I spent a good portion of today catching up on grading and FINALLY putting everything into an online gradebook, Engrade, which so far I’m very happy with.  When grades are due in 2 weeks I should easily be able to avoid a repeat of frantically grading all day and then still missing the deadline. Since…

When we came back from Thanksgiving break, I had four straight weeks of teaching staring me in the face.  Just 1.5 days to go now, and it still seems a little impossible.  These past four weeks have been anything but easy, even though it’s definitely not October anymore and I swear a lot of people…

Assignment:  Write a one-page fiction story on a topic of your choice, using correct grammar, punctuation and organization. (Teacher’s note:  They could have picked ANY topic they wanted.  This came from a boy who has semi-serious behavior issues, but has been doing better ever since his older brother came in to talk to me and…

Two weeks ago, I started writing a long post about my worst week as a teacher so far.  Surprise, surprise:  it wasn’t about my kids (though they’ve recently taken post-Thanksgiving behavior fallback to a new level). For several reasons, that venting post will never see the light of day.  But to make a very long…

I’m definitely not the type to get all emotional and teary-eyed about my students and their life trajectories/limitless potential/bla bla bla, but I obviously do love them to pieces, even when they’re at their worst. And I love the little moments when I can step back and appreciate just how awesome they can be. For…

First quarter grades were due yesterday, which meant no school for the kids, and a full day of grading for me.  The amount of failing grades that I had to give was depressing, even though I’ve known for awhile that this would happen. I have 21 kids for 4 subjects, which means 84 total grades.…

…Things should be easier now, right? Everyone kept telling me that October is the hardest month to be a teacher.  The kids are comfortable with you and ready to really test their limits, they know your routines and rules by now but CHOOSE not to follow them…and you’re still a long ways from Thanksgiving break.…

Excerpts from the “friendly letters” my class wrote to the students in my mom’s 1st/2nd grade class. They were supposed to describe their school, describe what we’re learning about in 6th grade, and then describe their favorite activity: “Dear F., I like your name. You must be smart…The school I go to is a good…

We were only in school for 3 days this week, and because my mom’s school is in the middle of their 2-week fall break, she came up to visit and help out in my classroom.  I don’t know what else to say other than it has been AWESOME. Having another person in the room all…

Please wish me luck:   Starting on Monday, my 9 best-behaved students are being moved into a new 6th grade section for more “independent” students. And I’m getting 4 new students from the other 6th grade section, who I know nothing about. And the daily schedule is changing for half the school. And none of…