An Update from Mr. G

Greetings teacher bloggostwittersphere. I realize I've been MIA for months, but I'd like to come outright and say: I'm not dead, I'm alive, and I'm still a teacher.

This upcoming fall, I will be entering my 4th year at my Oakland public high school. I am 2 weeks into summer, a summer I intentionally left free of responsibilities. During the latter months of the school year, opportunities surfaced left and right to work or to teach. I feel this is commonplace for any math teacher at a struggling district like Oakland, but I denied each and every opportunity. I needed time to relax.

Let me recap the previous seasons of my teacher life:

Spring 07: Last semester of college

Summer 07: OTF Summer Institute

Fall 07 to Spring 08: First Year of Teaching

Summer 08: Algebra Academy Summer School

Fall 08 to Spring 09: Second Year of Teaching

Summer 09: Volunteering Abroad

Fall 09 to Spring 10: Third Year of Teaching

Since entering the teaching game, I've yet to allow myself proper time to digress. And I've felt the effects. You see it here yourself. No blog posts for months. In the classroom, I fell into the third year trap. Re-using stuff from last year over and over, b/c my teacher self slowly gave way more and more to my mid-20's self that starved to leave 'adult life.'

I disliked my newfound attitude. I hated it, in fact. I looked at the older folks of my department who seem so jaded to the job and, more importantly, to the children and wondered if maybe decades or so ago they came into the job looking so fresh and enthusiastic like me. I wondered if maybe one day I'd suffer the same fate and look just like them.

So I knew I needed this time. To regather myself and regain my teaching legs.

And, I'm happy to report, I'm getting them back. I'm dusting off the "education" folder of my google reader and am finding gems like this post (on homework) by @samjshah. I also see my own thoughts and passions on the teacher bloggotwittersphere put into words by the same author. And have those same thoughts and passions re-validated by a follow-up homework post by @i_speak_math.

Now, all I want is to throw myself back in. 4th year this fall, I no longer have the "well, I'm new to this" excuse I've had these past 3. It's time for the next step in my teach[r]evolution. Readers of this blog, thanks for sticking with us. I hope we can find ways to contribute to this community the same you've contributed to ours.

A teacher's prayer

Dear Lord,

Please guide me to be an instrument of your love and peace. Help me to understand the fact that my students are just children, and they still have a lot to learn. Help me to teach them which is the better choice to make when they're faced with right or wrong decisions.

I don't want to be the one to cause them to fear or hate themselves or others. I want to be the one who inspires them to love one another as you love us, and to forgive as you forgive us.

This work is difficult, and I think the reason you chose me to do this work is because you know that it's something that I would eventually be able to handle. I hope that I'm learning how to be a better teacher. Please grant me the strength to practice patience and kindness when it comes to my students and helping them to be not only better learners but also better people.

You are my stronghold. Through your Word I find joy in hope, patience in suffering, and perseverance in faith. Rather than seeking to understand, help me to seek how to be best understood. May all my life, my words and my actions be a testament of your perfection and your unconditional love.

Also, please watch over my students. When I can't be there for them, or when they're being tempted by evil, please send your Holy Spirit to guide and protect them.

Amen.

P.S. I just confiscated a notebook from one of my students who was "taking notes" while he was supposed to be reading. After his 3rd warning for not reading, I took his notebook away. On the cover it says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5. Oh, the irony.

Too many hormones in 7th grade

Just when I felt like I had finally waded through the muck of teaching 7th grade (i.e., the attitudes, the nonchalance, the laziness, lack of discipline, lack of accountability, lack of honesty), here I am, stuck in the mud again.

I keep hearing over and over again, "7th grade is the worst grade to teach." Is it really true? Is it just this particular group of students? Is it me?

I know this is a pivotal time in their lives (though, what time in our lives isn't pivotal). It's a time when they're just coming into their own and learning to find out where they fit. This is the time when they begin to decide for themselves what they value as "right" and "wrong." So where is my place in this? I'm supposed to be teaching English Language Arts, but I find myself teaching them more about respect, how to make good choices, how to have courage and be accountable.

It's taking a lot of patience, patience that I've had to build up because I didn't have much of it to begin with. It's also taking a lot of energy that I should be using to teach content and ELA skills. Teaching 7th grade is so emotional. I wish I didn't take things so personally, but it's my personality to take things personally. I wonder if I'd feel differently about my role as a teacher if I were teaching another grade or if I were more...detached.

Three Little Words

Next time you feel the urge to say I heart you, why not put it more simply - "solve for i"

What Comes With Community

In October, I wrote a post highlighting structural changes for our freshmen class. In sum, we want to bring the pros of a small school to our large school setup. I teach at the largest high school in Oakland; students falling between the cracks has become an all too familiar story.

With the new setup, I know all of my student's teachers and speak with them on a daily basis. We monitor our students' progress and strategize how to catch those falling behind. I know more about my students and have met more of their parents than I've ever before. We are personalizing education and bending to our students needs.

And we've created a community of freshmen.

But, as with every community, there are pros and cons. Specifically, 2 things:

1. They've caught on to all my antics.

All my teacher habits. "I understand." The sarcasm. The management strategies. Students can talk about us the same way we talk about them. Once one student catches a trend, it seems every student's figured it out. Now it seems they use "I understand" on me more than I on them. "E, I need you to come inside right now." "I understand, Mr. G." Ha, ha... funny.

2. They're all friends (or enemies...) with each other.

I guess becoming friends is ok. But now that we're approaching the final 6 weeks, every sort of classroom culture developed in other classrooms has seeped into mine. Positives and negatives. The discoveries in lack of admin support they've made in their english class is the same sort of stuff they can push in mine. And vice versa. It's become harder to quiet em' down and keep em' focused. And their freshmen.

Ok, maaybe on a path to becoming a bitter old teacher. Try 30 weeks straight of 5 periods worth of teaching freshmen, and you tell me if your patience wears a lil' thin. These mini-communities we've got here is a great thing. I consider the option of jumping ship to another school in a new place but am hesitant it won't provide the same type of setup we've got here. It ain't perfect, but it's in the right direction - in a place and a city that needs direction.

--

6 weeks til freedom. 6 weeks.

Test Time

Context: Classroom full of freshmen hunched over at their desks. On the surface they are calm, but their minds are hard at work. California standards test for mathematics, here we are.

Student 1: "Achooo!" (Loud sneeze)

Other Students: ::look up, distracted briefly::

Student 2: "Uh uh. Nope. Hell nah."

Me: "Uh, you're supposed to say 'bless you'"

Student 2: "Nope."

Me: "Bless you student 1."

Other Students: ::smile::

Sharpen Your Saw

I meet a man in the forest. His eyes weary, his shirt sweaty, his entire energy communicated exhaustion. I ask him, "What're you doing sir?" He answers, "I'm sawing these trees."

I observe a dull saw and a tired tired human spirit so I ask him, "Well, why don't you take a break to sharpen that saw?"

"There's no time," he says, "there's no time. I gotta saw them into logs."

--

I've been caught in a routine that's kept my head above water. I'm hanging on til the end, but I've lost the strength that was my momentum months ago. Nothings changed, but my saws become dull. It's time to take a step back.

--

Don't count down the days; make the days count.