tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75172870631725577122024-03-12T22:16:30.855-04:00Teaching Brooklyn's Exceptional ChildrenDay to day reflections of my first year as a high school Special Education teacher. Get to know my 10th graders with all of their funny (and sometimes not-so-funny) little quirks, and follow their progress throughout the year.Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-63362007460517180332011-05-09T21:21:00.001-04:002011-05-09T21:22:38.249-04:00C'est la vieToday was an eventful day.<br />
<br />
Third period Jay (you remember him? the boy who used to hate me and who made me dread coming to work some days) told me "you look pretty with makeup on--by the way Miss, I'm going to pretend I'm gay for the whole period," and then proceeded to be as flamboyant as possible for the next hour. <br />
<br />
Fifth period two of my boys found me in the office and dramatically complained about how starving they were. I sent them back to class, then went over to my classroom where Mr. B was teaching his Resource class. I found my two students sitting in the front of the room with my tea kettle making themselves oatmeal. I only didn't write them up because it was kind of adorable, and they were participating in Mr. B's lesson while they were waiting for the water to heat up. I brought them back to class with their oatmeal in their little cups, and JT walks out miserably and says, "Miss, I have to talk to you about something....I took Benadryl this morning and I CANT KEEP MY EYES OPEN! Can I have some oatmeal to wake me up?"<br />
<br />
Sixth period my French friend Hindaty came to visit me at work to see what an American high school is like. Let's just say she didn't get the "typical" high school experience. We had an impromptu lunch session, where I literally just grabbed students I saw in the hallway and asked them if they wanted to talk to a French person. They mostly asked her about snails and how to hit on a girl <i>en francais</i>. She also got to witness my infamous seventh period in all their glory, who asked her if people smoke pot in France and taught her all of their slang words. Then they managed to cheat their way through several rounds of Algebra jeopardy before I noticed they had found the answers... <br />
<br />
Eighth period I worked with Carolyn one-on-one to help her with her Algebra, and she said she understands everything better the way I explain it to her, which was pretty much the highlight of my day.Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-33150412160891576052011-04-24T23:08:00.000-04:002011-04-24T23:08:50.587-04:00The home stretchI can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted...it went so fast. The beginning of April was even crazier than March with preparing students for midterms and then having to facilitate all of their testing accommodations. Midterms week was basically five straight days with no free periods--I was constantly with students or tracking them down to finish their tests. That Friday we had a half-day so the teachers could finish grading, and JT didn't show up until school was over to finish his midterms (and only because I called him 5 times yelling at him to get to school). <br />
<br />
Overall, I was really disappointed with my students report card grades, because I <i>know</i> they can do way better. I've <i>seen</i> it. Ironically, the only one of my 15 students who passed every one of her classes for the term was the girl I was referring to in my last post, who got pregnant for the second time this year, and had her second abortion a few weeks ago. I have never seen her work so hard and want to pass her classes so badly. I'm really proud of her but also really worried about the choices she's making outside of school, but I'm trying to let her counselor deal with that and just focus on making sure she keeps up her grades for the last term.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow's the last day of Spring Break, and then the last term of the year begins! I went on a trip this break with some of the other teachers and our principal for the guidance counselor's wedding, and I feel like it was a really great bonding experience. Being friends with people you work with makes it so much easier when work gets crazy--and the next two months are certainly going to be a roller coaster. I can't believe I'm already almost done with my first year of teaching, it feels like just a few weeks ago I was trying to come up with a title for this blog! <br />
<br />
36 school days until Regents' exams...Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-38283477603745195392011-03-28T21:08:00.001-04:002011-03-28T21:08:19.056-04:00Dear Students,Please stop getting pregnant.<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Ms. CChristy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-51944498263737237612011-03-15T19:27:00.000-04:002011-03-15T19:27:14.613-04:00Teachers are master manipulators<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I've realized recently that my classroom has become my students' livin<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g room. JT and Jon have this new habit of walkin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g into seventh period and takin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g off their shoes before they sit down. The fartin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g continues, and today Jon walked around with his khakis around his ankles (he had shorts on underneath, but still...) It is really nice to see Jon happy thou</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">gh. For a few weeks he was in this slump where he looked miserable and slept throu</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">gh all of his classes. Last week I </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">gave him the most amazin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">guilt trip ever, tellin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g him, "You know you are one of my favorites, and I really don't want to have to write you up...I thou</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">ght you respected me as much as I respect you, but the fact that you aren't tryin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g shows me I'm wron</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g. You're makin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g me feel like I'm a failure as a teacher." He looked at me, almost speechless, and sat down and finished the Al</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">gebra test he had avoided for three days. It was beautiful. I feel like I do a lot of manipulatin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g and mind-</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">games in order to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">get them to do even a little work these days...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">Durin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g lunch today I looked up my 7th period students' </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">grades, and literally almost had a panic attack. After freakin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g out in the hallway to my co-teacher and the biolo</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">gy teacher, I set up my projector and typed a new Do Now:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">"Data set: the number of classes each student in this room is currently failin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g: 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 4. Find the mean, median, and mode. Which measure of central tendency best describes this data?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">They sat down and be</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">gan doin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g the mean, median, and mode, without even understandin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g the point I was tryin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">get across. When I explained how frustrated I was and how we really had to work at this, Carolyn looked up at me with an evil little smile and asked, "Miss, you're tired of our shit, aren't you?" </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">"Yes, yes I am."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">I mentioned to my principal how bummed I was that their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">grades dropped so dramatically, and she told me this point in Term 3 is a hu</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">ge slump for all of the students, but it hits the Resource kids the hardest (and she saw this exact same thin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g happen with my kids last year), so I'm </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">goin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">g to try not to stress too much.</span>Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-11286728528664993002011-03-12T12:52:00.002-05:002011-03-12T13:18:07.449-05:00No such thing as a day offMy students had a lot of tests this week, and all day Thursday I was bombarded by teachers handing me stacks of unfinished exams and mixed up scantrons with no names on them (because my students, bless them, never ever remember to put their names on things unless I watch them as I tell them to write it), and by students ADVOCATING for their right to take their exams with me, rather than in their classrooms. This meant that during my resource periods I was doing a lesson with my 8 students while simultaneously trying to answer questions by the 5 other students in the room who were each taking a test for a different subject. <br />
<br />
I may be good at multitasking, but no one's brain can handle that much information at one time. At one point, all of my students were asking questions at once, and a lot of them were being really rude about it, so I just walked over to my desk, sat down, and ignored them for a full minute so I could breathe! By the end of the day I was feeling really run down and like I was coming down with a cold. <br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Friday morning, I called in sick. I'm the only teacher that hadn't taken a day off yet, so I figured it was about time! By 9am, I had text messages from three different students asking where I was. My response, "I'm sick, and you're not supposed to be texting in class!!!" At 3pm, I got a text from my co-teacher, who told me that one of my students (who is her advisee) took her into my classroom because he needed to find the Algebra test that he had completed. She told me not only did the room smell like sweat, but the tests were scattered all over the floor and she found his in the corner by the garbage! </div><div><br />
</div><div>A half hour later, I get a text from Cristy, and I asked her how 7th period went without me. <br />
<br />
Cristy: "Lol we was loud ms c and CiCi was going crazy and ms h was gettin mad cuz she heard us from her room and dey heard us from the hallway lol." <br />
Me: "WHAT?!" <br />
Cristy: "Lol, I no, <b>we need u</b>."</div><div><br />
</div><div>As much chaos as there is when I'm there, at least I now know it's worse when I'm not! </div><div><br />
</div><div>Next I got a text from a student who found out she got an 82 on her global test. I told her I was "hype!" and she responded: "Omg miss, I can't believe you just said hype."</div>Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-23185789357751810322011-03-10T20:58:00.001-05:002011-03-28T21:07:33.424-04:00Slang Dictionary, in progressOn the low = secretly, unexpectedly<br />
<br />
Wavvy = cool<br />
<br />
Swag(ger) = nice, cool, awesomeness<br />
<br />
I'm hype = I'm excited<br />
<br />
Tight = angry<br />
<br />
That teacher's got me tight = that teacher's pissing me off<br />
<br />
Shakin my head = you're stupid, what are you thinking?, i don't want to deal with you<br />
<br />
Diablo! = I know this means devil in spanish, but I have yet to figure out why students run around saying this randomly<br />
<br />
You're wiling = you're crazy<br />
<br />
Thats flee = that's cool<br />
<br />
She's feening = she's getting overworked/overexcited<br />
<br />
OD = very (as in, "this is OD hard")<br />
<br />
Dead ass = I'm serious.Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-85594947512173600382011-03-02T22:30:00.002-05:002011-03-02T22:31:31.635-05:00"Sorry Miss, I won't be in school the rest of the week..."<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">It's 7:30am, I walk into my classroom with my two travel mu</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">gs of coffee--it was especially hard to wake up this mornin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">. It's almost a half hour later than I usually </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">get to work, and as always I become immediately flustered by all of the posters fallin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g off the walls, the papers that are <i>everywhere,</i> and the desks that are arbitrarily strewn about the room. I wish, for the ten-thousandth time, that the teacher I share this tiny space with would help me keep our classroom clean. No matter how much time I spend or</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">ganizin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g, it never lasts more than two days. I'm now rememberin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g all those times I made a mess after my mom cleaned and she would say, "I can't wait until you have your own kids, <i>then</i> you will understand why this makes me so mad." In a funny way, these <i>are</i> my own kids. The only way I could love them more would be if I </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">gave birth to them myself.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> Before I can even take my coat off I hear my phone rin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g: it's a text from Arnelle. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">"</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">I had a miscarriage, I lost the baby. I can't stop crying." </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">So, my </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">girls</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> are havin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g babies, abortions, and now miscarria</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">ges. My boys are in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">gan</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">gs, watchin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g their cousins </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">get shot, spendin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g their winter breaks "locked up," missin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g school for court dates. I try to remember my most traumatic hi</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">gh school moments</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">. No matter what I come up with, it pales in comparison to what these kids are </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">goin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g throu</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">gh. I realize no matter how </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">great of a relationship we have, I will never completely be able to understand where they are comin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g from. I've learned never to say, "I know how you feel," because really, how could I? </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">This was a wake up call for me. As frustratin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">g as it is when my students have those days (or weeks, or months) where their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">grades and their education aren't priorities, I have to remember that it's not necessarily because they are lazy or they don't care. But every now and then they do need a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">gentle reminder that education mi</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">ght very well be their only chance to make safer, happier lives for themselves.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span>Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-7734741382030406712011-02-23T23:24:00.000-05:002011-02-23T23:24:58.102-05:00Maybe I should become a counselor?Friday, first period:<br />
<br />
Arnelle: "Miss, I have to tell you something later. Don't worry, it's good and bad."<br />
<br />
Fourth period:<br />
<br />
Arnelle: "This is really hard to say." *long pause* "I think I might be pregnant."<br />
Me: "Well, what makes you think that?"<br />
Arnelle: "I have all the symptoms. And I didn't use protection. And you know, I took a pregnancy test from the dollar store and it had two lines on it."<br />
<br />
<br />
I have FIVE female students. This is the THIRD one that has been pregnant at some point this year!Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-72850025065776545732011-02-10T20:35:00.000-05:002011-02-10T20:35:50.768-05:00WhirlwindThe past few days were a whirlwind! This is the first chance I've had to catch my breath since Monday. The week definitely had it's ups and downs, but either way I am looking forward to 5pm tomorrow (If there's one thing I've learned this year, it's that 95% of the business that bars get between 5 and 9 on Fridays is from stressed out teachers).<br />
<br />
On Tuesday, my 7th period was an emotional wreck. It's funny, because now that we're in a new semester, my 7th period is mostly made up of my old 2nd period students, and yet 7th period is still crazy. It must be because it's the period after lunch, so maybe it's not (entirely) me after all. Cristy came in crying, because her boyfriend broke up with her. Dennis and Jon came in looking like they were going to cry, put their heads down, and refused to do anything (I found out later that Dennis' cousin died, and Jon's girlfriend interrupted class to tell me that they got into a fight and that's why he wasn't doing any work). Amy came in freaking out because one of my 3rd period students punched her in the face in gym. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Arnelle rolling down her sleeves and caught a glimpse of a hideous bruise on her arm, which I immediately told her I'd discuss with her later. Sweet, quiet, focused Steve decided to morph into JT in his craziest form (which I like to describe as being similar to a severely ADHD person with tourrettes having a seizure), saying "diablo" over in over at the top of his lungs, while JT followed along saying a different Spanish word over and over (which Amy told me later was the Spanish word for "vagina.") <br />
<br />
Needless to say, it wasn't the most productive period. I made them all finish their Algebra test from earlier in the day, which didn't take more than 15 minutes, and the rest of the period we sat in a circle and talked, watched old morning announcement videos, and drew on the chalkboard. It was like one big therapy session.<br />
<br />
Yesterday I took four girls (who are not my students, but who I've bonded with while co-teaching their Algebra class) on a field trip to Pearl Paint on Canal street after work before grad school. They were like kids in a candy store, it reminded me of the first time my Uncle took me there when I was their age, and I realized it was five floors filled with every kind of art supply you could imagine! I missed the staff meeting while I was gone, but Pedro was voted student of the month!<br />
<br />
Today I had four IEP Annual Review conference, for Pedro, Jay, Monique, and Steve. I was really impressed with Jay, who is not my most mature student, because although these meetings are incredibly awkward, and although he has told me that he doesn't want to have an IEP or Resource anymore, he handled his meeting the most seriously out of any student I've seen yet. He articulated everything he struggles with and decided, on his own, that he did want to keep his IEP and even add to his testing accommodations, and talked about how the behavior contract for the baseball team is really helping him stay motivated. He really, truly ADVOCATED for himself, and I've never been more proud! <br />
Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-65154903951856015002011-02-03T21:48:00.000-05:002011-02-03T21:48:05.028-05:00CELEBRATING!I finally got my hands on my students' official report cards today. The way our school works, quarter one and quarter two grades need to average to at least a 70 in order to be considered "passing" for the semester. If they don't pass for the semester, they don't get the credit and have to make it up either in summer school or take that semester of the class again next year. <br />
<br />
Out of my ten students that actually come to school more than once a month, FIVE OF THEM PASSED. I went and searched them out throughout the day to tell them.<br />
<br />
Pedro, who has been working SO HARD the past two months, was like "Yeah Miss, I KNEW THAT. I'm nice!"<br />
<br />
JT's eyes popped out of his head, he asked me if I was sure about 100 times before he jumped up and down, hugged me, and proceeded to run down the hall <i>screaming </i>"I'm HYPE!" repeatedly. (Sometimes I joke with him that he might have tourrettes, although it's really nothing to joke about, but whenever he starts saying something he says it over and over like a broken record until someone snaps him out of his trance!)<br />
<br />
Dasean came into my room to ask for a pencil, and as soon as I saw him I was jumping up and down telling him over and over that he passed all of his classes until he realized what I was saying, and he begged me to call his mom immediately (he is over 6ft tall and acts like he's really tough, but he has a real sensitive side and is definitely a mama's boy).<br />
<br />
I had texted Allie's mom as soon as I found out, and her mother must have texted her while she was in class, because five minutes later Allie burst through my door shrieking at the top of her lungs, hugged me, and ran back out of the room still screaming.<br />
<br />
I pulled Monique out of Global, the one class she wasn't sure if she passed. I asked her if Mr. V told her her Global grade, and she said no. When I told her she passed, she looked at me and said, "Miss, don't look at me, I'm gonna cry!" <br />
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The amazing thing about Monique, who is such a sweetheart (and I tell her an unnecessary amount of times a day how wonderful she is), is that she struggles, but she never complains and works at this slow and steady pace, and is always gradually getting better. My co-teacher and I call her the Little Engine that Could. Monique's mother told me today the story behind her "TBI" classification (traumatic brain injury). When she was in 7th grade, she was hospitalized with "water on the brain," for several months. She almost died, and when she did get out of the hospital she couldn't speak, walk, or remember who anyone was. It's such a miracle to see where she is today, you would have never guessed she had anything more than a slight processing issue!Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-8517043106375739262011-01-29T13:12:00.000-05:002011-01-29T13:12:24.048-05:00I survived my first semester as a teacher!When I meet someone and they ask me what I do, it still feels like I'm lying when I say "I'm a teacher." But it doesn't feel as strange to say as it felt a few months ago, and I feel like I'm starting to accept that this is my career. I went to college to be an art teacher, I accepted the TFA position hoping to be a second or third grade teacher, and I somehow got thrown into a tenth grade special education position that focuses mostly on algebra. Back in June, when I was first offered the job, I was terrified, and a little disappointed because it wasn't what I had wanted or planned, but I was just so relieved to have a job. Seven months later, I'm so thankful things didn't turn out the way I planned. I would have never known how challenging and rewarding it could be to teach sixteen and seventeen year olds with learning disabilities. I don't see them as different from any other teenager in the school, and although they have one more obstacle to face than all of the other students, I've seen my students work harder and earn better grades than many of the other students in the school. I have loved getting to know them as people and learning about their hopes and dreams, and I am so excited to help them work towards these goals over the next three years. It's going to be a long, difficult road, but I am so excited to guide them as they choose colleges, write them recommendation letters and watch them graduate and go off to college. <br />
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Semester two starts on Tuesday, and I'll have a few new students and new challenges for sure. I'm starting off the semester by diagnosing their reading levels, which I've recently realized are terrifyingly low, so my goal is to fit in more reading and writing skills with them in between all the Regents prep we will be doing for Algebra and Global!Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-82394921080336676172011-01-20T18:53:00.000-05:002011-01-20T18:53:52.606-05:00SilenceThe last time I updated was that really really horrible day last week, that left me crying by myself in my classroom during my prep period.<br />
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The next day, I was a drill sergeant. I was waiting outside my door before the bell rang for 7th period to start. I refused to let my students in until they were ready to enter silently, and when they did they were greeted with the desks in neat rows, instead of the usual, friendly semi-circle arrangement. I told them right away that I was in no mood to hear a single one of their voices, and that no one was allowed to talk today. They were to spend the period doing their work silently, and if they had a question they had to raise their hand and I would help them. A few of them tried to object or to explain their actions, but I cut them off before they could even get a whole word out. <br />
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They worked silently for the rest of the period, and when there were only two minutes left, I stopped scowling and said, "So what is everyone doing for their 3-day weekend?" They looked at me in shock, not sure if they should answer, and when the bell rang JT shouted out "5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." and they all apologized at the same time!<br />
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I talked to my principal about it, because I was being pretty hard on myself that I had let a class of only 8 students get so out of control. But she told me that I everything I did the next day was the right thing to do (down to the subtle message I sent by putting the desks in rows), and the fact that they responded in such a way (and apologized) shows that I actually do have a good control over them, and that the do respect me. Otherwise, they would have come in and continued to act the same way without remorse.<br />
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By the way, Carolyn had her baby this morning! A girl!<br />
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Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-26331521345477584772011-01-13T22:00:00.000-05:002011-01-13T22:00:53.875-05:00Dreaded 7th PeriodMy seventh period was really horrible, mean, and disrespectful to me today. No teaching or learning or anything productive occurred in that class. It was really disappointing because I was on such a high after Tuesday...my co-teacher and I had our best co-taught lesson of the whole year, where I got to bring a lot of art into the geometry unit and our rough 5th period was actually having fun <i>and</i> learning. Then yesterday we had a snow day, so today was bound to go downhill from there, I guess. <br />
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One of my students is now going around telling everyone "we made Ms. C cry," even though I actually didn't cry until way after they left. 15 year olds can be such jerks when they want to be. I understand that they are stressed because finals are coming up, but today was ridiculous. I felt especially lucky today to have such a supportive staff, because instead of sitting in my room crying by myself, I had four different teachers to go to that made me feel better. My co teacher even suggested I write them a letter, so I did, but I'm a little nervous about how that is going to go. This is the first time since I met my students that I am not going to be happy to see them tomorrow.Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-52091346817002218342011-01-06T20:03:00.001-05:002011-01-06T20:06:45.628-05:00Advocate, advocate, advocate.On Tuesday I spent almost the entire period talking about and trying to re-invest my students in the "big goals" of their class...I even had a beautiful poster made on the new poster machine at school (you can print something on computer paper and scan it and it comes out poster-size). Here's what it looks like:<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-gM_T2S-3qE/TSZj4XxUH7I/AAAAAAAAACk/G9mQEUv7wbk/s1600/big+goal+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-gM_T2S-3qE/TSZj4XxUH7I/AAAAAAAAACk/G9mQEUv7wbk/s320/big+goal+poster.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div> </div><div>I talked a lot about what the word "advocate" means and different ways the students could advocate for their learning needs, whether it be asking questions or participating during class, or reminding their teachers that they are allowed to have extra time on tests. We had what I thought was a decent discussion and moved on to work on their grade trackers. At the beginning of the year they made color-coded line graphs where they graph their grades in each class every week...it is still my favorite thing that I have done with that class and sometimes the only thing I can get them excited to do. They are very visual and love seeing the slopes for certain classes going up, while the negative slopes often set a little bit of a fire under them. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Yesterday, my "Do Now" was: <b>In your own words, what does the word advocate mean? List three examples of how you can advocate for your own needs.</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>Blank stares. From both classes. None of them remembered what it meant. So I spent another class discussing it with them</div><div><br />
</div><div>Today's Do Now: <b>In your own words, what does the word advocate mean? List three examples of how you can advocate for your own needs.</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>"But Miss, that was our Do Now yesterday." </div><div><br />
</div><div>I told them that since none of them remembered what advocate meant yesterday, which was fine, that they could do it today.</div><div><br />
</div><div>More blank stares, they forgot <i>again! </i>I'm starting to see proof of what I've been told, that students won't truly comprehend a vocabulary word without at least 10 exposures to it. Spent another 20 minutes trying to explain it...</div><div><br />
</div><div>Eighth period I sat with JT during Global, which I do every once in a while because I know he sleeps through that class 95% of the time. I was helping him with a worksheet, and every prompt I gave him he responded with "the answer is it's time to go to sleep." One question asked about how Enlightenment thinkers inspired the French Revolution, and I was explaining that these philosophers inspired people to stand up for their natural rights. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I watched JT write down, "Enlightenment thinkers inspire people to ADVOCATE for their rights." He looked at me and smiled and said, "See, you think we don't listen to you, but we do." My reaction was so absurdly over-the-top-happy that the global teacher looked at me like I was insane.<br />
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Tomorrow's Do Now? <b>In your own words, what does the word advocate mean? List three examples of how you can advocate for your own needs.</b></div>Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-31409604640013177682011-01-05T21:59:00.001-05:002011-01-05T21:59:36.230-05:00"Miss, what are you taking this so seriously for? Most of us aren't gonna go to college anyway."Carolyn's due date is January 26th, right in the middle of finals week. All of her grades, which weren't amazing to begin with (but she was trying), have plummeted and she's been missing a lot of school for doctor's appointments. It really hurt me to hear her say that, because she was always so positive and it just shows how discouraged she's gotten. <br />
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I also found out that the network is adding requirements for graduation. I have a bunch of students in situations where they are already not on track to graduate in four years, I can only imagine what will happen now!Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-24763275937957208282011-01-03T22:13:00.000-05:002011-01-03T22:13:06.092-05:00First day after vacation...7am, I walk into my room, expecting--<i>dreading--</i>the disaster that I left the day before break. I am greeted instead with a gorgeous shiny room with the desks all in rows. The custodians waxed the floors over break and were nice enough to rearrange my desks. Seconds later I get a frantic call from my co-teacher asking me to check her room because she overslept. I expect it to also be shiny and beautiful, but I walk in and find 30 desks shoved in the corner, all the technology unplugged, and the bookcase and filing cabinet in the center of the room. After rushing to rearrange everything, I thought the rest of the day would be just as hectic. Then I remembered our students, and how they use every excuse possible to stay home from school. Apparently two weeks off wasn't enough for them! <br />
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Period 1: 8 out of 25 students showed up<br />
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Period 2: 2 out of 5 students<br />
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Period 5: 12 out of 27<br />
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Period 7: ONE STUDENT. <br />
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Needless to say, the rest of my day was pretty easy! January is going to be rough though, because it is "winter session" at grad school. So Mondays and Wednesdays I have class from 5:30 to 8:45 and all four Saturdays of January I have class from 9am to 4pm. Plus online sessions, and the hour+ commute to class...not the most exciting way to start off 2011. Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-86111959138536494942010-12-31T15:12:00.000-05:002010-12-31T15:12:31.399-05:00Bonne année!To the only two people that probably read this (you know who you are) I'm sorry it's been so long! One of my New Year's Resolutions is going to be to post at least once a week. Hopefully I can stick to that.<br />
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On the last day of school before winter break, I was standing outside of the office and I see one of my students (Pedro, who has been working really hard over the past few weeks) burst out of the chemistry classroom with a test in his hand. He runs down the hallway with both hands in the air yelling, "MISS, I GOT 100 ON THE CHEMISTRY TEST!" gives me a big hug, tells me that only one other student in the whole grade got 100, and proceeds to run into every classroom to tell every teacher in the school. I don't take any credit for his Chemistry grade, but nonetheless it was one of the best moments I've had all year. A lot of my students seem to be realizing that I am their advocate and that my purpose in their lives is to help them do well in all of their classes, and I love that, without me asking, they are always sharing with me their successes and their failures. <br />
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To give you an idea of the kind of people I work with, you NEED to watch this. It's a commercial for the coat drive we're having at school...all of the male teachers (and some of the female teachers) did a fashion walk down the hallway. We made this after all of the kids left before break...they have no idea how much we enjoy our jobs. <br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BACrm7j_SpA&feature=player_embedded">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BACrm7j_SpA&feature=player_embedded</a><br />
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Back to work on Monday after two weeks off. I struggled a lot last month to get my students to take Resource Room seriously. I'm really going to push for a fresh start...it's going to take a lot of focus and dedication not only from the students, but from myself as well.Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-28697477586192389212010-11-10T21:57:00.000-05:002010-11-10T21:57:20.673-05:00Meltdown #1...check.Whenever I realize it's been a while since I've posted, I get all overwhelmed thinking about everything that I didn't write about...so I'm just going to forget about all of that and start fresh with today. On Wednesdays the students have half-days so we can have staff meetings and workshops. Today, the two special education directors from the network were at our school (I've probably mentioned the very quirky blonde lady that my students don't really like, even though she is actually a very very sweet lady). The other director has not been around at all, and she ran a workshop about what co-teaching should look like. It made me feel completely inadequate and guilty. I don't normally "lead teach" in that class, but I'm there instead to support the students who are struggling (and this is not limited to "my" students, but to any student who is having trouble). I've never felt that to be a problem, because I can see that I <i>am</i> helping, and I think the students benefit from my individual attention more than they would if I tried to stand in front of the whole class and teach them Algebra that I haven't taken since I was their age! But apparently our co-teaching model is expected to look different. <br />
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The problem is, being the only 10th grade special educator, I see my students struggling in classes other than math, and I want to be there for them in all of their subjects...and I <i>have</i> been. After the workshop and holding in a lot of frustration (I "discussed" it with my supervisor until I realized I wouldnt be able to say anything without crying), but the other special ed teacher, Mr. B, caught me crying as we were walking back downstairs...and then so did my co-teacher! It was completely mortifying, but I have to say, I made it to November without crying, which is pretty impressive for me. They both made me feel so much better, especially my co-teacher. She is an amazing teacher, and I can tell she really appreciates me. We decided to make a little more time to plan together that way I know what's going on a little more ahead of time, but mostly I dont think too much is going to change because what we are doing is <i>working</i>. <br />
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As soon as I was done crying, JT <i>bursts</i> into my room and yells, "MS. C LOOK! They gave me a uniform! They let me back on the team! Thank you!! Wait...are you crying? Oh no, don't cry!" and gives me a big hug. The reason he thanked me was because I found out he had been suspended from the team for grades, and I noticed that he was only failing one class while other students on the team had worse grades than him. I made a big fuss about it to the coaches, and they let him back on. The basketball game they had tonight was incredible to watch, the teachers had so much fun cheering the kids on, and we won! I really truly love the school that I work at...everyone has so much spirit, and I really feel like I belong here. It's a wonderful environment to be in!Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-66585233131060813422010-10-30T10:46:00.000-04:002010-10-30T10:47:40.042-04:00It's like a disease...As I probably mentioned, this past week was CRAZY. Yesterday morning one of the counselors and I made plans to actually go out of the building and have lunch (usually I have at least 6 students in my room during lunch). Just as I kicked all of my students out of my room, my supervisor walked in (we have 3 prep periods a day and yet she insists on either coming while I'm teaching or during lunch to give me more work to do). Anyway, when I was finally able to escape, we went to this delicious little sandwich place and sat and talked. I realized that I would never be able to do her job. I've been seeing my job lately as part teacher and part counselor, but for me, when I start to worry about the students' lives and everything they have to deal with outside of school, I can focus on helping them do well in school since that is something that is within my "locus of control." <br />
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Apparently, pregnancy is going around like an epidemic in our school all of a sudden. Another one of my students, Amy, just found out she is pregnant. Amy is the student whose mother calls about 1000 times a week, and she hasn't told her mother yet. Looking forward to that phone call! Carolyn is due in January, and I'm really worried for her! She's already not doing well in her classes, I can only imagine what next semester will be like. Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-65732225883717685722010-10-28T23:29:00.000-04:002010-10-28T23:29:22.715-04:00Five Pointz Field Trip and Pumpkin Carving Photos<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Excited to be getting out of class</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mural Club Artists</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and the art teacher</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pumpkin Carving</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Monique" and her purple wig...I can't figure out how to rotate pictures in this blog, sorry!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-gM_T2S-3qE/TMo8mtzL-7I/AAAAAAAAACA/mKfq52mZtFQ/s1600/DSC09034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_-gM_T2S-3qE/TMo8mtzL-7I/AAAAAAAAACA/mKfq52mZtFQ/s320/DSC09034.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carolyn and her "favorite acquaintance" </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RC- one of Mr. B's resource room kids, never without a smile on his face, and always looking to give lots of hugs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mostly my French club kids</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We brought all the pumpkins upstairs and left them on Mr. V's desks. I was lucky enough to get to see him this morning as he walked into his classroom to this... </td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-2402570108803544582010-10-28T23:00:00.000-04:002010-10-28T23:08:24.299-04:00End of Midterms Week"Ms. C, you know, it really bothers me when people think that <i>resource</i> means we're dumb. I think it's great. It just means we need a little help to stay focused and all...we're lucky! Like, have you heard the word 'special education'? That's not us is that? Because that makes us sound like we're stupid or something, and a lot of people say they want to get out of resource, but I would never want out of resource!" <br />
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JT said this to me after school today as he was finishing his global midterm, and my heart actually broke a little. I had a good long talk with him about what an IEP is and how students end up with them and why some students just don't understand because no one has ever explained it to them. He was also really bummed today because he got kicked off the basketball team since he's failing 2 classes, so I promised I'd help him work towards getting his grades up so he could get back on the team. I'm actually really glad that happened, I think it'll be a good reality check to get him back into gear. <br />
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Midterms week is almost over, and as hectic as it has been, it's also been really...interesting. I haven't gotten a single one of my prep or lunch periods all week, and I've had some students in my classroom 4 or 5 periods a day. I'm getting to see their personalities come through more and more. <br />
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I don't think I've ever mentioned Monique in this blog because she's not a huge character in my class, but I realized this week that if I was still in high school, I would want her to be my best friend. She's like a big sweet mom, and every once in a while she throws you this hysterical sarcastic comment that makes you just want to give her a big hug. I'm really worried about her because she's currently failing a bunch of classes, and she is <i>not</i> one of my students that goofs off and doesn't do the work. She's my only student not classified as LD (learning disability). Monique's classification is TBI (traumatic brain injury). Though I don't know the story behind what happened, she is perfectly perfectly normal, it just takes a longer for her to take notes and process information, and I think most of her classes move a little too quickly though. I absolutely adore her for her patience and am realizing that I really need to find a way to keep her up to speed!<br />
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<i> </i>I also just found out that I am in the weekly TFA digest under "corps member spotlight"! Check it out!<br />
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(way way way at the bottom) <a href="http://view.email.teachforamerica.org/?j=fe631675746603757517&m=ff291c797561&ls=fdbd1570756c0d7f7d15777c61&l=fe5c15767c6501787316&s=fe5b1d72746c007e7111&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe2b16787c65047f7c1772">Teach for America Weekly Digest 10/28/2010</a>Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-9667169408714036262010-10-27T19:05:00.000-04:002010-10-27T19:05:28.111-04:00yay!!!All of my students that took the Algebra 3 midterm passed!!!! The lowest grade was a 72 (Arnelle, who literally caught up on 2 weeks of info in 2 hours), and the highest was 100 (JT!!!). When JT showed me I actually cried. He was so happy, and I spent the whole day following him around and making him tell all the other teachers how well he did. <br />
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Today was also a mural club trip to 5 pointz graffiti lot in Queens and we had a pumpkin carving party after school, so I have pictures to post soon!Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-81527820106436246212010-10-22T02:16:00.000-04:002010-10-22T18:17:25.905-04:00Past my Bedtime<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">I <i>dread</i> Thursdays every week, because I have grad school on the Upper East Side from 7-9:15. Since the earliest I can leave school is 4:30, I don't have enough time to go home before class, so I stay late and do work, go to class, and don't get home until around 10:30/11pm....and lately I've been so exhausted I fall asleep before 10! It's almost 11 and I think I'm only still up because I had to have a ton of coffee to make it through class. I'm going to be a zombie tomorrow.<div><br />
</div><div>After my slightly depressing entry today, I had to make a quick post because I am <i>so proud</i> of two of my students today. Arnelle, as I mentioned, is finally back, and she's shown a lot of initiative in catching up on everything she missed. She came during lunch and stayed for an hour and a half with me after school today. We worked on Biology (together, because I had no idea what was going on in Biology) and she caught up on about 3 or 4 days worth of Algebra in a half hour. Without me even saying anything I heard her tell one of her friends she "learned her lesson and isn't going to miss any more school." I also made her a "to do list" for tonight (things to study/review before she can make up a few of the 7 or 8 quizzes/tests she missed while she was gone), and I'm excited to see if she actually does it (I have a good feeling she will). I think this one small little victory was something I really needed to show me that sometimes I do make a difference, even if it's just a little!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Cristy, who I haven't mentioned a ton in this blog, has also made me really happy the past few days. She is currently failing Algebra and English (she has so much trouble with Math especially), but she's been working so so hard and watching all the Algebra concepts we were working on during the midterm review today finally <i>click</i> with her made me happier than I could express in words! I'm just really nervous because I would have sworn that she would get an A or B on the last math test, and she got a 65. It'll break my heart if that happens on the midterm too. I know she knows it, but for some reason a lot of my students freeze up on the tests.</div></div>Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-71228522984777204312010-10-20T21:40:00.000-04:002010-10-20T21:45:43.306-04:00Underwhelmed<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-gM_T2S-3qE/TL-bOpKfIeI/AAAAAAAAABc/e4edXKdYLW4/s1600/edu11+(1).gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_-gM_T2S-3qE/TL-bOpKfIeI/AAAAAAAAABc/e4edXKdYLW4/s320/edu11+(1).gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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A lot of my fellow TFA-ers seem to be drowning right now in the amount of work they have to do right now...lesson planning, making tests, grading papers, checking homework, etc. For me, the only way I can describe how I've felt is <i>underwhelmed</i>. I don't have tests to give or grades to track...and half of the lessons I write I have to throw out the window last minute when I find out that there's a big test coming up in one of their classes or I realize half my students don't know their multiplication tables. It sounds ridiculous, to complain that I don't have enough to do, but it's more that I'm feeling a little helpless. </div><div><br />
</div><div>My role as a teacher is so undefined. I don't teach one particular subject, so I feel like it's my job to make sure my students do well in <i>all </i>of their subjects. This would be perfectly reasonable if I taught a self-contained class and I saw these kids all day, but I only see them one or two periods out of the day! Not to mention how difficult it is for me to know what they are doing in Science, History, and English at all times when I am never in those classes. I need to narrow down the focus of my class so we're not so all over the place (especially since there is no possible way I could help them with biology or chemistry anyway), but I still haven't quite figured out how to do this. </div><div><br />
</div><div>On a somewhat lighter note, today's "Do Now" was <b>"Write about what you imagine your life will be like 10 years from now."</b> Second period talked about how they wanted to be vets, lawyers, basketball players, therapists, etc. Seventh period: "I'm going to be a drug lord and make mad money. No seriously, you need to know chemistry and math to be good at that. Those are the only two classes I'm passing." This, by the way, was the first time Jay has ever actually <i>done</i> the Do Now. <br />
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</div><div>The rest of the period I fought to get them to prepare for midterms. Jack (who, as tough as he pretends to be, is a big teddy bear), spent the period trying to come up with names for Carolyn's baby, and JT took the highlighter I gave him to help him focus on his test and drew little yellow polka dots <i>all over</i> his entire history test (this was the third day he was working on the test). Arnelle is <i>finally</i> back in school after being absent for almost two weeks, and I realized today that she went from passing all of her classes to only passing gym and Resource (which doesn't even count as a credit for graduation). Midterms are next week, and grades are due on the 31st. There are no words to describe how nervous I am for my students!!</div></div>Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7517287063172557712.post-27368324682803859482010-10-17T19:34:00.000-04:002010-10-17T19:34:13.171-04:00Last week in a nutshellI proctored the PSATs for my 13 students in a separate room. I had four IEP annual reviews the next day, so I was working on writing one of them while they were taking the test. I look up to see Dennis, who is usually a perfectly behaved gentleman in my class, standing next to his desk, in the middle of <i>stripping</i>.<br />
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Me: <i>DENNIS.</i> WHAT are you DOING?<br />
Dennis: *Stops before taking his shirt off, looking shocked, shrugs* What? It's hot in here.<br />
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*Later*<br />
Denis: Miss, I don't mean to disrespect, but Carolyn is flicking boogers at me.<br />
Carolyn: *Looks at me with a huge, guilty smile, with her fingers 2 inches away from her nose* No I wasn't...<br />
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In the middle of perfect silence JT shouts out: "I'M FRESH!" and then farts loudly. <br />
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*The next day*<br />
Me: Carolyn, tell Mr. L (the counselor) what you were doing yesterday when you were supposed to be taking the PSAT<br />
Carolyn: I was picking my nose and throwing it at Dennis<br />
Mr. L: Carolyn, you <i>still</i> do that? What did we talk about last year?<br />
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Me: Dennis, what got into you yesterday?<br />
Dennis: I think I had too much candy.<br />
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Cristy: Miss, you need a boyfriend.<br />
*Rest of class gets off topic and begins to brainstorm*<br />
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*After her IEP Review*<br />
Carolyn: That HAG made me feel like I was retarded (referring to my supervisor, who really was talking to her like she was two)<br />
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Me: I'm very impressed with how silently Jay is working right now, he's the only one on-task<br />
JT: YEAH that's because he has his headphones on!<br />
Jay: Snitch!Christy Coirohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10270784455949998273noreply@blogger.com0