"They can't go to school with us!"

I was going through my phone today and I ran across a video of my 7th period doing their presentations on Helen Keller and author's purpose. It reminded me of a conversation I had with them while they were preparing for the presentation.

Kid: "Man, ain't no rich kids at THS. Y'all just faking."
Me: "How do you know they aren't rich?"
Kid: "Cuz it's illegal for rich kids to go to school with non rich kids."
Me: "What?!"
Kid: "It's against the law for rich kids to go to public school with poor kids. They have to go to private school. Don't they?"
Me: *blank stare and walk away*

This is the same kid who said you can't have any contraptions in your essay. SMH

Today I met with some of my fellow English teachers to plan and toss around ideas for next year. I'm really excited about the upcoming year (if you haven't noticed). I shared all of my Pinterest finds with them and they are going to sign up for Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. Both of those sites are amazing and extremely helpful in planning and finding ideas. My goal for the new school year is to be more organized and to stretch myself as a teacher.  Last year's bunch of kids were fairly intelligent and I had 3 classes of honor students, so they kept me on my toes.  I actually had to know my material.  In the beginning it was a bit nerve racking because I was teaching a new curriculum and I was uncomfortable with it.  As the year went on I saw how successful my kids were at learning and retaining the information and it gave me a confidence boost.  Now I'm going to run with that fire from last year into the new year.  I'm going to start expecting a lot more out of my kids as well as start stretching them as students.  I've got a lot of great ideas!  I pray that I can keep that fire all year. 

Teachers spend a lot of their own money on school supplies and material.  You can help by adopting a classroom.  You can adopt my classroom by going to Adopt a Classroom and donating.  Or you can buy supplies and donate them.  We need a lot of simple things to help our classes run smoothly.  My main needs are Kleenex, hand sanitizer, and copy paper.  My school district doesn't allow me to buy Kleenex and hand sanitizer with the money they give me so that has to come out of my pocket or from the kids, if they bring it.  I would LOVE to have a smartboard in my classroom.  That'd be amazing.  We were told we'd eventually get them in our classes, so I'm patiently waiting.  Thanks for any help you give!

School's out for the summer!

School has been out for 3 weeks and I'm already gearing up for next year.  I've been reading other teacher's blogs and stealing ideas.  Next year I am determined to be better than I was this year.  I will be more organized, use technology more, and other teacher type improvements.  I'm also thinking of revamping my blog.  I've been inspired by teachers across America to do more than share tales from my classroom.  I plan on sharing lesson ideas, classroom management tips, etc.  Pinterest will have you thinking you can do all of this stuff.  LOL.  Anyway, as I prepare for next year, I have to properly end this one. 

My kids had to do oral presentations on author's purpose.  Their topic was Helen Keller.  They were given information about her life, books she wrote, plays that were performed, etc.  While working in groups they had to come up with a presentation that entertained, informed, or persuaded.  With the group of kids I had they were all entertaining.  During one presentation that focused on informing had a weather report.  Here is a picture of the forecast.

Um, really?  He said all of this with a straight face.  I, on the other hand, was cracking up.  I had another group do a rap.  Their purpose was to entertain.  I was thoroughly entertained.  Ok, I tried to upload the video but apparently I'm not that smart sooo... Just take my word for it.  It was good. 

While working on this project my kids decided to play Draw Something on themselves.  SMH

I absolutely loved the group of kids I had this year.  It's safe to say that they were the best group I've ever had.  This group pushed me to be the best teacher I've ever been.  They challenged me (in a positive way) and made sure I knew what I was talking about.  I had to really study my notes and anticipate their questions.  I was truly blessed this year.  While it was a better year than most there was a sad moment.  I lost one of my kids.  I don't have kids of my own, so I adopt my kids and treat them as I would want my kids to be treated.  It was a tough loss especially since so many kids saw the accident.  The day of the accident, he stopped by my room, which was unusual because he didn't have any classes on my hall.  I'm sad he died but I'm glad I got to share a brief moment with him before he passed.  His death really bothered me for some reason.  In my short career I've had 4 students to die in car accidents.  It never gets easier. 

Like I mentioned earlier I've been working on some stuff for next year.  I'll share my resources.  Pinterest is my top source.  There are tons of resources there all in one spot.  Most of the ideas and blogs are geared toward elementary and middle school but they can be modified for older kids if you use a little imagination.  Another site I've been glued to is Teachers Pay Teachers.  There you can find lessons, PowerPoints, tests, etc made by other teachers.  Some items are free; some have a small charge.  You can also sell your resources and services to other teachers.  If you're good at creating PowerPoints you can offer your services and make some money.  It's a pretty cool deal.  Once I get everything made and set up, I'll take pictures and provide the links to where I got the idea.  I'm super excited about the upcoming school year, but it needs to tarry.  I'm enjoying my break!