First Day of School

Today was the first day of school for the year. I had already met almost all of my students, but this was the first time they got to see what it would be like to be in my classroom. I think they know now that I'm pretty easy to get along with--as long as they don't screw up! Like I'm fine with kids chewing gum, as long as I can't hear or see it. And the first time I find it stuck on something is the last time anyone chews gum!

I'm much the same way with academics. I trust them to do what they're supposed to. If they don't, then I'll be on their backs monitoring and nagging. I mostly think that kids will behave up to my expectations, so I set my expectations high. I get the feeling these kids haven't been given as much freedom as they deserve, considering they teach themselves!

I've got 6 boys and 2 girls in grades 5 through 12. My youngest student is my brightest. My 12 grader needs only two credits, U.S. History and Health, and he'll be able to graduate. My goal is to get him finished this semester, preferably by Christmas. Other than that, my goals are to teach them something without ripping my hair out!

I started a read-aloud program. That means I'm reading aloud to the students. I decided to share with them the rationale for it, which made 7 heads start nodding. The first book I'm reading is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I got through the Preface, Chapter 1, and part of Chapter 2 in the allotted time. When I finished, most of the kids gave me a thumbs up for being interested in the book. I'm really looking forward to this activity. The kids are so lacking in experiences that everyone else considers "normal." This is a great way to help them build vocabulary, as well as experiencing the world vicariously through the characters.

Along the same lines, I got a real shock when I did my first Music lesson with the combined classes. I pulled out my guitar intending to lead them through some familiar folk songs. They didn't know them! Even the teens didn't know BINGO! Puff the Magic Dragon! On Top of Spaghetti! She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain! Nothing! My partner and I decided we have to split the classes for Arts and P.E. because it was too hard to teach the whole group together. I think most of what I'll do with the K-2 group is singing the songs that every child should know. I'll probably do some of that with the older ones, too, but I want to give them some music-reading and some music appreciation. Fortunately, the National Association for Music Education (formerly MENC) created a list of songs just like I need for these kids. They've even got lesson plans for them.

I'm pretty pleased with how the day went. I have a ton of work to do so that the students can work somewhat independently at their own level, making sure I cover all the content areas, but it's work I'll enjoy. For each unit of study in Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies, I want to offer them a choice between taking a test, writing a research paper (or report, depending on the grade), and making a project. I'm getting to be fun and creative about designing projects. I think I'm going to like it here.

Remind me of that when I start complaining about the workload!