I had a bad day. From the moment I woke up until right now, I have not wanted to be awake. I haven't wanted to talk to anyone. Unfortunately, I didn't get my way. Not only did I have to work, it took me an hour to get there. Then the first thing that happened when my kids arrived was that 2 of them started pushing each other in the hallway and hurt an innocent bystander. My kids were nuts all day. Then, after school, I had to host a book club meeting (more work) and then run errands, one of which included entering The World's Stupidest and Most Frustrating Parking Lot. It also doesn't help that I have had a headache for like 2 days. Oh, and it REALLY doesn't help that I came home to about 8 piles of cat puke that I had to clean up while my Chinese food got cold.
Aaaanyway, the last period of the day today, my kids had art. Yay, art! Yay, last period of the day! Usually the art teacher comes in (we don't have an art room. The art teacher travels to every room using a cart to transport her supplies...sad, I know, and VERY common), explains the project, hands out materials, and the kids work relatively quietly for 30 minutes. I work at my desk and nobody bothers me (yeah, right...I'm bothered all the time. Let's just say it's nice because I'm not responsible for anyone's well-being during this time).
Today when the art teacher came in, she announced that today they were doing something different. Today they were going to have a music lesson! (We don't have music, so this is a real treat!) She brought out this box of brand new percussion instruments, including maracas, jingly bells, triangles, and (god help me) cymbals. Yes, cymbals. Fuck.
My kids WENT NUTS. They were so over-stimulated by this new experience that the room was a...a....a...I don't even know what to call it. Let's just say it was crazy. She managed to teach them what whole, half, and quarter notes were, and they did play some rhythms, and it was cute to see them all excited and into it, but with my headache, I was NOT amused. At all.
Today...of all days...I really needed a nice, quiet, involved art project.
Showing posts with label specials. Show all posts
Showing posts with label specials. Show all posts
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Why Walk When You Can...
I think I've posted before about how I must say "stop running" or "walk" at least 458 times a day. When you work in a building with 700-some students and none of them (except for moody and lethargic 8th graders) seem to be able to walk anywhere, you start to sound like a broken record.
Not only do the kids run anywhere they possibly can, they twirl, hop, skip, or slide...y'know, to mix it up.
Today my kids had art. Due to lack of space, art is in the classroom. The art teacher comes to us with a cart of supplies. So most of the time I am in the room during art class. I work quietly at my desk while the kids work not-so-quietly at their desks. (It's amazing what I'm able to tune out.)
I was working at my desk and happened to look up to see one of my students slide out of his chair, crouch on the floor, look around as if he's on a secret mission, and then POUNCE toward the garbage can in a Spider Man fashion. He made it in one leap! Once at the garbage can, he crouched again and repeated the whole thing back to his desk. Then he slid back onto his chair and continued doing his art project as if lunging across the room to throw something away was the most normal thing in the world.
I didn't say a word. Just giggled to myself.
Not only do the kids run anywhere they possibly can, they twirl, hop, skip, or slide...y'know, to mix it up.
Today my kids had art. Due to lack of space, art is in the classroom. The art teacher comes to us with a cart of supplies. So most of the time I am in the room during art class. I work quietly at my desk while the kids work not-so-quietly at their desks. (It's amazing what I'm able to tune out.)
I was working at my desk and happened to look up to see one of my students slide out of his chair, crouch on the floor, look around as if he's on a secret mission, and then POUNCE toward the garbage can in a Spider Man fashion. He made it in one leap! Once at the garbage can, he crouched again and repeated the whole thing back to his desk. Then he slid back onto his chair and continued doing his art project as if lunging across the room to throw something away was the most normal thing in the world.
I didn't say a word. Just giggled to myself.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
All I have to say about today is that it should AT LEAST be Wednesday.
Something I forgot to mention about the lazy-ass computer teacher from yesterday:
When she was done "teaching" (in this case meaning "doing absolutely NOTHING) my class, she just walked out. Not one word to tell me she was leaving. Good thing I looked up from the paperwork I was doing to catch her rounding the corner out of my room or I would have never known she'd left and that the period was over. Grrrrrr!
Something I forgot to mention about the lazy-ass computer teacher from yesterday:
When she was done "teaching" (in this case meaning "doing absolutely NOTHING) my class, she just walked out. Not one word to tell me she was leaving. Good thing I looked up from the paperwork I was doing to catch her rounding the corner out of my room or I would have never known she'd left and that the period was over. Grrrrrr!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Computers in the Classroom
Okay, I'm going to do my best to stay calm while writing this.
Every day when I enter the building, I check "the board." "The board" is a white dry-erase board in the office where daily announcements are posted for teachers. It usually includes information about who has morning duty, classes that are canceled, or meetings we might have that day.
Today it said, "Ms. B's computer classes will be held in the classroom." Okay, I thought. I'll get some work together in case there's a sub or something. Then I saw Ms. B with my own eyes, so I figured that since she was here, I wouldn't have to get anything together for the kids to do during her time. Can you see where this is going? (For your own information, the computer lab was being used for some kind of technology event).
At 9:45 (she was supposed to be there at 9:40, btw), Ms. B comes in my classroom. I instruct my kids to put away their vocabulary, clear their desks, fold their hands, and wait for instructions from Ms. B. A dialogue begins:
Ms. B: Oh, I don't have any work for them to do. You're supposed to have that.
Me: I was not aware of this.
Ms. B: I see you've never had computers in the classroom before.
I'm sorry, BUT ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME???? If you can't come up with something meaningful for them to do, can't you even put together a word-search of computer-related terms. At the very least run off something for them to color?! I mean really!
So my kids got independent reading or writing time for the next 40 minutes. They were happy (they're nerdy like that...I LOVE it!). Hell, it's more educational than what they do when they're actually in computer class.
Every day when I enter the building, I check "the board." "The board" is a white dry-erase board in the office where daily announcements are posted for teachers. It usually includes information about who has morning duty, classes that are canceled, or meetings we might have that day.
Today it said, "Ms. B's computer classes will be held in the classroom." Okay, I thought. I'll get some work together in case there's a sub or something. Then I saw Ms. B with my own eyes, so I figured that since she was here, I wouldn't have to get anything together for the kids to do during her time. Can you see where this is going? (For your own information, the computer lab was being used for some kind of technology event).
At 9:45 (she was supposed to be there at 9:40, btw), Ms. B comes in my classroom. I instruct my kids to put away their vocabulary, clear their desks, fold their hands, and wait for instructions from Ms. B. A dialogue begins:
Ms. B: Oh, I don't have any work for them to do. You're supposed to have that.
Me: I was not aware of this.
Ms. B: I see you've never had computers in the classroom before.
I'm sorry, BUT ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME???? If you can't come up with something meaningful for them to do, can't you even put together a word-search of computer-related terms. At the very least run off something for them to color?! I mean really!
So my kids got independent reading or writing time for the next 40 minutes. They were happy (they're nerdy like that...I LOVE it!). Hell, it's more educational than what they do when they're actually in computer class.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Is It Too Much to Ask?
I'm not in a very good mood today. The main reason is because I didn't get enough sleep last night, but a lot of little things that happened today added to my bad mood. It's the little things in life that matter, so I must ask the question:
Is it too much to ask...
1. to have the street our school is on plowed? I mean, a school is a pretty important city building, right? Hundreds of people go in and out of it daily; cars, buses, and pedestrians are a given. So why the hell wouldn't the city make it a priority to plow around a school? I'd bet if an ambulance had to come to our school, it'd get stuck there's that much snow. Cars, including mine, were sliding all over the place.
2. for the French teacher to actually BE AT SCHOOL on the days that my kids have French? I mean, how many f'ing preps can I have cancelled?
3. have paper towels in the teacher's bathroom? I mean, it's bad enough that I bring toilet paper.
4. have my administrators actually answer my emails in a timely fashion? My principal and assistant principal are hard people to find. They're never stay in one place, so email is a perfect form of communication. However, I NEVER get a response from them. Grrrrr.
There's actually a lot more on my list, but thinking about all this stuff again is making my bad mood worse. So I'm going to stop now, take some deep breaths, and just let it go.
Is it too much to ask...
1. to have the street our school is on plowed? I mean, a school is a pretty important city building, right? Hundreds of people go in and out of it daily; cars, buses, and pedestrians are a given. So why the hell wouldn't the city make it a priority to plow around a school? I'd bet if an ambulance had to come to our school, it'd get stuck there's that much snow. Cars, including mine, were sliding all over the place.
2. for the French teacher to actually BE AT SCHOOL on the days that my kids have French? I mean, how many f'ing preps can I have cancelled?
3. have paper towels in the teacher's bathroom? I mean, it's bad enough that I bring toilet paper.
4. have my administrators actually answer my emails in a timely fashion? My principal and assistant principal are hard people to find. They're never stay in one place, so email is a perfect form of communication. However, I NEVER get a response from them. Grrrrr.
There's actually a lot more on my list, but thinking about all this stuff again is making my bad mood worse. So I'm going to stop now, take some deep breaths, and just let it go.
Monday, November 19, 2007
"Computers"
So I was all set to vent about how annoying the parents of my students can be, but I just got an email from one of the parents that said, "I hope you and your family have a happy Thanksgiving holiday!" How am I supposed to bitch now?
Okay, I'll bitch about something else. Today my kids had computers. The class is called "computers," but the kids learn nothing about computers. Instead, they complete these academic quizzes for 40 minutes twice a week. It's sad, but what am I gonna do? Now I don't like to complain about other teachers since we're all on the same team, but what happened today was ridiculous! While my class was in computers, I was in my classroom grading papers. One of my students walked in. When I asked her why she was here, she told me that the computer teacher wouldn't let her use her kleenex. The teacher told her to come to the classroom to get a piece of kleenex so the girl could blow her nose! Are you kidding me? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LET THE KID USE A PIECE OF KLEENEX! Instead, the kid had to walk all the way to our classroom with her hand covering her nose.
This is the same teacher who, if a student's computer is not working for whatever reason, will not let them switch to an available working computer. She just makes them sit and read. WTF??? Your tax dollars at work!
Okay, I'll bitch about something else. Today my kids had computers. The class is called "computers," but the kids learn nothing about computers. Instead, they complete these academic quizzes for 40 minutes twice a week. It's sad, but what am I gonna do? Now I don't like to complain about other teachers since we're all on the same team, but what happened today was ridiculous! While my class was in computers, I was in my classroom grading papers. One of my students walked in. When I asked her why she was here, she told me that the computer teacher wouldn't let her use her kleenex. The teacher told her to come to the classroom to get a piece of kleenex so the girl could blow her nose! Are you kidding me? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, LET THE KID USE A PIECE OF KLEENEX! Instead, the kid had to walk all the way to our classroom with her hand covering her nose.
This is the same teacher who, if a student's computer is not working for whatever reason, will not let them switch to an available working computer. She just makes them sit and read. WTF??? Your tax dollars at work!
Monday, October 22, 2007
From Nothing to Something
I have no idea what I'm going to write about today. Usually when I sit down to write, I either have the entire blog entry pretty much written in my head or at least have a general idea what I'm going to say. Today...nothing.
I guess I could write about how I got 2 new students today. They are actually returning students. They left at the end of last year because they were unhappy with the curriculum. They both went to a private school hoping for a better education. I don't know why parents think that private schools will offer anything better. If parents did their homework, they would see that private schools don't have to accredited, which means that no one is watching them to make sure they're doing what they should. And private school teachers don't need to be certified or even have to have a degree in education! They can pretty much be anybody! I guess parents think that because they're paying to send their kids to school, they're getting something better. Not true. I'm usually a pretty firm believer in the adage: You pay for what you get, but not so in this case. The parents re-enrolled the kids in our school because the private school was so far behind. The 2 new students said they were doing second grade work in their fourth grade class!
I could also write about how I nearly cut my thumb off with a pair of scissors today. I ended up with a deep, strange-looking, V-shaped cut on the pad of my thumb. It really hurts.
I could write about the numerous bodily fluids I've had to deal with lately. In the past week alone, 3 kids have thrown up, 2 teeth have fallen out, and 1 student stepped in the pee of first grader who had an accident in the hall (even though he was specifically told to avoid the area until the janitor arrived, but no, he had to walk right into it).
I could write about how French was canceled today, but nobody had the decency or foresight to let me know. THIS is one of my major pet peeves at my school. It sucks when one of my preps is canceled, but it sucks even more to not know in advance. Even if it's just the morning of. Hell, even give me a 10-minute heads up.
For not knowing what I was going to write about, I sure had a lot to say! I could write more, but I'd better save something for tomorrow. ( ;
I guess I could write about how I got 2 new students today. They are actually returning students. They left at the end of last year because they were unhappy with the curriculum. They both went to a private school hoping for a better education. I don't know why parents think that private schools will offer anything better. If parents did their homework, they would see that private schools don't have to accredited, which means that no one is watching them to make sure they're doing what they should. And private school teachers don't need to be certified or even have to have a degree in education! They can pretty much be anybody! I guess parents think that because they're paying to send their kids to school, they're getting something better. Not true. I'm usually a pretty firm believer in the adage: You pay for what you get, but not so in this case. The parents re-enrolled the kids in our school because the private school was so far behind. The 2 new students said they were doing second grade work in their fourth grade class!
I could also write about how I nearly cut my thumb off with a pair of scissors today. I ended up with a deep, strange-looking, V-shaped cut on the pad of my thumb. It really hurts.
I could write about the numerous bodily fluids I've had to deal with lately. In the past week alone, 3 kids have thrown up, 2 teeth have fallen out, and 1 student stepped in the pee of first grader who had an accident in the hall (even though he was specifically told to avoid the area until the janitor arrived, but no, he had to walk right into it).
I could write about how French was canceled today, but nobody had the decency or foresight to let me know. THIS is one of my major pet peeves at my school. It sucks when one of my preps is canceled, but it sucks even more to not know in advance. Even if it's just the morning of. Hell, even give me a 10-minute heads up.
For not knowing what I was going to write about, I sure had a lot to say! I could write more, but I'd better save something for tomorrow. ( ;
Friday, October 12, 2007
College and Candy
Today was "college shirt" day at school. All the faculty and staff wore shirts that represent the college/university they went to in order to encourage students to think about going to college. This is funny, because my kids are 9 and are very unlikely to think past the end a schoolday, let alone someplace they want to go 9 years from now. Whatever...it meant that I got to wear jeans, a comfy t-shirt, and gym shoes. Never seeing me dressed like this before, one of my kids told me I looked like I was going to the store. I guess that's what you say when you don't know the word "casual" yet.
On an entirely different note, it's always nice when another teacher acknowledges your class (for something good, that is!). My students and I were in our classroom when an older student entered with a container of candy with a note attached. The note, from the school librarian, said, "I was not having a great day on Wednesday. When I had your class for library, they really turned it into one." I was so proud! I gushed over my kids and told them how happy they made me. Then I made them wait until the end of the day to get the candy. I know it's cruel, but I've been teaching long enough (longer than a week) to know the effects of sugar on a nine-year old body.
On an entirely different note, it's always nice when another teacher acknowledges your class (for something good, that is!). My students and I were in our classroom when an older student entered with a container of candy with a note attached. The note, from the school librarian, said, "I was not having a great day on Wednesday. When I had your class for library, they really turned it into one." I was so proud! I gushed over my kids and told them how happy they made me. Then I made them wait until the end of the day to get the candy. I know it's cruel, but I've been teaching long enough (longer than a week) to know the effects of sugar on a nine-year old body.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Crunching Numbers
I don't know how, but I'm supposed to manage to teach reading, writing, spelling, grammar, social studies, math, and science in the piddly number of minutes I have with my kids everyday. I'm also supposed to differentiate instruction so that each child is working at his or her instructional level, work with children in small groups, as well as work with students one-on-one. Someone tell me how to do all this when Chicago has the shortest school day in the state (and I believe one of the shortest in the country!). Some teachers would probably think I'm crazy for complaining, but I simply do not have enough time to do everything I need to do.
The school day starts at 8:50 and ends at 2:45. Subtract the 40-minute blocks of time for French (3x/week), Computers (2x/week), Library, Art, and Gym, and the 20-minute block for lunch, I have about 18 minutes left per week to teach. Half of that time is spent lining up and walking to and from the aforementioned classes, so now I'm down to nine minutes. It's a good thing my kids can already read, add, and subtract.
This time crunch causes major stress on my part and only my part. The kids are totally oblivious of time. Even though they are in fourth grade and can tell time and have a schedule written up on the board every day, they still don't know what's what. For example, they think it should be lunch time when they get hungry. It could be 10:00 and they're asking me if it's lunchtime yet. They always seem to know exactly when recess is, though, especially if we're late for it! For some reason, they don't care if we're late starting math or social studies.
Somehow I do it, though. I manage to cram in most of what I need to teach and give the kids time to use the bathroom. Now, time for me to use the bathroom is a different story...
The school day starts at 8:50 and ends at 2:45. Subtract the 40-minute blocks of time for French (3x/week), Computers (2x/week), Library, Art, and Gym, and the 20-minute block for lunch, I have about 18 minutes left per week to teach. Half of that time is spent lining up and walking to and from the aforementioned classes, so now I'm down to nine minutes. It's a good thing my kids can already read, add, and subtract.
This time crunch causes major stress on my part and only my part. The kids are totally oblivious of time. Even though they are in fourth grade and can tell time and have a schedule written up on the board every day, they still don't know what's what. For example, they think it should be lunch time when they get hungry. It could be 10:00 and they're asking me if it's lunchtime yet. They always seem to know exactly when recess is, though, especially if we're late for it! For some reason, they don't care if we're late starting math or social studies.
Somehow I do it, though. I manage to cram in most of what I need to teach and give the kids time to use the bathroom. Now, time for me to use the bathroom is a different story...
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Very Special
This may be TMI, but I did not pee today from between 8:30 and 3:00. I did not voluntarily put myself through this torture. I couldn't pee because I had no break at all today. Okay, I did have 20 minutes for lunch, but in my defense, I had to take care of an attendance problem and eat, so I actually didn't have time! Sad, I know. Once specials start, I will have at at least 40 minutes to pee all I want. (Specials are "special classes" such as gym, art, computers, etc. These are sometimes called "preps," short for "preparation periods")
At my last school, specials started on day one. At this school, we can't manage to get them started until the second week! So imagine my surprise when last Friday, the AP stated we would get our prep schedules emailed to us by Tuesday morning and that they would start on the first day...yeah, right. Well, today, I was doing my thing (y'know, teaching and NOT peeing) when at about 12:30, the AP makes an all-call on the intercom reminding everybody that specials have started today and to please be on time! Uh, excuse me? The day's half over and you're telling me this now? Is there a schedule? What do I have today? Wouldn't this information have been handy for me to have, say, ohhhh, 4 HOURS AGO?? Grrrrr.
I took my kids out to recess at about 12:45. I stopped at my mailbox on the way to get my prep schedule. NO SCHEDULE! On our way back from recess, I asked a couple teachers if they got their schedule. NO SCHEDULES! When I returned to the classroom, I checked my email to see if it was emailed to me. NO SCHEDULE! So great, specials start today, but nobody has a frickin' schedule!
After school (and after peeing...thank god), I went to the office. My schedule was finally there! My kids had computers today. They, of course, missed it because nobody told us we had computers today, not even the computer teacher! (In all fairness, she probably didn't know, either). I'm happy now because I get TWO preps tomorrow! Nevermind that they're both scheduled for the same time.
At my last school, specials started on day one. At this school, we can't manage to get them started until the second week! So imagine my surprise when last Friday, the AP stated we would get our prep schedules emailed to us by Tuesday morning and that they would start on the first day...yeah, right. Well, today, I was doing my thing (y'know, teaching and NOT peeing) when at about 12:30, the AP makes an all-call on the intercom reminding everybody that specials have started today and to please be on time! Uh, excuse me? The day's half over and you're telling me this now? Is there a schedule? What do I have today? Wouldn't this information have been handy for me to have, say, ohhhh, 4 HOURS AGO?? Grrrrr.
I took my kids out to recess at about 12:45. I stopped at my mailbox on the way to get my prep schedule. NO SCHEDULE! On our way back from recess, I asked a couple teachers if they got their schedule. NO SCHEDULES! When I returned to the classroom, I checked my email to see if it was emailed to me. NO SCHEDULE! So great, specials start today, but nobody has a frickin' schedule!
After school (and after peeing...thank god), I went to the office. My schedule was finally there! My kids had computers today. They, of course, missed it because nobody told us we had computers today, not even the computer teacher! (In all fairness, she probably didn't know, either). I'm happy now because I get TWO preps tomorrow! Nevermind that they're both scheduled for the same time.
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