Mucus Man and Runaway Boy

Monday - I was in the computer lab with a 4/5 grade class.  A student eye kinda exploded with mucus and goop was running in streams down from his eyes.  He asked to use the restroom and I was glad to give him permission except...he was entangled in his headphones.  Thoughts of water short circuiting the equipment and tripping over the dangling cables flashed through my head.  I tried to untangle him and of course a stream of goop ended up on the headphones as I gather it into my hands.

Yes.  I did fumigate the headphones and myself.

Tuesday - 2/3 grade split.  He was bored sitting listening to the readaloud so he asked to go to the restroom.  He stayed there, was discovered by the principal, and escorted back to the classroom.  I was embarassed.

He hated doing his assigned chore of putting his table's book bin back on the bookcase so  he left the classroom.  I called him back but he ignored me.  I followed up when I found someone to stay with the class and found him in the Resource room with the principal.  I was frustrated.  

HE was frustrated by the computer because it wasn't working the way he wanted in the 15 seconds he spent on it so he walked out of the PC lab and wouldn't come back.  I tracked him down in the Resource room again.  This time, I was just glad it was the end of the school day.  I hope the rest of the week improves..

The kids make it worthwhile

I had a hard hard class yesterday.  Usually most of the disruptive and distracting behaviors come from 10-20% of the class.  Yesterday, the disruptive and distracting behaviors came from 60% of the class.  Add to this two kids on contracts with some serious consequences (like 3rd warning parent will be called to take home).  I used all my tricks and skills to build rapports with students in this class but despite this, one of the contract kids ended up yelling at a hapless classmate.  I witnessed it and there was no provocation.

I activated the contract consequences but did take the time to explain why his behavior was not OK.

At the end of the day, the boy who got in trouble accepted the consequence and was willing to try to behave better the next day.  The hapless classmate hugged me after dismissal and told me how he hoped I would return to substitute again.  I felt as if the stress of the day melted away.  This is why I teach; we do make a difference.

Last week in review

Last Monday – I walked into the middle of a lesson and the teacher had the kids do independent work while he updated me on sub plans. “The one who would’ve given you trouble is suspended”, he said gleefully. I wonder if any of the kids heard. Since they usually travel in packs in middle school, I was not too comforted. But the day did go well with nothing to stress over…

Last Tuesday – “It will be an easy day for you” the teacher said. She was planning to teach until 1:40pm so I effectively would have the kids for 1 hour and 15 minutes. For 50 minutes, we had a guest teacher teaching art. BUT, you never know what to expect. I found out two kids I knew from Kindergarten transferred there and shall I say, they are VERY ACTIVE SPIRITED kids.

One of the 1st graders told me he hated this school and want to go home. During art, he became frustrated and angry, lashing out to kick anyone who venture too close and snarling at his classmates.  Finally during cleanup, he sat there and made hoarse cries like he had screams trying to burst out of his body but he was doing his best to suppress them. It was freaky scary. I told the class he was upset and needed some space; they finally steered around him. After the rest of the class left, he didn’t want to leave the classroom. He didn’t want to go to daycare either.  I ended up staying late persuading him to leave the room and writing a book for the regular teacher. The secretary told me his parents were recently divorced. Sigh.
Last Thursday - During library, a fifth grader tried to beat up his classmate when she (accidentally) deleted his work.  I did not witness this but the other kids did and stopped him.  The principal stepped in for this one.

Last Friday - Walked into a messy messy room.  I was not able to find a sub plan.  I asked teaching partners and secretary but to no avail.  As I was cleaning up, I found the plan + materials in a box.  Averted personal meltdown.

... 9 year old boys and weaponry

I was leading a discussion on slavery and the Underground railroad after the kids responded to a journal prompt on living during that time.  A fourth grader turned his response into a time travel weapons galore fiction video game like sequence where he heroically blasts away all the slave owners. Another said he will rise to a military General and beat up all the bad guys. The class was very interested in the prompt as a historical time period, especially the weaponry, weaponry, and weaponry. They were very disappointed at the lack of video games and all agreed it was a lousy time to be alive.

I finally asked why they were so interested in weapons.  A boy raised his hand and told me "It's because you have a lot of 9 year old boys in the room."

Reflections of 2010

2010 was a very positive year in personal growth.  It started with a bang with a long term sub job teaching Kindergarteners whom I loved.  I was disappointed I did not get a job that came up at that very same school after my sub job ended; it was an incredible ego blow.  However, I garnered incredible goodwill with the principal, parents, and staff.  A friend told me she interviewed four times in the same school with the principal before she was hired.  Whew!

To my surprise, I found I love teaching grade school and that middle school was not going to be my game.  I didn't know this coming into teaching; I even picked up a middle school endorsement because I thought that was where I belonged.  But, I am good as a Kindergarten teacher in practice and thrives in the elementary school.  Now that my inital nervousness faded with the year of experience, I look forward to subbing and walking into a classroom each time.  I never know what gems I will collect that day.  That is a good feeling to have.

27 Kindergarteners vs 15 Kindergarteners

Just looking at the numbers, one would intuitively lean toward the 15 kids as an easier class.  Having finished a six week sub job with 27 and moving almost immediately to sub in a class of 15, I found they are about equal. 

The 27 kids are all well supported at home with caring and engaged parents.  Most had pre-school (not daycare) before coming into Kindergarten and know their alphabet.  The class of 15 is almost completely the opposite.  They are not supported at home or have both parents working long hours.  They may have had daycare but very few had pre-school.  They come into Kindergarten needing to learn how to sit in circle time. When I give out instructions to the 27 kids (like sit in a circle), I can expect them understand what I mean and figure out how to sit in a circle around the carpet.  I can make no such assumptions for the class of 15.  Yes.  They are from different schools, different neighborhoods, and pull from different socio-economic demographics.

I give credit to the principals and administrators who recognize the different needs of their constituency and structure the classes to offer the right support.

The Universe is trying to tell me something

I just finished my six weeks long term sub assignment at my school Friday. All the parents, teachers, and the principal thought I was doing great. In fact, the principal invited me to interview for a ½ time job opening working with a teacher I know there. In anticipation of my getting hired, he even scheduled me for a meeting with him before the interview was even set up. Somehow, I blew it in the interview and they ended up hiring someone else. I feel so humiliated. Everyone, including me, thought I would get the job. I couldn’t believe my six weeks of stellar work did not stack up against a 20 minute interview.

He was kind enough to give me a debrief and said I just lacked literacy skills/component and the other candidates were stronger. I admit I did think afterwards I didn’t talk too much about literacy which was the job title. Someone also mentioned points so I guess in Seattle, they strive to be objective by using points. At least, this experience gave me an insight that using buzzwords identifying one’s knowledge about best practices/school district practices can make a difference.

Someone told me the Universe is trying to tell me something and perhaps it is.  On the home front, my hubby is sick and I found out yesterday my dog has bone cancer which is fatal.  I'm taking the week off to lick my wounds.