"because you work with your children" is no longer an adequate response to my question of the winter, "Why am I sick so much?" This is my fourth year teaching, I am supposed to have built up some immunity by this point in the game. Honestly, I have been sick every two or three weeks since thanksgiving. it is now nearly the end of february. My pcp has told me that she sees mumerous teachers from my district and that it is a combination of poor air quality in the old buildings of my district and being with sick kids all the time. Possible but tose factors are not in my control so what are some possible other theories? Here is a partial listPoor diet (according to my mom, I should eat meat, and lots of it)http://www.netwellness.org/question.cfm/10209.htmMy dr says that my diet is probably fine though but my husband recently gave up a similar diet in hopes finding something healthier that works for him.
Poor air quality in my school building ( this idea is from my dr)http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/indoorair/schools/teachers.htmthis article is funny and suggests that teachers should avoid " Keep your classroom free of dust accumulating materials, such as fabrics and stacks of papers.Minimize clutter". It also suggest students not eat in the classrooms which is not an option
too many germs in the environment? Is that really the sole explanation? If so, would a mandatory flu shot for all students really eliminate sicknesses in the classroom? How about an air purifier that is effective for viruses and germs as well as allergens? Such an investment will set me back between 250 and 400 dollars...
trying to be healthy
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
long absence
I dont really have a good explanation to the absence of postings during the month of January. I have started a new class to earn my salary lane shift. And i have a new part time job but those are all just excuses really. Look back soon for more rants, questions and ponderings
Quotes from parents of my students
Parent Hi Ms. M., are you having a black history month party?
Me: No we will be having a small celebration honor valentines day and february birthdays on the 15th
Parent: Well, I am black
Me: ( thinking, yes i can see that) yes well you are welcome to have a black history month party at your house. I prefer to honor the cultures of all people throughout the year and not just in particular month
I am not sure if I handled this situation appropriately or not but I did refrain from saying my first though which appears in parenthesis above so i think that is a good thing. While I welcome parents thoughts and suggestions and I do strive for a partnership with parents, I felt annoyed after this conversation
Parent: (calling on the phone from another country) Hi, uh yes my daughter hasnt been receiving her special education services while we are here.
Me: *mouth wide open, speechless at this audacity
she chose to take her child out of the country and out of school for over three weeks time and has nerve to call and ask about her child receving special education services from our school district while they are there. hey dont get me wrong, I would certainly fly to this warmer location if it was paid for by my district. But me leaving for three weeks is not fair to the other students who are actually at school. And lets be realistic, our district doesn't have money to consistently supply necessities like soap and paper towels, and these days, heat. They certainly are not going to be sending me to another country to work with one child for a few weeks. After this conversation, i thought that the request was outrageous. But then maybe its a good thing that the parent cares enough about her child to want her not to be further behind by this absence. but on the other hand, this absence was something that the mother chose so its tough to make up my mind on the overall feeling
and one final interaction with a parent from the last few weeks
me: Hi Mr. H, I am glad that you are here. I actually have wanted to talk to you about your son. Have you noticed any differences in his behavior over the last few days?
parent: no why?
me: well he have seen some differences in the classroom in the way that he is responding to the teachers and interacting with his pe...
parent: MAN WHAT IS IT WIth you teachers? i was called to the school yesterday for his sister
Usually his kid is an angel who spends most of the day polishing a halo. but prior to this conversation, there had been two really difficult days. so everyone is entitled to an off day, but at the end of the second day, i had planned to call his house anyway to touch base with them but his father happened to come by. there could have been a million reasons for the changes in behavior:
the kid had a tooth ache
the kids was about to get sick or getting over a sickness
he was tired/hungry/cold
something had upset him either at home or at school
and the list goes on...
i was not intending to point fingers or accuse the parent, but simply make him aware. it is difficult to provide information, real information based on observations, daily interactions and other data to parents without upsetting them. i always think " well if it were my kid I would want to know. I would want the teacher to tell me" But i have the sense that some parents are coming into the conversation from a different perspective. perhaps because of their own negative experiences in school. perhpas because of stress in the home or workplace. Perhaps because things are difficult with the child at home and they cant take any more bad news. I dont know. i do know that I must futher work on my communication so that I am not offending the very people I am trying to get information from
Parent Hi Ms. M., are you having a black history month party?
Me: No we will be having a small celebration honor valentines day and february birthdays on the 15th
Parent: Well, I am black
Me: ( thinking, yes i can see that) yes well you are welcome to have a black history month party at your house. I prefer to honor the cultures of all people throughout the year and not just in particular month
I am not sure if I handled this situation appropriately or not but I did refrain from saying my first though which appears in parenthesis above so i think that is a good thing. While I welcome parents thoughts and suggestions and I do strive for a partnership with parents, I felt annoyed after this conversation
Parent: (calling on the phone from another country) Hi, uh yes my daughter hasnt been receiving her special education services while we are here.
Me: *mouth wide open, speechless at this audacity
she chose to take her child out of the country and out of school for over three weeks time and has nerve to call and ask about her child receving special education services from our school district while they are there. hey dont get me wrong, I would certainly fly to this warmer location if it was paid for by my district. But me leaving for three weeks is not fair to the other students who are actually at school. And lets be realistic, our district doesn't have money to consistently supply necessities like soap and paper towels, and these days, heat. They certainly are not going to be sending me to another country to work with one child for a few weeks. After this conversation, i thought that the request was outrageous. But then maybe its a good thing that the parent cares enough about her child to want her not to be further behind by this absence. but on the other hand, this absence was something that the mother chose so its tough to make up my mind on the overall feeling
and one final interaction with a parent from the last few weeks
me: Hi Mr. H, I am glad that you are here. I actually have wanted to talk to you about your son. Have you noticed any differences in his behavior over the last few days?
parent: no why?
me: well he have seen some differences in the classroom in the way that he is responding to the teachers and interacting with his pe...
parent: MAN WHAT IS IT WIth you teachers? i was called to the school yesterday for his sister
Usually his kid is an angel who spends most of the day polishing a halo. but prior to this conversation, there had been two really difficult days. so everyone is entitled to an off day, but at the end of the second day, i had planned to call his house anyway to touch base with them but his father happened to come by. there could have been a million reasons for the changes in behavior:
the kid had a tooth ache
the kids was about to get sick or getting over a sickness
he was tired/hungry/cold
something had upset him either at home or at school
and the list goes on...
i was not intending to point fingers or accuse the parent, but simply make him aware. it is difficult to provide information, real information based on observations, daily interactions and other data to parents without upsetting them. i always think " well if it were my kid I would want to know. I would want the teacher to tell me" But i have the sense that some parents are coming into the conversation from a different perspective. perhaps because of their own negative experiences in school. perhpas because of stress in the home or workplace. Perhaps because things are difficult with the child at home and they cant take any more bad news. I dont know. i do know that I must futher work on my communication so that I am not offending the very people I am trying to get information from
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
great quotes
Here are some random quotes from kids in my class
Student : " Mrs. M, all teachers start with the letter M" ( mr, mrs, ms...)
Student: Mrs M. My mom says you know Santas phone number. My mom says too that teachers are so important, that santa doesnt neeeeed to call, Santa can read teachers minds. If teachers are thinking that I am not doing a good job, Santa can see into your mind"(said upon arriving the next day at school after I called home regarding maladaptive behavior)
Writing Prompt: " If I could give my family one present, I would give them _______"
Student Response: " A clean house because ours is always messy"
Student : " Mrs. M, all teachers start with the letter M" ( mr, mrs, ms...)
Student: Mrs M. My mom says you know Santas phone number. My mom says too that teachers are so important, that santa doesnt neeeeed to call, Santa can read teachers minds. If teachers are thinking that I am not doing a good job, Santa can see into your mind"(said upon arriving the next day at school after I called home regarding maladaptive behavior)
Writing Prompt: " If I could give my family one present, I would give them _______"
Student Response: " A clean house because ours is always messy"
What DO experienced teachers do when....
The following is an excerpt from my day today. This really happened, I dont have the energy to make this up.
One of my students is rsting quietly on his mat. This right here is significant because we have just recently worked out a behavior management plan that addresses hiss inappropriate behavior during this time. So anyway, he is doing a good job with a calm and quiet body when all of a sudden, he stands up and begins screaming and flapping his hands wildly. When I approqach, I ask him what is wrong. He screams that his leg fell off. He screams this repeatedly and his speech was clear as day. I ask if his leg hurts, thinking maybe it fell asleep from being in one position. He tells me again that no it doesnt hurt because its not there.
I consider this for a moment. He is standing on both feet. he just told me his leg fell off. I calmly point out that I can see both of his legs and ask him to look at his legs. He begins to yell louder at this point that no it did indeed fall off. Remembering that sometimes this child needs to receive information through other senses, I touch his legs applying firm yet gentle pressure on his thighs, telling him I can feel his legs.
At this point, he then tells me that is leg is "over there". I look in the direction he is pointing to and see that he is pointing at the sandbox. I calmly pretend to look for a leg and reassure him that his leg is still attached to his body. He says " no its in the sandbox laying down. it walked over there".
I wasnt sure how to respond. What would you have done at this point? What would you have done differently prior to this point?
One of my students is rsting quietly on his mat. This right here is significant because we have just recently worked out a behavior management plan that addresses hiss inappropriate behavior during this time. So anyway, he is doing a good job with a calm and quiet body when all of a sudden, he stands up and begins screaming and flapping his hands wildly. When I approqach, I ask him what is wrong. He screams that his leg fell off. He screams this repeatedly and his speech was clear as day. I ask if his leg hurts, thinking maybe it fell asleep from being in one position. He tells me again that no it doesnt hurt because its not there.
I consider this for a moment. He is standing on both feet. he just told me his leg fell off. I calmly point out that I can see both of his legs and ask him to look at his legs. He begins to yell louder at this point that no it did indeed fall off. Remembering that sometimes this child needs to receive information through other senses, I touch his legs applying firm yet gentle pressure on his thighs, telling him I can feel his legs.
At this point, he then tells me that is leg is "over there". I look in the direction he is pointing to and see that he is pointing at the sandbox. I calmly pretend to look for a leg and reassure him that his leg is still attached to his body. He says " no its in the sandbox laying down. it walked over there".
I wasnt sure how to respond. What would you have done at this point? What would you have done differently prior to this point?
Monday, December 3, 2007
Principal for a Day
SO recently in our district, we had certain city and state officials come in and shadow the principals in our schools for a "whole" school day. These people came into the schools with their suits and their breifcases and hung out in the principals office for most of the day. This was actually something that these people had to apply for. But I didnt actually see them DO anything.
I got the idea: Lets revise the program. Why not have teachers in the school apply to be the principal for a day. There are several potential benefits to this revised program:
1) Teachers may develop a better relationship with their principal
2) Teachers may better sympathize with the princiapl
3) Teachers may be able to offer suggestions to the principal to help him solve schoolwide problems.
What would you do if you were principal for a day, a week, or a school year?
I got the idea: Lets revise the program. Why not have teachers in the school apply to be the principal for a day. There are several potential benefits to this revised program:
1) Teachers may develop a better relationship with their principal
2) Teachers may better sympathize with the princiapl
3) Teachers may be able to offer suggestions to the principal to help him solve schoolwide problems.
What would you do if you were principal for a day, a week, or a school year?
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Thankful for Thanksgiving rest
Here it is Thanksgiving weekend. I was really looking forward to this weekend and at first I thought that made me a bad teacher, looking for the extra days off. But then as I started talking to other school people, I found out that no, it doesnt make me a bad teacher, it in fact makes me a human teacher. I truly needed this break from my students.
Then I thought oh, wow, I will use my time wisely to organize my materials for the next few weeks. I spent some time in school on Wednesday cleaning, planning and organizing and can honestly say that I have done nothing school related except for a little online book shopping yesterday. It is Saturday night. There technically is still time but...
It sounds like I am slacker but I AM planned for Monday and half of Tuesday. Friday is our field trip which will be an all day affair. Even though I feel a slight twinge of guilt as I write this, I think that the break was greatly deserved and I will enjoy an evening of board games with my siblings and when I go to school on Monday, I will be refreshed, reenergized and ready to go!
That alone will make me a better teacher
Then I thought oh, wow, I will use my time wisely to organize my materials for the next few weeks. I spent some time in school on Wednesday cleaning, planning and organizing and can honestly say that I have done nothing school related except for a little online book shopping yesterday. It is Saturday night. There technically is still time but...
It sounds like I am slacker but I AM planned for Monday and half of Tuesday. Friday is our field trip which will be an all day affair. Even though I feel a slight twinge of guilt as I write this, I think that the break was greatly deserved and I will enjoy an evening of board games with my siblings and when I go to school on Monday, I will be refreshed, reenergized and ready to go!
That alone will make me a better teacher
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