school
Thursday, October 25, 2007
school cancelled due to the fires
the fires have surrounded colton in ontario, fontana, and san bernardino. i know we haven’t been threatened by anything, not like the people living in the cajon pass or up in arrowhead, but we have been living through the rain of ashes and the clouds of smoke. it was particularly bad on monday and tuesday, and all of us were wondering why we had the students walking around campus breathing in the harmful ashes. i get to hide out in my room and i don’t have to walk anywhere all day long, but they have to walk all across campus all the time.
so finally my district gave in and gave them the time off school because of the hazardous conditions. i would have preferred to stay home on monday and tuesday and had classes the rest of the week, but i guess 2 days off is 2 days off. time to recover from having to teach while inhaling ashes and smoke!
so all of a sudden i have a 4 day weekend. i think marlene and i were gonna try to volunteer to help those who have been evacuated…
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
first student sighting
for me, living in colton and teaching in colton meant that i had a 7 minute commute, which i love.
however, it also means that i live in the same neighborhoods as my students, and i was wondering how long it would take before i would run into students near my house. i also knew that the neighbor kids of mine that sit in their garage and say hi to me every time i come home… i figured they must be high school students.
well, yesterday when i came home early, trying to hide out in my house away from all the ash and smoke, i saw my student “junior” standing with those students in their garage. in the garage next to mine! and i got out of my car, looked at him shocked, and he was like, ‘what!” as if it was normal for us to see each other there. so i just said hi and pointed to my house… and he was like, yeah, i know.
ok…
it’s weird to be seen when you’re not wearing the ‘teacher hat’. i remember one time when i was subbing in grand terrace, i went to the supermarket over the summer in shorts and a tank top. one of the students from the junior high remembered me and said “hi miss puen!” in the aisles and pointed me out to her mom. i immediately wanted to change into slacks and a button down shirt!! i dunno why… i just don’t like looking un-professional. it wasn’t that way at grove, but i think that was more casual anyways since they called me “math kim”.
in the traditional school though, it seems somehow wrong to be a “normal” person.
i wonder how many students have seen me in the local supermarket and just haven’t said hi yet....
Thursday, September 27, 2007
quote of the day
so… i was teaching my students how to multiply negatives and positives together. i thought it went fairly well - especially since this is all a review.
but then it was time for them to do independent work, and a student raised her hand to ask me a question.
“ms puen? -4(7)... is that positive 32 or negative 32?”
oy…
Monday, September 24, 2007
our first win of the season!!
yeah… so my girls won their first game today! yay!! i’m so happy!
go colton!
i am fast becoming that quirky eccentric (old) math teacher
today, we were reviewing counting numbers, whole numbers, and integers, and i actually did the count from sesame street.
y’know, count von count!
"one, two, three, FOUR!!! ah ah ah ah ah...."
yeah… that was me in class. you shoulda seen the looks on the faces of the kids who hadn’t grown up watching sesame street (is that the reason they’re still taking remedial algebra in high school?) they looked at me as if i were crazy.
i might be, but not because i imitate count von count!
Monday, September 17, 2007
classroom management
Prov 15:1, NIV “A gentle answer turns away wrath"
i think that the best thing i ever did was read harry wong’s book “the first days of school". and attend the classroom management seminar.
the first few days of school, i had a couple of girls that had attitudes in my last period class. within a few days, using the techniques i had learned in that one class and from browsing through the book, they became the biggest helpers and participators in my class. i was so excited and pleased that within 3 days things had turned around.
and then the counselors threw in 15 more students into that classroom. all of a sudden i had twice as many students, and i felt so naive at thinking the counselors would overlook the fact that the last period class had only 15 students that were regularly attending (i had more on the roster, but they might have moved or changed schools without notifying anyone).
well… when my last period class doubled in size, the students that had become helpers joined the new girls with attitude. together, they ditched my 4th period class, all 5 of them defiantly strolling into my 5th period class -after- the bell rang. i didn’t know what i was going to do, but i knew i had to do something.
so last friday, i got to work early and sat there reading harry wong’s book, looking for tips. and all he said to do was smile at them, address them by name, ask them to do something using the word please, and then say thank you when they comply.
yeah.... it was so easy, but i realized i was treating them with the attitude i didn’t want to have, and so i changed courses and let them do the fun activity even though i didn’t think they earned it. i complimented the ringleader on how great her project looked, and told her she could hang it on the wall when she was finished.
i can’t believe something that small and simple worked.
the girls today were altogether pleasant to have in class, the major disruptors stayed quiet all period, working quietly at their desks. the most i saw them do was motion to each other across the room and mouth words to each other, but nothing worse than that. today i thanked “the ringleader” several times for her great behavior, for staying on task, for being quiet, for being a good student, etc. i tried to be specific and thank her for participating,
it’s so amazing to me that there has been such a drastic change with such a small action. but i sure hope i can continue to do what it takes to keep that trust and cooperation.
Monday, August 27, 2007
one day down, 179 to go!
hahahah…
no, i’m not counting down.
however, it is nice to have the first day over with. it causes so much anxiety because it really sets the tone for the whole year… good news is, the day went great, and all i have to do is keep it up. if i do, then this year will be (relatively) easy. if i don’t set the right precedent..... well, it could be an uphill battle the whole way.
anyways, -that’s- why i’m glad the first day is done. i think i did a fairly decent job today, and i’m looking forward to a great school year!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
last day of summer
on this, my last “official” day of summer (i’ve actually been working for a while now but school starts tomorrow), i’m just sitting at home trying to prep for tomorrow and the week’s activities. meaning mostly, i’m sitting at my computer saying that i’m getting my syllabus done, when in actuality i am watching tv and playing games.
it sure is hard to break the summer habits and get in to ‘work mode’... perhaps it’d be easier if i set aside an office area in my house where i would go to get work done, which would be not in my bedroom and not on the couch in front of the tv =)
on another note, i think i found a potential roommate. she is checking out another apartment tomorrow morning and then she should call me after that to let me know her decision. and if she doesn’t want it i’ve had two other inquiries… hopefully that works out.
i have plans to watch superbad tonight… now… on to making my syllabus - i WILL be done before i do anything else tonight!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
i only have to teach 3 classes this year
only three classes. and they’re all algebra 1. so i only have one class to prepare for…
but how could i only have 3 classes? when a typical day has 6 periods in it? well… you see, those poor kids have me for 2 periods at a time!
yup.
periods 1 & 2 have the same kids, then period 3 meets me only once right before early lunch at 10:20 am, aka kimi’s breakfast time. then i have periods 4 & 5 with the same kids. technically, then i have period 6 “free” in order to prepare for the next day, and do my grading and recording, etc, but that’s when i will be spending my time with the volleyball team.
i don’t know what or how i will be teaching to those poor students who have me twice in a row, but i will have to figure out 2 hours worth of math to do every day! wow… but that also means i will have only 3 classes of students to grades, so i won’t have 150 students to keep track of… weird. but it also means that i will have students who will need the extra help, so basically i will have a classroom full of students who don’t like math taking math 2 times in a row… quite the challenge to live up to, but i’m hoping i can make it interesting enough for them to learn so that they can finish their requirements to graduate. eeek!
anyways, it’s good to finally know my schedule =) that means i can start planning for the year now!
Friday, July 13, 2007
coaching the yellowjackets
so on monday colton offered me a job teaching math at the high school. and on tuesday, they called me back and asked me to coach their varsity volleyball team. i had said i was interested, and i wanted to do jv or the freshman team, or be the assistant coach, or something like that.
but no, they offered me the head coach position! of varsity! they want me to be in charge of the program cuz i’m staff!!!
so now i’m head coach!!!
it’s amazing!! when i first thought about not going back to grove, i couldn’t imagine it.... and i was dreading going to another school… and then as i was trying to find a place that i would be happy at, i visited colton hs and told my mom that if i got hired there to teach math and one class of volleyball, it would be the ideal “upgrade” from my then-current position at grove. it would be a wayyyy bigger school, yes, but i would get the chance to know some students on a more personal level because of being more involved. i could also potentially teach less classes and have less prep-work, instead of teaching 4 different math classes, a physics, an elective, and doing counseling/mentoring during lunch, all while planning and fundraising for a winterim. and so i while on the phone with my mom, i realized that changing schools could give me the opportunity to teach the same class of math four or five times a day and the opportunity to be involved with the volleyball team. and if i could be teaching algebra 2, then it would be all students who chose to be in that class, instead of teaching one that was required for graduation. less stress, more time, and more pay all rolled into one =)
and so when i got offered the job on monday, i accepted, but that was it… just teaching math. coolio.
then when they called me back on tuesday, i was a little bit apprehensive about taking the job, since it’s a big responsibility, but it is definitely a positive. and i accepted again.
now, if they could only assign me to teach algebra 2, i will have the “ideal” job that i described to my mom.
God has definitely been blessing me!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
grove graduation 2007
just a few pictures from last week’s graduation… yeah i know this post is late… but here are some pics from the last real event at that school
max (who’s going away to boot camp next week) and matt
jade and johnie
keigm, darryl, and trenton
dr. ian dinmore, bree, and mike playing ‘pomp and circumstance’
after the ceremony
celeste, traci, madison, and megan with jemma joining the bmc with her brand new red headband =)
kim with her son joey
mallory, lorraine, and shelby - visiting from last year’s grad class
i don’t know these students cuz they’re from before my time at grove but they’re math and engineering majors coming back to visit mike
sarah and vanessa
christy and chris
with celeste
grant and ellie
Monday, May 21, 2007
jill is graduating with her MFT
and we celebrated in style by going to grad nite 07!
actually, i had to chaperone my seniors and i dragged jill (see her brand new blog here) with me so that i could run around disneyland with someone… we got there on thursday night (may 17) and stayed till friday morning 6am, so we got to run around the park for 6 hours free, since we were chaperones!
we mostly ran around acting like we were seniors though =)
taking goofy pictures
actually, goofy is in this pic =)
hahaha… aren’t these stuffed animals so cute? pluto’s the funniest, just one big orange circle… i love it!
i didn’t want to brave the 2hr line to get on space mountain, but i rode star tours, drove through autopia, visited the haunted mansion, rode the pirates of the caribbean, survived the teacups (and alice in wonderland) did the big thunder mountain railroad twice, and of course, rode the matterhorn. we had free breakfast in the chaperone lounge, and it was just an all ‘round fun experience....
yay for grad nite! and yay for being chaperones!
Monday, May 14, 2007
done with BTSA!
ohmygosh i am done with BTSA, aka beginning teacher state accreditation, aka a big expensive pain in the butt hoop that CA teachers have to jump through.
i mean, after paying $8000 to UCR to get my credential and my masters, i then got a teaching job, and found out i only have my preliminary credential. in order to clear a credential (aka stop jumping through hoops), beginning teachers need to do a two year program. TWO YEAR PROGRAM. get this - it costs $8000 per year to go through this program.
oh, and what does this program consist of? well, since i was at ucr, we were the test pilot for the program. which means that this two year program is a series of online forms that is EXACTLY WORD FOR WORD the same online program colloquium i did for my masters. so basically, i just paid $16,000 over the last two years to mimic what i had completed in one year at UCR. interesting how the state of california gets you, eh? not only are beginning teachers on the bottom rung of the pay scale, we have the most expenses. such as the $60 to get fingerprinted to work in a district (which i had to pay twice in my district because apparently they need a new set of fingerprints when you become a teacher, because the substitute teacher fingerprints somehow aren’t good enough). oh, and there were about 50 teachers at that meeting today, which means that for my district alone BTSA earned/cost $400,000. crazy, right?
at any rate, i’ll stop complaining about the busywork they add to the life of a beginning teacher trying to prepare for the classroom every day not needing extra work to do and just proclaim loudly that I AM FINALLY DONE WITH BTSA!!!!
my two years are over, and i’m a free woman! =) now just two more classes i need to take before they clear my credential!
DONE WITH BTSA!
can you tell how happy i am? =)
Thursday, April 05, 2007
teacher-student dilemma
recently i’ve discovered the education wonks, a blog that reports on teacher-student interaction that makes the news.
this particular post hits home, if only because i have a student who has mooned an entire class and thinks it’s her right to be at that school and no one can do anything about it. it hits home because i understand the position of the school, and i applaud their guts in standing up for common decency and not letting any student get away with anything. the message that they are sending is loud and clear - they will not tolerate this behavior. it’s a message i wish our school could send our students.
the student who is suing the school? breaking the rules and acting inappropriately in class somehow gains him the right to sue the school? the sad thing is, i’m scared he might win. and the students will continue acting in whichever way they want because the law protects them from being disciplined.
how are teachers and schools supposed to enforce their rules when there are so many laws protecting the students? you can’t even fail a student who comes to class with no intention of taking notes and/or participating if you don’t provide a pencil and paper for him everyday, since he has a right to a -free- education. failing him would be a violation of his rights because you did not provide the pencil and paper to make it “free”. in my opinion he should have to work for his free education (and by work i mean try - take notes, participate, attend every day, etc) but we are expected to spoon feed it to them because it is their right to learn without spending any money (or time or effort, it seems).
not all the students are that way, and i have a great bunch. it’s just that when our hands are tied and we for whatever reason cannot enforce our own rules, we create an environment that allows the students to say, “boooyah! look what i did! what are you going to do about it?!?!? i’m gonna call my mom!” and then their parents come in and argue and save them from their own consequences.
and yes, that has happened before.
may the school win the lawsuit.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
why i don't like "freedom writers"
ok, so i haven’t really seen the movie. and i’ve only browsed through the book. but i still don’t like the movie/book.
wanna know why?
it’s supposed to be inspirational. i think it’s so misleading.
see, the book/movie is about this teacher who threw herself into her work making these students realize what great writers they are and what great potential they have as people. she works insane hours - she runs a writing lab in the afternoon and into the night being there for the students. she basically makes them her life. they learn to be great writers. they publish a book. she inspires many people. yay.
thing is, she quits. yup. movies and books don’t show that. you can’t live a life like that year after year after year inspiring students throwing yourself 200% into your job and NOT expect to burn out. wanna know what she does now? she gets paid big bucks to speak at schools. to inspire the teachers. but all she does is talk about how she taught for a couple of years and all the teachers do is listen thinking “but you quit after a couple of years!” and she got paid around $60k for that one speaking engagement at the district i used to work at. waste of teacher money if you ask those teachers. they shoulda hired a good teacher for a year with that $60k. anyways....
i guess it leaves me wondering… is there a way i can be a fulfilled and inspiring teacher and NOT burn out? how do i do it? i really want to know!