Year 3, Week 5

It has been a busy week. I'm on schedule for my task list, but it's taken every moment of my day. I've even been missing my usual staff room chatting.

I have had a few notable successes this week. Some of them, I must admit, are a result of my time at Relay. It's not that Relay is teaching me new techniques, but rather it is reminding me of things I should already be doing. For example, one of the most basic teaching techniques is Quiet Power, or speaking in a calm, quiet tone in order to command respect. This week, when one of my classes started acting up, I lowered my voice, upped my energy, and Quiet Powered them to mastery.

I took another piece of advice: I asked our Relay leader (and North Star founder) Mr. V for some advice regarding a particularly distracted student. He suggested I choose one challenging behavior (giggling) and create a visual individual behavior plan. Giggles gets a Post-It on his desk every day, and is allowed 3 giggles (or other weird noises). Each time he giggles, he gets a mark on the Post-It. Every mark over three is a dollar lost, every mark under 3 is a dollar gained. So far, he's hit 3 exactly for each of the last two days

I'm also doing volcanoes this week, which is the easiest thing for engagement. Like, I just have to think about volcanoes, and all students sit upright with hands in the air.

Wednesday was my week for Sunshine Breakfast. My group decided to do a "tastes of the world" theme. I held down Eastern Europe with some blueberry kugel and blintzes. We also had arepas from Columbia, spicy eggs from Nigeria, and sausage rolls from England. It was delicious.

Today I had my first observation from my Relay professor. I was pretty disappointed by her feedback, which was accurate, but definitely underwhelming. I guess I've gotten too used to being big fish in little-ish pond in my school, so getting new feedback from another onlooker, who hasn't seen the huge strides I've made in two years, was a little frustrating.

That's not to say it isn't valuable feedback. This year, it looks we'll be working on my teacher radar. That is, we're working on my ability to know what is going on in every corner of the room, and dealing with it as efficiently as possible. This will help with the late-in-the-day giggles, which are either a problem that first started in my classroom this year, or I just never noticed until recently.

I got to boost my ego back up again in the afternoon, when I actually helped facilitate a radar practice for new teachers. I kind of really enjoy giving feedback to teachers (and of course watching them furiously writing it down).

I had a cold for most of the week, which made school especially challenging, but still managed a few good runs. Saturday, I had an exceptional 5-miler, and did an easy 3 yesterday. Tonight I went to the gym. I need to get back into a routine.

Next week's goals:
Take a step back in the classroom, to get a wider view
5 days of workouts

Detention Updates

Okay, the classes are definitely becoming less easy to manage. I guess the honeymoon period of the school year is over. Behavior management is more effort, and I can't decide whether that is the cause or result of my exhaustion this week. So tired.

I earned 10 points today for having a lunch date with the student who threw a tantrum the other day. I wanted to help rebuild our relationship, and I actually had a good time. I learned about her career aspirations to be a fashion model or corrections officer (like her aunt). TFA would be so proud of me.

I think this is just one of those weeks. I raced through the first three weeks eagerly, and my energy is coming crashing down. I should probably be impressed - I think last year I felt like this by the end of week 1. I also haven't really gotten in a good workout. I'm generally sort of sore and achy, especially my feet, ankles, back, knees, and everything else that might be used in walking or standing. I plan on having a better week next week.

Fortunately, tonight is our monthly staff dinner adventure (organized by me, including about 6-8 teachers). Tonight is Indian food. I can't wait. I think I'll start dreaming about it now.

I have so much detention this week. There's my usual Tuesday afternoon detention, plus Wednesday and Friday lunch detention. Also, I'm up for the rotating Thursday detention. Yay.

Detention today wasn't quite as smooth as usual today. This year, Homework Center (after school program for students who are less than consistent with their homework) is only Monday - Wednesday, so detention is fuller today than on Tuesday. It takes a lot more effort on my part.

And EVERYONE needs help with something or other. Or maybe just attention. Could that be it?

I've learned a few tricks. For example, no students are allowed to raise hands until detention work is handed out. Additionally, nobody can ask to use the bathroom until one assignment is completed. By that point, they usually get so distracted by their work that they don't need to go anymore. Funny how that works.

The last two lessons were on calculating slope, which was a huge challenge last year. I probably had 3 or 4 review/reteach days last year. This year (although I haven't graded the exit tickets yet, so I don't have any real data) is so much more successful. After the first 2-day lesson, I have (I think) 70-80% mastery, compared to last year's 40-50%. Although, tomorrow's quiz will be the real judge.

I love the last five minutes of detention, when students are tired of fighting, and are just doing their homework. It's quiet, productive, and makes me feel like a good teacher.

One of Those Days

This was one of those days. And not even the whole day, just the last class. And that class was awful.

Okay, since I'm an awesome teacher, the first 10 minutes were a disaster, the next 25 were a little rough, and the end was actually pretty good. But it was rough for a while. Whenever students decide to feed off each other, especially at the end of the day, it spirals downhill very quickly. I don't know what to do if a student starts being ridiculous, and then (loudly) asks to go the the dean's office because I'm bothering her. Do I give her what she wants? Or keep her in class to disturb the class? I opted to keep her in the back of the room for 10 minutes, so she would go to the dean's office on my terms, but it ended up costing a lot of class time lost to other student's feeding off her tantrum.

Okay, it's not that good of a story, I think I'm just over-tired. I got angry, although did an okay job of not losing my temper. Better than last year, anyway, and at the very least, I had that class 100% for the last 20 minutes. We got (mostly) done what we needed to do.

And now, students keep trying to come up with excuses to get out of detention. (Can I go ask this teacher for this thing? No, I'll help you. Can I go get this resource for my homework? Let me see your homework - you don't need that.) They're not going anywhere. I am the ruler of detention!

Yes, I really need sleep. I haven't slept well the last couple of nights. I don't think it's stress - I've actually been unusually relaxed for this job lately. Hopefully, I'll get some catch-up sleep tonight.

I can't decide whether to run tonight. I'm in the "off-season", so I should be a little more relaxed about running. I also can push this week from a T-Th-Sa-Su to a W-F-Sa-Su instead. I'm really sore from Sunday's weight lifting (and kickball). I'm not 100% sure that it's all muscle sore and not knee sore, so I should probably take a rest. You know what? I'll compromise. I'll hop on the bike trainer for a half hour and call it even.

Yom Kippur 2013

9:56 AM. Hungry, but not so bad. Kind of like any other Saturday morning, when I'm too lazy to make breakfast. Watched season finale of Dance Moms.

I read over last year's Yom Kippur post. It included my recent action steps for school. I am proud to have made all of those steps part of my normal routine, but also to have seen the direct effect of these habits on my classroom. I am consistently bringing energy (and joy!) into my classroom, holding students accountable for accuracy on written work, and (trying) to keep all kids engaged in the lesson.

Teaching is getting easier. Obviously, there are many things I can improve, but having a class run smoothly and having the same success as last year is taking so much less effort.

This week I received more advice about becoming an awesome teacher. I was told that if I want to one day be a Head Science Dude, I need to first work on being a super-duper-awesome teacher. My IL and I watched a video of part of my class, and found a few areas of improvement. My current action step is to reword improvised CFUs (checks for understanding) with the ideal answer in mind, so it is more clear what I am asking. This is a weakness of mine, because I'll reach a point in the class and want to lead the kids to make a connection, so I'll ask (what I think is) a leading question, only to have the student stare blankly back at me, or give an answer that is completely different from what I had intended. This leads to a 1-2 minute series of leading questions and student prompts, which completely derails the class and kills momentum. By just asking the initial question more directly, I can achieve the intended result and keep the pace.

Friday the 13th was full of unlucky frustrations. First, there was an accident on the Parkway in the morning, and I had to take a detour through backroads-suburban New Jersey, and still arrived at work about a half hour later than I had expected. I spent the morning scrambling to prep for my lesson, which was in another classroom due to the half day schedule. (About 1 Friday per month is a half day for PD.)

Then, morning circle (which was a lovely discussion on "The path to awesome") ran 15 minutes late, so I had to cram an already-over-planned 55 minute lesson into 40 minutes. It was frustrating for me and the students, and I felt a little chicken-head-cut-off, but I think I gave them the tools they'll need to read challenging texts using content knowledge from previous readings.

I kept that class a few minutes late, because they had typing next, and we're always encouraged to shorten typing class (as long as the classroom isn't needed for another class). When I tried to transition to typing, we noticed that another class was already in the computer lab. Uh oh. I brought the class back, got them started on their science homework, and checked the half day schedule. It turns out that the computer lab was double-booked. After some panicky emails, the typing teacher relieved me from "study hall", and I was able to use my abbreviated prep period to get some stuff done before afternoon PD.

My second two classes ran very smoothly, and the students were challenged and engaged. Besides, it was Lab Coat Friday.

11:17 AM. A little smelly. A little light-headed. A shower would be nice.

I don't feel atone-y yet, but I'm sure I will by about 4PM. This is the holiest day of the year. It's the day that jews reflect on the past year and atone for their sins. The last 10 days should have been atoning for sins against people, and today is for atoning for sins against God.

That is not why I fast. I fast to atone for sins against myself. I include any wrongdoing against anyone else under the category of sins against myself. Mostly, I said some things I shouldn't have. I'm not perfect. I usually apologize, if I know I did something wrong. What worries me is that I have done things that I'm not aware of. I don't know how to atone for these sins.

(I guess I was wrong, I guess I am feeling atone-y.)

I also fast because it gives my body a reset after all the junk I ate (and drank) this summer. It's at the end of triathlon season, so I don't feel like it's really ruining a training weekend (although I did squeeze in a lovely run last night before dinner). It helps me feel like I'm starting the year with a clean slate, physically.

I appreciate that the Jewish New Year coincides with the new school year. It gives me extra ritual and tradition to add to the usual start-of-school-year rituals of the teacher.

I've decided that my personal goal in school is to pretend to be Head Science Dude until I officially recieve the title. This week, I sent out the first weekly science department email. It included a reminder for Lab Coat Friday, some shout outs to fellow science teachers, and a fun science fact. It took five minutes of my time, but it made some smiles. I also realized that I need to spend more time observing/assisting the 5th and 6th grade science teachers. The younger kids are much more difficult, and having an extra adult in the classroom is always helpful. Besides, I can't shout out teachers I don't observe!

That's it for now. There may or may not be more reflecting later.

Fool Me Once

Today, three people tried to pull a fast one on me. They didn't get away with it.

Part of last night's homework assignment was to get the students' quiz grade signed. This is part of my mission to communicate better with families, and to set the precedent early that families are included in their children's education, rather than waiting until February to call and complain about something or other. On each quiz, every other Friday, there is a space at the top of the page for me to write the quiz grade, the current marking period grade (now, quarter 1), and comments. Immediately below this is a line for parent signature. The students knew when they sat for the quiz that they would be getting it signed. No unclear expectations here.

Yesterday afternoon, when I handed back the quiz, a student pointed out to me that I had made a grading error. He had an 80% on the quiz, a B for the quarter, and no comments. I fixed the mistake, crossed out the 80%, and replaced it with an 84%.

This morning, the signed quiz was handed in -- but the B was crossed out and replaced with an A. I knew for sure that I didn't do that, and even checked my gradebook to confirm. I immediately called the student's mother, and told her that he did, in fact, have a B. Using the advice from Relay last night, I used words like "we" and "we'll let him know he can't pull this on us". I then spoke to the student  took some dollars, and let him know that this wouldn't happen again. One.

We have a new system for cell phone storage in detention. Last year, students dropped their cell phones in plastic bins designated by homeroom in the morning. In the afternoon, phones were handed back out. Those students in detention left their phones in the bins, which were taken to the detention room and handed out again at 5. As a result of some inconsistencies in the system, a cell phone went missing. Now, we use lockboxes. I know the code for my homeroom's lockbox. The only way this works is if detention students get their phones back in homeroom, and then put them in the detention lockbox. This requires some degree of honesty from the students.

About halfway through detention today, a cell phone rang once, then stopped. The sound wasn't coming from the lockbox, and no cell phone rings only once without a human cue. I saw the girl that jumped, but didn't see the phone. I decided to give her an out. I asked if anyone forgot to put their phone in the bin. One kid raised his hand, and I took his phone, which was off. I didn't take dollars, because it could've been an honest mistake. There was still a phone out.

I pulled the allegedly-guilty girl aside, and asked her point-blank if she had a phone. I gave her another out - I asked if she wanted to check her bag to see if she forgot she had her phone in it. She loudly shuffles through her bag - "I have my lotion, and my chap stick, but no cell phone. I bring it every day, but I left it in my room today." Yeah, uh huh.

Inspired, I sent an email to her homeroom teacher, asking if he had given her a phone in homeroom, because she was claiming she didn't have one. Once the email was sent, I realized I wasn't sure if I had sent the email to the right place. While I was busy trying to open up the schedule, to confirm her homeroom teacher, the aforementioned teacher stormed into the room, waved the girl over, and I heard the fallout for several minutes. She got in some good trouble for that one. Two.

After school, I had a really, really great run. I ran pretty quickly, although I don't have an exact time because I didn't track it. The big difference was my partner. My partner and I had a calendar entry for this run, so when we both didn't want to go today, we had to anyway. We did, and the minutes flew by. We did a swift 3 miles, while catching up on summer stories.

I was pretty proud about outsmarting 12-year-olds, at least in the sense that they now know that they can't get away with anything in my classroom (I don't want to think about what was going on last year, when I was new to North Star). True to my PD goal of relationship-building, though, I started to feel guilty that I probably took several steps backwards in building relationships with these students. I then realized that it was an improvement that I felt guilty about this, and was okay with that.

On the way home from my run, I had about 1/4 tank of gas, so I stopped to fill up at one of those old gas stations that has mechanical, not electronic, pumps. I get filled up, the attendant takes my card inside, and brings out a receipt.

I usually reset the trip odometer when I fill the tank, so I can calculate gas mileage and get proud whenever I hit 28-29 mpg. I took a look at the receipt today, and saw that I had purchased 10.5 gallons. I was expecting more like 8-9 gallons, since I still had a quarter tank left. Suspicious, I took a glance at the pump: 9 gallons. And exactly $5 less than the amount on my receipt. I called the guy over, who apologized profusely and claimed that he had no idea what happened, and that he needed to call the guy who did the pumps, and that he was so sorry. I accepted a $5 bill and raced out of there. Don't go there (Getty on Somerset St in Watchung, just off the roundabout). Three.

I hope that today was an anomaly, because I don't know if I have the energy to live this meticulously every day.

I'd like to end by saying that my second class today started off so fantastically that I awarded a team dollar within the first 5 minutes of class, then pulled out the video camera and started taping in case anything happened that would be useful for a Relay assignment. It was an awesome class.

Short Weekend

It's frustrating when the first weekend of the school year is a 3-day weekend, and then the second weekend isn't. I'd love another day of weekend. Please?

Last Friday, we had our first quiz. The average was 76%. That is a very mediocre score. I'm proud that the test was much more rigorous than last year's first quiz, but I would've liked a higher average. At the very least, I've let the kids know I'm serious. I think I need to include more rigorous multiple choice so they can practice. I also need to review some scientific method content (as usual).

Less than one week after the lab reports were due, and I have all except for 1, and that 1 was absent all of last week. It makes a huge difference having the first major assignment in the second week of school, rather than a month later. Kids are still taking everything seriously.

This weekend, I did my first long run in a while. I was disappointed that I only lasted 5 miles, but it felt good to do it anyway. The weather was gorgeous, but I waited a little too long to leave, and it had warmed up quite a bit. I also did a gym workout and a 1.5 mile run on Sunday. I know I should be training on a bike, but I also need to refresh my triathlon head, so I'm not forcing myself to do anything I don't want to. So, when I check the weather forecast in hopes it'll tell me it's too rainy to ride this weekend, it's time to choose another activity. Same with swimming.

I also visited my parents this weekend. I found a dress for my sister's wedding, and for the engagement party. I keep getting more and more excited about all of these things.

Tonight I have Relay. I'm thinking positive about it. It's a session on building relationships with families and students, so I could probably use help in that area anyway!

Getting Easy

I have actually been given another task by my principal - to read over the 8th grade interim assessment - because I'm so under control with my current tasks. I had a great meeting with the principal today. She observed my classroom, had good things to say, and then gave me suggestions. I think this year she will be a great resource at helping me achieve my personal professional development goals (i.e. building relationships with people) in the classroom. She suggested that I build relationships with the skills students in my classroom by engaging them on their own terms, such as telling a student during independent practice, "Pay extra attention to #3, so you can share your answer with the class." This makes sure every student is part of the "culture of achievement", without surprising students who can't necessarily handle the surprise.

Today, our first lab report was due. And I did a MUCH better job with it. First, I gave them almost everything they needed to write. All they had to do was aggregate the information and present it professionally. Next time, I'll let them do some of the work. Additionally, I made my expectations on presentation clear, and reinforced, and reinforced. A bunch of students surprised me with great Microsoft Word documents. (They could choose to type or write in ink.) Only 5 students ended up with homework detention from science! 2 didn't do it, 2 didn't finish it, and 1 wrote it in pencil. It only took about 12 phone calls from students last night. Next year's goal: 100% complete, 0 phone calls.

Last night I had a briefly heart-breaking moment, though. My last phone call of the evening (other than the 11:45 PM one, which was not answered) was from a student's mother, who had just lost her job, and couldn't afford internet, and could her son bring in her assignment on a flash drive? Of course he can!

I had an awesome tempo run last night; I managed a 3.3 mile run, with the middle 2 miles under 10 min/mi. I was pretty proud, and it felt great. It's that perfect time of year when it is cool when I get home, but not yet dark. I also reached an accomplishment today: I actually thought to myself, Oh, it's only a lifting day, that'll be easy. Yeah, I'm that cool, I can have workout days that are easy.

Week 2

Time for another Tuesday afternoon detention update. Only, today's detention is totally under control. Actually, everything is totally under control.

For the most part, my classes are running really smoothly. I have a lot more engagement, a lot less off-task behavior, and it takes much less effort on my part. This third-year thing is awesome so far. Of course, we haven't had any assessments yet, so who knows?

I get to do everything over again, and I get to do it better. For example, today I taught my kids how to write a lab report, but I knew what to teach and what to reinforce and what to emphasize. I did a better job of scaffolding. I haven't seen the finished product yet, but I have high hopes.

I want the kids this year to learn how to follow directions. It'll save me a lot of headaches and phone calls if they learn to read the *&@$ directions on their own. As lesson #1, I put the following on their homework over the weekend: Directions: This week, you will begin learning how to write a lab report. Actively read this passage about the importance of lab reports. Answer questions 1-3 in complete sentences. Leave question 4 blank to show that you read these directions.

About half the kids did #4. It was remarkably satisfying to point it out to them during class today.

I still really, really like this school. For many reasons.

First, this morning's circle was a discussion of current events in Syria. With 7th and 8th graders. Yeah, our school is that cool. Additionally, I received these two emails this weekend:

Hey Robin,

Just checking – do you need any time this Wednesday for Rosh Hashanah? Or want to leave a bit early or anything?

Let me know if so! J

[Director of Operations]

Hi Robin,

Thanks for sending Week 4 lesson plans so freaking early!  You rock!

Attached with (minimal) feedback.  They look great!

[Principal]

I didn't run this weekend, but that is because I did a 10-mile hike and spent the rest of the weekend being happy and sore. I plan to return to my regularly scheduled (but relaxed, not really scheduled) running program today! If my feet stop hurting!