Week THREE already??

It's true! We're about to enter Week Three. Hooray! I'm not dead! I'm still alive! I have survived!

I met up with my fellow fellers on Wednesday at a Pace-area bar, and it seems like it was pretty unanimous: those kids just don't shut up! That said, I think we're all freaked out and exhausted, but thank goodness it's hitting all of us, and not just one.

I was struck by how much my fellers are juggling. I've felt like I've been drowning all week, and I have only one ELA class that I'm teaching (though I'm also teaching 5 AIS periods a week, multiple library periods that must be determined, Advisory and have at least 3 meetings each week that I must attend). But there are some of my fellers that are doing all that AND teaching three English classes, some different grades to boot. Tough! My respect goes out to them. Right on! You can do it!

I was also struck with sympathy and anger for the fellers that expressed frustration at not being able to offer any kind of punishment, negative reinforcement (hello, detention???), to their students upon incidents of extreme misbehavior. My school is all about detention, and though I've only given one so far this year, to a student who called me a liar (for asking him to stop talking*), I know as a teacher who is striving to control classroom behavior, it's nice knowing that detention is an option. Or calling a parent. These other fellers can't call parents! What is going on here?? I am really surprised by that. I made a point of calling all parents between last week and yesterday, to introduce myself. It was a positive call. And the parents actually did seem to appreciate it. It was a chance to touch base. Many of them expressed thanks at my call, and told me to be sure to call them if there was any concern or too much socializing, one parent said she'd "nip it in the bud." Overall I think it's a great thing to be able to utilize parents in the process, and I would be upset if that was not an option available to me.

Okay, back to planning... working on the Short Story unit now.
I love suggestions, so whether you are a teacher or a regular joe/jane who likes stories, give me some ideas!!

*I'm stealing from another blog, Sassafras Junction, as I refer to this student as a "devil child," but here it goes: DEVIL CHILD! Do you think I don't see you talking, your lips moving, and hear the sound coming from your mouth, when I tell you to be quiet!! I'm not just going to randomly tell you to stop talking if I don't know it's you. But I KNOW it's YOU! You are looking right at me, your mouth is moving and I hear you and then you call me a LIAR??? I DON'T THINK SO! DETENTION!!!! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!!!!!!
(feeling much better now, thank you!)