tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8986681849719759762024-03-04T23:12:52.061-06:00Chronicles of an English TeacherFun tales from Room 32!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.comBlogger85125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-82307596691759423352017-09-28T18:59:00.000-05:002017-09-28T19:02:50.928-05:00"This land is your land, this land is my land..."<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Source: Instagram @edgapcloser</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I ran across this picture Tuesday and it really got me thinking about the state of racial affairs and how it affects my kids, my classroom, my coworkers, basically my whole school environment. I began to think about how not only my thoughts and views affect how I interact with my kids and vice versa but also how the thoughts and views of my white coworkers affect how they interact with their kids and vice versa. There's a certain level of empathy that a person should have when working in a predominantly black school, especially if you're white. Recently I've noticed that several of my white counterparts (in my building and in other buildings) are complaining more about disrespect from their students. I'm talking disrespect to the point of wanting to leave the classroom. Since there were so many complaints, I decided to look into how some of these teachers interact with their kids, and how they think. During my research, I found that most of these teachers have taken the narrative of kneeling during the anthem away from a way to protest racial injustice and inequality and brought it to being disrespectful to our country and the many men and women who fought for our freedoms. They refuse to recognize or talk about the real reason behind kneeling. Instead, they've made up a reason to fit what's comfortable for them or to fit what’s easiest for them to understand. I then started talking to my white coworkers who don’t seem to have problems with their students. I asked them whether or not they felt disrespected by the kids and if they did, was it bad enough for them to leave the classroom. They all said no. After we discussed that, I asked them their views on kneeling during the anthem. Not a one of them had a problem with it. Either they recognized what the real purpose for doing it was, or they felt like kneeling was still being respectful. Here’s what I gathered from this: </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The teachers who are having trouble with their kids don’t understand what’s happening in the world and how it affects their kids. Or they understand what’s happening and just refuse to acknowledge it because it’s uncomfortable. As teachers, we’re public servants which </span>means<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> we are here to serve the people in our classrooms. We </span>can’t do<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that if we don’t understand the people in our classrooms. When a teacher minimizes the struggles of his/her black and brown students, they are failing to understand the people in their classrooms and therefore, cannot serve them. When a teacher yells at kids for not standing for the pledge instead of asking them why they aren’t standing, he/she is failing to understand the people in his/her classroom and therefore, cannot serve them. When a teacher fails to acknowledge that racism is still alive and well in America, he/she fails at understanding the people in his/her classroom and therefore, cannot serve them. When a teacher says things like “All lives matter” and “Blue lives matter,” he/she is failing to understand the people in his/her classroom and therefore, cannot serve them. We cannot allow our personal beliefs to affect how we treat the people in our classrooms. I’m not saying that those teachers are mistreating their students. I am, however, saying that somewhere along the way, those kids felt as if they were </span>misunderstood,<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as if they were not liked/loved, as if they were not respected. It probably started when you yelled at them for not saying the pledge.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Call to action</b></span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-266280cd-cae3-84b8-2ad5-fd10de434a2d"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">White teachers, this is not to bash you in any way. My purpose is to make you take an uncomfortable and realistic look at yourself and see how your beliefs have shaped the environment in your classroom, especially if you teach at a predominantly black school. You HAVE to take the time to get to know your kids. Use the current events to educate. We have healthy debates in my classroom often. By doing this, I have taught my kids tolerance, empathy, and how to debate their side without negating the other side’s feelings. These are life skills. Together, we can change the narrative on things such as racism which can ultimately lead to world change. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-50229316308949500462016-08-15T20:44:00.003-05:002016-08-15T20:47:31.840-05:00"Sometimes my glaucoma be hurtin..."This year, I have an extremely interesting 7th-period class. There are no words to describe them. I love them, but they're interesting. They're hyper, moody, angry, loving, sweet, and feisty all at the same time. It's crazy! One day last week, I asked one of the kids if he was going to behave today in class because he normally doesn't. Well, it's not that he's misbehaving. He just won't stop talking. Ever. Non-stop talking. For 51 minutes. Ok, maybe not 51 minutes. Sometimes he goes to the bathroom. Anyway, I asked him if he was going to be good today. His response? "I don't know, Mrs. Scott. Sometimes my glaucoma be hurtin', and I can't act right." Oh. Ok. I didn't even respond to him. I just accepted the fact that he wasn't going to be good. And he wasn't.<br />
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Being the new teacher on campus is like being the new girl in the class. All the boys want to talk to you or have your attention and the girls hate you because you're stealing their shine. Like with all schools at the beginning of the year, there was a little chaos with scheduling. Rosters change every class period, so it's impossible to really know who belongs where in the beginning. Enter J. J came to my class the first day of school. He wasn't on my roster, so I penciled him in. J came to my class every day, took notes, and did the work. Over the weekend, I updated my roster, so I could have an accurate roster for the upcoming week. Lo and behold, J isn't even in my class. When we got back to school on Monday, I told him that he's been going to the wrong class and that he needed to get a new schedule to follow. The gag is he knew that he was going to the wrong class. He had English 4th period then came to me and took English again 5th period. Apparently, he thinks I'm pretty and that meant he should be in my class. After I finally got him to go to his 5th-period class, we had Open House. Do you know that he brought his mom by to meet me? She was so embarrassed. I was tickled.<br />
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I walk around my classroom while I teach to help with behavior issues and other classroom management things. Friday, my kids were working independently. It was their first work on your own activity, and I wanted to make sure that everybody was working alone. While walking around, I noticed a kid measuring his thumb with a ruler. He was quiet, so I didn't ask questions. Then I heard, "Man, my dick ain't THIS short!" *clutches pearls* The kids around him start slapping him telling him to look up. I'm standing there embarrassed. He looks up and sees me standing there and he's embarrassed. He starts apologizing and explaining. Apparently, somebody told him that a guy's thumb is the same size as his penis when it's soft. He tells me this and there is further embarrassment. The kids who can hear this conversation are DYING laughing because he just won't stop. He's trying to explain the blunder away, but he's making it worse. I just told him to put the ruler up and give me 25 push-ups for being inappropriate in class.<br />
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My classroom has hardwood floors that are really pretty, but my feet and legs hurt so bad by the end of the day. What can I do? I don't want any issues with my bones and muscles from it. I haven't tried gel insoles yet. That's my next thing. I don't want to be an old lady!<br />
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Do any high school teachers follow me? Let's collaborate! Most blogs I read and/or follow are elementary or middle school. I want to read some high school stuff! Drop some links or emails, so we can connect!<br />
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K. ScottAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-5367344014551234682016-08-13T22:32:00.000-05:002016-08-13T22:32:30.553-05:00It's a New Year!*peeks in* Hey, y'all! It's me, the teacher from Room 300. I know it's been awhile, but hopefully, you haven't forgotten me.<br />
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The 2015-2016 school year was a doozy for me. I was just trying to stay afloat most of the year. I felt stressed, overworked, and very much underappreciated. No matter what I did, it wasn't good enough for the new administrators. It was a year of bullying, nitpicking, and shadiness. I went from being "Teacher of the Year" for the 2014-2015 school year to being told, "you're not a good fit for the school" (even though I had been there 10 years) in the 2015-2016 school year. It was AWFUL! I HATED going to school every day, but I knew those kids needed me. By the end of the year, I was exhausted. I was tired of fighting a battle that I had no chance of winning. I was tired of trying to convince the administrators that I was a good fit for the school when clearly they had already formed their opinion. I was tired of the slick comments about me being pretty and light skinned. I was tired. Reluctantly, I resigned. I resigned without already having a job lined up because I was THAT desperate to get away from there. I'm not going to lie, I cried. HARD. I was so angry and so frustrated. I was angry because they attacked my gift and my calling as a teacher. I was frustrated because I knew that I had done my job as a teacher, and they wouldn't let me be great. After I turned in my letter of resignation, I felt so relieved. Then the panic set in. What was I going to do? Where would I find a job? The schools that I wanted to work in didn't have openings. All the schools I didn't want to work in had plenty of openings. I had a lot of higher up connections in a few districts around me, so I started calling around. They would recommend me heavily. I'd get an interview and it would go great. Then they'd ask THE QUESTIONS: "Your resume is impressive, and you seem like an excellent teacher. What would *insert principal's name* say if I called him up?" or "Why'd you leave your last school after all of these accolades?" Then they'd call the administrators. I wouldn't hear back from the schools or they'd hire someone else. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on there. This happened several times. The level of panic and worry that I was feeling was through the roof. How was I going to help my husband pay bills? What was I going to do for work? I don't have any marketable talents or skills. I mean, I do, but... never mind. *laugh track* Anyway, every rejection phone call was an attack on my self-confidence. The rejections made me question whether or not I was a good teacher. Did I make all of that up? Maybe I really did suck. Maybe I should find a new profession. The self-doubt struggle was so real. On June 20th, I got a text message about a job in the district south of my old school. I humored her by saying I'd apply. Truth be told, I had NO intentions of applying there because I had heard terrible things about the school. I had already had 1 stressful year. I didn't need another one. Plus, I had some promising interviews coming up. Ten days later, I got another message about the same job from someone else. I just said "thank you" and went on about my day. Later that evening, I talked to my husband about it, and he told me to apply. I didn't and had no intentions of doing so. The only reason I decided to apply is because he brought it up again. I emailed my resume to the administrator, and like the others, he was impressed. We set up an interview for that week. I went in for the interview expecting to just go through the motions. At this point in the job search, I was defeated. When the interview was over, I had a job. I was hired on the spot! I didn't accept right away because I needed to talk to my husband first. We talked and prayed about it, but for some reason, I was still hesitant about accepting the job. It was probably fear. And I still had one more interview to do at a school where I really wanted to teach. I did that interview, made it to the top two, and got rejected. The interviewing administrator was very apologetic. She said I was her pick but she couldn't get everyone else on board. I told her that it was ok because that meant that I didn't have to turn her down when I accepted the other job. The words fell out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them. Had I FINALLY decided on a school? I had! I emailed the administrator and accepted the job. Now, there's a lesson to be learned here.<br />
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As a lifelong learner, I'm always looking for opportunities to grow and to become better. For 10 years, I taught 9th grade English. Twice I got to teach something else along with English I, but for the most part, I was stuck in English I. I didn't mind it, though. It was comfortable. Easy. I had gotten to the point to where I didn't really plan for it. I would come up with a bomb lesson and activity 5 minutes before the kids walked in and nobody knew. I had gotten complacent. I had turned into the man in the Bible who hid his 1 talent. More times than not I would say that I didn't feel effective as a teacher anymore. I considered coming out of the classroom. Fast forward to the summer. Every job that rejected me was for a 9th grade English position with the exception of 1. Even if I had gotten one of those jobs, I wasn't going to grow. I would've forever been known as the teacher who gets 9th graders ready for 10th grade English. God knew that I needed to leave where I had been for 10 years, leave what was comfortable, leave my husband (we worked together. Ain't no divorce, bih) in order to be the kind of teacher I wanted to be and that He called me to be. Sometimes you have to go in order to grow. That'll preach right there! With that being said, allow me to reintroduce myself:<br />
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Hi, I'm Kristin Scott, and I'm the new English II and English III teacher at Crystal Springs High School! Now, you may be reading this trying to figure out why this is such a big deal. I mean, I'm still a teacher, right? Yes, I am still a teacher, but I'm teaching two new subjects and I'm in a school where I can really be the teacher I know I can be and feel appreciated because of it. I love my new school! I feel so at peace. I have to be there by 7:15 every morning, and you know what? I'm there at 6:50 most days. On my late days, I get there at 7. Last year we didn't have to be at school until 8. I would get to school about 8:30 or 8:40. I was in no rush to get there. I stay up late planning lessons now. It's been great! Even though we've only been in school a week, I can already tell that it's going to be a great school year. God will always put you where you need to be. Just stay the course.</div>
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I know this is long, but I need to thank my wonderful husband and parents for always believing in me and encouraging me when I wanted to quit and be a stripper. You guys are AMAZING. I also want to thank the people who gave me good recommendations. Thank you to all the people who prayed for me and encouraged me during the time of uncertainty. And finally, I want to thank my old administrators for forcing me to recognize my value as a teacher so I could grow and start the process of taking over the world of education. Ron Clark, I'm coming for you! And thank you, the readers, for even reading this long post. I plan on getting back into blogging. I already have tons of material. LOL! Tales from Room 300 will now be Tales from Room 32. It has a nice ring to it:)</div>
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K. Scott</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-18707633195367972932015-04-26T22:06:00.000-05:002015-04-26T22:21:26.485-05:00#IwishmyteacherknewLast week, teacher Kyle Schwartz gave his 3rd graders a Post-It note and had them to complete the statement <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/17/living/i-wish-my-teacher-knew-kyle-schwartz-schools-feat/" target="_blank">"I wish my teacher knew..." </a> The results were heartbreaking, heartwarming, and inspiring. It really put into perspective what our kids have to deal with on a daily basis. The assignment was so touching that a coworker and I decided to try it ourselves. The results weren't so heartbreaking, heartwarming, or inspiring. Somewhere between the idea to have them answer the question and the actual writing we forgot that we teach high school kids and they aren't right. We were quickly reminded as we read through the cards.<br />
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I mean, really kids?! It's our fault. We've known these kids all year. We should've known better. They weren't all bad. I had some sweet ones and some troubling ones. I'll share those tomorrow.</div>
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This past Friday was a very eventful day at my school. We had a situation and had to be placed on lock down. Pretty scary stuff! In the midst of us all panicking (because of lack of information), we failed to lock the doors to the 9th grade wing where my classroom in located. Because my classroom is on the end right by the door, I have the key to lock the door in case of an emergency situation. The teacher on the other end of the hall has a key as well. I told my seniors that I had to go lock the door and that I'd be right back and to stay in the room and to not open the door for anybody. Two of my football players refused to let me go alone so we go and lock the door. In the meantime, the teacher at the end of the hall can't find her key meaning I had to walk all the way to the end of the hall exposing myself to whatever had us on lock down. Again, the football players refused to let me go alone. We ran full speed to the end of the hall and get the door locked. For whatever reason, the door made a loud POP sound when I locked it. About the same time the custodian rounded the corner from the outside of the building. </div>
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Me: *frozen* (I haven't processed what is happening yet)</div>
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Medium sized football player: *also frozen*</div>
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Biggest football player who volunteered to walk with me: "Oh, shit! We're shot!" *stumbles and falls over himself as he runs up the hall leaving us while we're still trying to process what is happening.*</div>
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Me and medium football player: *finally unfreeze and figure out that it's the custodian* <i>To big football player </i>"Man, how you gon' volunteer to be bodyguard and leave us?!"</div>
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Big football player: "Man, that man scared me! I didn't know who he was!"</div>
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Me: "You're fired forever from being the bodyguard."</div>
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At least I know where I stand with that kid. At the first sign of danger, I'm a goner. LOL! The situation ended up being something small, but our admins chose to be careful rather than sorry. Of course, the media made it seem like there were 50 shooters in the building and the kids were rioting and everybody was dead. None of that happened. A kid wasn't supposed to be at school, he got caught, he tried to run, didn't get far, there was a scuffle, he lost again, situation over. The end. </div>
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We have 4 more Mondays where I am! How many do you have? Are your kids crazy like mine are? Just keep holding on! The end is near!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-52921205310191084652014-09-15T20:56:00.001-05:002014-09-15T20:57:10.717-05:00Light Skins and the Demons WithinIn a few weeks my kids have a big project due. They have to interview a person of their choice and write a narrative from the interview. Naturally we've been practicing this in class with their classmates and I must say that I've been impressed with their work. My kids can write! I made them interview a classmate that they wouldn't normally talk to. I wanted them to step outside of their comfort zones and possibly form new friendships. In some classes, it's difficult to do that because the classes are small or everybody in the class knows everybody. When that happens, the interview usually goes south. Here's an excerpt from one such interview.<br />
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"I decided to ask her some questions so she could express her thoughts on certain topics, which brings us to our first question. I asked her what are her thoughts on being a light skinned in today's world. Well, what she said is that she doesn't like the stereotypes people put on her breed. Like they don't text back, or they think their all that. Judging by how she spoke on this, she isn't team light skin not team dark skin. She's just team skinned. I think asked her what is her favorite TV show? Fortunately, it wasn't something stupid and feminine like most girls watch, she said it was Adventure Time." She like it because it is weird and random. So this shows that Miss Light Skin has a good sense of humor and doesn't embrace the light skin demon inside of her."<br />
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Uuuuhhh... What?! And that wasn't even all of his interview! The sad part about it is that he was so serious. When I was telling the next class what not to do in the interview, they knew exactly who wrote the interview. Apparently he got his little heart broken by a light skin and he never recovered. Bless him. This is the same kid that said that said cute teachers aren't mean, unless they're light skinned. Then they're evil. Then he said that I don't count and I must be a mutant. I'm not a typical light skin. I mean, who raised this kid?! <br />
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I'm beginning to think my kids do stuff just so I can blog about them. Whenever one of them does/says something totally ridiculous, they ask if I'm going to blog about it. I ain't mad though. It makes for interesting classes.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-83300981201149540862014-09-08T20:43:00.000-05:002014-09-08T21:01:53.937-05:00WJTV Player of the WeekOne of my precious babies is in the running for WJTV's High School Player of the Week! Go to www.wjtv.com and vote for Donovan Lewis. He kicked butt Friday night against Ridgeland! Vote everyday from multiple browsers. We want him to win!<br />
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Throwback story of the day:<br />
Last year one of our kids failed to eat lunch before he took his medication. This wasn't one of his better ideas (he didn't have many to begin with) and he fell ill shortly thereafter. I'm known for fixing kids sandwiches when they don't eat or have lunch, so I fixed him a sandwich. You'd think I would have gotten a thank you or some other expression of gratitude. No. He said, "I knew I'd have Mrs. Scott making me sandwiches one day." Like, seriously kid? Next time it happened he didn't get a sandwich from me. <br />
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This year, I have the sweetest kids ever. They always want to hug and love on you. It's really weird because I have 9th and 12th graders. I don't think I've ever experienced anything like it. One day was particularly rough for me because the story we were reading reminded me of the day that my brother died. Naturally, I cried in class. Do you know that every class cried with me and told stories to make me feel better? It was almost like they understood where I was coming from. I've had many moments like that where my thoughts would trail off and I'd miss my brother and my kids would be right there with me making sure that I was ok. Of course, I start crying more because I get all choked up because they care about me and what's going on in my world. It's a never ending cycle. LOL<br />
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In the midst of the tears and story telling, I normally have that one kid that wants to relate but can't quite make it. <br />
Me: "Right now Lizabeth is feeling lost and confused because her dad is crying and she just doesn't understand what's happening in her world. Has anybody ever experienced what our narrator is feeling right now?"<br />
Kid: "I have. When my dad died, my uncle was crying and I had never seen a man cry before. I mean, he's a mitch (read male b*tch) anyway so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised."<br />
Me: *blank stare* "You don't get to talk anymore."<br />
I mean, I was with him up until the end. He really didn't think anything was wrong with what he said.<br />
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I have a few classes that are mostly boy classes. This would be ok if they weren't so gross. I'm at my desk getting ready for the next activity when this kid stood up in the middle of my class and blew snot on my floor. Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently the tissue was busy and he had no alternative. I almost cussed. That's disgusting. Another thing they do is poot. I have to get on to them all the time about acting like gentlemen in front of a lady. They don't care. They're boys. It grosses me out.<br />
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Don't forget to vote for Donovan Lewis as WJTV's High School Player of the Week!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-69686524950329349442014-08-14T21:42:00.002-05:002014-08-14T21:42:50.612-05:00Being short sucksOne of the perks of being married to the boys basketball coach is that I get to teach all of the freshmen basketball players. It's always loads of fun because they all want to impress coach's wife. Of course they're mischievous but once I threaten to tell Coach they straighten right on up. They also like to crack on each other quite often which is pretty hilarious. They don't hold back either. <br />
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Me: "I'll read this passage because some of the language is difficult and I don't want you to get discouraged or frustrated and not want to read. Now, I'm not going stop you from reading if you want to try it, but it is difficult."<br />
Very short basketball player: "Mrs. Scott, I'll try to read it."<br />
Me: "Ok, great! Go for it!"<br />
*VSBP reads through the passage beautifully*<br />
Me: "Very good! You read that passage like it was nothing! Good job!"<br />
Teammate (whispering to VSBP): "Man, the words in that passage are bigger than you are."<br />
VSBP: "Uh, Mrs. Scott, I think we need to have a class talk on bullying because Teammate is talking about me."<br />
Me: "What'd he say?"<br />
VSBP: "He said that the words were bigger than I was."<br />
Me: *falls out laughing*<br />
VSBP: *stares in disbelief*<br />
Me: "Oh, my bad... You didn't think that was funny?"<br />
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He eventually laughed and we moved on.<br />
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Something fun that I enjoy doing is scaring the new teachers a little with how I talk to my kids. New teachers are fresh out of school with their lofty ideals and textbook discipline plans and they often get burned out because that stuff doesn't work and they can't adjust. I'm not knocking new teachers. I was a new teacher once. I'm just saying... Never mind. It really doesn't matter. If you're a teacher, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, a kid came over to the teacher table during lunch which is a no no unless you're dying. <br />
Kid (rocking and fidgeting the whole time): "Mrs. Scott, I drank a lot of milk and now I gotta lot of energy and I can't control it. I need some more milk though. Can you buy me another milk?"<br />
Me: "What?!"<br />
Kid (still fidgeting): "I need some more milk. I got too much energy."<br />
Me: "Boy, if you don't get out my face and go sit at your table! You are not about to worry me today. Go on now!"<br />
New teacher: *wide eyes staring in astonishment*<br />
Me: "Girl, sometimes you have to talk rough to these kids for them to get it."<br />
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All that take them in the hall and conference with them privately for 30 minutes to discuss what they did wrong and what they need to do to fix it just doesn't work. I wish I would stop my instruction to deal with you because you're acting out. Child... I don't have time.<br />
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Have any of y'all seen my teacher body? It hasn't come in yet and I was wondering if y'all had seen it. I'm pooped! There's no tired like beginning of school year tired. The struggle is real for real.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-54427471632895237242014-08-11T21:02:00.000-05:002014-08-11T21:04:41.716-05:00Because geography is hardOn the first day of school, I was going through my powerpoint presentation that introduced me to my kids. I had slides that talked about my family and what I liked to do. One slide talked about my love for traveling and listed all of the places I had traveled.<br />
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Me: "Has anybody in here ever been out of the country?"</div>
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Kid: "I have!"</div>
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Me: "Cool! Where have you been?"</div>
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Kid: "New Orleans!"</div>
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Me: *blank stare* "Uh, New Orleans is in Louisiana. That's, like, the next state over."</div>
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Kid: *gets up and looks out the window* "Where?"</div>
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Me: *face palm*</div>
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I know New Orleans has its own culture and can appear to be a foreign place, but it is still in the United States of America. Bless his little heart...</div>
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The first day of school is the time for all of those cheesy get to know you activities and to sit around and sing "Kumbaya" with your kids so y'all can get to know each other and bond. *eye roll* Anyway, over the last few years I've been having my kids tell me what animal they would be and why. Most of my kids understood the assignment, but there were those that just didn't get it. At all.</div>
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"I'd be a kangaroo."</div>
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"Why?"</div>
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"Because they jump."</div>
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"Do you jump like a kangaroo?"</div>
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"No."</div>
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"I'd be a bird because they fly all over the place and they get to see everything."</div>
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"But what does that have to do with you?"</div>
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"I'd be a panda bear because they're cuddly. I don't like cuddling or people in my personal space. Unless it's my momma. She can hug me."</div>
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Then of course there are those that are quite interesting.</div>
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"I'd be a killer."</div>
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*blank stare*</div>
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"I'd be a cockroach."</div>
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"Why?"</div>
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"Cuz you know how y'all leave food out and stuff and cockroaches come behind you and eat the left out food? I do that. I eat the leftovers."</div>
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*blank stare*</div>
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I was going through my introductory powerpoint and I started talking about my friends and how awesome they are. *Shout out to Bria, Cynt, Keetra, Kaley, Maranda, Mandy, and Robyn* I told my kids that it's important to have good friends in your life because they make life's difficult times a little easier. My friends have been there through 3 of the hardest times in my life: the death of my granny, my ectopic pregnancy, and the death of my little brother. I didn't use the term ectopic pregnancy when I was talking to my kids. I said that Coach Scott and I had lost our baby. One of my inclusion kids was confused by this phrasing. He raised his hand very politely and asked, "Mrs. Scott? How did y'all lose the baby? Did it get lost?" Bless his little heart! He didn't get it. I explained it to him, so I hope he understands now. </div>
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We've only been in school 3 days and all of that has happened! Looks like this will be a blog worthy year!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-89656067366803632102014-08-07T20:15:00.000-05:002014-08-07T20:15:38.865-05:00It's been a while!Hey guys! It's been a long time (read almost a year) since I've blogged. I'm sorry! I've been so busy lately that I just haven't really taken the time to sit down and blog. Lucky for y'all we now have to turn in lesson plans, so I get all my planning done a whole week in advance. Now all I have to do in the evenings is whatever I so desire to do. Yay! Any hoo, a new school year has started and that means I got all new kids. I've only met about half of them but I can already tell that my kids are going to be pretty awesome. I get awesome kids every year though:)<br />
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Today marked the 1st day of the 2014-2015 and I'm really excited about it! I'm teaching a new class, I FINALLY got a Smartboard, and we have a new administrator. A lot of new things are happening! One thing that isn't new is my homeroom. I have the seniors again. Nobody ever understands my enthusiasm for teaching that group of kids and I don't expect them to. Teaching that group of kids makes you learn a few things about yourself.<br />
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<li><b>You learn whether or not teaching is your real passion or calling.</b><br />This is my 9th year teaching and last year was the 1st year that I actually <i>felt</i> like a teacher. Yeah, I've always loved my kids and tried my best to take care of them, but having to give a group of kids your all like I had to give last year made me realize that as a teacher I'm called to do more than just teach English. I'm supposed to impact lives. Those kids looked to me for guidance, peace, encouragement, and support. They became my children. If you aren't passionate about teaching or it's "just a job" then you have no idea what I'm talking about. For you, impacting lives isn't important.</li>
<li><b>You learned how to not be selfish.</b><br />There were several times where I had to sacrifice some things to make sure that my kids got the help that they needed. I've had to sacrifice time with my 9th graders, time with my husband, vacation time, and sleep. I would have rather been teaching my classes, spending time with my husband, spending more time out of town, and sleeping. My kids needed me so I was there.</li>
<li><b>You learn how to act.</b><br />Let me explain. When working in such a high pressure situation, I couldn't let the kids know that I was nervous, afraid, or unsure. They looked to me for assurance and stability and I had to lie. I lied a lot. A lot of days I didn't believe what I was saying, but I couldn't let on. I should be nominated for an Oscar or something. LOL</li>
<li><b>You learn how to </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">REALLY</i><b> trust God. I mean really trust Him.</b><br />I prayed a lot during the year. A whole lot. A heck of a whole lot. Because of it all but 2 graduated from high school. Of the 2, one is working on his. The other dropped out before the final scores came back. When I tell y'all that God is in the prayer answering business... HE IS! </li>
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Last year was an eye opening year for me not only with my seniors but also with my 9th graders and coworkers. My brother was killed in May and I was surrounded by so much love and support during that time that it was overwhelming. I'd run out of breath trying to thank everybody for all of the love, cards, gifts, calls, texts, visits, meals, and time that was given to me during that extremely difficult time in my life. It amazing to see kids care as much as they did. There are some who still check on me. That just goes to show that when you truly love and care for your kids, they'll always love and care for you. It's an awesome thing!<br />
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I know today's post wasn't my normal funny, but trust me. I'll have your funny tomorrow. It won't be a year before I blog again. I promise. It's going to be a GREAT year!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-29622963213802237252013-09-22T20:21:00.002-05:002013-09-22T20:21:13.509-05:00"You look like sunshine!"Lately, I've been favoring my brightly colored pants over my normal colored pants. Black, brown, khaki, and gray get old, ya know. Anyway, one of my kids noticed my bright pants and commented.<br />
<br />
Kid: "Mrs. Scott, you look bright and sunshine-y today."<br />
Me: "Thank you if you're giving me a compliment."<br />
Kid: "I'm not, unless looking like a big ball of fire is your thing."<br />
Me: *blank stare*<br />
<br />
I mean, really kid? <br />
<br />
A few weeks ago we did our daily independent practice and one of my precious babies didn't do as well as he thought he should. So he did what any 9th grader would do. He cried. Real tears. That dripped on his shirt. Now before you drag me over the coals for being insensitive and uncaring and whatever else you can think of as an outsider looking in, I know for a fact that this was a classic case of overreacting. This kid cried when I told him that I was going to write him a detention if he was late again. The same kid who cried when I told him to stop talking while I was talking. The same kid who almost pooped his pants when I told him he misspelled a word on his information sheet. This kid is EXTREMELY sensitive and I can't deal. I was obviously absent the day we went over Educational Sensitivity because I don't have time. He's slowly toughening up though. I believe part of it has to do with the fact that I ignore this behavior. I also gave him a pep talk. I told him to cut all that crying out and use it as motivation to do better the next time. He gave a tearful and snotty "Yes ma'am" and we moved on. I swear they don't make kids like they used to. <br />
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The other day, while taking notes, one of my students made a really smart joke. I laughed because it was funny and because it was so smart that his classmates didn't get it and thought that he was dumb.<br />
<br />
Me: "Daniel Defoe wrote his first book at age 59."<br />
Kid: "Daniel Defoe, that's like Daniel De Enemy."<br />
Me: *chuckles*"yeah, you're right."<br />
Other kids: "What? That's stupid."<br />
Me: "You probably shouldn't make such smart jokes in here. Your classmates might not get them and they'll think you're dumb."<br />
Smart kids: "Oh we got it. It just wasn't funny."<br />
Precious baby who didn't get it: "Well, it's just stupid. Who is Daniel De Enemy? And what does he have to do with what we're talking about?"<br />
Whole class: *falls out laughing and tries to explain*<br />
Me: "Y'all, don't worry about it. Let her continue to think we're dumb because we get the smart joke."<br />
Precious: "Ok, we can stop talking about it because I feel left out and it's not fair that y'all keep talking about the joke and everybody doesn't get it."<br />
<br />
They tried to explain it to her for a good 10 minutes and it just wasn't clicking. She got madder and madder the more they tried to explain it. I think I laughed harder than I should have, but it was hilarious.<br />
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I recently celebrated my 30th birthday and I did what any normal teacher does and took off work. What? Y'all work on your birthdays? Yeah, I'm not about that life. I take off. It's a holiday! My momma took off to have me, so why shouldn't I take off? Makes sense to me. Anyway, when I returned to school my kids and all of their nosiness wanted to know what I did for my birthday.<br />
<br />
Kid: "Mrs. Scott, what did you do for your birthday?"<br />
Me: "Well, I..."<br />
Kid 2: *starts singing "Birthday Sex"*<br />
Me: "Get out."<br />
Kid 2: "But I didn't say the "s" word."<br />
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Why are these kids so inappropriate?<br />
<br />
My seniors took their English II exam last week. They all said that it was easy and they feel like they did well. That's always a good sign. <br />
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One of my coworker, who teaches computer classes, had a student turn in this jewel. I laughed extremely hard. Bless her little non spelling, sounding words out heart!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-80242340695386142352013-08-29T20:25:00.000-05:002013-08-29T20:25:01.588-05:00The BodyguardI'm a firm believer in teaching young men to be gentlemen and teaching young women to be ladies. Apparently, some of my parents feel the same way.<br />
Scene: I'm walking out of the lunch room with stuff in my hands. The student in front of me (who is not one of mine) let's the door close in my face.<br />
Kid (who is one of mine): "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you NOT just see Mrs. Scott walking out of that door? Don't you ever let the door close on her again! Come on Mrs. Scott, I got the door for you."<br />
<br />
The other kid was so shocked that he couldn't say anything. Heck, I was too. It did make me smile on the inside.<br />
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The boys in my 5th period have taken upon themselves to be my bodyguards. Not only do they make other kids hold the door open for me, but if a kid is acting up and I have to fuss, they come by and ask, "Is this kid bothering you?". I think it's hilarious; however, I think they take their roles a little too seriously. For example, we were walking to lunch the other day and one of my coworkers called me over for a chat. My "bodyguards" stopped and folded their arms while I stopped to chat. I had to tell them to leave. LOL. Is that not the funniest thing? <br />
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This year, I've been trying to stretch myself in the classroom by coming up with a hands on activity or some type of game for every lesson. Most of my kids enjoy the activities and games. I had one student who complained that my activities were "kindergarten" and that he'd rather do worksheets. I mean, seriously kid? You'd rather do worksheets than play games? I bet his parents made him read and study all the time and never let him go to birthday parties growing up. What kid doesn't like to play games? Even my Asperger's kids like to play games and they generally don't like being in social settings or working in groups. <br />
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The volleyball team lost both games this week and it sucks. The Monday night loss wasn't so bad. They played really hard and fought until the end. Now Tuesday... That's a whole nother story (excuse my Southern dialect). They lost one of their matches 25-8. That isn't them out playing you. That's just you not trying. Because of their piss poor performance Tuesday night, we ran and did burpees and up downs and whatever else I thought was necessary. Hopefully they ran all of that foolishness out and we're ready to have a successful rest of the season.<br />
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My seniors test 2 weeks from Monday! I'm excited because I know they're going to do great:) Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-20473976164122284302013-08-22T21:05:00.002-05:002013-08-22T21:05:34.132-05:00Have you seen the movie "Constipation"?All this week, my seniors have been acting rather silly. I mean, they've been sillier than normal, if that's possible. Anyway, one of them decided to tell a joke. <br />
"Hey, y'all. Have y'all seen the movie 'Constipation'? It hasn't come out yet."<br />
I'll admit that I chuckled a little. Ok, a lot. It was funny. Don't judge me.<br />
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Volleyball season has kicked off and we've started our season with 2 wins! I'm so excited for this season because my girls are playing so hard and doing what they know to do. We're going to win it all!<br />
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Tonight was "Senior Sign the Wall" at my school. I always get a little misty eyed during this time because I had them when they were scared little freshmen and now they're big seniors. They're about to start applying for college, to start working on the last push to boost their GPAs, and to take the ACT. They're no longer the scared, quiet little kids I knew. Some of them have turned out to be really amazing kids that I'm proud to have taught.<br />
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Last week I had to call a parent because her son received a detention from me. Somehow during the course of the conversation she made the conversation be about me and what I was doing wrong and not about her son who was obviously doing something wrong or he wouldn't have gotten the detention. Then, towards the end of the conversation she said, "He's a little slower than the other kids because being an only child, I sheltered him. It's my fault that he's slow." Wait, what?! I didn't realize that being an only child meant that you'd be slower than other kids. They may lack some of the social skills that kids with siblings have but it's nothing major. Poor kid. His mom has made him slow and he doesn't even know it.<br />
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One of my favorite parents has a conference in the morning and I think I might go just for the fun of it. A conference with this mom will be the perfect start to the school day. This parent has to be one of the funniest people I know. She gets in conferences and tells stories from when she was a child and how big and tough her mom was and how her mom didn't let anybody push them around. It's so much fun! I usually leave conferences with her in tears because she was so funny. During on conference, she was going over her philosophy for her kids. "Get grown, get gone, and own your own home." She had to come back later and add "and get your own car and leave mine the hell alone." LOL She said they got grown, gone, and got a house but didn't have a car so they were bumming rides. I about hit the floor when she said that. I go to conferences with this woman just to go. The last time I went to a conference she asked me why I was there. I told her that I just wanted to sit in and laugh. But as crazy as she is she knows how to encourage you when you're down. When she found out that they had to terminate my pregnancy, she came to the school and offered some encouraging words and a lot of laughs. That really meant a lot to me. Other teachers don't really care for her, but I love her. I haven't seen her much this year and I miss her. I guess I have to get to school early in the morning, so I can catch her. I'm due for some of her foolishness. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-78488510826130999842013-08-15T21:22:00.001-05:002013-08-15T21:22:31.303-05:00Bye Mrs. ScottYesterday, during 4th period we were working on combining sentences and I called on a student to come to the board. I mispronounced her name because well, I don't understand certain types of names. Anyhoo, another student decided that she was going to correct me, so I had to hit her with a "Bye Felicia." The other kids stopped working and looked at each other, then looked at me. Uh, yes, I've seen "Friday" and yes I know who Felicia is. I guess they didn't expect their teacher to be so cool. LOL<br />
<br />
Later that same period, the kids were doing something and apparently I made a lame joke. The kids hit me with a "Bye Mrs. Scott." I couldn't do anything but laugh. <br />
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The beginning of every school year is rough on a teacher's body. Our bodies have become accustomed to lounging around by the pool or on the beach, to taking naps in the middle of the day, and to being just plain lazy. The exhaustion makes it difficult to get up and put some effort in getting dressed. Yesterday, I dressed down in my khakis and polo shirt because it was easy and comfortable. Apparently, my choice of outfit was unacceptable in the eyes of my students.<br />
Kid 1: *whispering* "Is that Mrs. Scott?"<br />
Kid 2: *whispering* "I think so."<br />
*Both lean around to see my face*<br />
Kid 1: *whispering* "Yeah, that's her."<br />
Kid 2: "Hey Mrs. Scott!"<br />
Me: "Hey, y'all!"<br />
Kid 1: "We thought that was you, but we weren't sure. You look like one of us!"<br />
Me: "Nope, not one of y'all, it's me! I just didn't feel like getting all fancy today, so I put on my khakis and a polo and called it a day."<br />
Kid 1: "Now Mrs. Scott, that is just unacceptable. You're a veteran! You should know better. You're supposed to set the example for the new teachers. You need to get it together because you need to do better."<br />
Me: *confused*<br />
<br />
I mean, really?! Did I just get reprimanded by 2 juniors? I thought I looked fine. I guess I'll be fancy from here on out. <br />
<br />
Ninth graders can be really funny. Most of the time it's unintentional, but it's still funny. Today, one of my sweet babies was late to school. Once he made it to school, he came to class. I looked at him kind of funny when he walked in late, but I didn't make a big deal about it. We got started on our work for the day then moved to our kinesthetic activity (eat your heart out Marzano). Late kid got in a group and started working. His group finished the activity 1st and was awarded 20 bonus points to use throughout the 9 weeks. As I was making note of who won, it dawned on me that he was in the wrong class. That was the reason for the funny look. In my defense, they've been changing schedules a lot these last few days, so I wasn't 100% sure which class he was in. Anyway, when I realized that he was in the wrong class, I started to tell him and he cut me off. He said he knew he didn't recognize anybody in the class, but he didn't know why. Y'all, he sat in my class almost an hour before he realized that he was in the wrong class! I wrote him a pass and sent him on his way. Poor thing had to come back to my class the next block and listen to the same thing again. <br />
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My seniors are working so hard for me. I'm really excited! They're going to knock this state test out the water! In Jesus' name! Amen!<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-19992728461835349292013-08-12T21:20:00.004-05:002013-08-12T21:20:34.653-05:00Exit Slip DramaThis year I've decided to do exit slips. Basically, I give my kids a question or 2 dealing with what we just went over in class to see if they remembered what we just learned. Friday and Monday they had to write 4 sentences: 1 simple, 1 compound, 1 complex, and 1 compound complex. Let's just say standardized tests are ruining our kids' ability to write. Don't believe me? Take a look at their sentences.<br />
<br />
Because I forgot to close the door.<br />
The dog was chaseing that girl.<br />
Because I over sleept I was late getting to school.<br />
My mom was finna cook, but she forgot to get the meat.<br />
Although it was raing; they still walked home.<br />
Sam went to Wendy's because it was nasty he took it back; so the chief had to recook it.<br />
Everybody know lil boosie.<br />
I want a pet puppinuala, but it feeds on human flesh.<br />
Although I am use to eating seafood, I finally ate a peice of chicken, and it was suprisingly good.<br />
She said basketball is funner, but he prefer football.<br />
The teacher scolded him, but she although did he did not make a sound.<br />
Whenever you go home, I will be waiting for you.<br />
I like looking around and I like looking in deep stairs but like playing basketball.<br />
<br />
Ok, that's enough. Y'all... Seriously? Can we get a senator or a congress person, or somebody to see this and get rid of standardized tests? This is ridiculous. I chuckled at 1st, but then it was just sad. How are these kids in the 9th grade? Sigh... I've got my work cut out for me this year!<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-42133901698061311682013-08-11T20:34:00.001-05:002013-08-11T20:34:15.410-05:00If I were an animal...On the first day a school it's normal to play cheesy get to know you type games, and this year was no different. I decided to steal an idea from my MIL and have them to tell me what animal they'd be and why. I started it off. I would be a pit bull because I'm all fun and games until you make me mad, then I'll bite your head off. Don't judge me. I had to set the tone for the class. Anyway, here are some of the memorable responses.<br />
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I'd be a fish because my eyes are big.<br />
I'd be a koala first then a lion. At first I'm kinda shy and cuddly but then the lion eats the koala bear and I'm loud and bold. It's like a metaphor because the bold lion eats the shy koala, so it's like the shy person dies. (My response was a blank stare)<br />
I'd be an armadillo because I'm flamboyant.<br />
I don't know what animal I'd be because I'm kinda mysterious. Classmate's response-You can be Batman! <br />
I'd be a flamingo because I'm flexible.<br />
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Yeah, it's going to be an interesting year...<br />
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I have all 9th graders this year with the exception of my homeroom. They're seniors. My 9th graders are awesome! They came in knowing stuff! If you teach then you understand how exciting that is. I had them to do a quick write on what they knew about clauses and they knew a lot. I did the Tiger Woods fist pump on the inside when they started sharing some of the things they knew. The great thing is that it wasn't just my honors kids who knew stuff. It was ALL of my kids. They all have a good foundation in English. <br />
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I have already started to pick out the clowns in my classes. During the introductions I had a kid who said he liked to dance. I had him to come and show us some of his moves. He starts his routine then he ends it with, "Then I just start sliding and shit." <br />
"Excuse me?"<br />
"I just start sliding and shit."<br />
*giggling from class*<br />
"Um, you do realize that you can't just use profanity in class, especially when you're talking to the teacher?"<br />
"Ooohhhhh, I didn't even realize I had cussed! I'm sorry!"<br />
<br />
Like, really, kid? You cuss so much that you don't even realize when you do it? <br />
<br />
Another kid decided that he was going to give step by step on how to twerk. He said that the reason most girls can't twerk is because they haven't loosened up their hips. He then proceeded to demonstrate how to do so. His introduction was cut short. <br />
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This year I have the honor and the privilege to have a special group of seniors during homeroom. This group of kids has met all of their graduation requirements except one. They haven't passed their English II state test. I have 3 or 4 chances to get them to pass this test. The first opportunity is September 16 and 17. We've already started working on some things and I know they're getting it. I have prayed for them and their minds. I have prayed for myself and my mind. I told them that I wanted to see all 22 of them walk across that stage in May 2014 to get their high school diploma. It's one thing for me to believe that they can pass it, but it's another thing for them to believe it. I'm asking everybody to get in agreement with me that they'll pass it the 1st time. I know that I can't do this alone, so pray that I have wisdom on how to teach them. Pray that they believe that they can do it. Pray that they aren't anxious or worried about it. Pray that their memories are blessed. Pray that we have the mind of Christ. I know we can achieve many things when we work together, so pray with me.<br />
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It's going to be a great year! In the words of the great Liz Foster: "We're gon' have school at Terry School!"Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-11452812676684019772013-08-05T21:13:00.002-05:002013-08-05T21:16:50.786-05:00Meet the Teacher DayToday was Meet the Teacher Day, the day where parents come around and get a feel for their kids' teachers. I ended up meeting almost 100 parents during the 5 hour day. Most of the parents were pleasant. I had one parent to complain about high school teachers not being very warm and welcoming. Um... We're not kindergarten teachers. High school teachers are not known for being extra bubbly. Now don't get me wrong, there are some that are. I just don't happen to be one of them. When I meet parents I put on my business face. I smile politely and give them the information for my class. I don't feel the need to hold hands and sing "Kumbaya". Maybe that's just me. *shrugs*<br />
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In my last post I talked about my severely SPED student and if you know me, you know how much I love this kid. I had been concerned about his schedule for this year and I had expressed my concern to my husband. He said, "You know you're not his mom, right?" LOL. I can't help it. I love my kids and I have to make sure that they're ok. Anyway, the secretary came across the hall to my classroom today saying that someone wanted to see me. I was thinking she was playing a trick on me or that it was one of "those" students. It was my kid! His mom said that he insisted on coming to see me today, so she had to bring him. He said he wanted to be in my class this year. Can you say melted heart? I didn't think he'd remember me over the summer, but he did. <br />
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I'm really, super duper excited about the upcoming school year. I've set some pretty high goals for myself that will stretch me and cause me to get out of my comfort zone some. This will be my 8th year teaching and I feel like it's time to change it up so I can grow as an educator. There is a new teacher evaluation system out and I'm determined to average 3.5 or higher out of 4. I've been planning engaging lessons, reading different blogs and sites, and studying MSTAR and Common Core. I'm really excited about all of it. Hopefully the excitement won't die down before the end of the 1st 9 week grading period. We'll see how this goes...<br />
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*Disclaimer* High school teachers love their students just as much as elementary and middle school teachers love their kids. We just have a different way of showing it. Felt the need to clear that up. <br />
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Have a great year teacher friends!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-74442025331577433752013-07-14T21:51:00.002-05:002013-08-05T21:15:45.860-05:00Reasons Why I TeachThis past school year was a whirlwind of tests, not just state ordered tests, but personal as well. As I said in an earlier post, I got thrown into English II 3 days before school started. I had to play catch up in order to be successful. I eventually found my footing and we (my students and myself) figured it out and made it through the year. It was oftentimes tough and disheartening when I would look at the practice test scores and the simulated test scores and they SUCKED. I was panicking most of the year because I was afraid of what they'd do on the real test. They assured me that they would do better when the actual test came. Did I mention I had the highest percentage of struggling learners in comparison to the other English II teachers? Yeah... Anyway, I kept my cool and things started looking up. By April, my kids had started showing promise and everything was going great. They were going so great that life felt as if it needed to step in and shake things up a little. I found out that I was pregnant with my 1st child. Talk about exciting! My kids were equally excited and took on the responsibility of taking care of me. The beginning of the pregnancy was tough. I couldn't do anything. My kids wouldn't let me stand up, pass out papers, answer my classroom phone, NOTHING. They put me in my chair and pushed me around the room to help me maintain my pregnancy. They were genuinely concerned. At a doctor's appointment, they discovered that Baby Scott was stuck in my Fallopian tube. I was having an ectopic pregnancy. I had to terminate the pregnancy. I went to school and told my kids and they were extremely upset. They hugged, we cried, and I assured them that it would be ok, that I would be ok. They stood by me through the whole process. My OB/GYN scheduled a series of shots to terminate the pregnancy and things started to get back to normal. We got back on our test prep since the test was a month away. My students still made sure that I was ok and took really good care of me. I still had some pain but I assumed it was from the shots. I went back to my OB/GYN for a follow-up and wouldn't you know, life had to shake things up again. The shots didn't work. Baby Scott had actually grown and was threatening to rupture and damage my Fallopian tube. I had to have surgery the NEXT DAY to remove Baby Scott and would be out for 2 weeks. In 2 weeks, the English II SATP would be administered. That means I had no time to plan, no time to leave resources, no time to get ready for a sub, no time to tell my students what was going on. My doctor understood and he gave me a day to get ready. I went to school the next day and told my kids what was going on. Bless their hearts they were optimistic. In their minds this was a good thing because that means that Baby Scott was alive and could possibly move to the right place and everything would be ok. I didn't have the heart to tell them otherwise. I had my surgery and my students called me every 2 hours to check on me. Then they called me every day when I got home. Their calls made those 2 weeks at home a little easier. They assured me that they were working hard for the sub and that they were going to rock the test in honor of Baby Scott and they did:) People often ask me why I teach. They say kids are bad, they're rude, they're disrespectful, they're this and that. I teach because of the genuine love, respect, and concern from my kids. The love, support, and concern that they showed me during that difficult time meant more to me than anything else. Now granted there were some kids who couldn't care less about what was going on in my life and they let me know it. When I told them that Baby Scott didn't make it some of them gave me a few blinks and asked if we could go on with class. Did that hurt? Heck yeah it did, but I had more positive experiences than negative so it didn't matter. <br />
<br />
This past year I had the privilege of teaching a student who had cerebral palsy, seizures, and was on the autism spectrum along with other things. It was a challenge because I had never had a student that severe. It didn't take long for me to get used to him and for him to get used to me. His classmates were instrumental in all of that. They looked out for him. They made sure he had his notes, included him in class discussions and group activities, and made sure that I didn't overlook him when he was ready to participate. At first he was just kind of there. By the end of the year, he knew my name and the name of some of his classmates, he had friends in the class, and some days he was the class clown. He started volunteering to read (even though he could only read on a 1st grade level), he would raise his hand to answer questions, and he told his classmates he loved them. Ah, that warmed my heart giving me another reason to want to continue to teach.<br />
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I hope my post has inspired or re-inspired you to give your best to your students 100% of the time. It has definitely lit a fire under me. I plan on giving my students everything they deserve from me from now on.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-44359308095461745032012-08-12T13:24:00.000-05:002012-08-12T13:24:12.439-05:00Back to School!School has started back and that means new kids, new stories, and new adventures. Excited? You should be! As y'all know I spent the majority of my summer on Pinterest and Teachers Pay getting ready for a fun filled year teaching English I. Weeeeeelllll, on Thursday, August 2 (6 days before school starts) at 3:30 pm all of that planning and pinning was flushed down the drain. I got moved to English II, which is a state tested course. *insert panic attack* I've spent the past few days scrambling around trying to gather myself so I'd be ready for action when school starts. I have TONS of resources and information, but I haven't had the time to sit and look at it all. Thankfully one of my English II cohorts has done the majority of the lesson planning for the 1st few weeks. That gives me a chance to catch up. On top of all of that drama, it's volleyball season. Whew! It's all good. I know that God placed me in the position for a reason, so I just have to lean on and trust Him and know that I'll get through this.<br />
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School has been in session for only 3 days and I already have stories. While we were reviewing literary terms and devices the following took place:<br />
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Me: "Connotation is the emotion behind a word. If you're trying to hurt someone's feelings you wouldn't say, 'You're so big boned.' You'd say, 'You're so FAT!' That's because the connotation or emotion behind the word fat is negative, whereas big boned is neutral. But let me let y'all in on a little secret: bones don't jiggle, that's just fat."<br />
Kid 1: *looks over at Kid 2*<br />
Kid 2: "Man, get out of my face. I'm not fat! I'm big boned for real."<br />
Kid 1: "I ain't never seen a skeleton with big bones. And bones don't jiggle!"<br />
*Whole class erupts in laughter*<br />
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I mean, I shouldn't be mad because they were paying attention to something, right?<br />
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It's going to be a great year if these types of things keep occurring. LOLAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-28487459943453876872012-06-26T22:32:00.000-05:002012-06-26T23:18:06.110-05:00"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.
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Kid: "Man, ain't no rich kids at THS. Y'all just faking."
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Me: "How do you know they aren't rich?"
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Kid: "Cuz it's illegal for rich kids to go to school with non rich kids."
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Me: "What?!"
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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?"<br />
Me: *blank stare and walk away*
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This is the same kid who said you can't have any contraptions in your essay. SMH<br />
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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. <br />
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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 <a href="http://www.adoptaclassroom.org/classroomdonation/results_classrooms.aspx?x=classroom&school=Terry+High+School&desc=1&lname=Scott&fname=Kristin" target="_blank">Adopt a Classroom</a> 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!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-31591594266634449742012-06-16T13:28:00.000-05:002012-06-16T13:59:54.940-05:00School'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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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. <br />
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While working on this project my kids decided to play Draw Something on themselves. SMH</div>
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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. </div>
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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 <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/" target="_blank">Teachers Pay Teachers.</a> 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!</div>
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</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-16310255921400781582012-02-02T20:24:00.000-06:002012-02-02T20:24:24.060-06:00"You can't have no contraptions in your essay!"It's essay writing season! Yay... I have a love hate relationship with essays. I hate them because they're so awful to read and I love them because they're so awful to read. It always baffles me how bad they write as 9th graders. I mean, it's awful. While we were looking over some essays written by 10th graders for the English II SAPT, one student noticed that the writer used quite a few contractions. She knew this was wrong and let us know. "You can't have no contraptions in your essay!" You're right young grasshopper, you can't have any contraptions. <br />
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Below are some real examples from real essays written by real 9th graders. Basically, the topic is something along the lines of do you think it's a good idea for schools to have an open campus policy that would allow students to leave campus during their lunch periods. Here goes!<br />
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"I think leaving for lunch would be a bad thing because kids could get in troble or not want to com back to school."<br />
"There are good and bad thing's. good things is get away from the school adn teachers and the trouble makers."<br />
"Bad things is kids can go home some weed get high and come to school and get in troble or two people have a dissagrement and meet up somewhere and box."<br />
"I do not think this will never happen."<br />
"Students can go to innapropriate places during their lunch periods. They could go to tattoo and piercings shops."<br />
"The open-campus policy is a policy giving teens the choise to leave campus during lunch time."<br />
"The paragraphs are going to be on open-campus policy. Paragraphs are going to be ideas on how its good. I will give examples, just to show you. Its going to show you how leaving campus for lunch, it good." "The paragraphs are good and on topic."<br />
"This is an outrage! The principle just stated that our school, Terry High, will start having open-campus policy allowing us to leave the campus for lunch. Its obvious he do not know the problems that this will cause to the school."<br />
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Ok, I can't take anymore. These are for real from my kids' essays. Sigh... I'll be posting more tomorrow when I'm not sad. LOL<br />
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Today I was a little sad because I missed my granny. Because I'm fairly light skinned it was obvious that I had been crying. My sweet coworkers cried with me and my kids knew something was wrong. I didn't tell them what was wrong but they just knew. While I was sitting at my desk in a daze, one of my kids, who knew how close I was to Granny and had sent Granny cards while she was in the hospital, came up to my desk.<br />
Kid: "It's one of those days, huh?"<br />
Me: "Yeah."<br />
Kid: "I understand. I had a lot of those days when my grandfather died. It does get better."<br />
I just looked at her. We understood each other. It's amazing how your kids just know what to say to make things better. After that a few of my kids made up excuses so they could come to my room and check on me. It was really sweet. Makes me love what I do that much more. Yay kids!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-71990088334770337532012-01-14T21:52:00.001-06:002012-01-14T21:54:17.640-06:00Friday the 13thDo I really need to say more? Of course I do!<br />
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My Friday the 13th started off rather normal and slow, so I thought I was in the clear. Well, my fifth period class saw things a little different. I guess their parents figured since it was Friday their children didn't need to take their medications. How do I know they didn't take their medications? Because they were all over the place!!! It started with one kid saying something stupid and it all went downhill from there.<br />
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Sentence: My uncles came to visit.<br />
Student interpretation: "My un-cles... wait, what? What is un-cles?!"<br />
Me: "The word is uncles. You know like aunt and uncles."<br />
Kid: "I deserve several stupid slaps for that. You're going to blog about this aren't you?"<br />
Me: "Yes."<br />
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Next, there was comedy time:<br />
What do you call a computer that can't sing? A-dell. (for those of you who are lost, Adele is a singer)<br />
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Then there was Twitter time:<br />
Kid 1: "Man, Twitter getting lame now."<br />
Kid 2: "That's cuz you're on there ALL THE TIME!"<br />
Kid 1: "No I'm not!"<br />
Me: "Uh, yes you are. Every time I get on there, I have 50 gajillion tweets all from you. Then you tweet about stupid stuff, 'My toe itches,' 'I'm sleepy,' 'My hair grew a milliliter.'"<br />
Kid 3: "Yeah, and you change your profile picture every 10 minutes. The one you got up now is funny. *proceeds to imitate pose*<br />
Kid 1: "Shut up! No I don't! Mrs. Scott do you follow Billy? His Twitter name is..."<br />
Kid 3 *jumps up and puts his hand over her mouth.*<br />
Kid 4: "You better quit before you get charged with rape."<br />
Me: "What?!"<br />
Kid 3: "Man, this ain't no white woman. The most I can get for this is 3-5. If it was a white woman I'd get 10-20"<br />
Me: *palm to forehead* "What?! You know what, we don't get to talk anymore. Let's just go to the bathroom."<br />
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I mean, where do they learn this from? Sometimes I want to just go to their houses and observe. But then, I remember the foolishness that comes out of my kids' mouths and I change my mind. <br />
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My kids are so obsessed with when I'm going to have a baby. They ask me frequently if I want kids, when am I going to have one, etc. <br />
Kid: "Mrs. Scott, I want you to have a baby. Do you want kids?"<br />
Me: "Yes, one day."<br />
Kid: "Does Coach Scott want kids?"<br />
Me: "Yes, he does."<br />
Kid: "Well are y'all even trying to have kids?! Never mind. That was inappropriate, huh?"<br />
Me: "Yup."<br />
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"Mrs. Scott, I got smarty-er during Christmas break!"<br />
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One of my Facebook friends asked her students to write a paragraph about what teachers do when they go home. Here's what one kid said:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We obviously die. What a sad existence...</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-14745766845568301122012-01-09T21:34:00.000-06:002012-01-09T21:34:55.146-06:00Parent-Teacher Conference DayToday was PTC Day. *cue exciting music* I knew which parents I was going to see today, so I mentally prepared myself all last week for them. There were 2 parents in particular that I really prepared for because, well, they're "those" type of parents. One parent insulted my intelligence and ability on Meet the Teacher Day and the other always makes excuses for her child. On Meet the Teacher Day, arrogant parent asked if I was an honors quality teacher and what qualified me to teach honors. I answered him and then asked him if his child was an honors quality student and what qualified her to be in my honors class. He couldn't answer me and sadly his child has shown me that she is not honors material. She's irresponsible and immature. She's a decent kid, just not ready for honors yet. So anyway, her dad comes in with his same arrogant ways, looking down his nose at me and what not. We talked and I explained to him what was going on with the kid and showed him her grades. Silence. He thought for a second then came up with his "let me turn this around on you" question. He asked me how I personally felt about his child. In other words, this wouldn't be happening if you didn't have something personal against my child. I told him exactly how I felt. I said she was irresponsible and immature. She's not a behavior problem and a fairly good kid. He didn't like my answer so he left. An hour or so later they were back. Why? Because the kid left her purse. Can you say point proven?<br />
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The next parent I expected to see was making excuses mom. This mom is always making excuses for her child as to why he can't pass or why he's getting in trouble. She's combative and confrontational, but I was ready. I pulled out the grade book and explained to her all the good things he's done then moved to the bad. I got her to let her guard down. She asked me the typical "what are you doing to help my child" questions and when she saw that I had done all she wanted she broke down and took the blame. She tried to make excuses saying he had a learning disability and she took him off his medicine. I asked what was the disability and she said slow learner. Uh, that's not a specific disability. Nobody's IEP says "slow learner." I think she's going to pull him out of regular school and try something else. He's not going to pass my class this year and he's already behind (this is his 2nd year in English I). We'll see how this goes.<br />
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Usually on PTC Days you gain a better understanding of what's wrong with your kids. I didn't fully understand the whole "apple doesn't fall too far from the tree" thing until I started teaching. One particular student of mine doesn't listen and follow directions well. His dad came by today and asked me the same questions twice, left, and came back to ask the same questions again. I was like dang! That's why your kids does that. A mom came by and rambled on and on about stuff that had absolutely nothing to do with anything. I sat and listened, interjecting every now and then. At the end she said several times, "I like her." Her kid does the same thing. He gets picked on so he's looking for acceptance. Apparently she is too. They're both high strung people too. It's always funny to see where kids get their quirks from.<br />
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As with any PTC day you have those parents who are just downright funny. There is a particular man and his wife who always come see me when they're at the school. I taught their son twice so I guess they took a liking to me. Ha! Anyhoo, they always ask about my family and how things are going. Today was no different. They didn't know that my sexy granny had died and they offered some sweet words of encouragement. I was almost in tears until the dad said this: "You know we as Christians (pronounced christy ans) don't have to worry about death. I was like "Christy ans" What? I couldn't even get my tears out. SMH<br />
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One of the great things about being a teacher is being able to do more than teach. Kids look to teachers to be more than a teacher. They look for a friend, a confidant, a counselor, a safe place. When my granny died my kids were so sweet. They gave me hugs, encouragement, cards, everything. Well, one of my student's granny died last week. Her mom texted me asking if I'd see about her because she was really struggling with the death. At first I was considering not doing it because I was still not 100% ok with my granny's death. How am I going to console somebody else when I cry thinking about Granny? Then I remembered how my kids were there for me when I needed them and how they looked to me for comfort and encouragement. I agreed to help her and I'm glad I did. She told me that my messages made her smile and that was enough for me.<br />
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Friday during our lesson on subject and verb agreement, my 2nd period class was feeling rather musical. I had them take a little pop quiz to see if they were paying attention on Tuesday. While going over the answers the following took place:<br />
Me: "What's the subject?"<br />
Class: "Everybody"<br />
Me: "Ok great, what's the verb?"<br />
Class: "Was"<br />
Me: "Great! Everybody was"<br />
Class: "Kung fu fighting!"<br />
Me: *palm to forehead*<br />
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How many weeks until spring break? LOLAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-43749194961250169022011-12-12T21:20:00.000-06:002011-12-12T21:20:34.335-06:00"There go Mrs. Scott."After school I went to Subway to grab a bite to eat before the game. Apparently a lot of my kids had the same idea. I could see them inside laughing and cutting up but it was after school so I was going to completely ignore them. I walk in, minding my own business, ignoring the kids when I hear, "There go Mrs. Scott. Time to go!" and they all left. They already know that I don't have time for their foolishness so they corrected their behavior. Gotta love it!<br />
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My 5th period class is obviously used to running whatever teacher/class they have because they come in Room 300 trying to run the show. I don't know why they feel like they have that right but they try me anyway. Every time they try me, I strip away a little bit of their pride and they act right. However, every now and then they forget how to act. Last week they forgot. They were loud in the cafeteria, loud walking to lunch, loud walking from lunch, hitting each other, taking their time getting back from lunch, being loud in class, etc. I just sat back and allowed the foolishness to take place. Today, I pounced. Today they had to walk to lunch in a single file line with their "flags" up. If the line got crooked we stopped and lined back up and tried again. Once we made it to lunch, I sat at the lunch table with them as they sat in their assigned seats. When it was time for us to leave, they had to line up on the wall, in front of their peers, with their flags up. We then proceeded to walk back to class in a single file line. They were extremely embarrassed and apologized profusely for their behavior. They will be on punishment for the rest of the week. I told them if you act like middle schoolers then I'm going to treat you as such. I don't know why they mess with me...<br />
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Fun quotes from Room 300:<br />
"Mrs. Scott, it smells like dried spit in your room!"<br />
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Kid 1: "Be careful with my scarf. It was $40!"<br />
Kid 2: "You paid $40 for that?"<br />
Kid 1: "Girl yeah! That's real polyester!"<br />
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Me: "Y'all ,they're just gonna go ahead and cancel the rest of the NBA season since they can't come up with an agreement."<br />
Kid: "OMG, Mrs. Scott, I got a problem!"<br />
Me: "What?"<br />
Kid: "How am I supposed to marry a basketball player if there isn't an NBA season?"<br />
Me: *blank stare*<br />
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Me: "You're Vietnamese, right?<br />
Kid: "Yes ma'am."<br />
Kid 2: "You're Vietnamese?! I thought you were Asian!"<br />
Me: *palm to forehead*<br />
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Since it's the end of the nine weeks and some of my kids' grades are less than perfect, I allowed them to retake 2 test that they failed, with their notes. I gave them the same test AND I gave them their original test to get the correct answers from. Why did one of my precious babies make the same grade as he did the 1st go round AND miss 12 different questions? I mean, how does that happen? You deserve that C you made. Yup, sure do.<br />
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Only 3.6 days left before Christmas break! Woot!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-898668184971975976.post-91494302507639261752011-12-11T22:26:00.001-06:002011-12-11T22:26:33.475-06:00"I didn't know y'all lived together!"It's been a long time since I last posted. I've had quite a bit going on this semester, and I've had to make some adjustments. I've had to adjust to being a wife, teaching honors kids, and I had to cope with the loss of my sexy granny. Needless to say, I haven't felt like or had much time to blog about my precious children. I think I've gotten my life in order and I'm ready for action! Here we go!!<br />
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Over the summer I got married. Yay! I married my high school sweetheart, best friend, and coworker. I went from being Miss G to Mrs. Scott. This change has brought about a lot of excitement from the kids, old and new. My kids this year had my brother-in-law last year for English and they had my mother-in-law for a principal in the 6th grade. Last year's group of kids swore up and down they knew we were going to get married and were upset because we lied to them about not dating. Um, #1 we weren't and #2 why are you in my business? Naturally, they have been full of questions about us. My favorite question, that I've been asked more than once, is "So, now that you and Coach Scott are married do y'all live together?" No, we don't live together. We weren't ready to make that much of a commitment. Maybe next year. Silly kids...<br />
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Every year I am fortunate enough to teach a very special group of students whom I hold very near and dear to my heart. I get to teach the repeaters. With each passing year, the kids have gotten progressively worse; however, this particular group of kids has surprised me. They actually work without a lot of pushing from me. It may all be wrong but at least they work. Last year's kids did jack squat. And I've even learned a few things from them, mostly illegal things like how to pick locks, roll a joint, and what the new ways to get high are but hey, at least I'm learning... Right? It's amazing how comfortable they feel with me. They also know I'll punch them in the throat if they get in trouble. For example, on Friday one of my sweet babies decided he was going to attempt to skip school. Of course he was caught. Who caught him? I did. He didn't know I spotted and reported him though. Anyway, after school I saw him as I was leaving. He immediately dropped his head and said he was sorry. He already knew I wasn't happy with him without me having to say anything. <br />
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This year has shown me the importance of having a relationship with your students and having their respect. My kids knew I loved my granny with every fiber of my being. They knew that her death tore me to pieces. The Beta Club sold pink ribbons in honor of breast cancer awareness month. My homeroom alone bought over 100 ribbons in honor of my granny. It was such a blessing to see them pull their money together to do something that #1 honored my sweet granny and #2 showed me that they're there for me no matter what. They showered me with cards, hugs, and kind words as I grieved. It made going back to school a lot easier. They even made me a card to hang on my wall:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpeE2ZXYBok21C761ZZ7aDghsSu7zCA5mtmE1llYeDJUAhJ0OPR8ElyiRVUTIAF80pD87sKmKK-bACLxtFrVATVm-Ww_vcw5g1Hx6gI00GryKjqcHOhsymiLANHUghhX5tbhoL4XJ_940/s1600/In+loving+memory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400px" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQpeE2ZXYBok21C761ZZ7aDghsSu7zCA5mtmE1llYeDJUAhJ0OPR8ElyiRVUTIAF80pD87sKmKK-bACLxtFrVATVm-Ww_vcw5g1Hx6gI00GryKjqcHOhsymiLANHUghhX5tbhoL4XJ_940/s400/In+loving+memory.jpg" width="300px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left">I cried like a baby when they presented this to me. It's moments like that that make me love what I do despite the foolishness displayed below:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxyQZjRSp6eAadV7a08WIWLcCCvltTnOtGFb2d-1u3oNriKpW7Allle-i8Br4XnIQaKZSYUKANF96vb33oFxCxZ0iz9lQTo9AaA19pIcHjZfBRtMRU-p0jIdtYm3IJYqMszDT0it_hkyR/s1600/nappy+headed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320px" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdxyQZjRSp6eAadV7a08WIWLcCCvltTnOtGFb2d-1u3oNriKpW7Allle-i8Br4XnIQaKZSYUKANF96vb33oFxCxZ0iz9lQTo9AaA19pIcHjZfBRtMRU-p0jIdtYm3IJYqMszDT0it_hkyR/s320/nappy+headed.jpg" width="240px" /></a></div>Did you notice the misspelling of bitch? My kids asked me if I was upset by this. I laughed and told them no. Why would I be upset? The kid couldn't even spell bitch. Some insult...<br />
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That's enough updating for tonight. I'm going to try my very bestest (yeah, I said bestest) to remember all the other foolishness that has taken place in Room 300 so I can share it with all of you wonderful people:). Until then, good night!<br />
<div align="left"></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16502833802689083108noreply@blogger.com0