|
61. Ms. No - 9/23/2008 3:44:35 PM Ha! I like that, Cos! 62. arkymalarky - 9/23/2008 10:10:08 PM Older kids do like to play "rope-a-dope" with questions, but they tend to keep my wits sharpened. 63. Ms. No - 9/24/2008 7:38:10 PM Back to School Night last night and I got to meet the parents of some of my kids. I really didn't know what to expect since 90% of my students are seniors.
It was a long night of standing and talking after a long day of standing and talking and there was some confusion due to the fact that I don't have a room of my own and so was moving around a bit.
Met some parents that I really liked, none that I disliked or found difficult and all in all had a pretty good evening. I was surprised by the lack of questions people asked.
Of course nobody would ever claim that I can't fill some silence. ;-> 64. arkymalarky - 9/24/2008 10:54:30 PM I always enjoy parent/teacher conferences. 65. vonKreedon - 9/25/2008 6:10:14 PM And I'm going to my son's parent/teachers conferences this evening! 66. alistairconnor - 9/25/2008 6:47:52 PM well I thought I was going to younger daughter's, phoned her on the way there to check if there were specific things to discuss, and learned that it had been put forward an hour and a half.
She knew that. Her mother knew that. They weren't sure whether I was intending to go or not, so they didn't bother to tell me. Harrumph. 67. Ms. No - 9/26/2008 2:24:11 AM Arrrgh! That's frustrating, AC. We do home visits on request in our district -- or outside meetings over coffee and the like --- for parents and guardians who are homebound or unable to make regularly scheduled meetings at the school. If her school doesn't do outside visits, I'm sure her teachers will be happy to talk with you by phone or keep in regular e-mail contact. 68. Ms. No - 9/26/2008 2:24:42 AM Have fun, Cos! 69. Ms. No - 9/26/2008 2:27:00 AM I'm getting ready to make some parent phone calls tonight. Some good and some not so good. I hate it that the not so good ones will be my first contact with some of these parents. I didn't get my contact roster until the day before the Parent/Teacher night and I fell down on the job of getting all that info from my students the first week.
Ah well, I'm accomplished at delivering the medicine with a spoonful of sugar. I can find good things to say about all my students --- even the ones whose parents I'm calling tonight in lieu of strangling their little darlings. ;-> 70. Ms. No - 9/26/2008 2:32:26 AM Speaking of mayhem and murder, I had it confirmed today that my 5th period class IS chock-a-block with known rabble-rousers. I was pumping a fellow teacher for information on the efficacy of calling certain students' parents and she asked me "You've got ALL of those kids in one class? I'll light a candle for you....daily!"
I had two students go to the office today from 5th period over the freaking seating chart! Seriously. Turns out I'd seated one directly in front of another student with whom she has engaged in physical altercations. Rather than tell me she had a problem, however, she just refused to sit where assigned, told me she didn't want to and wasn't going to. I told her she could sit where assigned or she could sit in the office and she promptly got up and huffed out of class.
Not two minutes later another student was on his way to the office for the same reason. Of course he didn't have a problem with his neighbors he just wanted to goad me. When he got to the office he explained that he knew what he'd done, why it was wrong and that he would cooperate upon returning to class.
They both missed the quiz today so I'll be administering it during lunch on Monday to them as well as students who were absent today. 71. arkymalarky - 9/26/2008 2:37:28 AM I've got a funny parent-calling story from years ago. The names have been changed to protect the guilty. I had a kid who wasn't "bad" but he just wasn't doing what he needed to be doing, was piddling around, being a general annoyance, etc. I called his house and when the other end of the phone was picked up and I heard a weak "Hello," I asked to speak to Mr. or Mrs. "Jones." A few seconds of silence, then "click!" I sat thinking about that for a minute, then redialed the number. It rang several times, and finally someone picked up, but nothing was said. After a second or two of weird silence, I said, "'Billy,' let me speak to your dad." Still nothing, but in a few seconds an adult male voice said "hello" and we had our little discussion. At the end of it, the dad asked me if I had called a few minutes earlier. I don't remember what I said. I think I told him that I had, but I don't think the consequences for "Billy" would have been much different either way. 72. Ms. No - 9/26/2008 2:37:31 AM On the topic of the Quiz: the rule is that there is no talking at all until all of the tests have been turned in. If I hear you talking I take your paper, no questions, no excuses, no arguments.
I had to take 3 in my 5th period class --- not because anyone was actually cheating but because they just couldn't remember that they weren't allowed to talk.
I've got a meeting with one of the students at Nutrition Break tomorrow to discuss it with her. She wouldn't hand over her test and proceded to finish it. She'll be sitting in with the others on Monday, however, while they test if she wants to get credit for it.
A second student will also be taking the test on Monday at lunch. I held her after class and explained to her that she could still get credit that way.
The third student said he frankly didn't care and wouldn't stay. I'll be pulling him out of his second period on Monday to talk with him. Apparently he's so far behind in his credits at this point that he probably won't graduate.
What's funny is that this third student and I would likely be bosom pals were we outside the school setting. I'm hoping I can get him on track not only for his own sake but also because he's a huge disruption in the class and if I can get him on board his cooperation will go a long way toward curbing the antics of a lot of the others. 73. arkymalarky - 9/26/2008 2:39:07 AM Good for you, No! Sounds like you're handling the disruptions well. 74. Ms. No - 9/26/2008 2:47:57 AM Now I'm going to brag about my nefarious plans.
I've got a lot of kids in 5th period who are on the ball and they're getting incredibly frustrated with the 6 or 8 students standing in the way, holding things up and bringing the whole class to a standstill.
I explained today that Drama can be taught two ways: with participatory activities and time on the stage or by reading a lot and writing lots of reports.
Obviously none of my hooligans took this to heart. "What's she gonna do?" they thought "She can't make us write reports all the time or nobody will stand for it."
Only they forget that they're 17 and I'm 38 and I've had a lot longer time to work on being a pain in the ass and getting what I want.
So I had a little chat with the Assistant Principal today.
I proposed that the next time we're scheduled to go to the stage those who have behaved badly be left behind to write reports while Campus Security attends them. I figured it would only take two class periods for them to shape up so that they'd be allowed to participate in the fun activities.
Her eyes lit up and she actually giggled. Then she volunteered to take the class that day. She said she'd be thrilled to sit with any students who can't cooperated and ensure total silence for the entire period while they write their reports.
She thinks it'll only take one class period with her to get them to change their minds about the benefits of misbehavior.
I think it was one of the high points of her day. Apparently I wasn't the only teacher overburdened with crazy-ass kids today. 75. Ms. No - 9/26/2008 2:49:23 AM Arky,
That's classic! I'm sure I'll probably get a couple of those tonight, but I'm hoping not. 76. arkymalarky - 9/26/2008 2:55:35 AM It cracked me up. The biggest challenge for me--and it's not a good one to have because it can bring the house down on you--is not laughing when I get on to some students. Now that I'm out of junior high it's easier. That kid was an 8th grader, and I had him as a student off and on until he graduated. 77. Ms. No - 9/26/2008 4:46:38 AM Yeah, some of my students are hysterical. It's tough for me because Drama people are pretty relaxed about a lot of stuff and that wars with what I have to enforce as a teacher. They get pretty borderline with some of the sexual stuff and I have to give them the stink-eye which can be tough when I'm trying not to laugh. 78. anomie - 9/26/2008 3:32:18 PM I had an ed psych teacher who told stories about inexperienced teachers going way beyond their expertise during parent conferences giving advice and criticisms and diagnoses as though they were trying to socialize the world, heal the kid's psych problems, and tell families how to behave at home. IOW, taking their role well beyond the classroom and intruding where they have no place or expertise. Not applicable here I'm sure, but it fair warning to future teachers. 79. Ms. No - 9/26/2008 4:55:37 PM Oh yeah, not my area of expertise. It isn't that I don't care about my students' homelife, it's that I have no control over it and even if I did that's way too much for me to take on.
What I want to know from parents is what their main concerns and goals are for their child and how I can best address those in my classroom within the confines of my subject matter and teaching style. If a parent has a trick or secret about how to get a kid to cooperate, I want to know it. If the parent has a specific concern about a kid and wants me to report back, I'm on that too.
If a parent still has the power to give the kid a stern talking to and achieve sucessful behavior from it I'm thrilled!! 80. arkymalarky - 9/26/2008 10:21:36 PM My cousin's mildly mentally retarded. He's a little older than I am. He worked at a grocery store bagging groceries when he was younger, and it was a small town, so most people knew him. He was taking a woman's groceries out to her car one day and her two boys were all over the place, cutting up, yelling, etc. As he was putting her groceries in the car he looked over at her and said, "Boy, you really gotta couple of brats, don't you?"
|
