Right now I'm supposed to be doing a multitude of things...prepping for some interviews that I have to do tomorrow night, reading a packet for our team meeting, sleeping, cleaning my mess of an e-mail inbox, responding to the 78 e-mails that are sitting in there, nahhhhh....I probably won't do any of those things tonight.
I realize I haven't blogged in a long time, I've decided that my job is significantly less interesting now that I am not spending 8 hours a day with 25 five-year olds. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am responsible for supporting 31 teachers to ensure that their kids perform at a rigorous level, however, I don't have the same experiences with kiddos now that I did before, definitely not the same ones day in and out. However, I love my corps members and do enjoy this job. I've committed to one more school year in the Delta...to figure things out and actually feel successful in this job. After days like today though..sometimes I can't imagine leaving.
This story is not one that is a common occurrence, nor is it one that is designed to generate a positive reaction or engage in a few laughs. However, it's reality, the stark reality for my kids. If you have read my blog from the beginning, you'll remember my "little lovely" who caused me grey hair and multiple bruises from the number of chairs he threw during my first year of teaching. Well, he went to first grade, was put on appropriate medicine, was deathly afraid of his teacher and didn't cause major problems (or not that we heard about). When I go back now to visit, I am immensely proud of him. He'll be in line with the other 2nd graders waiting to go to the bathroom and will stare at me until I notice him and he'll wave shyly. He never wants to get out of line or make a scene, but he's the first one to run up and give me a hug when he has the opportunity. I'm so incredibly proud of him and tell him that each and every time I see him. He is working hard in school and is on a much different life path than he was two short years ago.
Today I got a phone call from a teacher at the school saying he "had news. But not good news." My little lovely had brought a gun to school yesterday. He's in 2nd grade. It burns me to no end that he even had access to it. I have no idea where it came from or what it was. Apparently he was showing someone during recess or DEAR (drop everything and read) time. Another student went and told the security guard on campus. He was immediately escorted off campus and taken home. No one found out about it until today, not even HIS teacher. The rumor is that they are trying to keep it covered up so he isn't expelled. I can't even believe it. What if something horrible would have happened. He is in the 2nd grade. He shouldn't even be exposed to something like this, much less be able to put his hands on it. I'm an equal combination of disgusted and mortified. Not to mention having a heavy heart. Nothing horrific happened, thank goodness. But what if it had happened to one of my kids. One of the kids I spent an entire school year with. Ugh, this shows me more and more the risk that we endanger children in our country to. Transformative change. Putting kids on a different life path. Instilling habits, mindsets, and actions that prove we are changing the lives of children, for the better. This is why I am in this job. This is why I am responsible for indirectly impacting 3,090 lives, for the better I can only hope.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Sunday, December 5, 2010
It's the most wonderful time of the year
The holiday season has come to Mississippi. Jack Frost decided to visit today bring with him temperatures in the 30s. The cold weather (although much warmer than Minnesota) isn't welcomed here.
Writing a quick update to ask for your support and prayers. Christmas is coming to Moorhead again, even though I am not teaching. I met with my principal and another school staff member last week about getting a list of some of my kids who were going to run the risk of not getting Christmas presents this year. They are going to put together a list for me. My principal told me that one family that was included on that list was that of my two favorite brothers that I taught each year. They are the kiddos that I still go back to see and take to McDonald's or to play tennis. It broke my heart to think that they are on that list this year of kids who might not have a happy Christmas. I inserted a picture of us from last year...it was taken one day after school when they stayed with me and did their homework or we worked on other school work. They are pretty much a hoot and have the funniest things to say/share. This fall we went to a high school football game (they had never been to one) and for part of it they were more engrossed in watching the cheerleaders do flips. I love them and will be back in the Delta to see them graduate, guaranteed.
Anyway...I got way off task. I would love your support in purchasing Christmas presents for adorable kids like these, monetary or prayers, I don't care which...just keep these kids and their families in your thoughts.
Thanksgiving break came and went far too quickly. It was a fun day with family at our house on Thanksgiving. Surprisingly we didn't play any games, however, I think we spent 4 hours looking through Black Friday advertisements....and eating all.day.long. Mom, Cassie and I did some shopping on Friday. Although we didn't go out in the middle of the night like Kayla, Gini, and Rachel...we left at an early 8 a.m. :) I think we did more shopping for ourselves because I still feel like there is a lot left to do! It's hard to get your Christmas shopping done when half of your family is with you and the other half don't give specific ideas. Trevor's idea of a Christmas list says--new jeans. When asked what size, he responds, "extra fat." Last I checked, Old Navy doesn't carry that size, but then again I haven't been there for awhile. I'm jealous of those who get all of their shopping done that day!
Only 13 more days until I'm back for the Christmas holidays! I'm excited to NOT spend so much time running around and hopefully more time with the family. It's hard to believe all of the little cousins are growing up. Arg, I'm old! Better get cracking on that family Christmas letter...
Happy holidays :)
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Oldies but goodies
So, I never posted the quotes I kept from my kids my 2nd year of teaching. However, I kept all of them on numerous post-it notes in a plastic bag. I had it in my bag and on my way to Minnesota for Grandpa Black's funeral, I pulled it out on the plane and found myself laughing more than crying. Although I know the kids more...hopefully they are still funny to everyone else.
(B.W. and Mama came into the class with the little cousin)
B's mama: Say hey to Braxton's teacher
little cousin: waves and says, "white."
Student: They musta not bring your stuff back yet?
D.P: I know where you need put it? You need to put it in your house then nobody gone get it.
Ms. Ward: Lebruhnze, wake up and write your words.
L.G: (with a sigh) I'm tryin' have a dream.
Ms. Ward: Where you go fishing at?
L.G.: You know, where all the water be at.
Ms. Ward: /f/ /i/ /l/ fill. Who can give me a sentence with the word fill in it?
T.T: You can fill a boy.
Ms. Ward: (thought for a second) ugh, no. this is fill not feel.
Ms. Ward: What kind of animal am I counting? (Pointing to a bird)
D.P: A parrot!
Ms. Ward: right! How do you know that?
D.P: Cause that what a parrot look like
Ms. Ward: how do you know?
D.P: I just know.
(after Mrs. Beamon returned from having previous day off)
Ms. Ward: Turn to Mrs. Beamon and tell her we missed her yesterday
class: We missed you!
A.M: Ms. Ward was crying! (That was the truth)
Ms. Ward: Two things special about today. It's the last day of the month and it's my friend's birthday.
Student: I know your boyfriend. His name is Jarrius.
(Jarrius is a first grader)
(Making predictions about where Mrs. Beamon is)
1. Mrs Swamp got her (from the book Mrs. Nelson is Missing)
2. She went to Mrs. Swamp's house
3. She sick
4. She at the bad school. You know Mrs. Swamps school. Yeah and she gave that boy wood to eat cause he be hungry.
(then they looked out the window and found Mrs. Beamon in a tree apparently)
Ms. Ward: which word has the same beginning sounds: puzzle, pumpkin
K.W. (points to puppy)
Ms. Ward: Good, circle it
K.W.: Muh Ward, I like puppies.
Mrs. Hanken (cafeteria worker) asks why I don't eat their food.
Me: I brought my lunch!....(I leave to sit with my class)
Mrs. Barner: she's trying to stay skinny
Mrs. Hanken (yells out the cafeteria door): Ms. Ward, black people food WILL make you fat!
D.P: Man, what's this doing in my pocket? (as he pulls lint out of his pocket)
Ms. Ward (holds up letter M): what letter is this?
D.P: U
B.W: That's not a U
Ms. Ward: What letter is this?
B.W: U
NO!
Ms. Ward: Quit pickin your nose.
D.P: All I tryin to do is get it out my nose
Ms. Ward: Quit. Get your finger out of your nose
Ms. Ward: what starts with /m/
T.T: Dog
Ms. Ward: Does dog start with /m/
T.T: No
D.P: Then why you say it?
Student: you musta got new nails put on? (after painting my nails for Ingrid's wedding)
Student: Muh Ward, someone betta do sumpton bout that boy.
Ms. Ward: who?
Student: Him, naw, that one (pointing at L.S.)
Ms. Ward: Why?
Student: He be getting in trouble all da time...
Ms. Ward: What's this? (holds up a picture of a wig)
T.T: a wig.....my mama wear a wig!
Ms. Ward: I didn't hear anyone say the ending sound!
D.P: You didn't hear me Muh Ward. I didn't hear me either.
A.M: Muh Ward, you all look alike (in reference to my mom, grandma and grandpa)
Ms. Ward: really? why?
A.M: cause you all white
K.B: They said he lives in the L.G
Ms. Ward: What's the L.G?
K.B: I don't know. I live in Mo'head.
J.P: What's wrong with your head? (I was wearing a headband that day)
L.G: There are two Michael Jacksons. A black one and a white one.
F.E: (in reference to Sara visiting and working with them in our classroom library) she talks like you.
Ms. Ward: What does that mean?
A.M: (to herself) like Chinese
Ms. Ward: My pants are too tight
Z.B: Just like apple-bottom jeans.
B.W.: My mama says she be sad when I'm on red
Ms. Ward: oh yeah? me too.
B. W: And my auntie sad and my granddad. My granddad dead.
Ms. Ward: Oh? I'm sorry.
B.W.: I forgive you
(apparently we were working on our manners)
Ms. Ward: Did everybody eat a good breakfast so you're ready for May Day?
Student: I tore that corndog up
L.G is mad because he lost his recess. Looks across the table to B.W. (also lost recess) and starts laughing, hard.
Ms. Ward: What's so funny?
L.G: he said he was being good (proceeded to laugh hysterically)
B.W starts laughing as a result. I'm laughing obviously.
B.W to L.G: I'm gonna tell your mama, I'm gonna tell her.
L.G: Muh Ward, what they be calling you at home?
Ms. Ward: why?
L.G: cause I jus wanna know. I know what they call Ms. Davis.
Ms. Ward: Oh yeah? What?
L.G: (confidently) Stephanie. (her name is Jessica. I find this hysterical mostly because I think she just played a REALLY good joke on him!)
(B.W. and Mama came into the class with the little cousin)
B's mama: Say hey to Braxton's teacher
little cousin: waves and says, "white."
Student: They musta not bring your stuff back yet?
D.P: I know where you need put it? You need to put it in your house then nobody gone get it.
Ms. Ward: Lebruhnze, wake up and write your words.
L.G: (with a sigh) I'm tryin' have a dream.
Ms. Ward: Where you go fishing at?
L.G.: You know, where all the water be at.
Ms. Ward: /f/ /i/ /l/ fill. Who can give me a sentence with the word fill in it?
T.T: You can fill a boy.
Ms. Ward: (thought for a second) ugh, no. this is fill not feel.
Ms. Ward: What kind of animal am I counting? (Pointing to a bird)
D.P: A parrot!
Ms. Ward: right! How do you know that?
D.P: Cause that what a parrot look like
Ms. Ward: how do you know?
D.P: I just know.
(after Mrs. Beamon returned from having previous day off)
Ms. Ward: Turn to Mrs. Beamon and tell her we missed her yesterday
class: We missed you!
A.M: Ms. Ward was crying! (That was the truth)
Ms. Ward: Two things special about today. It's the last day of the month and it's my friend's birthday.
Student: I know your boyfriend. His name is Jarrius.
(Jarrius is a first grader)
(Making predictions about where Mrs. Beamon is)
1. Mrs Swamp got her (from the book Mrs. Nelson is Missing)
2. She went to Mrs. Swamp's house
3. She sick
4. She at the bad school. You know Mrs. Swamps school. Yeah and she gave that boy wood to eat cause he be hungry.
(then they looked out the window and found Mrs. Beamon in a tree apparently)
Ms. Ward: which word has the same beginning sounds: puzzle, pumpkin
K.W. (points to puppy)
Ms. Ward: Good, circle it
K.W.: Muh Ward, I like puppies.
Mrs. Hanken (cafeteria worker) asks why I don't eat their food.
Me: I brought my lunch!....(I leave to sit with my class)
Mrs. Barner: she's trying to stay skinny
Mrs. Hanken (yells out the cafeteria door): Ms. Ward, black people food WILL make you fat!
D.P: Man, what's this doing in my pocket? (as he pulls lint out of his pocket)
Ms. Ward (holds up letter M): what letter is this?
D.P: U
B.W: That's not a U
Ms. Ward: What letter is this?
B.W: U
NO!
Ms. Ward: Quit pickin your nose.
D.P: All I tryin to do is get it out my nose
Ms. Ward: Quit. Get your finger out of your nose
Ms. Ward: what starts with /m/
T.T: Dog
Ms. Ward: Does dog start with /m/
T.T: No
D.P: Then why you say it?
Student: you musta got new nails put on? (after painting my nails for Ingrid's wedding)
Student: Muh Ward, someone betta do sumpton bout that boy.
Ms. Ward: who?
Student: Him, naw, that one (pointing at L.S.)
Ms. Ward: Why?
Student: He be getting in trouble all da time...
Ms. Ward: What's this? (holds up a picture of a wig)
T.T: a wig.....my mama wear a wig!
Ms. Ward: I didn't hear anyone say the ending sound!
D.P: You didn't hear me Muh Ward. I didn't hear me either.
A.M: Muh Ward, you all look alike (in reference to my mom, grandma and grandpa)
Ms. Ward: really? why?
A.M: cause you all white
K.B: They said he lives in the L.G
Ms. Ward: What's the L.G?
K.B: I don't know. I live in Mo'head.
J.P: What's wrong with your head? (I was wearing a headband that day)
L.G: There are two Michael Jacksons. A black one and a white one.
F.E: (in reference to Sara visiting and working with them in our classroom library) she talks like you.
Ms. Ward: What does that mean?
A.M: (to herself) like Chinese
Ms. Ward: My pants are too tight
Z.B: Just like apple-bottom jeans.
B.W.: My mama says she be sad when I'm on red
Ms. Ward: oh yeah? me too.
B. W: And my auntie sad and my granddad. My granddad dead.
Ms. Ward: Oh? I'm sorry.
B.W.: I forgive you
(apparently we were working on our manners)
Ms. Ward: Did everybody eat a good breakfast so you're ready for May Day?
Student: I tore that corndog up
L.G is mad because he lost his recess. Looks across the table to B.W. (also lost recess) and starts laughing, hard.
Ms. Ward: What's so funny?
L.G: he said he was being good (proceeded to laugh hysterically)
B.W starts laughing as a result. I'm laughing obviously.
B.W to L.G: I'm gonna tell your mama, I'm gonna tell her.
L.G: Muh Ward, what they be calling you at home?
Ms. Ward: why?
L.G: cause I jus wanna know. I know what they call Ms. Davis.
Ms. Ward: Oh yeah? What?
L.G: (confidently) Stephanie. (her name is Jessica. I find this hysterical mostly because I think she just played a REALLY good joke on him!)
Monday, August 30, 2010
his greatest contribution is the ones you leave behind, raised on the ways of gentle kindness
The one thing that I worry about most....having something horrible happen at home when I am more than 900 miles away. check. Grandpa Black passed away, I'm sitting in the Memphis airport waiting for my flight to board, it's horribly surreal. There were 3 people at my gate, I sat facing the windows, not in the mood to bother trying to people watch. It's a cloudy and overcast day (a rarity) except for one spot in the sky. No clouds, no gray, the sun shining through. It's 7 a.m. and I'm crying in a public place. Damn, Grandpa is up there probably shaking his head popping unsalted peanuts thinking, "oh cripes. get a grip, Kami."
There are so many things I kept thinking about this week....and it always came back to the same thing, it was his time and God thought so too, he was ready. I was not. We were not. I think the longer he was in the hospital, the more he was trying to prepare us for that reality and not get our hopes up because it was okay, he is going to a better place.
I've learned so much from Grandpa and Grandma. They spent almost all of their time over last 56 years together. I can't even fathom the amount of time, memories and stories that they created and shared. Without a doubt, Grandma can. Their relationship defines what it means to love, to share your life with someone and I admire that immensely.
Being in the Delta hasn't let me laugh about the good times that we have shared. Although I'm SUPER glad that Grandpa was able to come visit last year, despite the dog stuck below our house directly under the bed they were sleeping in, the first ice storm in Mississippi in the last two years happening that weekend, the lack of electricity in our bathroom for things like shaving, etc. And to top it off, I think I gained four pounds from eating the candy that he happened to find during frequent trips in Wal-Mart. I'll forever laugh thinking about his "ring" from his "Mississippi girlfriend" that had my roommates and I cracking up during breakfast one morning. When I called Grandpa after his survey he answered the phone saying, "well, you're calling from a long ways away." And although he was probably bitter about only eating ice chips at the time, he still chatted about Mississippi, my job, and the horrendous weather. I'll forever cherish that conversation.
There are so many things I kept thinking about this week....and it always came back to the same thing, it was his time and God thought so too, he was ready. I was not. We were not. I think the longer he was in the hospital, the more he was trying to prepare us for that reality and not get our hopes up because it was okay, he is going to a better place.
I've learned so much from Grandpa and Grandma. They spent almost all of their time over last 56 years together. I can't even fathom the amount of time, memories and stories that they created and shared. Without a doubt, Grandma can. Their relationship defines what it means to love, to share your life with someone and I admire that immensely.
Being in the Delta hasn't let me laugh about the good times that we have shared. Although I'm SUPER glad that Grandpa was able to come visit last year, despite the dog stuck below our house directly under the bed they were sleeping in, the first ice storm in Mississippi in the last two years happening that weekend, the lack of electricity in our bathroom for things like shaving, etc. And to top it off, I think I gained four pounds from eating the candy that he happened to find during frequent trips in Wal-Mart. I'll forever laugh thinking about his "ring" from his "Mississippi girlfriend" that had my roommates and I cracking up during breakfast one morning. When I called Grandpa after his survey he answered the phone saying, "well, you're calling from a long ways away." And although he was probably bitter about only eating ice chips at the time, he still chatted about Mississippi, my job, and the horrendous weather. I'll forever cherish that conversation.
And although he wasn't a southern man, this Alan Jackson song is phrases things all too well. Word to the wise...don't read an obituary in an airport. I'm debating posting this and I might delete it later. My G key isn't working very well so I wonder how many words are missing that letter that I didn't catch. Anyway, getting ready for my last leg of this trip...ready to be home for a bit. I tried sleeping on the last flight but only ended up head-bobbing which always looks cool. Better do a little people watching, this guy next to me is eating ice cream (it's 10:30 in the morning). I'm sure there are other awesome things I can spot.
Love,
Kami
Monday, August 16, 2010
Dog Days of Summer
Wow so much has changed these last few months. I am currently in one of the warmest most humid places on earth. The heat index is on average 110 degrees. There is NEVER any wind, it's stifling. It's dangerous to not wear pants at night because the bugs will eat you alive in a matter of seconds. You take a sweater everywhere you go because you'll freeze in doors. And to top it off, the mosquito problem in doors is outrageous. And in true Minnesota fashion, I talked about the weather first...
So, a recap of my last month or so....I was home for the month of June enjoying every minute of my time spent in Minnesota. The weather, family, friends, etc. were amazing and made it incredibly hard to come back to the delta after only 4 weeks, particularly because I spent all of my time working on grad school or new PD work or something. However, I made the choice to take a new job, guess I have to own it. I drove back to Mississippi on July 5 and started my job on the 6th. It was pretty much a whirlwind for a few days as I was behind and felt like I didn't know anything, which was pretty much the case. However, that Monday all of the new program directors flew to Chicago for a New PD conference. We were there until Thursday then came back and had to get ready for two big days of orientation on Sunday and Monday. All of the new corps members finished institute that Friday and our orientation was getting them ready for the first days of school, planning for the year, etc. It was chaotic running between sessions facilitating sessions that I didn't really know much about, ha ha but still turned out okay. One of my sessions was to the elem, art, music and social studies teachers in Arkansas.
From there work has been CRAZY busy. I was assigned a "summer PD group" which would last until about the first week of school. This means I was responsible for a lot of the lower elementary folks, those who teach Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd. Because we still had a number of people not placed, we were each given a few unplaced folks as well. My people ended up getting elem positions that spanned into 5th grade so I had a wide range of people. AND as more and more people were placed kinder and 1st grade, I also obtained them. It was a little crazy, I felt as if I was constantly getting new people but never giving anyone away! I was responsible for looking at all of their foundational documents and giving feedback. These include their big goal, long term plan, unit assessment and unit plan. I didn't realize how long it takes to look at all of these documents. During the day we were busy with meetings and whatnot so I would be holed up in my room or office doing this until the wee hours of the night. It was exhausting but also important. As of last Thursday we now have our official PD groups that we will be with for the entire year. My group is in the Greenwood area and encompasses 3 school districts there. I have 31 people that grange from Kindergarten to high school english. However, the majority are elementary placements and am really looking forward to getting into their classrooms this week doing pop in visits.
Because we have been working on the weekends so much lately, we had a comp day on Friday. I spent the morning in Moorhead visiting my kiddos. I spent some time with my first year favorite L.G. in first grade. He didn't pass last year :( and I told him I was going to be stopping in. In fact, I missed this kid so much I took him out for lunch the week before school started, even by himself he was a handful! I do not envy the kindergarten teachers right now, they both have 29 kids in their rooms and have 3 severely special ed students. There aren't enough chairs for that many kids much less places for them to sit. It was mild chaos the entire time, but I guess you'll have to deal with that with so many students. However, my Principal just hired another teacher, a new corps member actually, she started today. That still makes 20 kids in each room which is plenty! While I missed my kiddos who are now in first and second grade, I don't miss all of the hitting, fighting and lack of listening from kindergartners. The toughest part about Kindergarten is teaching them how to act right, when they've gotten away with it for the last 5 years. The best part of the day was when I peeked into the 2nd grade room across the hall from mine (that teacher is one of my friends) and half the kids saw me and yelled, "Muh Ward's HERE!!" At that point I had to go in, but luckily they were just getting ready to go to the bathroom! I think I can say that I miss my kids more than I miss the classroom.
Changing the subject, I went to a new church yesterday. Someone stopped at our house this week and dropped off a loaf of bread they had made and invited us to their church in town here. While I really like my church in Cleveland, I decided I would check this one out. I really don't know anyone in this town and I have lived here for 2 years, that's pretty sad. Anyway, when I was walking up I realized I was about to stick out like a sore thumb. This is a Methodist church (don't worry Grandma, I'm not giving up on the Lutherans) and everyone walking in was over the age of 70. I sat in the pew for about 4 minutes before people were sitting next to me wondering who I was, where I was from, etc. They were all SUPER nice. The "Preacher" is an older woman who made me feel super comfortable and gave a great sermon (I generally have a hard time paying attention to sermons...actually make that every time). Although it was a small congregation (between 30 and 40 people probably), I'm pretty sure I met 90% of them by the time I left. The hilarity of this is that they asked me to spell my name so they could add me to facebook. I didn't realize so many grandparents were on facebook. I also got asked if I was a yankee or a damn yankee (this was by a spitfire woman from Iowa, so it was okay!) but I can't remember the difference right now. It has something to do with staying or visiting.
While it's been mostly work around here, there has been a little time for "play" as well. Last weekend after working all day on Saturday, a few of my friends packed up and headed for a friend's lake house in Arkansas. We stayed until early Tuesday morning. The beauty of this job is the ability to work remotely, so we all worked on Monday even though we were lounging around the lake house. At the last minute I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go. My Grandpa Black has been in the hospital after having survey the weekend before and took a turn for the worst. Being 900+ miles away from home, this is without a doubt the worst thing that can possibly happen. However, my friends were incredibly supportive and convinced me that being with them would be better than sitting in my house alone. Grandpa was moved out of but now back in to the ICU. While he may think he is ready to go meet God, I'm not sure if the rest of us are ready to let him. I know I'm not. Please pray for him and my Grandma.
So, a recap of my last month or so....I was home for the month of June enjoying every minute of my time spent in Minnesota. The weather, family, friends, etc. were amazing and made it incredibly hard to come back to the delta after only 4 weeks, particularly because I spent all of my time working on grad school or new PD work or something. However, I made the choice to take a new job, guess I have to own it. I drove back to Mississippi on July 5 and started my job on the 6th. It was pretty much a whirlwind for a few days as I was behind and felt like I didn't know anything, which was pretty much the case. However, that Monday all of the new program directors flew to Chicago for a New PD conference. We were there until Thursday then came back and had to get ready for two big days of orientation on Sunday and Monday. All of the new corps members finished institute that Friday and our orientation was getting them ready for the first days of school, planning for the year, etc. It was chaotic running between sessions facilitating sessions that I didn't really know much about, ha ha but still turned out okay. One of my sessions was to the elem, art, music and social studies teachers in Arkansas.
From there work has been CRAZY busy. I was assigned a "summer PD group" which would last until about the first week of school. This means I was responsible for a lot of the lower elementary folks, those who teach Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd. Because we still had a number of people not placed, we were each given a few unplaced folks as well. My people ended up getting elem positions that spanned into 5th grade so I had a wide range of people. AND as more and more people were placed kinder and 1st grade, I also obtained them. It was a little crazy, I felt as if I was constantly getting new people but never giving anyone away! I was responsible for looking at all of their foundational documents and giving feedback. These include their big goal, long term plan, unit assessment and unit plan. I didn't realize how long it takes to look at all of these documents. During the day we were busy with meetings and whatnot so I would be holed up in my room or office doing this until the wee hours of the night. It was exhausting but also important. As of last Thursday we now have our official PD groups that we will be with for the entire year. My group is in the Greenwood area and encompasses 3 school districts there. I have 31 people that grange from Kindergarten to high school english. However, the majority are elementary placements and am really looking forward to getting into their classrooms this week doing pop in visits.
Because we have been working on the weekends so much lately, we had a comp day on Friday. I spent the morning in Moorhead visiting my kiddos. I spent some time with my first year favorite L.G. in first grade. He didn't pass last year :( and I told him I was going to be stopping in. In fact, I missed this kid so much I took him out for lunch the week before school started, even by himself he was a handful! I do not envy the kindergarten teachers right now, they both have 29 kids in their rooms and have 3 severely special ed students. There aren't enough chairs for that many kids much less places for them to sit. It was mild chaos the entire time, but I guess you'll have to deal with that with so many students. However, my Principal just hired another teacher, a new corps member actually, she started today. That still makes 20 kids in each room which is plenty! While I missed my kiddos who are now in first and second grade, I don't miss all of the hitting, fighting and lack of listening from kindergartners. The toughest part about Kindergarten is teaching them how to act right, when they've gotten away with it for the last 5 years. The best part of the day was when I peeked into the 2nd grade room across the hall from mine (that teacher is one of my friends) and half the kids saw me and yelled, "Muh Ward's HERE!!" At that point I had to go in, but luckily they were just getting ready to go to the bathroom! I think I can say that I miss my kids more than I miss the classroom.
Changing the subject, I went to a new church yesterday. Someone stopped at our house this week and dropped off a loaf of bread they had made and invited us to their church in town here. While I really like my church in Cleveland, I decided I would check this one out. I really don't know anyone in this town and I have lived here for 2 years, that's pretty sad. Anyway, when I was walking up I realized I was about to stick out like a sore thumb. This is a Methodist church (don't worry Grandma, I'm not giving up on the Lutherans) and everyone walking in was over the age of 70. I sat in the pew for about 4 minutes before people were sitting next to me wondering who I was, where I was from, etc. They were all SUPER nice. The "Preacher" is an older woman who made me feel super comfortable and gave a great sermon (I generally have a hard time paying attention to sermons...actually make that every time). Although it was a small congregation (between 30 and 40 people probably), I'm pretty sure I met 90% of them by the time I left. The hilarity of this is that they asked me to spell my name so they could add me to facebook. I didn't realize so many grandparents were on facebook. I also got asked if I was a yankee or a damn yankee (this was by a spitfire woman from Iowa, so it was okay!) but I can't remember the difference right now. It has something to do with staying or visiting.
While it's been mostly work around here, there has been a little time for "play" as well. Last weekend after working all day on Saturday, a few of my friends packed up and headed for a friend's lake house in Arkansas. We stayed until early Tuesday morning. The beauty of this job is the ability to work remotely, so we all worked on Monday even though we were lounging around the lake house. At the last minute I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go. My Grandpa Black has been in the hospital after having survey the weekend before and took a turn for the worst. Being 900+ miles away from home, this is without a doubt the worst thing that can possibly happen. However, my friends were incredibly supportive and convinced me that being with them would be better than sitting in my house alone. Grandpa was moved out of but now back in to the ICU. While he may think he is ready to go meet God, I'm not sure if the rest of us are ready to let him. I know I'm not. Please pray for him and my Grandma.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Southern girl by Amos Lee
Look at that...less than a month since I wrote last. I'm proud of myself, even if everyone else thinks it is far too long. So much has happened in the last month, I don't even know where to begin.
School finished up last Tuesday, with teachers finishing report cards/folders/etc. on Wednesday. I made a huge choice last Friday and decided with a heavy heart that I was not going to be returning to my classroom in the fall. I was offered a job with Teach For America to work as a program director here. While I hadn't seriously considered being a PD until the week prior after a conversation with the head person here, I decided that it might be the best decision for me to see if the classroom is where I should be in the future. I told my principal that I really hate who I am in the classroom. I don't like yelling, I don't like the idea that yelling is the only thing that gets through to some kids, I don't like going home and hating who I am and how I have ot act in order to teach the lesson. She understood and agrees that I did not come in with the personality and mentality of other teachers in the delta. Therefore, this opportunity could show me if I belong in the classroom or if teaching maybe isn't for me. The role basically involves managing a cohort of 30 corps members in their 1st and 2nd year of teaching, observing them and problem solving around their data to ensure that they meet their goals. It is an honor that others think I would be good at this job, because I'm neverous about basically sucking at it. ha ha...however, I know it's going to give me good experience and I look forward to working on staff as TFA doubles again in the delta.
The end of the year finished up strong. We did our final assessments and ROCKED the math summative with a 94% on all skills taught during the year. We also had a reading growth of 1.40 years. I'm excited to hear how they do next year in first grade. My class is definitely further this year than my first year.
Summer is here and Mississippi isn't lacking heat or humidity. I spent a few hours outside sweating buckets this afternoon. I'm coming home for the month of June and will be venturing north on Tuesday. Therefore, if you're bored/free...please call me, I'll be driving for 14 long hours! I'm excited for summer, but know I'm going to stay plenty busy. Trevor's graduation at the end of the week. I'm taking two grad classes. I'm trying to finish that darn thesis. And I'm going to do roughly 8 hours of PD work a week. This is all on top of spending my time rollerblading, playing tennis, fishing, being on the lake, going to parades, and enjoying the Minnesota sunshine. I cannot wait!
Yay for summer :) :) :)
School finished up last Tuesday, with teachers finishing report cards/folders/etc. on Wednesday. I made a huge choice last Friday and decided with a heavy heart that I was not going to be returning to my classroom in the fall. I was offered a job with Teach For America to work as a program director here. While I hadn't seriously considered being a PD until the week prior after a conversation with the head person here, I decided that it might be the best decision for me to see if the classroom is where I should be in the future. I told my principal that I really hate who I am in the classroom. I don't like yelling, I don't like the idea that yelling is the only thing that gets through to some kids, I don't like going home and hating who I am and how I have ot act in order to teach the lesson. She understood and agrees that I did not come in with the personality and mentality of other teachers in the delta. Therefore, this opportunity could show me if I belong in the classroom or if teaching maybe isn't for me. The role basically involves managing a cohort of 30 corps members in their 1st and 2nd year of teaching, observing them and problem solving around their data to ensure that they meet their goals. It is an honor that others think I would be good at this job, because I'm neverous about basically sucking at it. ha ha...however, I know it's going to give me good experience and I look forward to working on staff as TFA doubles again in the delta.
The end of the year finished up strong. We did our final assessments and ROCKED the math summative with a 94% on all skills taught during the year. We also had a reading growth of 1.40 years. I'm excited to hear how they do next year in first grade. My class is definitely further this year than my first year.
Summer is here and Mississippi isn't lacking heat or humidity. I spent a few hours outside sweating buckets this afternoon. I'm coming home for the month of June and will be venturing north on Tuesday. Therefore, if you're bored/free...please call me, I'll be driving for 14 long hours! I'm excited for summer, but know I'm going to stay plenty busy. Trevor's graduation at the end of the week. I'm taking two grad classes. I'm trying to finish that darn thesis. And I'm going to do roughly 8 hours of PD work a week. This is all on top of spending my time rollerblading, playing tennis, fishing, being on the lake, going to parades, and enjoying the Minnesota sunshine. I cannot wait!
Yay for summer :) :) :)
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The Final Four
Easter was only a couple of weeks ago, therefore, no one can get too worked up about me not blogging for awhile! Each weekend of April was crazy hectic, so without a lot going on this weekend, I'm twisting my thumbs and pretending to be productive to ward off the spring fever!
Here is a recap of the last few weeks. Easter came and went...and was amazing. The following week Erik came to visit the dirty, dirty Delta. It was crazy! We had a bonfire on Friday night that ended with a lot of beer consumed and a nerf gun rifle fight in the kitchen at 2 a.m. The rest of the weekend involved more alcohol, leaving groceries in the car for a few hours too long, a whole LOT of tennis, another bonfire, some Mississippi sunshine for the pasty from Minnesota, an afternoon cookout that turned into a Sunday night of drinking. Phew...it was a crazy but oh so fun! I love when my Minnesota friends get along so well with this crazy Mississippi crew :) (Picture is of my roommates and I out after our professional saturday)
The following weekend was the HUGE Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale. We ran a 5K in Cleveland in the morning, beat our time from last year by at least 5 minutes, haha. I guess that's what happens when you don't walk parts of it. Juke Joint was crazyyy. It's basically another reason to drink all day and listen to blues music at different venues all morning/afternoon/night. The weekend was GORGEOUS...I love getting sunburnt in mid-April. Heck, anytime of the year is suitable for me!
Last weekend started a little rough, tornadoes and storms across the state. The kids were loading the buses when the sirens went off so they had to come in and put their heads down in the hot, overpacked hallway. It was a mess but eventually everyone made it home safe. It has now been two weeks in a row that the sky opens and it downpours right at 3:15 when I am outside on bus duty. I'm going to start bringing my rainboots for Friday duty. Last Sunday I went to Oxford (home of Ole Miss) for Double Decker their annual art and music festival. I cannot wait to go to an Ole Miss football game this fall....Oxford was great. Ole Miss was great. While it's not in the Delta, it still makes me realize that Mississippi is great too!
Now onto the important stuff....my classroom. So far we have grown 1.2 years in reading. This is okay...could be better. We want to get closer to 1.5 years of growth by the end of the year. We will be close...it's things like this that make me nervous for the last weeks of school but force me to constantly stay productive! I just started giving our big math test that determines how we did overall. It's a 16 page test, clear to see that we are going to spend a good 5 days or so taking it! My kids did their end of the year DIBBELS test last week and kicked the **** out of it! I had 12 students that were considered "at risk" at the beginning of the year (that is NOT a good thing) and I finished with 3 that were only scoring in "some risk." Definite improvements. Many of my kids had phenomenal scores. I even baked them brownies on Friday because I was so proud of them!
Our district has been in an absolute mess all year. I've tried to refrain from complaining too much (because I wanted to keep my job) but now all bets are off. Before spring break, parents lodged a protest and didn't send their kids to school for two days. The state finally realized there was a problem. They brought 50-60 members of the state department to the district for a week to do a FULL audit. Their report was concluded 30 days later and was more than 300 pages long. Our superintendent was fired. The school board was removed. The state took over. They issued a conservator to be in charge of our district to straighten us out. It could take months but more likely years before the state will remove the conservator and allow us to function independently again. This is not necessarily a bad thing. There are 37 qualifications for accreditation that must be met in entirety across the district. We did not meet any. It was severe. However, spirits are rejuvenated and people are happy again. All is starting to become peaceful again in the land of sunflowers.
I have another little lovely (no one is sure how I got so lucky two years in a row). This one is worse in many ways. When I give him ANY instructions (sit down, get in line, etc.) he does the opposite. A clear case of oppositional defiance. When he gets mad (many, many times a day) he does bodily harm to himself. Scratches his arms and face. Tries to break his fingers. He has punched himself in the face. Other awful things. We are guaranteed to have some sort of blowout each day, you just never know when it's going to happen. Well, he went to the same behavioral treatment center for two weeks. He came back last Thursday WORSE THAN EVER. I cried in school more that once....I am NOT a sap, I NEVER cry in school. I didn't want to come to school on Friday, but knew that I couldn't do that to my assistant. Ugh. It was a nightmare. He is still bad and each day you never know what you are going to get. I try to get him through the day and will walk him home after school if he makes it all day...many times if he is sent to the office even the principal can't control him or keep him from hurting himself. It's a sad situation and one that makes me realize that the future of this Class of 2022 is not everything I wish for and work toward.
Enough of the sap....lets talk about animals, particularly ones that are in and around my school. There was a lizard in my classroom a few weeks ago. I made one of the kids kill it. Now I realize that might not have been my best move. The janitors killed two snakes climbing up the outside wall of my classroom two weeks ago (this was ON the playground mind you). They were not small but luckily not poisonous. (Picture is after they poured a little gasoline on them. Turns out gasoline makes them flip over and die instantly) The other day at recess one of my cute and hilarious girls told me there was a turtle by the door. I went to look and sure enough there was a big ol turtle right at the door. Its shell was probably 10 inches or so! A bigun'. Anyway...the kids all screamed when we walked past it just because they can. I went out the back door an hour later to get something and saw the turtle had dug a hole and was laying eggs next to the school. My co-teacher and I quickly got groups of kids to come out back and watch. I thought it was SO COOL that my kids got to watch that...heck, I haven't ever seen a turtle lay eggs before! However, good thing I went to see The Last Song over Easter so Miley Cyrus could teach me a thing or two about turtles!
In one month I'll be home for the summer (or at least 6 weeks of it I guess). I cannot wait to enjoy the sunshine and some Minnesota lakes!! If anyone knows of any sand volleyball leagues around Amboy...please let me know...I really want to play :) ALSO...here is my plea...if anyone hits up any good garage sales and finds some Disney movies on VHS...please buy them for me! I'll pay you back, PROMISE :) We are getting a little sick of the ones we have and with the rain we've gotten lately, we haven't been able to go outside (mehhhhhh).
Hope Minnesota spring is FABULOUS! The humidity in the 'sip for the last two days has been at least 80%. Ridic. I just turned the air on because our house got up to 78 with TOTAL humidity!
Just less than four weeks left of my Teach For America commitment...who would have thought it would go this quickly....
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