As Borat would say, "Great SUCCESSSSSSS!"

Yesterday was one of those days where I realized yet again why I have chosen to be an educator.  It was a day where my students were asking thoughtful and insightful questions, and a day where I watched the mouths of my students drop open and stay there as they were enthralled with the lesson unfolding before them.  What was this magical lesson?  Well, it was not something I created, only something I facilitated, because yesterday my students had the opportunity to touch a human brain.  


That's right, a real, human brain.  In person.  With their own hands.  


Instead of planning and leading the science lesson yesterday, I joined the ranks of my students as I learned quite a bit about the brain and what an amazing organ it is from one of my good friends, Clare.  As a graduate student at GA Tech, Clare works with brains daily and often visits schools to present a lesson to students about her work and the importance of studying the brain.  For a few years now, I have been wanting to have her visit my classroom, and now that I'm teaching life science this year, everything finally fell into place.  Her presentation was visually stimulating, engaging, thought-provoking, and informative, and my students responded by participating and listening with their full attention for an entire class period.  


Clare started her presentation by identifying the major parts of a brain cell and explaining to the class where the brain lies within the body and in relation to the rest of the nervous system.  She referenced genetics, cell organelles, evolution, AND the importance of lab reports (score!) in her presentation.  In addition, she used YouTube videos and sound clips to interact with her audience and allow the students to form their own thoughts and inferences which were then shared with the class.   Overall, it was an outstanding lesson.  


The coolest part though, was that Clare brought brains with her.  First, she passed around brains which were sealed in preservative-filled vials; one mouse brain, two rat brains, one pigeon brain, a Rhesus monkey brain, and a sheep brain.  

 Pigeon Brain (I think...)

Rhesus Monkey Brain

She then introduced ideas of how humans talk, listen, and communicate with the brain electrically.  Clare exposed the students to the notions of Parkinson's disease, cochlear implants, and EEG wheelchairs for people with paralyzation or other disabilities.  Not only are these topics which my students have not heard of frequently, if at all, but she discussed how neuroscience engineers are working to advance technologies associated with these topics and help improve the quality of life of many people with nervous system disorders or malfunctions.  


Finally, we pulled out the human brains and Clare and I walked around the room and allowed the students to touch the brains while we pointed out the various parts and functions.  The students were so respectful and interested and it was a wonderful day in science class.

Today, many of my students shared with me their favorite moments from yesterday.  I also overheard them saying they had talked about it around the dinner table last night and posted it on Facebook yesterday afternoon.  Clare's lesson was the best way I can think of to start our study of the human body, and the enthusiasm students infectiously experienced yesterday carried over to our class today where we began a project about the human body systems.  "Hooray!" for Spring Break starting today, but also "Hooray!" for a positive start to this unit.  I am looking forward to our return to school and I hope my students feel the same way (as much as is possible for a 13 year old, at least).  Thanks, Clare!!!


HOMEWORK: Have you ever heard the term "neuroplasticity?"  Clare's research revolves around the fact that children's brains are more "plastic" than adults.  My friend Paul also sent me a book on the topic a few years ago that was intriguing.  Check it out! :)

Trust Falls Take Over

My homeroom students have been getting slightly out of control lately.  They are still following the major classroom rules, but when they the come to science class, they continue our more friendly HR bond and are more outgoing than their classmates.  Example # I-lost-count-last-week:  A student walks into my 6th period class and screams "TRUST FALLLLLL" as he falls into me.  Of course, I had no idea what was going on and greeted him with a blank stare instead of the open arms he was hoping for.  Oops!  Luckily, he only stumbled before he caught his balance.  At the end of the class, he approached me and I thought he was getting ready to ask me a science-related question (he's been full of them lately, which is wonderful!)...nope, I was wrong.  He once again shouted "TRUST FALLLLL", but this time I was there to make sure he did not fall.  He laughed and walked out the door, grinning from ear to ear.  I think it's safe to say we, students and teachers alike, are all ready for Spring Break. :)


HOMEWORK: Check out the Tosh.O episode clip where I'm sure my student got the idea...hilarious to me, disturbing that he watches Tosh every night...I think.  Also, if you go to YouTube, there are now plenty of amateur trust fall videos being posted with Tosh.O in the title.  Yikes...be on the lookout for trust falls! 

What is the role of a parent in the education of their child?

I feel as though this year I have grown the most as an educator, and as a person.  This past summer, I was informed via email that I would be teaching 7th grade life science this school year, and I was excited at the prospect of teaching something new as well as the opportunity to teach some of my former students for a second consecutive year.  While I have experienced those sentiments periodically during the past seven months, I have also had days where those feelings of motivation and excitement seem to exist in a galaxy far, far away from Atlanta, Georgia.

Lately, as I find myself sitting in meetings with parents whom I have met with seven times or more over the past year and a half, I have found it challenging to stay inspired.  When hearing the same responses from parents and feigned shock at the proclamations of teachers regarding their child’s lack of motivation or concern for their own education, it is difficult not to just give up and shout out what I’m really thinking: do your job and be a parent!!!  

It has become increasingly apparent this school year that parents make all the difference in a child’s education, and I am lucky enough to teach many students who go home to wonderful homes each night and are greeted by parents and families who view education as the top priority in their child’s life.  They are the students who come to class prepared, or assume responsibility when they don’t.  They are the students who know basic social cues, such as waiting their turn to talk, not interrupting others, using words such as “please” and “thank you”, holding the door for the person behind them, covering their mouth when they sneeze, and not whining when they don’t get their way.  I love these students, I appreciate what their parents are doing at home to set an example for their child, and I don’t think these parents or students get nearly the attention they deserve.

The reason such students and parents don’t always get the attention they deserve is because there are students who practically scream for help with their actions each and every day: the student shoving his friends and his enemies in the hallways, the student who lies to teachers while looking directly in their eyes, the student who does not turn in assignments and will not self-advocate, or the student who is satisfied when turning in less than satisfactory work.  Teachers spend hours each week obsessing over these students, but with so many students and only a limited amount of time to devote to them each day, the work of motivating an unmotivated child or teaching a child to take pride in his or her school work and overall character sometimes seems daunting and impossible.

I’ll admit it: it is easy on days filled with fruitless parent meetings to want to give up on a child and focus on the students who seem to already have a bright future ahead of them.  I’ve had many days this school year where I’ve been tempted to wipe my hands clean of the problems children bring to my classroom of which I had no part in creating.  However, when attending grad school classes and writing these blogs, I am constantly forced to re-focus myself on the true purpose of my role as an educator.  Am I a teacher simply in order to pass on the concept of biology to my students?  Will my students even remember the lessons I’ve devoted many hours to creating and turning into a reality?  The answer, while I hate to admit it, is probably not.  When I think back to middle school, I remember very few actual lessons.  What I remember most is the personality of my teachers and the feeling I had while I was in their classrooms.  

The ultimate question is what can be done for students who don’t go home to a supportive family at night?  What does a teacher do for the twenty percent (or more, if you teach at a different school than the one I am lucky enough to teach at) of her students who do not have any consequences at home for the work they choose not to complete at school?  With Early Bird programs before school, morning and afternoon help sessions, and parent meetings during planning time, it’s hard to get the job done.  


So, that’s it.  This post is merely one very long complaint with no solution.  This week = cynical me.  The only solution, I suppose, is to teach children as much as possible while they are in our classrooms and work hard to repair the damage which has sometimes been inflicted outside of the school’s walls.  If I could send a message to parents everywhere though, here is what I would say:

Wishlist for parents:

-Value education and show that you value education through your words and actions.

-Respect educators and the time they devote to your child.  We go home at night and often dream about teaching.  Our friends and family know all about our most challenging students as we are constantly trying to troubleshoot and find solutions for the problems our students bring into the classroom.

-Be consistent.  It is unfair to wrap your child up in the inconsistencies you may be content with in your own life.  Children often thrive in a structured atmosphere, and chaos at home will not produce consistency in the work habits of children at school.

-Start young.  Most of the problems teachers deal with in the classroom are issues which have been present since our students were the age of one or two.  Not sitting in their seat at the dinner table will probably result in them doing whatever they want and disrupting the education of other children when they reach school-age.

-Choose a small set of values you want to instill in your child, and be sure they are long-term goals which you are constantly working toward.  Children are not perfect and we are not perfect, but it helps to focus on a few select qualities you want to develop in your child.

-Remember to model.  Not on the runway, but in your every day lives.  Children watch everything you say and do, and they bring those things to school.  As teachers, we’ll try our best to do the same.

-Remember that your child is just that, a child.  It is astonishing how often parents come to meetings and are taking the word of their child over the that of five qualified professionals.  We promise, we don’t make up things that we’ve seen your child say or do just to fill our schedules up with meetings.

HOMEWORK:  As you think back on your own education, what was the one thing your parents did that made the biggest difference (for better or worse) in your education? 

Technology: encouraging or crippling?

Whenever my students see me typing on my computer and ask how I learned to type so fast, I always explain to them that I developed my typing skills while talking with friends on AIM during high school.  That statement is usually met with a blank stare and I then have to explain what AIM was...am I seriously that old already?!?  

My students spend ALL of their free time texting, Tweeting, or communicating with friends via Facebook, Skype, or other video chat platforms.  My students could text a paper faster than they could type it and I even overheard a student the other day say she was “addicted” to Facebook (aren’t we all?) and that she checks it, “like every five minutes”- this is the reality of kids’ lives today.  

For some students, I think that this virtual form of communication is a blessing.  Students with special needs who struggle socially find it much easier to communicate in a less intense social environment and reaching out to others over the internet may amount to less social pressure than a face-to-face interaction.  Students may also feel more accepted by their peers if they are “friends” online, even if they don’t interact much in the school environment.

In contrast, if a student sends a friend request or a video chat invitation to another child and is rejected in such a public forum, I can only imagine the embarrassment that child must feel.  When I was young, there was, of course, public humiliation, but it was more in-the-moment and was not documented for all of eternity as things seem to be online.

Everyone struggles with their self-esteem during their middle school years, and I was no exception.  I distinctly remember several days during school where I was ridiculed and ended up going home crying to my mom.  I wonder, though, how things might be different for students today due to technology.  How much more magnified would that feeling of embarrassment have been for me if the taunts from certain individuals were splashed all over my Facebook page and talked about by others online as well as in person.  My heart just goes out to my students in that respect.

Another thing I wonder about is the role of parents in online interactions.  Many of my students are “friends” with their parents on Facebook which, in theory, is a great idea.  Parents are able to keep an eye on what their kids post online and the conversations they have with friends, but then they are left with the decision of how much to get involved in their child’s social interactions.  

My mom rarely became involved in my social struggles.  While she was always there to give me advice and support when I needed it, I believe she thought it was important to allow me to handle conflict on my own in order to develop the social skills I would need as an adult.  Nowadays, if parents are involved in a majority of the social interactions of their children, where is the line drawn regarding when to get involved with social conflicts and when to allow children to solve problems themselves?  The immersion of adults in the relationships of children may be beneficial (like a ref in a game of football, I guess), but in the long run I wonder how socially prepared these children will be as adults.  Will they be able to handle conflict with a co-worker, friend, or roommate in a socially acceptable manner?  Or will they be the adult who calls their parents several times a day to talk through every single obstacle that comes their way?  

Anyways, just some food for thought.  Technology can definitely be used in the classroom to peak student interest and engagement and I believe as adults we must stay current regarding social media and the interests of students, but all of this new technology provokes some mind-boggling questions and some difficult decisions for parents.  It’s only been about 10 years since those blissful evenings of chatting with five friends at once on AIM (remember buddy requests, SNs, blocks, warnings, and lingo like lol, rotfl, ttyl, brb?) and already it’s become archaic- I can only imagine how much more complicated things will get in the decades to come.

HOMEWORK: Has anyone heard of:  http://www.oovoo.com/ ?  Seems to be all the rage among the students at our school.  

Valentine's Day, 7th grade style...aka the Candy Thief strikes again!

On Valentine’s Day, one of our student clubs sponsored a candy gram drive, with proceeds going toward the club and their many activities within the school and at conferences across the Southeast.  Obviously, this was very popular among the 7th grade students.  

Many tokens of affection were exchanged, jokes were made (one candy gram I delivered was signed from “your mom”...very original), and rumors were started by these cute little red suckers with accompanying pink notes.  However, the most hilarious candy gram I’ve ever seen also happened to be written this Valentine’s Day.  If you’re reading this now, you probably remember my candy thief from a few weeks back.  Well, he struck again on V-day as the author of this hilarious candy gram.  

My students were taking a quiz over evolution during 8th period when the candy grams were delivered, so I handed out the candies at the end of class.  In the meantime, I decided to sort out the candy grams so it would be easy to distribute them.  While reading through the notes, I came to one for my candy thief and set it to the side.  Then, another, same deal.  Finally, I came to a third candy gram for the candy thief and noticed that the handwriting on the note looked suspiciously like the handwriting of the candy thief himself.  Upon closer investigation, I also noticed that the note said something very generic (Happy Valentine’s Day!), but the senders’ names were anything but generic.  In fact, the senders were listed as Kim, Kourtney, Khloe (do you see where I’m going with this yet?), and Kylie.  All misspelled, of course.  I started chuckling and showed my team teacher as I made a mental note to ask him about this when he turned in his quiz.

When the candy thief approached my desk to turn in his quiz, I told him to come around to where I was sitting because I had a question about one of his candy grams.  Immediately the familiar candy thief smirk came across his face and I knew my suspicions were correct.  He feigned surprise at my accusation at first, but then smiled, paused, and said, “Oh man!  I forgot Kendall.” and wrote in her name.  Happy belated Valentine’s Day to all from myself AND the Kardashians (who knew the Candy Thief was so tight with all of them?)!

True Story: I'm addicted to eating half-eaten food items

I would categorize this post as the "I can't believe this is really my job" type of a post.  Yesterday, my team teacher walked into our last class of the day together and held out his hands.  "Take your pick", he said as I was greeted with the sight of a package of Reese's Pieces in his left hand and a Reese's PB Cup in his right hand.  Score!  I chose the PB cup (obvi) and set it on my desk to eat later.


I normally never eat in front of my students, simply because I remember despising the teachers I had who would eat in front of my classmates and I.  I used to wonder how it was possibly fair for the teacher to sip on Coke, drink a latte, or munch on chips or candy in the middle of class.  Plus, who wants to look at their teacher eating during class?  I don't really like people staring at me when I eat to begin with, so it's really never been an issue for me in the past.


Yesterday though, my students were doing an activity about natural selection using Teddy Grahams, and I decided to treat myself with the PB cup at the end of the class when I was allowing students to eat some of the Teddy Grahams they had been working with during the activity.  I took a bite of the candy and noticed it had the distinct taste of months old Halloween candy (I know this taste well considering I would hide my candy and ration it out for months as a child, much to the disbelief of my mom), so I put it down on the wrapper on my desk and decided to take a brief time-out from indulging my sweet tooth.  


I stepped out of the room and when I returned, I noticed that the piece of candy itself was gone, but the wrapper was still on my desk.  Naturally, I assumed my team teacher had gotten hungry and decided to eat the candy, or maybe throw it away, or something...anything other than the second most logical conclusion that I'm sure any reader has come to already in their head.  


The bell was about to ring and the students were packed and ready to go, so I asked my team teacher if he had eaten my candy.  He denied it, but was laughing as he answered, only increasing my initial suspicion.  Finally, when the bell rang and the students left my room, I questioned him further and recognized he was telling the truth.  He, like me, was in total disbelief that a student would eat a piece of candy off of my desk AND with a bite already taken out of it.  


We were discussing the situation and laughing as we debated which student was the likely culprit when a student I help twice a week after school walked into my room.  I was so shocked at existence of a candy thief in my 8th period that I shared the story with him.  Let's call him Doug.


Me: Doug, listen to what just happened...
----me telling story with an air of disbelief, team teacher chuckling in the background---
Doug: No way.
Me: I know!  Isn't that gross?  I really want to know who would have the guts to do that.
Doug: Actually, I know someone who would definitely do that.
Me: Who?
Doug: (Insert name of child in my last class period here)


At this point, my team teacher piped up and mentioned that the same student had made a comment as he walked out the door.  The student had looked at my team teacher with a smirk on his face and said, "I did it" as he bee-bopped out the door.  My co-teacher assumed he was kidding, but apparently this kid was for real!  


This student is also in my homeroom, so this morning I found a piece of candy, took a bite out of it, and put it on his desk, asking if he'd like it since I hear he enjoys half-eaten candy.  He said he did, thank you, and then grinned widely from ear to ear.  


P.S. After this happened, a student came up to me and asked if I could keep a secret (I obviously can't, since I'm sharing it with the world on here...oops), and told me that this same student had been dared to eat a piece of bread that had fallen on the boys' bathroom floor (shudder) and a cookie that had fallen on the cafeteria floor, and had eaten both.  I will be emailing his mom just to give her a heads up.  Who knows what kinds of germs he's picking up with his odd half-eaten and/or contaminated food fetish?


Homework: What's the grossest thing you've eaten or you've witnessed someone eat?

Grow flow

In the last twenty four hours, I've witnessed two different, but similar situations at school involving hair.  Yes, that's right, hair. 


Situation #1: 
   My room is full of what my students sometimes describe as "beast" toys (for those of you who do not come in contact with twelve year olds each day, beast = awesome).  I have a demonstration table in the front of the room where many of the toys reside as well as a stack of Yaffa blocks (re-used from my college dorm days...hollerrr!) which contain stacks of mind games, science experiments, magic tricks, small catapults, etc.
  The most popular toy I have in my classroom was actually a Christmas present last year that my dad picked out and it's part of a line of toys that are, I'll admit, pretty beast. 

  We named this creature "Sparky" last year because when you wind it up and release the red handle, Sparky crawls along the desk like an insect (it will even crawl over textbooks or pencils) and shoots sparks out of the back as it crawls.  Needless to say, after half a year of being handled by middle school students Sparky had seen better days, and by the end of last school year, he had pretty much kicked it.  Don't worry, he's still sitting on my demonstration table at the front of the room and when students inquire about his health (which happens frequently), I inform them he's just living it up and enjoying retirement.

  The holiday season was good to Sparky though, and he now has the company of a Sparky Jr. (purchased by Cindy and Scotty P for Christmas once they had learned of the demise of the beloved Sparky...the newer model is red instead of green) as well as a new toy given to me by a very sweet student.  We've named the new gadget "Spaz" because it looks like it is "spazzing out" when wound up and released.

  The students have taken to putting Spaz on their heads because it feels like a massage.  Great.  Fine.  Lovely.  Knock yourself out.  Until yesterday, that is.  Yesterday, a boy was playing with Spaz before the bell at the end of the day, and got the toy stuck in his shaggy hair.  I mean, seriously?!?  This is why I don't teach pre-school!!!  I ended up having to cut his hair and this morning a student had to use a toothpick to get the hair out of all of the gears.  Luckily, Spaz is making a swift recovery and has not ended up in the retirement home with Sparky.

Situation #2:

  One of the best parts about teaching 6th grade (and now 7th grade) is that former students are able to easily come back to visit you throughout the rest of their time at the school.  While students get reprimanded for coming to visit old teachers, they still manage to sneak by our administrator, and I was lucky enough to receive a visit from a particularly loud, but lovable former student this morning.  This student is now in 8th grade and literally towers over me.  He normally comes to my room to get candy and catch up, and occasionally harasses my current students just a tad.  Today, he stayed for awhile and we were talking about "his thing" aka lacrosse.  Specifically, I noticed he was sporting a new hairstyle.  Little did I know that I was about to receive an education about current male hair trends.  While I refer to people with swooping hair in the front as J. Bieber wanna-bes, this student informed me that he was working on his, "lacrosse flow."  It is apparently all the rage among lax players and when I Googled the topic, I was greeted with many results, including a question about how to "grow flow" and Google Images of J. Bieber himself.  

Homework: Try "growing flow" or maybe just letting your hair "rage"...two of the hair trends taking over the world of lacrosse.  

Updates: "David" still has yet to turn in any writing samples to me even with my daily encouragement.  "Sarah" brought up our "hollerrrr vs. holla" conversation again today and pointed out to me that saying "holler" instead of "holla" has yet to catch on at our school.  I'm still holding out hope.