual attention. They're not always thebrightest, but they're hard working kids, we've got some good report and some good inside jokes and they seem to be excited about what we're learning about right now.

Fifth period- Pretty much the same as last semester. Special-Ed boy still driving me (and pretty much the rest of the class) crazy (except for the day his MOM came in and sat with him during class... man!) but what can you do. The rest of the kids have been doing pretty well. Funny story- one kid (I don't remember hwo we got onto this subject) said that something about Hitler being cool or interesting or something like that. I was pretty shocked and so I said "OK, what I want you to do is go and write me a one page report on Hitler." And he did! I'll include it in its own separate post because, despite some flaws, he obviously did some research. So go him.

OK, so that's my eighth graders. My seventh graders are a whole 'nother story. So, they're definitely not as smart as my kids were last semester and they don't seem to try as hard. The major problem that I'm having with them is that they're not very quick on the uptake with learning my class rules. I've had to keep both classes after for talking, not raising their hand, wasting class time, etc. and I'm hoping that they're starting to learn. I wish that I remembered more of how it was the first few weeks with my first semester kids (dang, I knew I should have taken better notes....) to see if they're taking more or less time to adjust. Another thing that's hard with both of the classes is the amount of prior knowledge that they have. Which is none. Seriously, my kids don't know the 50 states, they don't know the differences between cities and countries and states, they can't tell me what number is approx halfway between 85 and 90, they don't know how to plot numbers on a chart, it's crazy! I know that elementary teachers need to focus on math and reading but if they don't teach basic history skills, then I can't teach what I need to! I'm struggling with that SO much but I'm really working to try and go as basic as I can with the amount of time that I have.

They also seem to have an issue with homework. I know that I started right at the beginning of the year with Friday Follow Through with my other kids so maybe I really have to enforce that right off the bat with these kids too and then back of when they start doing their homework. Many of them have already lost the privilige of turning their HW in late and I'm really thinking of doing away with it compeltely at this point because it just makes a whole heckuva lot more work for me and it just rewarding them for not doing their work in the first place. Because they either don't do their homework or they do it so poorly that it's basically worthless. Sigh.

I do like most of the kids though. There are some uber excited ones that just make me smile a lot and there are also some kids who really try hard. One quick story- there's a kid in my sixth period class who has a language issue, as well as a learning disability. So I can tell rright off the bat that there's something wrong with him and David (SDC and RSP teacher) confirms that with me last week. So despite the fact that this kid probablyd oesn't udnerstand a word coming out of my mouth nor does he understand the amterial, he is the HARDEST try-er in the class. His effort and perseverence to get his assignments in is amazing- all theo ther kids in the class need to take a look at him and have him be their example. he's fantastics. so for the story... today, after lunch, he walks into my classroom. "Marco," I said, "it's fifth period. You're not in here until sixth period." He is absolutely convinced that i'm wrong, that it's sixth period and that he's in the right room. I finally have to ask him if he recognizes anyone in the class (which, of ocurse, causes a kid to say "hey, he knows me!"- thanks, that defeats the purpose...), and finally he gets it. He is so precious!

So yeah, that's the update. Welcome to my life....

My seventh graders

Pictures of my fourth period kids....
Pictures of my sixth period kids...

Things That I've Learned

In light of the end of the first semester and beginning of the second semester, here are TEN things that I've had learned these last four months (but don't worry, I've learned more than this.... these are just the fun ones).

1. Always hole punch the handouts that you give. There's a 99% chance the students will NOT have a hole punch, there is a 99% chance that mine will get stolen if I give it out so, therefore, life will be eaiser for all if I hole punch the handouts myself.

2. Always make sure that the pencil sharpener is emptied- pretty much on a daily basis.

3. Be careful when calling on students who hold a pencil up when raising their hand. Most likely they don't want to answer the question, they just want to sharpen their pencil.

4. Always make WAY too many copies. Too much is much better than too little.

5. Never underestimate the mind of a seventh grader. They may pull something on you that will pretty much make you dissolve in laughter and end the lesson right there and then.

6. Boys will probably always play with those little fingerboards in seventh and eighth grade. They did when I was a seventh and eighth grader, they still will when my kids are seventh and eighth graders.

7. You can get yourself a lot of street cred with seventh graders by showing the collection of fingerboards that you've collected from the eighth graders...

8. A look of death can go a long, long way....

9. Practice makes perfect so PRACTICE not smiling, no matter what an eighth grader says about the sexual orientation of Chester A. Arthur ("no straight man is named Chester")

and finally.....

10. Learn to not flinch despite how bizarre a student's haircut might be.... how much cracking a seventh grader's voice might experience..... how ridiculous a girl's outfit may be...... and especially what their hair looks like after they show up in your class after P.E. and/or a very windy day.