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| ...and it's much needed. I'm ready for a few days to sleep in and simply do nothing...though I do have a long list of 'goals' that I want to accomplish in my time off--like grading the zillions of papers that I have let build up. All the teachers in my building have been walking around with dazed looks in their eyes this week. Every "how are you doing?" has been answered with "I'm ready for spring break"...we're all ready for a break that's longer than a weekend. This past week has been full of positive moments that are easily forgotten in the rush of a day, but still encouraging when I look back on them.
- We completed a bulletin board with 'Polygon People' and some of our math words like quadrilateral, rhombus, trapezoid...and every teacher that has walked by has complimented myself and my class for excellent work
- Another teacher did a demo lesson in my classroom in preparation for state testing, and was impressed by how well my students knew the answers to her questions and how well they focused. They made me proud, and I told them so. Even I was impressed :)
- I just read a letter from a student that said 'Don't open til spring break' and it said I was the best teacher ever. He thanked me for teaching him how to find details and for letting him help another student clean out his desk...and I hung in on my desk here at home so I can reread it every time I'm discouraged. There's been the sobering moments...
- Like when a girl opened her 3-ring-binder and we discovered about 10 baby roaches (some alive, some dead) sitting on top her unfinished homework and scurrying about her pages. EW. (As a result, I just spend about 10 minutes staring at and trying to find the most lethal roach poison/traps at Walmart to set in my room over spring break)
- I wanted a piece of candy from a ziplock bag on my desk, but found a hole in it and a piece missing...and upon further scrutiny, I found mouse droppings on top of my desk. (Mouse traps will be set later cause I don't want dead rodents smelling up my room over break). And the moments I don't ever want to repeat...
- Getting so annoyed and frustrated and disappointed with a student that I actually yelled in his face...other teachers told me it was okay, but I hated that I did it, and never want to do that again. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I think it worked.
- 8:02 am on Monday morning when a student came in and starting kicking another student. Gr. Not a good way to start the week. I didn't yell this time, but I definitely let them know that I was not happy *insert sigh of relief here* because I don't have to deal with the drama for about a week. It's time for a little (or a lot of) renewing of the mind. :) | | |
| Just a little update... School is going okay. Not too much drama this week. Two of my students did get suspended this week...one because he threatened to shoot me, and the other because of some bullying she had been doing in my class and to other younger students in the school. I can't say I'm sad to see them go for a few days...It's amazing how much different my class can be without just 2 of those 'stronger' personalities. Last week, we celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day, and I had my students journal about what a hero is and who their hero is and why...and one girl, after reading the writing prompt, stated that her mom was her hero because she does the laundry. I would have to agree. ;) My third graders know a lot about Dr. King, and have lots of questions about his life and what happened during the civil rights. They were very open about their reactions to how white people treated black people during that time...Ironically, some of the youth in my church didn't have a clue why they had off school last Monday...just an interesting observation... We just started learning our multiplication times tables, so I bought this pretty amazing Multiplication Rap/Hip hop cd for us to listen to during our math time. The kids love it, but it definitely energizes them, so I have to be careful when I play it...although I already know that the song about the 5s is more mellow, so that one is okay to play anytime. It's incredible how their energy changes just because of a song...about math. Crazy. Just keep praying, cause it's not getting any easier. It's just one day at a time...with coffee each morning. :) | | |
| Time for a little heart-to-heart... This past week was not so much fun for me. Maybe it's post-Christmas blues. Maybe it's coming off of an exciting weekend at a youth retreat. Maybe it's the stress. Maybe it's the students who argue with me all the time and administration does nothing about their disrespect. I'm told to listen to their explanation, even though their explanation is, "I didn't do nothin'." Maybe it's the 2nd floor copier that is always broken--and even though there are 2 perfectly working copiers on the first floor, I am not allowed to use those for some unknown reasons. Maybe it's being frustrated to the point of throwing all those papers I need copied all over the floor. Maybe it's all of the above. I don't know, but I'm glad this school week is over. I walked into school on Monday morning, wondering why in the world I was there...and somewhere throughout the course of the week, I found myself looking at my students and asking myself what I was doing. I did not want to be there this week. I did not want to be a teacher. I pushed through the first part of the week, but was frustrated most of the time. I was exhausted physically, was losing my voice, and was tired of saying, "You have to be quiet. I can't talk over you." Thursday was a sick day/mental health day for me. I watched 4 movies, graded a few papers, and stayed in bed almost all day. Friday was a little better, but I left early cause I could barely stand up. For the first time, I resorted to a movie instead of my lesson because I literally could not teach. I hope next week is better, because this week was pretty discouraging. My glimmer of hope this week: Philippians 4:13. Such a simple truth, one that I can't believe I forgot about. But it was exactly what I needed. I love when 'old truths' jump out in new ways to me. | | |
| Random enlightening moment: Don't tell your students to go to 'the drugstore' for pencils. Use the words CVS or pharmacy instead. | | |
| what. a. day. It started with a 2 hour delay (amaaaazing!), so school started at 10:00 am. Once the clock reached 10:30 and I only had 8 or so students, I realized that my class might be a little small today! Due to other teachers being out today because of workshops, snow, and other things, we had to combine students from other classrooms without teachers. My final student count today was 11 students of my own, 4 from second grade rooms, and 1 from another third grade room...16 students.  But that wasn't necessarily what made it "a day." I started officially teaching around 11:00, after the students were settled in and I gave up on the fact that more might show up. HOWEVER, I got only about 50 words out of my mouth (I think I was teaching about time), when a student interrupted me with "Uh, Ms. Gilbert...there's smoke coming out from the heater." WHOA. I looked over and sure enough, yes, there was lots of smoke coming out from that heater.  I sent a student running to the office, while I called down (good thing I sent the student running cause calling over the intercom took about 5 minutes!)...lined up my 16 students and got into that hallway! Scary!! I was pretty frantic at the time, but looking back, I'm definitely smiling now. What an adventure!! So we spent the day in the Reading Room, ate lunch, and watched a movie in another teacher's room. We are not allowed back into my room tomorrow because of the smell that the smoke left...although some time will have to be spent there to collect books and supplies for tomorrow's lessons. Current condition of my room: cold from the windows being open, smells like old heaters (or something)...kinda stuffy too and hard to breathe if you are there long enough. Tomorrow is sure to be an interesting day as we will be moving to another classroom...I can't even imagine...college did not prepare for this amount of flexibility.  Is it Christmas break yet?!?!?! | | |
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