Blogging With Students

Yesterday, I got the go ahead to have blogs with my students! All of the teachers have a blog, but they have the comment ability turned off and use it as a place to communicate homework. I asked several different people if we were allowed to have the comment ability activated; I finally found someone could answer. Then, I was in a department meeting the other day, and one teacher shared how she use her blog with students. A rumble went through the room because teachers feared the amount they would have to moderate. The teacher presenting did a great job explaining the benefits and explaining that by blogging you can give something else up. As I was reading different blogs, I came across, Classroom Blogging, which has ideas for using blogs in classrooms. I can't wait to get the kids started, and I'll share how it goes!

Don't Know Why I Was Suprised

I don't know why I was surprised when several of my students reacted to Skype's start-up sound that occured when I turned on my personal laptop today in class today. Having asked many people if they use Skype I guess I assumed that Skype wasn't used wide spread because most of them had no idea what Skype is; now, I realize that I was wrong. My challenge is to figure out if I can use Skype in the classroom of the school system I recently joined. First, I have to figure out who to ask in the school...

What is it with the word test?

We begin our yearly testing program today with a mental ability test followed next week by an achievement test. Shouldn't be a big deal-our kids always do an extremely good job on standardized tests. This being said, quite a few freaked out yesterday when I reminded them to bring a #2 pencil. A few even asked what they needed to study and weren't relieved after being told that they can't study for this kind of test--AND--these are 8th graders who have taken the same kind of test at least 6 years now! I hate to see them stressing over these things as much as they are. Now, if only they would stress a little over their personal narrative that is due in a week...

"Closed. System Temporaily Down"

I have told myself for years that as soon as I was not as stressed in my job that I would give up Mt. Dew. I realized earlier this week that I was feeling very relaxed each afternoon after work and that there was only a few more cans in the fridge. I don't drink, smoke, or have any other vices except for the Dew, but I decided to give it up yesterday after drinking the last can of Mt. Dew that was in my house. God was watching out for me too because this morning I stopped to get gas. What would one hurt right? So I went to the door of the gas station and found it locked. Okay, so I went down the road a bit and pulled on the door of another gas station. Posted on the door was a sign, "Closed. System Temporarily Down." Okay, I don't have to be hit upside the head to realize that my decision to give up the sugar and caffeine was the right one.

"Closed. System Temporarily Down" Wouldn't it be nice if our kids had the ability to put a sign saying this when they had one of those kind of days? How would this change what I do in my classroom each day? Would I change how I interact with my kids? Is there a way for us to get this kind of message from our students?

Breaking Down Barriers

I have been subbing in the same classroom for two weeks now while looking for a full time job. During the first 8 days, the students and I interacted pretty much only on the "business" we were about--lanugage arts, teacher to student, student to teacher. I'd ask questions about their football games, band practices, etc, and would get short answers with a very clear indication that they didn't want to be bothered. Then on Friday, I became very cool all of the sudden thanks to my new iPhone. In the middle of 6th period, one of the kids noticed my phone and asked me about it. A quiet buzz began going through the room and we all began talking about phones, computers, and learning with them. The kids entering the room for 7th period came in asking about my phone too. Although I would prefer to have kids leaving the room talking about the amazing things they learned about English, this time, I was okay with them leaving talking about anything. Now, how do I get them that excited about reading, writing, and grammar? Maybe technology should play some kind of role. This is going to be a fun challenge for the next 8 weeks.

2nd Annual Charity Basketball Game

We recently held our second annual charity basketball game. This is a great evening of fun with a great cause. Our 8th grade girl basketball team plays the 8th grade cheerleaders. Our 8th grade boys basketball team work after school learning the cheers and are our cheerleaders for the game. Our dance line does a special routine with a combination of wrestlers, football players, and 7th grade basketball players. Last year, our students raised $5,000.00 for a middle school in Louisiana that was affected by Katrina. This year, we have several teachers at our high school fighting breast cancer so we are making a donation of over $7,200.00 to a local breast cancer charity. It is an amazing night with lots of teenagers showing how great they really are!

Classroom Happenings 1/26/07

Amazing things went on at HTMS today! The 8th grade science students were spread out over campus discovering things about velocity and speed. Some were out on the mall shooting rockets made from soft drink bottles. Others were in the halls building roller coasters. Mrs. Hambey’s students dissected squids—man does that smell bring back memories of my days in science class. Mr. Brown’s class participated in a simulation designed to help students learn the workings of the ancient city-states in Greece. I loved watching each individual “city state” go from claiming all of the land possible alone to forming alliances with other city- states. We took pictures of the 8th grade students voted as this year’s who’s who for the yearbook. The focus of this year’s who’s who was the character education words we study throughout the year.

We are still hard at work with homework remediation. Unfortunately, there are still too many students not completing work on time, but we are working to help students make better decisions. We have moved into the next phase of homework remediation. Students who have been referred before for not having homework automatically go to detention. Eventually, students will grow tired of sitting in the cafeteria on the hard round seats for two hours after school. I become so frustrated when I see the same students over and over for having missing assignments. UGH!

The Future--More Questions than Answers

As a middle school prinicpal, I am becoming more and more aware of how technology is changing the world for our students. In conference after conference, in book after book, and on blog after blog, we are being told and shown that what we currently do for students isn't going to prepare them for the world of tomorrow. This being the case, what do we need to do to improve what we do? How does a school that is a good school make the transistion to being a great school? What about the students who are in the building while we are making the transition--who will prepare them for the future?