Shut down mode!

Hey ya'll,
It seems that a lot of my kids are in shut down mode. I've gone through all of the material that we had for this semester and decided to give the kids some easy grades for the last 2 weeks. After working in the shop this semester I've seen some areas in need of improvement. It requires an almost complete overhaul of the shops arrangement. I had a couple of rooms that were not being utilized to there full potential as well as other issues. The big roadblock was the lack of student participation. The work ethic that so many of these kids have is as poor as I've seen anywhere. I've done possibly 75% of the work myself. I'm gearing up the discipline approach for this next semester. This next one belongs to me! It's going to a lot of fun! Time out, write-ups, detention, ISS, you name it and I've got it!

Looking forward to next semester!

Hey Ya'll,
I'm looking forward to next semester not only to be finishing but to see everyone again. A little news on my house project. We just had our under-the-slab plumbing inspected, it passed! We are pushing to pour concrete on Saturday. I'll be starting the framing next week, do I have any volunteers from the construction sector? See you all soon!

Reckoning!

Today everything came to a head during the first few minutes of second block. The usual horseplay begins and a bulb on the ceiling gets knocked down with a piece of PVC pipe and a couple of kids almost get hit by the debris. Dr. B was at my last observation and was witness to the kind of behavior they are capable of. Given all the other incidents this semester I felt it high time for a reckoning. The whole class has been assigned to copy the entire glossary of the Core Curriculum books before they can set foot inside the shop to engage in another project. The funny thing was I was as calm and collected as a jeweler setting a diamond. I've decided that I can't go on like this and I shouldn't let them either. They never started on the words and had some 70 minutes to do so, they just pleaded with me. We'll see what happens on Monday.

Fund raiser

It seems that there are no more funds to be had in the construction tech class for the rest of the year. We've spent the meager funds that we had which came as quite a surprise. However, plan B was discussed and accepted by my principal. We are having a storage building bash! You pay for the material and we furnish the labor! I've had several reply e-mails from interested teachers here at school. I hope it works! I'll keep you posted as to how it all goes!

Winding Down!

Four more weeks after the break, where has the time gone! I have mixed feelings about the new semester. I've had a chance to establish fairly decent relationships with some of the kids and now I kind of hate to see them go. But then there is the excitement of starting the new classes and being able to implement all of the new changes in-turn making things run even more smoothly and efficiently for the next 18 weeks. I have 2 advanced Carpentry classes coming up so the curriculum will change but the stuff I'll be teaching is a lot of fun. My other class is a level 1 class. I've already taught it twice and it just keeps getting easier including the discipline issues. I think the better you get at teaching a particular level the more professional you get. I've started building my house and hope to include some of the kids from my advanced classes in the project. I have to speak to my principal about legalities. My two 2nd level classes as well as my 1st level class made it through the electrical portion of their curriculum. They seemed to have a lot of fun. I know I am!

Ditto!

Connie brought up a concern that I'm sure has affected everyone! Cell phones, I-pods etc.! They should be banned from school! Any student found with one should be met with swift action! I'm constantly, constantly and more constantly having to speak to my kids about this. They don't realize it but their minds are actually in competition with these things! There should be a state-wide ban! If you agree with me then I think we should approach the DOE about this. These things are affecting our kids ability to learn, in turn affecting grades, AYP, testing scores, etc., etc., etc.! As Ty would say on Extreme Home Improvement, "Let's do iiiiiit"!

Can you figure?

The 2 boys that were expelled for fighting in my class are back. I asked them for the real reason of what the fight was all about. One kid blamed it on an instigator. This so-called instigator, and true enough he was, has since moved to a different school. He said "without him here things will be a lot better"! I told him "you shouldn't allow yourself to be influenced by anyone". I'm searching to find a way to get these kids to start thinking for themselves. They are so into this sub-culture of fighting that a seriously volatile atmosphere has been created. I told them that there are soldiers over in Iraq dying so that they can have the freedom to fight and kill each other over here! Can you figure?

More Money!

We've gone through all of our carpentry materials here in the shop and so I approached my supervisor about funds for next semesters' Carpentry 1 classes, I have 2. She said "Oh No, you have to buy all of that material now! We don't have new monies for next semester"! So I'm thinking, "Is there a lot of money left in the supply? Do I have to purchase all of that stuff now and cram it into my shop, (Because I have no outside storage)? Carpentry 1 is an advanced class. We get into building concrete forms, buildings, doors and windows, etc. I'm wondering just how much recycling I am going to have to do because of a lack of funds. All the more reason to raise the money I guess. We'll see what happens!

Perspective!

Today I forgot my keys. I've been driving my daughter's car to school in the process of having the automotive department do some work on it. Well, I left my keys in it and today I drove my truck. So being unable to get into the tool room and having neglected the messy area behind the shop for some time now, I decided it would be a good time to spruce up a little. We have all of the brooms and shovels we need even if I couldn't get to any tools. Well, we started sweeping and cleaning the back area. To one of my kids surprise there was, growing out of an old pile of dirt, a watermelon that was about the size of a Pop-Warner size football! Don't ask me how it got there but it became good "around the faculty lunch table" conversation. But then comes third block! I made a big mistake when I brought the watermelon to the attention of my third block students! End of watermelon! One kid snatched it off of the vine, took it into the shop, and sawed it in half with a hand saw! The watermelon wouldn't have survived this late in the season anyway but it still made me mad. Well, needless to say it became a catalyst for learning. The same student approached me about fifteen minutes later and asked "sir, why do we have to clean this area up? It's only going to get dirty again"! I told him it was all in his perspective. I told him that from my perspective I could see a big, fat, juicy watermelon that everyone could have enjoyed if a certain someone had let it grow as apposed to his perspective of seeing it as something he could show off with to his peers. And in the same way I could see a nice clean area that we could utilize as opposed to the trash dump he saw. It's all in the perspective. I see a school full of successful kids all with a bright future.....or at least I want to!

IN-SERVICE Day

Part of the day will be spent in a Faculty meeting. Another portion will be spent at a curriculum mapping workshop. We are having to enter our lesson plans onto a data base so all the teachers in the county can access them. Just another something for us to do. I don't mind sharing ideas but all the extra work is too much. I'm finding that I need to change strategies periodically in order to keep order. I'm going to have to implement a mandatory cleaning rule for my shop. If you don't help clean then you loose your 20 participation points for the day. The majority of my kids hate cleaning up. Sometimes I don't mind because it's exciting to see them so involved in their work that they don't want to stop until the bell rings. But other times a particular portion of the project may require a lot of tools as well as requiring that a bigger mess be made in order to accomplish what needs to be done. Sometimes they just don't want to clean. But as I'm finding out, every time I analyze a problem thoroughly and come up with a real good solution it just makes things a whole lot easier in turn making this job that much more fun! Thanks NTI!

Coming together!

We started a new project in the shop on Monday, and it's really coming together for all of the groups. I split the class up into groups, and everyone is doing an awesome job! The kids have really shown what they are capable of. They're getting more proficient with the tools and faster! I may be off on my timing for this project. I didn't think they would get done this fast. I mentioned the Goon Squad last week? Well these guys are doing great even if 3 of them failed to show up for detention! I'm excited for them and angry all at the same time!

CEFGA visit

Hey Gang,
I had a visit from a CEFGA rep yesterday (Construction Education Foundation of Georgia). My program hasn't been through industry certification yet. CEFGA is the outfit that oversees the process for the construction related programs throughout most of the state. I've been to 1 CEFGA workshop. The instructors are great, they run a top-notch program and they mean well. But.....I have a problem with the so-called "state mandates". They have a cookie-cutter approach as to how a construction shop should be set up. The second level course, Intro to Building, covers all 4 trade areas, Carpentry, Plumbing, Electrical and Masonry. The state expects you to teach all 4 areas simultaneously! With the mentality of the majority of the kids I have I think it would be a mad house, if it isn't already! Coming from the industry after 25 years I have my doubts as to the real validity of the certificates that the students receive as a result of completing certain units that are covered in each trade area. In all the years that I was involved in the industry a certificate didn't mean anything. Performance spoke volumes to an employer. The first level construction course, as directed by the state, is almost entirely held in the classroom. Very little time is spent in the shop, were the kids most want to be, were they become more proficient with the different tools. I should think that working and strengthening their ability to perform should take precedent over just learning about the different tools. With all of this said I'm having a problem with the whole structure of this accreditation thing. There is $15,000 dollars of grant money available to finance the process. The catch is that you pretty much have to spend it the way they tell you. Please give me some real positive input on this subject if you can because if this is nothing more than the state programing the robot that they think I am, then I'm going to have real problems with it.

Compassion?

After reading Gary's blog I questioned as to whether or not I did the right thing yesterday. I guess I came to the end of my rope with 2 students in my third block. They make up one half of the so-called "Goon Squad" as they have labeled themselves. Four very bright and capable young men. I believe their biggest problem is drug related. They come to class showing the mannerisms of the typical "Doper". I had several talks with them but to no avail. They continued to horse around in the shop, a real safety issue. I wrote out referrals and escorted them to the discipline office recommending that they be taken out of my class. There is a question in my mind that maybe there was something else I could have done.

Treat em' like their your own!

Sometimes it's hard to discipline a kid who is just a major pain and then be able to still like him/her at the end of the day or the next morning. I've caught myself leaning away from kids who are excessive in this area and maybe paying less attention to them when all the while they need their fair share. I've decided that I will try to treat them the same way that I would treat my own kids, (you know a little 2 by 4 upside the head or a good boot in the seat of the pants every once in a while.....you all know I'm joking right!) But really, I love my kids and would gladly give my life for either of them and maybe I should feel the same way about these here? We have to always realize that discipline administered in the right way simply says " I love you"!

Through the teeth!

Check this one out,
One of my goof-off"s decides he wants to get serious now that it's at the last end of the first nine weeks and he's failing. So he comes in after school, makes up a quiz and we have a little chat about his grades, future, etc. He comes into class the next day. I tell him "Okay, you can make up the small hands-on project" that he didn't do. I even offered to let him come after class to finish it if he wasn't able to during class. Next thing I know (maybe 15 minutes later) he's finished! He starts pressing me to grade it right then and put it in the gradebook so he can see his new average. I tell him I'll do it after class. After class, upon thorough examination, I find that he had snuck out to the back of the shop, retrieved one of the other student's same project that was thrown out, brought it back in, spruced it up a bit, brings it over and says "here you are Mr. Connors, I'm done". We'll be having a little chat about that one today! Ya'll have a good one!

Fight!

I had 2 fights yesterday. 1 in my first block, 1 in my second. The second fight took place next to my desk. As a result of the ruckus my desk, that I had spent some time modifying to support my desk-top computer and printer, was damaged. It can be repaired and I figured it will be done by the 2 students who were fighting. It's so funny how these guys can go 9 weeks cutting up with each other, working together, helping each other, etc. and then out of the blue something over a stupid piece of candy can set off a war! 1 kid has already been kicked out for a week for fighting. The other is severe ADHD and forgot to take his medication as I found out later from the nurse. A formula for disaster! Anyway, today they will be back in here, as per my request, working together on my desk. I figured for them it would be a good learning opportunity.

Running out of room!

Hey Gang!,
I'm finally going to receive my first delivery of construction material today! One problem, I'm running out of room! The football coach is storing his riding lawn mower to mow the practice field in my shop. I have a large amount of space being taken up by old equipment. I've had a transfer form filed out on this stuff since NTI this summer and it's still here! I don't have an outside storage building to store this stuff in so it's going to have to come inside. I hope I'm going to have enough room left lab projects. It's time to tap into my administrative resources and see how well they can bat! Ya'll pray for me!

Reciprocate!

Riley's last entry had a real encouraging tone to it and it helped me to refocus on why I'm a teacher. I have to be willing to take all of the baggage that my students bring with them when they come to school and deal with it as part of the overall picture. The gentleman that helped me get this job told me upfront what I was in for. He told me to throw out any expectations and come in with a fully open mind. He works at the alternative school in our district so he was able to give me all of the up-to-date worst case scenarios. So when I came to Carver here in Columbus I had the real heads-up. Some days it seems worse than he told me but I'm dealing with it. We have to be able to adjust our strategies. Y'all keep your chins up as my Dad always says.

Mush!

Okay you guy's. I've been reading all of these mushy entries and I figured I'd better go ahead and get mine in. Now that I've figured out how this blog thing works, I'm finding that there is a therapeutic quality about it. We didn't have a chance to really get to know each other this summer although I felt closer to everyone after the summer session. But now with this blog thing and everyone sharing all of their deepest feelings I feel like we're a lot closer. (excuse me while I wipe away these few tears, I'll be O.K. in a minute) But anyway, being able to read this stuff makes me realize that I have a real team beside me and people who can relate all around to what I'm going through! I love you guys! (uncontrolled sobbing, no I'm just kidding) But really, I love all you guys, Dr. B, Jessie, Jennifer and all of the rest of the teachers, you guys rock!

Profanity!

So many of my kids are in great need of a mouth washing! I've decided to award detention slips to all who can't hold their tongues. I'm beginning to realize that we may be the only people available to teach these kids some common decency. What thoughts could you share on the subject?