testing testing 123

In the past month, my students have spent exactly 8 school days doing "practice" or "instructionally targeted" assessments. This is NOT counting the many earlier "predictive" or "instructionally targeted" assessments done in several previous months.

This is not really funny at all, especially considering the amount of time and money spent (wasted?) on all of this citywide. But it was pretty funny when they took a math exam that more or less required the use of a calculator for one portion, and then I only had 10 calculators for 20 kids.

It's okay. I'm good at following the philosphy of "make it work.

sort of

Today I read aloud an article about Jane Goodall so they could practice listening, taking notes, and doing responses based off what they heard. After we discussed how she helped save chimpanzees in the wild, one of my students asked, "Is it illegal to kill all animals?" I said, "Not all, but many animals, especially endangered ones." She responded, "Oh yeah, like koalas and dinosaurs."

Yeah. Exactly like that.

thanks?

I have naturally very straight hair, but awhile back I started putting it in braids at night, then letting it out and adding gel to it to make it curly. The first time I did this, one of my boys said, "You look really familiar right now. You look like someone I know. I can't figure out what it is." I said, "Is it me? Do I remind you of your English teacher, just with curly hair? Cause that's what I am." He said no.

At the end of the day, he came up to me again. "I figured it out! You look like a wet Puerto Rican!"

....okay.

close but no cigar

As we were about to read a short story in class, I say, "This story is an example of a myth. What is a myth?" Mind you, the answer is written right in the textbook we are about to read from.

DS excitedly raises his hand. "Oooh, oooh! I know! It's a drug, like speed."

yeah she did!

I was working with a student who is (I hate to admit it but...) particularly annoying. When I turned around to get him something, another person threw a tiny piece of paper at him. He shouted out, "Yo, who threw that?" to which I quickly responded, "Your mama!"

Whooops.

oh dear!

Has it been almost a month? I apologize. Things have been going relatively well. I mean, we've almost completely stopped doing independent reading in favor of me reading aloud a book, but, well, that's worth something. I hope.

I leave you with this gem. My students asked me a few weeks ago if I was a nerd or cool in high school. I said, "Are you kidding me? Do you even know me? I was a complete nerd. I'm a teacher for goodness sake!" They asked me to prove it by bringing in a yearbook, so when I went home over vacation, I fished my 8th grade yearbook out of my dad's closet. I brought it in, and showed a group of them some pictures. (I was voted Most Likely to be on Jeopardy in middle school, thankyouverymuch.) They flipped to a signature page and saw where one of my male friends had written his phone number. A girl asked, "Oooooohhh, did you have a boyfriend?" I said, "In 8th grade? No, of course not." "Well, do you have one now?" "No, I don't." "Good, you should be single and ready to mingle!!!"

Yes, I apparently allow this inappropriateness to happen.