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!