My Mama Said...

If there is something that bothers me more than most other things, it would have to be when a kid comes to be and says, "My mama said..." REALLY NOW? If your mama really wanted me to know that, wouldn't she call or send me a note? I hope you have sympathy while reading these and not the sense that I'm harsh. Of course I never said these comments to the student, but it just got to me after I heard a "My mama said..." multiple times only beginning when you started in my class.

I hope while reading these, you fully understood that I have never once spoken to this parent. When she registered and dropped her child in my classroom, she was on her cell phone the entire time and didn't even want to speak to me and barely made eye contact. I tried introducing myself but it seemed worthless. It only figures that she has so much to say, but doesn't want to actually tell me...or, all of the comments aren't true and they were made up to get attention? It wouldn't surprise me...

"My mama said...that she wants a note home about my behavior everyday."
I'm sorry honey...I have too many kids in my class to write a note home everyday. I can e-mail a quick note, but a hand-written note every day? I already send home a weekly note...if she wants more than that, she needs to let me know.

"My mama said...if you don't let me go to the bathroom when I ask, I can just go."
Really now? Is your mom the one who has 20 kids asking to use the bathroom every 5 minutes? Is your mom the one who hears kids ask to use the bathroom because they "can't hold it anymore" and after I say no, they never ask again? Apparently you didn't have to go that badly. And how do I know when you really have to go if you do this? Isn't that called crying wolf?

"My mama said...you need to call her."
Why doesn't she just call me? If it's something she needs to ask/tell me, she needs to call me. She knows my classroom number and that I'm there until at least 4:30 daily. And if she calls and I'm not there...I know how to check my messages and return phone calls. If she sends me a note saying this, I will call her.

"My mama said...that I need to keep my medicine in my bag and take it when I feel like I need to."
Okay and if you do that, I'll write you up for taking medicine at school without permission (or whatever the legal jargon is). You say your mom works at a school, but she doesn't know the rules about going to the nurse to get medicine?

"My mama said...that she checked my homework and everything is right."
Then why do you come to school if your mom can teach you everything? Oh, because she can't...you still have a lot of wrong answers. Please don't come to me and say your mama knows everything. I don't even pretend to know everything.

"My mama said...I need to call her at 2:30 to know if I ride the bus home."
Really? Is that why you are just mentioning this at 2:40? If it was so important, wouldn't you have told me earlier? Also, isn't it your mom's job to call the school and let you know how to get home from school...isn't that a parent's responsibility? And I just can't let a kid use the phone to call because then my whole class would need to call home for one reason or another.

"My mama said...you need to send work home so I can practice decimals and fractions."
If your mama knows that you need practice, she can help you from home. And, don't tell me at 2:00 that she wants these papers today. I already taught decimals and fractions in January and I'm sorry you weren't here, but it's impossible for me to teach it to you when I have 20 other kids who've already learned it and it's 2 days before TAKS. I'm not trying to set you up to fail, but I can't teach something to one new kid just because they weren't here when we did it as a class. If my whole class still needed it, of course I would teach it again, but we've moved on.

"My mama said...I need work to practice this summer. Can you send it home?"
School isn't even over yet, we still have 25 days left (yes, I'm counting). Also, I know that every child needs to practice their math and reading skills over the summer, but unfortunately the Copy Machine Master doesn't allot us enough copies to make each kid a summer packet. I also know that of all the students in my class, you are the one who has the most ability (financially and physically) to buy some workbooks at the store. You all know that teachers shop at Teacher's Heaven and parents are welcome there too. I'm not trying to deprive you of continuing your learning, but it doesn't seem reasonable to me being that you are one of the very fortunate in the school. I will give all my old worksheets out the last week of school and have prepared some packets for some kids, but not everyone.

"My mama said...if I don't understand something I need to ask you."
Okay, this comment doesn't sound as unreasonable as the others, but the way you said it and began using that ability was unreasonable. You said this as though you can't ask for help on your own...only because your "mama said" can you ask me to help. You then began asking me to help on every single question, even though you were capable of answering them. Saying, "I don't understand this one," doesn't tell me what you don't understand. Is it the directions? The words? How to solve the problem? There are many things you may not understand when reading a problem...please be specific.

"My mama said...that if I don't drink enough water, my asthma is going to start acting up."
Is this another one of those comments that you think holds more power if you say it came from your mama instead of just telling me. I hear this comment on a daily, almost hourly basis and I'm not sure of its merits because I hear it so much, I'm going to think you're crying wolf if your asthma really does act up. You are in 4th grade...you know what causes your asthma to act up and what you can do to prevent it (because "your mama tells me everyday"), so you should just avoid those things, bring a water bottle big enough for the entire day to school, and only tell me if it's an emergency. I already have so many students who cry wolf all day long, I don't know what to believe and what not to believe...so for right now...I don't believe anything until I speak to parents in person or over the phone.

"My mama said...I need a note in order to bring my scrapbook materials to school."
What? I already sent a note home...yesterday! Does she expect me to hand-write a note for each individual student? The note said that if you have materials to make your scrapbook, bring them to school. You can either keep these materials private or share them with the class. They need to be at school. I'm sorry that you said you've lied to your mom before and now she doesn't believe you when you ask for something, but I've already sent a note home.
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Here are some other "My mama saids..." from other students...

"My mama said...I better behave today or I'm going to be grounded."
YES! I like this mama.

"My mama said...if I don't turn in all my work, I'm not going to have fun this weekend."
Another that I really like!

"My mama said...that if I make a C, I won't get to watch TV."
And they keep coming...

"My mama said...to call her if you need help with anything."
Oh, I would LOVE some help!

"My mama said...to call her if I have a good day."
No problem...I would love to.

"My mama said...call her if I'm not on task today."
You actually told me this message? Wow...I'd be happy to. Whenever I call your mama, it reinforces the importance of parent-teacher communication on behavior and quality of work.

When in Rome...

Do as the Romans...which consists of being rude to people, charging them for everything, walking carelessly, and anything else that I learned in my life that can also be known as common coutesty. That aside, my vacation didn't begin in Rome, but that's where I am now. We flew to Milan and then drove to Florence (the airport in Florence isn't large enough for international flights). I soon found Florence to be one of the most disgusting cities I've ever been to in my life. The buildings were covered with graffiti and it smelled of an extremly dirty bathroom. Italians also don't seem to be the friendliest bunch. Yes, we have met a few that cracked a smile or helped us out, but for the most pat they bump into anyone without any concern and have an insane system on the road which gives all the power to the busses, then cars, then bikes, then pedestrians. If you encounter something on the street that has more power than you...you better get out of the way. They don't seem to be afraid of hitting anyone or anything. Those of you who thought a NYC taxi was dangerous...you haven't seen anything.
After a day of holding my nose, we headed to Rome. I was excited and hopeful that it didn't resemble Florence. Well, in many aspects it was better than I could have imagined...but, there was still the graffiti ccovering many walls around the city. Even the Colleseum has some graffiti. Is anything respected? It was built around 45 AD. (Fun Fact: It took only 8 years to build.) I never imagined it to be as large as it was. We were able to drive by last night and see many of the historical points all lit up and then we returned today to tour the ins and outs of each place. We went to the Colleseum, Vatican (museum and St. Peter's Basillica), Pantheon, Castle of the Angels, lots of government buildings, Trevi Fountain, and smaller attractions along the way. It was an enjoyable day although my body is beat from the walking.
Tomorrow we're off to Serranto vis Capri and Pompeii. I'm looking forward to seeing the ruins and the beach. The night after will be spent on a boat traveling to Greece...yay!

Except for the rude Italians and the bad tour guide today (who was also rude and didn't know how to speak loudly), this is a great vacation. I probably won't be able to post pictures while here, but they will be posted as soon as I return. I would also like to mention that there are a few people on our tour who I do't necessarily get along with, but enjoy having a few laughs at their expense. With this said, I recently got a new camera that has built in PhotoShop features, such as drawing terrible things on pictures and cropping immediately. I will be posting these photos as well.

Happy Summer!

INSPIRATION

If you want some inspirational summer reading, check out these books. They are absolutely fabulous and will be a re-read on my summer list. They offer humor, insight, and advice all at once. I hope to one day write a books that can offer so much to young teachers just like these did for me.
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During student teaching, I had a professor recommend that we all read this book. It looks at the humorous side of teaching and accepting all of the crazy things that you think would NEVER happen to you. I have since recommended it to everyone I know because it's an easy read that allows you to laugh at the author and also yourself when you realize you've done similar things. This book is actually what inspired me to write a blog chronicling my teaching experiences day-by-day. I one day wish to write a similar book and will plenty of stories to choose from the best of the best.
If you have been teaching one year or thirty, I suggest reading this book and in order to help you understand not to take things so seriously and learn from your mistakes.
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This was another book recommended to me by a friend during student teaching. At the time I read this, I related to it a bit, but didn't truly understand what an inspiring man Rafe Esquith is. Now that I've taught 4th grade in a school Rafe would call "The Jungle", I am taking the opportunity to re-read this amazing book. Rafe talks about how much of his life he dedicates to his students because he is what they have. Some of their families barely survive and school is their escape from the harsh realities they face in their neighborhoods. Now that my current teaching position so closely relates to where Rafe worked, I try to think of how he would handle a situation and not to sound cliche, but, "What would Rafe do?" He's done amazing things for many years with a very diverse group of kids who live very rough lives. In my lifetime, I only wish to do similar great things in my neighborhood.
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This is a follow up to Rafe's amazing first book. This book also offers inspiration through Rafe's experiences. He teaches because he cares. He wasn't always supported in his teaching ventures, but I see him as a leader in education. Yes, there are many people who are considered leaders because they shape the way education is, but this man is a leader because he is doing what I am. He's been there and done most things. He makes mistakes, but learns from them for the next time. He "rescues" children from lives of disappointment and failure and gives them an oasis in which to learn and grow, as students and people. Again, I only hope to do the same for my students in the coming years.

Playin' Hoodrat Games in the Park

I'm still playing Auntie at my sister's house near Dallas. We've been making trips all over town, taking Caleb to his doctor's appointment, and cuddling him as much as possible. I tell you that it's very hard to love someone so adorable and helpless. He cuddles on my chest (he likes the soft pillows) and poops every 5 minutes. Who cares what comes out the other end when he's making such cute faces. Even the pictures I took of him at the doctor's office (getting blood drawn) were amazingly cute and pathetic at the same time. I will definitely be spending more time at my sister's playing Aunt. This is something that her boyfriend will enjoy...hah! Well, I take that back...he likes it when I cook.

After some more cleaning of the baby room (because he's not yet spending time in it), my sister and I picked up her boyfriend's kid (he's almost 10--4th grader). We rode bikes to the park to play with some hoodrats before dinner. I'm amazed at how easily he makes friends to play with, but also happy that he is able to do that. This means that I can just supervise and play when I want. Anyway, he was playing hoodrat tag. Um, I mean, Williams' Family Hide-and-Seek. The kids (who were also 9-10) described it as part Marco-Polo, Hide-and-Seek, and Tag. It was quite confusing at first, but they were sure of the rules and explained them to everyone around...even the cute little girl who came over and told me what was going on. They played, but because it was so confusing for everyone else, they eventually quit. Soon, another crop of hoodrats came along and started a whole new game of tag with my soon-to-be step-nephew. At least that game was legit and the rules weren't made by some random family. It was fun to watch the kids who don't know each other play together. They casually ask names, use them during play, and then say goodbye when everyone leaves. It seems much more friendly than any group of adults who randomly meet somewhere.

Seeing how Caleb has changed positions and is now laying on one of my arms, it has become more difficult to type. I'm heading home tomorrow but will plan a trip soon to visit again. I must spoil as often and as much as possible! But, my poor Tiva misses me...and my friend who I cook for on a fairly regular basis.

I'm in love!

With my nephew that is! He is the sweetest baby I've ever seen. He snuggles like no other, sleeps almost all day, and makes adorable faces. He sleeps with me on the bed, on the couch and in my arms. The only time he cries is when he wants to eat. And even his crying is adorable. He took his first trip to the mall and multiple stores yesterday and he didn't even fuss when we were shifting his stroller in order to make it up and down the escalator multiple times. Hopefully his sweetness lasts forever and he doesn't take after his mother (my sister)...we could definitely be in for some moodiness if that is the case.

More pictures to come!

It's All Over!

Oh my was this past week tiring! I don't think I was that tired my first week of school. In fact, I'm still tired 2 days later. My body definitely took a beating this past week and I'm still feeling it. The entire last week of school was spent doing absolutely nothing of importance. I tried to maintain management in order to preserve my sanity, and it somewhat worked...it was just very tiring. Trying to pack up a classroom and keep children engaged was definitely my greatest challenge. My classroom had to be packed up before I left school on Friday (in order to avoid returning to work on Tuesday, which was a must because I had other plans).

Helpful kids are wonderful, except when there is nothing to do! I am a very particular person and don't really like other people doing things for me sometimes and packing was one of those times. I like to know what is going in what box and to decide what didn't need to be packed, etc. Along with all this packing was a lot of cleaning...I mean throwing things away. I have seen the teachers who keep everything they've ever used in their teaching careers...I believe they are called pack rats. I do not want to turn into one of those. I threw many things away, things I knew I would not use again or that I had multiple copies of. I also had to return all of the confiscated items that I accumulated in 5 months. I didn't realize I had so much. Everything that I had fit into a large plastic container. Here are just some of the items I had the pleasure of taking from my students:
- Littlest Pet Shop toys (multiple)
- art set
- scented pencils
- blinking lights
- Jagermeister visor (see picture)
- oversized pencil
- egg-shaped nut
- key chains galore
- bracelets
- journals
- Tomagochis (I don't know how to spell this.)
- baseball cards
- Pokemon cards

You may think that some of these things are not toys. I agree. Before I confiscated many of these items, I warned my kiddos to put it away because it was distracting them from working. When they did not put it away and/or finish their work, I took it. I did have many more things, but they were returned before I started taking things "until the end of the school year". I also know that a few items were claimed by students without my permission from my drawer. For next year, I will be sure to have a larger area for these items.

It was a sad day...but not really. I was quite happy. I enjoyed my students, but was thankful that the year was over. Those kids were cray-cray! I mean, they "scared" one teacher away...they might have successfully managed 2, but the year ended. As I left my room, I took a picture of what remained--all my worldly teaching belongings. I am super excited about the thought of starting a year by myself and knowing that I can shape the attitudes, behavior, expectations, and quality of learning from day one! But first I'll enjoy my 3 months of summer and my vacations to Italy, Greece, and New York City.

Summer Blog: I have some blogs that I have yet to post, but will do so randomly throughout the summer for entertainment. I will also post about my adventures.