Cheers and Challenges

Well, I have completed my lesson for the KPTP, and the kids did pretty well on the final test. My lesson focused on Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I primarily focused on the life experiences that the students could take away from the story, and asked them to think about the lessons in the book in relation to their own lives and experiences. I also had them locate figurative language and literary devices within the text. These ideas were combined with the typical plot exam. Overall, the kids did very well. The average score on the test was 86.5%.  There were a couple students who failed the test, but there were four who scored perfect scores. I was not surprised that the two students failed. They have continually not paid attention despite all of my efforts. They also tended to do very poorly on the assignments that were given throughout the unit. Often, they both did not even turn them in. I spoke to them both about the situation from week one. Last week one of them tried to say that I only gave him bad grades because I didn’t like him. I went over the assignment he was complaining about, and I explained why he received the score he did. It didn’t help much. He turned around and attempted to have my CT change his score. It was nice that she said nearly the exact same thing that I had just said. The other student is just outright apathetic. We made calls home to both of their parents today. Hopefully, I will see some improvement.

The overall scores on the test made me feel that I had at least done my part. My CT and a special education teacher who is assists in my CWC think that I am doing a great job. Hearing their praise makes me feel better when I feel like I have repeatedly bashed my head against a concrete wall. They say I have done all that I can. Some kids just don’t care. While having other teachers tell me I am doing well and that they think I will be a great teacher feels great, there is nothing better than having students tell me that they love coming to class. I also have had students that were in my observation classes come to the room and ask me for help before school. Last week one of the girls who I had last year as a junior stopped by to tell some of my students to be nice to me and pay attention because I am a good teacher. It felt pretty awesome.

I did have a very interesting incident in class a couple weeks ago. One of my students took a puff off of an e-cigarette in class. I asked him what he thought he was doing. He said that there was no nicotine in it. I took it away from him, but I was unsure whether to report it or not. The school handbook only covers tobacco, and it makes no mention of e-cigarettes. I decided in the end to have a meeting with him after school. I have a really good report with the student, and my CT thinks that he was just trying to test the boundaries. I told him that it was completely unacceptable. He still said it was nicotine free. I asked him if thought the administration would care, or if he thought they would just suspend him. He agreed with me that they probably would have just suspended him.  I told him how upset I was with him even putting me in the situation. He asked if I would return the e-cigarette to him. I kept it and gave it to his sister at parent teacher conferences. She is his legal guardian. He just transferred to the school this year. His mother lives in Texas, and she had him move because of the crowd he was running with and his poor grades. He is doing great in my class and seems to have made friends with a better element at the new school. I spoke with my CT about the entire situation. She seemed to think that I handled it appropriately, which made me feel better because I was not sure whether I should have contacted the administration about it.

All in all, I feel like things are going well. There are challenging days, and the last class of the day can be a handful as Mr. Slattery could attest to, but I feel at home in the classroom.  There is never a dull moment, and the days fly by.