2 posts from September 2008

More Ups and Downs

Maybe I'm just turning into a wimp, but I was starting to get that hot feeling just trying to explain how commas go before beginning a quote, and at the end of the quote all punctuation is supposed to go on the inside. Then of course, I had a to use a sample sentence that required the class to capitalize and punctuate "mr" as in the abbreviation for "mister." In one class, I couldn't find anyone who could identify a problem with the sentence: 

“I think your spelling has improved,” mr Trudgeon said.

I guess they were tired, or I was boring and un-engaging, or something of the like. But I still went home depressed, especially when I reflected that I had just punched in over 30 zeros for no-name quizzes the night before, and only 3 students asked me about the "missing" label in the gradebook the next day. I'll print out reports in the morning, staple them to planners, and require them to be returned the next day under threat of detention. It's the part of the job that sucks, but I know--me and my 3 months of paid vacation should probably quit crying about it. 

Especially when I get to report Hallmark moments like these: Out of the blue, a student gives me a 3X5 card. 

"Pick one," she says. 

I look, and she's printed "Starbucks" on one side, and "Coffee Bean" on the other (By now the kids have noted my affinity for coffee. Plus the fact that I have to visit the facilities before almost every period clues them in). 
I told her I usually just get coffee, but I really like white chocolate mochas. The next morning, I pass her coming in from morning duty. 

"It's in your room."
.
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And there it was, with a little "From Jessica" note propped up against it. I snapped a quick picture with my cellphone, but I doubt I'll forget this one anytime soon. 

3 comments

Rest Stop.

I don't understand how teachers are able to maintain and consistently update a blog during the school year. Especially during the beginning. Three weeks, and I've already exhausted myself trying to teach things that technically aren't even on this year's standards, but need to be taught so that we can move forward with some sort of common ground. Even if I feel like writing, I don't have the time to pause and arrange my thoughts coherently. Not a good sign, especially since I start grad school in two weeks. I think I forgot how to write a research paper. If they accept five paragraph essays and Jane Schaffer paragraphs I'll be good to go. 


Often, I go home thinking about the bad kids, or I dwell on what I screwed up, so I'm going to nest on a few happy thoughts. A week ago, two of last year's students brought me a huge homemade card signed by about 35 of their classmates. One jokester left a number for me to dial if I required "sweet lovin," but the rest had some nice things to say. They also created another large card for our entire group of core teachers, with complimentary descriptors for each of the subject area teachers. Given my slightly obvious coffee habit, the young ladies also supplied me with a new insulated coffee cup. 

Then yesterday, a student asked if I would like her to create a sign out sheet for my class library books (I'd been having students haphazardly scrawl names and book titles in a box on the whiteboard). I said sure, and this morning, she handed me an envelope and said "Here's your stuff." I had totally forgotten, and inside were four colorful, laminated sign-out sheets from Kinko's. 

Teaching is like being on one of those bumpy slides at the fair. Or one of those traveling carnivals. It's got the ups and downs, like a roller coaster, and plus you feel like the whole apparatus could fall apart at any given moment. 

4 comments Tags: teaching, middle school