Day 1 of 180...

I'm sorry I have been so bad at blogging because I've been dating someone and don't always want to put stuff up here...so I've decided to document my current school year and the unique things I deal with or encounter everyday, so here goes...

Day 1 of 180 days of school:

1. First day of school - so by the time I even encounter new students at 7:30 I am sweating.

2. We have a student who is a "wanderer." He feels the need to leave wherever he is to find me to make sure he knows what is going on and what is going to happen next. The other teachers that are supposed to be watching him seem to think its ok for him to leave. Come on!

3. My best friend/teammate is out in maternity leave - and I never realized how well her and I worked together until now. There were unsaid things that just happened between the two if us that I forget about and now the substitute freaks out and is ready to cry about. I am so so so so so happy for her but I also miss her and would never want to work with anyone else. You don't truly miss what you have until it's gone right?

4. We have a "clinger" or another term is a "helicopter" parent. She can't bring herself to leave her child. I tell her very kindly that it is time for him to become an independent learner and show her where she can pick him up at 1:00. I come back later and she ends up being with him ALL DAY. We know you love them and sometimes it can be harder for the parent than the actual child. It's OK to LET GO.

5. Lunch check in - checking in all the students at the computer for both classes, then helping them get through the salad bar and opening all their lunches = 10 minutes for me to eat. 

6. It's 12:15 and I have not sat down once since 6:30 - yep my feet are killing me!

7. Dismissal - this is probably the worst part of the day. Making sure all students are where they need to go at the end of the day. Kindergarteners have no idea where they need to go and with who, so if you haven't asked when they were dropped off in the morning, you will have a hard time in the afternoon. There is also always one child who you'll misplace, and of course we did that today. We ran around the building twice only to call the family (who only spoke Spanish) to find out she and her brother walked home without telling us. She was supposed to be in the after-school program so grandma was going to bring her back. We then had to communicate with the office and with the director of the after-school program to let them know we contacted the family, found the children and this is what was going to happen. 

8. After all the students are gone all I want to do is sit down and decompress but now we need to sort out all the tons of supplies, and put them away (which we never really have room for). 

9. Even when I think I am done and I can relax I need to meet with the sub and discuss how the day went. She looks like she is ready to cry again so we talk about how it went, and what we could do tomorrow to make it better. There are also people that were not in to help that I thought would be there...which leads me to my next thing...

10. After my meeting with the sub I need to go find people that could have offered her support today and weren't there. I talk with a couple and they agree to check in many times the rest of the week. I talk with the one person that should have been there and she argues with me that she needs to get testing done (deadline is in 2 weeks). Sorry, but right now - these first couple days - are WAY more important than your testing that can get done later this week or next week. Even though she agrees to stop in tomorrow she seems miffed and upset that I interrupted her planning - tough shit, this is what we and the students need. 

Ok so that's all I can think of for today - but please remember it is the first day - this is just a little insight into what happens, and it's not even half of what I could tell you, but now I need to decompress and GO TO BED! 

We will see what tomorrow brings :)

Old Match Date

Writing all these fun stories reminds me of a date I had many years ago...of course it ended up being a guy from match.com so you know how it will end but here goes...

I was chatting with this guy Adam and we decided to meet downtown at The Great Dane. I went there early with a friend to have a drink to ease my nerves. This was one of the first times I had been on match so I wasn't sure how things would go. I probably had one too many because when he got there I was really feelin it. We were downstairs of the Dane so it was kind of dark. We chatted for a while and got along ok. I thought he might be a bit nerdy but why not give it a try? It was winter time, so he suggested we go ice-skating (yes this was HIS idea). I was surprised by this but said sure why not. He pushed it a bit further by suggesting the next day - I agreed. He told me that Elver park has skating and that we could meet there. I was pretty sure that there was no rink there yet (I drive by it everyday on the way to work) but he was insistent it was there so we decided to meet there the next day.  

I drive into the parking lot and of course there is no skating rink. He is annoyed by this so I play it cool and tell him let's just drive together to Tenney park. So he ended up driving us there. While we were in the car I noticed his old-school all white reebok sneakers, totally worn out and not as cool as you think. They reminded me of a grandpa's shoes. Now I am not one to judge on shoes alone but...seriously... guys you have to know we do look at that! Anyways, we get to the park and finally get out on the ice. Ice skating is not nearly as cool or as fun as it was when we were kids...I was bored within 10 minutes. 

So anyways we go on two more dates (hockey game and drinks) and then I head to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic for my best friends' wedding. It was a blast and while I was there I didn't think about Adam for even a second - definitely a sign. 

I ended up flying back on a Wednesday (so I could work Thursday and Friday) but it was SO cold they called off school for both days. I was nice to just be at home relaxing and getting situated before I started school on Monday. Finally on Saturday I called Adam to get together so I could tell him I wasn't feeling it. When we were talking on the phone he was upset with me because he knew when I got back into town and was wondering why I hadn't called him yet. Um I'm sorry dude but I was connecting with friends and getting situated. He didn't like that answer and I should have known to end it there on the phone but I'm too nice and I decide to go out with him that night. 

He picks me up and we head out to go eat. Afterwards we decide to go mini-golfing since we are practically next door. Not sure why I am extending the date as I want to end it, but I just hadn't come across a good time to do it. Finally we are headed toward my place and he is talking about watching a movie at my place (no way!). I tell him that I am actually responsible for letting out my friends' dog (the ones who got married). Here's the conversation that happened:

Me: I'm sorry but I actually need to go over and let their dog out tonight

Adam: oh that's cool it'll only take a minute

Me: No she is a really lonely dog and I need to be there for a while to hang out

Adam: oh ok then I'll come in with you

Me: We'll she really doesn't like other people and she's a pretty big dog (Lucy is a little shiatsu and loves people) 

Adam: (finally) I don't understand what's going on here, do you not want to hang out?

Me: Well I think that we've hung out a couple of times and I'm just not feeling it, sorry

Adam: What? Are you kidding me? Why are you on match.com then?

Me: What do you mean why? I want to date and meet new people, just like everyone else

Adam: Well it doesn't look like that to me. You're not even giving this a try! All you care about is your friends!! (Yelling at me at this point)

Me: I'm sorry Adam but I told you from day one that my family and friends were the most important thing to me. And I am on match to date people but if it doesn't work it doesn't work

Adam: I get the whole friend thing but it should change when you are dating someone. I should be important to you now. (seriously?! 3 dates?!)

Me: Sorry but I just don't think it will work 

He goes into yelling at me more for not appreciating online dating for what it is and that I shouldn't be dating online and putting myself out there if I'm not ready to date. Not really the case buddy - just don't want to date YOU.

Finally I get out of his car and he's parked right next to a snow bank in front of my bundling. So I have to get out of his jeep and literally shimmy down his car to the back to get to a place where I can climb the snow embankment to get to the sidewalk. As I am climbing the snow pile, he all of a sudden revs his engine to take off and his tires start spinning. As he is doing this and takes off, he spits snow ALL over me - head to toe. I stand there stunned, not sure what to do. I can't say for certain but I swear he looked back at me in his rear view mirror. I brush myself off, go inside to change and go back out to have some drinks with friends - yes the people that are important to me. 

He ended up texting me that night telling me that he couldn't believe he wasted UW hockey tickets on me (took me to a game), and that I wasted his time. I never responded and I think that made him more mad but eventually they died down and I never heard from him again. 

A couple weeks later a friend of mine told me that she had been talking to this guy Adam on match. We looked and it was the same one! I told her to stay away! She ended up telling him that I had said that and he resorted to telling her I was crazy. Is that what the crazy guys all go with? If it doesn't work, the chick is crazy?! Come on! Ridiculous...

At least I got a good story out of it! 

Bachelorette Party continued...

I forgot to add this to my story before but after we got on the vans and left Showboat, we decided to head to the Kalahari bar for an after party. I did not feeling like going in there so I laid down on the floor outside the bar and took a little snooze. Now mind you, the floor I was on connected to the hotel so it was safe and quiet :) After a while I woke up to laughing. I look up and see six men from hotel security laughing at me. They asked me if I was ok and I said yes, I was waiting for my friends to come out of the bar. They walked on and I realized that they were laughing at me because I was laying there sleeping still holding on to that small plastic penis. I'm sure my photo is out there somewhere! Oh well we had a good laugh. 

Finally we all got on the van again, went back to our cottage and at pizzas and sandwiches. The Indian boys from next door popped over and some of the ladies went over there. Friendly neighbors! The girls told me I should go over there because there were lots of guys, but I was just really enjoying eating my sandwich and hydrating so I stayed out. It was an epic night and I think everyone enjoyed themselves the way we should! I think we couldn't have asked for a better night! 

Bachelorette Party Fun!

A little over a month ago we had the bachelorette party for one of my best friends! I was so excited! We put in a lot of work getting decorations, planning food and drink, and I even had fun making peacock feather clips for all the girls. We headed down there on Friday night and just the bridal party stayed in a smaller room at the Kalahari. We went out to dinner at Ginza - sooooo good! Then we just went back to the room and hung out. 

The next morning we woke up, cleaned up our room and headed to Devils Lake for a hike. It was a little windy but a great hike and a good chance for us girls to bond. Great idea from the bride on that one! After the hike we headed back to the Kalahari and our special mini-cottage to get changed and go to the water park for a while! It was so nice swimming, hanging in the hot tub and just letting loose together. We need to do this more often! We didn't get as much time at the water park as we would have liked but we needed to get back to start setting up the place for all our guests coming! 

People started arriving around 4:30/5:00 and helped us continue to get the place ready. I was excited about the decorations because the bride had not seen any of this happening and came down all surprised - so fun! We started out just mingling for a while and then she opened all her presents! I think it was exactly how she pictured her party :) Then after a while we started going upstairs to change into our sparkly clothes! Music got turned up and drinks poured a little faster. Since I was one of the few single girls at this party, the other girls were telling me that tonight could be a good chance for me to meet a guy. I had no intention of that as I was there for my friend's bachelorette party and we were in the Dells. I haven't met anyone good at a bar in all the time I've been going so why would tonight be any different. I honestly didn't care for that tonight - it was ladies night with all the coolest ladies I know!

Eventually we called the Kalahari and the vans came to take us to Showboat. We decided to go to the club Showboat instead of Marleys or Wett because we were looking for good music and to be able to dance and not get raped while we're doing it! Showboat was perfect - wood floors, many different kinds of music that we could dance to, and we were up on the stage most of the night! It was a blast! 

After a while I needed a break so I went down some stairs to another bar and sat down at a table by myself. I didn't feel unsafe at all so I just hung out there and people watched. Soon a blonde guy came over to me and sat down by me and asked me why I was holding a plastic penis in my hand. I laughed and looked down, realizing that I was in fact holding a plastic penis that we had used back at the resort for a ring toss game! We started chatting and he ended up telling me he was there for a bachelor party - fancy that! A girl from the party came over and asked if I was ok and I told her we were fine - he actually seems like a nice guy! We went up to the bar and got another drink and talked for quite a while longer. I learned he lives in Milwaukee and is also 31. He was really sweet and asked me "if I come to Madison would you go out on a date with me?" I instantly said yes and we hugged goodbye. I was really looking forward to going out with this guy, whose name is Nick!

I won't go into details any further, but things have been going very well with Nick and that is the story of how I met my amazing boyfriend :)

...now I just need to get him to move to Madison...hehe :)

NCEBC

A couple months back my principal came up to me and asked me what my teaching partner and I would think about this opportunity: going to Chicago for a conference called National Council on Educating Black Children (NCEBC) for 4 days (5 nights). I was immediately interested because from the many opportunities our staff has been offered throughout the last couple years, kindergarten teachers have never been included. This was finally our chance. However I did have some hesitations as well because the last couple years in my building have been tense between teachers because of this same topic. We all want to help in closing the achievement gap but the way it's been presented has not been the most welcoming. My teaching partner and I decided it would be an opportunity that we could not refuse (even though we had to write sub plans for 3 days...ugh).

My mindset going into this conference was not resisting or negative but wanting to hear what they had to say and what I can add to my toolbox to reach and help these children as soon as possible. I'm not going to go into every day of the conference but here is a list of things I have learned or am taking back to the classroom with me (please remember that some of these things are common sense for a lot of us teachers, but not all practice it):
1. No matter who and where they come from always have high expectations. Low expectations=low performing students.
2. No ONE program will solve the achievement gap. It has to be a system of supports to make it successful.
3. There NEEDS to be consistency amongst the teachers in regards to behavior management and expectations, curriculum and overall school atmosphere.
4. Let's start young - we are ALL going to college after high school!
5. Building relationships with our students is extremely crucial to their learning process. Buildings relationships with our students' families is just as important. Put yourself out there to make it known to the families you are here to support them in their child's learning. The lack of parent involvement however is not an excuse we need to work with or without it.
6. How to you Hold families responsible for their child's education? They need to want to be a key part of this process.
7. We need to be aware of where our students are coming from. Are they coming to school hungry? Are they in the same clothes as yesterday? Have they showered or bathed recently? Do they have a consistent dinner every night? When I send a snack home do they need to hide it under their bed so they can eat over the weekend? Do they just need a hug and someone to tell them they are loved? We need to build relationships with out students. Is school even discussed at home? Is there that home/school connection? All of this happens daily...
7. We as teachers are all taking this journey as well and no one is smarter or better than the other. We need to learn from each other and have a working relationship I which you can do so .
8. Let's be flexible with everything: our students, our coworkers, how each day goes, problems that arise and how we manage curriculum and instruction. I wear a rubber band on my wrist every day to mind myself of this - do the same if you believe.
9. We need to treat school like a business. We are all coming here to do a job - let's dress and act professionally because that is what we are here to be. This is our job. Business in=business out or garbage in=garbage out.
10. Even though we don't have the same culture and experiences as our students it does not mean that we can not learn, accept and include their cultures into our school/classrooms. We can all still be successful.
11. ALL staff in the building must have high expectations of all students and each other. We also all need to be accountable for holding others to those standards.
12. We need to find ways to promote and recognize all kinds of achievements (attendance, academics, social and emotional...) building wide. (Ties at Urban Prep - buttons)
13. It takes a village and that village takes responsibility.
14. This is a process and there will not be immediate results but we need to stay strong and united every year.

All this info is great but as a colleague asked...where are the tools to use that go with this? What can we take back to our classrooms to use and to create a better more engaging atmosphere? In my next blog I will explain what I am hoping to accomplish not only in my classroom but also throughout the entire school.

Chi-Town

Chi-town for a conference!

Dodged a Bullet

Man am I lucky!

I was at a friends' house for a Friday night fish fry- so yummy and so much fun! It was a fun group of 8 drinking and enjoying our Friday night. Some of the boys were talking about going out afterwards but us ladies didn't plan on that. I was in my Brewers gear with my hair in a ponytail - not in any state to go up bar hopping.

Anyways, we hung out for a while, the boys left to go out and us ladies finished cleaning up the kitchen. After that I ended up driving my way home - took the beltline for some reason - which I never do. In the time I was driving home I received a number of texts from my a guy friend that was downtown and met up with the guys that were at the fish fry. It was only 10:30 and I decided why not go to meet them out? WHY NOT?! I wasn't dressed great but who cares! So I got off the beltline, turned around and got back on quickly and started heading downtown. I turned up the music, belated out some tunes and didn't think about anything. I had no idea that in the dark there was a cop driving right behind me.

Lights come on and at first I am confused but then realize I was speeding on the beltline and not paying attention to anything. I pull over to the left and he comes up right behind me - I hate it when they leave their lights on full blast and we are both stopped - can't they just dim the lights a bit to keep the sting away from being pulled over?

So I sit there for a minute, turn down the music and then realize I need to get my ID and insurance card out. I reach to get my purse and as I am pulling it up it seems a bit light to me...shit I don't have my wallet...

He walks up to the car and at this point I know a ticket is coming my way. He shines his flashlight in my face (even though I had a drink earlier I wasn't feeling it at this point but I was afraid I had red wine teeth) and asks me if I know why he pulled me over. I told him I know I was speeding and I was sorry - I was just rocking out to my music and not paying attention. He told me that he agreed and it was unsafe and that when I got onto the beltline I had recklessly gotten over to the left lane to speed up (little did he know I wanted to get way over and around the old grannies that were driving 10 under, but who am I to argue?). Then he asked for my license...shit....

I lifted up my empty purse and showed him inside and told him that I had grabbed my purse but forgot my wallet in my other purse. Total mistake. He asked for any other ID with my name/picture on it. Of course I have nothing, but thank goodness I DO have my insurance card! I hand that to him and he goes back to his car for a what seems like an eternity.

Finally he comes back and hands me my insurance card. He tells me again how I was speeding, driving 'recklessly' and driving without a license. I would have a $350 ticket on my hands. I apologized profusely, admitted that I was speeding and not paying attention as I was jamming out and that I'd be more careful...so as he handed me the papers he told me that he was giving me a....warning!! OMG I am so lucky I can't believe it! I thanked him again and off he went.

As I pulled away, he did as well and he followed me the whole way until I got off the beltline! Now any sane person would have gone home at this point but I had been texting my friends downtown and they convinced me to come down for a couple to recoup from what I had just experienced - twisted my arm! Now the only question was how I would get into the bars and pay for drinks - another issue for the night...

First bar I go to I usually know the bouncer - but guess what, be wasn't at the door! Some chick was falling around drunk right outside the door causing a scene so I walked in and before he could ask for my ID I told him that he might want to get some help for her...totally worked! Found my friends and they bought me a shot and a drink to celebrate and calm my nerves. After a while they decided to leave and go to another bar...hopefully I can get it!

We went down the street to Merchant and as we were walking in an annoying bigger man was walking out that I know through Magnet (social networking). I said hello immediately and chatted with him to walk back in with me and cover me from the bouncers - totally worked but now I was stuck with bad-breath-annoying man! We ended up saying our goodbyes and again my guy friends bought me drinks.

All in all it was a great night, but I was so lucky and definitely dodged a bullet. This was a wake up call to me and I am sure to drive more carefully from now on - especially if I am to buy a new RED car this summer!