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"

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?

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?

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

Invaders!
Invaders! So consider this advanced warning: this particular post is more rant than insightful words of wisdom. By the time my lunch period rolls around at 1110, I am wiped. I am physically and emotionally exhausted. I am ready and in need of a few minutes of down time. My students eat in my classroom so I am forced to either eat with them, leave the building, or retreat to the teacher's room on the second floor. Because eating with my students is not usually a reprieve at all, and because leaving the building generally causes me to spend unnecessary money, I usually go to the teachers room in search of sanctuary and a clean quiet place to eat with people I want to talk to. So given the importance and the need for me to have a quiet space in the middle of my day, I am genuinely annoyed when this space is taken over by invaders. These invaders are generally trying to sell me some useless product that I don't need. Even though I know I shouldn't' I respond hostilely towards these people.

Like the guy who wanted me to spend $30.00 a month for critical illness insurance. Hello. I can only get the money if I have a stroke, cancer or heart attack. And I survive for six months after the diagnosis. It works out to be a big ripoff. I mean it is 360 dollars per year. Do you realize what I could do with that money? Additionally, this company apparently did their market research as the vendor here was young attractive male eye candy. The perfect thing to send to an elementary school

Well, apparently, I could earn an online PhD or EdD degree and not be required to do any doctoral dissertation. At least so says the vendor from some online institution, the second of the recent invaders. The conversation went like this:
Her: So you need to earn your masters degree?
Me: No. Why do you assume that?
Her: well you are young and I thought that... well anyway have you considered pursuing your PhD or EdD
Me: Yes
Her: Well Jo-shmo online U is the place for you.
Me: No thank you, I am not interested
Her: I brought you desert.
Me: Well thanks, but I am still not interestedI then proceed to listen to her give a similar spiel to each of my four colleagues who walked through the door after me. And if that wasn't enough she felt that it was her duty to interrupt our conversations with little tidbits about how all our lives will be better if we all had PhDs. Hahah

Well little ms Mary kay lady, the third invader in less than two weeks time, seems to honestly believe that I only really need a tube of 30 dollar lipstick to make my life better. She basically told me that if I dont wear make up daily I am going to be in serious trouble with my skin in a few years from now. Hmm maybe that life insurance sounds better after all. ANyway and then there is the whole sanitary issue of doing facials in a room where other people are trying to eat.

Most of the invaders have retreated this week but I expect to see more of them in the weeks approaching Christmas

Needing to learn more

Here I am in my second year of teaching in a public school setting. Everyone that I know said the first year is always difficult, but that you should generally stick it out because it gets better. yeah ok. In my second year thus far, i feel like I have struggled more in two months than I did all last year.

I am struggling still to resolve issues that were unresolved at the end of last year. This is partly because I have half of the same students and the same paraprofessional. While I do see a lot of progress with the students I had last year, I struggle with the same students, with certain behaviors that continue to escalate and with an overall lack of support. Lack of support and resources for my students, lack of professional respect and support for myself.

I am struggling more with the curriculum this year than I was last year. Maybe I am bored with it. And if I am bored with it, are my repeating students? Is that what is leading to some of the behavior problems?Maybe I can simply think outside the box a little more this year than I was able to do last year. It is so limiting and some of it is not at all appropriate for students from low income families or from urban areas. I feel strongly that there needs to be a concrete connection between the literature and the activities, but the writers of the curriculum apparently dont. Also the curriculum does not address the needs and goals of students with IEPs.

That leads to other questions. How to modify curriculum and yet at the same time include students with disabilities? How do I set up my groups so that all students are learning, growing, and getting individual needs met?

I still have so much more to learn and so many questions to get answered. I want to start a degree program next fall but I am unsure of what to study. Here are some options that I am considering: please let me know what you think

Masters in special education leading to professional licensure in severe disabilities
Masters in Curriculum and instruction ( hopefully so i can write my own )
Masters in special education administration

A holiday in October?

Teachers around the country might agree : we should have the day after Halloween off. H.alloween day is not nearly as bad as the day after. On the day of, the kids are excited and sometimes distracted. On the day after, they are still excited, distracted and now cranky, strung out on cheap nutrients ( candy), slightly more sleep deprived than usual. And if that wasnt enough, one of my students was celebrating a birthday.

A home day

Here are some thoughts. I actually have time to write them down because I'm literally iced in. Yay New England weather.

Yesterday, we had very low numbers because of the nasty weather. I try to use the time to work individually with some of the students that i don't usually work with individually. one of my students was able to correctly match picture/word cards to the corresponding plastic food. this is phenomenal progress for him as he was also saying the words. he usually prefers to point or use eye gaze to communicate. i am so proud of him for what he was able to accomplish and for the effort he put forth.

on Tuesday another one of my students, Delila* had a remarkable day. she was friendly and social and had no major meltdowns. however Wednesday day afternoon was very challenging for her and for the myself. i am still trying to figure out what her triggers are so that we can work towards reducing and or eliminating her behaviors, which include urinating on herself when she is upset and spitting in people's faces when they talk to her.

but there was hope found in the small moments of goodness on Tuesday and Wednesday. its important to look for and document signs of hope.

Mental health

No one that I know goes into teaching for the money. Most people are passionate about education, learning, knowledge, and children. I for one am there for the children. I want to make a difference in their lives by creating a warm, safe and positive school environment. I want all of my students to make more than adequate yearly progress at a rate that makes sense developmentally. I want them to learn appropriate ways of dealing with frustration and managing conflict.

I have big dreams and a lot of work to do.

I have seven students on IEPS. of those, at least two need a one on one aid that we don't have. as you can imagine, this creates many safety concerns. the principal claims that it is out of his control.
In graduate school i wish I had focused more on behaviors. There are so many extreme behaviors in my class that it is at times both overwhelming to me, other students and staff. I am the teacher, and I am expected to have all of the answers. In case anyone was wondering, I don't have all the answers, nor do I pretend to.

I have started reading the explosive child. The author makes a point that we can change our perceptions of these children and that we, as competent adults can change how we respond to these challenging, explosive behaviors. The author does not have all of the answers either, just an alternate way of looking at these kinds of behaviors. I am hoping to use this space to write about salient points and ideas that I come across as I continue to read it.

i am also hoping to use this space to talk about the stresses that I encounter in an average days work. some people have said "oh you teach little kids, that must be so fun. You get to play all day". yes it is fun at times and no we don't get to play all day. it also challenging. by writing down some of my thoughts on teaching in an urban public school, I am hoping to keep my mental health in order and lessen the burden from my loved ones, to whom I rant vent and cry to.