Parent Teacher Conferences

Yesterday was a long day!

It was Derek's birthday, but I didn't see him until 7:00 because of parent-teacher conferences. It was good though. In fact, I love parent-teacher conferences. It gives me a chance to tell/remember all the good things about my kids! I had some really good experiences last night. Sorry if it sounds like I'm bragging.

There is one kid who was a struggle for me for about 2 weeks at the beginning of the school year. Once he figured out that I meant business and wouldn't put up with it, he has become such a different child (I wish all my kids were like that...). I was telling him mom this last night and also telling her how excited I was about all the progress he was making. (On the NWEA test, he practically reached all of the goals he set for himself to accomplish by May and it was January.) I told her that I was almost in tears as I watched him light up from the inside (because he's much too cool to show it) when he realized how much progress he had made in 4 short months. After all of this, his mom was beaming. She told me that she used to hate coming to parent-teacher conferences because all the teachers would say to her were the negative things about her son. She told me that all he needs is someone who will put their foot down with him and because I did that, he's making progress. She told me that all of his other teachers could never get a handle on him and that's why he was a behavior issue and that's why he didn't progress. She sang my praises and all I could do is say, "That's my job!" Because it is, right?

Another mom also told me about the struggles that her daughter has had in the past with teachers. Even though I knew, she told me how emotional her daughter could be and that she had been scared of all of her other teachers. When they would give her a test, she would clam up and do poorly because she was so worried about what her teachers would say to her. Her mom told me how comfortable she seems to be around me and how she can tell that she really enjoys me as a teacher (she even said that every time her daughter sees any sort of frog stuffed animal or something, she always asks if she can buy it for me. I had told my class at the beginning of the year that I loved frogs and apparently she still remembers. Even I forgot I told them that...). She told me that she wished that I could have been her son's fourth grade teacher because fourth grade was when he had fallen behind. It just made me feel so good about what I'm doing for these kids. My goal is to help them and to hear first hand that that is what I'm doing really validates me and makes me forget all the bad days I have had this year!

Another thing that I just think is really cool: I asked 2 parents what they thought about putting their children in the Advanced Learners Lab (ALL) next year and 1 parent what they thought about getting their child tested for special ed. You want to know what all three of them asked me? "Well, what do you think?" It was just so weird. They asked me because they really thought my opinion counted. And, I know it should because I am their teacher, but it just hit me like, woah, these parents who are older than me are asking my professional opinion...because I HAVE ONE. It was just funny to me because sometimes it hits me at strange times that I am a teacher...a professional...and parents are looking to me to help them know how to help their kids. It was bizarre. I told Derek this last night and said, "Derek, I'm a teacher...I do parent-teacher conferences!" And he just looked at me and said, "Courtney, you've been a teacher for 5 months. I know. It's not weird for me to know that." Well, it's still weird for me sometimes.

Just thinking that I will forever be these kids fourth grade teacher. Weird!

Job Hunting

It is becoming that time of year where I need to figure out what I am going to be doing next year. I would like to be teaching, of course, but it's a matter of where that is more of a concern. If at all possible, I would love to be at the same school I'm at now but the likelihood isn't in my favor. Because it is much cheaper to hire interns, with a 2-for-1 deal not many principals can pass up, I know for sure that my school will be hiring two new interns next year. That means that the only way I can get a job there next year is if someone else decides to retire, move, or quit. There is only one teacher that I know of who, only in my opinion, would make one of those decisions. She's a 6th grade teacher who had a baby in May and has had a really hard time teaching this year because she wants to be at home. I could see this being her last year so she could stay at home, but this is entirely from me; there aren't even rumors of that going around. Plus, being a 6th grade teacher might freak me out.

I do know one thing; well at least I think I know one thing: if there were only one position at my current school next year and both the other intern and I apply for it, I'm confident that I could get the job. The vice principal (who's main job is to help us interns) has told me that he's really impressed with my teaching and especially my management. He has told me that he has been struggling all year to get the other intern to work on hers, to care about it like she needs to. She is an excellent teacher but if the kids aren't paying attention, it doesn't really help. But, I may not even have to worry about this, seeing as I'm not sure that there will even be a position to compete over.

There is another option that has come up recently that could pose a potential job for me next year but because this is an open blog, I'll save sharing that until I know for sure. I don't want to lose any chances by speaking too soon.

I'll keep you posted...

Houston

I don't know why, but I feel like I have to write a lot whenever I blog. I think that might be one reason I don't write that often: I don't always have THAT much to say. So here's something brief:

Derek has been in Houston since Sunday. It has been harder than I anticipated. It's weird how when Derek is home, I can fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. But now, since he's not next to me, I lie awake for hours. I mean, I slept by myself for much longer than I have slept next to someone. It shouldn't be that hard to get used to.

He comes home tomorrow, which isn't soon enough. My question: how do people whose spouses are in the military or something, how do they do it? Because, quite frankly, I'm really sad, and it's only for 5 days!!!

Teaching: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The good: I don't know if I've ever talked about it before, but my school is piloting a new testing program that in my opinion is much better than end of year tests. It tests students at the beginning, middle and end of the school year so that you can truly see the progress they have made. What's more is that the test is individualized for each student. It starts them off on a typical 4th grade question and depending on if they get it right or wrong, they give them an easier or harder question. It is much like the GMAT because it hones in on exactly what the student knows and doesn't know to give an individual score. It's also wonderful for teachers because we can go in and see exactly what the students missed, what they struggle with and what they are good at so we can change our instruction accordingly. So that's the background.

Thursday, my students took the math test from this new testing program. Before we went into the testing computer lab, I sat down with each of my students individually and we set goals of where they wanted to be now and in May when we take the test for the last time this year. It was a really neat experience because the kids were really honest about how well they think they are doing in each of the subjects and they also got really excited to take the test because they wanted to know how well they did and how much they had grown. Thursday came, and I was a little nervous that some of them might not make their goal. We had a talk about how if we didn't make our goals, we'll know that we may have just made too hard of a goal and we will adjust them before May. We also talked about how small growth is still growth so if they didn't reach their goal, but they grew from September, then it was something to celebrate.

I was so happy (as were my kids) when some of their scores came up on their screens. There were several of them that had not only reached their goal for January, but had met or even exceeded their goal for May. It was incredible. They got so excited to see those scores on the screen, they could hardly contain themselves. And I was so happy for them that I was almost in tears. One of my lowest students surpassed his January goal and is only 2 points away from his May goal. I could see the light in his eyes as he realized that he had made so much progress in four months. Even one of my highest students surpassed both her January and May goals. It made me so happy for them, but it also gave me a boost in the self-esteem area as well because I realized that these kids are learning from me. Even when I feel like the world's worst teacher, they are still learning something! It was a very rewarding day, to say the least. This is why I became a teacher and this is definitely the best part about it!

The Bad: One not-so-good experience with the whole testing thing is I did have one student who scored lower than his September score. I still haven't figured that out because he is really low, and usually the lowest students make the most progress because they have more room to grow. This kid in particular is doing so much better in math than he was before. Just yesterday, he was zipping through his problems without a single mistake, while I was working with five or six other students because they were still lost (some of the students are typically really good in math too!). It was very disappointing to him. I didn't technically tell him that he scored lower, but he knew that he didn't reach his goal (and by a long shot) so he was really upset.

The Ugly: I had to deal with my first fight at school yesterday. And both of the boys were in my class so it was kind of a tough situation. I was coming to pick them up from recess and when I turned the corner, I saw one boy (let's call him Dustin) on top of the other (he'll be called Alex) with his fist raised like he was going to punch him. When Dustin saw me, he lowered his hand but still gave Alex a good push before getting off of him. At first I thought that they were just playing (I still would have talked to them because they shouldn't have been doing that either) but when I realized that it was for real, I had to call them both out of the line to talk to me. Alex was hyperventilating and crying really hard and so I asked if he wanted to cool down while I talked to Dustin. He did, so I was able to get the perspective of the instigator. He told me that Alex had taken a ball out of his hand and someone had pushed Alex into him but he didn't know that it was someone else and had thought it was Alex trying to pick a fight. So, he pushed him to the ground and was about to punch him when I showed up (just in the nick of time, I guess). I talked to him for awhile and it seemed like he felt really guilty because his anger had gotten the best of him (I should just say that this situation was tons worse because neither one of these kids is a "fighter" type. They are both extremely good kids so it was surprising).

I went back to talk to Alex. Meanwhile, my other students are still waiting in line and they were getting a bit out of control but I seriously didn't know what to do with them...He told me his side of the story which was pretty much the same: that he had taken the ball away from Dustin and then Dustin threw him to the ground and pushed him around. Finally, after a few more minutes, I could take the rest of the students back to the room. At this point, I wasn't sure how I was supposed to handle the consequences for the boys. I mean, I had never dealt with this type of a conflict. I didn't know if I was supposed to send them to the principals office, call their parents, give them pink slips or what. So, I had to call my vice principal (his first job is to help me and the other intern during this year) to my room. He came, I told him the situation and he told me that I should just give them pink slips since this was both of their first offenses. So, that's what I did.

It may not sound as bad as it was, but it was super tense. The other students all knew what was going on and they were all wanting to know what was going on. Dustin felt completely terrible and guilty. Alex was scared and emotional. And all the while, I was supposed to keep my cool and handle the situation. I must say that I was pretty proud of how I handled it. I was very calm and collected. I talked to both boys without anger and with respect. Both of them understood the consequences for their actions and accepted it whole-heartedly and I think both of them felt like it was handled the way it should have been. To end the day, I asked the kids if they thought it was a good time to read some compliments (we have a box where kids can write their compliments) and they all thought that was the best idea so the tension was released and we were able to get on with everything.

Well, that's my novel. Till next time, I guess!

Curse Inside Recess Days

I hate inside recess days more than just about anything. In fact, I dare you to come up with something that I hate more than inside recess days. They are terrible! Not only do I not get the time away from the kids which is really needed, but I don't get time for lunch. Also, the kids get way too crazy and cooped up and it is literally impossible to teach anything. The kids can't stay focused on anything and it just makes for a really long day.

We had 3 inside recess days this week, and I can't say enough how glad I am it's Friday! This week was way too long and I'm sure the weekend won't be long enough.

Prayers

I have this friend named Megan who is about ten years older than me. I met her when I was in Young Women and she was my only "young and cool" leader. After I turned 18, I was asked to go to Girls' Camp as a leader and that's where I really got to know Megan and consider her a friend. She is one of the most spiritually in-tune people I have ever met but not in an annoying way if you know what I mean. She isn't condescending but genuine and sincere.

She has been trying to start a family with her husband for some time now. They have been married, I want to say close to 8 years and for the past 6 or so they have been trying to conceive. Megan had several miscarriages but last year, in 2008, she got some really great news. She was chosen by a mother to adopt a baby boy! Everyone was so excited for her. The news got even better when a couple of weeks later she found out she was pregnant...with twins! She decided that three babies at around the same age would be difficult, so she informed the mother that she would not be adopting her child.

Megan's pregnancy was considered high-risk, not only because she had had so many miscarriages but also because she was having a multiple birth. After several weeks of an emotional roller coaster, the worst thing happened. She gave birth to her twins when they were only 20 weeks along. One was a still-birth and the other, she was able to hold for an hour before she died.

My heart grieved for my friend. If anyone should ever be a mother, it was her. She was such an example to me and even though I knew she was engulfed in sorrow, she was still able to see some good. Yes, at times, she may have just said those things without believing them, but even to pretend to see the good when you are experiencing so much pain is commendable. I kept in touch with her and often prayed for her and her husband in their trying time.

A couple of days ago, she posted on her blog some very exciting news. She again was chosen to adopt a baby boy. She has known since August, but didn't want to share with the world until she felt it was right. The baby is due in 5 weeks and we couldn't be happier for her. Finally, she is going to be the mother that she has always wanted to be. But that's not all. As it sometimes goes with fate, she found out only ten days after receiving the news that she would adopt that she was again pregnant. Again, she didn't tell anyone for fear of the worst. She is definitely going to still adopt this baby boy in January, for which I am incredibly glad.

It still makes me nervous, however. This experience is almost identical to the situation she found herself in last summer. I want to shout for joy for her, but I am hesitant to do so for fear that she would lose one or both of them again. Her situation is the only one where I feel less than optimistic. I don't know why. It's not even my life, but I am just so scared for her. I want this to be the end of sadness for her. It kills me every time I think about all that she has experienced and I just want it to be over for her.

So, even though you may not know her, keep her in your prayers. She's very deserving of them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. I am in Utah and will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my grandparents and my siblings. I am thankful for family and I am especially thankful for how close we all live so we can spend time with each other often!