Thursday, August 21, 2008

Lion King 1 1/2- Really?

Okay, I am watching my kids this evening while my wife enjoys a girl's night out with her BUNKO club. The kids really wanted to watch Lion King 1 1/2. Now I have seen this several times, but this time I guess it really caught my attention- IT IS SO LAME! With that out of the way, I can tell you about my day at school.

The day went really well. I can see that I am really going to have to keep my promises and threats this year. The kids are really testing me on my ability to stay calm and follow through with what I say. I know that in previous years, teachers have screamed at these kids all day most of the day, while at school. That is a hard thing to reverse. Teachers without management can really damage a class for future teachers. They scream at kids to get them to do what they want. The kids start de-valuing the teacher and school. Then a year or two later you get them and you end up teaching and re-teaching skills, ideas, values, and trust that should have already been in place. It takes a long time for the students to truly believe that you DO care about them when they have gone through those experiences. It is a hard and arduous project and it requires A LOT of patience! (So , this is really hard for me a lot of times!)

We spent a bit of time today discussing how to avoid bullies and being bullied. We are using the program from HRSA called Stop Bullying Now! (Check it out). It has cartoons for the kids to watch and discuss. I also had the kids role play with each other on the ways to avoid bullies. It was pretty humorous.

We also played a fun game outside called continuous kickball. I like the game because it is fast and the kids focus is on a target, not each other- AND it requires them to work together as a team.

Tomorrow we are going to weed the school flower garden. It is in dire need of some loving care. I planted it with my first 6th grade class going on 3 1/2 years ago. It has really grown and matured and it adds such beauty to the school. It can be a pain to take of however, but it is good for the kids to have something connected to the school to have as a project. It helps build team spirit, and it helps build responsibility.

Fridays are half days at our school. What a blessing. Teachers are supposed to stay until 3:10pm and use the time as planning/prep time. I am thankful the first week is just about over. I am glad to have the year in full swing with rules and expectations (Procedures) in place and plowing ahead with the curriculum.

Well, I guess that is enough for now. I need to go and fix iTunes on our family computer. Have a great evening...

Later...

2 comments:

  1. Hey! :)
    You have got a really interesting blog going here. And well, I wish you the best at being a teacher. When I was younger I was a total brat, and well I made sure that the teacher always had the hardest time.
    Hope you have nice children to teach! :)
    And wish you all the best..
    Oh a due fix the Itunes! :D haha

    Bye

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a dream...half day Fridays???? I hope you count your blessings! We have early out Wednesdays, but we have sto have collaboration meetings after. Early out is only an hour early. Anyway...glad to hear I am not the only one having to be strict while the kids test the limits. Third graders do that too!

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