La Primera de Muchas

The first 5 day week of many has been survived by most. If punishment were death a couple of my kids didn’t make it through the week, but I came out just fine! They told us at the start of the year that we could hold kids after school as punishment but we are responsible for keeping them after and occupied. Two ninth graders decided to push their luck earlier this week by continuing to bother two classmates despite at least 4 warnings. I finally told them to stay after to have a little chat. I gave them the first detention of many this year I’m sure. I had them move books for me from my classroom over to the library where they’ve been needing to go for several weeks. It’s liked forced labor, but better!:) Today (Friday) four seventh graders pushed their luck and get to have a similar privilege next week. The two students I had for detention already called me mean as they left, but in a non-harsh way. I hope that they don’t have to stay after again, but they are hard workers. They tried moving the book all at once in a wheelbarrow and it fell down at least 3 times that I saw. It was pretty funny. They tried to take it down the stairs and it fell. I suggested putting it at the bottom of the stairs and then loading the books but they didn’t like that idea. Instead they wanted to tip the wheelbarrow down so all the books fell out, throwing everything off balance and causing them to fall over…oh to be a ninth grader again.:)
A lot of the kids are really enjoyable, a lot are still neutral, and there are some beyond terrible that I can’t wait to give detention! I’m starting to feel like a really mean teacher on a power streak, so I keep things in check as best as I can. I taught my 8th graders today the phrase, “it’s a cinch!” They were saying the math homework was easy, so I said, “good, it should be a cinch for you!” Their math books have still not arrived, so I’m patching together review work from last year’s seventh grade book but it’s getting too easy as more and more comes back to them. I skipped about half the book this week to get to something more challenging…like converting fractions to decimals and percents! It’s so great to teach math, I love it! Not as much as I would love having a third teacher though. If you want to come teach math you could do that.:)
Have I written anything about that? I don’t think so….Tyler and I are trying to convince Emory to hire a third secondary teacher. Right now there are 26 7th graders, soon to be 27, and the possibility of a 28th. One of the students is special needs and the possible addition is from the US and doesn’t speak any Spanish. I already feel bad for that poor girl because she is going to feel so out of place! What is she going to do for Spanish, social studies, home-ec, and various subjects taught in Spanish?! Oh my…it’s time to go get burgers! Tonight we are celebrating our survival of the whole 5 days. It was tough, but I guess I can survive for another 9 months…or so.:)