MY KIDS ARE AAAAAAMAZING :)

Fridays are wonderful in general, but this Friday has topped the charts. My seniors worked their behinds off on a Middle Ages activity, and got really excited about our discussions. My self-contained classes both earned parties this week for also working very hard. I brought in mini muffins, fruit, juice and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. A simple little party, but their gratefulness made me want to cry! I've never seen kids so happy over mini muffins!!! I'm hoping that realizing that I will reward them for hard work will be an excellent motivator.

Schedule changes - again!

I just heard today from my department head that she is going to have to change the special education schedule - for the 3rd time since school started one month ago.

Her reasoning this time is that we have a 'full-time sub' in one of our classes that is doing a poor job and needs to be let go. I completely agree with her sentiment. However, she is most likely going to remove my first period co-teacher, leaving me alone with 20 special needs students. 1 student is deaf, 5 are mildly retarded, 3 have emotional disorders, 3 have behavior disorders, and the other 8 have multiple varieties of learning differences...

Please pray that this doesn't happen. I would give my all to these kids, but it would be very difficult to make sure that ANY learning is going on.

High as a kite - If you don't laugh, you'll cry!

Me: Jarvion, where were you yesterday - we missed you in class.

Jarvion: Oh man Ms. B, you wouldn't believe it - I was soooo high all day yesterday. I think pot is taking over my life.

Me: (thinking - Is this an after-school special?) Well Jarvion, I really appreciate your honesty, but next time you are thinking about doing drugs..

Jarvion: (giggles, interrupting me) Ms. B you so white girl. (in a high, proper english voice) "doing drugs" - nobody says that!


Me: I guess we both have a lot to learn.

Cardinal's Game

Monday night my friend Keith and I took a few of our students to the Cardinal's game. TFA is pretty good about getting us hooked up with free events, and it was definitely a great opportunity to get to know my students better...

First, I picked up Johnnie. Johnnie just turned 16 on Friday, but will probably not get his license for quite some time because he is what they call 'mildly retarded' and has a very difficult time communicating and taking tests. This kid is always smiling, and absolutely LOVES traffic lights and pedestrian signals! As we were driving he pointed out the lights that were long and short, and the pedestrian signals that he liked best. Johnnie lives with his mother, his grandmother (who is the secretary at our school), and his grandfather. The four of them live in a "2" bedroom apartment - Johnnie has a room about the size of a pantry, his grandparents share the bedroom, and his mother sleeps on the couch.

Johnnie and I then went on to pick up Bryan. Bryan lives with his mother, father, and younger siblings, but both of them are working two jobs to support their large family. When I picked Bryan up a neighbor was watching his siblings - she heard Bryan had an opportunity to go to his first baseball game and offered to help out! Bryan rarely speaks in class because he his concerned about his speech impediment, but he is always on task. He later confessed to me that he has a crush on one of the girls in our class, so we made sure to buy her teddy bear at the game.

We met up with the rest of the group and had an amazing time. The looks on their faces were priceless when we walked into the stadium! The Cardinals lost (ha ha), but the boys had a good time anyway, and they were excellent helpers the next day in class :)

Sharday

Sharday is one of my brightest and most loving students, but she is often unable to express this to her teachers because she is deaf. It is required by law for students like Sharday to have an interpreter. However, Sharday's interpreter has not come this week. She is pretty good at reading lips so I try to speak slowly, and provide written explanations for her. This is not enough - her demeanor is changing drastically before my eyes. She no longer comes running into my room with a big smile on her face. Now she enters with her head down and shoulders slouched. I have called the Special Education office several times but they have not provided her with a new interpreter.Fortunately for our class, we also have Tashayla. Tashayla is a very spunky and intelligent girl, and has really taken to Sharday. While I'm working with other students or conducting a lesson, Tashayla takes time out of her own work to make sure that Sharday understands what is going on. Tashyla does not know sign language, but she makes painstaking efforts to provide Sharday with information.Sharday was so frustrated and sad today that she didn't feel like she could even face the lunchroom, so I busted out my snacks and the three of us ate in my room. I just want to cry for her, hug her, and tell her that everything is going to be ok, but I know that I need to be her rock and advocate and make sure that everything will be ok. I'm just not sure where to go next...

Reading Goals

So yesterday I shared with my students their overall class grade level reading averages (about 3rd grade) as well as their scores independently in private. I wasn't sure if it was the right approach to take, but it certainly lit a fire underneath most of their seats. I had shared with them first that their lower reading abilities have nothing to do with them, and that it is the fault of their prior educational experiences. A small, quiet senior that rarely ever speaks up in my class stood up and yelled "Damn the Man!" Although I don't tolerate profanity or put-downs in my class, I appreciated his passion, and also how this explosion made way to a great class discussion about race, class and education. I was very impressed with their insight, and pointed to some of their comments as evidence of their learning potential. We made a big goal as a class to grow at least two years in reading! They are all eager to read out loud in class, and have asked for more reading diagnostics so they can get a better idea of what to work on. I love these kids. Damn the Man! ;)

To my friends and family

I figured this would be an excellent way for you all to keep up-to-date on my experiences here in St. Louis with Teach For America. Here's a little synopsis of my experiences thus far...


THE BREAK-IN "Welcome to the St. Louis Public School System" is what I thought as I walked up to my car after a long day of 'professional development' at one of the high schools here. In broad daylight, someone had taken a brick to my car window. The only thing that was taken was a broken FM transmitter that had been tucked away in my glove compartment. Fortunately I was able to get it fixed within a couple of days. Also, some of my new fabulous friends scooped me up and carted me to their favorite Missouri restaurant about 150 miles away :)


MY CLASSROOM(S) I was finally assigned to a classroom the Friday before school was to start. As I stepped into the room that evening I was overwhelmed by filth. Desks and chairs had been disassembled, the windows were rusty and very difficult to open, and everything was covered with a layer of dirt. After a few hours though my room was looking pretty decent! HOWEVER, since then I have been moved into two different classrooms, which was extremely disruptive for me and my students. I love my current classroom (especially because one of the walls is painted pink), and if they ask me to move again I'm going to chain myself to my desk!


MY STUDENTS I absolutely ADORE them. They keep me on my toes, but we have a great time together. Many of them have been so beaten down by their experiences in special education, that they are just so excited to have someone tell them they're brilliant and capable of anything if they work hard and understand their learning styles. One of my favorite students is David - whom most refer to as "Big D". David is a very large Teddy Bear with a very low reading ability, but a massive heart. He plays the drums in the school band, and is constantly trying to make anything he can find a percussion instrument. Then there's Shamice - Shamice can barely hold a pen, but she can navigate the Barbie website like it's her job :)



I'm absolutely thrilled to be here. It's extremely challenging, but these kids are worth it. I'll keep you all updated - I promise!!!