My entry from Wednesday:
(In the morning) So…I’m going to take a risk and try something new in my classroom. I am going to make stations for review. Yesterday, I had students circle objectives we have gone over that they do not feel comfortable with. I took the top 4 and made a review booklet for each of them to have. The booklet is simple but it gets the job done. My CMA gave my group a booklet similar to it during the first week of institute for the TAL rubric (standards for us to meet) and its really handy.
(After class) Holy moly macaroni! lol The stations were pure gold, it worked sooo well. Instead of having them rotate through the stations, I rotated so I went around and help them if they had questions, otherwise they helped each other. I told them they were in charge of teaching their peers. They were sooo into it. The stations was only suppose to last half of class. The other half was suppose to be a jeopardy game but they didn’t want to stop. They completed their review packets and discussed each unit and taught each other. Miracles happen. Oh, and I let them play music so they took turns changing the song. It all ran smoothly. This was one day I wish I was getting observed and no one came in. Its okay though, this is the one day I can truly say that I did my job, and did it well.
I called all of my kids at home to make sure they were studying and I update study materials on the website. Calling them and talking to them on the phone was another turning point for me. Alberto was the funniest, when I called him he was like “Hey Miss” and i told asked him if he was studying, his replay was “Miss!!! I’m watching a movie!” and I told him he needed to study and he agreed and when I told him he had to get to bed early, the classic groan then a ” Okay Miss, fine, I will”.
Did I mention that I love these kids?:)
——Thursday———
Today was full of shenanigans. At breakfast my kids sat with me and asked my questions about stuff they were confused about in class. Wil put on head phone in his ear and one in mine so that I could listen to music with him. Note to self- SPM is a horrible group who raps about horrible things, lol. I walked them to their first period class and I noticed that three of my kids were missing. I stepped outside with another CM and called home, their parents, any number we had to get them to school on Finals Day. I’ll admit right now- we did something we were not suppose to…in my defense, I didnt know it was illegal until we did it. We hopped our butts in a car, left school grounds and picked up the kids. One kid (not from my class) wouldnt walk to school because he was scared that a rival gang would get him like they did his best friend recently. As we drove there I saw how far my kids have to walk in the killer Houston heat. On the way back to school we saw 2 of my kids walking and scooped them too. We told them to run to class because they had finals.
All in all, through phone calls and stalking, we got all of our kids to school. When I was walking past my kid’s social studies classroom, Cris whispered to me “I love you Miss…” I was shocked but whispered back, “I love you too, but get to work!”
A bit later Cris told me he was hungry because he misses breakfast every morning to walk to school. I gathered yogurt, granola bars, and fruit and gave it to Cris and Al during the morning in their class.
Since I had a bit of free time today, I entered data in my tracker and decided to visit my kids in their third period. The had a substitute Corps Member today. When I got to that classroom I was speechless, my kids had become some kind of terrorists. They calmed down when I walked in and when I approached the sub I could tell that they had given her a horrible time. She told me they refused to sit down, to listen or to do any work. I asked Wil why he wasn’t working and I could tell that he was upset. “I HATE writing and she is making us write for no reason.” I told him to write, that he needed to respect all teachers and that what he was writing has no biggie. He angrily replied “Im only writing cuz you told me to, not HER”. Same with Cris. When I had to go the majority asked if they could just go to my class or if I could stay. Today was a day where I felt how attached these kids have become to me. I knew they could act a fool but I never imagined them being straight up monkeys in a class. The sub thanked me for getting them under control and I left 20 minutes before my class was set to start.
During my class, we played jeopardy then took the final. Afterwards, I had them write a letter to themselves and told them that I would mail it to them in October. I told them that if they wanted me to read it to put it on my desk, if not in their folders. They all put it on my desk. I got really emotional reading the letters. One of my girls wrote that she hoped to have teacher like me in high school and even have someone like me as a friend some day. Another wrote to me and thanked me for what I did for her this summer. I was told to write to them, to please stay in Houston, to visit soon. Cris asked me for my cell number, he gave me his and said “Miss, my old girl don’t even got my number.” Man, five weeks, and I see so much growth in these kids. They can be anything, they can fulfill their dreams. I see a bright future for them, I just hope and pray that their teachers next year can carry them to the next step.
