We are celebrating Black History Month at our school and today we went on an outstanding field trip as part of that celebration.  It was a step-dance show.  What is step-dancing?  Funny you should ask.  I didn’t know either.  Now I do.  I took the following from Wikipedia: it’s a form of percussive dance in which the participant’s entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps. Though stepping may be performed by an individual, it is generally performed by groups of three or more, often in arrangements that resemble military formations.  The tradition of African American stepping is rooted within the competitive schoolyard song and dance rituals practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, beginning in the mid-1900s. 

All I can say is it was pretty darned impressive!

My students behaved PERFECTLY.  I was so proud of them.  I told them we will be sure to have more field trips because of how they act.  I’m proud to go places with them.  Sadly, two of my students didn’t get to come.  They couldn’t/wouldn’t bring in the money for the trip.  It’s annoying because after the last field trip, I decided that the kids have to bring in the money.  Last time I told the kids if they couldn’t afford it, they had to bring in a signed note from Mom or Dad and I would let them off the hook.  Well.  Stupid me.  Guess how many notes I got?  Yeah.   A lot.  And then guess who had to pay for the field trip?  That’s right.  ME.  And I’m sorry, but I have kids of my own and I’m NOT paying for other people’s children.

So, this time I told the kids to bring in the money.  If they didn’t have it all, then bring in at least PART of it, even one dollar.  (The trip cost $8.)  But some of the kids couldn’t even do that.  Mary Manipulator, brought in $8 and said, “This is for the field trip NEXT week.”  (We’re going to see “The Lightning Thief.”)  I told her, no, I don’t work like that.  She said, “Fine, I’m not coming in then.”  I resigned myself to the fact that she was just gonna stiff me (I had already bought the tickets) and then she showed up today.  Oy.  At least she went (and of course she LOVED it!).

Britney just said, “I ain’t doin’ it,” to bringing in the money.  I told her, just bring in a dollar and we’ll see what we can do.  “No, no, no, we don’t got NO money.”  And she didn’t bring in anything.  Today she showed up with a pair of brand-new and very expensive sneakers.  SAY WHAT???

I swear, this job is going to make me crazy.  I used to get upset when people would make snide comments about what people bought at the supermarket when paying with food stamps.  I used to think who are YOU to judge???  Now though, I’m peeved at my kids’ parents because they are NOT stepping up for their kids EDUCATIONS.  How about a less-expensive pair of sneakers AND the field trip???  Now THERE is an idea.  

I love my job.  How am I going to keep doing it without becoming cynical?

This day is such a strange one.  My mom died five years ago today.  In some ways, time has made things a little better, but in many ways, it’s so much worse.  My kids are the coolest people now and she has missed all their growing up.  She’s also missed all the cool teaching I’m doing.  I’d so have loved to share that with her.  I miss my mom.

Here it is!

It’s a shorter list than usual because my FAVORITE book this month weighs in at just over 1,000 pages.  (I let my students count 100 pages of a chapter book as one book…)  I read this book in a week.  Yes, it was THAT compelling.  I could NOT put it down.  I LOVE books like this—reading a potboiler like this makes me feel like I’ve gotten a huge box of chocolates and I just can’t stop pigging out on them and then I’m so sad when they’re gone…call me a book glutton.  Ah well.  I don’t do anything halfway.

The name of the book is…drumroll please…Under the Dome by Stephen King (Science Fiction).  I devoured my first King novel in the 8^th grade (The Stand).  It was the same kind of thing—me staying up until all hours of the night, reading with a flashlight, scaring myself too much to go to sleep so then I’d read more and get more scared and I couldn’t sleep and, well, you see where this is going.  For the record, I DETEST mysteries and ABHOR the horror genre (science fiction is another matter).  So, what is it about end-of-civilization books (and these types of programs on the Discovery Channel) that so intrigues me?  I dunno, but I can’t get enough of  them. 

Stephen King is one creepy dude and a talented writer.  I’m fascinated by how he’ll create a cast of (seemingly) thousands; he’ll craft all of the characters with loving care and then spend the novel meticulously killing them off.  I love how he sucks me in with the very first page.  I felt like I was right there in the novel.  I don’t want to give too much away, but basically, a small town in Maine is literally sealed off from the rest of the world by an indestructible and only semi-permeable dome.  People can see in, the townies can see out, but nobody can leave.  A power struggle ensues under the dome between an outsider (a hero named Barbie, gotta love that!) and the town’s second selectman.  That power struggle seems kind of weird (hello, middle school?), but working where I do, I can certainly understand it.  There’s gore (more than I care for, especially with the selectman’s son—necrophilia—EWWWWW, but I’m good at skipping parts or quickly turning them down on my Kindle) and there’s also a meth lab (the largest on the East Coast?) and a holy roller who runs it.  He’s lost his mind and I found him one of the most interesting characters.  There’s more (a LOT more), but I’m not going to go into it, cuz, like I said, I don’t want to ruin it for you.  If you want a page turner, this is your book.  I’m still thinking about it, weeks after I read it and sad that it ended.  I wanna know where the characters are NOW.  (Sequel?  She says hopefully.)  I’m looking forward to the movie (cuz you KNOW that’s probably going to happen).  I’m giving this book an enthusiastic two book marks up.

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo.  (Realistic Fiction.)  Ok, I finished this book and all I can say is, “YUCK.”  What a nasty, awful, snotty, horrible book.  I did not like ANY of the characters.  They were all so pathetic.  Or nasty.  What has happened to my Russo?  He’s lost his smile, I think.  I kept trying to find some redeeming qualities to this book and I couldn’t.  Hated this book.  H-A-T-E-D-I-T.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum (Realistic Fiction).  I don’t know how I stumbled onto this one, but I’m glad I did.  It’s a story about a professor of German History who herself is German (Trudy).  One of her colleagues/friends is a Jewish professor (Ruth).  Ruth is doing a Holocaust Remembrance Project and Trudy decides to do a project of her own, interviewing non-Jewish Germans.  Trudy’s mother (Anna) lived in Weimar during the war, but refuses to tell Trudy anything about it.  Trudy wonders how typical Germans stood by and watched the Jews being slaughtered.  She wants to understand how (if) they did nothing.  It’s something I’ve wondered all my life.  The story goes back and forth between Trudy’s current life and the back story of Anna’s life during the war (when she loved and hid her Jewish lover).  I found it interesting because my mother was nine when she emigrated to this country as a German war refugee with her family.  It’s a quick read and leaves me still asking myself questions about my family, life, death, meaning…it’s thought-provoking.

Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Peña (Young Adult Realistic Fiction).  Danny is too “Mexican” to pass for white in his hoity-toity private school and too “white” to pass for Mexican while he spends the summer with his cousin in her barrio.  He’s embarrassed that he can’t even speak enough Spanish to talk to a pretty young thing there.  He longs to pitch in the big time.  While at his cousin’s home, he makes a best friend (Uno) who helps him realize his potential.  I enjoyed this book, especially the cadences of the street Spanish.

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry (Magic Realism?).  I’ve really only just begun this book, on the recommendation of my book soulmate.  I have to say, so far, it’s only mildly interesting.  I’m in about 50 pages, and I’m giving it another 50.  I like the fact that the author brings in Salem, witches and Unitarians.  Other than that, it’s a mystery and we all know how I feel about mysteries…we’ll see how this one goes.  Jury is still out.

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson (Mystery).  Another one recommended to me by my book soulmate.  Her uncle said it was the “best book he’s EVER read.”  Well, again, we’ll see.  What is UP with all the MYSTERY?  I HATE mysteries.  And yet, like a moth to the flame, I keep getting pulled in…

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (Autobiography).  My daughter was reading this for her English class and forgot her copy at school.  I ordered it for her on the Kindle so she could read it.  In the process, I reread it.  I love Maya Angelou and had forgotten how gorgeous and painful and true this book is.  “The lamplight in the Store gave a soft make-believe feeling to our world which made me want to whisper and walk about on tiptoe.”  How do people WRITE like that???  Her prose is poetry.  The story is heart-breaking and triumphant.  It’s another one I never wanted to put down.

Dear Ms. Whiz,

I had a very bad afternoon because Brittney started to talk about me so I talked back about her and at the end of the day she started to kick and hit me for no reason.

But, on the other hand, I had a very good morning.  I helped Silent Bob and Maria Margarita understand the four different mathematical properties on your wall by the desk.  So I had a good day and I will say sorry to Brittney.

Love,

Bartholomew

(Drawing) Eye missed U #1 TEACHER

P.S. On my opinion all the rest of the class was great.

I subbed for a good long while before I got this job.  I enjoyed it, especially in retrospect: I didn’t have to plan, I didn’t have to grade, I didn’t have to do testing.  At the end of the day, I just got to leave.  However, the downside was that I didn’t have my own classroom and I missed the relationships that a classroom teacher has with her students.

I DID learn though, what helps a sub.  My favorite teachers were the ones who left complete plans AND seating charts.  They made my life so much easier.  I remember one time I went into the class and the only plan I had from the teacher was, “Have the kids write a rap.”  REALLY?  For the WHOLE day?  Where’s the objective?  Where’s the procedure?  THAT day was NOT easy.  But it helped me learn what NOT to do when I have a sub.

When I’m out, I try to leave really detailed plans.  Sometimes I wonder if I do overkill.  This time I left nine pages.  Too much?  (GRIN.)  The sub left me a note that said, “Thank you for the thourough plans.  It made the day go smoothly.”  I gave him the choice of actually teaching something during Writer’s Workshop or just having the children write.  He chose to teach.  He did a good job too.  The kids soaked up what he taught them.  That’s good.  I hope he comes back.  (Or school has something of a tough reputation and it’s difficult for us to get subs…)

One of my colleagues came up to me after I got back and said “Your students were making so much ruckus I had to stick my head in the classroom and ask the sub if he was ok.”  I said, Wow and left it at that.  Later, as I was leaving for the day, she asked, “So, did you get after your students for being so loud yesterday?”  I said, Nope.  She looked at me askance.  I shrugged and said, Hey, the day is over and done.  *I* can control my class, if the sub can’t, that’s HIS problem, not mine.  I wasn’t here, so oh well.  We move on.  As my oma would say, “Und zo it goes…”

So.  My boss sent me home from work today.  Apparently there are strict state regulations regarding pink eye and faculty.  That is, if you HAVE pink eye, you CAN’T teach.  Who knew?

I didn’t even KNOW I had pink eye until the nurse saw me and had a conniption.  (Two of my students were out with it today…)  I was shocked when I looked in the mirror.  In my defense, who has TIME to look in the mirror during the day?

I can’t go back tomorrow either.  Bleah.  The subs in our building ARE pretty good, but still…

The good news is that I can create another math lab at home…

Yesterday I had a Math Lab.  The kids LOVED it.  They were so focused and engaged, involved in the DISCOVERY of algebra I almost cried.  Seriously.

 At the end of the lesson, I wrote in my notes, “AWESOME!  Be sure to do this one next year.”  One of my colleagues saw it written down and started laughing.  (But she gets it.) 

It was SUCH a great math lesson yesterday I wanted to share it.  If anyone can use it, I’ll be thrilled. 

The problems come from our Harcourt series, but I put the lab together.  Difficulty ranges from the reteach level to the enrichment level.  I also added some math language work.  I divided the students  into five  groups and made sure that the ability levels were well-mixed.  The kids had 10 minutes for each station.  It was long enough for all of the stations, with the exception of the “Spectacular Problem” (that’s the enrichment).  That worked out well though, because if they finished before time was up with one station, they went back to working on the “Spectacular Problem.”

The circle map that I talk about (Problem 4, “The Power of Vocabulary”) comes from NUA (National Urban Alliance) strategies.  I included a picture of it at the beginning of this blog, and I’ll take a picture of the one we came up with at school.  The example here works nicely though.  The kids did their own circle maps, then collaborated and added their contributions to a giant one for the class.  I really liked that!

Once we were done with all the problems, I called a lab meeting and we discussed our findings.  The kids REALLY dug that!

The Mathematics Lab!

Greetings, Mathematicians!  Today we are going to do a math lab.  You will work in teams.  It is VERY important that EVERYONE UNDERSTAND what s/he is doing because every person will have to explain what s/he did!  YOUR GRADE DEPENDS ON THIS!  You must do all the centers and you MUST SHOW ALL YOUR WORK.

 My name: ______________________________  Date: _____________________________

Names of my teammates: ____________________________  ______________________________  ______________________________  ______________________________  ______________________________ 

 Chapter 4, lesson 4.2

Objective: evaluate numerical and algebraic expressions using order of operations.  Concept question: How do you evaluate expressions?

 1.      Postcards

Use the 3 cups marked “n” and the 40 plastic counters at this station to help you solve this problem.

 Kevin buys 4 postcards.  Then he also buys 3 packs of postcards with n postcards in each pack.  How many postcards does he have if n = 8?

 Write an expression for the situation:

 Describe how your model represents the situation:

 How would the model change if n = 12 instead of 8?

 How could you use the expression to find the total number of postcards Kevin has if n = 12 instead of 8?

 More practice.  Use the cups and the counters to model and find the value of each expression.

1. n + 7, if n = 9
2. (2 x n) + 3, if n = 12
3. n – 6, if n = 13
4. (3 x n) – 2, if n = 9

2.    Order of operations

Write the order of operations here:

 3  + 4 x 5

 What operations are used in the above problem?

 According to the rules of the order of operations, what operation do you have to do first?

 What operation do you do second?

 More practice.  Answer the questions 1, 2, and 3 in the following problems:

1. 3 + (5 x 6)
2. 27 – (12 +9)
3. 12 x 3 – 7

3.  Math Language

If you read the following expressions, which operations will you choose?

 Using the following words (by from inside, into, to), complete the following sentences.

1. Add 7 _________ 14, and the sum will be 21.
2. Subtract  108 ____________ 3,600 and the difference will be 3,492.
3. To double a number, you multiply it ___________ 2.

 4.   The Power of Vocabulary

Make a circle map with “order of operations” in the center and write what you know about that topic.

 5.    The Spectacular Problem

If a cat is 2 years old or older, the expression can be used to convert a cat’s age to human years. 

Steps:

1. Count 15 human years for the first year of a cat’s life.
2. Add 9 human years for the second year.
3. Add 4 years for each year after the second year.

The Algebraic Expression:

24 + (n – 2) x 4 when n = age of the cat in years and n ≥ 2.

Choose several cat ages greater than 2 years (for example: 4 years, 7 years) and use the steps and the expression to convert each of these ages to human years.  IMPORTANT: explain how the expression represents the steps.

I need some help.  I am teaching algebra right now and the kids are ROCKIN’ when they evaluate numerical expressions.  It’s a wonderful thing to see them working as confident mathematicians.  However, the MINUTE I introduce a variable, a few of them fall apart.  These few kids just canNOT get the concept that “n” represents a number.

I know that 5th graders are still pretty concrete thinkers.  Is there anyway to help them grasp the abstract concept of the variable?  Anybody have any good ideas?  I’ve been using blocks, but even that hasn’t helped the ones who are struggling.  (The one girl who is especially stuggling is 12.)

HELP!  Please!

Warning!  I’m in a grumpy mood today.  Really.  (Are you SURE you want to keep reading this?)  Ok.  Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Things in my actual class are going fairly well.  But I’m annoyed with the attitude of some of the kids in the school.  (Ms. I., this is my STOP-ACTING-LIKE-YOU’RE-OWED-THE-UNIVERSE post…)  Ok.  Rant on.

For example… 

I am tired of (a few but noisy) children complaining about every little thing under the sun, including the fabulous lessons I plan: Me:  Take out your writer’s notebook/social studies book/math manipulatives, you-name-it.  Them: “GROOOOOAAN!”  (This in spite of the fact that they are enthusiastic learners, hungry for knowledge and they ENJOY being in my class!!!  It’s like they’ve gotten into the habit of pissing and moaning about school and now they do it, just on principle.)

I am tired of (more than a few) children calling out and yelling out any time they feel like it.  This is something I didn’t see until I started teaching in an urban school.  What is UP with this?  It doesn’t matter if it’s me talking in front of the class, me talking to them one-on-one or them taking in a group.  It’s just “let’s-all-talk-at-once.”   (Me: GROOOOOAAAN.)

I am tired of the sulky pouts when I reprimand a child or when said child doesn’t get his/her way.  I don’t argue with my students.  I tell them how it is and I stick to my guns.  It truly is “my way or the highway” in the class.  I refuse to be dragged into a never-ending cycle of “WHYYYYY?”  Because I said so works very well for me, thankyouverymuch.  The kids know the rules.  But somedays (and today was one), oh, don’t I get some attitude from someone who crossed a line/made a bad choice/is suffering the (preset) consequence.  Wah.  Go tell someone who cares.

Most of all, I want to yell and scream and punch something the next time one of my kids whines because “it’s not fair.”  (I said punch someTHING, not someONE.)  I understand things are complicated, but NEWSFLASH: no one ever said life was fair.  If you don’t like something, stop complaining and work to change it.  I’m here to HELP you, NOT do it FOR you.  Suck it up, Buttercup.

This is the final burr that got under my saddle today.  I am absolutely a stickler for manners in my class.  I insist (INSIST) that children say “please,” “thank you,” and “excuse me.”  “Shut up” is verboten (with a hefty $200 fine).  I also INSIST that the first person in line hold the door for the rest of us (and EVERYONE else MUST say “thank you” [in sign language] as they go through).  It makes me CRAZY that very few other classes do this.  Really.  CRAZY. 

I watch the other classes going through the doors and I’ve actually seen some kids laugh when they drop a door on a class mate.  How the HECK can I build classroom community if my students think it’s funny to bang a door shut in someone’s face???  (For the record, my students don’t.  I don’t let them.)  But wait!  There’s more.  My student at the front of the line holds the door and we go through.  There is often another class behind us.  And what do the students in the other class do?  Why, they’re more than happy to plow right on through the door being held open AND WITHOUT SAYING A DAMN WORD.  It IS as if they are saying, “I don’t have to do anything.  I don’t have to hold the door for anyone else, or be polite to anyone else and guess what, look!  The world holds the door open for me.”  For me, it represents very clearly an entitled attitude.  GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.  I don’t get mad any more (well, ok, yes, I do–this post is evidence enough of THAT, I suppose).  I just wait with the child holding the door and then sweetly stop the first person not in my class and hand the door off to him/her.  The surprised looks on their faces does not amuse me.

I AM SO SICK OF THIS.  AND I WONDER IF WHAT I DO MAKES A DAMN DIFFERENCE.

Ok.  Thanks for listening.  I feel better now.  Sort of.  A little.

 Rant off.

January is an interesting month where I teach.  It’s the time of year when the charter schools realize that they can’t handle some of their students (read: those with special needs) and they kick them out and send them back to us.  I’m proud to teach for the public school system where we educate EVERYONE.  (And politicians need to shut their big bazoos about how public schools are failing.  We are NOT failing.  We are actually VERY good at what we do.  It’d be interesting to see how charter schools would do if THEY had to educate everyone.  But don’t get me started on THAT.)

So, on Wednesday, we got several new students in the fifth grade.  I didn’t get one because I’m full (yeah, go bilingual program).  Interestingly, one of my colleagues came to me and asked for “her” social studies book back. 

A little bit of backstory here.  Our district has recently changed Social Studies curricula and we all got new books.  Since I teach in the bilingual program I’m supposed to get books in both Spanish and English.  However, our district was running a little short on funds (shocker) and so there weren’t enough books to go around.  The solution?  “Well, we’ll just give you the books in Spanish for now and when we get some more English ones, we’ll get those to you.”  Um, hello?  I teach every other day IN ENGLISH.  (Do NOT tell me we don’t have “separate but equal” in the US still–it exists in my school and it’s NOT equal.  At a bare MINIMUM, I should have BOOKS for my students!!!) 

I scrounged and scrounged and eventually got exactly enough books in English for my students.  I had to take all the extras from my colleagues plus ask other teachers around the district.  One of our literacy coaches helped me find some of the books.  I didn’t know that she had basically badgered one of my colleagues (I’ll call her Ms. Positive), for her extras (she had five extra).  I put the books in my cabinet, preparing to hand them out a few days later.  The next day I came in to my classroom to find that Ms. Positive had taken the books back!!!  I was sort of shocked by this behavior.  I would never go into another teacher’s classroom and take something without asking.  But I didn’t say anything.  I just went back to Ms. Positive and said, Um, I really need some books.  Could I have some?  She was ever-so-chipper and gave them to me.  I thought the case was closed.

WRONG!

Back to last week and the new student.  Ms. Positive came to me and said, “I have a new kid.  I need my book back.”  (I think she was kind of grumpy because she got a new kid.  Normally, I’d have some empathy, but at the beginning of the year, she managed to get several of her students moved to the other two classrooms, including mine.  She was sitting pretty with her 15 kids while the other teacher and I are tap dancing as fast as we can at capacity.  So no, I do NOT feel sorry for her!)  I said, Well, I don’t have any extras.  She said, “I need my book back, the one I gave you.”  I said, My student is using it.  She said (a bit angrily), “I need MY book BACK.”  I said, It’s not your book.  It belongs to the district.  She said, “It has MY name in it and at the end of the year, I have to turn those books in.”  (This is not true, by the way.  We DON’T turn our books in.)   I wanted to say, Really?  Are you REALLY doing this?  But I saw where the conversation was going.  She’s known district-wide to be generally nasty, so I sighed and gave her the dang book (wishing I’d just done that in the first place without opening my mouth) and then sent a note to my principal.  He sent one back, “Let’s talk.”

I went to talk to him and told him I was really frustrated by both her actions and her attitude.  He said, (and this is why I think so highly of this man) “You know this isn’t about you.  She treats everyone this way.”  Wow.  It’s nice to be validated.  And then he got on the phone to try and find me more books.  He’s awesome.

I’m just sad because I feel so naïve.  I truly try to see the best in everyone and believe that we’re all in this for the kids.  Yeah, go team.  But her actions said, “I’m only in this for myself.”  We could’ve been more creative about solving this stupid, silly, insignificant problem.  But instead, she got nasty and I reacted and now there is a feeling of mistrust on my side (who KNOWS what SHE is feeling?).  I solved my immediate problem by talking to my other colleague and she and I are going to share a book until I get some more.  The whole situation has diminished the team feeling.  I had heard she was like this, but I’d not seen nastiness (negativity, yes, nastiness, no…well, now that I think about it–she has arranged field trips and invited the other fifth grade class, but not ours…hmmm…).  It makes me sad.  I no longer feel like going out of my way to be nice to her.  I won’t be mean (that’s just not my nature), but I’m human.  I’m sure not looking to do her any favors now.  What a shame.