5 more Days!!!!

I don't know about you all but the last assignment we have for our class is putting me over the edge. I have more gray hair that ever. Thank god for dye! I think it is because we are using Google Docs. I have more problems typing in that program than anything. I would start typing and look up and see that I am in a totally different line than where I thought I was. Also, I never checked my gmail all weekend because I was busy reading all the assigned readings and also watching the videos. I decided Sunday night at 6:30 to check my gmail and I saw all the work that my team had begun. Boy did I feel like a looser. I don't want anyone thinking I wasn't doing my part, I was just a little late, checking the gmail. But I got back on track, after having a heart attack. But life is good we are almost there.

I hope you all have a good week!

Light at the end of the tunnel

For those of you who are finished with your masters after this class, "WAY TO GO", and for those of you who are almost finished hang in there, it's almost over, but way to go also!!!!  I never thought  I would see this day. This is my last class, and boy am I excited. When I first started I thought, this is never going to end. I was often frustrated, overwhelmed and thought what the heck am I doing. I am sure glad I stuck it out though. I met a lot of  people in my cohort, and even people I met from my on line classes, who I am honored to now call my friends. I'm looking forward to finally having my weekends free to do whatever I want, not feeling like I have something that needs to be done and finally to be away from my computer!
I wish you all the best in whatever you do and be PROUD of yourselves!!!!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!1

Bullying

Does anyone elses school have a bullying prevention program in place at your school and if so, how do the kids like it and how is it ran? And do you think it is working?
Here at the Middle School in Anaconda we were the first school in our district to start a bullying prevention program. We use the Olweus program. We meet every Wednesday for 45 minutes with our advisor class. We do activities with the students, talk about ways to prevent it, what can be done etc. The only problem is, the students do not like it at all. Some kids think it has made bullying worse!
I think it is a great idea and all but doing it 45 minutes a week is a little much. The 6th graders here at our school enjoy it, but the 7th and 8th graders don't. What are your thoughts on this topic?

Feeling Overwhelmed

Is anyone else out there feeling overwhelmed with the up an coming holidays? This is supposed to be the happiest time of the year for most. But I am probably one of the select few that don't enjoy this time of year. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, I enjoy the time off from school but for some reason, I feel as though at any moment I could break down and cry. Maybe it is the cold weather we are experience right now, it is about 1 above right now, and by Wednesday, it is supposed to get to 21 below zero, or maybe it is the snow and icy roads. If anyone out there is feeling as blue as I, let me know what you do to cheer up! Thanks for listening. I don't mean to sound so depressing, because I really am not a depressed person, just this time of year!! Have a good week.

Plagiarisms

With the use of computers, I am finding students are having a harder time putting information that they need to research into their own words. I explained to my students what it means to plagiarize, what the consequences are etc., but they just don't care. Last week the social studies teacher gave the students an assignment to do a Diaspora on any country they wanted. They needed to look up the information and then put it into their own words. I have some of her students in my study skills class so I went over it with them again, how to put it in their own words. Gave them some examples and pretty much done it with them. I felt that they worked hard on it, but then when they turned it in, I found that they just copied and pasted right off the wikipedia website. I was so disappointed in them, after I worked on it with them, and felt they had it all done correctly. I think that most of them or just lazy and want the teachers to do all the work for them. I don't know how else to make it clear to students that it is just wrong. They got zeros on their assignments and they had to do them over, but they still didn't get it. Does anyone have any ideas on this subject?

Parent Teacher Conferences!!!! UGH

Parent-Teacher conference is tomorrow. Does anyone dread this time of year? I sure do. Not for fear of parents coming and yelling at me but for the time it wastes for me. You see I don't get many parents, last year I got a total of 5 and I taught 22 kids. I had to sit there for 8 hours waiting and waiting.  I did get a lot of IEP's done however. How often do others have parent-teacher conferences? We only have them twice a year, 1st and 3rd quarters. And this year we don't have to be at school until noon!! So I guess I shouldn't complain. How come it is that the parents you want to see, never show up?

Disrespect from Students and Parents

The reason I named my blog amy-up in the attic is because my class room is up on the 3rd floor and I feel like I am out of the loop, covered in cobwebs. No one comes up to visit us teachers, besides students and once in awhile our principal, but that isn't a bad thing. I guess the stairways our to strenuous. It is for me at times.

I have been teaching for the past 8 years, seems like 50 years at times, but I am just now starting to get frustrated with the disrespect from students and parents. I teach in a middle school, grades 6th, 7th and 8th, and it seems that no matter what you ask of your students there is always a snide remark, rolled eyes etc. So when this happens and I have had enough, I send my little buggers down to the disruptive student room for some of the class period. It just so happens the next day I get a phone call from a parent asking why I am picking on their child. When I explain the situation to the parents they just don't get it. Parents don't want to discipline their kids, and therefore, it seems, that the students are running the school. Any suggestions or advice?