Black Belt Mama

The Kids That Keep You Up At Night

During my first year of teaching, I had a lot of challenging students. When you have an 18 year old driving to 9th grade and at least five kids who have probation officers, you know you're going to have some rough days. A quick scan of my class lists gave some of the veteran teachers chills. What a way to start off as a new teacher.

One of the students the veteran teachers warned me about was taking 9th grade English for the second time. As they started to tell their horror stories about Rob, I tried to block it out. I didn't want to have any preconceived ideas about my students. I wanted to give them all a fair chance at success without me walking in there with an expectation that they were going to be a nightmare for me.

It turns out that the student they warned me about became one of my favorite kids. He didn't turn everything in on time. He sometimes acted aloof in class, but there was something about him that I liked. He was no kiss-up and wasn't going to pretend that he appreciated Shakespeare to try to make me happy. He was as he appeared, and sometimes he was just not interested in being in class.

I was called to multiple conferences about this particular student during the year. I would listen as each teacher went around the room relaying horror stories about him and telling his Mom how he was going to fail, yet again. When they got to me, the room got very quiet. I had no problems with him. Although he was a straight C student at this point, he caused me no trouble at all. I just would have liked him to put a little more effort into his assignments. Behavior wise, I had no issues with him. It seemed that everyone else did.

About mid-year, we did a poetry assignment and what he turned in was not a typical poem. It was a rap that he had poured his heart and soul into. I couldn't have been more thrilled. He didn't try to duplicate a "roses are red" poem or plagiarize one off the Internet like many of my students did. What he turned in was authentic. It was also a bit raw and used some serious slang, but I liked it. I happen to like and appreciate rap. It was a turning point for him in the class.

Soon, he was writing journal entries about how he wanted to become a rapper. He was bringing in new songs for me to look over on a regular basis. Then, he brought me a demo tape that I still have somewhere. I thought it was awesome. I told him that what he was writing was poetry. I used his own work to show him examples of rhyming, alliteration, and the poetry patterns he was creating throughout his work. Suddenly, he had a new appreciation for English class.

His teachers continued to talk in conferences how he was disrespectful and inattentive; and then I would gushabout how talented he was and how once he saw the relevancy to his own interests, he became invested in English class and in his work. The other teachers just stared at me in disbelief. I was the only one who could see the good in this kid. I thought it was a real shame, and I think a lot of it was because many of those teachers walked into that classroom on the first day, knowing how he had been the year before, and assumed he was going to be the same disrespectful punk. I expected better from him, and he rose to the occasion.

This semester, I had a "Rob." He came from a rough background, lost his dad and two of his friends to drugs and suicide in the very near past, and although he was rough around the edges, I really liked him and saw a lot of potential in him. When I met with him mid-semester and told him he had a D and too many absences, he asked me if he should withdraw from the class.

I told him he needed to attend regularly and work harder! I spent so much time that day pointing out all the good in his work and telling him that I just needed to see more of it on time. He attended every class for a while and then he dropped off again. I was so disappointed. This weekend, as I sat grading final portfolios, it came time to grade his. He was missing his final paper, and two other major assignments that he had the entire semester to complete. Had he completed even one of the three assignments with any care, he would have been able to pass the class with a D-. Instead he failed.

I don't know whether or not he'll be back next semester. It's the kids like this that keep me up at night. What will he do if he's not in school? Will he follow the route his friends took and get involved with drugs again? Will he be able to straighten himself out and find the motivation to succeed? I found a way to get to my 9th grader many years ago, but as a teacher, you can't reach them all. This is one that slipped through the cracks; and I'm as disappointed in myself as I am in him.

Just Call Me a Psycho Serial Killer

Today was my last class of the semester. I'm on break until the fall (after I finish all my grading of course). This semester was quite different from last semester. The class had very different group dynamics and I had issues with kids who lacked personal responsibility. Not every student had these issues, but overall, it was a big change from my class last semester. My first semester was not at all like that.

For the final class, both last semester and this semester, I brought in donut holes and we had a final day of fun impromptu speeches. Last semester, my students turned almost every impromptu topic around into something positive about how much they had enjoyed speech class or how much they had enjoyed having me as a teacher. They already knew where they stood grade-wise. It wasn't to kiss up. They liked me and the class and they let me know it. It was a great way to end the semester.

Today was a bit different. First, I had the students complete their evaluations of me. I have to leave the room during this time and I gave explicit instructions to my one student to collect them all and then come out into the hallway when they were all finished to get me. After 10 minutes had gone by, the volume was quickly rising from my classroom. It's not a group evaluation so talking is not required for them to complete the task.

Then I heard, "Well that's because you're a man-whore." That was it.

I opened the door, did a quick look around, asked them if they were finished and they all nodded that they were done and that my volunteer had the envelope of evaluations ready to go. Yet no one had come to get me. I got on their cases a bit, and told them I hoped the word "man-whore" wasn't a part of my evaluations, and then I broke out the donuts.

The students were tentative, so I pretty much ordered them to get out of their seats, and get some donuts so we could get started. I was sporting my classic look of irritation and frustration. We had a lot to finish up on our final day and the clock was ticking. Finally, they started moving.

I had each student write down two impromptu speech questions and then as the students got up to perform for one last time, they called on a student to give them a question. One of the questions was, "Why do you think Mrs. BBM is acting like a psycho serial killer today?" This question came from one of my responsible kids.

I asked him what he meant by that and he said that I was trying to make them eat donuts. . . "like a serial killer or something."

"Hmm, you know last semester, I brought in donuts and my students thanked me and told me I was awesome. This semester, I'm a psycho serial killer trying to kill you with my donut holes. I guess this is an appropriate way to end it all."

So, one of my most spirited students got the speech topic declaring me a serial killer and he did it quite well. I was almost convinced myself. As part of his speech, he said I had taught them through subliminal messages to go kill people and that I had spent time in jail for 30 murders.

When he was finished, I told him he did a fairly accurate speech, but that my murders were justified. You see, I had only killed people who didn't turn assignments in on time. I think I made my point.

As I was leaving campus today, I ran into one of my favorite kids from last semester. I asked him how his semester had gone and he said it was great, but that he wished he would have been able to take my class again. He then went on to tell me how he had to do a presentation for another class and he absolutely "killed it" and was the best one in the class. His professor had asked him where he learned to put a presentation together like that, and he said he learned it from me and my class. He then went on to tell me about his presentation and how he had attention and orienting material, how he used a personal anecdote, and a solid clincher in his conclusion.

It made me so proud to hear him say those things. I told him I was happy he was able to apply what he learned to other classes; and he went on to say that he'll use what I taught him the rest of his life.

There may be 17 completed potentially mediocre evaluations sitting on campus, critiquing me for not accepting late assignments, and for occasionally ranting about irresponsibility; but only one thing is important to me today. I taught that student how to "kill it" in his presentation. I guess I really do teach them how to kill.

How to Make Your Teacher EXTREMELY Cranky

My speech students are working on their final speech project. The last speech is a group speech with an intense question/answer period following it.  Students were able to form their own groups. I helped, if necessary. In some cases it was necessary. For example, the four students who decided they wanted to be a group of four when I had already told them groups could be no larger than three. 

Breathe in, breathe out. FRUSTRATING!

After two weeks of group work during class time so that I could supervise, assist, and advise, outlines were due today. I should stress that this was the fourth time they were handing in outlines. The only thing different about this one was that I also required a group outline with a group introduction and group conclusion and transitions in between. It's not confusing, especially since I went over how to create it at least four times in class. On Thursday of last week, I wrote the exact format on the board and went over it. There was no shortage of instruction on how to create this outline.

I have six groups in my class and figured I would be able to get through all of their group outlines today during class. The plan was to conference with each group and advise them regarding changes they needed to make.

I got through two groups. The first group took me about 15 minutes which put me on schedule to finish all of the groups by the end of the class time. Then I got to the second group.

One of the group members was absent. . . again. The other two guys sat there, doing nothing, as they've done for the past two weeks which has surprised me because one of the guys is one of my best students. I have repeatedly told them to use their time wisely, to work on their group introduction, and that if they weren't busy, it signaled that they weren't going to do well on this speech.

Their outline was a complete mess, and guess what? No group introduction, no group conclusion and barely a transition. It was scattered, incorrectly formatted, and just plain irritating because it had nothing that I told them it needed in the previous weeks.

"Let me see your notes from last Thursday," I said grumpily.

They stared at me like I'd just asked them to recite the Bible, backwards, in Farsi or something.

"Where are your notes on how to do this group outline?" I demanded.

They stared at me, but this time, they were both turning a little red.

"So neither of you have notes on how to do this outline?"

They both nodded in agreement. "Ah, well that explains why this looks like garbage." I couldn't help myself. I was just so angry. I mean seriously! Why do I stand up there speaking to them, instructing them, spelling things out word for word, if they're not going to listen or write it down?

I had a little fit on them, hacked their outline to pieces with my pen, and then told them I'd have to take it with me to grade it because at that very moment, I was tempted to put a big fat zero on it. I asked them if they'd like to go and make a copy of it before class was over so they had my notes and suggestions and they stared at me again.

Hello? Anyone home?

"It's not really a question guys. Go and make a copy so you have my notes and can piece this mess into something decent for your speech next week! GO!"

I'm not usually this cranky with my students. I'm really not. In fact, most of them would say that I'm downright pleasant. But when I have spent this semester bending over backwards to try to get them on track and kick their butts into academic shape, and they turn in something as pathetic as that outline and then just stare at me like that?

UGH.

When I was finished with them, I had five minutes left. I told the students I was willing to stay late and work with any group that needed help. Two groups stayed and I'm thankful they did. Those two groups proved to me that I taught them what to do properly.

It's not me; it's them. Sometimes I need to remind myself.

A Temper Tantrum All My Own

Yesterday Lil C had the temper tantrum of the century. This morning I had one of my own.

Disappointed, frustrated, and a bit angry after wasting my time grading assignments that were half completed, I went into class this morning intending to give the kids a good talking to. When I got in there though, I couldn't stop. I actually had to hold on to the podium because I started shaking. I lectured about laziness and carelessness for a good 15 minutes. It was kind of like when you start telling the guy who cuts your hair everything about yourself. You don't know why you're doing it, but you just know you can't stop. Today, I just couldn't stop.

Instead of doing what I personally always hated, I first told the kids who show up every day and turn all their assignments in correctly and on time that they could sort of zone out for a few minutes. However, I told them, "if you have any plans in the near future to slack off, then you should probably pay attention too."

Some of the highlights:

• "When my second grader reads over my shoulder as I'm grading one of your papers and says 'Oh mommy, that's spelled wrong.' . . . we have a problem."
• "I have a t-shirt I wear to the gym that says 'Lazy Sucks' and that would be my opinion on the papers I graded last night."
• "I know that, by now, you understand how to do this, so the only possible reason for these poorly constructed outlines is that either a) you're lazy; or b) you don't care. Neither one of those reasons is acceptable.
• You are a nice group of students. Nice doesn't get you an A though. Neither does just showing up without putting in any effort.
• For those of you who have outlines that look like gobbly-gook with the completely wrong format, hold your hands up and wiggle your pinky fingers around. Ahh, see that, they work. Find the "tab" key and use it.

When I was finished with my rant, I handed back their outlines, pointed out five students who had done a great job and told the ones who hadn't to pair up with someone who did it correctly and "beg them to help you get it right."

I also passed out post-it notes with their current grades and the number of absences on it. I told the ones who were in good shape to keep it up, and not to slack. I told the ones who had dug themselves a hole that it isn't too late to dig themselves out.

Then I had a student ask me if I give extra credit for perfect attendance. I told her and the rest of the class that they don't get stickers and rewards for doing what they're supposed to be doing already. I'm not rewarding them for gracing me with their presence.

I then spent some time talking with the student with the lowest grade. He asked me if he should just withdraw from the class. After a good 10 minute conference with him, he went from being grumpy with me to finally taking ownership of the mess he's put himself in, and knowing what he needs to do to dig himself back out. Here's hoping he actually follows through. I think he will.

Eternal optimism. If a teacher loses that, they're done for. I was planning on keeping mine. . . at least for now, but then I got the results of my allergy testing today.

My number one allergy?

Cats. I have two.

I have told people for years that my allergies got bad after I had my kids. Perhaps though, I have just lost my memory of the years before having kids since my cats are now about 13 years old. I'm also allergic to late summer pollens, a bunch of molds, two trees (elm & poplar), and dust mites. That was my other big one; but the doctor and I ruled that out as a problem since my bedroom (thanks to my obsessively putting every bedroom item into an allergy cover) is pretty much a mite free zone. So, we're left with my cats.

Finding them a new home isn't really an option for me. So, for now I'm on a ton of medications (eye drops, nose spray, and a new prescription antihistamine). In three weeks, I go back to determine whether or not I need to move into the next phase of probable torture: allergy shots.

Today's appointment took 3.5 hours. I went through just under 40 scratch test things on my back which was similar to the sensation of tweezing eyebrows, but with a slightly painful little tickle that was more annoying than anything else. Then it was on to 32 intra-dermals, 16 for each arm. The one that glared at him the most was the cats. Why couldn't I be allergic to dogs? I can't stand dogs anyway!

The good news is that I was quite comfortable while there. My Mom works there and all the nurses and the doctor know me. I'm glad it's over with for sure, and hope that the cocktail the doctor came up with will work for me, starting now.

Since I'm feeling a bit like a human sieve, I'm skipping karate tonight. Plus, they gave me an antihistamine and prednisone before leaving and all I really want to do is go scrub my arms and back and go to sleep.

All around, this has been a completely sucktastic week. And starting tomorrow, I need to prepare for a luau birthday party for Big I, complete with a home-made volcano cake. Right now though, it's eye drop, nose spray time.

Fun stuff.

Time for a Clone

One of my favorite classes last semester was the one where I paired students up, gave them random silly topics and told them to let their imaginations run wild as they rushed to create and present compelling introductions and conclusions for their assigned speech topics.

Last semester, my favorite group told the class that crop circles were not formed by aliens. They were formed every time Chuck Norris sneezed. It was hysterical. The entire class cracked up and it's a moment I don't think any of us will soon forget.

Today we had a few more of those moments. I had this feeling at the beginning of the semester that I was going to like these kids, but I didn't know if they could live up to how much fun my group was from the first semester. They proved me wrong today.

One group discussed tsunamis and a student told a "true" story about surfing a wave that landed him on top of a skyscraper. Another group impersonated a sleazy furniture salesperson. A third group told us the movie "Signs" was real and that we should all go home and create "booby traps."

I have to say though, the best one of the day was about cloning. The clincher at the end of the speech. . . "If you're feeling alone, it's time for a clone."

Classic good classroom stuff.

From the way the class responded, something tells me this student will be known from here on out by that very unique quote. There is absolutely no better feeling than when you take an important lesson, make it fun, and it's a smashing success.

Wait until they see what I have planned for them Thursday. . .

Sour Grapes and Epi Pens

Today I arrived on campus and actually had mail in my mailbox. My evaluations from last semester finally arrived. I wasn't sure if I should look at them before class or save them for after. I'm the girl who lets one negative comment bother her for all eternity. I decided to wait until after.

My students did their first speeches today and I was impressed. We have some things to work on but overall, I think I have a good group of students who are oozing with creativity. I think this semester, like last one, will be enjoyable.

After class, one of my students who only showed up today for the first time, approached me in order to get everything she needed and get caught up. First, though, she had some information for me about her medical condition(s).

She began by telling me she has severe asthma. I thought this was leading up to, "sometimes I'll need to leave the room to use my inhaler" or something, but before I knew it she was pulling out an epi pen and giving me directions on how to use it and a directive to call 911 if I need to use the pen on her.

You should know that my Mom is a type 1 diabetic and for years gave herself several shots of insulin daily. I could never watch. If I happened to see it, I'd usually end up with my head between my knees, trying not to pass out.

During the summer before I was heading off to college, I had to get a hepatitis vaccine at the pediatricians office and ended up passing out as my Mom paid for it. I woke up with a heap of animal crackers all over me (the billing lady thought it would be cute and funny to give me a little treat in the form of a cup of animal crackers), and a bunch of toddlers standing over my head staring at me with curiosity.

My student continued to tell me to just "jam the epi pen into her thigh" and "try to keep the classroom calm." I started wondering how I would keep the classroom calm when I would probably be freaking out myself.

Then she told me she sometimes has seizures and that if she has one, I'll need to call 911 and dig through her purse to find her glucose monitor to test her blood. I'll also need to make sure she doesn't "hurt herself." I've tested my own blood plenty of times. I was a gestational diabetic for many months of my pregnancy with Lil C, but testing someone else's blood?

"Are you diabetic?" I asked her.

"They're not sure yet," she said.

I questioned her more about what I'm supposed to do and when, and she told me that she sometimes just coughs a little and the next thing you know, she needs an epi pen injection.

I should note that none of this explanation came with a doctors excuse or written directions. She also told me she may frequently miss class and assignments and that she's "always behind."

We moved on to my portion of the talking where I told her what she needs to do to get caught up. She started to cough a bit and I quickly wrapped up our conversation. I'm an adjunct instructor, not a medic; and I am obviously not prepared or equipped to handle these types of things, especially not without some written instructions.  

Delivering lesson plans with enthusiasm and creativity. . . check.
Handing assignments back in a timely matter. . . check.
Teaching students responsibility. . . check.
Helping my students become better speakers. . . check.
Administering emergency medical care in the middle of class and keeping my class calm as the ambulance arrives. . . not so much!

We finished our conversation with me telling her I need a written flow chart, if you will, of what I'm supposed to do and when. I'm really hoping I never need to use it. One encouraging thing is that I do have an army medic in my classroom. He hasn't missed a class yet, and I plan to rely on him heavily if something does happen. I'm going to have a hard time using an epi pen on my student while I have my head between my knees as I try not to hyperventilate.

When I got home, my mind needed a break from all the terrible scenarios I was envisioning in the weeks to come so I broke out the evaluations and had a quick read. I had really favorable reviews, and great comments throughout.

"She is very lively and grabs your attention."    Cool.
"She is a great teacher and I really enjoyed her class."  Fantastic.
"She always had a creative way of demonstrating new things."  Why yes I did. Thank you!
"Thank you. I learned a lot."  You're very welcome!
"The whole class was good. It really taught me how to write better."  Sweet.
"Mrs. BBM was an awesome teacher."  Great, glad you think so!
"Mrs. BBM made us think and made the course fun."  Really cool.
"Mrs. BBM was always available for extra help. She always had helpful comments for you if you were struggling. She explained everything nicely so you weren't confused."  I tried.
"This class was awesome!"  Yeah! Thank you!
"She is a caring teacher." Aww.
"I learned a lot and had fun at the same time." Good! That was the goal!

And then one person gave me a "disagree" for being "available for questions and additional assistance." That, my friends, is all I can think about. I've been going over and over again my students and those who asked me for help. I can't think of a time I didn't make myself available. I can't think of a time I didn't offer to come to campus on days I didn't even teach! I know it's probably just someone with sour grapes about something, but it's one sour grape that sticks in my head.

That and the epi pen.

Ants in Your Pants and Jumping Jacks

I arrived at my classroom this morning and told my students to put away everything except for a pen. I told them we were having a quiz and that they had 10 minutes to complete it. I told them "do your best" and passed them out.

This was the quiz:

Getting to Know You Quiz

Directions: Read the entire quiz first. Follow the directions given. You have 10 minutes to complete this quiz.

1. Write your age _____.
2. Write your shoe size __________.
3. Write the name of the President of the US _____________.
4. Call the name of a friend in class, wave to them, and say hello.
5. Stand up and shake someone's hand.
6. Get two others to tell you their favorite color. Write the colors here:
7. Walk to the front of the room and touch the board.
8. Stand up and pretend you have ants in your pants
9. Put your head on the desk and take a 10 second nap. Great job! You're almost half way there!
10. Give a high five to two people you haven't talked to yet.
11. Say your middle name out loud.
12. Add 237, 4992, and 531. Answer: ______
13. After you write the answer to #12, say "Yes! I'm so smart!"
14. Sit down and stand up 10 times as fast as you can. Record your time here:
15. Print the name of the planet you live on:
16. Write the name of your favorite food here:
17. Say "yummy, yummy in my tummy" out loud.
18. Look at the person beside you and tell them something nice.
19. Stand up and do 10 jumping jacks. Encourage others to join you.
20. Don't follow any of these instructions. Just watch everyone else make a fool out of themselves and sit quietly until time is up.

Would you like to guess how many people had ants in their pants? Would you like to guess how many people yelled out, "Yes I'm so smart"? Oh people, if I had only been able to videotape it without them knowing something was up, I would have because it was quite amusing.

I figured I would start getting questions early in the quiz, but I was wrong. You wouldn't believe how many of my students eagerly went about each task, without a thought as to why I would have them do such a thing.

The first question I had was from one of the many students returning to their seat after touching the the board. His question was, "How am I supposed to do 'ants in my pants'?" I responded with, "Well, if you had bugs in your pants, it would probably be itchy." He nodded and wiggled his butt back to his seat. One of my freshman girls who read the entire quiz first, as instructed, had to hold her mouth shut while she shook and tried not to laugh out loud.

My next question came at question 15. "Do you want a serious answer to number 15?" he asked. "Be as serious as you need to be," I responded with a straight face.

Five of my students got it right from the beginning and found it quite amusing that there were students high-fiving them, calling their names out loud and asking them their favorite colors. I should note here that I told Mr. BBM this morning that I would have four follow directions and I had chosen my four well. The fifth one was an oversight on my part. I should have known. The ones who followed the instructions kept straight faces, all except for the girl who could barely hold it in, and one boy who sat in the back row grinning from ear to ear as he watched his classmates wiggle, high-five, and do jumping jacks.

I figured it was going to go one of two ways. They, those that were busy making fools of themselves, were either going to get mad or they would take it in a light-hearted way. Either way, they received the message loud and clear. Follow DIRECTIONS already!!!

About half of the kids stopped about half way through; yelling out their middle names was a bit much for some of them and they caught on. Others plugged through without a care in the world. Two who made it all the way through cracked up laughing at themselves as they finished. One kid laughed so hard he snorted.

I asked them if they were finished, grinned mischievously and explained why we had done this little exercise. This silly quiz drove the point home loud and clear.

After class, I had several students stay to ask for some help and make sure they were on the right track. I'm not saying I won't get another late assignment. The three kids who blew off class today obviously have missed this important lesson. But I like to think that me and the 17 who were there today, now have a mutual understanding. I want them to learn, and I want them to have fun while doing so, but I'm no push-over and I won't tolerate late assignments.

By the end of class today, I think it was pretty clear that at least those in attendance have been brought to my side. It's a good feeling. We'll see if I can make it last.

How would you have done on my silly quiz? Be honest!

Laying Down the Law

This semester, I spent an entire class talking about how to create a good speech outline. Last semester, I figured I was dealing with college kids. Point them to the page in the book and give them a handout and they should be good to go.

I was very wrong.

So, I spent a ton of class time on it this time around. I gave them a handout. For the other assignment due today, I did the same thing. I specifically said last week,

"This is what I want. . . "

"This is what I DON'T want. . . "

I said it at least three times. I told them to consult their syllabus. I told them to email me with any questions or concerns.

Ugh.

Today, I collected the papers and outlines of people who clearly do not follow directions well. In addition, the girl who missed my class on Thursday, the one who emailed me, the one I told exactly what we did in class, and what she needed to do for today, came empty-handed.

"I didn't know those things were due today," she said.

I couldn't help myself. She was the third person to tell me this in the span of five minutes. I threw my head back, let out an audible groan, and pulled out the syllabus. "See this thing! It's right here in bold. I also talked about it last Tuesday AND Thursday. In addition, you got an email!!!"

She shrugged and sat down. I hate this part of the semester, where you have to let the kids know that your policies are your policies and that's that. You have to let them know you're no push-over. There are going to be some seriously unhappy campers on Thursday when they see they have half credit for handing in a late assignment. It's on the syllabus and I talked about it in class. They're going to have to deal.

I also had three students not show up today. One has never showed up, despite adding my class last Wednesday. Those three are off to a fantastic start. I can always tell within the first two weeks who's going to step up and go for the A and those who are going to flat out fail.

So frustrating, but Thursday is definitely looking like "lay down the law" day.

Affirmation

Today was the second class of the new semester. Everyone showed up, including a new add, minus the girl who emailed to tell me she spent last night in the ER after she split her finger open when a window slammed on it. She's off to a good start, huh?

The beginning of the semester is kind of like a first date. You think you like this person and all, but you need to figure them out. What makes them tick, what sets them off, what kind of person are they really?

Things went smoothly enough. I had some decent participation and some good questions. For the most part, the students seem eager to please. We'll see what their first assignments bring next week.

As I was dismissing my class and the students were leaving the room, I heard a familiar voice from out in the hallway.

"Oh man, look, it's Mrs. B! Hey Mrs. B, how are you?"

I glanced at the door as I erased the white board, but I didn't see anyone. I laughed a bit and yelled back, "Who's out there?"

A friendly voice called back, "It's your favorite student!"

I recognized the voice. "Oh, then it must be Kevin!" I yelled back. 

"Oh man, did you hear that? I said, 'favorite student' and she totally knew it was me'" I heard him telling his friends. I was cracking up as I finished erasing the board.

Soon he appeared in my doorway as the last of my students were exiting the room.

"How you doing Mrs. B? I miss this class. I miss you. This was the BEST class EVER!" he said. "You new students better treat you right!" he said giving them some warning looks. "I tell everyone I know to take this class. You're the best Mrs. B. I wish I could take this class again."

I couldn't help but smile. Not only had he said these nice things. He said them in front of my new crew of students. I don't think I'll really need to see the student evaluations when they come back. That was pretty much all I needed to know.

Last Day

Today was my last class of the semester. It took two trips to my car to load all of the papers and portfolios I have to grade, but I didn't even mind.

When I taught high school, I was so happy when the end of the year came. Knowing I had an entire summer to be free of certain students was a wonderful feeling. Today I felt kind of sad. I'm going to miss these kids.

Teaching at a University where you are given complete academic freedom is entirely different than teaching high school.  The classroom management issues are minimal. The kids are more grown up and they take better responsibility for completing their work. I was given the freedom to teach the way I wanted to and I ran with it.

Today I took pictures of my classes so that I can pull them out and point to them when they're all famous (and also in case I feel like photo-shopping them onto monkey bodies or something, or so I told them). I also let my speech class choose three questions that I would have to create an impromptu speech about. Although some of their topics were inappropriate and therefore ignored (Take "Which one of your students would you go out on a date with and why?" as an example), they came up with ones that made me discuss what my chosen super power would be and a life changing experience. The last topic they asked me was to discuss the best and worst moments in speech class.

I told them that the best far outnumbered the worst and then went around the room and told each one of my students something special about what they did in class. It was truly a special semester and a great group of kids. I hope I'm half as lucky next semester.

A Little Respect

Today I arrived on campus to find student evaluations in my mailbox. Since all but one of my speech students was attending class today, I decided to get it over with. I had to hand them out and then leave the room for 10 minutes while they evaluate me, place the evaluations in a sealed envelope and deliver it without me touching them again.

After about five minutes, one of my students came out to go to the bathroom. I asked her if they were about finished and she said she just had to tell me about a little conversation that was going on in the classroom.

Apparently, one of my students who spent almost the entire semester skipping class and not showing up for speeches was stumped on one of the questions. The question was: "What grade do you expect to earn in this class?"

"What should I put for this?" he said, knowing full well that he's failing.

The student sitting beside him said, "Well that's easy. Just write zero."

The failing student responded with, "Yeah, but I don't want anyone to think it's her fault" ("her" meaning me). 

My other student responded back, "Well then just write in the comments section, 'I'm a total douche, never come to class and don't turn anything in, but it's not her fault.'"

Apparently that settled it.

It's nice to know that even those who won't pass at least respect me as a teacher.  

Shock and Awe

Today I collected 24 rough drafts.  They were all typed and of the appropriate length. Did I mention I only have 24 students in this class?  Do you get the significance of all 24 students handing in their paper on time? 

In my speech course, all of my students who were scheduled to speak today showed up. They didn't just show up though.  They showed up dressed up and they actually seemed excited to speak. In fact, some of them were so excited to speak that they went way over their time limit and we ended up only hearing seven of the ten speeches that were to be given today.

These students blew me away today. Teaching college is different from high school, in that it doesn't take long for them to get the importance of doing the required work and doing it well.

In other news, this week my house is being wired for electric and being chainsawed to make way for duct work. Yes chainsawed. It was rather loud. We met with the electrician today for about an hour. We went room to room and he wrote with a marker on all of our walls, detailing out where we want cable and phone jacks, electrical outlets and even the switched lights. It is completely overwhelming to have to pick the location of every single outlet in your house, so I only picked the important ones and left the rest up to the electrician. I'm going to trust that putting them all in the ceiling in one corner of the room would be rough on his arms.

He says he will be finished on Thursday which makes way for the insulation and drywall people. 40 days to go (and today we asked if they can move it up by three days). Keep your fingers crossed.  Talk about "shock."   

A Great Day to Be a Teacher

When you are a teacher, you live for those days when you really reach your students. There is no feeling more energizing and more satisfying than knowing that they get you, they really get you, and that they are actually learning.

I spent the past two days grading paper and speech outlines. My expectations had been too high. I realized I had to go back and review some basics. I was also disappointed that not a single student in my speech class chose one of the more creative options for their personal speech next week.

I gave them several choices. They could write a general speech of introduction, write an awards acceptance speech (creating the award they "won") where they tell the audience how they got to this point in their lives, write their own eulogy and detail out what they want to be remembered for and the types of things they accomplished in their lives, or write a "Last Lecture" Randy Pausch style.

They all chose a general speech of introduction. I thought everyone would choose one of the more interesting topics. I was so disappointed.

Perhaps it was Sarah Palin's incredible speech last night that energized me, but I found myself piecing together pictures (some serious and some fun) for my own speech today. When they arrived in class, the mood was solemn. I said nothing. I turned the projector on and began to give my own eulogy. As I gave my speech, I could tell that the students were interested. They were learning about their teacher, and they were also having fun.

I used a picture from the wax museum in NYC and put up a slide saying that I won American Idol. I posted my picture of Sebastian Junger and elaborated and told them that Junger was so impressed with me that we wrote several collaborative pieces together. I showed them a picture of my dream beach house, created a story about one of my girls being President of the United States and the other a famous Karate Master and author. I used the theme of fighter and kept it strong throughout. I even showed them a picture of me when I was only three-years old with a hockey stick in my hand and told them I learned to cross-check at a very young age.

When I was finished delivering my eulogy, I paused for several moments before crying out, "I can't BELIEVE you all chose the easy way out!!!"  I continued to tell them that I was shocked that none of them wanted to think outside the box and use their imaginations.

I next showed them an award acceptance speech that was funny and inspiring. The wheels were turning.

As I made my way around the classroom, giving advice on their speech outlines and checking to see if they had their note cards ready, at least half the class told me that they were completely changing their speech. "You gave me so many ideas today!" one of them said.

I inspired creativity today and effort, which is an amazing thing. One of my students said, "I'm going to work on this all weekend. It's going to be the best speech you ever heard."

Awesome.

Not a single student in either of my classes received a perfect score on their outlines. Many received scores that they were deeply dissatisfied with, but it showed them that I'm serious about helping them learn. I ended class a little bit early today and told them I was going to stay to answer questions and help them. About half of the class stayed and asked for help.

I think today, that even beyond inspiring them to be creative, I inspired them to work harder. It could just be a fluke, but I think we're going to have a good semester.