You were cooler last year

Yep, sure, I was cooler last year. I let you get away with talking, being goofy, and not buckling down on your work because I was using every ounce of my teaching prowess to try and break the bad habits you picked up with three months of subs and keep you and several other kids from fighting, throwing things and otherwise mauling each other during class. So yeah, I guess I was cooler last year, but I wasn’t the teacher I normally am, I was the best teacher I could be under the circumstances.

One of my kiddos, a 6 foot tall 8^th grade boy who reminds me so much of my goofy best friend in elementary school raised his hand so politely and asked “so, like, Ms. N. – are you trying to be more professional or something?” I was caught so off guard that I wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry or reprimand his impertinence!

When I finally got my wits about me, I explained to him and the rest of the class what my teaching style is really like and how last year wasn’t the best example… LOL

The Honeymoon is Over – or Aaarrrrrhhhhhhh!!!!! Week 2 and Already a Rule Broken

Let me preface this by saying that I’m really pleased with my classes this year. My challenging kids from last year are nicely distributed amongst all of my periods and the mix of 7^th and 8^th graders is fantastic! The ideas and techniques I gleaned from my Pinterest and YouTube explorations have proven to be very effective.

But… It seems that the honeymoon period is truly over and the kids are starting to test boundaries. Today the several classes were overly talkative and I had to raise my voice to talk over them and quiet them down… L  I’m feeling a little discouraged about this, but I think that if I stay strong and tough now, it’ll set us up for a good year. Here’s hoping!

Great minds...

OMG! You won’t believe it! (Okay, my kids never get away with starting a writing assignment like that, but hey, it’s my blog and code-switching it totally okay!) So today was my first official day back on campus (most of my colleagues were back last week but a few of us were at trainings around the state).  While many people dread the idea of the beginning of the year in-service, being the nerd that I am, I love it. It’s wonderful to come together and learn the vision for the new school year and find out how we did last year. This year, we also had an opportunity to get to know our new VP.

Well, folks, all I can say is great minds think alike. Our focus this year is two things – neuro-education and positive behavior interventions - two things that I have already researched extensively and am already planning on implementing in my classroom. Two years ago I got a certificate in neuro-linguistics and using thought to change behavior (which is a big part of neuro-education), plus I was looking into a PhD in positive psychology about a year ago and read quite a few pop-psych books on the subject. It’s so reaffirming to see that my admins recognized the same needs in our kids that I started seeing.  I volunteered to be on the PBIS team. I can’t wait for our first meeting! (Even though I need more work like a need a hole in the head… LOL.)