Another Day in Heaven, Day 11.

Today during my resource room, a student from last year came barging into my classroom screaming "Missssss Anonymoussss!"  (She didn't actually say "anonymous", but as you know, for the sake of anonymity, that will have to be my name.)  She appeared to be in a good mood, so I asked her how things were going as a sophomore.  She replied with, "Well, thats why I came to see you.  Things are terrible, and you're the teacher I feel closest to, so I got a pass to come talk to you."  Alrightyyyy then.  So I asked my tutor if she was alright handling the classroom, then I took the student into my office to talk.  I asked her what was going on and she said, "My boyfriend broke up with me today and my grandparents are about to die and they are the closest relatives I have and my mother hates me and wants me to rot in hell."  One, long, run on sentence all in one breath.  The thing that bothered her the most, out of all of the problems that she had just listed, was the fact that her boyfriend had broken up with her today.  Now you may be laughing, but this girl was on the verge of tears and that's when I had to really reach deep down inside and remember what it was like to be 14; the smallest thing felt like it could very well be the end of the world.  I just reassured her that "time will heal everything" and that in a few weeks, she'll be happy to have the freedom of being single.

So this brings me to my New Teacher Tip of the Day:  As a special education teacher, you are going to get to know the students on your case load better than anyone else in your school, and sometimes you will have to abandon your role of being a teacher to take on the role of a counselor.  Especially at the secondary level.  Always keep in mind that even though your students' issues may seem extremely superficial and juvenile, they really are affected by them.  Do the best you can to give them helpful advice and provide them with the appropriate resources, if needed.  The best tip I can give you, is don't ever forget what it was like to be their age.  It's hard enough being a teenager in this day and age, but it's even more difficult to be a teenager with a disability.

Day 9 And I'm Still Fine.

You know what's more difficult than being a teacher?  Being a YOUNG and GOOD LOOKING teacher, who gets mistaken for a student far more often than I'd like.  Today, for example, as I was walking upstairs to one of my classes, a group of freshmen boys instantly started saying things like "Ooohhh daaaayuuummm... is that girl a student here?"  "Yo man, I dunno, ask her."  "No man, you ask her!"  "'Scuse me!!  Do you go to school here?"  My response, while giving my badass "I mean business" teacher stare, was:  "Yes, but I'm a TEACHER!"  They then used few expletives, started giggling, and then ran off.  I thought it was pretty funny.  Yesterday one of my students was staring at me with a really weird look on his face, when I asked him why he was staring at me like that, he responded with "Cuz ya cute, Miss."  Great.  Thanks.  I responded with, "Thanks, but that's pretty inappropriate and I'm too old for you.  Moving on..."

So that brings me to my New Teacher Tip of the Day:  Don't get flustered when kids say something that makes you uncomfortable.  9 times out of 10 they are only doing it to get a reaction out of you.  DON'T, I repeat: DO NOT let them win that game because then they will become the one that is in control.  Just brush it off and, if it was an inappropriate comment, let them know that.  But don't get all giggly and stupid about it and turn bright red.  I've seen it happen and trust me, it makes the situation 10 times more awkward.

On a separate note, during my resource room I have all of my students journal for the first 10 minutes of the class in complete silence.  I do not allow them to speak to me or anyone else; they are not even allowed to ask a single question.  They have to be silent and write for 10 minutes straight about whatever is on their mind.  I then read their journals, and respond to their entries.  We end up having great conversations through our writing and I've found that this is a great way to get to know my kids.  My students last year loved it, and so far my students this year seem to be enjoying it as well.  So anyways, I have a student who is, in my opinion, almost identical to the main character from the movie, The Blindside.  He is close to 6'3" and is labeled as having a Speech and Language Impairment (SLI).  Everything about him reminds me of the main character in that movie, so for the sake of keeping things anonymous here, we will refer to this particular student as Blindside from now.  So today, after our resource room period came to an end, Blindside came up to me and said "Miss... I just wanted to let you know that I asked you a question in my blue book thing and it's alright if you say no to it.  I just want you to know that it's okay if you don't want to.  But I'll just let you go read it."  I said, "Ok Blindside, I'm going to go read the journals now, and I'll write back to you with a response.  Have a great weekend and stay out of trouble!"  So as I'm walking back to my office, I'm trying to think of what the heck this kid could have written to me.  When I got back to my desk, I flipped through the journals until I found his.  Here is what he wrote:

"I think the days in high are getting better as they go by. I mean I'm getting mosely homework every day now I still feel like crap!  OH! and before I keep talking my first few weeks at the high school, I can draw a picture for you if you whant me to."

I couldn't help but get that warm fuzzy feeling in my gut after reading his entry; and I thought to myself: "Yes!  I am reaching this kid!"  It's obvious that he has made some sort of connection with me, and these connections are vital when creating success stories among struggling students.  It's these small little moments of recognition that I get from my students that make me love my job so much.  I really wouldn't trade what I do for anything in the world.




Unless I win the lottery....

Hall Duty Day 7

Hall duty has to be one of the most painfully boring parts of my day.  For an hour and a half today I sat in the hallway asking/saying to students "Do you have a pass?"  "Where are you headed?" "Are you lost, you've walked past me 3 times now."  "You're no longer a freshman, therefore you should not be on this side of the building!"  Now if a student does not have a pass, there is literally nothing that I can do about it except say, "Well... then... uh... go back to your class and get one from your teacher!"  It really is a pointless duty if you ask me, especially since we have an entire security team at my school who are always watching the cameras that are located in every single hallway and stairwell.  I became so bored that when I would see students coming out of my friends' classrooms to use the bathroom, I would write a note and act all serious and say, "Excuse me, are you heading back to Mrs. So-and-so's class?  Oh you are?  Great, could you make sure she gets this?  It's very important."  Meanwhile, it was really just a note that said something like, "Hall duty is painful.  Please just kill me and put me out of my misery."  Oh well.  It's just a part of the job I suppose.

New Teacher Tip of the Day:  Don't let the crappy aspects of our job outweigh the great parts of it.  Although hall duty did make me contemplate suicide for an hour and a half, the other 6 and a half hours I spent at school were overall pretty great.  You really can't say that for many other jobs, so be grateful for what we do!

The Best Thing About A Long Weekend? The Short Week. Day 6.

Labor Day was yesterday, so we were able to enjoy a nice long weekend with some beautiful weather.  And because of the long weekend, we only have a four day work week!  Haray!

Today, during Science, we took the kids outside to show them how a stream, near our school, flows.  We dropped a cork down a storm drain and then walked to the other side of our school's property to watch it pop out into a small pond.  One student, who has down syndrome and very limited verbal skills, refused to go into the woods.  When I asked him why, he instantly began signing "skunk" while yelling "KUNKS! KUNKS!"  Needless to say, I didn't force him to go into the woods and once I had come out, he smelled me to make sure I hadn't been sprayed.  I obviously hadn't, but he told me I smelled anyways by waving his hand in front of his nose while laughing hysterically and saying "YUCK!"

New Teacher Tip of the Day:  Don't become offended by what your students may say to you.

(Day) HIGH 5!!

Today went really well.  I've convinced my resource room, for the most part, into thinking that I'm scary and demand silence at all times.  I've gotten to know a few of my kids a little better and it seems like I'll have a fun caseload this year.  Although, I can't help but think back to my kids from last year and how... umm... unique they were.  Let's travel back in time and relive one of my hilarious moments from last year:

A student of mine, who when we first met requested that I call him Bullfrog (so that's what I will refer to him as from now on), was incredibly unique.  During our Algebra class one day, I was working with another student when the math teacher approached me and said, "You need to do something about Bullfrog... I don't know what to do."  When I turned around, I saw Bullfrog sitting in his seat with a piece of paper crumpled up the long way in his hand.  He was then just taking bites out of it and eating it while working on the assigned work.  So I walked over to him and said, "Bullfrog, you really shouldn't be eating paper.  It isn't good for you!  Why don't you take out the stem and leaf plot we've been working on."  He replied, "I can't!"  My response was, "Well, why not?"  And his response was priceless: "Because I already ate it!"

I can't even make these things up.  That was one of my very first days teaching and I knew, at that very moment, I had absolutely made the right decision in becoming a special education teacher.  Which brings me to my New Teacher Tip of the Day: If you want to be a good teacher, you NEED to have a great sense of humor.  Things are going to happen that will be out of your control completely and the best way to move past these bumps in the road is to just laugh them off.

What ever happened to, "Out with the old, in with the new"? Day 4.

Today was the official start for the entire high school where I teach.  Let me preface this entry by explaining what it is, exactly, that I do.  I am a 9th grade special education teacher working with a team of 8 regular education teachers.  The students that are on my caseload primarily have specific learning disabilities (SLD), emotional disturbances (ED), or other health impairments (OHI).  (Get used to the acronyms, I use them quite often!)  Each of these students are fully included within their regular education classes and it is my job to make sure that they are receiving the proper supports that they require.  I co-teach Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies.  A "jack of all trades" if you will.  And I also run a resource room for the majority of my students.  To make a long story short, I absolutely LOVE what I do.

So today, as I had stated earlier, the rest of the school started which meant I was able to see most of my wonderful 9th graders from last year.  They all seemed to seek me out at the most inconvenient times to tell me that they hate all of their new teachers and that I'm still their favorite.  What can I say, I'm a great catch! One of my more favorite kids from last year didn't end up coming in to school today because he didn't get a haircut or new shoes yet... ridiculous.

So this brings me to my New Teacher Tip of the Day: Do NOT be scared to form relationships with your students!  Now I am NOT saying, go add them on facebook, that is a BIG NO NO!  What I'm saying is, get to know them on a more personal level; it will really assist you in making a connection with them.  It is much easier to have students become successful when they feel that you actually do give a damn about them!

Day 3 For Me... Day 1 For The Kids...

Well today was the first day for our freshmen, and I'll be honest, if I were a freshmen coming into our high school for the first time, I would think that it was going to be the absolute best experience of my life.  We trick them into thinking that we are ridiculously "hip" and "cool" by starting off the day with a deejay in the gymnasium blasting hip hop with a ton of upperclassmen cheering and dancing for the freshmen.  It really is a pretty awesome experience and it helps kids feel a lot more comfortable within their new environment.  Overall, it went as smoothly as it could; the first day is always the most hectic.  The freshmen participated in a bunch of ice breaker activities and then followed their schedules so that they would have an easier time finding their classes come tomorrow.  I got to meet the majority of the kids on my caseload and they seem like they'll be a fun group.  I'm looking forward to when they come out of their shells and aren't as timid as they all are now.

At one point, right in the beginning of a science class I co-teach, a new first year teacher introduced himself to the class and began his lesson.  I unfortunately had to stop him and say, "Mr. Science #2, this is actually Mr. Science #1's class."  His response was, "Oh, is this like a co-teaching gig that we're doing?"  I then had to explain to him that he was, in fact, in the wrong room and was attempting to teach the wrong class.  He became extremely flustered and then realized he was supposed to be all the way on the other side of the building.  So here is, yet again, my advice for new teachers: ALWAYS know your schedule and where you should be at any given time during the day; you must always attempt to appear more organized than your students.  If you're teaching in a building that you are unfamiliar with, come into school a couple of weeks before classes start and walk around to familiarize yourself with your surroundings, especially if you're teaching in different classrooms.