AuburnChick's Adventures

Every day, I stand outside my classroom door, greeting all of my students as they enter.

It’s something I try to do every day for every class.  This gives me a chance to smile at my kids, say something personal, and remind them about the bellwork that’s waiting for them.

On Tuesday, one of my students walked in, set his stuff down, and then left again.  The kids frequently do this so they can run out for one last drink of water before the bell rings.

This same student came back a minute later and paused as he started to pass me.

(This is the same student whose sweatpants I fixed last week.  You can click here to read about that.)

Before he walked past me on Tuesday, he stopped and leaned in like he was going to give me a hug.

He put one hand on my shoulder and then did an amazing thing…

He gave me what can only be described as a “bro hug.”

It’s hard to explain, but you’d know a bro hug if you saw it.

It’s where two guys greet each other and either grab a hand to shake it or grab a shoulder.

Then, they both lean in and briefly hug, roughly clap each other on the back with the free hand, and then separate as if they hadn’t shown any affection.

It’s a guy thing, and way different than a “chick hug.”

I was very surprised because the action was completely unexpected.

The school’s baseball coach, a dynamic young man who is totally cool in my book, happened to be walking down the hallway right after my student gave me the bro hug.  I was still so surprised, that I crooked my finger for Mr. Baseball Coach to come closer so I could talk to him.

When he reached me, I told him, “I think I just got my first bro hug.  Is this a good thing?”

“Yes,” he said.  “It’s a very good thing.”

All the while, he continued walking, chucking as he went.  I think I saw a twinkle in his eye as well.

That’s probably not the coolest way to describe a high school baseball coach, but he’s a very kind man and very sensitive to the kids we teach.

Our children ARE very special…not prone to showing affection often because many lead such horrid lives outside of school.

Hence, my student’s gesture meant a great deal.

Although this is my third year teaching, it’s definitely been a year of firsts.

I can now add receiving a bro hug to that list.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: education, teaching | 3 Comments »

I’ve gotta tell you that this was a great first week back after the holidays.  In fact, I would venture to say that it was the smoothest transition that I’ve had since I began teaching three years ago.

The biggest key, I believe, was my determination to RELAX despite whatever stress I might be facing.

That word has been in the forefront of my mind ever since I felt convinced that God was telling me to be more purposeful about relaxing…giving myself permission to not work until midnight or 1am…allowing myself to knit a few rows each night and read a few chapters, for pleasure, as well.

My purposeful refocusing led to some sweet moments, which I’ll share in no particular order (not that you would know since you weren’t a fly on a wall in my classroom).

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I learned a couple of new words this week:

flex – lying about something that EVERYONE, including yourself, knows is true.  The opposite of this word is the phrase “keeping it real.”  You’ll be happy to know that I figured out the antonym all by my lonesome self.  My students were proud of me.

jit – a young person; someone who is inexperienced

I was scared to ask for the latter definition until even the “good” kids told me it was okay to listen.

😀

By the way, I have been forbidden from using both words when I talk to the kids.

heehee

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One of my students, who I think I’ve blogged about, didn’t have food again today.  She also didn’t have money for lunch.  I scored a pack of crackers from one of the school’s secretaries and then went to the teachers’ lounge.  While stopping by quickly, I ran into another teacher who has this little girl in one of her classes, and we began to discuss this child’s hunger issues, which she was completely unaware of.

I only know because I taught this gal last year, so we have a strong bond, so she felt comfortable sharing this with me.

Other teachers sat, dismayed, about the youngster’s situation, and one teacher reached over and gave me $5 to pass along to my student to buy lunch with.

Naturally, my student was a little self conscious when I gave her the money…until I explained that it is okay to accept help from people who care about you.  I also told her that one day, she’ll be able to pay it forward and help someone else in need.

Then, she told me that she’d already done this.  The other day when she was about to eat a Big Mac, she saw a child going through the garbage looking for food.  She GAVE the child her burger.

She finally accepted the money, bought lunch, and returned to my classroom to eat it.

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Another of my students, a knitter, observed the conversation between my student and myself, and then said, “Mrs. AuburnChick, you remind of Ms. Fabulous Middle School Teacher.”

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because you think of your students as your own kids and are a mama to them.”

My heart melted a little at her sweet words.

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One of my classes had a rough class period on Tuesday.

They were so talkative…to the point where I couldn’t even run stations.

I took away a privilege because I had warned them beforehand.

Upon reflection, I had to take part of the blame.

My lesson had not been engaging.

I’d done most of the talking…a sign I should have noticed immediately when they weren’t involved in the learning process.

I believe that this was the reason why they were exceptionally unruly.

The rest of the week went much more smoothly because I kept the lessons short, and they engaged more with one another.  Then, we moved into stations, during which they were incredibly well-behaved and productive.

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One of the basketball players saw me walking from my car this morning, arms laden with school papers and the goodie bag for the player I’d adopted for the season.

“Mrs. AuburnChick, I wish you were my basketball mom,” he said.

“I’m sure your basketball mom takes very good care of you,” I responded.

“Naw,” he said.  “She only gives me pretzels, trail mix, and water.”

Oy.  No wonder the kids start asking me, the first week of school, if I’ll adopt them.

I fill up the bags, let me tell you, more so after seeing the way my friend, Barbara, fills her guys’ bags to the top.

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One of the moments that I was most proud of was during a discussion I was having with my students about gun control.

I know that this might sound like a strange thing to be talking about with teenagers, but the issue came up after watching Flocabulary’s Week in Rap video.

After explaining the different sides of the issue, I asked students if any of them believed in laws that would make it harder to get a gun.

As the discussion progressed, one of my students shocked me by saying, “Mrs. AuburnChick, I think they need to take the violence out of movies and video games.”

After I picked my jaw off the floor, I asked him why he felt that way.

He told me that a lot of the horrible crimes committed were done to copy scenes from movies.

I was amazed, and I told the class that many people who do not work with young people assume that kids are not deep thinkers and only care about violent movies and video games.

I went on to say that my student’s comments showed great maturity…a maturity that allowed him to view both sides of the issue and then voice his own opinion…one that went completely against what the majority of people would think they’d be hearing coming from a young person’s mouth.

My student beamed with pride.

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Were there down moments this week.

Yes.

I lost a favorite student because she moved suddenly.

I gained a student who I feel inadequate to teach.

I lost my cool and did not follow Fred Jones’s mandate not to argue back.

Despite a few dips, I can honestly say that I felt joy this week.

I know that this was a blessing from the Lord.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: education, teaching | 1 Comment »

Even though I had a good day, I’m feeling the need to vent a bit, so please bear with me.

I would really love to know who came up with an educational system that allows a child to make it to the 9th grade while only being able to read at a second grade level.

I’m not kidding.

I am an intensive reading teacher.

I have students who, for various reasons, cannot comprehend text well.

Their struggles have to do with learning disabilities, lack of a strong vocabulary, little practice in higher order thinking, and difficult home lives that don’t lend themselves to meaningful conversations, which has been proven to affect reading ability.

With that said, my current students are fortunate in that their reading levels are higher than the one described above.  However, I do know of students who fall into this category, so the issue hits close to home.

I am frustrated.

Why?

Because instead of doing what’s right for these students, which is to place them in special classes with students their own age and of similar reading ability, these struggling students are placed in mainstream classes.

Adding to the embarrassment of being unable to perform at the same level as their peers, they are described as “lazy” by some teachers.

Perhaps they aren’t lazy.

Perhaps they cannot read the instructions of assignments.

Perhaps the assignments are too overwhelming and need to be broken down into smaller chunks.

Perhaps they need accompanying pictures to help them understand the assignment parameters.

Perhaps these students need to be taught by teachers who are specially trained to balance their social ages with their academic abilities.

While I can sort of understand why students are promoted socially, it doesn’t, in reality, make sense as far as the students’ long-term success goes.

If students are constantly promoted, they’ll eventually graduate…without the ability to read job applications or solve problems by thinking critically.

Who loses out?

Ultimately, and most importantly, it’s the students in need of specialized teaching.

What’s the answer?

I don’t know.

I’m still new at this teaching thing and don’t envision ever transitioning into a position that puts me in charge of making these kinds of decisions.

What I do know is that it is teachers such as myself who are called upon to provide a meaningful education to such struggling students…students who are seven or eight years behind their peers.

It is teachers like myself who are left feeling very inadequate and unsure what interventions to use to best assist these students.

It is teachers like myself who carry guilt with them because they don’t feel that they are adequately serving the needs of ALL of their students.  While teachers are taught to differentiate instruction according to the learning abilities, styles, and personalities of their students, when there is a seven or eight year difference in skills…well…that is a very overwhelming task!

It’s not surprising that the system is flawed.

Most government systems are.

Why?

Because one size doesn’t fit all.

Because saving money is more important than doing what needs to be done to ensure that schools produce young adults who can confidently contribute to society.

Because it’s easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk.

Because it’s easier to sit in an office, far removed from a classroom, and make decisions about students who exist solely on paper.

Because it’s easier to make decisions from afar without really seeing the effect they have on those in the classroom.

THAT takes real work…real sacrifice…and I don’t know if the powers-that-be who make such decisions are willing to get down and dirty to do what it will take to fix a flawed system.

Filed under: Teaching | Tagged: education, teaching | 2 Comments »