It’s Mischief Night

… and how evil is it that I want to let the guinea pigs play on Asthmatic’s desk?
I finally made a note to send to parents (I was hoping he would move like he said – every two years, his step-”dad” moved out, he found a book from 4th grade because he was cleaning [...]

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Little Butt-in-skis

All yesterday afternoon I was ticked off at my sub from Wednesday because she gave the kids the wrong book for reading groups and messed up my plans for the whole next week. (They were supposed to read the vocab reader, but she gave them the levelled readers, and they speed-read the whole thing instead [...]

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What I can’t say

I can’t say it to Principal Pretty, so I’ll say it here.
I passed out the stupid shirts. Once again I am disappointed by the lack of follow-through on school rules and student behavior. I am tired of being the bad guy for expecting my students to behave in an appropriate manner. The kids do [...]

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last day

I’m getting a new student tomorrow. Actually, he’s not new – he went to this school last year. And the kids are freaking out about him coming back. A fourth grade teacher saw the note in my mailbox (the secretary tapes messages to the top so they don’t get lost, clever!) and pulled me aside [...]

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She’s doing it again!

I cannot catch a break this week. I am almost afraid to go to work tomorrow. Is there some kind of funky Zodiac thing going on?
So, GET THIS:
Lunch is from 12 to 12:50. I had a few kids in to finish tests. At 12:45, the student secretary buzzed the room and asked for a kid [...]

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This is why my aptitude tests always said Lawyer or Scientist

The guinea pig drama continues. Basically Asthmatic’s mother looked at them and said they had to go. Principal Pretty asked the Superintendent and the Director of Pupil Services (separately), and they both said they had to go.
I was just steaming, and fired off this email to Principal Pretty.
Pretty,
 
I have a few concerns about [...]

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What else?

It’s hard to believe 12 hours have already passed since my 15 Minutes of Hell this morning.
Let’s see… First of all, Principal Pretty has been putting a lot of pressure on us for the Admins who would be visiting today to watch Power Teaching. We know that we know what to do, and so [...]

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What a difference a year makes!

I think I already used this title before, but oh well, ‘cuz it works and perfectly describes two things that happened today.
#1 – Before lunch I started to get a headache. I couldn’t decide if it was allergies or not because it also felt like when I clench my teeth too much. Advil did [...]

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settling in

Today felt more like a normal day. My lesson plans were complete. When they wanted to share too many stories I just powered through and kept us on track. I ate PB crackers for lunch and didn’t even get to sit down between the copies and conversation. (We will be so happy when the practice [...]

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I am the worst teacher EVER

… according to two of my former students.  (I’m crushed.  Not.)
Friday morning I was writing the morning work on the whiteboard, which is at the front of the room about 15 feet from the door. I knew one of my girls was already there, waiting. I heard a boy’s voice say, “… she’s mean.” The [...]

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