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!