The First Days of School

Hooray, hooray, I have officially survived my first two days of school!!! =D

How? Well, I'll tell you about it. *cue music* "She's going to tell!" ("She's going to tell!") "She's going to--"
"NO, NOT LIKE THAT -- STOP SINGING!!!"

Ok, so maybe just a simple game of "Bad News/Good News". (Also, brownie points to anyone who got the above reference! If you're confused, check the bottom of this post for the "answer".)

DAY ONE: MONDAY, AUG. 15TH

Bad News: I was so nervous that I couldn't even eat all my breakfast. I mean, I knew I'd be ok... but it's the first day, you know? It's just kinda scary sometimes. I got to school and got things situated (like getting a class schedule...), and then there were KIDS! It was crazy -- there are so many of them! I have about 100 students, and that's a looooot of names to have thrown at me all at once!

Good News: We have TA (Teacher Advisory) the first half hour of the day, so I only had 13 kids to start out. Much more manageable -- very quiet. We do "MIRP" (Monitored Independent Reading Practice) every day for 20 mins in TA, so I introduced myself, got the kids books and reading logs, and then basically sat and watched them read silently for 20 mins. Great first class. =)

Bad News: First block (my first REAL class) was SUPER CHATTY. I really should probably have given out some consequences... but it was the first day. Really though, I tried everything to get them quiet -- waiting, raising my hand, using the "time-out" sign (worked once great, then less effective)... just wanted to talk. Got through our stuff ok, but it was a bit draining.

Good News: Second block went GREAT! I'm guessing this is partially due to the fact that I have a super awesome para named Brandi in there with me, and she doesn't take any nonsense. It's wonderful to have her in class with us -- I can tell that she's a real stabilizing presence, for the kids AND for me! =)

Good/Bad News: Third block is LUNCHTIME! (Actually it's prep hour, but it also includes lunchtime, so we Lang. Arts folks get to eat lunch whenever we want. Win.) I really like having a chill lunch hour and also a break right in the middle of my day. Plus yesterday was SUPER SPECIAL, because Daniel biked all the way to school and found me in the lunch room so that he could bring me my favorite ice cream on my first day!! Soooo happy and special! =)  The only bad part about this on the first day was that I already felt WIPED! But hey, it's the first day. We need to get re-used to school days too!

Good News: Fourth block also went really well -- which is funny, because this is the hour that I was probably warned about the most. Just goes to show that no matter what kids did last year, they could always surprise you and decide to make good choices this year, which is awesome! Also, I have another wonderful para with me this block (Mr. Alsup), so I'm sure that helps too. =)

Bad News: Fifth block. Oh my goodness. I had thought first block was bad, but my goodness. I don't know how I survived fifth block yesterday. This group of kids contains a lot of former ELL students (English Language Learners, for you non-teacher folk) as well as being about two-thirds boys. And it's the last class of the day. ...Yeah. Suffice it to say that I was not prepared to handle this class's pushing, so I let them get away with WAYYY more than I should have.

Good News: I made it. Somehow. Saved by the bell. And, thankfully, I have my AMAZING coworkers to lift me up when I'm down! Both Jack (7th grade Lang Arts, also new) and Irene (mentor teacher) were really supportive and encouraging, plus also Jill (7th math, I think?) came into my room just to check how my first day went. So nice! =))

Bad News: I still burst into tears the moment I walked in our door.

Good News: Luckily, Daniel was there to hold me for a little while. =)  I had a good cry, and we had a great chat about how I was going to turn behavior management around in my classes today. I went to bed feeling much better (and having chatted with many family members, yay!).

TUESDAY, AUG. 16TH

Bad News: I woke up nervous again today. I couldn't finish my breakfast again... but I just tried to keep telling myself that things were going to be fine. And I practiced my "little talk".

Good News: I made sure to get to school with plenty of time to get calm and not feel rushed going into TA, so that was nice. I got things ready for class. And I practiced my "talk" some more.

Bad News: I realized two minutes after TA started that I had forgotten to make copies for one of the activities I was introducing today!!

Good News: I asked my across-the-hall neighbor what I should do, and she said, "Oh, I have prep next hour, I can run them off for you. How many do you need?" So nice. =)

Good News: Got my first block started with their seating charts and their "bell-ringers" (first 10 mins activity), and then I had our "little chat". I nailed my speech. They were rapt. I had them.

Bad News: I did still have one student in first block who chose to earn a consequence. (2nd infractions get you a trip to the library next door to fill out aforementioned behavior chart, which needs to be presented at the door in order to get back into my classroom.) But there was only one. And hopefully he will choose differently tomorrow.

Good News: Second block went great again. Lunch was fun. (Though no ice cream today, hehe.) Fourth block went great also. Then... it was time for fifth block. DUN DUN DUNNNN!

Bad News: When the bell rang, I still had probably half the class in the back of the room milling around the seating charts, because they couldn't figure out where they were supposed to sit. So I waded in and grabbed it and found their seats.

Good News: Once they were seated, they got going writing their bell-ringer... we had our group process of their writing... and then I gave my "little talk". I started by asking them what grade they would give themselves for their behavior yesterday. They were honest, which I appreciated -- C's, D's, and F's. I talked about how we wouldn't have a whole year of days like yesterday, and how it's my job to protect their learning time so that they have the opportunity to succeed when they graduate. I told them about the consequences we were going to have in our class, and I told them that I didn't want them to choose those consequences, because I want them in my classroom. I pointed to my poster by the door that says "Make every day your masterpiece," and I told them that I put it there because I want them to have awesome days every day and not just "survive" life. I told them I never want to see the behavior chart again, and to please, please choose our class and learning and masterpieces over consequences.  And it worked! Today was MUCH better!

Bad News: I did still have two boys who ended up choosing library time... but honestly, I thought I was gonna have to send half the class to the principal today, so I was thrilled that it was as minor as it was! I did have a decent number of warnings, but only a few went past that, thank goodness.

Good News: With the big behavior stuff addressed, we LEARNED today! It was amazing -- it's like once these kids knew that (a) I wasn't gonna take their crap and (b) I WANT them here, they just went for it! It was so cool -- I could SEE the learning in their EYES! I seriously think that this fifth block group is going to be my favorite, just because THEY are why I teach. These are the kids who need me the most, and I can already feel myself starting to love them. =)

So I ended today with all smiles and no tears, and a much better hope of a wonderful school year! Yayyyyy!

Off to lesson plan -- more updates later. =)

~Rebekah


p.s. "Secret" reference: Monty Python & the Holy Grail. The Tale of Sir Lancelot. Check it out.