Dreaming of Wishing Wells

Three school days until spring break...then 10 glorious days off school. I'm really, really, really looking forward to it. I haven't actually had any long stretches with lots of school thanks to the freak blizzards and the recruiting trip. But the school days I've had have been grueling. Today I was scratched hard enough to break the skin, kicked repeatedly in the shins, and also verbally abused. Kids (well, just two angry boys) yelled in my face, "Get away from me!" and "Don't touch me!" The other week a boy said, "You know everyone hates you." Another boy said a while ago, "I don't want a white teacher. I want a black teacher" when he was mad at me. Please excuse the following quick rant. Ready, go: I don't get paid enough to be physically and verbally abused. No way. Is this what spent all my money to get a college degree for? So little kids could kick me and scream at me? And when I try to tell someone or ask for help,...

Well, last time I posted I had had a good week celebrating Dr. Seuss and Day 100 and reading fun. After that, things got back to the usual, and I have had two not so great weeks. Wednesday of this week I actually called horrible, which I haven't said too many times in my teaching experience thus far. One of my students (I'll call him Marcus) was a total mess this week. He started coming to school from daycare and then leaving with a daycare worker instead of coming and going with his mom. So I didn't see his mom all week. Plus he was late two days (his first tardies this year). No one looked in his folder all week. He didn't do his homework for the first time all year. I'm pretty positive no one saw the notes I sent home. I called his mom and left a message, but she never called me back. And he was basically non-functional in the classroom. He'd get to school and within 10 minutes, he's shove someone and then start yelling and crying and kicking, and eventua...

Drum roll please...I had a pretty good week at school. It's been a while since I could say that. Plus it's been a while since I actually HAD a week at school. This was my first time teaching five full days since the end of January. I am feeling more like a legitimate teacher, or like the teacher I want to be after this week. Instead of pressing on through the very boring Saxon curriculum, I put it on hold to do our Day 100 celebration and fun stuff for Read Across America Week. Does that mean I might not finish my math and phonics curriculum? Yes. Does it mean my students will be unprepared for first grade? I think not at all. I did fun things that made them interested in learning and reading and integrated different subject areas. Something my prescribed curriculum does NOT do. Sorry, I did not intend this to be a rant against Saxon. So I think I'd better change the subject. One of my students (one of my very favorite students--but of course I love them all!) prayed this ...

It's about time for a real update. Plus, I had a snow day Thursday and Friday, so I have no excuse not to sit down and write. I had the privilege of going on a recruiting trip to Western PA with Rob, our executive director, and Kristin, one of our awesome program directors. This meant I missed 4 days of school, immediately after the blizzards, so I couldn't really prepare the subs the way I had planned to. I just left the most detailed plans I could and hoped for the best. My class keeps telling me about stuff that happened while I was gone, and it sounds like it was a crazy week. One of the kids keeps saying about one guy who covered my class, "He was confused. He was really confused." Kindergarten is tricky, because the kids can't do too much for themselves. I have a lot of routines that are second nature to me but are very hard to explain to someone who has never seen them. But now I am back and finally getting the kids adjusted to the way I do things again, ...

Not a "real" update at the moment, but you should read this article that was in the Delaware paper yesterday. http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20102210356 It's about Urban Promise and about Mr. Rob specifically. It's a good article. And there's a video that goes with it, and a few of my students are in it. Hopefully some good publicity for Urban Promise!

I haven't had school for OVER A WEEK. An early dismissal + a weekend + 5 days off (and 3 feet of snow). Then another weekend. THEN I leave for my recruiting trip. I won't see my class until the 22nd. I have had the laziest week ever, and it took me until today to come to this revelation... Are you ready? Here it is... I miss my class! Wow, if you had asked me a week ago if I would miss them and be ready to go back, I would have said no. But I guess a week break from them was just what I needed, and then I even have another week to get to the point where I REALLY miss them, and I then I'll go back all chipper and energetic and idealistic and ready to use Love and Logic Discipline. I have a number of things I want to say, but first of all, I have not seen another person since Monday night!!!! Except I peer out my window and watch people shovel out their cars or get stuck on our hill. But that's it. And I haven't been out of the house since Tuesday, when I took out the...