Pleasant Surprises

The event this past week that took me by surprise was actually a good event.

School pride is something they are really working on at our school this year.  They are doing a lot of things to try to get the students to buy into supporting the school.  One of those things was to have some of the students anonymously vote for 'Teacher of the Month."

As part of the nominating process, students fill out a short form about who they would nominate and why.  The teacher with the most nominations wins, I guess.  Now let's get this out of the way right off the bat... I didn't expect to win.  We have a lot of great teachers, in my opinion, and I simply don't stack up to them in my mind.

But, a cool thing that they are doing is that if a student nominates you, they give you those forms in your mailbox.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I received two nominations for the award.

One student wrote:

"I think he should be Teacher of the Month because he's a fun teacher and let's us have fun in class and gives fun assignments."  

And the other said:

"He's got me into video production and he's there for anyone no matter what."

It was really nice to see those things, especially after that confrontation with a student who wanted to punch me.  I am my own worst critic and I can be really hard on myself most of the time.  But those students could have voted for anyone and they picked me, so that made me feel good.

I wrote on the blog on saturday. Do you not see it?

I think we have some excellent conversation going on, and I hope you will all read the final post and comment from last week. That post and comment leads me to this week's reflective question for you. "What was the situation that caused me the greatest anxiety or distress this past week - the kind of situation that I kept replaying in my mind as I was dropping off to sleep, or caused me to say to myself, I don't want to go through this again for a while?"


The situation I had this week that caused me to replay it over in my mind as I was dropping off to sleep was I received 2 write ups in the pass 2 months and both of them was for not summiting lesson plans when we all know I have at least 50 lesson plans during the summer to last me for some months. well to come to find out I was summiting them in the wrong drop box folder in Google the folder from last year and didn't know that there was a new folder for this year. Instead of someone asking me or giving me a warning , I just received a write up .I am still new and I am not receiving a lot of help here. The administrator just thinks I should know. I was going to send her an email to schedule a meeting. OH the second write up was from I was recently sick and out of school on an emergency, I had summited an emergency lesson plan at the beginning of the school year, an emergency sub lesson plan which I thought they were suppose to be used in case of an emergency. When I returned back to school, I returned to a write for not submitting lesson plans again which I gave to my department chair. I was so distressed, I actually wanted to quit until I thought of why I was actually at the school. Its for the kids and that is my main purpose.


I also agree with Tee, I do this every morning before I go into school. Knowing that I have a purpose and I am at the school for the students makes my work so rewarding and I am always grateful to even have the opportunity so whether my day is stressful which leads me to having anxiety if I have reached just one kid that day and encouraged and taught one student something new all of other obstacles will be okay. After all I love what I do and I am going to continue to persevere.

Anxiety and Distress

When reflecting, I could not point out just one moment this week or over the last few months that anxiety and distress has not consumed my mind. As such, I'll discuss what I do when I am there. I reflect. I pray. I remember that I have a purpose. We all do. We are here for a reason and we must live in it.

Anxiety and Distress

"What was the situation that caused me the greatest anxiety or distress this past week - the kind of situation that I kept replaying in my mind as I was dropping off to sleep, or caused me to say to myself, I don't want to go through this again for a while?"

I would have to say that this week, the kind of stress I was under pertained to the interview process at Lakeside High School in Atlanta (although technically still in Dekalb county)  At any rate, preparing for a sit down interview with the Vice Principal of the school was far less stressful as it turns out than what I learned DURING the interview.  It revolves around the recent history of that school.  

As many of you may or may not have heard... Lakeside high recently lost a bright star in the CTAE Health Sciences department with the tragic loss of Leah O'Brien.  She was in a head on collision with one of the students at the school while trying to get there to chaperon the event.  To make matters worse... the student was charged with vehicular homicide.  Miss O'Brien was a beloved teacher at this school and right from the start, the vice Principal let me know it was that loss that lead to the staffing crunch at the school as the teacher from the Business science department left as well directly related to this tragedy. 

>>>>Read the story here<<<<

 Yes... what a way to begin an interview.  To make matters worse, the prepared questions and responses I had practiced for were COMPLETELY thrown out of the window, as we discussed the affect of that loss has meant to the students in that school... you can almost feel the somber "mood" coming through the door, as the Vice principal even teared up through the interview.  When the topic finally changed to my qualifications and my goals as a Career Technology Educator, I was only able to get out a few brief sentences of what my vision was for the class.    It made me leave feeling very reflective on the roles we play as educators and the affect we all would have on not just or immediate family and friends, but also the kids that depend on us and the relationships we forge with those students.

    

A Stressful Moment...

I have had many of those situations within the last few weeks. But mostly, it boils down to the situation I had last week when the student told me that he thought my class was unimportant and he was done listening to me. Then he walked away from me. That moment has been haunting me since and I have lost sleep. And it happened to another teacher with the same student. The student was finally punished and given 1 day of ISS, but the punishment doesn’t really make me feel much better (nor does it make the other teacher feel much better). I have since had another conversation with the same student and we talked about why he and I were butting heads so much and how we could fix the problem. We decided together that we thought the problem was a lack of communication between the two of us. We decided that we would attempt to communicate a bit more effectively with each other. We shall see if that actually works…

Greatest anxiety

"What was the situation that caused me the greatest anxiety or distress this past week - the kind of situation that I kept replaying in my mind as I was dropping off to sleep, or caused me to say to myself, I don't want to go through this again for a while?"

I had a student that just snapped. She is a drama queen that likes attention and have a captive audience with the other students in the class.

When she ask a question, it's twofold, her objective is to draw you into a confrontation. I normally address her solo.

Anyway, this student took a simple problem and blew it into a Mount Everst. She proceeded to yell and scream at me "telling me off" I suppose.

I asked her to please leave the class and have a good day. It took her a few more minutes before she left out the class.

The class has not had a teacher in almost two years. The students that are in the class that are seniors will not receive a completion so they can care less about what I am saying or doing. It is a hard place to be in because they just need a babysitter for 90 minutes. The seniors use to have a intern at the school or be able to attend a nearby junior college for college credit. For whatever reason that has been stopped.

I just hope not to experience that again because I was extremely excited when she left...whew!!
I do not want another day like that.....

"What was the situation that caused me the greatest anxiety or distress this past week - the kind of situation that I kept replaying in my mind as I was dropping off to sleep, or caused me to say to myself, I don't want to go through this again for a while?"

Perhaps I'm in denial but, so far, my year has been pretty darn good! I'm enjoying the maturity level of the high schoolers in my district. The biggest issue I deal with is technology! We are pushing technology so students don't get behind in the world yet they're consistently "playing" on it. It's VERY frustrating. I've created a "Technology Time-Out" (shoe hanger with 2 numbers in each pocket; one for the student to retrieve their technology and the other labeling "their" pocket). Jama shared this idea with me and I LOVE it. Side Note: I enjoy taking up a cellphone and letting it face outward for others sitting close by to read their texts. My teachers used to hang notes on their bulletin boards for an entire week after they took them up! Ha!

I've employed extra-credit points for students who bring supplies from my "requested list" (on the syllabus); Lysol Spray/Wipes, Kleenex, Windex Spray, Baby Wipes, Hand Sanitizer, Pop-tabs (for the Ronald McDonald House Charity)and a Bag of Candy. I use the candy to reward my students for hard work (100 on Quizzes or Tests, Class Involvement, etc). As for my supply cabinet, it gets fuller each day! One student brought in 10 lbs. (yes, POUNDS) of pop-tabs!! Our HOSA Club is looking forward to a trip to Chattanooga next month to deliver them in person. We will also tour the Life Force Helipad, and have several different healthcare providers speak to them. A small group of 18-year-olds (hospital requirement) will tour a few select areas of the Children's Hospital.

With all this being said, I'd say I wish I didn't have to deal with "playing/texting/social media" on technology during class. Everyday, every class I have to ask them to put their technology away or turn it over (out of sight, out of mind). However, I feel certain I will continue to deal with this issue. I'm hopeful the younger generation will realize "school is for learning".

Any suggestions are ALWAYS appreciated!! :0)

"What was the situation that caused me the greatest anxiety or distress this past week - the kind of situation that I kept replaying in my mind as I was dropping off to sleep, or caused me to say to myself, I don't want to go through this again for a while?"

As teachers there are many situations that go on each day that we think to ourselves man I do not want to have to go through this again! I feel like I am always having one of these moments. My moment for this week was me getting emotional in front of my students in one of my more rowdy off task classes. During the whole period the students were off task, constantly on their phones, not listening, and being disrespectful. I tried to keep my composure through the entire 102 minute class period. However, at the end of the class I reached my breaking point and could fill my eyes starting to fill with tears. My breaking point was when a student said a rude comment to me. At that point my feelings were just hurt and I could not help but get emotional. I truly wish I let comments and attitudes that the students have roll off my back, however, I have not been able to conquer that as of yet. I do not like my students to see me in a weak moment. I am scared that if they see me when I am weak like that they will try and take advantage of me. After this situation happened I internally beat myself up for letting the kids see me weak. I just hope next time I can let the situation go without me taking it personally. 

"What was the situation that caused me the greatest anxiety or distress this past week - the kind of situation that I kept replaying in my mind as I was dropping off to sleep, or caused me to say to myself, I don't want to go through this again for a while?"

My situation was actually last week.

I may have made an assumption about a student incorrectly but acted to what I felt was according to the indications of the situation.

I gave a test and toward the end of the session was walking around again and I came upon a desk with a student finishing a test. I looked on the floor and noticed that his study guide was laying on the floor visible but seemingly hidden. I felt my blood pressure skyrocket. I was furious but I walked away and contemplated what to do. Was he cheating? The indications were certainly there.
I felt as though I had no choice. I made a decision to give him a zero and a referral. I emailed his mom that afternoon explaining the situation. She was seemingly understanding but was insistent that he had just been careless and not put his study guide away well enough and that she had studied with him over the past few days. She ask if there was anything I would/could do and I agreed to give him a separate test the next day.
In my annoyed state I made a harder test. Probably not the best choice. I gave it to him sent him to my neighbors classroom with a pen and his test. He left and returned within 6 minutes. Curious about how he did I graded it-
And of course...He aced it. Missed one question out of 25.
Now I can't prove that he wasn't cheating-but given the short amount of time between tests-the changed difficulty of the test and the amount of time he completed it-He seemed to know the material very well.
Needless to say I felt like kind of a jerk. I told him that if I misread the situation that I apologize but that he put me in a very precarious situation and that he needed to be careful about appearances. He said he understood and has honestly been one of my more pleasant students since. His mother even thanked me and apologized again for the situation.
The outcome came out ok but for days afterward I felt pretty bad about it.

I think we have some excellent conversation going on, and I hope you will all read the final post and comment from last week. That post and comment leads me to this week's reflective question for you. "What was the situation that caused me the greatest anxiety or distress this past week - the kind of situation that I kept replaying in my mind as I was dropping off to sleep, or caused me to say to myself, I don't want to go through this again for a while?"

My situation was that I caught a student straddling another student in an edit bay when they were supposed to be working on the broadcast for the week.  This happened while we were in our online class for NTI.  I immediately pulled them into my office separately and had a stern discussion with them both. The girl involved was an anchor who is a straight A student who I put on suspension from Eagle TV for a week but had to participate in the production aspect anyway.  The guy was an advanced student who i banned from my classroom for a week as well and I called their parents.  It seems to have worked because they both love the subject i teach so much.  But having to keep students from fornicating is a task I really dread having to deal with.

I don't want to go through this again ever!

The thought that a student can misinterpret anything we say.  I try my hardest to never belittle a student.  I have heard some teachers talking to their students in the past like they are five years old.  I don’t speak to them as if they are my equal, but I do use professional verbiage that is used in a my career field that I teach.  I had a student totally take my words and twist them last week.  This is a student who I feel was coming to me for guidance and direction in her life.   I almost feel like she was using me for her to seek out attention.   She was back in class on Monday and she acted as if nothing even happened.  I now have really distanced myself from her.  Which in some ways is sad, cause I feel like I could have really give her some sound principles to guide her in the my career pathway.  Now, I am keeping it just Hello and yes, you can take the pass to the bathroom. 

What was the moment or moment(s) this past week when you felt most connected, engaged, or affirmed as a teacher - the moment you said to yourself, "This is what being a teacher is really all about"?

My ah ha moment was after 3 weeks of what seemed like torture teaching  food born illness and how you can catch one. All of my classes were crying "When are we going to eat!!" Finally I let my classes make 2 egg omelets, My classes took 1/2 hour cleaning the tables after the prepared the eggs. No one wanted Salmonella!!!
They really do listen!

My question to the group and Dr. J.

This isn't part of the question of the week, so I hope that is alright.

Friday was a long day for me.  My planning period is first block (100 minute blocks).  So, I am sitting there at my desk going through what I was planning to do in my classes for the day.  I was being extra sure to get my ducks in a row because an administrator was supposed to come to my room for a review that day.

I was working away when I heard a commotion in the hallway.  It was mainly just yelling, with a lot of cussing.  I stepped to my door to observe a young man berating a teacher from the room next to mine.

Now the way the doors are set up, I was a ways away from this situation, but I stood at my door to allow the teacher, who is a lady that has been there quite a while longer than I have, to get control of the situation.

The kid was being very aggressive and belligerent towards the teacher and cussing loudly.  So I stepped down about halfway between my door and her door to make my presence known, but not interfere as she attempted to handle the situation.

At some point, the kid sort of stepped towards me and I became involved as he said, "If you don't get out of my f'ing way, I'll hit you!"

I kinda laughed at the suggestion and told him he needed to come up with a different plan of action because there was no way hitting me ended well for him.  He balled his fists.  I told him that if he hit me, he better put everything he has into that one shot because that's all he's getting.  I then told him that he would most likely not remember the next week of his life,

The kid turned and punched at the wall, not connecting with anything.

The other teacher and I proceeded to take the kid to the office, where they dealt with him.

Now, I say all of that to say this.  I was pretty amped up, as most anyone would be when threatened by someone.  And I never touched the kid, nor did I say anything I was later embarrassed about.

I guess my question is, in that situation, do you think I handled it correctly?

Look, I would never straight up threaten a kid and I don't really think I threatened this kid, I was just letting him know that hitting me (or the other teacher, for that matter) was not going to end well for him.  And when he balled his fist up, I prepared myself for the worst, so I let him know that he needed to reconsider.  He was in a violent mood and I remained about as calm as could be expected, I think.  Again, there was a huge adrenalin rush when he said he'd hit me, but I kept myself in control the entire time.

Had he hit me, I don't really know what I would have done.  That's one of those things you just can't be sure of until it happens.  I was quite a bit larger than this kid and never really felt threatened by him, but since he was considering hitting me, I felt I needed to let him know, in his terms, that the consequences might not be to his liking.  

A student who happened to come across this altercation later came to my room and asked me if I had to deal with things like that on a regular basis.  I said that thankfully I did not.  He then told me that the behavior of the student was "ridiculous."

My principal, in a text he later sent to me, said I showed "poise and professionalism" in handling the situation.

I'm just glad it ended well with nobody getting hurt.

If I had to critique myself, I would say I should have just taken the kid to the office immediately when I came out of the room, separating him from the other teacher, instead of allowing it to play out as long as it went.  From the point the kid threatened me, though, I think I did okay, even if I was pretty harsh.  I believe it really did make the kid reconsider his thoughts, which is what kept things from getting uglier, I think.

Thoughts?

THINK IT UP!

Think it up!

Not since the days of the Jerry Lewis Telethon has there been a major network event that broadcast on all major broadcast networks... FOX, NBC, ABC and CBS are all live broadcasting THINKITUP.ORG.  The goal is to raise money and commit to bettering the educational landscape of America.  I have to say that I am glad to see at least an effort uplift and address the problems of education in the U.S.  But I am unhappy that my government is not doing more.

This is what being a teacher is really all about....

Last week my second level students were really engaged in the discussion. I allowed conversation to flow because we learn so much from each other when we are in true form. Multiple students commented on how much they enjoyed class that day and how much they actually understood. Needless to say, grades were awesome on the formative assessment. Great discussion. I wish they all could be that successful.

This is What it is All About

Honestly, I'm not certain I have experienced that "ah-ha" moment. I do believe I have received  confirmation on more than one occasion. A month after I left my "industry", the dental practice I had been with nearly ten years, sold the practice to a management firm. My husband and children have enjoyed having me around during school breaks, on snow days, and at extracurricular activities in the evening. In terms of my students, I have most recently had one student enthusiastically approach me and state she knew what she wanted to do. Her goal is to graduate as a CNA, go to college, and become a Nurse Practitioner. This particular student has really changed...she's much more involved and "serious" in my classroom now. Currently, I am in the final days of my employability unit and a student commented on how she attempted to put many things to use she had recently learned in my class during her student council interview. The thought of me impacting these young people in such a positive way fills me with gratitude.

Our HOSA Club has drastically grown this year! My career pathway program is HUGE. I have 31 or 32 students in each of my 6 classes. GREAT things are in the making!!! :o)

This has been a very difficult week for me already. I have had to write up 2 students and I had to give a student a zero on an assignment because the student plagiarized Wikipedia. It was a very difficult situation for me and, obviously, the situation contained many firsts for me. When I talked to the student today, he told me that my class was an elective and wasn’t important. The student told me that he didn’t have to listen to me and walked away from me. It really took a lot out of me emotionally; hearing a student tell me that the subject matter about which I harbor a great passion is unimportant and the complete lack of respect I was just shown. I took a deep breath and walked back into my classroom. I had to work hard not to hang my head or let the students know how upset I was.  That really wasn’t what I signed up for when I decided to become a teacher. It was a really difficult class period to get through. I tried to hide my emotions and I hope I succeeded. I was relieved and still quite upset when the class was finally over. I was wondering how I was even going to face my next class.

Then the students from my next class began walking into the classroom. They each had smiles on their faces. As they walked into the classroom they said, “Hey Ms. Groover!” or “Hi Ms. Groover!” It began to turn my day around. For the past few days, we have been learning about how people in public safety manage crises and emergency situations. In order to see what they have learned, the students in the class were assigned groups and were required to create a Crisis and Emergency Plan for certain large events throughout Georgia. Today was the day that they were to present. I was worried that my emotions were going to distract me from giving my students my fullest attention. But when the first group walked up, I saw that they were all dressed in professional attire (something that I taught them during the beginning of the year and not a requirement for the presentations) and were excited to begin their presentation. I began glowing inside with pride. The group began presenting and I was immediately impressed. They had notecards and spoke professionally. It was clear that they had learned a lot from me already this year and had practiced their presentation thoroughly. They captured my fullest attention and made me forget about my negative experience from the period before.
 
My students made me realize that while there may be one student who thinks my class is unimportant, there are another 50 students who eagerly anticipate coming to my class and learning from me. They greet me with a smile and make me remember why I became a teacher in the first place.

What was the moment or moment(s) this past week when you felt most connected, engaged, or affirmed as a teacher - the moment you said to yourself, "This is what being a teacher is really all about"?

Being a teacher is always an adventure-and being a new teacher sometimes feels like youve been dropped in a jungle with no map, food, water...just a semi sharp stick you sometimes wanna stick into your own eye!
But those moments...those Obama meme "not bad" moments are what I wake up for everyday! I love those moments and have had a fair share in the last 5 weeks!
I have several intro classes in Graphic Design. The past few weeks we have been learning the software and how to use the tools to create and manipulate graphics. There is a girl in my B block who we will call "H". H is a very enthusiastic student but is having a hard time learning and manipulating the software. But last week we had a break through. I was showing her one of the key tools in Illustrator-one I had shown her several times prior-and had the 'AH HA!" moment with her! She slowly began to realize what this particular tool could do and that manipulating it wasnt actually all that difficult at all! I let her be for several minutes and come back to check on her and already things were happening on the screen-things that days ago she was convinced she could NOT do!
Round 2-it gets better! Tuesday we come back from a long weekend and jump back into our project. While the students are working I notice that she is sitting next to her neighbor and that are quietly discussing something out of earshot. I naturally go to see whats happening-and the young man that she was helping was manipulating, very effectively, the same tool that she had begun to finally learn the week prior.
I spoke up- "Hey guys whats up?'
"Mr. Raney-H just taught me how to use the pathfinder tool in Illustrator!"
"Is that right?" I said
H- "Yea I remembered all the steps again! It was easy this time!"
Boom. I wanted to drop my mic and walk out of the room. I felt like a rockstar. Not only did she remember ALL of the steps but she was now passing it along to another student.
And THAT is what its all about.

Until next time...

This is what it is all about!!

What was the moment or moment(s) this past week when you felt most connected, engaged, or affirmed as a teacher - the moment you said to yourself, "This is what being a teacher is really all about"?

The light bulb moment with me this past week that let me know this is what teaching is all about is when one of my classes was so excited about playing the Kahoot it game. 

Those students was extremely excited, I laughed out loud with joy because they were trying so hard to be competitive with each other, glad to see their name in the top five, and amazed at how much they remembered over the past few weeks.

For me, I realized that this struggle is truly paying off. They are retaining information and enjoying it along the way.

I had another moment, when the students were presenting their presentation and one group truly nailed it, the PowerPoint, the oral presentation, eye contact, volume and how the whole class participated in the discussion.

I could barely contain myself!! I had a great 2 days with that class...