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...