Thankful for My Students

As I begin my Thanksgiving Holiday with my wife and youngest son, I want to express how grateful I am for my students.

Each day I get up and go to school for them. They challenge me to give my best effort every class.

When I read about the recent bus accident in Chattanooga, my heart broke for those children and their families. I cannot imagine how I would feel if something like that happened to any of my kids.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew last month, and the approach of Thanksgiving, our school's Student Government Association sponsored a canned food drive. We hold this drive every year. Most years we collect enough goods to fill the back of a pickup truck. This year, we collected enough cans to fill an activity bus.

People often tell me they don't know how anyone can be middle school teacher. Most of these kids are so wonderful, if challenging at time, that I cannot imagine doing anything else.

So, on this Thanksgiving Eve, I want to say I am thankful for my students.

Back 2 School Tomorrow, Back 2 Normal…?

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These past two days most of the teachers at my school have been at the school trying to prepare for the return of our students tomorrow. We spent yesterday morning in a staff meeting. Our Principal brought us up to speed on what the District is doing for students whose families were displaced by Hurricane Matthew.

The two major factors we will have to deal with when we reopen for students tomorrow are: (1) over 30 roads in the county remain closed due to storm damage, and (2) many of our students are staying either in the one shelter still open in the county or with family and friends outside their normal school zone.

Both factors will affect bus travel the most. The district transportation office has been working with the DOT to come up with safe bus routes that will allow all students who normally ride a bus to get a ride. Also, to the extent possible, the district has been identifying where, within the county, the displaced students have found shelter. If we know where they are, a bus will be sent to pick them up.

I spent these two workdays catching up on grading papers left over from before the storm, rearranging the desks in my room, and, using data gathered about the students in the weeks I’ve been teaching them, assigned seats based on what I think will make the best partnerships. I expect to hear a lot of fuss from the students because they won’t be sitting where they want. I’m also sure I’ll hear all kinds of requests to please let them move.

Students these days, as I’m sure students throughout history have, forget they are in class to learn, not to socialize with their friends. Some of them will receive an awakening when I hand them their stack of missing assignments. Preparing those packets was another big part of what I worked on over the last two days. A few students should be highly motivated to complete the missing work when they see their grades.

Tomorrow we open on a two-hour delay. This is primarily to be sure it is full daylight when the buses make their morning run. None of us are expecting to get much real teaching done tomorrow. I’ve planned a review activity for today and tomorrow to bring the students back up to speed on what we’ve done since the school year started. With the interruption of the school year by the storm, I think reviewing what we’ve already done is a good way to bring the students back into the education mindset.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

A Two Day Lesson In DIY

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Last night we saw a beautiful Harvest Moon over our area. Sadly, for many, the moon reflected off the still receding flood water than inundated their homes. One riverside town in our area may cease to exists after this flood. 40% of the people who resided in the town never went back after Hurricane Floyd flooded its streets in 1999. Many of the residents say Hurricane Matthew was the final straw.

Meanwhile, those of us who can have been helping those displaced by the flood through donations of time, material, and money to organizations such as Catholic Charities, The Salvation Army, Red Cross, and various other churches. The folks whose homes were lost to the flood need everything from toothbrushes and tooth paste to clothes to new furnishings. My wife and I filled our pickup with such items from our own closets, Sam’s Club, and Target and delivered them to Catholic Charities the other day. I am humbled to say the first drop off point we went to, the County Extension Office, has been so blessed with donations they had nearly no room for more when we stopped by. As loads were prepared and sent off to shelters, more room for new was being made. The need is greater than any one warehouse can hold.

Others in the area, not as hard hit, after doing what we’re able, are trying to get back to as close to normal as we can. My wife and I spent a good part of yesterday and most of today working on fixing things around the house. I have learned two important things in doing so.

Source:Pixabay CC0 Public Domain

The first is, I am no electrician. A friend of mine who is a subcontractor installed a new vent fan and light combination in one of our bathrooms but he is not licensed to do wiring. I looked at the schematic on the instruction sheet and thought it seemed straightforward enough I could do it myself. WRONG. While I have, in the past, successfully changed out a light fixture or two and maybe a light switch here and there, it eventually, after too much time spent hunched over in the attic, that wiring this combined vent/fan was too much for me.

I did get all the wires connected, the ground attached, and thought everything should to smoothly from there. When I turned on the circuit breaker and threw the switch, nothing happened. At that point I knew I needed expert help. I detached the wiring, capped it off, put the tape back over the switch to prevent it from being accidentally activated, and put all my tools away.

Today, we are working on our sunroom floor. My subcontractor friend, who does great work, replaced a section of the floor that had rotted. This morning, my wife and I have been working on taking up the Press-And-Stick tiles we put down over a decade and a half ago during one of our earlier DIY projects. The tiles came up easily enough, with the help of a square edged shovel. That was the easy part. Once the tiles were up, we realized there was going to be a lot more work to do to prepare the floor for the new tiles, or carpet, or whatever we decide on, than we thought.

Such is the life of a homeowner. No project is ever as straightforward or simple as you think it’s going to be. I hope to be able to translate this lesson into my classroom the next time I think something should be straightforward and simple for my students.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Hurricane Matthew Flooding Forces Prolonged School Closings

My creek overflowing my road early on during Matthew

In the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, a storm that wasn’t supposed to impact my state with more than a bit of wind and some rain, we are experiencing record flooding as a result of the record rainfall we actually received. Schools have been closed since we dismissed early last Friday afternoon. It is now Thursday morning of the following week. Three of our schools are being used as Red Cross emergency shelters.

The river that runs through my town hit a new record flood stage yesterday and is not predicted to return to “normal” levels until the middle of next week. To make matters worse, several dams in the area have been breached, adding to the volume of flood water. One of the towns in our area has been completely inundated. Fortunately, it was evacuated in advance of the river’s rise.

My wife and I are very lucky. We live in an area of relatively high ground and once the rains slackened off the pond on our property stopped expanding. At its highest level the flooded pond got within ten feet of the house. The creek the pond feeds into is just down the road from the house and it rose to flow over the road to the point vehicles could not pass. Unlike far too many roads in the eastern part of our state, our road did not collapse from the torrent.

Reports yesterday stated that 60% of our county was still without power. Most of the county is under a boil water advisory, including my area. A significant portion of the county is currently flooded. This scenario is being repeated along all four of the major river basins in the eastern part of the state. The pictures and the video being taken are like something out of a Sci-Fi environmental disaster film.

I have been able to get in touch with some of my students’ parents and have received word that they are well and enduring the lack of power and water. I am deeply concerned about those that have not responded to my messages. Today or tomorrow I will be delivering a load of supplies to the shelter at the high school many of my students matriculate to. I am wondering if I will find many of them there.

There have been many heroes over the last week. The fire fighters, the police officers, the rescue squads, the power company line repair crews, the National Guard soldiers, and the thousands of private citizens who have stepped up to help their neighbors in need all deserve our heartfelt thanks and gratitude. Also deserving of recognition are the many food service businesses in the area that, when the could reopen, have offered free or discounted meals to those working to restore order to the county and those who’ve been displaced from their homes. Many grocery stores have also stepped up, offering free water and ice to those folks whose water is undrinkable or who have no water or power.

I want to give special recognition to Papa John’s. As soon as the roads allowed, Papa John’s sent an 18-wheeler from Kentucky to our town. The truck is capable of serving up to 800 freshly baked individual pizzas a day. These pizzas are being offered free of charge to those who have been without power since the storm hit and have not had a hot meal in days. I always respected Papa John for its business acumen. I have newfound respect for the company as a good corporate citizen.

There is no word yet on when classes will resume here in our district. I pray that when they do, all of my students will come back safe and sound.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Matthew, Matthew, Go Away

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The latest news on Hurricane Matthew indicates we here in our area are not likely to see much more than some stiff breezes and about an inch of rain. While I am relieved by this news my students were disappointed. It was their hope that school might close tomorrow in anticipation of the storm, or on Monday in the aftermath of the storm. As it stands now, we will have school both tomorrow and Monday.

My students don't know what it is like to live through an actual hurricane. The last one to cross over our area as 17 years ago.

Of course, it wouldn’t take much of a drift to the north or west to change the impact Matthew will have on us. I have cautioned my students to keep a weather eye out for any changes in Matthews course.

Considering we were learning how to add and subtract rational numbers this week – rational numbers as in fractions and decimals – including positive and negative rational numbers. Most of my students are giving rational numbers a good effort, but a few just threw up their hands when they heard the word fractions. I am doing everything I can to provide my students with the tools they need to make adding and subtracting rational numbers as simple and painless as possible. Fortunately, the rules for adding and subtracting rational numbers are the same as the rules for adding and subtracting integers, with an extra step or two thrown in for the fractions such as finding common denominators and simplifying.

I have a premonition that tomorrow the students may be very distracted as the rain and wind picks up throughout the day. I wouldn’t be surprised if, every time we get a hard downpour or big gust of wind, the students start thinking – and commenting – that the schools should close and they should all go home. Depending on just how far our way Matthew pushes, an Early Dismissal announcement sometime on Friday, while improbable, is not impossible. The bright side of an Early Dismissal is that the day will count and not have to be made up. The down side is we will effectively lose a day of instruction. Considering how much material I still need to cover by the end of first quarter, missing instructional time is not something I like to see happen.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Lightning Strikes! Yikes! Evacuate! Evacuate!

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On Thursday of this past week our school was struck by lightning. I was on my planning period and my students were in their elective classes when this occurred. Because of the storm, all the PE and our other electives located outside the main building were being held in Core Class classrooms so I was writing my lesson plans in the workroom.

I heard several rumbles of thunder and then, outside the window, everything went white. I knew the lightning strike had been close, but I had no idea how close until a colleague came in and told me the building had been struck, black smoke was coming from the section of the building hit, and we were evacuating all the students to the gym.

The evacuation announcement had to be spread by word-of-mouth throughout the building because the strike had caused all the computers and phones to shut off when the breaker flipped. The breaker did its job, and we didn’t lose any electronics, thank goodness.

I immediately went into the hallway and began helping guide students in a quiet and orderly fashion towards the gym. Going to the gym from our building required a short walk through rain as the hallway of the building we usually use to make the trip during inclement weather happened to be the same building the strike had targeted.

The students deserve a lot of credit for the way they conducted themselves during the evacuation. There was no pushing and shoving, very little noise, and they listened to and followed instructions with no hesitation or question. Practicing fire drills and other such emergency procedures sure paid off.

The fire department responded instantly to the situation. We are blessed to have a firehouse right across the street. After inspecting the building that was struck, and the rest of the campus, just in case, they quickly determined how lucky we really were.

As it turns out, the lightning strike had tripped a switch on one of the rooftop HVAC units, causing it to change from air conditioning to heating, activating the heat strips. The burning smell the students detected was the dust being heated by the strips and then circulated through the vents. The black smoke, which had quickly dissipated, appeared to have been caused by the same dust.

After an hour of diligent efforts by the fire fighters and police, it was determined that the building was safe to reenter. Again, our students moved back to their classrooms with the same efficiency and good order with which they’d evacuated.

Us teachers were afraid the excitement of the evacuation would have our students so keyed up that accomplishing any further teaching would be nearly impossible. Such turned out not to be the case. Remarkably, the students, after a relatively few minutes, calmed down and got right on task. The rest of the day turned out to be very productive.

Our students impressed us very much during and after the lightning event. The way they handled the situation was commendable. Now we know they can comport themselves in a manner appropriate to the situation. While that is good news for us, it may be bad news for them, as it raises the bar for our expectations of their behavior.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

What Does a Median Mean?

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No, not that kind of median.

Yesterday I gave the same test to all four of my math classes. Each class had received the same lessons, done the same classwork, the same homework, received the same pre-test review and study guide. Three of the four classes did as well as I expected them to. The median grade for those three classes ranged from 70% to 77%, which is a C, which is average.

I was astounded and disappointed by the outcome for the fourth class. The median grade for that class was a 51%. I have been analyzing their answers and wracking my brain since trying to determine why the 20 point difference.

All four of my classes are at about the same academic level. Based on their classwork and quiz grades, I expected each to perform about the same on the test. I’ve looked hard at the errors the low scoring class made and cannot understand why so many in that class made so many simple mistakes, many of them in basic arithmetic.

As you may have read in my earlier posts, the students have been learning to add and subtract integers. There is a process they learned for how to do such. Many times the work of the low scoring class showed they knew what to do, but then they would come up with the wrong answer when they added or subtracted positive numbers from each other, or they would subtract two numbers that had a plus sign between them and vice versa.

Today I reviewed with them every single problem on the test, had them make the corrections on their papers, and informed them that in the not too distant future they would be taking a retest on this objective. Unfortunately, this will put them a day behind the other three classes but it can’t be helped. We cannot move forward to the next objective until I feel confident they have gained some skill with the current one.

I know 73% of my students came to me performing below grade level and the work they are doing for me is especially challenging for them. I’ve suggested to the students and their parents many different and free online tutorial and education websites they can utilize to help the student improve their math skills. Even though more than 2/3 of my students are eligible for free lunch, nearly all of them have some access to the internet at or near home. Some have already begun to take advantage and the students love to come in and tell me how much they've accomplished on the sites.

There just isn’t time during the school day to catch them up on what they missed in prior years, not if I’m going to teach them everything they’re supposed to learn this year. I will just have to incorporate those catch-up lessons into what we’re doing now.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

A Week of Adding and Subtracting and Subtracting by Adding

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Integers are wonderful things. To add and subtract Integers all you need are three simple rules. The first two rules, which I discussed in my previous post, Same Sign Sum and Different Sign Difference, are used for both Integer Addition and Integer Subtraction. However, for Integer Subtraction, on additional rule needs to be applied first.

Theoretically, when it comes to Integers, there is no such thing as Subtraction. In order to subtract one Integer from another, one instead adds the opposite of the Integer being subtracted to the Integer being subtracted from. To help students remember to do this, I use the acronym KCC, which means Keep, Change, Change.

Keep, Change, Change reminds the student to Keep the first Integer in the expression the same, change the minus operation sign to a plus sign, and change the second integer to its opposite. For example:

        -5 – (-7) when KCC is applied becomes -5 + 7.

The student then applies the appropriate Integer Addition rule, in this case, DSD because two Integers with different signs are being added. The difference between the Absolute Values of (-5) and 7 is 2. [|7| - |-5| = 7 – 5 = 2] {Note: The bars on either side of the Integer are known as Absolute Value Bars.} Since the Absolute Value of the Positive Integer is greater than the Absolute Value of the Negative Integer the sum, 2, will be Positive.

Let’s look at another example.

        4 – 9

In this example we are attempting to subtract a larger number from a smaller number. In the set of Whole Numbers this would not be possible. Since Integers include all the Whole Numbers and their opposites (the Negative Numbers) this subtraction can be done using Integers.

4 – 9 = 4 + (-9) = (-5) because |-9| - |4| = 9 – 4 = 5 and since the Absolute Value of (-9) is greater than the Absolute Value of 4, the sum, 5, will be Negative, or (-5).

Both of these examples result in using the rule Different Sign Difference to determine the answer. Now we’ll look at an example that uses Same Sign Sum.

-18 – 14. {Note: The 14 being subtracted is Positive.} Use Keep, Change, Change to rewrite this expression as -18 + (-14). Since both Integers are Negative, we take the sum of their Absolute Values |-18| + |-14| = 18 + 14 = 32, and we give the sum the same sign as the original pair of Integers, (-32).

Students have more difficulty with Integer Subtraction than Integer Addition mostly due to them wanting to change both terms in the expression as well as the operation. To counter this, we practice Integer Subtraction more than Integer Addition. Of course, by practicing Integer Subtraction we are getting additional practice in Integer Addition. But don’t tell my students.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Adding Integers – There Are Two Simple Rules

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This past week my math classes learned how to add Integers. Adding Integers is the next logical step after learning about Absolute Value since understanding Absolute Value is essential to understanding how to add Integers.

To review: Integers are the set of whole numbers and their opposites. Absolute Value is the distance a number is from zero on the Number Line.

When we began the lesson on adding Integers, I introduced the students to two acronyms I’ve used for many years. I’ve found these acronyms are simple ways to help students remember the rules for Integer addition.

The first rule is SSS. SSS stands for Same Sign Sum. When you add two Integers with the Same Sign, either both positive or both negative, you take the sum of their Absolute Values and then give the Sum the Sign the two Integers had in common. I often joke with my students that math is easier to do than explain at times. This may be one of those cases. Perhaps an example is called for.

Take the expression 2 + 3. Both the 2 and the 3 are positive. The Absolute Value of 2 is 2 and the Absolute Value of 3 is 3. When you take the sum of 2 and 3 you get 5. Since both addends, the 2 and the 3, are positive, the sum of 5 is also positive.

All this may sound unduly complicated, very New Math or Common Core, but it makes sense to the students. It makes even more sense when you add two negative integers.

Say you want to add (-4) + (-6). The Absolute Value of (-4) is 4 since (-4) is 4 units from zero on the Number Line. Similarly, the Absolute Value of (-6) is 6. When you add the Absolute Values of (-4) and (-6) the sum is 10. Because both of the original addends were negative, the sum will also be negative. Thus, (-4) + (-6) = (-10).

In class we show this using Integer Counters. Positive Integers are represented by yellow chips. Negative Integers are represented by red chips. This helps the students visualize the math. Once they grasp the concept using the chips, we move to the Number Line. By the time they are asked to work out a few exercises on their own, most are ready to do so with mastery and enthusiasm because they really understand the concept.

The second acronym, DSD, stands for Different Sign Difference, and is used for adding Integers with Different Signs. The long version is as follows: When adding two Integers with different signs, you subtract the Absolute Value of the Integer with the lesser Absolute Value from the Absolute Value of the Integer with the greater Absolute Value. The difference between the Absolute Values is the sum of the two Integers, and the sign of the sum is the sign of the Integer with the greatest Absolute Value becomes the sign of the sum.

If you’re having trouble making sense of all that, here is an example.

Find the sum of (-12) + 6. The Absolute Value of (-12) is 12 and the Absolute Value of 6 is 6. Now subtract the Absolute Values. 12-6=6. Once you have calculated the difference, the answer is given the same Absolute Value as the original addend with the greater Absolute Value, in this case (-12). Therefore, the answer is (-6).

Change the expression a bit and the answer changes a bit.

Find the sum of 12 + (-6). The Absolute Value of 12 is 12 and the Absolute Value of (-6) is 6. Now subtract the Absolute Values. 12 – 6 = 6. Once you have calculated the difference, the answer is given the same Absolute Value as the original addend with the greater Absolute Value, in this case, positive 12. Therefore, the answer is 6.

Standing alone, each of these exercises may not seem relevant. However, understanding each will become vitally important when the students start solving equations and have to isolate variables. But that’s for a future post.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Labor Day – A Day to Celebrate Labor

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Does anyone find it odd that here in these United States we celebrate Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day in nearly the exact same fashion?

Memorial Day is celebrated with cook-outs, camping trips, and visits to the beach. Independence Day is celebrated with cook-outs, camping trips, and visits the beach with the added spectacular of fireworks. Labor Day is celebrated with cook-outs, camping trips, and visits to the beach.

Memorial Day is considered the “unofficial” start of Summer though it precedes the summer solstice by 3 weeks or so. Labor Day is considered the “unofficial” end of Summer though it precedes the autumnal equinox by nearly 3 weeks.

Labor Day and Memorial Day also coincide, roughly, with the beginning and ending of the new school year. In our district, Memorial Day comes about 2 weeks before the students get out of school and Labor Day comes the first Monday after they start back to school.

When I was almost a teenager, I remember asking my mother why we had a Labor Day holiday. I wasn’t familiar at the time with labor unions and all they’d done to improve the lives of workers in this country in the early part of the 20^th Century. My mother, with her unusual sense of humor, told me that on Labor Day we celebrated all the hours of labor that mothers went through in giving birth to their children. If my father hadn’t overheard and started laughing, laughter that earned him a harsh glare from my mother, I might have believed her for more than a moment.

My father, never a fan of unions himself, explained to me the theory behind Labor Day, but never mentioned unions. He simply explained that on Labor Day the working men and women of America get a day off in honor of the hard work they do all year.

Celebrating Labor Day by taking a break from our labors does seem a fitting way to spend the weekend. Here in our district, Labor Day Weekend is the last 3-day weekend we’ll have until Veterans’ Day this year. We do not recognize Columbus Day as a holiday here in our school district.

Soon, this holiday weekend will be over and it will be back to school for me and my students. There’s math to be learned, activities to be enjoyed, and exercises to be completed and graded. This shortened week promises to be an interesting one.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Hermine Visits Middle School

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This year the first week of school ended with a washout. None of our students washed out, but all of our students were “washed out” of school early on Friday due to the imminent arrival of Hurricane Hermine.

The good news about a storm inspired Early Dismissal is that the day counts as a School Day and will not have to be made up at a later date. The bad news is we had to weather a storm. Thankfully, the impacts of Hermine on our area were minimal. We experienced a good bit of rain and some wind but no serious damage as far as I am aware.

I was pleased with the way our students handled the news of the Early Dismissal when the announcement came. They were excited about getting out of school early, as one might expect. They were also anxious about what Hermine might do to our area. To allay their concerns, I brought up The Weather Channel on our in-class projector and showed them that we were on the very edge of the impact area.

Awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Hermine is how we ended the school week. During the week we had some planned excitement with our first Fire Drill. Even though we all knew it was coming, the Fire Alarm in our building is so loud and abrupt, we all nearly jumped out of our skins when it sounded. Then there was some confusion as the first teacher on our hall led the students down the wrong sidewalk. Our evacuation route is to the left of the Media Center. The eighth grade uses the sidewalk on the right side of the Media Center. The new teacher on our team led our students down the right side sidewalk.

No real harm was done. I was able to meet the students as they came around the Media Center and bring them back into the fold. I was very proud of my class. They’d gone ahead with one of my other team mates and when I caught up, after finding our lost lambs, they were lined up nicely, quietly, and awaiting me to come and take role.

Despite all the excitement this past week, we were able to get some Math done. Even the Early Dismissal on Friday didn’t stop us. The three classes I did get to see were able to complete 2 of the 3 planned activities. Hopefully, I’ll have all four classes back on the same schedule by the end of next week.

For the next couple of days, though, I intend to relax, do some writing, and enjoy what is left of this Labor Day Weekend.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Year’s First Foray Into Math, And Then Some

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Yesterday during homeroom and first period my students and I spent the whole time going over all those pesky start of the year forms and handbooks each new school year brings. By the time we were done with that there was no time left over to talk math.

In my other 3 classes, since we didn’t have to go over any of that bureaucratic paperwork, we were able to delve into some math. The math we touched on was rather basic, consisting primarily of a review of elementary concepts.

Okay, so the ‘yesterday’ of paragraph one has become two days ago and my classes have not only touched on some basic concept review, we’ve begun the curricular lessons.

Prior to beginning our trip up and down the number line learning about integers tomorrow (Hurricane Hermine permitting) we did several group activities today to renew our familiarization with several mathematical properties.

Our first activity involved the Associative Properties of Addition and Multiplication. For those of you who might not remember, the Associative Properties are the Properties where parentheses are used to group operations that are to be done first when evaluating an expression. For instance, to simplify an expression like (x+3)+5 you would regroup by moving the parentheses to get the expression x+(3+5). Now you can combine the two like terms, 3 and 5 to get 8. The simplified expression would be x+8.

The first activity also included the Commutative Property. Using the Commutative Property, you can change the order of the addends in an addition only expression or the factors in a multiplication only expression. For example, to simplify an expression like (5+y)+7, you would first commute the 5 and the y so the new expression would read (y+5)+7. Then you would apply the Associative Property to get y+(5+7). The simplified expression would be y+12.

In the second activity, students used the Properties of Zero and One to simplify expressions. Both Multiplication and Addition have a Zero Property, though they work quite differently.

In Multiplication, 0 times any number results in a product of 0. In Addition, adding 0 to any number changes the number not at all. This is sometimes called the Additive Identity Property.

Multiplication also has an Identity Property When you multiply any number by 1, the value of the number does not change. This comes in handy when finding equivalent fractions or common denominators.

Tomorrow we will be putting these Properties to work when we begin learning about using the four basic arithmetic operations with Integers. We will if Hurricane Hermine lets us get in a full school day.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Opening Day is Done

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Monday, August 29^th, was the first day of this school year for the students in my district. It turned out to be a pretty good day at my school. The students were well behaved and listened to instruction. We’ll see how long that lasts.

This year I did not follow the usual first day procedures of handing out countless forms and information sheets for the students to take home. Instead, with each class, I had a getting-to-know-you session. I introduced myself and gave the students a little bit of my history, and then invited each of them to do the same.

I think it went over well. The students seemed to relax and enjoy doing something different on the first day of school. I saw lots of smiles.

Today, which will be the second day of school, will be the day for all the forms and papers the students will have to take home. The good news is only my homeroom class will have to deal with that. The bad news is I have to come up with something for the other three classes to do that won’t wind up putting my homeroom class behind. I have a few ideas and will see which ones work out best.

Today’s post will be short as I see by the clock it is time for me to get on to school.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Open House

(c)2016 Douglas W Davis

My school’s annual Open House is set to start in 20 minutes. Open House is scheduled to last 2 hours. Teachers in my grade level were not required to be at work today until noon since we will be here past 7 p.m. tonight.

I got here at 9:30 a.m. The Science teacher on my team was already here when I got here. The Language Arts teacher showed up shortly after I did and the Social Studies teacher followed closely on her heels. As far as I know, all the teachers who are working Open House tonight were here at least 90 minutes before our assigned time.

The time was used wisely. Last minute cleaning, poster hanging, and list writing were among the many activities taking place. Myself, I prepared sign-in sheets for each teacher on my team. I also had time to prepare an information sheet we will hand out on the first day of school.

Now the rooms are ready, the teachers are ready, the handouts are ready, and all we need is for the students and their parents to arrive.

2+ hours later and Open House is winding down. The traffic was steady over the course of the event. 24 of my 28 students had at least 1 parent show up and sign in. 6/7 is a fair ratio for a 7^th Grade Open House.

Having 24 parents attend means I should also have 24 parents whose students should show up with the correct notebooks, pens, pencils, and other items the first day of school. At least I can hope so.

I also had visits from several of my former students, one of whom was in tears because I’d taught her in 6^th Grade and 7^th but hadn’t moved up to 8^th Grade with her.

That young lady was an extreme example. Most of my former students just wanted to stop by and say hello. It is always good to see them.

I find the first 90 minutes of Open House goes by quickly because of the number of people coming by the classroom. The last 30 minutes, as you wait for the clock to move while the few stragglers find their way to your classroom, can be agonizing. But eventually the final minute ticks away and we teachers can turn off our lights, lock our doors, and look forward to another workday full of meetings, and one last weekend yet to enjoy, before the students come and fill our classrooms as another school year gets underway.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Two Official Days Done

Yesterday was an Optional Workday and today was a Designated Workday. I opted to work yesterday and worked today as so designated.

Yesterday was spent working in my room, putting up a few posters, looking over the schedule, posting duty dates and meeting dates into my calendar app, and talking with each of my teaching team mates to see if there was anything I could do as team leader to help them get ready for opening day.

We also had a training session yesterday, spur of the moment, for the team leaders to learn how to use the new online program for finding substitute teachers when we have to be out. Now it is our duty to teach the other members of our team how to use the program. The program itself is easy enough to use, once someone shows you how.

Most of today was spent in our first Staff Meeting of the year. The meeting lasted from 9 a.m. until 12:40 p.m. We did get a break around 10:30 a.m. for a brunch buffet provided by some of our business partners.

Source: Pixabay CC0 Public Domain

Before the Staff Meeting everyone who works at my school gathered in the gym for a group picture. We were all wearing t-shirts with our school name and logo emblazoned on the front. The photographer arranged us on the bleachers, shortest on the lower benches, tallest on the higher. We all thought it great fun to be gathered in one place, all wearing the same shirt.

Lunch was on our own. I was in the mood for some McNuggets and there is a McDonald’s only a couple miles from the school. It was 1 minute before 1 p.m. when I pulled into the drive-thru lane. 6 minutes later I hadn’t moved a single foot. 6 minutes waiting in the drive-thru line at McDonald’s is too long. The truck that pulled in behind me turned around and left. The car behind him turned around and left.

The wait became too long for me, too, I turned around and left. It’s one thing to wait in a line for 6 minutes when making progress. Waiting 6 minutes without any movement in the line at all was unacceptable.

Instead of McNuggets, I wound up at Arby’s enjoying a Beef-N-Cheddar Sandwich and Curly Fries. Arby’s, though they were quicker, didn’t get everything quite right either. I’d ordered Sierra Mist to drink. When I got back to the school I realized they’d given me sweet tea. All-in-all, not a very satisfying lunch experience.

After lunch, I held my first team meeting as team leader. I had a written agenda and everything. We discussed what we needed to do to prepare for Open House tomorrow evening, as well as a few of the things we needed to plan out for the first day of school.

Parents love to receive lists, especially Supply Lists. The four of us came up with a Supply List for the whole team. Now it is up to me to come up with a letter introducing parents and students to the team.

Our Open House is tomorrow. Technically, I don’t have to be at work tomorrow until noon because we are going to be staying from then until Open House is over at 7 p.m. I will be going in a few hours early as I have a lot of work to do before Open House. I won’t be staying up late tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

A Saturday with an Identity Crisis

I’m not sure if today should be considered the first day of the last week of Summer Break or the first Saturday of the Teacher Work Year (Unofficial). I suppose it is a little of both.

Not all teachers went in to work on the three unofficial workdays this past week. From my team, only two of us spent any time at the school. The science teacher on my team was there one day. I was there three days. Neither the social studies teacher nor the language arts teacher put in any time that I know of.

For those of us that worked this past week, today is the first day of the first weekend of the new Teacher Work Year. For the rest of the teachers at my school, it is the first day of the last weekend of Summer Break.

I have friends who teach at schools on a different schedule than ours. Some of them started workdays on 8/1 and students started classes on 8/8. I don’t envy them now, but I will come spring when they finish school before Memorial Day and I’m still working until mid-June.

This Saturday morning did follow the first high school football Friday night in these parts. The high school my middle school feeds into opened its season with a home game. Since many of my former students are either football players, cheerleaders, in the band, or likely to attend, I made a point of being there for this first game.

Nature threatened to bring the game to an early end, but other than some light rain the game was able to go on, at least as long as I stayed. After a day of moving furniture around my classroom and then coming home and mowing the backyard, I decided staying for the first half would fulfill my obligation. Considering the on-again-off-again rain, staying for half the game seemed enough for me.

There will be other home games, with more clement weather, and before long middle school games will start so I will be able to get my fill of football, soccer, and volleyball at both levels.

Source: Pixabay CC0 Public Domain

But today being Saturday meant yardwork for half the day. Then it got too hot to be outside. So I came in and made us a pizza and my missus and I sat down to watch the Olympics. We watched the Bronze Medal match between Nigeria and Honduras and cheered Nigeria on to victory. Then we watched Brazil and Germany in the Gold Medal match. We were pulling for Germany, but couldn’t feel too badly about Brazil winning.

Most of the rest of the day I spent working on my next book. My two main characters are growing closer and closer. It must be about time for something to happen to pull them apart. But that will be for another writing session.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

Unofficial Teacher Workday Three

(c)2016 Douglas W Davis

Author's Classroom at Start of Day 3

UTW-3 was a much more physical day than either One or Two. I tackled the easy part first, cleaning and hanging the two Self-Stick Post-it Note Bulletin Boards I’d found. The carpenter level app I found for my smart phone helped a lot with that. I plan to use those to highlight student work.

The next project was to clean the rolling podium-like cart that came with the room. I’m not sure how to describe it. I should have taken a picture. It has a hinged, angled top that can be flipped to the left or the right. Under it is a flat area where a teacher can lay text books, a tablet or laptop, or papers. Below the flat area, on the right side, is a deep drawer and two open shelves. On the left is a large open area walled on three sides. My favorite part of this cart is its mobility. I can wheel it about the room during my lesson.

At that point I was ready to tackle the heavy stuff. I cleaned and moved a 4-drawer filing cabinet, a large cabinet on wheels I’d like to give away to another teacher, the two large bookcases I described yesterday, and the smaller metal bookcase. With the help of the custodians two-wheeled hand truck I was able to move them myself, which was a good thing as the custodians were seriously overtasked today.

Once all those pieces were in place it was time to begin arranging the desks and chairs. The desks the county purchased for the classrooms in our new building are different from any school desks I’ve ever seen. They are heart-shaped with the angle at the point of the heart equaling 90°. The idea is to arrange the desks into groups of 4. The problem with that arrangement is that ¼ to ½ of the students have their back to the teacher at any given time. The solution for that is to have the teacher constantly circulating around the classroom.

(c)2016 Douglas W Davis

4 Heart-Shaped Desks arranged in group.

There are 32 such desks in my classroom, allowing for 8 groups of 4. Since my state places no upper limit on how large middle school class sizes can be, those 32 desks may not be enough.

To go along with the 32 desks were 34 chairs. The two extra chairs are for the two student computer stations in my classroom. I actually have 3 student computers to share among my average of 32 students per class but the computer desk for the third one is broken and not safe to use.

28 of the 34 chairs are new. The school had to purchase them to replace the dozens that broke last year. These chairs are supposed to stand up to student use. In the small print is the caveat that they are only supposed to stand up to student use for 3 to 4 years. Last year was the third year of using the chairs.

I have to admit I did have some fun with the chairs. They are stackable and were stacked in stacks of 4 to 6 chairs, and the L-shaped legs were wrapped in bubble wrap. Need I say more.

Despite the bubble-wrap distraction I did manage to get all my desks and chairs in place. I must have done a good job because my Principal came by and told me my room was looking good.

(c)2016 Douglas W Davis

Author's Classroom as Principal saw it.

I only set up one computer, the one that goes on my desk. Wonder of wonders, it worked. Considering it is a Windows XP computer that’s been in service with the school since 2004, it is a wonder it works at all. But it is S    L    O    W. The old joke about turn your computer on and leave for a while before coming back to log in, with this computer it is not a joke. Once you’re logged in and try to access the internet - which is critical as all our attendance, grades, and productivity apps are cloud based – you can measure the time it takes the apps to load with an hour-glass.

I imagine I will be utilizing my personal BYOD[i] laptop for most of my work, as I did last year.

After 3 days, my classroom is nearly ready. By the time I leave to go home Monday, it should be in good shape for Open House on Wednesday and the start of school the following Monday. I hope I will be as ready as my room.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator

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[i] Bring Your Own Device – in our district each teacher is allowed to register one personal device – a laptop, tablet, or smartphone – for use on the school wireless network. The media coordinator inputs the password for the teacher so the teacher cannot see it and add other devices.

Unofficial Work Day Number Two

Or, how long does it take to clean an empty desk

(c)2016 Douglas W Davis

When I left for school this morning I thought for sure my classroom would be all set up with desks and chairs in place by the time I left for home. That’s what I get for thinking.

I spent 4 hours at school today cleaning out the teacher desk I am taking over, the computer station table, and the upper cabinets into which I intended to unload some of the boxes I’d brought with me from my old room. Some of the boxes hadn’t been unpacked yet from when I moved from the 6^th grade building to the 7^th grade hall.

There were 4 cardboard boxes – printer paper boxes in their former life, and 6 plastic storage boxes – all but one is slightly larger than the cardboard boxes. Before I could unpack any of the boxes, there was cleaning to be done.

I started with the teacher desk. A good bit of elbow grease was required to get the top of the desk clean. One corner of the desk had a dark blot on it. I don’t know what made the blot, but I do know the previous occupant of the room kept her laser printer there. Perhaps it was toner.

The drawers were next. The desk boasts 6 drawers. 1 wide top drawer, 2 file drawers on the right side, and 3 drawers on the left. The two upper drawers on the left are half the depth of the file drawers while the third is another file drawer. Each of the drawers had to be dusted and then wiped clean.

With the desk clean, I began unpacking the boxes. It wasn’t long before I realized some of the items in the boxes didn’t belong in the desk. Rather, they belonged in a cabinet. Fortunately, the room is blessed with quite a number of cabinets. Unfortunately, the cabinets were also in need of a good cleaning.

Eventually all but one of the boxes was unpacked. The last box will have to wait until the bookcases in the room are moved back into place. These bookcases are 7 feet tall, 4 feet wide, and much too heavy for one person to move alone without scraping up the newly waxed floor.

One of the plusses of going through all the boxes was the amount of stuff I was able to discard. I looked at everything I pulled out of the boxes and if I hadn’t used it in the last year or so, and it wasn’t math related, I put it in one of two stacks. Stuff I could give away went in one stack. The second stack was stuff I threw away. By the time I was done, the thrown away stuff could have filled one of the plastic containers. Some of the stuff still in boxes I had packed up 4 rooms ago and never missed.

I did manage to get one piece of furniture moved; the table the student computers will sit on. Of course, it needed to be cleaned off first. Moving it was very easy. It’s on wheels.

Another item I cleaned up and put up today was a Sticky Note Self-Adhesive bulletin board. I found three of them on top of the cabinets I was cleaning. Two of them measure about 3’ x 2’ each. From the amount of dust accumulated on them I’d say they’d been up on top of that cabinet for over a year. I don’t remember seeing them on the walls in that room last year.

The board I cleaned up today is about 2’ x 1.5’. Using some 2-sided tape I attached it to the wall next to my desk. It will be used to hold the building map, phone list, and daily schedule. I had the building map, so it is already up. I’ll have to wait for the other two.

Before I left for the day, I did go through my e-mail and add duty items and meeting times my Principal had sent out to my calendar.

Just as I was about to leave, a few other members of the staff stopped by to chat. In the interest of good collegial relations, I stayed as long as they wanted to talk. It will pay off tomorrow when I ask them to help me move those bookcases.

So, on unofficial workday 3, I will be cleaning and arranging desks and chairs. Time permitting, I will also set up the student and teacher computers and printers. If not, they can be attended to on the first day official workday next week.

As always, I remain,

The Exhausted Educator