I have a lot of feelings on this topic.
As teachers we sacrifice all day erryday.
What do we sacrifice you ask?
Well here is a short list:
-bladders, peeing once a day is really not good....
-sanity, if one more student asks me how to do the thing i JUST EXPLAINED THREE TIMES Ill snap
-money, money that we don't have we spend on classroom supplies, decorations, target dollar section and snacks
-sleep, I have legit woken up in the middle of the night before in a cold sweat over something that has happened at school
-health, if one more kid sneezes on me and THEN covers their mouths I'm checking myself into the hospital for an extended stay
However that's not the sacrifice I want to talk about today. I want to discuss when we decided it was okay to sacrifice the safety, mental health and education of the majority of a classroom for the "good of" one student.
This subject is so touchy because as teachers we have vowed to do whatever we can for all of our students....but how far does that go? I have been seeing this a lot lately where one student can destroy a classroom. What do I mean by destroy? Oh I mean legitimately destroy. Throw chairs, tip desks, rip things from the walls and when they are done with the room they move on to the hallway where they wreak havoc on book bags and projects that have been hung on the walls.
Here is where my issues come in.
We preach about students with trauma and how we can help them which I am all for. But do we realize that those students who are destroying things and hitting other students daily and whatever are creating an environment of trauma for the rest of the class.
We are sacrificing the education and safety of 22 for 1...
Students are afraid to be at school because they don't know when they're going to get slapped or punched by another student. They aren't sure when to expect a chair to be thrown through the classroom or a desk to be flipped. They are on edge all day because at any minute those students could snap and create a trauma filled environment.
Am I saying that we need to ship the "bad kids" off immediately? No! I don't think any teacher would say that. But our system of "consequences" are complete shit....sorry I cussed but it makes me really fired up. Students that have substantial behavioral issues need help with fixing their behaviors, I get that, but they also need consequences.
Letting them go to a room and play with a bunch of toys and bounce on balls after they have just destroyed learning for 20 other students in their classroom is NOT OKAY! Do they need a structured environment to get that angry energy out? Sure! But after that there must be a consequence that we stick to. This is a consistent issue that I have seen in so many schools. One student can hit and punch students and teachers all day every day and there is literally no consequence because they are a student who has been identified as having witnessed trauma in their life. Then another student does that and BAM they're sent home....how is that consistent?
Kids aren't stupid....they pick up on that....if we want to fix behaviors we need to figure out a system that treats kids with kindness, compassion and expectations. It is okay to have high expectations of our students....in fact teachers are required to have high expectations for their students academically so why can't we have high expectations behaviorally too?
I clearly don't have the answer...but something needs to change because it is not working. Ask any teacher...they'll agree...
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
My brain is melting
Well guys....its happening....my brain is melting.
I thought when I became tenured (which I am!) I was going to be golden. I thought that I wouldn't have to worry anymore and my teacher magic would float around the room like sparkly pixie dust and all my kids would fall under my spell and be perfect.
I was wrong...obvi....also I'm being dramatic...I didn't really think I was magical. HOWEVER! I did think that I would feel more prepared in my teacher life this year. I. WAS. SO. VERY. WRONG!!!!!
I swear I walked around the first few days literally thinking "have I done this before?"
The answer of course is: yes
The problem is that things never stop changing! This is a big problem...we keep adding and changing and tweaking and we never give anything enough time to see if it actually works!
If its this hard for freaking adults to follow HOW DO YOU THINK IT IS FOR OUR STUDENTS!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?! I added a lot of ?!s because it really annoys me.
I might have taken a certain test this afternoon with my babies and it might have been the most stressful and trying thing I've ever done....so maybe the wound is a little too fresh...but I still think we need to stop changing things at the drop of a hat.
"Their points didn't triple with this test!!!"
"I know what to do!!!"
"CHANGE IT ALL!!"
"yesssss yes that will fix it"
We just pile assessments and test and data on teachers and its overwhelming and it forces teachers to focus their energy on things that might not be actually improving students education.
Im not sure if you all know this but teachers aren't perfect....Im sorry I know I just burst SO MANY BUBBLES! But we aren't...we make mistakes and get lost in thought and don't have enough hours in our day and we do our best but when we are overloaded with bologna....our brains become bologna....
Its late (actually its only 9:07 but I literally feel like Ive been awake for 34 hours) and I know im rambling.
But in conclusion if anyone ever says "kindergarten is easy!" to me I am going to make them test 18 little 5 year olds on a computer test where they have to drag and drop, click, move the mouse and find words ON THEIR OWN within the first 15 days of school.....the end goodnight
I thought when I became tenured (which I am!) I was going to be golden. I thought that I wouldn't have to worry anymore and my teacher magic would float around the room like sparkly pixie dust and all my kids would fall under my spell and be perfect.
I was wrong...obvi....also I'm being dramatic...I didn't really think I was magical. HOWEVER! I did think that I would feel more prepared in my teacher life this year. I. WAS. SO. VERY. WRONG!!!!!
I swear I walked around the first few days literally thinking "have I done this before?"
The answer of course is: yes
The problem is that things never stop changing! This is a big problem...we keep adding and changing and tweaking and we never give anything enough time to see if it actually works!
If its this hard for freaking adults to follow HOW DO YOU THINK IT IS FOR OUR STUDENTS!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?! I added a lot of ?!s because it really annoys me.
I might have taken a certain test this afternoon with my babies and it might have been the most stressful and trying thing I've ever done....so maybe the wound is a little too fresh...but I still think we need to stop changing things at the drop of a hat.
"Their points didn't triple with this test!!!"
"I know what to do!!!"
"CHANGE IT ALL!!"
"yesssss yes that will fix it"
We just pile assessments and test and data on teachers and its overwhelming and it forces teachers to focus their energy on things that might not be actually improving students education.
Im not sure if you all know this but teachers aren't perfect....Im sorry I know I just burst SO MANY BUBBLES! But we aren't...we make mistakes and get lost in thought and don't have enough hours in our day and we do our best but when we are overloaded with bologna....our brains become bologna....
Its late (actually its only 9:07 but I literally feel like Ive been awake for 34 hours) and I know im rambling.
But in conclusion if anyone ever says "kindergarten is easy!" to me I am going to make them test 18 little 5 year olds on a computer test where they have to drag and drop, click, move the mouse and find words ON THEIR OWN within the first 15 days of school.....the end goodnight
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Were you prepared?
Becoming a teacher requires work....lots of work.....long hours, lots of classes, projects, clinical hours, student teaching and much more.... we come out of college with our degree and our ambition but are we really prepared to manage a classroom completely on our own?
NO!
I will tell you right now that we are not prepared to deal with real life classrooms with real life children and real life drama. THE DRAMA IS REAL GUYS!
I am not here to poo poo my professors and teachers that I had at good ol ISU. They were wonderful. I learned so much and I definitely wouldn't have the teaching skills I have now if I hadn't taken those classes.
The problem I am seeing with the whole education system right now are teachers who have been prepared for a classroom of 17-21 students who listen when you say something, know how to tie their shoes, would never think to cuss at you let alone put a hand on you and have the basic skills to behave in a classroom setting.
The reality....most classroom teachers are faced with students who don't hear you the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 15th time you give a direction and when you go over to kindly but sternly explain the direction just ONE MORE TIME they tell you to F**K OFF because we "do too much" or they smack their lips at you because HOW DARE YOU try and help them learn....God forbid!
The kicker? This special friend needs to stay in your classroom....this special friend cannot spend his or her day hanging out in the office and let me tell you now that if you try to send said special friend to the office they will come beeboppin back after having a talking to about their disrespect lookin at you like "Im back b**ch" and your blood will boil. It will actually boil.
I am getting off topic.
I've been chatting with a coworker lately about how colleges need to teach teachers how to properly manage a classroom. These classes need to be taught by ACTUAL TEACHERS! Teachers who are still actively teaching and can give real life examples and ways to help in different situations.
I did not have this. I don't even remember taking a classroom management class....I might have but it made such little impact on my teaching that Ive literally forgotten about it. I do remember making an entire unit binder with tabs and color coded things and sheet protectors and it was lovely...BUT ASK ME HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE CREATED A UNIT IN MY 5 YEARS?!?!?! never...not once...because thats not real life.
I know I babble and this might not be a cohesive post at all and I KNOW its full of grammatical errors....obviously I didn't take much away from my college English classes...but do you get what I'm saying?
There is such a high turnover rate in teaching because
-yes we are underpaid (you all know it....)
-yes teaching is stressful in any school in any classroom in any city
-yes we purchase a lot of our own materials and thats difficult on our already tiny salaries
-support is sometimes lacking greatly
-but truly I think that there is a big turnover because sometimes teachers are just truly not prepared for what teaching is really like.
Universities need to start having a Coming to Jesus 101 course (I cannot take credit for the name) especially for teachers who are planning to teach in an urban setting. This course will be blunt and straight forward and eye opening. It will teach real life skills to manage a class when you have to do it all your own. It will point out instances you never thought would happen....
EXAMPLE-student A stands on his table and screams at the top of his lungs throughout your entire math lesson because "HE DOESNT LIKE SCIENCE" which makes no sense...because youre teaching math...but to him, this makes sense and he is PISSED... when you try to get him down he jumps like a lemur from table to table, he then gets to the book shelf....and continues to climb.....you have 20 other students in your room watching this unfold...you call the office and request assistance but NO ONE COMES....what do you do....
Yes that happened to me one year....no I didn't know what to do....I think I cried at lunch that day....
Will this Coming to Jesus class fix our teacher shortage? No. Will we still get burnt out, cry, scream, lose our temper and maybe think about selling our organs to make money when we quit teaching? Yes. However I still think that we need to be better prepared.....I will teach the class, you are all welcome to sign up.... it. will. be. riveting.
Honestly sorry about how long this was....and how scattery it was.....I need spring break....
NO!
I will tell you right now that we are not prepared to deal with real life classrooms with real life children and real life drama. THE DRAMA IS REAL GUYS!
I am not here to poo poo my professors and teachers that I had at good ol ISU. They were wonderful. I learned so much and I definitely wouldn't have the teaching skills I have now if I hadn't taken those classes.
The problem I am seeing with the whole education system right now are teachers who have been prepared for a classroom of 17-21 students who listen when you say something, know how to tie their shoes, would never think to cuss at you let alone put a hand on you and have the basic skills to behave in a classroom setting.
The reality....most classroom teachers are faced with students who don't hear you the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 15th time you give a direction and when you go over to kindly but sternly explain the direction just ONE MORE TIME they tell you to F**K OFF because we "do too much" or they smack their lips at you because HOW DARE YOU try and help them learn....God forbid!
The kicker? This special friend needs to stay in your classroom....this special friend cannot spend his or her day hanging out in the office and let me tell you now that if you try to send said special friend to the office they will come beeboppin back after having a talking to about their disrespect lookin at you like "Im back b**ch" and your blood will boil. It will actually boil.
I am getting off topic.
I've been chatting with a coworker lately about how colleges need to teach teachers how to properly manage a classroom. These classes need to be taught by ACTUAL TEACHERS! Teachers who are still actively teaching and can give real life examples and ways to help in different situations.
I did not have this. I don't even remember taking a classroom management class....I might have but it made such little impact on my teaching that Ive literally forgotten about it. I do remember making an entire unit binder with tabs and color coded things and sheet protectors and it was lovely...BUT ASK ME HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE CREATED A UNIT IN MY 5 YEARS?!?!?! never...not once...because thats not real life.
I know I babble and this might not be a cohesive post at all and I KNOW its full of grammatical errors....obviously I didn't take much away from my college English classes...but do you get what I'm saying?
There is such a high turnover rate in teaching because
-yes we are underpaid (you all know it....)
-yes teaching is stressful in any school in any classroom in any city
-yes we purchase a lot of our own materials and thats difficult on our already tiny salaries
-support is sometimes lacking greatly
-but truly I think that there is a big turnover because sometimes teachers are just truly not prepared for what teaching is really like.
Universities need to start having a Coming to Jesus 101 course (I cannot take credit for the name) especially for teachers who are planning to teach in an urban setting. This course will be blunt and straight forward and eye opening. It will teach real life skills to manage a class when you have to do it all your own. It will point out instances you never thought would happen....
EXAMPLE-student A stands on his table and screams at the top of his lungs throughout your entire math lesson because "HE DOESNT LIKE SCIENCE" which makes no sense...because youre teaching math...but to him, this makes sense and he is PISSED... when you try to get him down he jumps like a lemur from table to table, he then gets to the book shelf....and continues to climb.....you have 20 other students in your room watching this unfold...you call the office and request assistance but NO ONE COMES....what do you do....
Yes that happened to me one year....no I didn't know what to do....I think I cried at lunch that day....
Will this Coming to Jesus class fix our teacher shortage? No. Will we still get burnt out, cry, scream, lose our temper and maybe think about selling our organs to make money when we quit teaching? Yes. However I still think that we need to be better prepared.....I will teach the class, you are all welcome to sign up.... it. will. be. riveting.
Honestly sorry about how long this was....and how scattery it was.....I need spring break....
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Crotchety Tuesday
GUYS! I haven't written in so long.....I've been struggling to find something to write about this year and I'll tell you why..... My students this year are so good. Like so so good. I take like 5% credit.....they totally came to me like this.
Usually I write about my students struggles and the things they've taught me, and while I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher this year that's not why I'm writing today.
Lately I have been feeling really hopeless in this career, and I am totally not saying this to get a bunch of sympathy or like an ego boost (however if you feel so compelled.....haha kidding kidding). It is really hard to be a teacher these days....there is always going to be someone higher up making the decisions that impact your classroom every day. Lots of times these higher ups have NO clue what they are talking about. They dole out funds where they think fit and they usually don't have the first clue where the money should actually go.
They make rules and do things that they think will work but in reality it just fluffs* things up entirely and then SURPRISE the problems don't go away and in most cases they get worse.
This whole education system is so flawed and so corrupted in ways that I think that it will never be fixed. This is what has given me that hopeless feeling....I want to fix it but the problem seems too big. There are too many issues that are all pretty big hitters. Basically the education system is the Titanic and we hit that iceberg.....WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSE TO DO!
It also is impossible to keep a brave and professional face when your daily life is so fluffing stressful. I don't have any children that I birthed but you better believe that I have 22 children that I care for like my own during the school day......the worst part is though that most of our students are going through their horrible teenage years and theyre awful to us. They hit, kick, cuss out, lie, go missing, steal, say horribly mean things, outright defy us and refuse to talk to us.
So when our little teens do go haywire we need support to make sure that our other students are still learning....but a lot of times the support isn't there. Sometimes its not the admins fault either...they have rules they have to follow by their higher ups (THOSE DANG HIGHER UPS) and theyre not helpful to anyone!!!
Honestly guys I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore.....basically just being a grumpy little grouch bucket. However these are all real concerns....I just think that there should be a rule in place for anyone that has a hand in making decisions for the education system....you MUST be a teacher for at least 7 years in a public school and have a close personal friend who teaches in a private school before you can make ANY decisions that impact teacher's lives. The end.....JUST BE BETTER EDUCATION SYSTEM! BE BETTERRRRRRRRRR
ALSO. While walking into my apartment today at the end of a very long and stupid day....two guys who were playing a casual game of catch in the WINTER while it was RAINING overthrew the baseball and it hit me square in the back....looking back on it and telling the story to my sister I realize that this is actually a hilarious end to my day....but in the moment it hurt...
The end....most eloquent post ive ever written...
Usually I write about my students struggles and the things they've taught me, and while I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher this year that's not why I'm writing today.
Lately I have been feeling really hopeless in this career, and I am totally not saying this to get a bunch of sympathy or like an ego boost (however if you feel so compelled.....haha kidding kidding). It is really hard to be a teacher these days....there is always going to be someone higher up making the decisions that impact your classroom every day. Lots of times these higher ups have NO clue what they are talking about. They dole out funds where they think fit and they usually don't have the first clue where the money should actually go.
They make rules and do things that they think will work but in reality it just fluffs* things up entirely and then SURPRISE the problems don't go away and in most cases they get worse.
This whole education system is so flawed and so corrupted in ways that I think that it will never be fixed. This is what has given me that hopeless feeling....I want to fix it but the problem seems too big. There are too many issues that are all pretty big hitters. Basically the education system is the Titanic and we hit that iceberg.....WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSE TO DO!
It also is impossible to keep a brave and professional face when your daily life is so fluffing stressful. I don't have any children that I birthed but you better believe that I have 22 children that I care for like my own during the school day......the worst part is though that most of our students are going through their horrible teenage years and theyre awful to us. They hit, kick, cuss out, lie, go missing, steal, say horribly mean things, outright defy us and refuse to talk to us.
So when our little teens do go haywire we need support to make sure that our other students are still learning....but a lot of times the support isn't there. Sometimes its not the admins fault either...they have rules they have to follow by their higher ups (THOSE DANG HIGHER UPS) and theyre not helpful to anyone!!!
Honestly guys I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore.....basically just being a grumpy little grouch bucket. However these are all real concerns....I just think that there should be a rule in place for anyone that has a hand in making decisions for the education system....you MUST be a teacher for at least 7 years in a public school and have a close personal friend who teaches in a private school before you can make ANY decisions that impact teacher's lives. The end.....JUST BE BETTER EDUCATION SYSTEM! BE BETTERRRRRRRRRR
ALSO. While walking into my apartment today at the end of a very long and stupid day....two guys who were playing a casual game of catch in the WINTER while it was RAINING overthrew the baseball and it hit me square in the back....looking back on it and telling the story to my sister I realize that this is actually a hilarious end to my day....but in the moment it hurt...
The end....most eloquent post ive ever written...
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