things for next year: an occasional series

I keep thinking of things I really want to write about, but forgetting to write about them by the time I get home (and I don't really want to blog at school, although I can get to the website. It just seems poor form.) So I'll add to the list at the top of the blog, and for now I'll just start a note-to-self category, which I've been meaning to make anyway.

-Index Card word walls. I actually heard this idea originally from the writing teacher last year. I had various issues with her, though, so wasn't really ready to listen to much she had to say. But I like the idea of having index card boxes where the kids can write down their own vocabulary words and have them in a box. Saves me wall space, gives them writing practice, and alphabetization too.

-Book organization. Oh dear G/god(s) I need to get my bookshelf organized. I will probably spend all summer on this.

argh.

My students are coloring and doing activity pages. They are quiet, cooperative, and on task (for the most part). Why is it that they seem to only be capable of this when no actual LEARNING is taking place? Why is it that when they're doing things that mean they have to stretch their brains, they get in fights and throw things instead?
(Why do I think I just answered my own question?)
Sigh.

You Know #2

You know* you are a primary teacher when you find yourself picking up pencils out of the dust swept up by the custodian.
...and they're not even very good pencils.

*Yes, I know this is still not a blog post. Grades are in; however, now my CSAP** paperwork is late. One day I will be done with all this stupid paperwork... however, this will probably be the day I retire.

**CSAP=Comprehensive Student Assistance Process. Essentially, the process by which the school district avoids giving students the extra assistance they need, by attempting to prove that it's all their teachers' fault.

You Know

(I realize this is not an actual blog post, and that I haven't really made a blog post for over a month. Hopefully I'll have time shortly, now that my grades are in.)

You know you are a primary teacher when you find yourself thinking, on a more-than-weekly basis, "What is this in my pocket, and how the *&@#^$A* did it get there?"

Yesterday's catch: 3 bits of crayon, 1/3 of an eraser, a late slip, someone's broken cell phone, and two pens.

Proof that I might be getting through

...albeit slowly. XD

Ms. K (teasing): S, I'm gonna pop you in the nose if you keep that up.

S(grinning): You can't do that, Ms. K! That's thinking with your fists!

Utterly Depressing Afternoon

As usual, I'd like to go into more detail here than is probably advisable in such a public forum. Suffice to say that one of my kids got taken by DHS today.

Given the way the system works, he has a middling, ranging down to slim, chance of returning to my class. He was (as might be expected, given the DHS involvement) one of my major behavior problems, but I can't bring myself to even be relieved that he might be gone. I was getting through to him. It was an uphill battle, but I could tell he cared what I thought, no matter how hard he tried not to. I can't bear the idea that just as we were beginning to develop a relationship, he might have to go off to a new school and a new teacher and new classmates, none of whom might be at ALL understanding of how he works, and without even the dubious stability of going home to his parents. It's utterly depressing.

The worst part is how he is when there's no audience. He's a sweetheart. Adorable, quirky, funny, intelligent... He could have been the sweetest little boy in the whole world, if only no one had ever beaten the shit out of him.

Argh.

Stupid Tuesdays.

I hate lesson plans.
That is all.