Reader(s), I am so sorry I haven't posted recently. I'm going to try for at least once a week from here on out.
So far I haven't had to send anymore kids to the office. I do, however, have a student with quite the attitude (we'll call her Sally.) It's quite plausible that this is because Sally is one of three sophomores in a freshman English class of 25 and she may feel a little awkward. The first time I encountered this attitude was on the third day of school. I had my kids fill out a self-interest survey so I could better relate to them and so I could better plan my lessons around their needs. Most students understood this and thoroughly filled it out. Sally, on the other hand, filled in the blanks with, "This is stupid. This is pointless. Some of grew up - we're not kids anymore, so stop treating us like it." Upon turning this in, she requested to go to the counselor's office to get out of my class. Because I had just read this survey, I happily obliged. She soon came back, requested to speak with me in the hall and apologized for her "witchy" behavior. I quickly realized that she was stuck in my class and was covering her bases. Throughout the past couple weeks, she's had something to pick at with each assignment. I like that she speaks her mind, but she often gets the other kids off task. She also refused to do assignments until last week. I called her over to my desk to ask her about an assignment and told her that she's smarter than her grade reflects. I'm not sure if it was my pep-talk or if she decided to turn herself around, but she was awesome this week! I hope this behavior keeps up.
Another class I'm teaching made me a little nervous at first. Basically it's a class of reluctant and struggling students. The first day, we played icebreaker games and they messed around the entire time. I was worried they'd be my naughtiest class. Luckily I was wrong and they are pretty much amazing. We just finished reading "Rip Van Winkle," which is not my favorite story. (It's super hard to get kids excited for something that you're not excited about! Unfortunately, it's in the curriculum.) The only day I saw any enthusiasm from them was on the last day we read it: I chose to dress up like Rip and walk around the classroom, acting like him post-nap. This definitely got the class' attention. After we finished reading the story, we watched a clip from Futurama and I think the entire story basically clicked for them. I can't wait to see their projects.
Another class I'm teaching is College Composition. My kids crack me up. They are seniors and constantly complain about the amount of writing they have to do (they haven't even turned in an essay yet.) I remind them that it's an honors composition class to help them prepare for college, so I don't know what they were expecting. I've seen so much improvement in their writing, though - even in the past couple weeks! We just started discussing formal vs. informal writing and my amazing boyfriend gave me a great assignment for them: "In at least 1 page, describe how to make a PB&J sandwich. Guidelines: do not address the reader or use 2nd person; do not use contractions." I think my kids thought I was on something when they were given this assignment, but there was so much detail and voice in these pieces, that I'm definitely keeping the assignment for as long as I teach the class. (Thanks, boyfriend!)
I feel like such a nerd because my whole life now revolves around school. It's all I talk about. I think when I meet more Small Towners, I will have an outside life. Unfortunately it's difficult to meet someone outside of school in Small Town, USA. I've spent most weekends in Former City or with friends from Former City who have come to visit me. I'm trying not to do that this weekend, but it's super hard. Hopefully through my new gym membership, friends will come to me. :)
Love always,
E.
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