|
current |
2001-11-15 - 7:05 p.m. I haven't written in a few days now so I thought I would write. My week has been super busy and I should really be grading but I thought I would log on sort of quickly. Tuesday was our first day back at school and so the week has just flown by. I am so glad that tomorrow is Friday and next week is a three day week. After that I think it is five day weeks until Christmas :( I have been having a fairly good week. I did write one referral and I also kicked another kid out of class, but it didn't really upset me like it usually does. I felt that the kid I kicked out totally deserved it although I was surprised at myself at how quickly I said, "OUT!" What happened was a number of people in my fourth period class were talking during journal time. I nicely reminded them about the quiet I expected during journal time. I reminded them yet again. I asked them what was going on with them that they were being so loud. I told kids individually to be quiet. This particular kid I told twice. He tried to use the excuse of not having his journal as a reason to talk. He then did the thing that I HATE which is basically ignore me and continue talking RIGHT after I said it. That motivated me to write him a detention and I rarely do that. I went over to him to have him sign it. He said he felt it was unfair that he was the only one getting a detention when others had been talking as well. Then he said, "You jewed me into a detention!" I said, "What did you say?" thinking I had misheard him. "You JEWED me into a detention!" he said more loudly. Are we living in the 1950s or something?!?! I said, "OUT, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR TALK LIKE THAT! OUT!" That class was shocked because I love them so I never get mad at them ever. I then explained to the rest of the class that I was particularly offended because my father, who I do not know, is Jewish which makes me somewhat (unless you think it is a religion and then it is passed down by the mother). So they looked very serious and all. It is not something I haven't heard before here, but it is just like ? The kids say things like, "That's so gay!" and I say something about it, but I think next year I am going to be even more adament and just write them up anytime it happens. I just can't stand that! I don't know if they even know what they are saying or what but it makes them look like little ignorant hicks. Our school is mainly White and Indian (they call themselves Indian not Native American so I guess I can too?)kids. Anyway, the other kid I wrote up was one I wrote up earlier this year because I can't get him to do anything and I wrote him up after talking to him FOUR separate times about getting back on task. Then I went to a IEP meeting with his mother and everyone and I stressed just how much he doesn't do anything. I have never advocated for having a kid leave my class and take it as an independent study, but I feel like doing that. I don't think he is going to pass no matter what he does now and he distracts others from learning. He is the same way in all of his classes. Maybe that IEP meeting will be a wakeup call; he did turn in four short journal entries today. Also the special ed teachers gently suggested to his mom that he get tested for ADHD and I felt like shouting, "YES YES YES!!!!" I have never seen any kid act so ADHD in my life without being diagnosed for it. And of course I have issues with diagnosing so many kids with this, but this kid is all over the place at all times. Nothing works to keep him on task. The special ed teacher suggested perhaps he needed to sit away from other students and he said, "I sit in the corner in all my classes!" I thought that was funny, and he seemed to as well. I got to see one of my students that just got back from boot camp. He was at school and I saw him. He said he wrote me like five letters (I had just gotten one and wrote him back) but that the mail there is sort of funny and sometimes takes awhile. He had had his brother give me this funny Simpsons poster that I put up in my room that all the kids really like. It has Bart writing all of these things about what he won't do. Anyway, it was nice to see him. I also got another letter from one of my former students. He actually writes me quite often (even when I haven't replied yet). He said some very sweet things about how great I am in there. He was telling me stuff about last year that made me really sad but made me really happy at the same time. I won't go into it. The way that he writes to me now makes me see how differently I perceived him than what he actually was like. I just assumed his quiet aloofness was anger and being-close-to-graduation stuff, but he was actually pretty sad. It is so nice to hear from students you already had. When I see or hear from them now it is all good things--they seem so happy with you and I guess that's how it is for me too. I gave a test today and the seniors did great! The majority of them got A's and B's which was a little shocking. C. told me that I did a good job making the test this time and I said, "No, you guys did a good job because since it was easy for you it means you studied hard and knew the material well!" I was so pleased by that. The test was easy if you had been to class all of the time, had studied what I told them to study, and had listened to the review. They really made me go over EVERY little detail in all three of the things we read. I think they got a great kick out of me retelling "The Miller's Tale." I think they all actually got that one but they wanted me to review it with them anyway and they giggled at all the stuff I said. I think maybe I should bring them a treat tomorrow for being so great.
|
