First Week of School

As the school year began this year I couldn't help but to think of, "You've Got Mail." Actually I always think of this movie at the beginning of a new school year. For those of you who might not understand why let me remind that at the beginning of the movie in some of their emails Fox talks about how September makes him think of freshly sharpened pencil bouquets and that is how the first day and week of the school year is for me. It is so exciting and scary all at the same time. And no, I don't think you EVER grow out of that, if you are a teacher so you continue to have a new school year for your life that is.

Well the school year has started off really good. All ready I am feeling so much relief about the break up of my day. I get to have lunch with my friends...BIG RELIEF!!! Also instead of having a straight schedule of hard kids and classes that struggle and are underprivileged with little parent support I also have a couple of the "stuck up, smarty pants" kids a day to. You know the students who freak out if they have an A-. Yeah, it is quite an adjustment because I am not use to the overachievers anymore but it is nice to have kids who are eager to learn and eager to like you instead of fighting you every step of the way. But in the same breathe I wouldn't want to lose the kids all together either because I fight so hard for them I also walk away loving them more than you can ever imagine especially when I win them over; they are the ones that make my job so rewarding. What I am saying and will say again it is EXTREMELY nice to have the spectrum to have the kids I fight with everyday as well as the kids who already like me and will do what I ask.

Finally, the last comment is that I was so excited for my 8th grade honors class. I was so sure this was going to be my favorite class (and it still probably will be). I knew almost all of these kids last year because I taught them all and so I thought about how well behaved the class would be. But NO, they too got what I call the eighth grade demon this summer. Now, if you don't teach eighth graders or if you haven't paid attention to the differences between a 7th, 8th, or 9th grader I will try to describe to you what I mean. But trust me as someone who knows 8th graders undergo a transformation and are just so weird and BAD. They jaws become unhinged and they don't know how to STOP TALKING!!!! Also they decide that it is time to exert their independence or something so they want to tell you how to run things and what to do, so they talk back ALL THE TIME, and then they are always trying to be funny by cracking jokes that border or disrespect. Plus they stop wanting to impress the teacher and therefore stop doing work, but don't worry it only lasts a year and then suddenly they are ninth graders who will just sit and do/say nothing over actually making a fuss. If they are still not good students they are pretty much biding their time till they can drop out and so they just sit and do nothing. Don't get me wrong every grade has their "peaches" as I call them. In fact, the worst student I ever EVER had was a seventh grader. But I am talking in general terms about the class as a whole. So after having a day of only seventh graders when I my eighth graders came in the second day I was already having to yell at them and I couldn't help to think they were going to DRIVE ME CRAZY!!!! Worst of all I have an eighth grade homeroom and so in that class they won't shut up because they feel they don't have to shut up. I am going to KILL on of them sooner or later. Okay Okay y'all should know me well enough to know that I am not ACTUALLY going to kill someone but I am trying to make you understand just HOW ANNOYING the Eighth grader DEMON that possesses my once sweet seventh graders really is.

Old Patterns Die Hard

So I have officially moved. Yes, I am still having mixed emotions about it but the thing that amazed me is that things don't change as much as I thought or hoped!!!!! You see I am in the same old male patterns as always it was horrible.