Name change

I changed the name of the blog. The reasons why: 1) It's apparent from the daily blog posts and the nature of the job that I am in the classroom everyday. 2) I try to include a lesson on life for myself and for others. Many things happen at work and I need to be able to reflect upon and learn from those things. Often times, those lessons apply to real life.

Two significant things happened today. The first one was I bought pizza for my advisory students. They were so thankful. One student even gave me a half-hug. Very awkward. Apparently, that is his favorite pizza. It was a little usual seeing some of my students be so kind. I bought them pizza because they won the kickball game last semester and because they have been improving on their participation in advisory.

The other significant event was me rushing through my lesson in 8th period. The lesson was taking longer than I had anticipated. If I want to finish the unit in the next two weeks, I need to keep the current pace I have planned. As much as I do not want to be grading tests Valentine's Day weekend, I need to get to the next unit; linear equations.

What I realized was that if I mess up, I don't really have the opportunity to fix it until the next class. I could revisit the lesson and patch up any holes next time, but the day ends at the same time everyday, whether I mess up or not.

Good ol' times

My little 6th graders take me back; way back. Today, I had nothing planned for them. I usually get lazy on Thursdays. I made them do the daily quick write. Then, we went out to the computer lab. After about 10 minutes, another class came in. The teacher said he had it reserved for the whole period, so I brought my students into the classroom. Then I let them go outside if they wanted to. About half the class went outside. Since there were a couple of teachers in the computer lab outside the classroom, I spent the majority of the period watching the students who went outside.

Those that went outside started a game of soccer. It was really fun just watching my students play soccer. It reminded me of the time I was their age, playing soccer with all my friends. I remember running around, yelling all the slang and blocking the ball by throwing myself for dramatic effect (Priscilla's contribution). I would have played goalie, because I'm "giant", but I am still getting over this cold.

The other half of the students stayed inside. They were either playing with my board games, drawing or playing video games. Nothing too exciting there.

The rest of the day went okay.

I wanted to add something to yesterday's post about common sense. It's a good idea to try to think about what you do before you do it and how it will affect others. I bet if you really think ahead of time about doing something, you may reconsider going through with it.

No common sense

Not too much happened today. It was another ordinary Wednesday.

I am starting to get annoyed at how stupid some of my students are. I am not talking about math-stupid. I mean common-sense stupid. Today, I let a girl go to the bathroom about 20 minutes after the start of class. A couple minutes later, I let a boy go to the bathroom. About 20 minutes later, with initial suspicion, I started wondering where they are. I look out my window and see them sitting in the computer lab chatting with the students there. They knew they were not supposed to be out there because when the boy saw me looking out the window, he tried to hide behind the student next to him. I went out there to retrieve them and I told them I would refer them to our house leader. The girl started at it saying she was only there "for like a second". The boy said the girl told him that I said it was okay for them to be out there.

I just don't get it. These students are not the best math students. If I were them, I would return from the bathroom as soon as possible so I can learn. They're all going to have to pass Algebra. There's no getting around that. I got really annoyed at the girl in particular because the students just came from lunch, she arrived to class tardy and she still asked to use the restroom.

Later in class, the students were very apologetic. Unfortunately for them, I'm not a sucker for the puppy-dog sad-face. I still referred them to the house leader. Hopefully now they'll start taking my class more seriously.

Something funny. One student brought Oreo cookies to practice for the contest, but he ate them before advisory. We didn't get the chance to practice. I may pick him to represent our advisory in the contest. This should be fun.

"Are you guys in trouble?"

Today went pretty well, for getting 5 hours of sleep last night.

I got to work pretty early. I prepared my stuff for my first period. We started a linear equations project. I took some advise from a good friend and let them pick a topic that is interesting to them; something that has to do with a trend or rate. We spent half the class period in the computer lab researching topics and news articles. Then we went back in for a lesson on factoring polynomials. The same went for 3rd period.

During 5th period prep, somehow, I was able to take a nap. I guess I was so tired, I just put my head down and fell asleep. Therefore, time got by me and I did not really get anything done. I did manage to organize my bag and files.

Advisory was great today. For the first time ever, I went to lunch in a good mood. They surprised slash impressed me. We did SSR for 15 minutes and it was actually quiet. The freshman ASB president came in with an announcement about spirit week. She was like, "Wow. Are you guys in trouble?". That gave me some good insight of the freshman mindset. I wanted to be like, "No, they're not in trouble. Shoot. They're doing great.". I think part of the reason was "Hanna" was not in the room. She was working outside in the computer lab. I let them go to lunch 7 minutes early. Tomorrow, we're going to practice for the Oreo-eating contest during the assembly on Thursday. I'm excited. This is what I'm envisioning. Although, my students are not this big.



7th period went okay too. Those 6th graders today were so darn hyper. Other than our introductory quick write, I didn't have anything planned so I had to think of something to channel their energy. I made them do a foldable on solving linear equations. Trust me, they can do it. I believe the students are going to start solving linear equations at a younger age more and more. Then I let them have free time.

I stayed about 45 minutes after school to help a few students with tutoring. I was not planning on staying since I had class, but something compelled me to stay. I helped them out, then left them in the hands of the other Algebra teacher.

Today, I found myself starting to talk more with the staff. There is one teacher in particular that I can see myself getting along with more. He is a new teacher and has been at Guajome for a couple of years. He is also relatively young. Anyways, the better I get along with people at work, the more I will want to stay. That may be the determining factor in choosing where to work next year. That and $$$.

Hang in there buddy

Today, during my lunch, I got to witness a student blow up in class. What happened was this girl went out to get a drink of water. Apparently, she was not just getting a drink of water because her teacher came outside of the classroom about one minute later to call her back in the class. She gave him a little attitude upon returning to the class. Then she blew up. She slammed something on her desk, yelled a couple of cuss words, then stormed out of the class and out of the building. I do not know where she went, but the teacher did the right thing to enlist the help of another teacher. The other teacher called security to find the girl.

Now, I have been fortunate enough to avoid such altercations. I do have to say, however, the teacher was in a tough situation. He has been on the job since the beginning of this semester. Therefore, he has only known his students for three weeks. My guess is, if he had known this student better, he would have known not to push so hard and get her back in his classroom more quietly and discreetly.

He was able to keep the rest of his students safe; which is the first priority. One good thing that came out of this experience is that both I and the teacher have seen one way to handle a situation like this. From this observation, I have learned how to firmly and directly retrieve a student. With everything else in the teaching practice, I have to know when and where to apply this technique, since they do not work for every student.

Anyways, the title is from an e-mail my house leader sent me regarding a student issue. Not a big deal. He is just being supportive.

"Los angeles no tienen espaldas"

Today was not the greatest day of all. I woke up with a really sore throat. I think I caught a cold last night. Needless to say, the rest of the day did not turn out real well.

I had already planned to sleep-in today since our collaboration did not start until 8:30. I slept-in until 6:00am. I got up hoping the shower will make me feel better. It actually did, so I continued getting ready. Once I made it downstairs I made myself breakfast; a couple of breakfast burritos. I ate them there then left. First, I stopped at 7-11 for some coffee.

I got to work right at 8:30. When I got there, I heard them talking about me, since I usually arrive around 7:15. We went to collaboration and that went by almost painlessly. Then I spent my 4th period prep grading tests. For the beginning of 6th period, I helped Erin with her skit acting like Gregor Mendel. She needed somone to play her intro music. It was really cool. She walked in dressed in a grey, curly haired wig, thick glasses and a monk's robe, carrying a candle stick. She imitated him to the best of her abilities while her students asked her questions regarding genetics. Then I went back to grading.

Advisory was a free day. We stayed inside since we thought it was going to rain. Then I ate part of my lunch. Then I went to 8th period. By that point, I was not feeling real well. If I did not have a test that day, I probably would not have made it through the entire period. School ended and I went to the gym. I probably should not have, but Richard would have given me a hard time. Then we ate at Souplantation. I don't usually like Souplantation, but today I did. I had a custom salad, turkey noodle soup and chili along with some cornbread, blueberry muffin-top and cranberry cobbler.

Anyways, during collaboration I sat down positioning my chair so as to not turn my back to Ms. Rendon. She told me "los angeles no tienen espaldas". I was thinking "What about the Dodgers?" Literally, it means "angels do not have backs". Basically, it is a polite way to say that it's okay if you turn your back. That is remarkable to me because I try not to turn my back when I talk to people. I think it's disrespectful. At the same time, I do not take it lightly when people do that to me. It happens sometimes when I assign students detention.

Okay, and I'll teach you

Today was a pretty good day teaching-wise. In Algebra, they took a test. No problems there. For MET, I split the class into tutorial and free time. That gave me the opportunity to work with one of my 1st period students who has fallen behind. I stayed a little after class to do some grading. Then I went to class.

Student-wise, things went okay as well. Our class for the night was dedicated to a work day. Our professor gave us the two hours to work on our own. She and our classmates were available if we needed any help. I did not get a lot done. Almost everyone was chatting and not getting much done. That is not my type of work environment. If I had known ahead of time, I probably would not have gone to class. I did, however, get a better idea of the assignments I need to complete in the next couple of weeks.

Back to the student who has fallen behind.

This student needs a lot of one-on-one. She has missed a couple of days of school which, at our school, is an entire week of instruction time. Plus, she has a hard time keeping up and understanding in class. I felt as though she was not ready to take the test. So I asked her to come to my 7th for extra help. She made me feel a whole lot better because she was actually starting to understand it and I was able to keep her attention the entire time. She even "taught" me a couple of problems on the board while I sat in her chair. She told me she needs more individual help, but she is too shy to ask for it in class.

I am glad I was able to end the day on that note. I helped one of my students get a better understanding of the material. Also, it was nice to see another one of my students take the extra effort and try to understand the work. I just wish more of them would realize that responsibility and start coming to my tutoring.

'Give me one second'

It seems to me that when you ask someone asks for help and they say 'give me one second', it is never just one second to get their help. Furthermore, when someone asking for help hears that, I do not believe that they are actually expecting the help in one second. That causes them to continue with what they were doing before and often times forget what they originally asked for.

I have caught myself saying 'give me one second' many times. I try to correct myself and ask for at least one minute. I think that prompts a more realistic wait time which causes my students to actually wait. I have been getting a little better. I started being more direct. I will say something like "I will help you as soon as I finish helping 'Jared'". Sometimes that backfires though. Sometimes (not too often) I will forget and the student misses the opportunity to get help.

All I can say about that is to be persistent. Take some of the responsibility on your own. Ask again and again if you have to until you get what you want. Sometimes people are too busy or too preoccupied to respond to you the first time.

Assessment being helpful

I am happy to report that today I had a really great day. My Algebra classes went pretty well. I did a concise summary on multiplying polynomials then let them review for the test. I am trying something new on Tuesdays for Advisory. I had usually made them do a journal for ten minutes, then gave them the rest of the period to themselves. Now, instead of giving them the rest of the time, I make them read silently for 15 minutes. That, plus the 5 minute intro, takes us to the end of the period. Lastly, MET went well too. I reviewed writing expressions with the 6th graders, then had them do a worksheet. Fun stuff.

For school, class was canceled tonight. I went to the gym instead; 2nd day in a row.

The one thing that is looming on my mind right now is assessment. 9th graders are not in the mindset to learn from their mistakes. Ask someone who majored in Psychology. They will tell you. I am wondering if I give them any sort of constructive assessment, will they take it into consideration? Will they use it for what it is intended for, to improve their learning in the future?

I plan on trying this constructive assessment on the upcoming test. In addition to giving them a grade, I plan on explaining what they did wrong and why. That way, they can fix their errors. I believe teachers often neglect doing this simply because it takes too long. I figure if I start this now, I will be used to it by next year. We shall see.

Holiday-MLK Day

When are we ever going to need this?

Overall, this week went be a whole lot better than last week. Although I am really tired now, I didn't seem to be longing for the weekend as much as I was last week. Even though I had no prep today since I was subbing for a colleague, I think today went really well.

For Algebra, we are going over multiplying polynomials. My students often ask, "When are we ever going to need this?" For this topic in particular, I have been trying to ascertain the concept myself. Instead of trying to make my students understand the underlying concept of multiplying polynomials, I have been trying to make them understand the procedures and think about their own reasoning. For example, when a student goes up to the bed to solve a problem, I ask them to explain their work. They have to understand how and why every step works.

I hope to continue this trend of board work and understanding the reasoning. They don't like it, but I know it helps them understand what they are doing. In the long-run, they will become better learners and retain more knowledge.

Not a typical Thursday

Today was one of the longest days ever. It was a nice day, but very long. Here is a timeline of what happened. Note: This is not the schedule of a typical Thursday.

5:30 Wake up
6:30-7:15 Drive to work
7:15-7:35 Traffic duty
7:40-9:15 Period 1: Multiplying polynomials
9:15-9:25 Break
9:30-10:55 Period 3: Multiplying polynomials
11:00-12:25 Period 5: Prep
12:30-1:00 Advisory: tutorial
1:00-1:35 Lunch: salad and chili
1:40-3:05 Period 7: tutorial
3:30-4:15 Drive to UCSD
5:00-7:00 EDS 379B
7:10-7:30 Drive to Wilhouse
7:30-8:00 Drive to Mimi's
8:00-8:45 Dinner with Priscilla
9:25-11:30 Movie with Priscilla
11:30 Drive home
12:10 Sleep

Time is passing. Are you?

Last night, when I was talking to Priscilla, I told her my old high school experience. I remember, early in high school, seeing every adult in the school as an authority figure. Now, as a teacher, I think that it is weird that most of the teachers at my school dress very casually. I can think of a couple of teachers that consistently dress in a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. I think it is cool that we work in such a casual work environment, but I think we should be setting an example. Also, it would help create more of a school environment.

It’s funny to see how different techniques work for different scenarios. For example, today for 8th period, I performed a pre-emptive attack and warned them that if they are uncooperative in any way, I would instantly assign them detention. I was still harboring ill feelings from Monday’s class.

Monday went pretty well except for the very end. It really annoys me when my students ask me if they can leave early, they put up their chairs prematurely and when they try to leave when the bell rings. Sometimes I feel just like them and I want to get out of there, but I know I could be doing a lot better.

Sometimes even I start packing up early. That tells the students that it’s okay to start packing up. Also, when I tell them to stay in their seats, they always whine about how there are only 5 minutes left. I think another problem is that the release time is at 3:05 and they automatically think 3:00, but that is out of my control.

I think what I have to do is train them the bell is not their signal to leave. One thing I have noticed is that when they are engaged in an activity towards the end of the period, they do not realize it is almost time to leave until the bell rings. I should probably try more of that. I have tried having them complete some of the homework problems before they leave. That only works if I am walking all around the room keeping them on task. Sometimes I cannot because I have to stop and help some students.

In high school, my math teacher had a hand-crafted frame around his clock that read “Time is passing. Are you?” It was just a reminder to pay attention to the teacher. I think I would try that in my classroom. I would also try talking the clock down since I usually wear a watch anyway. These are some things I need to keep my mind on for next year.

Rome was not built in one day

Today, my first period was wonderful. They came in quietly, sat down and started the warm-up. No prompting was needed. I had a few of them show their work on the board. I finished what I had planned with plenty of time left in the period.

Third period was a different story. By the time the tardy bell rang, they were all in their seats, but most of them were talking/not working on the warm-up. This tells me I should have moved some people around. Right away I got a little upset and made them line up outside and try coming inside again. This time they started the warm-up. During the lessons, some of them started chatting when they got the chance.

One student in particular kept chatting every time I turned around. Plus, I have him sitting in the front row to try to decrease the talking. That just makes it more annoying. He was really testing my patience. Luckily for him, I was able to get through my lesson with some cool left in me. However, on Thursday, I don't think he will be so lucky.

Anyways, today, I thought how cool it would be to have these students again. After making them practice coming into class, taking notes and being respectful, I think they have become better students. By next year, they are going to be great. Their next teacher is going to reap the benefits I have sown for him or her.

I can relate this to one classmate's experience he shared today in class. Today, his students were just driving him crazy. He is a student-teacher who started at the beginning of this semester, so his situation is a little different than mine. He also said the students are not afraid of any punishment because they are pretty much serving detention and Saturday school for the remainder of the year; an exaggeration for sure. So, he started his own detention club. He was saying that the hard work he is putting in now will be more beneficial to the students' future teachers than to himself. Our doctor guest-presenter agreed and said that is just something we have to do.

So I thought about it again and realized the work he is putting in now may not benefit him because he just started. Since I have been working with my students from the beginning of the year, I have already seen great improvement. My students are maturing and learning more. I am sure they will be even better students next year.

How was your day?

I have a student that I mention in my stories quite a bit. I may have mentioned her in a previous blog entry. Since I forgot the pseudo name I used last time, I will call her Harriet. As she walked into my class today, she asked me how my weekend was. I don't like getting to personal so I told her it was good. She waited a second and responded by saying "My was good too. Thanks for asking." Obviously she was being sarcastic. It made me think that I should not try to be so distant.

Later, after the quiz, I asked her what she actually did. The reality is she did not do too much; including not doing her homework. I think she just wanted to talk. This whole incident also made me consider how I treat my other relationships.

I often go through the day giving one-word responses. When people ask how my day was, I usually just say that it went well; similar to what I told Harriet. I do not get into too much detail. I know when Priscilla asks me, she has to probe out the details.

Anyways, the point is life is too short for one-worded responses. I know that does not make logical sense, but from a social point-of-view, start talking! In a manner of speaking, 'Stop and smell the roses'. They smell good.

Goals for tomorrow: finish reading for 381.

More activities

Today I e-mailed my supervisor to let him know how well MET went yesterday. He e-mailed me back with some ideas for activities. He told me that not only will I have to teach them math, I will have to teach them to be students. They're only 6th graders, so they have a lot to learn. I bet they would love practicing how to enter a classroom quietly. ::evil laugh::

Seriously though, I do want to try more activities with them. 6th graders have no problem being social. Group activities should work well. I tried this one called secretary and boss where the students get into partners and designate the boss and the secretary. The boss tells the secretary what to do while he or she works on the problem. Then they alternate. This worked well I think because it leveled the completion rate among the students. Assigning roles also keep the students accountable to each other.

Today was the last day of the first week back from winter break. I believe I have never been this happy it is Friday. I was so tired. I could see the fatigue among the other staff members as well. Also, I get to hang out with Priscilla all day tomorrow.

Lesson of stubborness

Today I was not looking forward to going to advisory. The reason why was an advisory student of mine came into my 3rd period. I tried to make her leave and ended up making a bigger scene than it should have been. She said she would sit down and not make any noise, which she did. So I let it go. She has done this before because her teacher lets her out of class. It doesn't usually bother me, but I think this time I was a little irritated by a headache I woke up with.

She ended up leaving about a minute after she sat down. I went along my day and felt a little bad about the incident. My mistake was telling her to get out of my room. I should have told her she can stay as long as she didn't distract anyone. It was too late for that though. The damage was done.

For advisory, she came in with a pass to another teacher. So we didn't get the chance to talk. I was still a little upset during advisory. I think I would have told her that what she did wasn't cool. However, at this point, I think I would apologize and tell her to be more discrete next time.

Other than that, my day went pretty well. My MET class went pretty well. I tried the structured schedule like my supervisor suggested. I thought it worked well. I put the agenda on the board and chunked it in different activities. They got the assignment done and may have even learned a little bit. Our lesson was on order of operations.

That was my day in a nutshell.

Tasks for tomorrow: write a quiz, plan a review activity, lesson plan for next week.

Planning and prep make things go smoothly

I had to cover for a 12th grade biology class today. They are seniors, so it was pretty easy. In fact, in the lesson plan it said to let two of the students lead the activity.

However, the activity wasn't planned out thoroughly. The activity was a gel electrophoresis. First of all, there was no electric scale in the room. One student went to another science room to pick one up. Secondly, there was no DNA sample. The students ended up not performing the activity. This was okay with me since they were super good students. Plus, what could I do? If I thought of something for them to do, they would probably regect it. They simply chatted the entire period.

This could have been easily avoided. The teacher asked me the day before to cover for him. So he knew he wasn't going to be there. In fact, he was there this morning. He could have set stuff up before he left in haste.

Anyways, I don't mean to bash my coworker. Set-up and prepartion is very important. Even seniors need some structure in order to complete assignmenets.

One thing my supervisor told me yesterday during his visit was to really structure the MET class. Yesterady, I had no plan for that class. I asked the students what they are working on in their regular math class. They mentioned integers and I remembered I had that integers 24 game. I had them play that for a little bit. Actually, it kept them occupied longer than I thought. A few of the students were really into it. My supervisor even got in on the fun. Then I let them play on the computers.

He told me I should structure the period in chunks of time no longer than 15 minutes. They're 6th graders, so they need many stimulations to keep them focused.

Goal for tomorrow: plan for MET tomorrow

Healthy being

Today at work, one student told me that she was feeling really sick. She asked me not to call on her and ask her to participate. She just sat there quietly and took notes. I felt a little bad since she is usually one to participate and in a cheery mood.

Tonight, we started a health class at UCSD. The class is meant to teach us how to take care of our own health and help teach our students to be healthy. It's going to teach us the risks our students currently face and how to help them deal with those risks.

Walking into the class, a classmate asked me if I got sick over the break. I thought that was weird because that issue has come up a few times recently. When I was back at my mom's for Christmas, she was a little worried my brother was going to get me sick. Fortunately, I did not get sick over the break.

Another classmate came in and sat in one of the back tables. That was weird because we usually sit at the same table. He said he was sick and didn't want to infect anyone. He called a sub and stayed home from work today. Personally, I thought he should have stayed home from class too.

Our professors tell us it is extremely important to stay healthy, because in order for us to do our jobs, we need to be in a state of physical, mental and social well-being. I think this is true in general. To do what your job, relationships and other aspects of your life require, you need to take care of yourself and stay healthy.

Welcome back

Happy 2009! This is the year I turn 24. I need to have a 24-themed party. Also, I start full-time work. I still haven't decided where I want to work next school year. I still have a lot to consider. However, it is looking like I will be moving back to my hometown.

Today was the first day back from winter break. One student already asked me when spring break is. Trust me, I feel the same way. I wish I had two more weeks off. With all the driving/traveling I did, I feel as though I didn't get much rest.

Anyways, the first day went pretty well. It is a Monday so the classes are only 30 minutes long. The bell system was not working properly, so naturally, the students did not show up to 1st period on time. That's okay. It wasn't a big deal.

I simply assigned a new seating chart for all my Algebra I classes and handed out warm-up records and homework charts; paper to work on warm-ups and keep track of homework assignments.

My 1st and 3rd periods seemed interested in my break. Some of them even looked happy to see me. However, my 8th period seemed more concered about their seating arrangement. Several students walked in asking if there was a new seating chart. I guess by then, they had gone through a few new seating charts. I also practiced clear expectations. I had my students practiced how I wanted them to come into class; a refresher.

MET was a little hectic. The coordinator/ELD teacher is on maternity leave and the sub was left with little information. I had to go over and sort things out.

Lastly, I did some boring stuff like signing grade verifications, attendance verification and making copies. Not too exciting.

Goal for tomorrow: create a quiz for next Monday.