snow!

This is the second "real" winter I've experienced in Virginia.  This week and last have been absolutely freezing and colder than normal for VA at any point during the months of December-February.
It sort of snowed during the day on Monday, but it started after we were already in school.  It barely covered the grass and promptly melted when the sun came out around 1:30. That was nice.
Today it snowed. Not a whole lot, but the ground is covered with probably 2-3" (I haven't been outside, so I'm totally guessing). What cracked me up is that my district called a snow day before a single flake even fell. That was a first. Also: for this small amount of snow, there are grocery stores with sold-out bread aisles. I understood it a little more last winter when it was, like, two feet of snow and a for-real blizzard because that is incredibly strange for Virginia.
We still have until Tuesday before winter break starts. I'm not sure if we'll have school tomorrow. The snow stopped falling, but sleet is supposed to roll in and it's so cold outside that it might just cause another snow day or a 2 hour delay (to make sure the roads aren't too slick).
Will the freak out over snow hitting Virginia ever stop being amusing to me? I hope not.

My lovely English 9 class

When I was first asked to teach English 9, I was nervous. My impression of 9th graders, as a 10-12th grade teacher, was that they were wild, insane, immature creatures that I would never survive a year with.
I was wrong. Very, very wrong.
As much as I love teaching English 10, English 9 might just surpass it as my favorite. English 11 and 12 are awesome because you have the timelines and lots of history cross-overs and whatnot, but English 9 and 10 are where I really feel like The Teacher.
This year, I not only have the blessing of an ah-may-zing co-teacher (we could not be more similar in teaching philosophy and sense of humor), but we've also been spoiled with an even more amazing English 9, first semester class. We actually told them the other day that if we could teach them every day for the next three years of their high school lives, we would do it in a heartbeat.  As other classes are hitting that wonderful mid-semester slump/doldrums, this class marches in every day with a smile on their face and a skip in their step. At 7:40 A.M. Do you know how abnormal that is for high school kids? While teaching them, I sometimes worry that I'm still sleeping and having a wonderful dream about The Perfect Class. Seriously, how did I/we get so lucky? It has also proved what I always tell kids at the start of the year/semester: you meet me half-way in enthusiasm and effort, and this class will be awesome and as fun as you want it to be.

Here are some reasons why my English 9 class is SO INCREDIBLY AWESOME:

• All of them passed the first quarter. Only two or three of them had not turned in every. single. assignment.
• They get along with each other. (!!!)
• They sing happy birthday to each other.
• They want to read out loud. They fight over who will read out loud. 
• We have inside jokes. The yeti/Sasquatch, calling people a "turd", the Plagiarism Police and more...

Speaking of the yeti obsession, it has been ramped up even more! As we were watching Act 1 of Romeo & Juliet, during the Queen Mab speech, my Sasquatch-obsessed student yelled out "YETI!!!" and claimed there was a guy dressed as a yeti in the background. I thought he mistook the guy dressed as a Viking for a yeti. On Thursday, during the student teacher's lesson with that class, she had them re-watch that section, but that time I saw it! We all started laughing so hard that there were tears and the student teacher played it off very nicely by saying "And now we know--Shakespeare prefers yetis."

• We laugh so hard we cry--this happens at least 2-3 times a week.
• They get into everything we read. Seriously. They come up with connections, they turn in amazing writing assignments, they become passionate about the characters--it is an English teacher's dream.
• They study. They prepare. They ace tests!
• They are honest.
• Their parents are incredible.
• Some of them even read outside of class/school and are not afraid to admit it. (!!!)
• When reading A Raisin in the Sun, they fought over who would read each role every day.
• When I told them the next thing we were going to read was Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, they cheered. CHEERED! They were EXCITED!
• When reading Romeo & Juliet, they've tried their hardest to understand it and have done incredibly well with it so far. They've had amazing discussions and are actually getting some of the jokes that they shouldn't get because they are dirty, dirty jokes.

There are many other reasons, but seriously, folks--this class is amazing. On Friday, a student was biting his thumb (a great insult in R&J). I asked him, "Are you biting your thumb at me?". He replied, "I'm just... biting my thumb." I ask again, "But are you biting your thumb at me?". He turns to the girl behind him and asks "Is the law on our side if I say 'yes'?". It was a good example of why we love this class--they really get into the reading and have fun with it.
I could make another list for my English 10 class, as well, but it would look pretty similar to this one (they have more inside jokes, though--that class is full of comedians). I have been very lucky in who was placed in my classes this semester. The only downfall is that it will be very difficult to let them go in January and even more difficult to not compare my second semester students to this semester. I'll miss these classes, for sure.

whoops

I always put this on my lists of things to do, but never get around to it.

Let's see.
Student teacher is getting better. I have another half-written post about her first lesson ready to post... when I get to it.
We went to D.C. this past weekend and I got to see one of my oldest friends. It was a much-needed visit. It's so nice to see friends you've had for FOREVER, especially when you've had years of moving and trying to make new friends. I'm SO looking forward to seeing other friends of ours that finally moved back to the east side of the U.S. during Thanksgiving weekend and of course--seeing my family in December.
This year, I feel more and more respected by students and staff. It's nice.
I have a lot going on: Literary magazine, student teacher, 3 preps (9, 10, and 11), new schedule, grad classes, mentor program for our on-time graduation committee, technology go-to person for the English department, conferences my principal volunteered me for, study hall duty... and I'm probably forgetting one or two things.

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with this blog. Student stories? Lesson ideas? School politics? Day-to-day updates about my boring life? Not sure.
I do have a few posts that I've started and never finished on various topics. I might get around to taking care of them at some point in time. Or I might not.

the ST, day 3

Today was day 3 with the ST.
She was in on a day that was not a Thursday, so there were (of course) a few kids who asked, "What are YOU doing here today? It is NOT Thursday!" (gotta love teenagers, you always know where you stand with them.)
She had to finish up a test she started yesterday with some English 11 students (they got huge bags of candy out of it, which immediately stopped their complaining and helped them make 20 new BFFs! LOL)

Thankfully, she is finally getting a little more comfortable. I asked her if she would like to get up and walk around while kids were working on essay outlines and/or study guides and I think that helped her feel a little more comfortable. The kids are getting used to her, but a few are still harassing her or refusing her help when it's offered. They'll warm up after a while.

She asked me yesterday if her just sitting near my desk is a distraction and offered maybe finding another spot. I had to remind her that with any student K-12, her just being there is a distraction. It's something new, a change in the schedule, a full moon, a shift in the weather... it's a distraction. But I also told her that the longer she shows up, the less that will happen. When we discussed how some of the students reacted today, I reminded her that any change in the schedule immediately draws their attention, and teenagers immediately need to address it. That's just how some of them are and it's something every secondary teacher (well, any teacher in general) needs to recognize and know how to deal with.


Another great thing about today? We have a new student in our English 9 class who is a few years older than the rest of the class. He's lived a life and found out that dropping out was not what he wanted to do, after all. There is another student in our English 9 class that was in one my classes last year and now has to repeat. He's been debating dropping out because he just isn't into school (and pretty much hates everyone there, including me).  While I was circulating, I overheard a little bit of their conversation where the older Eng 9 student was telling my repeater about how dropping out is not the way he wants to go and giving him reason after reason after reason. It was really nice of him to do and I told him so after class. I said that I think it was good for the repeater to hear because it was coming from someone who actually experienced it. His response was not so hopeful (he said that he tried, but the repeater will probably make his own mistakes and end up not listening to a word he said), but I still told him that I was really proud of him for trying and really appreciated the effort to "save" him.

exciting week!

Third week of school is usually when the honeymoon period ends. On Tuesday and Wednesday, there were two different fights in the same area of the school. Both fights involved girls. The first involved one of my former students (she found out another girl was pregnant with her boyfriend's baby! Draaaamaaaa!) and the second involved a 'clan' of girls (all related), some of whom I taught last year. They jumped a new girl and tore out her hair! Poor girl was bleeding all over the place & her hair was all over the floor, I was told. Yep, honeymoon period over.
Students got a little more wild this week, but I still like them. I met quite a few parents on Wednesday night for our first semester Back to School night. They were all very nice & a majority of them brought their students with them!
All my classes took tests on Tuesday. For English 9 & 10, it was their first. They all did pretty great! I think out of all my students, only 3 failed (basically one per class), 5 got D's or C's, and the rest got high B's or A's! Some even got above 100 due to study guide extra credit or completing ALL of the short answer options. I am impressed! I've got a great group of kids this semester!
My student teacher (yes, MY student teacher--what? how?) had her first full day with my classes on Thursday. She came in for Back to School night and did a wonderful job of introducing herself. My English 9 students and student involvement worker met her last Friday when she was first visiting the school. She's not a 'real' student teacher just yet. This semester she will be coming in only on Thursdays and has little tasks that she must complete every week for the two classes she's taking. Next semester, she will be teaching for 10 weeks (yikes! Will I be able to give up my control of my classroom for that long?). She seems very nice, but nervous and/or uncomfortable. It's cool, though, cause I was pretty much the same way during my pre-internship.
The students don't really like her so far. My English 9 students call her the 'awkward lady'. My English 10 students were not pleased that she shh'd them when she was here (neither was I, to be honest. That's my job. haha!) and constantly told one of them to be quiet. My English 11 students didn't take much notice of her. All of them were disturbed that she never laughed or showed any emotion. Oh, and they all took notice of her make-up and a shoulder twitch she had going on (teenagers are so observant of the things you probably do NOT want them to notice at all). My 9th graders were planning on just staring at her next Thursday because they claimed that she just stared at them the whole time. I talked them out of that and explained to them what I explained to all of my classes who asked about her: she's probably just nervous and will loosen up as she becomes more comfortable in the classroom. Either that or she thinks we're all nutjobs. And that's okay.
At first, I was nervous about what she would say about me. Then I realized a few things.

1. She has never taught before. If she has, it definitely wasn't at a high school level.
2. My administrators and department chair know how I am, how I teach, how other teachers/students/parents feel about me. Their opinions matter more than hers because they determine if I have a contract.
3. Regardless of what she says, I will continue to teach the way that works for me. If she disagrees with it, that's fine since we are obviously different types of people.
4. My students are successful and retain a lot of the information I need them to. To me, this shows that I'm doing at least one thing right. :)
5. She's never taught before. Comparing myself to who I was when I was her age and place in my career to now shows how much you change when you actually have to teach.

Bless her heart, though, I do not envy her. I would not relive my pre-intership, student teaching or first year of teaching for any amount of money. The pure terror, panic and anxiety from those two years probably took at least a year off of my life. I no longer wake up with a nervous stomach, questioning why I didn't choose a career that didn't involve getting up in front of 20-30 teenagers and trying to teach them something. I am so glad that I'm in year five of my career, comfortable in front of my students, knowledgable about what I have to teach and learning more every year about becoming a better educator. By the way, I noticed that I wasn't nervous at all during Back to School night. My greatest weakness used to be addressing a whole classroom full of parents because I would get so nervous that I shut down, but now it barely phases me! Loving it!

One last note about this week: I found out one of my current (and technically former, she was in an English 10 class of mine two years ago) students is pregnant. Every year, there has to be one... I should really start warning my female students at the beginning of the year...

first week done, only... a lot more to go.

Have I ever said that pre-service week is my favorite? It is. During the school year, the faculty never seems to have as much time together to just hang out and discuss what we do/how we teach as we do during pre-service week. I love it because I remember why I love what I do, I love sharing ideas with other teachers and I love seeing everyone else before the stress of the school year and SOLs sets in.

Since we switched to the 4x4 block schedule, I only have three classes.
Those three classes are:
First block: English 9. 25 kids. All awesome & sweet. I love freshmen!
Second block: English 11. 25 kids. I knew most of them. Three are seniors trying to graduate (one showed up late last year, one had medical issues, and one got majorly screwed over by a long-term sub last year). I was a little worried about how this class would interact, but so far, it's been better than expected. We finished reading the first act of The Crucible already and actually had some fun getting through it. Even though this class will probably be my rowdiest of this semester, I have a few things on my side: the two SOLs (the writing one is in October! OCTOBER!! One month from now! AHH!) for this year, maturity, and football season (most of the boys in the class are on the varsity football team, so they have to behave in order to play). Also, most of these kids have a very good sense of humor and are very bright, so this has the potential to be my rowdiest, yet most fun class. Thank god it's during the start of my day, though. I don't think I could teach this class at the end of the day.
Third block: Study hall/planning. Our study hall is paired with AP classes that meet every other day. We have about 5-7 students that are in study hall every day, then the rest of the 28 total students enrolled come to us every other day. Math Teacher Next Door & I share this study hall duty in order to give us both a break as this is our only planning period for the day. So far, we've decided on a 2 day on, 2 day off schedule. The kids are nice, I taught most of them in the last two years.
Fourth block: English 10. 26 kids. I knew a few of them and a few of them coming in were very excited to be in my class---that's a nice feeling. A few of the kids I have this this class that I taught last year said they missed me over the summer! How sweet, right?? So far, this has been my best behaved class I've EVER had at the end of the day. They are smart, chatty, and creative. We already finished one short story--the longest one we reading English 10--and they actually got into it! That was great! This class has great potential.

So far, I love all my classes, but I realize that we are in the "honeymoon" period that happens at the beginning of every year (or semester). We'll see how things change over the next month. I hope they don't change much because I really like all of my students and classes so far. I'm also already pretty used to the 4x4 schedule and seeing the same students every day. It was a lot easier to learn their names & quicker to grade their stuff and makes copies since I have a LOT less students now than I ever had before. I hope next week is as good as this week was!

favorite first lines

I finally got a chance to go to one of my favorite places ever: the library. Between summer school, family visits and classes, I never got a chance to go & check out a few books I've been meaning to read. Plus, I already had a stack of four books that I already own to finish reading and I bought the six Scott Pilgrim graphic novels to read before the movie (and to possibly add to the classroom library).

For some reason, going to the library got me thinking about the first lines of a book. Then I thought about my favorite first lines of books I've read.
Here are a few that I love. What are yours?

"Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men." -Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (I really hope I get to teach this novel again some day)

"It was inevitable: the scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love" -Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Beundia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." -One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." -The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (I also hope that one day I'll be able to teach this again.)

Do you have any favorite first lines? Am I the only one that is slightly obsessed with the first lines of books? I mean, if they're really good, doesn't that just make the rest of the book better?

By the way, I went into the library to choose only two books, but ended up getting more than that. Typical. What I checked out: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood, Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (they FINALLY had it!), All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy and The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon.