Saturday class

I just wanted to tell all of the class on the 17th that this was the most fun I've had in a while.We had some wonderful actors and actresses in there.There for a minute I thought we were on a field trip to a comedy club.I had not looked forward to the 60 mile one way drive saturday morning but it was well worth it.I hope everyone has a GREAT THANKSGIVING and enjoy the well deserved day off.I give a standing ovation to all.Remember if things are not spelled correctly,I am an automotive teacher.

NOT USED TO GIRLS IN CLASS YET

Today was a new one for me.We had been revewing for a test for about a week now,Going over wiring diagrams,and learning how to diagnose electrical problems.Well today was the big day we had the test.It was 20 question with a 10 point bonus question.Well one of the girls in the class ask to go to the restroom. when she got back it looked as if she had been crying,so I ask her what was wrong.As she was telling me that she didn't remember anything on the test the tears got bigger.At this point my heart went right to that spot in your throat that makes it hard to swallow.Being an auto tech all those years I dealt with guys whining all the time,but never a 10th grade girl crying. All I new to do was just tell her that she knew this material and it wasn't that hard.I reminded her that she has about a 90 in class up to this point and that she would do fine.The test took about 70 minutes to take and after it was all over she had an 86 on the test. N.T.I didn't train me for that one!!

being prepared

I don't know about you guys ,but I'm finding out the more your students learn about a subject the harder it is to keep their attention and keep them busy for 90 minutes. I'm finding out that what was prepared 6 weeks ago is not prepared anymore.On the bright side I guess it shows that the students are learning, so that's a positive on the teacher. but on the bad side it can catch you unprepared sometimes ,which makes for a frustrating and slow day.

Thanks from a student

At our school we have student of the month every month. I really think about this and give it to the student that I believe deserves it. Not because this student has the highest grade, but because I feel like he tries all around. Last week we picked our students for last month,we're running a little behind[ha,ha] so I thought about it and picked a student that I didn't have for 10 days at the first of the year because his home school had him in ISS. We talked about the reason he was in ISS and I explained to him my opinion about what he had done,and we talked about life and the decisions we make. I told him that change starts with the man in the mirror,if you don't like what's happening in your life you have the power to change it. In my class he has shown consistant improvement. I didn't tell him that I had chosen him for student of the month, so when the lady came to take him to have his picture made I just called him to the front of the class and told him to go with her. He looked at me as if he had done something wrong, I assured him that he wasn't in trouble and they left to take his picture. When he came back to class we were in the lab, he walked over to me and all he said was Thank You. That's the first time in two years that a student has thanked me for choosing them, most just come back to class and act as if nothing has happened. Today report cards went home, this student brought his report card to me to show me at the 4 weeks progress report he had a 48 in a class and now he has a 71. He is passing all of his classes. Some kids haven't really met the man in the mirror, but sometimes a little encouragement and explanations can make them see that this reflection can be the start of a whole new life. I'm proud of him and he's proud of himself.These little bright spots make up for several dim spots in the world of teaching.

Book'em Danno

At the first of the week I posted about the kid dipping in my class.Then when I sent him to see the A.P. he lied and told him that he wasn't. The A.P. suggested that we talk to him together,so we did yesterday.After about ten minutes of him denying that he was dipping and saying that he was tired of being accused by everyone,We got a confession,Some of the responses to my first post helped .I told him it bothered me more that he had lied to us about it than him actually dipping.
The A.P.said we needed to start tag teaming these things.It worked out great.My A.P. and I are trying to decide on some type of work detail instead of ISS .Because most kids like ISS. Thanks for all your responses.

DIP

I've explained to all of my students the policy about using dip in school. I caught a student using dip Monday, told him to go spit it out. He replied, "My bad", and went to spit it out. I informed the Assistant Principle about it and he wanted to see the kid in his office. So the next day I sent him into see the principle where the student denied dipping in my class although he has been put in ISS twice this year from other classes. The A.P. told me that he would go ahead and put him in ISS or we could talk to the student together. I told him we would wait and talk to him together. This is a first for me. What's the best way to respond to a student that says he didn't do something that you know he did?

Speaking of extraordinary gentlemen

Gary B. came out to my school today and stayed to about 7:30 working with the Certification team from NATEF. We called him last week ,so he had very little notice but he made it and helped us considerably.
Just wanted to pass on a special thanks to gary.

I gave a chapter test on Electrical today. This is the same test I gave to my Electrical students last year. I thought I would have the same results as last year with most grades in the 70's and taking the whole class period . Boy was I surprised. Most of the grades this year were in the 80's and low 90's with a couple of 100's mixed in, and it only took half of the class period to take.These are not multiple GUESS test ,they are fill-in-the-blank , discussion and reading wiring diagrams.
At the beginning of this year, I did set my standards very high, and it seems to be working. I explained that this was not an easy class, and if you fall behind, it will be hard to catch up. I also showed the students a couple of websites that they could use at home if they felt like they were getting behind. I try to put the ball in their court, and let them run with it. I've found if you set your standards high from the start your teaching will be easier.

OBSERVATION WITH MRS. GREENE

WHEW! FOR SOMETHING THAT I HAVE DREADED FOR A FEW WEEKS NOW, IT WAS RELATIVELY PAINLESS. THE STUDENTS WERE AMAZING. NOT ONLY WERE THE STUDENTS VERY RESPECTFUL, THEY WERE ALSO VERY VOCAL. THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE CLASS AND WOULD ANSWER THE QUESTIONS WHEN I ASKED THEM ,AND EVEN HAD THE RIGHT ANSWERS . WE STARTED OUT IN THE CLASSROOM, AND THE LAST 35 OR 40 MINUTES WE WERE IN THE SHOP IN GROUPS WITH OUR CIRCUIT TRAINERS AND MULTI-METERS.ALTHOUGH MRS. GREENE SHOWED ME SOME MINOR THINGS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE DIFFERENTLY,SHE SHOWED ME WAYS TO MAKE THE IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED. OVERALL THINGS WENT GREAT, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH HER AGAIN.
SEE YOU ALL SATURDAY

Monday Night NTI

Last night was our first Monday night class, really no problems at all getting there, just a few minor glitches once inside the main building. This morning I started class and went through the portion of the cooperative learning on page 220 part 4 that we went through last night at NTI. After this I put the students in groups of three and then explained that we were going to use these groups to explain the chapter in our text books that we have just gone over. Each group was assigned three pages of the chapter to work on and they would have to give a presentation to the class on those three pages. Actually teaching those three pages to the class,this way they have to read, hear[because the other students are teaching also], they will discuss their three pages with the other students in the group, and they will actually teach someone something. It has worked out great today . All of my classes are doing this on different subjects, so far most of them are doing power point presentation, which has really impressed me. All so far are doing a very good job.

1st Blog

Made my first grading rubric today. I look forward to using it in my next graded lab assignment. My students have made comments about that I am stricker this year. In reality it's not stricker, it is more organized because of what I learned this summer at NTI.

Funniest question from my student's so far is, "why do I have to read books to work on cars!"