Last day

Today was my last day of student teaching. I'm still in a state of uncertainty; do I feel sad for leaving or excited? I will miss most of the students. Both classes signed a huge card they made and I was surprised at what some of the students said. I can officially say that I'm a teacher. Now I just need to find a school to work at. I will substitute for the rest of the school year. But I must take a nap because I ate pizza at 11 with my 9th graders and again at 1:30 with my 8th graders.

Finals

Both classes had finals this week. I felt that the English department final was flawed. I can understand the need for students to know about nouns, verbs, prepostions, and adjectives. But will they ever need to know and use a participial phrase, a gerund, an infinitive, or need to know adverbial phrases or predicate nominatives? NO!
In all my years in college, none of my English professors told me or wrote on my papers, "You should have used a gerund here. This predicate nominative is in the wrong place. Maybe an apositive would have been better than an infinitive."

I think they are realizing that I won't be there anymore. I've been wondering if I've made an impact on them. There are a few students who were constant challenges, and I won't be sad about not seeing them anymore. I know that sounds bad, but honestly, they're the kind of students who make a teacher's life miserable. For myself, I questioned my ability as a teacher. But I've realized that this "No Child Left Behind" crap is exactly that. Too much emphasis is placed on standardized test scores, which then is reflected on the teacher's qualifications. Granted there are some bad teachers out there, but nothing is ever said about the bad students who don't do any work, never study, and exhibit bad attitudes. I think the fear of being left behind a grade should be ingrained into every child's head. Also, severe punishment for any continued disruptive behavior. Students need to know that tougher consequences will be given. Maybe a three strikes law which also places more responsibility on the parents.

My last week

Well, it was inevitable, but this is my last week working with these at-risk students. I'm going to miss them, but I can't allow myself to feel sad. I'll be going through this every year, so I just need to "deal with it."

Rhythm, Meter, and the capture of Anne Frank

Some of my 9th graders surprised me today by analyzing and interpretting poetry. I used their names as a way to break up a word into syllables and mark which are stressed and unstressed. They seemed to understand the concept. I then read them a poem and we went through stanza by stanza and figured out what the poet was trying to say. Two of my problem students were on fire! I guess what I'm trying to say is that I felt this awe that they were actually rereading and deeply thinking about what the poem meant. I received their semester final and I've gotta say that standardized testing cannot measure a students strengths, weaknesses, or abilities of intellectual thought. What I think it does is show which students can regurgitate information. But how can they do that? There is no study guide. Some of the stuff on the test will never be used in practical terms, unless one was an English or linguistics major.

The 8th graders finished Anne Frank and we watched the rest of the video. My only problem is that sometimes they ask me questions about Anne's life that I cannot answer. But I look at this as a learning experience for us all. Their final is basically reading comprehension. I don't see them having any problems.

Next week is my last week. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. I have grown attached to them, even the problem ones.

More poetry and Anne Frank

It's funny to watch students read and absorb poetry. As much as they'd like to admit they don't like it, some of the poems seem to touch them in some way. Most are afraid to go near poems, or better yet, they are afraid that their interpretation is wrong. I want them to understand that if they can analyze poems, they can analyze anything. My last days here should be interesting. The room is a little quieter since the 8 students have left. However, there's a few that have to act a fool. There is one student who should have left, but she was behind in her math and owed money to the library. It's sad to see someone with so much promise be held back. She does know that it was her own fault, which is good.

The 8th graders read some more of the play and watched the video. I'll probably have them do a reflection on the relationship between Peter and Anne, and it's effect on Margot.

Poetry and Anne Frank

I started a poetry unit with the 9th graders. When Susan saw that poetry was one of the topics to be discussed after I left, she kinda cringed. So I told her I would work with them on it. We lost 8 students. They are going to Sweetwater high school. The class will be a little quieter, which is good. However, some of those students were funny and I'll miss them.

The 8th graders finished scene 5 in act II of Anne Frank. I then played the video for them. One thing I hate though is when they keep nagging me about watching the video.

The end is near

Several students will be leaving us to attend Sweetwater high school. I'm sad to see them go. I've grown attached to them, even the troublesome ones. However, there are a couple I wouldn't mind not seeing, which I know sounds bad.

The 9th graders finished their ad campaigns and there was one group that I was very impressed with. This was my group of underdogs, who I felt wouldn't finish anything, but they blew the competition out of the water. The best part was the commercial that they wrote, directed, and produced. It was funny and creative. They had shown us the first version, and after I made some suggestions, produced the final cut. However, trying to get them to do any grammar or write essays is another challenge. But they did understand the importance of writing out a script which showed them the practical side of English.

The 8th graders are reading The Diary of Anne Frank. The all appear to be enjoying it, but they ask too many questions about the Holocaust...questions I can't answer...but at least they're asking questions.

I brought Krispy Kreme donuts as a farewell gesture to the 9th graders leaving and even gave some to the 8th graders...just because. I like this group of 8th graders especially when they actually stay focussed.

Back to the grind...

It was a little hard to get them motivated on Monday, so I made it a fairly easy day. I didn't want to come back either, but I wanted to see the kids. I had both classes write about their Christmas and New Year's. We also talked a little about the tsunami and it's effects on people, the countries, and other resources.

I started a new story with the 9th graders, "The Grandfather," written by Gary Soto, who is Mexican American. It is a very short story, but one that they can all relate to.

Today, I had them write about what "home" means to them and to also include what part of their house is their favorite. This writing assignment falls along the lines of "describing a place," which is a required assignment. I couldn't believe the amount of writing some of them did and what they wrote. I plan on having them describe what their homes look like tomorrow, and then the neighborhood after that.

I started The Diary of Anne Frank with the 8th graders this week. There's barely enough students to cover all the roles. But they seem to be interested in this young girls struggle for survival. I also plan on showing the video along with it. Today I had them write directions for tying their shoes. A couple of students were able to give good directions and I even tried them out to make sure they worked. Most of the students interact very well in open discussion, except for this one student who makes the most ignorant and off the wall comments. He thinks he knows everything, but he's a product of too much television and believing what people tell him. He also thinks it's okay to plagiarize other people's work, pay teachers for grades, and that only black people receive scholarships if they're good in football or basketball. Sometimes I just want to smack some sense into him, but he is someone who has to learn the hard way.

I also experienced my first drug sweep. It was very interesting, but I really wanted to pet the dogs.