This morning I went into school after a three day weekend to make copies. Everything I'd planned for the day - a really good lesson, btw - needed to be copied, and the copier was broken. I can't even tell you how annoying that is. I had three minutes to come up with something else to do with my 90 minutes with my kids. And then I came back to me room, stressed and freaking out about this new turn of events, and remembered that I rearranged the desks and made a new seating chart that I needed to somehow give to the kids. So I'm walking around the room frantically putting sticky notes on each desk saying who sits where, and I look up and one of my students from 5th block who loves the Giants is standing in front of me, with a huge smile on his face. I looked at him and said "I don't want to talk about it. Get out of my face."
In case you were wondering, I managed to improvise enough to use about 3/4 of the block, and then passed out the mountain of papers sitting on my desk, and then read Green Eggs and Ham. Just for fun. It had nothing to do with my lesson and there wasn't even an attempt to link it to content. I just read Dr. Seuss. And it was awesome.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The Almost Mental Breakdown
To start, a couple of conversations:
Student 1: The Packers are going to the Superbowl again and they’re going to LOSE.
Student 2: To the Saints!
Student 1: They’re in the same conference, stupid!
Me: Hey, the Steelers lost.
Student: I KNOW. I was like Teboooooooooow!
Student 1: Miss Melchione, what’s an ox?
Me: Have you ever played Oregon Trail?
Student 1: No, what’s that?
Me: It’s an old school computer game.
Student 2: Two big problems there. One: old school. Two: computer game. There’s a 360 now and a PS3 now and all kinds of other great things.
Also super amusing, one male student wrote during an exit ticket for the Hunger Games that a cause in the novel was that Katniss pretended to love Peeta, which led to the effects of Peeta being mad at Katniss, Katniss feeling lonely again, and no more kissing.
Something not so amusing happened today during 5th block. I’ve talked a lot about 5th block and all the not so amusing things that have happened in the last several weeks, but this time it was different. I had an interaction with the extremely difficult student I’ve mentioned before…she was just having a bad day and no matter how hard I tried to calm her down and keep her in the room – which , trust me, was pretty hard – I finally gave up and let her go talk to the Assistant Principal. Who then put her in In School Suspension for the rest of the day. She came back afterwards to apologize and talk things out with me, and we’re good again. She wasn’t the real issue. The real issue was that after she left the rest of the class continued to be terrible. After silent reading time (which was neither silent not involving any actual reading), I felt like my options with this class were either 1.) try a new approach with them or 2.) have a mental breakdown. So I went with the new approach. I asked them to open their journals and to spend a few minutes writing about what they think they’re getting out of school right now (if anything). Then I had them write about what they think high school is going to be like if they ignore middle school. Then…I told them that I can’t care for both of us. I told them that no matter how hard I care, I can’t make them care. And I told them that I care a LOT. I told them that I wanted to share a little secret with them: this is my first year teacher, and so they are my first actual students. I told them that that means that I care a lot about their success, and that I put an incredible amount of work and passion into our time together so that they are successful. I told them that I’m not exaggerating when I say that because they’re the first students that have ever been officially mine, I honestly think of them as my own kids. And that when they show up and act like jerks it ticks me off. I finished with saying that if they go on to high school and drop out because they wasted their time in middle school, it will BREAK my heart.
I wish you could have seen the facial expressions and heard the silence. I think it might have made a difference. Time will tell, I suppose, but they seemed...different, afterwards. Chatty and goofy and loud, but also productive and compliant and respectful. They were also extremely interested in interrogating me about the rumors that have been flying about whether I have a new boyfriend or not, with several of my boys responding in an incredibly protective manner. One boy told me to tell him that he’s stronger than he is, and to be scared. Another boy told me to tell him that if he ever breaks my heart he’ll kill him. “No really, I will. Tell him that I will KILL him.”
I never really thought that I would experience some of the things I’ve experienced this year. I never thought I’d hold onto students’ cell phones for the day, not because they’re in trouble but because they told me that they had them and I asked if they wanted me to hold onto them so they’re not tempted to use them when they shouldn’t. I never thought I’d have three of my girls come into my room in between Encore classes to chat, avoid going to their next class, and drop half of what they own onto my desk, under my computer cart, and onto my back counter for safe keeping. I never thought I’d use Lil Wayne to teach what a climax is. I never thought I’d argue with students over how I want them to stay in my classroom when they’re misbehaving horribly rather than go to the Assistant Principal because I’d rather work out our issues with them myself. I never thought I’d have students from my Homeroom sneaking into my other classes throughout the day and whining with me as I’m physically pushing them back out the door, saying “But Miss Melchione! It’s my favorite claaaaaass!” I never thought any of these things would happen, just like I never thought I’d tell a class full of students that I see them as my own children. It’s all true, though, and I honestly wouldn’t change any of it.
Student 1: The Packers are going to the Superbowl again and they’re going to LOSE.
Student 2: To the Saints!
Student 1: They’re in the same conference, stupid!
Me: Hey, the Steelers lost.
Student: I KNOW. I was like Teboooooooooow!
Student 1: Miss Melchione, what’s an ox?
Me: Have you ever played Oregon Trail?
Student 1: No, what’s that?
Me: It’s an old school computer game.
Student 2: Two big problems there. One: old school. Two: computer game. There’s a 360 now and a PS3 now and all kinds of other great things.
Also super amusing, one male student wrote during an exit ticket for the Hunger Games that a cause in the novel was that Katniss pretended to love Peeta, which led to the effects of Peeta being mad at Katniss, Katniss feeling lonely again, and no more kissing.
Something not so amusing happened today during 5th block. I’ve talked a lot about 5th block and all the not so amusing things that have happened in the last several weeks, but this time it was different. I had an interaction with the extremely difficult student I’ve mentioned before…she was just having a bad day and no matter how hard I tried to calm her down and keep her in the room – which , trust me, was pretty hard – I finally gave up and let her go talk to the Assistant Principal. Who then put her in In School Suspension for the rest of the day. She came back afterwards to apologize and talk things out with me, and we’re good again. She wasn’t the real issue. The real issue was that after she left the rest of the class continued to be terrible. After silent reading time (which was neither silent not involving any actual reading), I felt like my options with this class were either 1.) try a new approach with them or 2.) have a mental breakdown. So I went with the new approach. I asked them to open their journals and to spend a few minutes writing about what they think they’re getting out of school right now (if anything). Then I had them write about what they think high school is going to be like if they ignore middle school. Then…I told them that I can’t care for both of us. I told them that no matter how hard I care, I can’t make them care. And I told them that I care a LOT. I told them that I wanted to share a little secret with them: this is my first year teacher, and so they are my first actual students. I told them that that means that I care a lot about their success, and that I put an incredible amount of work and passion into our time together so that they are successful. I told them that I’m not exaggerating when I say that because they’re the first students that have ever been officially mine, I honestly think of them as my own kids. And that when they show up and act like jerks it ticks me off. I finished with saying that if they go on to high school and drop out because they wasted their time in middle school, it will BREAK my heart.
I wish you could have seen the facial expressions and heard the silence. I think it might have made a difference. Time will tell, I suppose, but they seemed...different, afterwards. Chatty and goofy and loud, but also productive and compliant and respectful. They were also extremely interested in interrogating me about the rumors that have been flying about whether I have a new boyfriend or not, with several of my boys responding in an incredibly protective manner. One boy told me to tell him that he’s stronger than he is, and to be scared. Another boy told me to tell him that if he ever breaks my heart he’ll kill him. “No really, I will. Tell him that I will KILL him.”
I never really thought that I would experience some of the things I’ve experienced this year. I never thought I’d hold onto students’ cell phones for the day, not because they’re in trouble but because they told me that they had them and I asked if they wanted me to hold onto them so they’re not tempted to use them when they shouldn’t. I never thought I’d have three of my girls come into my room in between Encore classes to chat, avoid going to their next class, and drop half of what they own onto my desk, under my computer cart, and onto my back counter for safe keeping. I never thought I’d use Lil Wayne to teach what a climax is. I never thought I’d argue with students over how I want them to stay in my classroom when they’re misbehaving horribly rather than go to the Assistant Principal because I’d rather work out our issues with them myself. I never thought I’d have students from my Homeroom sneaking into my other classes throughout the day and whining with me as I’m physically pushing them back out the door, saying “But Miss Melchione! It’s my favorite claaaaaass!” I never thought any of these things would happen, just like I never thought I’d tell a class full of students that I see them as my own children. It’s all true, though, and I honestly wouldn’t change any of it.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Teachers really love Christmas break too.
Christmas break has come and gone, and we were back at it this week. I have to say that going back to school on Tuesday was the worst. I had the absolute worst attitude in the world when I walked into my classroom that morning, and it didn’t really help that all 90 of my kids had equally bad attitudes. Needless to say…there wasn’t a whole lot of happiness and productivity that day. Wednesday was better, Thursday was much worse, and Friday was a Friday. Since being back, it’s felt a little bit like a whirlwind. I’ve dealt with a student taking a half hour bathroom break, a student breaking into my colleague’s math class to ask if her brother has been misbehaving, a fight involving two girls that happened inside my classroom during the ten seconds I was out in the hallway, students throwing everything another student owns onto the floor in a huge mess when I was helping someone across the room, a surprise informal observation by my Assistant Principal during my worst class, a student refusing to give me a cell phone he had in the middle of class (don’t worry…he got it), three cell phones, an iPod and a PSP all confiscated within the span of two days, and two students who were kicked out of the library because they were too loud and then decided to take twenty minutes to walk down the one hallway to get back to my classroom (they got it too). It’s been a little ridiculous and I’m fairly certain my children are nuts, but I still love them and they still manage to make me laugh out loud. Time for some recorded conversations, both overheard and participated in yesterday?
(while studying for the vocab/prefix quiz they were about to take, female student who will be called S and male student who will be called J had this conversation about the prefixes “intra” and “infra”…and yes. I’m evil for giving them both of those on the same quiz.)S: Intra.
J: Infra or intra?
S: Intra.
J: Infra?
S: No, intra!
J: Oh. It means below.
S: No, that’s infra. I said intra.
J: WHAT? No, intra is below and infra is inside!
S: No! You’re backwards!
J: MISS MELCHIONE! Is intra below?
Me: No, that’s infra. Intra is inside. Like intrastate. And intramural.
J: That’s what I said. Intra is inside, and infra is below.
Student: Are you going to go see “The Devil Inside” tonight?
Me: Nope.
Student: But you could meet a guy there! You could do this! (cuddles up to an invisible guy)
Me: What if I don’t need to?
Student: YOU COULD GO WITH ME!
My fifth block has been horrible. HORRIBLE. And it’s gotten to the point where it’s not even just about the fact that they’re disrupting my ability to teach them. It’s transitioned into this whole new realm where I’m truly disappointed in them and the decisions they are making that are changing who they are. This is such a vital time in their developmental process, and they make so many decisions right now in middle school that could potentially shape who they become as high schoolers and as adults. And it ticks me off a little bit to watch my kids start the year as wonderful, sweet, thoughtful kids turn into rude, mean, and destructive. So when they hit their pinnacle of frustrating on Thursday, I told them that. All of that. They were a little bit quieter the rest of the class period…and they were a lot better yesterday. We’ll see how it works in the long run, but I’m going to be having a lot of heart-to-hearts with my kids because I just refuse to watch it happen and not do anything.
They WERE better yesterday, though, and because of that they earned Friday free time for the first time. Ever. I wish you could have seen their cute excited faces. The funniest moment of my day came during that cherished free time, when male student who will be called E called to me from across the room SO excited because he had made an M out of dominoes on the desk in honor of my name and he wanted me to come knock them over. As I was making my way across the room to knock them over, male student who will be called K calmly and expressionlessly threw a Sharpie from across the room at the dominoes, sending them scattered in a million directions across the room. Usually, I try to keep my laughter at the children inside as much as possible, but at this point in my Friday afternoon and after the week it had been, I lost it. I honestly couldn’t stop laughing. E went ballistic on K and they pretend fought with E calling K some mildly inappropriate names (see the drugstore scene of the movie “Signs” as a reference). It was a good time. Welcome to 2012.
(while studying for the vocab/prefix quiz they were about to take, female student who will be called S and male student who will be called J had this conversation about the prefixes “intra” and “infra”…and yes. I’m evil for giving them both of those on the same quiz.)S: Intra.
J: Infra or intra?
S: Intra.
J: Infra?
S: No, intra!
J: Oh. It means below.
S: No, that’s infra. I said intra.
J: WHAT? No, intra is below and infra is inside!
S: No! You’re backwards!
J: MISS MELCHIONE! Is intra below?
Me: No, that’s infra. Intra is inside. Like intrastate. And intramural.
J: That’s what I said. Intra is inside, and infra is below.
Student: Are you going to go see “The Devil Inside” tonight?
Me: Nope.
Student: But you could meet a guy there! You could do this! (cuddles up to an invisible guy)
Me: What if I don’t need to?
Student: YOU COULD GO WITH ME!
My fifth block has been horrible. HORRIBLE. And it’s gotten to the point where it’s not even just about the fact that they’re disrupting my ability to teach them. It’s transitioned into this whole new realm where I’m truly disappointed in them and the decisions they are making that are changing who they are. This is such a vital time in their developmental process, and they make so many decisions right now in middle school that could potentially shape who they become as high schoolers and as adults. And it ticks me off a little bit to watch my kids start the year as wonderful, sweet, thoughtful kids turn into rude, mean, and destructive. So when they hit their pinnacle of frustrating on Thursday, I told them that. All of that. They were a little bit quieter the rest of the class period…and they were a lot better yesterday. We’ll see how it works in the long run, but I’m going to be having a lot of heart-to-hearts with my kids because I just refuse to watch it happen and not do anything.
They WERE better yesterday, though, and because of that they earned Friday free time for the first time. Ever. I wish you could have seen their cute excited faces. The funniest moment of my day came during that cherished free time, when male student who will be called E called to me from across the room SO excited because he had made an M out of dominoes on the desk in honor of my name and he wanted me to come knock them over. As I was making my way across the room to knock them over, male student who will be called K calmly and expressionlessly threw a Sharpie from across the room at the dominoes, sending them scattered in a million directions across the room. Usually, I try to keep my laughter at the children inside as much as possible, but at this point in my Friday afternoon and after the week it had been, I lost it. I honestly couldn’t stop laughing. E went ballistic on K and they pretend fought with E calling K some mildly inappropriate names (see the drugstore scene of the movie “Signs” as a reference). It was a good time. Welcome to 2012.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)