Making Sense of Senseless Things

As I reflect on the events of this past week, as many teachers have, I am reminded how important my job is to not only educate these students but to also protect them while they are in my care. It is sad that it takes something like a tragedy to put many things into perspective. I watch the news and see all those precious faces and ask the question like many others, Why? We may never have the answer to this, but I do know that there is evil in the world and we are not immune to it as much as we would like to be. God did not tell us if we believe in him that life would always be rosy and wonderful. It is comforting to know that we can rely on him to help us through situations such as this. I feel blessed to be in a school where we do pray every day. We can stop in the middle of class and pray for whatever we deem necessary. We are taking finals this week, many of my junior high students have never taken a final. You can imagine the nerves and anxiety going through the air! As you may already know, we stopped and prayed before we began the test. There is just something about praying to God that can ease a person's soul. I am thankful every day that I can spend time in pray with my class. 
I wish those who want to pray could participate in a prayer in public schools. We all know that on that horrific day last week at Sandy Hook Elementary school there were many people saying a prayer. I have never understood why we took prayer out. If you don't want to participate, then just don't. Out of respect for those who do, be still and stay quiet. It is a matter of respect for other people's beliefs, you don't have to agree, but you do need to show respect.
In light of the events this past week, I bet there will be more teachers, students, and parents, praying throughout the school day. I hope that all those affected by this tragedy know that people all over the country are praying for them daily, not that it will help ease their pain, but knowing others are praying on you behalf when sometimes you can't is a great comfort. 
Christmas is going to have a different feel this year. Let's all think more of others and less of ourselves. 
Merry Christmas

Remembering What is Important

I have had the opportunity to teach subjects totally different than what I have done the past several years. I am now considered a jr. high teacher. This is something I never thought that I would do. I am now teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th graders Math and Bible. At a small private school you tend to have lots of responsibilities. I am one of three jr. high teachers and I am also the head teacher. It has been an adjustment coming from elementary, but it has been fun.
Along with all of my new assignments, we also merged with another private school. We are meshing two campuses into one and it has given added stresses to our jobs, but has also given us some added benefits. We have come to know and love new people and have had to stretch ourselves and get out of our comfort zone. With all of the changes, it does bring some stress. Both schools have had to compromise and that in itself puts people on edge. For the most part, I have felt very welcomed by the other staff members that were not part of our school. I have also enjoyed getting to know the students from the other school.
I do feel that God has put me here for a reason. Sometimes I am not sure what that reason is, but I know he has a plan. I need to remember this when the stresses of the day get to me. In having to teach Bible to three classes, I have seen my Bible knowledge along with my spiritual grow this year. We all want to have all the answers and know why things are happening, but God doesn't work that way. I have to remember to trust him and realize that he knows what he is doing.
Christmas is my favorite time of the year. As a teacher, we do not always get to enjoy it as much as others. I always feel that I am in a rush to get things done. I have always had a child who played basketball. This time of year is always busy because there are tournaments and regular season games that we are trying to squeeze in before holidays. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas break, I do not feel like I can take a breath with all the things I need to get done. And now this year, I have added final exams to go along with it. I have not had the opportunity to give finals. It will definitely be a new experience!
Christmas break is coming up and we all are in need of a much needed rest. I think the students do not realize that teachers look forward to these breaks just as much as they do. I have one more week of review and then three days of finals. Then the vacation begins.
May we remember the purpose of Christmas and not get to wrapped up in the commercial aspect of it all.
Merry Christmas!

NearPod

I have come across this wonderful teaching tool. It is an app called Nearpod. You can read more about it here: http://www.nearpod.com/. I recently signed into one of the webinairs they have that explains how to use their app. It just blew me away! It uses iPads mainly, but it can also be used on an iPod touch or an iPhone. Basically, you create a slide show of whatever information you want to use with your class. But the beauty of this app is that you can add videos, charts, quizzes, drawings, etc... The possibilities are just endless! You can get immediate feedback from the questions and answers with your students. You can also let them see how they answered a question and what is the correct answer.  I can't wait to use this in my classroom in the fall! I encourage you to check it out.

The Downhill Stretch

By the time you hit April, you know that you are on the downhill stretch of the school year. This is the time of year that I start looking towards next year and what I want to change or adjust for the coming year.

I have a "Next Year" notebook that I use every year to jot down ideas and different teaching strategies that worked or didn't work throughout this past year. I have kept this notebook for the last 7 years. It has really helped with my teaching. When you come across an idea that really worked or that you want to use next year, I jot it down into this notebook so I will not forget. It is really great to go back over the summer and see the different ideas I want to incorporate for next year. It helps keep me organized, plus I don't forget that "great idea" I had back in January!

Out of the Mouth of Babes!

What do you do when a student tries to defy you? The other day this student chose to draw that line in the sand and see if he could win. He needed to finish half of his Math problems before he went home. He decided to avoid doing them in hopes that I would not notice. I sent the rest of the class outside for extra recess and informed this student that he would be staying in to finish the problems. He just stood there. I asked him, "Do you really want t go down this road with me?" Another student was walking by and replied, "I have never been down that road, but I don't think you want to go there." I could not have said it better myself! The student eventually got his math book and finished the problems. Sometimes getting my point across is done better by the students.

Eye Rolling....

There are those times when one of your students makes a poor choice. I had one today that decided to roll his eyes at me. So what do you do? He is known for questioning and testing teachers. I have learned with this particular student that you cannot give him an inch because he will take a mile. I called his hand on it and I utilized my first level of discipline and informed him that this would not have happened if he had been doing what was expected of him. He was not happy at all and when he returned to his seat after writing his name on the board, he decided to just sit there. It is funny how students think that sitting and not working actually in some way punishes you. When he returned to my room in the afternoon, he had a definite change of attitude. It was nice to see that he realized his mistakes and chose to change his behavior. Students are always going to test the "waters" and see what you are going to do. You just need to make sure that you follow through and deal with any and all situations. Students will soon realize that you mean what you say and they will not "test the waters" near as much.

You Know Your a Teacher When......

I just came back from a break from school. I love the time off during a school year. It really helps to rejuvenate me and get ready to begin again. You know you are a teacher when you spend part of you time off looking at educational websites, looking for ways to teach your subjects better, and just reading other teacher's blogs for good ideas.
My husband refers to me as a "geek" and I guess I am because I love to search on the internet or read books that can help in my profession. I have found several websites and blogs that have great ideas and new ways to teach. In future blogs, I will begin to list some of the websites I have found to be very useful.
There is one article written by Jeff Foxworthy that I just love called, How Do You Know You're a Teacher? A couple of my favorite lines from this are, You know you are a teacher when you get a secret thrill out of laminating things and You know you are a teacher when you can hear 25 voices behind you and know exactly which one belongs to the child out of line.
I do love being a teacher and I truly hope it shows in my classroom!

Flexibility

As a teacher some weeks you just have to be REALLY flexible. This past week we had a four day week. Now, I love having a day off, but then it sometimes causes the four-day week to be rather hectic. On top of a short week, we had a big fundraiser for our school which included a talent show. I love this event because we get to see all that talent we have in our school from Kindergarten through 12 grade. With this big program, students need to be pulled out to practice their portion of the entertainment. If you are a teacher you know that this really messes up your lesson plans. I have learned over the years that you just learn to bump things to the next week if necessary. I love having my lesson plan template on the computer, because then all I have to do is cut and paste to the next day. When I first started teaching, if I did not get done with everything that was in my lesson plans, it would really bother me. Or I would stress myself and my students and try to shove everything in so I would be done. I had a wise teacher tell me that it is not necessary to "finish the textbook". Yes, you need to push the students and stretch them to learn, but finishing the textbook is not a requirement. When I finally learned that, it made teaching a whole lot more fun! Embrace and enjoy the unexpected interruptions in your class!

Never a Dull Moment!

There never seems to be a dull moment when you teach. Just when you think you have time to take care of those "behind the scenes" details that make your lessons work so well, something happens and you find yourself dealing with another set of issues that were not expected. 
I teach at a small private school, so you have many duties that don't seem to be listed on your job description. Today was just one of those. We have a toilet that does not always want to cooperate. Today was one of those days. Upon opening the bathroom door, I hear water rushing and realize the floor is covered in water! Yikes! As I waded my way to the culprit, I finally get the water to stop running. I then make an SOS call to the front office hoping there is someone around who can mop up the whole mess. Luckily, there was and I can get back to the matter at hand.....which was?