Tag Archives: student

“bear”feet

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Instead of starting my Monday off teaching all the wisdom I have to offer (which I used to think was so, so much), I sat in class….learning? And today, as the roles were reversed, I sat as a student realizing how much I still need to learn. Teaching at a school where 90% of the student population are ELLs (English Langauge Learners…meaning their mother tongue is NOT English) is TOUGH.

Virginia Rojas (love you Gini!) swooped in and left our (the entire staff of APIS) heads spinning. After eight hours of learning, practicing, sharing, and learning some more I rushed downstairs to tweak my lesson plans for this week. I am a big fan of implementing. And truth be told a lot of us sat there thinking, “wow, we are doing NONE of that.”

Conviction.

To show Gini how cool we could be outside of school we (uh, that being APIS picked up the tab…saweeeet!) took her out to an all you can eat seafood buffet. During dinner the conversation turned to what, as teachers, we like to talk about most. CHILDREN.

One of my co-workers shared a most delightful story. His son had taken his shoes off in the car during a recent trip to the grocery store. “You have to put your shoes back on! You can’t go into the store with bare feet.” His mom told him. “But mom! I have kid-feet!” The boy replied.

As the table roared with laughter we realized that today in our workshop Virginia Rojas talked about Tier II words (you’d have to be there), words with multiple meanings. The example she gave involved her visiting a math class and how the teacher was instructing a pair of EALs (so many acronyms, EAL is now replacing ESL, English as a Second Language, to English as an Additional Language) to fill in the table. As the students kept picking up their paper and setting it back down on the table they were sitting at (trying to put the paper ‘in’ the table), they looked at him in a confused state. He just kept repeating, “the table, fill in the table!” The students were focused on the table they were sitting at while the teacher was inquiring them to fill out a math table. The same word, completely different meanings.

Just as my co-worker’s son thought his mom said “bear feet ” not knowing the meaning of “bare feet.”

I was going to put up a picture of my school for your visual viewing when my lovely friend/co-worker/soon-to-be-roommate stated, “Isn’t that dangerous in case you have a stalker?”

I would have a stalker.

No picture for this post.

I am not defined by my status! Really!

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It’s Friday.

I came to work today when it was actually already light outside.

and…

It’s Friday!!!

I am working my way through my first year of teaching, in my own classroom. This. Is. Not. Easy. But, you know what makes it easier? Having amazing co-workers and mentor teachers.

One of my really good friends, and the person who recommended me for the job I have now, is also my mentor teacher. Ms. Kim teaches 5th Grade. Ms. Kim and Ms. Welton (that’s me! yes I am speaking in third person, get over it) decided that it would be a great idea to have our class create reading buddies together. Today, 5A came down to 2B’s room, and we split our kids up into pairs. We decided that our first activity would be a Venn Diagram so that the reading buddies would have the chance to get to know each other before they dove head first into a book.

Being the awesome teachers that we are, Ms. Kim and I modeled what we wanted the students to do. Ms. Kim held up a Venn Diagram and asked the students what we might put in the middle circle (where both circles inter lap to show similarities). We are expecting “You are both teachers, you are both woman…” but as Ms. Kim calls on one of my little girls she says, “You are both not married.”

haha.

Why, thank-you so much for pointing that out.

how do we feel about it? we feel good. really good.

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it was a chaos of red, green, and white. confetti (it ‘snowed’ during the christmas concert) littered the floor, wrapping paper -aimed for the recycle bin but missed by a long shot- stuck to my shoes, pencils under desks, christmas cards crumpled and forgotten, sticky hands saying goodbye (we made marshmallow snowmen at the end of the day), shouts in the hallway, little and big feet stomping out… and then silence.

until the teachers took a breath, stepped out of their classrooms into an empty hall knowing they would not be filled with children (or themselves) again for three weeks, and started to shout and dance. literally. if you thought the students were excited to go home you have not seen the joyous face of a teacher going on break. every time someone walked down the hall from their classroom with their coat on and purse in hand (or backpack in the men’s case) a new chorus of, “WHA-HOOOOO! Have a great Christmas!” was heard from all the teachers still celebrating in each other’s classrooms.

i leave for the airport in one hour and thirty one minutes. the only sadness i am feeling right now is knowing how quickly this time is going to go. but i push that impatiently from my mind and focus on the amazing feeling i will have being surround by friends and family that i have been separated from for a year and a half now, 16 months, 455 days (not that i have been counting) and i think “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!!!”

i had a friend already request a blog post from me on reverse culture shock. i will let you know how it goes^^.

and as i sit here waiting (why did i pack so early?!) to leave for home (BECAUSE I AM GOING HOME!), i want to share this video with you. i made it for one of my students who is leaving my school to go live with his mother in another country. why it had to be him to leave i don’t know, and i am sad. he was the best behaved, has the kindest heart, and leads the class without them knowing it, in that silent way.

when i played this for the class i heard from one student, “oh, i don’t like this song, it makes me feel sad!” gosh I love second graders…

my brain

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Who should I pair up for partner reading? Should I spend two days on this math lesson? Does this seating arrangement work? Who needs to sit close to the board? Who can’t sit by each other? What title should I give this bulletin board? What should I put on this bulletin board? Will they ever fix my computer? patience, patience, patience. Who didn’t turn in their homework? Did I put deodorant on today? Do I have an updated class sheet? Did I remember to send attendance in this morning? Will it rain, please don’t rain, outdoor recess? Indoor recess? Is this the best time for literacy centers? Should I take grammar out of centers and put something else in its place? I need to get tape recorder/ cd player, does any other teacher have an extra one? How many copies of this do I need? What do I need to make copies of? What is next in math? What are the differences between US government and Korean government? When will I get my supplies? patience, patience, patience. Who has after school programs today? Which students are taking the bus? Is 2A doing this in language arts? How can I best describe this personal narrative assignment? How can I transition from personal narratives to picking out a small moment from their story and expanding on it? Do they understand place value? What do I need to laminate? What specials do we have today? I am hungry, when is lunch? What days do I have lunch duty again? What field trips did the second grade go on last year? Where is my pen? Where is my head?  Whose backpack is this on the floor? Who left their violin case? What do I need to get done during my prep time? Do I have a bible verse printed out? What songs do we sing during chapel? What problems should I put on the board for morning work? Who is going to be our class representative? When should I give them their Time for Kids magazine? How can I incorporate technology into the classroom? Can I create a class blog? Did I remind the students that we have library time tomorrow? Who didn’t get their plan book signed?! patience, patience, patience. Can I fit this in before recess? Should I change the class jobs? Who would be a good line leader? How long should I keep that on the board? When can I read this Lucy Calkins book? Should I go to this workshop? Am I teaching this the best way I know how? What time should I get to school tomorrow? What day is it today? How much homework should I give? Did I remember to put the homework on Edline? What are my students Korean names? What do their parents look like? Who hasn’t read to me yet? What color should I paint my nails? When can I paint my nails? patience, patience, patience….

and repeat.