I have offically started my second unit. My 7th and 8th grade students are all reading a book called "Joey Pigza Looses Contro," a great book about a middle school-aged boy who goes to spend the summer with is less than dad-of-the-year qualities for the first time. Joey's mother left his father Carter, for a number of reasons but mostly because he was just like Joey, wired (had ADHD), and refused to get anything to help himself out. It is a charming, bold, and fun book and so far everyone is at least interested in the story. Joey looses control of him himself at one point, as the title foreshadows, and mayhem ensues. I cannot wait until we get to these last few chapters as a class! Lots of great discussions are ahead of us.
Ms. Poulin has finally gained control of her classes. Control beyond the "I said sit down and raise your hand" and onto "wow! you are all really learning, and showing me how smart you are, let's see how far we can push since we're ahead of my schedule" (which is totally a lie...it is just good for them to feel like they are THAT smart sometimes. I'm still struggling with the enjoyment/ investment factor in my first class and my last class of the day. My 3 middle of the day classes and I have really started bonding and real work and effort is being put in by my students now too! Who knew?! My goal is to charm the hell out of 8C and 7C (first and last classes of the say) so that they want to come to my class when they're asleep or aching to go to football practice because I make it fun and interesting. Small steps, but i am determined to be successful in getting them to at least love learning enough to 1) come to class and 2) do thier work and 3) maybe learn enough to jump up from basic to proficient on the state end of course exam!
Overall, I am finally now truly enjoying some of my classes. I want to enjoy all of them equally, but then again...i teach in Marvell, not utopia. I'll keep teaching them all as they deserve...but i can't promise i won't have secret favorite periods. Oh! I'm also getting a guitar soon. I really really really have fallen hard for the blues and folk style music with modern twists...imma be a star! Or at least a tinker-er :)
Ciao, tutto mio amore
PS - Fellow 'Cuse kids. I'm visitng October 15th!
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