Kiawah, Team Time, and Good Learning

Last weekend, my team of teachers and I went to Kiawah Island Thursday through Saturday for the annual SCCTE conference. Initially, I had expected to enjoy the island and team time, but dislike the conference itself. I was pleasantly surprised as we began going to the sessions because I really enjoyed the speakers, their topics, and the knowledge they shared. The team time was great- I loved the opportunity to get to know my team members without their "teacher hats" on. We spent a lot of time sharing about our lives and learning about each other in ways that only bring about more respect for one another.

The villa we stayed in was beautiful and so close to the ocean you could hear and smell the beach from the patio! The two bedrooms consisted of two twin beds in one and a king size bed in the other. Therefore, two of us had to share the king size bed or someone would've had to sleep on the couch...thankfully, it was a king and neither one of us are used to cuddling at night :)

My favorite session was about teaching children of poverty. The speaker/teacher in that session had adopted a child when he was born. Later, she found out that the mother had not had any prenatal care and had possibly abused drugs and alcohol during the pregnancy as well. Poverty had effected her child before he was even born. She, the woman who adopted him, made it her mission to research the effects of poverty on children. We saw pictures of children's brains at different stages of development based on "normal"/adequate care and neglect. The differences are astounding. Poverty isn't just defined by a lack of money, but a lack of resources in general (time, money, relationships, access to care, etc.) Most of the students that I teach are living in poverty outside of school, so it's my job to ensure that those needs are met while they are in my care at school. I cannot change where they have come from, their pasts, or where they go "home" to after school, but I can make sure that they are cared for while they are at school.

Stress was another cause of altered brain development. Children under stress develop and perform at a fraction of the rate that others do. Children under extreme stress are not as motivated and are more likely to cause behavior problems because their reaction to stress is so different. Divorce and family dissention are one of the more prominent causes of stress for children and, sadly, those are getting more and more common in homes today. We learned some strategies for teaching children in these stressful circumstances and in poverty. Most of all, she addressed Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs and the fact that if students' basic needs are not met then there is no way they will be able to learn and positively contribute to the classroom environment. What a job we have as  teachers?! The outcome of using these strategies and the privilege of teaching children in poverty can be so rewarding. I can actually make a difference!

Pictures from our beach walk...for educational purposes, of course!

We searched for shells near the seashore (alliteration- see, educational),



Studied the sea creatures/wanted their beautiful shells,

walked and shared- great team time,

and then stopped at the Angel Oak tree on the way home!



Weatherman Predicts Classroom Climate

   Since the long winter break, we've come to school every morning when it's quite chilly outside. As the day progresses, most of the time, it gets warmer outside and students go out to recess in the warm sun. I have begun to realize the effect of the weather on the students in my classroom. Rainy days are the worst! I am already in the weird mood that rainy days evoke and students are dragging in, sluggish and saddened that outdoor recess is not in their school schedule that day. Cold mornings make everyone a little less inclined to get out of bed and into "school mode". Cold hands that don't want to write, cold brains that don't want to think, and cold ears that don't hear anything I'm saying. Warm mornings bring in stir crazy students that think it's the last day before summer- antsy for recess as they walk in the door and antsy for the end of the school day as they walk in from recess. Warm mornings make me miss the summer days of sleeping in and relaxing all day!
   No matter what the morning weather brings in, by the end of lunch, all of the students are wired! Afternoon classes are the same no matter what the weather may be- crazy! Crazy because they're ready for the end of the day to play in the beautiful weather or stir crazy because they've been inside while it rains all day. Crazy, crazy!

Either way, I have my job cut out for me every day!

Rainy morning students...

Cold morning students...in a daze

Warm morning students...off the wall

Sensitive Issues

Now that this new year is in full swing, I've had the opportunity to really think about my experiences as a first year teacher in a new way. I've been teaching for half of the school year and here are some things that I've noticed...

1. It's really hard to call Christmas break "winter break"...it's always been Christmas break to me and even those that didn't celebrate Christmas never made a big stink about it being called that. Now, we've got to be politically correct at every turn and it's hard.

2. After Christmas break, the floodgates are wide open. Students came back very quiet and oddly reserved last week. We went over our classroom rules and procedures again and they were little angels (most of them). Today, not so much. Actually, not at all...they are familiar with each other, the school, the teachers, and they are unashamed...Wild kids.

3. Middle schoolers are not babies and the students where I teach are wise far beyond their years. I've had students tell me things with a straight face that I would've been torn apart about. For example, before Christmas break, a student came up to my desk to give me his daily life report and he said with a straight face that his "sister and mom's boyfriend got hit by a car last night" and then he walked away, cool as a cucumber. What?! I asked him to come back and asked if he needed to go to guidance? an administrator? to talk to a friend? and his response was, "Mrs. Brannan, *sigh* they just got hit by a car...they didn't die, it's not that big of a deal!" I am completely baffled and scared for some of these kids. They live a life in which it's not that big of a deal if someone gets hit by a car, as long as they don't die. That is foreign to me.

4. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree- I have learned how true that expression often is. No examples necessary.

5. Teaching can be rewarding. There have been days that I have questioned my choice to be a teacher- I won't lie about that. However, those are far outnumbered by the days that I'm really thankful to be a teacher. I love the fact that there are at least 90 kids that depend on me, five days out of the week. I am one of the only constant things in their lives- that's enough to get me out of the bed every single day. Every day is different. There is no possible way to even predict what might happen during a school day. There is no such thing as a "typical day" and I love it that way. Even on some of the worst days, I've been excited to come back to school the next day because I know that every day is a new day and it's going to be better.

6. I HAVE TO HAVE A SCHEDULE. I absolutely loved the Christmas break. It's the best I've ever had by far. However, I learned that without a schedule, I go crazy. We were super busy the entire time, but there was no set schedule or very many planned activities and I couldn't handle it. We enjoyed our time spent with all of our families, the cruise, the friends, etc. but next year, I'm creating an itinerary! *just kidding*


With a thankful heart and excitement for the new year and all that it will bring,
Lauren

Life happens!

Life happens. That's a phrase that the Brannans have become more and more aware of every day of the past month!

My first year teaching was off to a start- not many bumps in the road, a regular schedule... normal. Then, my wonderful hubby cut his hand open with a glass in our sink. It was the Saturday before Halloween. He placed it down too hard in the sink and the glass shattered, cutting his pinky in two different places and all the way down into this palm. To the Emergency Room we went at 11:30 PM. I was all but losing my mind. He was stitched up with 18 stitches, given good pain pills and some antibiotic, and we got back home at about 2:30 AM. It was quickly determined that he couldn't bend his pinky in and out and this meant that he lacerated both tendons. Upon further investigation, he couldn't feel his pinky either so he also lacerated the nerve. The day after seeing the orthopedic, he had surgery to repair his tendons and nerve (24 stitches). I've had to take off a day, leave early a few days, and generally disrupt my regular schedule to help him get to appointments, his surgery, and all that "fun" stuff. He's been in a splint to keep his hand always bent and pressure off of the tendons and he's healing really well and doing great with his occupational therapy.

The night of Halloween, after the ER and first stitches but before the appointment and surgery, we came home from visiting family to find that there was a leak from our upstairs guest bathroom and it was dripping into our bedroom and bathroom. The leak was fixed the following day, but the sheetrock, ceilings, subfloor and all were soaked. The heavy-duty fans sat in our house, 5 downstairs and 3 upstairs, for almost a full week before everything was dry enough. Then, the work began to fix everything. We lived in a hotel for almost two weeks. The entire time Rob was having surgery and beginning to heal.

What fun?! The dust finally began to settle from that caios- literally- when I got sick and had to leave work early last week.

My sweet, sweet students have been so very caring and understanding with all of this going on. Their lessons and work haven't changed because we have GREAT subs, but I've been in and out for the past several weeks. They've been so worried and have constantly asked about Rob (Mr. Brannan). Even if they are acting like they've lost their minds as the holidays approach, they have the sweetest hearts.

It's been one thing after another for a month now so I am probably the MOST excited person on the planet about having a FIVE day weekend!!! Much needed rest, relaxation, and family time is in the very near future! Three hours to be exact :)


This year, I'm thankful for-
-my sweet students that have been so caring
-my co-workers that have made it so easy for me to be with Rob when I needed to be and not be worried about my students
-my family that has been so loving and supportive
-my friends that have really stepped up to help us and just be there for us
-my Savior that has had to do a lot of saving me lately and for his constant reminding me that I have to trust him
and most of all,
-my wonderful husband that has been so great despite his temporary handicap

To sum up the lesson we've learned~
^"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances..." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

**Attention**Attention**

Wow, it's been a long time since I've been able to update! School and life have been so very busy these past few weeks!

I was working my tail off to prepare my students for the district-wide writing prompt, several tests that they have taken, and report cards come out next week!! The end of the first nine weeks is in TWO days! I have been teaching for nine weeks! But I've only been teaching for nine weeks?!

I am beginning to figure out exactly why I love teaching, not just the idea of it. Every single day in my classroom is different- good, great, bad, awful. I'm learning so much about teaching that I already knew, but putting it in to practice every day has been such a learning experience and taken the art of teaching to a whole new level. I was formally observed on Thursday the 6th.

Classroom management/behavior problems have been my biggest struggles and it seems as though they occur daily. Students test me and my team more than I ever would have thought. I would have never done or said these things to my teachers- if I had I'd be deformed right now. The Lord has been really working to make me the most patient person on earth.

There have been several altercations, all seeming to happen at lunch. Honestly, they are more humerous than scary! A few weeks ago, the teachers were all sitting with the lunch detention kids after most of the students had gone out to recess. We were monitoring those that chose to stay inside that day while eating our lunch. We looked up and two boys were standing in between tables, arms out- swatting at each other. Not hitting or slapping, swatting like two cats and missing each other every time. Two hormonal boys, elbows at their sides, swatting with just their hands. Funniest thing I've seen in a LONG time! Looked something like this:

Then, they were told to go outside to recess if they wanted to play around, because that certainly couldn't be considered fighting. One of them went without being told twice, the other snaps off his ID, stomps to the door, and starts running across the teacher parking lot towards a main road. Thankfully, he stopped on a patch of grass before he got there because he was out of breath. The other teacher that had duty went out after him since I had to stay in the cafeteria, but that was quite an eventful lunch.

There have been funny and frustrating stories every day, but I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

Wait...we have a test today?

Yes, indeed, this was a response that a student shared as I began going over their test before passing them out. HA! The rest of the class responded with an uproar of laughter. Another student asked me why my study guide didn't give them any answers for the test. What do I say to that?!

I have never thought it to be wrong to ask students to think for themselves and use the brain that God gave them and I refuse to start doing that now. I KNOW my students can do the work and I KNOW that they are smart kids, but I think they will start putting effort into their learning when they realize that, too.

I think that kids today honestly expect the work to be done for them. I don't want to say ALL kids are that way, but something our society has done has taught them that they don't have to think for themselves. It kills me. Some of my students did very poorly on their first test because they are not putting for the effort required to do well. The bad part is that they think that it's my fault, not theirs. We spent the first few weeks discussing, doing group activities, partner activities, and independent work to learn about how the author develops characters, conflict, and setting, learning first person, limited-omniscient, and omniscient points of view, and how to make inferences and draw conclusions for literary texts. Those words may sound fancy, but I can assure you that by time the quizzes and test came around we were all about to cross-eyed because we had talked about it so much. And yet, some students still did not do well. I spent two days reteaching the material and students that spent the weekend studying, and could prove that they studied, were able to take the test again. As a part of our policy at Pelion Middle, students are required to provide evidence that they studied (i.e. flashcards, notecards, rewritten notes, etc). Less than half of my students provided this evidence on Monday morning so they were the only ones that were able to improve their grade. Why would you NOT do something to study so that you could improve your grade?! And in fact, the students that did study, were the ones who did well the first time but wanted an even better grade!
Again, I KNOW that my students can do the work and I KNOW that they are smart kids. If they put forth the effort to study and learn the material the first time, I KNOW that they will succeed on future tests. But why would they wait for a bad grade to get in gear?

This is another realization of the change in society and the vast difference in homelife than when I was in sixth grade. These kids make me thankful every day for the home- both homes- that I had growing up and the parents, church, and community that supported me.

The adventure continues...

These Wascally Wabbits...

Oh boy! The true colors begin to show...

Most of my children are the sweetest kids, great students, care about others, and respect each other. Some...not so much. I believe that, at heart, all children really want to be good. Some, just have a hard time showing for one reason or another. The majority of my students have a rough home life that is vastly different than mine was growing up. At my school, you have to be a compassionate and passionate teacher to reach these kids- Otherwise, you'll get nowhere.

That being said, the few that are giving me such a hard time are doing so to impress someone in their class of the opposite sex. Yes, HORMONES~ sooo not used to this. They think that getting in trouble is a way to show the other that they are tough, and they are. These kids are wise beyond their years because of what they go home to. I just wish they didn't have to be so stubborn and like getting in trouble- that NEVER impressed me.

Ironically, I married an older version of the kid in the my class who gives me the hardest time! Every time I tell him a story about little "Bob" (not his real name), Rob says "Oh yeah, I did that." When I talk about calling little Bob's parents, he says "Oh yeah, my mom and teacher were on a first name basis". WHAT?! I have come to realize just how bad he was through confirmation every time we see one of his teachers around town. One teacher had us both (at different times) and about croaked when she realized we were together. It's funny how the Lord works!

Hormones, drama, broken homes, and desperately in need of love- that's my kids! I'm learning...they're learning...it's a process and I guess that's all that matters...