Whirlwind Changes: an East Side school

I just realized how long it's been since I've posted on this thing! A lot has happened since the end of last school year; I just finished long-term substituting at a school in Granite school district for a teacher on maternity leave. This upcoming Monday I start a new position (as a full-time fourth grade teacher this time) at a school called Oakridge in the same district. (It is a rather long story why I am no longer working in the Salt Lake City School District, albeit it was not my choice to leave SLCSD. But I am happy where I am now & am satisfied with my surroundings and the environment of Granite.)
To make a long story short, the school I was just subbing at was a Title I school (like those I have been teaching at previously.) My new adventure comes on Monday, when I start working at a non-Title I school, in an affluent neighborhood.....in short, an east side school! I have been lamenting having to leave the wonderful 4th graders at Wilson behind; they really made me feel needed & I had plenty of behavior difficulties to deal with between two young gentlemen mainly) to keep me reasonably occupied. I also had the standard issue of many students below grade level for reading, but now as I look at the kids' scores at my new school, I am going through a bit of culture shock; there are only two kids who do not appear to be on or above reading level! I have also already noticed how much more involved parents are at this school; when I went to meet my new class on Wednesday after my last day at Wilson, there were at least as many parents there as students, & they had plenty of questions for me.  It was a bit nerve-racking since in the past I have practically had to pull teeth just to have parents of students show up for a SEP conference. I was also overwhelmed with how many classroom volunteers this school has and the arts programs available to them; to be honest, my heart was aching for the underprivileged students and schools I have worked with & it made me sad. But nobody said change was easy.
On my last day at Wilson, a student composed a song for me about how I made them "shine like stars," & the full-time teacher Nikki was back, & she & the kids presented me with cards & gifts. I felt very loved & I know I will be missed there; I will certainly miss those kids! Even though they were only mine for about 2 months, we had really begun to understand & respect each other.  One of the troubled young men from my classroom kept hugging me and begging me not to leave. Another student claimed her world was "over" since the best sub was leaving. I hope to see those kids again in the future; I may get lucky & go back to Wilson for a job interview at the end of the year; the administration would seemingly like to see me back there as well. :)
I was glad that my last day with the kids could be celebrated with a Read-a-Thon. They all brought blankets or pillows from home & cuddled up with buddies on the carpet. I presented each child with a small bookmark I'd made the night prior; I felt like it was an appropriate "good-bye" present. They all really loved the bookmarks & were excited to use them! Youth & innocence is so refreshing & easily pleased.
I hope I can make an indelible impression at my new school the rest of the year; I have really been able to mark growth and make changes more readily, it seems, in Title I schools, but I am willing to accept the new challenge placed before me & see where it leads me.

One Long Day!

I don't even know how to describe my day today; it was more than hectic/crazy/emotional or anything I've quite experienced before. It may have partially been attributed to the weather; the students are just itching to have an outdoor recess again & the cold , inclement weather has made that an impossibility for them. They get really antsy and start misbehaving as a result though. They were hardly listening the entire school day, & then two students who were absent for the fractions intro yesterday tried to act like they already understood exactly what we were talking about today.
This morning I had an upset parent call the school counselor & insisting that I get her daughter referred to Special Ed because she thinks her daughter has dyslexia. She won't listen to reason either, because a student with dyslexia would not be able to read 89 words a minute with 99% accuracy. But  anyway............it is always interesting to me that parents seek to blame others (their teachers) for deficits or flaws in a child's learning, when it may very well be the fault of the parents for not reading with them or doing homework at home. That same parent, might I add, sent her child to school without brushing her teeth, & I gagged every time she came to talk to me or ask me something in class. How thankful I was that the school counselor gave her a spare toothbrush & toothpaste.
The mother of a MIA student (he has been in Mexico with his sisters since before Christmas Break) came to inform me that he is not doing well, & while she wishes for him to return, the doctors are concerned about him traveling, because he has low brain fluid (which will affect his health and his learning.) She was very stressed out about the whole situation.
One student who has ADD, and I suspect a touch of ODD, (because he becomes very defiant every time I catch him doing something he should not be doing) began a new behavior contract today. I was very hopeful about it, but he did not really do that well with it, which was discouraging.  I am trying to find a way to help him be successful and make the most of his education.
Then, I have this student who has reported physical abuse various times now, & DCFS finally came & interviewed him at the school today. Well, he was a mess after that, & didn't want to come back into class & have students looking at him. I squatted down in the hallway on his level, & talked to him, trying to reassure him he did the right thing in reporting the abuse. Poor thing! He really felt bad for "getting his dad in trouble" (even though it is a risk for him in his life right now.) He stayed glued to my side pretty much the rest of the day, venting about various things and writing his feelings out. That was very heart-wrenching and bewildering to read; he's only a 10 year old!
Probably one of the worst things is that by the end of the day, I was so emotionally exhausted that I was set off by every little thing my students were doing. I felt bad later, but I was mostly upset with them & expressed that at the end of the math block very bluntly. I know they will forgive me though, & tomorrow is a new day.....thank heavens!

"The Hulk"

So.....I ripped my pants at school today, just above the knee. I bent over to put the net books up,  & it ripped! I guess I shouldn't be surprised though; my friend Jamie told me yesterday that I am ripped & my trainer did work my thighs out like crazy last week. (When I informed her of what happened on the phone, she called me "the hulk.")Well, I'm at least thankful they ripped after school....I don't know how I would have explained things to my students.

We have had an intense couple of weeks. I had one student get written up by the assistant principal for slapping a little 1st grader across the face before school a few days ago.  What's worse is that she told the 1st grader to go & do that same thing to "someone she hates." Nothing like that Christmas spirit, right?!

The other day during my after-school tutoring program, one of my students started dancing wildly, & the other student with us at the table turned to me & said, "well, that was awkward." hahaha. It was said with such disdain I couldn't help laughing out loud.

Then to add to all the exciting stories today, one of my students crapped his pants.  I'm not sure how it happened, since he asked me to go to the bathroom, I excused him to do so, & then minutes before I excused them, I commented on the "fart smell," but of course no one would own up to it. I then instructed the class if they need to fart like that ever again, they should definitely go to the bathroom.
Well, come to find out he actually crapped his pants, because my colleague noticed the smell in her room, not long after my class joined hers for ELD.  They were doing projects spread out on the ground & she said she was checking people's butts to see who the culprit was, but it wasn't until they lined up to go home that she saw the brown stains seeping down his legs. Poor kid. Ugh!

Learning to take it!

This week was an interesting one, especially as far as professional development goes. I got to go observe some other math teachers at other schools & have already adopted a few math review games I really enjoyed watching. I introduced my ECAP comprehension goal to the kids & we practiced the different comprehension skills with a passage on winter this Friday. I'm thankful we only have 2 days  this next week, & that I get those 2 days to go back over what we started practicing & learning Friday. The only sad part is that when the kids got to choose free seating (from a class reward they'd earned the day before), some students were kind of left to themselves, & others were very particular about who came & sat by them. (The new class president had quite a gathering around him; he's kind of a goofball though anyway, & I believe the boys' intention by sitting by him was to goof off during the lesson!)  Two girls were even arguing about who got to sit by this cute boy they both like......this is not junior high, people! :/ And one little guy didn't get to sit by his friend ("the cute boy") because of all the girl drama, so he promptly began crying. He's only cried twice this year, but when he cries, he really cries! But the activity itself turned out good & they were mostly all engaged.
On Wednesday this week I got observed, as part of the formal observation process for provisional teachers, & while the lesson & instruction went well, my students' behavior really didn't. And while I noticed some things during the lesson, I wasn't aware of all the distractions & blurting out that took place (probably because I was so nervous to have the assistant principal in the back of the room, scribbling away on her paper.) So, this is a chance for a fresh start on a few things! After visiting with her (the post-conference) on Friday, we have pinpointed a few areas for improvement; cleanliness of the classroom & a tighter management system. I am going to implement this after Thanksgiving Break, & hopefully I will come up with a very effective way to teach it; my kids are wonderful, but they sure like to talk & squirm a lot throughout the entire day....it can really get to ya!

The "New Kid"

I will admit that when I went into school this morning, the last thing I expected was a new student. But in he came while I was preparing the classroom for the learning activities today. His mother accompanied him, informing me that her son had moved schools several times now, & that he was particularly sensitive. She also mentioned that he was going through "puberty." (I put that in quotation marks because I'm not exactly sure how a 10-year-old is already experiencing that, but I just let it go.)
When he went to another classroom this afternoon, based on his English language-speaking level, he ended up next-door to me. Apparently his phone rang during that class, & he walked out of the teacher's classroom to answer it. When she came over & vented to me about the situation, I found it strange that he had done so. When school was over, he had to walk by my classroom, so I stopped him & asked why he'd answered the phone in the middle of class. He responded that it had been his mother, so he answered it. While I did not want to really rebuke him when that was his response, I still gently reminded him that cellphones are not permitted during school hours & he would need to check it into the office tomorrow. (What I was really wondering is why that woman called him when she knew he was in class. But I'll save that conversation for a later date.)
One of my students is becoming increasingly more like a student I had last year, in the tantrum-throwing sense. She threw her book on the floor today during the whole class reading, & pulled her hood up over her head. When I went to talk to her, she burst into tears & refused to take her hood off, at which point I asked her to go sign her card for not following directions. That only infuriated her, to the point that I had to send her next-door to write a letter home minutes later; many of her classmates were distracted & unable to focus & do their work.
Then one kid slept through nearly every lesson this morning. I made everyone do jumping jacks & Yoga after recess though, & felt like that might cure him. Surely it did not. He put his head back down on his hands, at which point I got very frustrated with him & told him that he's surely going to fall asleep if he keeps putting his head down. I was trying to be careful in the way I spoke to him though, because he wrote some pretty suicidal lyrics on the back of his self-evaluation sheet last Friday & I'm worried about him. What can you do?
I honestly wonder what I need to do for some of these kids who are emotionally unstable; it concerns me for them as well as their classmates (because it requires my attention & effort every time something happens.)

Drama drama.....fo yo MAMA!

I don't know where to begin! Between the incidents yesterday & today, I think I'm about ready to pull my hair out! I do have to chuckle at yesterday's incident, however much it may have hurt one student's feelings though. He told me someone special in his life had died & that another kid in the class was mocking him & calling him a "crybaby." I approached the bully student & began lecturing him for teasing another student about such a loss, when he himself had lost his father last year. When I called "the victim" over, however, I was remiss to discover that it was his crab (& not his "gramps") who had died. While I still made the bully apologize, I felt ridiculous for how I handled the situation in that moment.

Today at recess was also quite comical, though it involved several people crying & getting emotionally involved more than I thought was possible for 4th graders.
Apparently one student taunted another student that he was going to be the "new boyfriend" of this little girl, to another girl who is a friend to both of them. When that student taunted him, the "boyfriend" lost his temper & pushed this guy into a fence, & started chasing at him, yelling at him about how that was his girl. When I spoke to him in class, I set him straight & told him he can't even have a real girlfriend at this age, to which he replied, "Well, I've taken her to McDonald's." (Wow! Classy date right there.) I reassured him that the time would come when he could drive & take girls out & date them, but that 4th grade wasn't that time, & certainly not ideal for getting all wound up over either.

"Keep Your Butt to Yourself!"

SO today started off in a very unorthodox manner; a student came in & announced that a 3rd grader had threatened to kill her after school today.  When I inquired as to what was said, I realized the girl who threatened already had a history with her. This girl has been making derogatory comments about my student's mom, and my student started making them right back.  My student also petitioned this girl to share her friend (since she insists that Aaliyah has taken control of her friend.) I walked them both down to the office where the assistant principal admitted she was on her way to get the 3rd grade girl out of class anyway, because she has been bullying other girls (calling them “whores” and such. That was not a word I knew in 3^rd grade!)  They both were sentenced to a social skills class with the assistant principal after-school on Friday; that sounds interesting…..I wonder what those are actually like. At least my students were reading quietly at the back table, under my team member’s supervision, when I returned.  

Most of the rest of the day passed without incident, with an occasional interruption and blurt-outs. I did end up moving two students because one girl would not stop talking during independent work time for math, so I changed her seat with a girl in the front.  She who had been sitting in the front, is a “know-it-all” who rarely raises her hand to make a comment, was the perfect candidate to move back there, because now she will have to raise her hand to get my attention from all the way back there.

One of my most undisciplined students this year, shoved a crayon in the pencil sharpener near the end of the day when the kids were working on their soil profiles in their science journals, & that kind of threw me over the edge.

I kept another student after school to discuss his behavior with him. He was constantly talking all morning when he should have been working, and then when the kids lined up to get colored pencils, he was pushing his butt and backside into another girl in the classroom insisting that she started it while they were waiting in line. When I asked them to sign their cards, I told them they had to put “could not keep butt to self” & that we would be showing their discipline cards to their parents at parent-teacher conferences next month, so I hoped they were sufficiently humiliated at that point. I'm such a kind teacher! ;)

Highlights of a School Day

Today had a lot of funny aspects to it; I have to mention just a few. I started one student on a behavior contract; he is quite the class clown (or so he thinks), & he is rarely on-task, normally out of his seat & bothering other classmates. He really made me chuckle during the counselor's visit to the class today though, because when she was mentioning tolerance & brought up race (specifically the term) "Latino," this clown student (who is Mexican), proceeded to ask what a Latino was......as if it were some foreign species.
During that same conversation, another student mentioned holding another student in a "headlock" as the primary bullying threat at our school .........which I was unaware of, apparently.
Several students got confused on their spelling homework, & when they inserted the word student instead of season the context made me laugh; "Autumn is my favorite student." That was just purely ironic, when in fact  that student has caused me some grief this year already (mentioned in prior entries with ADHD) and may appear to be my favorite student since she is requiring a lot of my time, when in fact I am just gritting my teeth and trying to maintain patience with her. It's funny how students interpret things sometimes. 

ADHD x3

I think one of THE biggest challenges for an educator is that blasted disease-Attention Deficit HYPERactivity Disorder. ....especially when untreated! I had a student who didn't take her meds most of last week in the morning & made things particularly difficult. On top of that, I got a new student, who I found out has ADHD as well, & his mom/auntie forgot his meds that morning & had to come back & give them to him later on in the day; what an adventure!
But the girl student who didn't take her medication was really bouncing off the walls; every time I went to help other students around the room, she was constantly at my elbow and butting into other students' business, asking if I had "fairy books" for her to read, complaining about how hungry she was, & also informing me at the same time that she was gnawing on pencils & erasers. Wow! Luckily, the school counselor loaned me some snacks for her, & she made it until lunch....when I say "made it," I mean she knocked her plant off the desk entirely, finished a task here & there (a co-worker had suggested I highlight passages or lines for her to do at one time & then have her bring it to me) & stayed in her seat for a grand total of 5 minutes.
I spoke with this young lady's mother after-school on the phone about how we needed to work something out for her daughter to get that medication, because it really isn't fair in a class of 28 students for me to have to mostly attend to just one of them. The mom told me she's not easy to handle at home either, but I reminded her mom that she's just responsible for her daughter at home, whereas I have 27 other kids to be attending to simultaneously while her daughter is acting like that. It was kind of strange to me that the mom said her daughter's medication was "stolen" & they would be refilling it---sounds sketchy, but I'm at least grateful that she showed up on medication today; it made the day somewhat smoother! :)

The First Day of School (round 2)

Today's version of the first day of school went SO much smoother than last year's first day of school. Sure there was still plenty to do and prepare for beforehand, but teaching the procedures and routines vigorously from the very first moment allowed me to set parameters with the students, and set high expectations for the school year......including telling them to act like CIA agents as we tiptoed through the hallways, practicing lining up and walking down the hall.
I felt like I'd been talking far too much this morning, big surprise, I know, & so when I gave the kids a chance to get out of their seats & do some Yoga, & then "interview" each other for a getting to know you survey, & overheard a student say, "this is so fun!" I felt reassured that things were going well.
One student, after I told students to notify me if I mispronounced their names, & one student not only jumped to correct me in pronouncing his name, but in several of his classmates' names as well; it was only slightly obnoxious. 
There were several incidents throughout the day, like students taking lockers assigned to other students, and one heavier student shoving one kid in line & injuring 3 other students in front of him. ....he also managed to rip his pants during a teacher read-aloud. What an adventure! He was rocking back & forth with his shirt stretched over his knees, and when I asked him to "sit on his pockets," he slightly complied. At the end of the story when everyone else had been dismissed to their seats, he didn't move. When I inquired as to what the problem was, he informed me that his pants had ripped & he was too embarrassed to get up. I asked if his shirt wasn't long enough to cover the rip, & he said it wasn't; but he had the "ingenious" idea to grab a backpack & put it on to cover it up. Wow! What a funny kid! I can't imagine something as devastating as ripping ones pants on the FIRST day of school!

Suicide Alters Student's Life

So...........I've really been under the impression lately that people do not fathom how their use of agency can greatly affect others around them. I've had some personal experiences impact me, but this came to a head for me yesterday when I also attended a funeral yesterday for one of my student's dads. He is a particularly gifted student who I grew to love dearly this school year. For whatever reason (s),his dad chose to end his own life last week, & I got the news upon coming back from Virginia.
Although I was rather late to the funeral, my student & his mom saw me when I arrived, & came over to talk to me after the closing prayer at the service. My student was visibly upset & shaken, wiping his cute little eyes with a handkerchief, but as we began talking & I steered away from topics that would involve his dad or things that reminded him of his dad. Unfortunately I heard multiple comments on how he looks just like his dad; not a very timely or appropriate comment. He & I talked basketball, the Olympics, & the fact that he's going to take up guitar now that he's inherited 3 of his dad's guitars.
 I can't imagine what my poor student is going through, being that he has spent the weekend with his dad the least couple years, since his parents divorced, & he has to adjust to not only not having the same place to go on the weekends, but also having to live with the knowledge that he's seen his father grow depressed over time & then take his own life. He can't have had any idea how much that would affect his only son.

Officially licensed to teach! :)

I thought the day would never come, but today it has! I have a pretty little piece of paper (that cost me a "pretty penny".....a.k.a. $60!) that certifies my educator license for the state of Utah. FINALLY! I am not sure why there was so much mix up & confusion with the whole deal, but when I never got my college diploma mailed to me last month (as promised) I began to worry. And then I got some informative emails....about the many steps I still had to take to get my teacher's license. One of the "fun" activities was filling out a form about the demographics of my classroom this year. Another "fun" one was taking an Ethics Exam online today. Some of the questions were so confusing to me, in that I've never abused drugs or alcohol, (on or off school campus) but the exam wanted to know what kind of discipline I would succumb to in that situation. Apparently it's ok to drink two glasses of wine in front of a student invited to a friend's party, as long as you didn't know they were going to be there & you drink responsibly. Really?! Or, if you have 2 gay students & you go on an overnight field trip, allow them to share a room & supervise them. (I pray I'm never put in that situation!) Here's a full sample of what the entire 30 question exam was like:

"An educator may use force against a student provided the use of force is reasonable under the circumstances & is necessary to protect the student, other people, or school property from harm. Which of the following uses of force is reasonable under the circumstances & in compliance with the Utah Educator Standards?
a. an educator pushes a student to the ground to prevent the student from throwing an eraser out the window.
b. an educator puts a student in a headlock to keep the student from kicking a locked metal door (....this is quite possibly my favorite!)
c. an educator pins a student against a locker after the student shouted a profanity in the hallway
d. an educator grabs a student with both arms to prevent the student from hitting another in a cafeteria fight.

Let's just say that while the headlock scenario seems favorable to use on some students, & also important to note, I've never had a student try throw an eraser out the window, that I knew instinctively that D. was the correct answer here. Lol.

Oh yeah....remember that time I graduated from college?!!?

I can't believe I forgot to post about that all-time important event, which I was unsure of when I began school at BYU in Utah! I walked at BYU graduation in April & officially graduated last month (June) after a few difficulties with the graduation & licensure office at BYU. No good thing has ever come easy for me, but I'm glad I finally can say I'm an alumni of BYU! 
My friend Amber says "it's about time." 
Mom & Dad came out for my graduation, & my two sisters Sar & Shan were already in Provo & able to come (as well as my brother-in-law Kurt.) It was a very happy occasion. 
Here's my best friend Rachie & I at Commencement on Thursday afternoon; we are so excited to finally be graduating!

Here I am with my good buddy Kyle & his wife Em; it was so fun to graduate with a lot of my freshman year buddies!

Here is me with some education buddies early Friday morning; we made it gals! What a great many things we have learned & experienced together!!! ;)

And here's my lovely fam; I'm so grateful for their love & support all these years! What a happy day! :)

End of the Year.....sad day!

It's hard to believe the school year has already ended, but that's not to say I haven't been enjoying summer & looking forward to seeing my family either! ;)

The last few days of school were a blur really; they were filled with field trips, assemblies, & presentations; my students were enthralled that I didn't assign them any homework that last week. What kind of a mean or foolish teacher would do that though?!

This is me with a couple of my boys on the "This is the Place" field trip; we were on the train ride around the site there. The kids really seemed to enjoy the field trip, even though pulling handcarts was not too fun (they complained quite a bit, & I'll give them that it was a rather hot day)

 and dancing with each other was "weird" because my 4th graders are at that age when touching someone of the opposite sex is rare.

Here's them dancing; this is so cute! They did a decent job learning the Virginia Reel, and *gasp* some of them actually enjoyed themselves!

The kids got to do "real" Yoga with my friend Sam Beal, who's an instructor, on Tuesday. We have done "kid Yoga" throughout the year for stretch breaks and so forth, but we started the day out with about 30 minutes of Yoga, & it made math more bearable that day. 

Things were also quite crazy, because I had Shana with me (now Hermana Bauserman) before I took her to the MTC Wednesday. It was so fun to have her in the classroom, & she was a huge help to me as well!

I have since seen a couple of my kids in summer school a couple of times, running a few errands at the school in the office, & they have run to give me a great big hug every time; it makes me feel good. And I sure miss them! 

Terror!

3/27/12

      I got a new student from the homeless shelter today! He is so cute; he doesn’t talk much, except when he wants to ask what time lunch is or when it’s time to go home.  Unfortunately, that was not the only exciting event in my classroom today.

      One of the scariest things I’ve ever had happen to me in my life, happened today. One of my students walked in from ELP (the Extended Learning Program class) and complained to Mrs. Draper that she couldn’t really feel her leg. Mrs. Draper told her to take a seat if her legs were bothering her so bad, & I overheard the conversation & immediately jumped up from my guided reading group.  (I think the Spirit really just prompted me to move in that instant.) I got to her just as she stood and began falling to the floor.  She shrieked loudly; such a terrifying and terrified sound, and her eyes grew wide as she screamed, “noooooooo!” She said something about “seizing” and I immediately remembered how she’s written her personal narrative about a seizure she’d had last summer. I gently lowered her to the ground as her eyes got larger and her whole entire body started convulsing.  She obviously had lost control over all body functions, and began expelling gas uncontrollably as well. I leaned over my shoulder and told Mrs. Draper to call someone, & she went over to notify the office and call the paramedics.  When Maya came back to consciousness and had regained sufficient use of her limbs after an intense five minute fit, she started crying and whimpering.  Her mom had also been called, but unable to make it there very quickly since she had no car & had to walk to get to the school.  I can’t imagine the panic she was probably feeling as she made her way over to the school.  Mrs. Draper eventually got my students to leave the classroom & line up for lunch pretty quickly once the principal made it up to my classroom. I had yelled at some of my students to quit staring at her, & to return to their reading assignment.  (I later recalled the horrified looks on some of their faces, & realized they couldn’t turn away; I wish I’d thought to get them out of the classroom immediately.)

      Once Maya’s mom showed up, Maya kept whimpering & insisting that she didn’t want to have to go to the hospital again, or be in a wheelchair the rest of her life.  I felt serious heartache for her as she continued voicing everything going through her mind-why would God let this happen when she’d prayed so fervently since last summer that it would never happen again? As I talked her calmly, smoothing her hair back (which is still somewhat of a miracle since I was panicky inside) tears rose in both of our eyes.  I told her it hadn’t seemed fair to me either when I kept getting severe migraines as a missionary, even though I was trying to serve God & do the best thing I could with my life at that point.  As Maya’s tongue became less thick I could better understand her, & at this point she said: “I think migraines aren’t as bad as seizures….I’d rather have a migraine every day!” Poor girl; she really was upset by the whole situation, especially the fact that she’d had a seizure on the floor in front of the class.

      She repeatedly told the principal & I that she didn’t want to die from this, & we reassured her she wasn’t going to die.  She calmed down, & then I had to talk to the paramedics on the phone to monitor Maya’s breathing with them.  They also asked me to keep her on her left side, which proved to be a somewhat difficult task since she kept wanting to stand up so she could feel her legs.  They took SO long to get there; 15 minutes after the episode occurred.  While we waited, the principal asked Maya what her favorite song was so we could hum it together, & it would hopefully calm her down.  First we started with “Called to Serve” & moved on to “I Am a Child of God” when Maya started panicking that she couldn’t feel her legs again.  I told her I would pat them down for her so she could measure feeling based on whether or not my hands were on her legs.

      When the paramedics finally showed up, they put an oxygen mask over her face & she started freaking out about it & insisted she was getting too much oxygen & kept trying to reach up & remove the straps. She kept telling them she didn’t want to have to go to the hospital & that she was scared.  When they started asking her questions like her name, her mom’s name, & where she was, she started to close off to their questions (especially about how she felt.) She started responding with “I don’t know” to everything they queried.  She kind of dozed off at one point, & I felt her little body relax underneath my hands. She was obviously exhausted from the exertion during the seizure. We finally helped her sit up though & walked her over to the stretcher, where I put the oxygen mask on her & then they took her away to run some tests. (I had to talk to a doctor about all the symptoms she’d exhibited during the fit later on that afternoon.) Once Maya left my sight, I completely broke down sobbing; I had been holding it in, trying to be strong for her so she wouldn’t get any more frightened than she’d been, but it was also a very scary and unexpected experience for me.

Good news!

Good news today! Myra and Joanne came to see me after school & reported that after a strict analysis of my performance and evaluations throughout this school year, they are giving me a rating of 4.6 out of 5; that’s awesome! I was just hoping for a solid 4…..which is what a competent teacher rating is anyway. They also told me they’ve been working on my letter of recommendation, and that they are really pulling for me, explaining what a difficult school year it’s really been, & they feel sure I’ll at least be able to stay in the Salt Lake City district; yay!
(Myra’s letter of recommendation):
Katie Bauserman has successfully completed her first year of teaching as an intern in Grade 4 at Washington Elementary in Salt Lake City. Washington is a Title 1 school with a poverty rate near 80% and an English language population of 25%. The challenges of teaching in a diverse classroom were met with enthusiasm and a sincere desire to understand the needs of urban students. Katie is a stalwart defender of all students. She speaks Spanish fluently; this understanding of a second language has enabled her to better meet the needs of the English language learners in her classroom.

Katie approached this year with a positive and determined attitude, an open mind and a sincere desire to understand the dynamics of a difficult, urban classroom. The demands of her classroom required energy, clear thinking and a problem solving attitude. Katie accepted the challenge and her progress has been impressive. Understanding of teaching pedagogy is evident. Lesson planning is thoughtful; objectives are clear a variety of instructional strategies are used to engage students. Strategies are monitored and adjusted in response to the students’ understanding and motivation. Assessment strategies are used throughout instruction to surface students’ understanding. Lessons are engaging and promote opportunities for students to think critically and problem solve. She holds high expectations for each of her students and handles discipline in a fair and equitable way. At the heart of her teaching is concern for each student. She remains an active learner herself and is able to reflect accurately on her teaching practice.

Katie solicits feedback and professional support and demonstrates an ongoing curiosity to understand and improve her teaching practice. She collaborates with mentors and literacy and math coaches to gather and understand classroom data as a way to improve her instruction. She remains appreciative of the opportunity to learn from others. She would be a great asset to any school community; she has the heart of a teacher.

I had quite a surprise before school started this morning. I was supposed to be getting a new student (a Hispanic boy), but the resource teacher showed up & informed me I’d be getting a girl who had suffered mild hearing loss & had hearing aids in both ears. I was a little thrown off guard, especially when her grandmother started asking me questions, & informed me that her mom would like to meet with me tomorrow. The resource teacher went over some basic accommodations for this student in my classroom & then flew out of my room to make a copy of her plan. (One major aspect of that plan is that I will start teaching with a microphone/headset so that she can hear me even more effectively. I reminded the resource teacher that I have a loud clear voice, usually, but it's part of my student's accommodation plan, so....this will be interesting!)
I got really nervous at first & was somewhat confused as well, but kept trying to smile at her as I discussed her circumstances with those ladies & inquired as to whether or not she signs. I said a silent prayer in my heart after that, that I would be able to meet her needs, whatever it took, especially since I placed her up front by me, with her good ear facing me during instruction. She seems like a really sweet girl. The only problems we had today, were the boys complaining that the Hispanic boy originally assigned to my classroom was now in the other 4th grade class instead of ours, & probably wouldn't play soccer with them now....or increase the ratio of boys to girls in the room. But for the most part, classmates took her under their wing, & even made special efforts to play with her at recess (with a little prodding from the teacher.)
I think the funniest thing that happened today was when I announced that we were going on a walking field trip to discover evidences of erosion around the school, & my student Luis raised his hand & asked if they could invite their parents to come along. I looked at him carefully, & then said, “You’re not going to have time to invite them to come with us right now.” He looked confused, and then said, “I thought we were talking about the field trip later this month.: To which I replied, “Ummm...we’re in the middle of science right now. Why would I be talking about our field trip in a couple of weeks?”

First Christmas Letter

Dear family & friends,
Merry Christmas & happy holidays! This has been an eventful year for me! I will be graduating from BYU in the spring (April 2012) & I have been teaching fourth grade in downtown Salt Lake through a BYU internship this school year, & it has been both a challenge & a great joy in my life. I really enjoy it though, & my students teach me so much, especially about life. It has not been without serious difficulty at points, but I know I’m where I need to be.
I love my new student ward in Murray too;I have been called to serve as a ward missionary & really enjoy that calling thus far (though it also requires much of my time.)
May we all remember the true meaning of Christmas, as we consider the diligent journey of the Wise Men to find the young king, the Christ child. I have found true symbolism in their journey, as I search for the Savior & know that we all can & must seek Him in our individual lives, & give Him the only unique thing we can even offer-our will & our heart. As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it: "What you are is God's gift to you; what you do with yourself is your gift to God."
Merry Christmas & may you have a happy & prosperous new year!
With Love, (Ms.) Katie Bauserman

New Problems Arise!

My family came & visited the classroom over Thanksgiving Break! Kel, Sammy, Joey, Dad, & Mom all let my students read to them throughout the room, while I worked primarily with my Spanish group on comprehension strategies. I also had Dad teach the kids a lesson on the thankful turkey we always have hanging in our home every Thanksgiving (listing a blessing on 5 fingers traced). They loved & very much needed the visit; I fear I can never properly give them the strictly individual attention they desire.
They performed a Reader’s Theater on Thanksgiving after lunch for the kindergarten & sixth grades; I was pretty proud of them, overall! Then they got to have their root beer float party (for good behavior)--they all wanted thirds! And they were doing the strangest things, like pouring chocolate & caramel on top of the ice-cream floating in the root beer. SUGAR overload.


Many new developments arose today; I’m not sure why I thought coming back from Thanksgiving break would be relatively smooth. First there was discussing with one of my favorite troublemakers his bad decision to take another student by the collar & push him down to the ground on the way out of school Tuesday (escaping before I could properly discipline him for it.) Later on, after giving him a copy of the write-up to take home & get signed, when he should have been working on his math self-start, I found him forging his dad’s name on the form where a parent’s signature is required. I realized in that instant that he’s been forging his dad’s name on his reading logs & occasionally in his planner as well; this could develop into a pretty serious problem later on in his life, especially because he’s tried to be so deceitful about it. Yikes!
Then the assistant principal stopped in to talk to me about a boy getting bullied in my class, mainly because of his girly looks & shy nature. His mom has been in close contact with the office & wants me to be on the look-out for instances when he might be bullied; I spoke with him privately about how he needs to come to me & let me know when such instances occur. The assistant principal said the school counselors are working with Bailey to try to help build up his confidence & teach him how to be more assertive; I can’t imagine they’re going to have much success in that endeavor, however. He’s a painfully shy kid & his mom allows him to skip school every Friday because it’s been difficult for him to adjust to public school (since he has been home-schooled in years past.) The assistant principal really feels like he’s being babied by his mom overall, & I’d have to agree.
Finally there’s the situation my student who has serious behavioral disorders. He was really “on one” today & he was out of seat almost every time I turned around, distracting or bothering other students. He was also especially defiant to me, especially when I pointed out that he needed to stay in for some of his recess since he lied to me about getting “yes’s” on his behavior scorecard (a mechanism I've implemented to help him stay on-task during instructional time.)He wanted to get a green card pretty badly, I guess (primarily because the counselor will reward him with something like a Transformer toy if he gets enough positives or green cards from me, which, if you ask me, is a pretty messed up system anyway, since it's based around bribery.) He also told me he’d had enough in my class, since other students are always telling on him, & that he would be moving to the other 4th grade class promptly.
He kept saying there were things he needed to get off his chest, but then never said anything particularly enlightening as to why he was acting the way he was. That child is a mystery to me.
The principal came in & observed me today as well (for my ECAP observation.) She mentioned to me in a note she left that she saw some good things & that we’d debrief Thursday. It really wasn’t too stressful having her there during my nouns lesson (as I had supposed it might be.) The kids were pretty engaged for most of that lesson though, & that makes a big difference. I love it when they get excited about learning & it's personalized for them!

It's been a really really rough rough week.....

The past few days have seemed endless; oh look! I'm capitalizing on our suffixes lesson...is it weird that I'm walking around labeling everything I say now? Probably. Well, there are some updates & some funny & serious highlights to share. Tomorrow is our first class field trip; that should be fun! And somewhat interesting as well.
Today when I was teaching the Literacy block, I asked my students to think of an adjective the author used in the story to describe the cattle. One of my students, without thinking or raising his hand blurted out "the cows were horny?" Oh dear........I told him that while the cows have horns that does not make them...ahem, well you get the idea. At least I didn't laugh aloud when he said it, or he would probably have kept repeating that phrase the entire day!
After-school today, my favorite troublemaker's mom came to get him & to get a report on how he's doing; today wasn't such a great day to check up on all that. Furthermore, he brought his mom's personally obtained crystals to school & started trading them with other students at recess & giving them away to others in the class. She was pretty furious when she made that discovery after school. ...& I found it interesting that she said the reason he just has a bag & not a backpack with pockets is because he likes to hide things he shouldn't be bringing to school. Weird.
Last night I graded writing samples my students wrote from awhile ago. They were written based on a prompt about good memories shared with friends. Unfortunately, one of my students mentioned his brother getting arrested during his "good memory" retelling; that really broke my heart. These kids really have a tough life & I'm just so amazed that they make it to school every day.
p.s. If you've heard this phrase before, go ahead & laugh, but if not, ask me what it means....I just learned today! Corn-dogging (and I'm not talking about the food connotation....)