Friday, October 29

How to Reduce Traffic

I didn’t take the train today. I didn’t write in my journal. I had to drive downtown to pick up my monthly train pass. City employees get issued a few free rides each month. It’s to encourage people to use the train and to decrease traffic. For some reason, though, you have to drive downtown to pick up the pass. So I drove to work on Thursday and then swung by after work to pick up the pass. Guess what? On Thursdays they only give the passes out between eleven and one. The lady was sitting there with an envelope full of passes but refused to give any up. So on Friday I drove to work again and went by the office after work and actually got the pass. Two trips for one pass. All this to reduce traffic.

Wednesday, October 27

"No Shool"

I watched Latisha while she was taking her test. She only answered a handful of the questions. Then, she got out her assignment notebook. She opened it up and started folding the pages in half lengthwise. Page by page she very carefully folded them until her whole assignment book was half as wide but twice as thick. Then, she started writing “No Shool” on all the weekend sections of the book. Finally, she turned to the goal section. On the first line she wrote her name followed by three stars “Latisha ***”. On the second line she wrote it again . . . and on the third . . . and the fourth . . . and the fifth . . . and so on . . . and so on . . . Sometimes, I think I’m teaching way over these kids’ heads.
We pulled in a bunch of the trouble makers today to have a little talk. We brought them in one-by-one. Rodney was there. I asked him if he had a locker . . . and if he knew the combination . . . then why does he always leave his materials in my class? Well, after our talk with all the kids we were feeling better. Then, Rodney got in trouble at lunch and got another in-school-suspension. It will be nice to have a break from him tomorrow. I swear that kid only comes to school for breakfast and lunch.

Tuesday, October 26

The Natives Are Growing Restless

The natives were restless today. You would think that after the principals talked to everyone then they would calm down. If anything, the opposite happened. Kids were running around in the hallways between classes. One student stormed out of my room because I wouldn’t let her go to her locker. (This was after I held my door open for an extra two minutes for her while she was at her locker.) Rodney had to go to the bathroom all class long. DaSean had to go to the nurse all period but I’m pretty sure he just didn’t want to take the test. I think the kids really hit back hard when you try to get them to improve their behavior. Come down on them and they’ll come down on you.
I worked on my annual goals today. Annual goals are a piece of paper that you look at once a year (that’s the annual part), change the date on them, and turn in to someone who insists on having them. Then, you don’t think about them again until another year has passed. I finished my goals up and then emailed them to my mentee so that she could change the name on them and turn in the same ones. (And they say you don’t learn anything in school!)

Monday, October 25

A Miracle

I had a meeting this morning about Jamal. We’ve been meeting once a week or more to try to figure out what to do about him. We’ve been identifying the issues. We planned to do some testing on Thursday.
This afternoon, Jamal barged into my honors class in the middle of the period.
“Wrong class, Jamal,” I said. He pulled a piece of paper from behind his back. It’s a withdrawal slip. Jamal is moving to another school system. Thank you, God.
We had an assembly with all the seventh grade students today. The principals were talking to them about discipline. Of course, all the students were being rude and disrespectful (especially during the part of the assembly on respect). For the most part I have been impressed with how well our students have behaved this year, especially compared to how they’ve behaved in past years. The principals, however, recognize that there is still a lot of room for improvement. I’m glad. I believe that our students rise and fall to the level of expectations placed upon them. They are doing so much better this year. It’s hard to imagine how high their potential actually is.

Friday, October 22

Review for the Hardest Test of Your Life

Rodney came into class wearing a big winter coat. A few minutes later he asked me if he could go to the nurse because he felt hot. I told him to take his coat off. Then, he complained of a headache. I told him he couldn’t go to the nurse. A few minutes later he told me that he had to go to the bathroom. I told him no. Soon after, he had made a miraculous recovery and was running around, crumpling up papers to throw at the garbage can, and shouting at people. I think I liked him better when he was sick.
We were reviewing for the “hardest test of your life” today. Rodney’s class couldn’t even focus for a few minutes. Even with so much of their grade on the line, they couldn’t get it together. I feel sorry for the few serious students in there. Ms. Helm had a talk with the wild ones before they came to my class (she has the same group right before I do). Apparently, they didn’t get the message. We’re going to bring the troublemakers in next week to have a little talk.

Thursday, October 21

Who Comes Up With These Things?

I drove to work today. I had a mentoring meeting on the other side of town fifteen minutes after school got out. Who comes up with these things? Well, I finally got all the kids out the door and was about to leave when I saw DaSean standing in the hallway.
“What do you want me to do, Mr. Moore?”
Whoa! I totally forgot that he’d asked to come by after school about a week ago. Normally, the kids don’t show up. Well, what kind of mentor would I be if I turned down a kid who wanted to learn? I gave him some assignments to make up and helped him through them. Then, I found a new way to get home from school. I’ve missed yet another meeting.
Rodney was surprisingly quiet, polite, and well-behaved in class today. LJ got suspended for doing something. It must have been bad because the principal asked me to give him some work. I guess he’s going to be out for a while.
Someone wrote a gang name in large letters across the front of the bathroom stalls. I think it might have been Malcolm. I know he’s part of that group. He was late to class today because he’d been in the head principal’s office. Suddenly, in the middle of class, he yelled out, “Fuck her!” (Her being the head principal). I took him outside to have a talk. He agreed to come back to class and get to work but I told him that he needed to calm down first. I sent him to the bathroom and told him to take his time. He came back to class and gave me no trouble for the rest of the day. Now I’m wondering if he did the graffiti when I sent him to the bathroom.

Tuesday, October 19

Aftermath of the Substitute

As expected, Rodney was a real pain today. He came to class late, would not stay in his seat, and spent most of his time yelling things at the other students. After school, he went running for Ms. Helm saying that someone was going to beat him up. It turns out that it was true. What Rodney failed to mention was that he called the guy “white boy” and slammed him into a locker. I haven’t figured out what to do with Rodney yet.
It looks like the sub was a disaster yesterday. I had a whole stack of names sitting on my desk when I got back. Fortunately, the principal gave them all detention. Unfortunately, I’m supposed to call all their parents. The kids were all complaining about how mean the sub was and how unfair he was. Of course, they’re all innocent of any wrongdoing. As the stories came out, however, I was able to piece together what really happened. I don’t feel sorry for my students. They’re all guilty. Besides, even if the sub is the meanest, nastiest person in the world, all they have to do is get along with him for an hour and fifteen minutes. Our kids are used to getting away with too much. When someone from outside the school tries to hold them to normal standards of behavior they think it’s cruel and unusual.
The rumor is that Jamal’s aunt showed up at the school yesterday afternoon. She talked to the teachers then yelled at him and threatened to take him out of this school. On the one hand, it would be nice. On the other hand, what Jamal really needs is some stability in his life. Our principal thinks that Jamal is acting up on purpose because he wants to get sent back to his parents in Florida. There, he used to bounce back and forth between them, never really spending much time in one school. It’s sad how so many of our kids want the worst for themselves.

Monday, October 18

It's Nice to Feel Wanted

It’s three o’ clock and I’m out of work already. I had an hour off for lunch, too. I’m not even tired. We had an “all day” curriculum planning meeting today. It was kind of strange to be in-school-but-not-in-school all day. I kept seeing my students around the building. I saw LJ as I was leaving. I guess the substitute kicked him out of class. According to LJ, the sub kicked all the nice people out. I saw my principal a little later and he asked if I’d be back in the classroom tomorrow. I told him I would and he said, “Good.”
It’s nice to feel wanted.

Friday, October 15

Unscheduled Parent Conference

TGIF. Payday! So why am I so miserable? It was a stressful day. Yesterday, when I had Rodney in class, he wanted to go to the bathroom. We don’t normally let kids go unless it’s between classes or an extreme, extreme emergency. I didn’t really believe Rodney. It seemed like he was bored and just wanted to get out of class. Every two minutes it was, “I have to go to the bathroom. I really, really have to go!” Near the end of class I started to feel sorry for him. Maybe he really did have to go. Well, when class got out I watched him. He didn’t go to the bathroom. He went to Ms. Helm’s room.
Today, five minutes into class, “I have to go to the bathroom!” I reminded him of yesterday’s class and told him that I’d seen him when he left my room. “I have to go . . .” I told him that if he said it one more time then I’d send him to time-out. “But, I really have to go . . .” I sent him to time-out.
It was probably the most pleasant class period I’ve ever spent with that group of students. After class (the last of the day), Ms. Weeks, the time-out lady, came by. She had called Rodney’s dad and he was going to come see me today or after school on Monday. Thanks a lot. For a moment, I considered rolling out of school and saving my weekend. Then, I remembered that I had to do substitute plans for Monday since I have to be in that meeting.
Minutes later, Rodney came into my room with his dad. Immediately, the mood was hostile. I explained what had happened. His dad started yelling at me and got up in my face, “I’m telling you right now, some teachers aren’t worth a fuck!” his finger pointing down in my face. I tried to diffuse the situation with a smile, “Well, I think . . .” He interrupted, “I’m not playing games! I got my diploma! I don’t play games with teachers no more! Last year, I sued the school system! I’m not paying no $500 for a lawyer this year! I’m dealing with you face-to-face!” His finger is still in my face. “Either you’re lying!” pointing at me, “Or you’re lying!” pointing at his son. The conversation turned to whether Rodney had been disrespectful of just disruptive. I maintained that Rodney had been just disruptive. The yelling started back up, “That lady on the phone told me you said he was disrespectful to you! Someone’s lying here! I’m going to find out what you wrote on that paper!" He stormed out of the room with Rodney, looking for Ms. Weeks.
Well, now we know what’s wrong with Rodney. How is a kid going to respect his teachers when his parents disrespect them in front of him? The school is always telling us that if you have a problem with the student then you HAVE to call the parent. I don’t want to call the parent. Most of the time, the parent IS the problem. I don’t want my students to get beat up at home because I talked to their parent. I really don’t know what to do. How do I handle Rodney now?

Thursday, October 14

Meetings About Meetings

I forgot about a meeting I had this morning. They came and got me in my classroom. At the meeting, I got assigned to go to another meeting on curriculum. It’s an all-day Monday thing so I have to get a substitute. I’m not really looking forward to it. I’m all meetinged out. I have another one tomorrow morning.
The gang graffiti is starting up in my room again. I have a couple of suspects. I turned one girl in today because she had it on her binder. I had to clean it off the student tables. I’ve discovered that fingernail polish remover works well.
I’ve been having a lot of trouble with Allison lately. She’s always playing around in class. This afternoon on the way into the room, she asked if she could sit somewhere else in the room. OK, I thought, she’s starting to realize that some of the other students are a bad influence on her. That’s good. So I told her I’d let her try it. Later, I discovered that she’d written her name on the table with lip-gloss. Then, she started talking up a storm while I was giving directions. I told her to move back to her old seat. She refused. I told her that she could sit in her old seat or she could sit in the time-out room. She left. I’m going to make her clean the lip-gloss off the table tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 13

Thanks For the Help

I got an email this morning from Ms. Morris, one of the social workers in the school. She went to LJ’s house this morning and brought him to school. He hasn’t been in school for a couple of weeks now. Last time I saw him he told me he wasn’t going to work until the second half of the school year because that’s all he needs to do to pass. Apparently, that’s what he did last year.
I had LJ’s class at the end of the day today. I saw him come into the room but when I took roll he was gone. He showed up fifteen minutes later with a tardy pass, no books, and no materials.
“Where’s your notebook?” I asked.
“Oh, don’t worry about me, I don’t go to school no more,” he responded.
“You’re here now,” I said.
“That’s because Ms. Morris brought me this morning. I’m only coming on days I have P.E.”
For the rest of class he talked out and was mildly disruptive. If that’s all he’s going to do then I’d rather he stayed home.
I missed a mentor meeting early this morning. I slept in. I missed a faculty meeting yesterday (thanks to class). Then, I missed some sort of textbook meeting today due to club activities. At yesterday’s faculty meeting they assigned everyone to committees so that we can have more meetings. Do you think we have enough meetings yet? I don’t know what I’d do if I actually went to them.

Tuesday, October 12

D.C.'s Problems

I guess Jose wasn’t expelled because he got suspended today. After he got the suspension, he was wandering around the 7th grade hallway like he belonged there. Mr. Burns, Ms. Liger, and I all converged on him and pointed him out to the principal who took care of him.
We had a seventh grade meeting today. As usual, there was a lot of complaining. I felt like I should say something positive so I thanked the principal for the good job he was doing. It was an awkward moment so I quickly reminded him that I have an evaluation coming up. Everyone laughed at that and we moved on. Still, you have to keep it positive. Things are so much better this year than they were last year.
It was a little tough being back today. I called in sick yesterday for Columbus Day because my wife had the day off. It was a beautiful day. We had a great time together. Today, it was like, “Why do I have to deal with this?”
I saw one of my students as I was getting on the train. I quickly ducked onto another car because I just don’t feel like dealing with anyone at the end of the day. Now I’m suspicious. Our kids that ride the train are usually coming in from somewhere else where they don’t want to go to school. I can understand not wanting to go to D.C. schools with all the problems D.C. has. Unfortunately, students who come from D.C. tend to bring D.C.’s problems with them. You would think a student who isn’t supposed to attend our school would maintain a low profile but a lot of times they don’t. They get in trouble. Then, when the principal tries to contact their parents we discover that they shouldn’t be in our school. We have enough trouble with our own students. We don’t need to be taking care of everyone else’s problems, too.
Speaking of everyone else’s problems, I got a new student today. She just moved in from D.C. She’s a Timmons, one of many in our school. I had her cousin two year ago, one of my most-hyper-of-all-time students. Let’s hope for the best.

Friday, October 8

TGIF!!!

Friday! Friday! Friday! I had energy this week but today it was gone. Monday is Columbus Day. Most school systems get it off but we don’t. I’m planning on calling in sick and spending the day with my honey (she has it off). I can use the break. I don’t have class this Monday evening.
Well, the kids knew it was Friday, too. They were crazy! We watched a video today, not the whole period but the last twenty minutes or so of each period. It’s hard to keep them sane for seventy-five minutes on a Friday afternoon.
Rodney was pouting in the doorway of my classroom when it was time to come in. He said that he got assigned Saturday School for “doing nothin’” Of course, I happen to know that “nothin’” in this case includes a whole myriad of disruptive behavior in Ms. Helm’s class. The kids are so used to not having consequences for their actions that they can’t handle it when they are held responsible. They get away with everything they do at home, everything they do in the neighborhood, and most things they do at school. The first person to hold most of them accountable is the judge. It’s no wonder our prisons are full of “innocent victims”. Anyhow, I asked Rodney if this was going to interfere with his behavior in my class. He assured me that he would behave himself. Of course, he didn’t.
Apparently, Nick wasn’t the only one who might be getting expelled for yesterday’s incident. My email this morning had four kids suspended to the Dean of Discipline. He’s the one who makes decisions on expulsions and serious suspensions. The email also included my former students Shawanda and Creme. I broke up a fight with Creme last year and she scratched me up until I was bleeding. Jose (also from last year) is saying that he’s getting expelled as well. Of course, Jose is also a chronic liar but it might be true.

Thursday, October 7

Smart Kids Gone Bad

I just heard that Nick, one of my former students, might be expelled. I had him for most of last year before they took him out and put him in the alternative program. I guess he just got back from a suspension today and he got into another fight. He ended up pushing another student into a teacher. That’s sad. The kid is crazy, it’s true, but there are always a few of the bad ones that have a special place in my heart. He was never mean or nasty to me. True, he never let me get through a lesson uninterrupted, but I thought he had potential.
Loco is like that this year. What is he, like sixteen years old? He never stops but he’s funny. He makes me laugh in spite of myself.
I sent DaSean out today. I gave him a couple of warnings and then on strike three I sent him to the time-out room. I had the referral all filled out and waiting. I wasn’t going to let him bug me for the entire period like he did the other day.

Wednesday, October 6

What Nobody Ever Tells You About Interim Grading

Jamal was a real pain today. Probably the worst that I’ve ever had him. Before, the other teachers would complain and I’d just think, “He’s not that bad.” But if he’s acting everyday for them the way he acted for me today then he is that bad. The boy doesn’t want to shut up. I’m supposed to be coming up with some sort of special plan for him. His aunt has asked for testing. She says he’s headed for prison. I guess she just got custody of him last year. He moved up from his parents’ in Florida at the end of last school year. Then, he drove all the sixth grade teachers crazy in the short time that he had them.
I turned in interim grades today. That’s always a daunting task. There are always those parents who say, “Why didn’t you tell me my child had an F?” Then you say, “That’s what the interim is for,” and they get mad. Then, there are a lot of parents who complain if their student does well at interim time but then does badly on the report card. You can’t please everyone. I try to throw some tough assignments in there so that not everyone has perfect grades. If their grades are good then some of the kids will stop working.
Something happened in the cafeteria today. I’m not sure what but I guess the principal is making them have a silent lunch tomorrow. A bunch of students asked if they could have lunch in my room but I turned them down. I used to let students have lunch in my room but it got to be as much of a drag as having them in class. I’m glad they’re having silent lunch tomorrow. They normally come back from lunch completely crazy. I’m curious to see what it does for them.

Tuesday, October 5

Did You Eat Your Wheaties?

I had energy this morning. I was feeling pretty good (yesterday, too). That all changed after lunch today. I had two rough classes in a row and that just took it all out of me. Why are they giving me such a hard time now? The “let’s be nice because it’s a new year” is definitely over. Interim reports are due tomorrow, could that be it?
DaSean was awful today. He came into class with attitude and just wouldn’t stop talking. I asked him to stop and he did but only until I looked away. I asked him to stop again and this time I caught him whispering, “Mr. Moore, can you hear me?” I said, “Stop!” Then, he started arguing, “How could you hear me?” I finally got him to stop. I turned to the board and I heard a whisper, “Now, can you hear me?” I sent him out. He was arguing all the way out of the room. When I went to talk to him in the hallway he was still giving me a hard time. I explained to him that I was trying to give him another chance and he calmed down a little. I let him back into the room and he started up again. I called him over and explained to him that I was trying to help him out. Why are you giving me a hard time if I’m trying to help you? He apologized then went right back to the talking. At the end of the school day, Ms. Helm came over and said, “DaSean was such a pain for me today.” Enough is enough.

Monday, October 4

More Scheduling Problems . . .

I just found out that I only have eighty-some students. I realized I was a little short but I didn’t realize I was that short. It’s because of the scheduling problems with the honors classes. My honors class is full. I have students whose parents want them in honors science so they get moved to another team. I lose my best students that way. Of course, I also lose a lot of parents who could be a real hassle. So now I have eighty-some kids. Last year, it was over a hundred.
I feel bad that I’m not carrying my share of the load this year but I’m also going to enjoy it while I can. You're probably thinking that a few kids doesn't make much of a difference but just one kid can make a huge difference. Of course, it depends on the kid. Sometimes you can have a class that is just awful. Then, someone is out for a day and the whole personality of the class improves.
I guess I’ll be getting all the new students since I have space in my classes. That’s too bad. Most of the transfer students are not that good. Some transfer because they get kicked out of other systems. Our good students, on the other hand, tend to transfer out of our school. We’ve already lost a couple that I wish we could have kept.

Friday, October 1

Dodging Parents

I just dodged a parent on my way out of school. It was one of my parents from last year. She would have wanted to stay and talk. I had another parent email sitting in my inbox but didn’t bother to open it. I’ll deal with it Monday and enjoy my weekend.
Today, I ripped into Rodney in the hallway. I had thrown him out of class and he slammed the door on his way out. Later, Ms. Helm said she heard me. Then, Ms. Weeks said she heard me, too. That’s not good. She’s all the way down the hall and around the corner. It’s tough. I have my worst class on Fridays. They are totally hyper by then. Ms. Helm came in today and asked us to quiet down because we were making so much noise and her class was trying to take a test. When she walked in, Rodney was standing on a chair and yelling at other students. It’s not as bad as it sounds—we were doing a rowdy activity, covering textbooks in an assembly line (trying to beat another class’s time)—but I’m sure it didn’t look good.
Timothy complained about his lab grade today. Said it was his partner, Chawanda’s fault. I told him that it’s part of his job to work with his partner even if she’s being difficult. That will probably be another parent email on Monday.