Booty Cootie

Yes, that is a word that my mentor teacher (I'm going to use MT now to abbreviate mentor teacher) used to tell students not to put their heads on the desks. He said that when students are gone teachers come into the classroom and hang out and they like to sit on desks and so their booty cootie rubs off. When a student lays their heads down on the desk they pick up that booty cootie on their face. Clever. I may just use it!

Today in advisory it was firepit Friday, so we all got chairs and sat in a circle around the "camp fire." Everyone then took a small pebble and my MT posed a question. Once the question was given one person had to put their pebble in the fire and that meant they had the floor to speak. The question was "What were/are you nervous or anxious about during the first week of school?" If a student didn't want to answer they could simply say they were not comfortable saying it. I gave some lame answer like "I was nervous about my first year as a teacher." I could have come up with something far better than that because I'm nervous and anxious about everything! My MT almost started crying during his. I felt so bad because he has a lot going on and still works hard every day.

Today in class we went over the syllabus and collected binders for their first binder check. He let me read the introductory paragraph and the core vales to the class from the syllabus. He slowly wants me to make my presence in front of the class. During the last two bells I actually graded binders. It was kind of frustrating because we spent all week trying to get these kids A's. We even walked around and showed them exactly what they needed to do and they all had the opportunity to come in and ask for help, yet a lot of people did not get the 2 A's. You know in high school on some of your binders and notebooks you would write the name of your teacher and the bell and subject? Well, some kids had MY name down! I felt awesome and like I was actually their teacher. Yeah, I'm moving up in the world.

My teacher also described two more procedures that he goes over. One is his tardy procedure (and the rest of the team does this too so the students are familiar with it). There is a tardy binder next to the door and when a student comes in the must sign it even if they have a note. Then when we have time my MT or I will check the binder and see if it's excused or not. If the student has a note that is when we go over to collect it. If the student does not have an excused tardy they get an automatic detention. A tardy is if they are about 1-3 minutes late. They student will get a Thursday night school if they stroll in 10+ minutes late because that is no longer a tardy, it's skipping class. If the student fails to fill out the binder then that automatically get a detention whether they had a note or not. My MT also wants his class to be preparation for the work place, so what the students say and how they act should reflect that. He has a list of words across the front of the room. They are: Quiet, please; I'm sorry; Thank you; Excuse me; Please. These are words that the students need to use instead of words like Shut up. If my MT or I hear them say a word, like shut up, we just nicely ask them to please rephrase the sentence using one of our workplace words. Easy as that.

My friend (you know the one I gave the detention to?) and I had our talk this morning. I asked him why he didn't stop by after school. He said he forgot. Whether or not this is true I don't know. However, I felt bad (I really need to grow a back bone). I decided not to give him the Thursday night school, but he was still getting the detention. I allowed him to say something in defense for himself, but he didn't because hopefully he knows that he is guilty of his actions.

Today I received this shirt and this lanyard and flash drive from the school. We got the polo shirt because we helped work summer bridge. All of the teachers got the lanyard and flash drive from the school as a gift and my MT gave me his. I love being a teacher! Plus, now I have somewhere to put my keys. Yes, I have my own keys to the classroom. My mentor teacher also told me that he brags about me to everyone. I laughed, and he said, "I really do." This is a good thing! I'm glad my hard work shows!

Today, I wore black pants that I bought at some thrift store. I was going to wear a different pair, but for some reason all my pants a big on me now, even with my shirt tucked in, and they didn't have a belt loops, so I had to wear this pair. They make my hips look massive! HAHA! The shirt I'm wearing I bought at Plato's Closet about a year or so ago (actually I might have bought it in Michigan). Well, it doesn't really matter now. I realized that I am to the point after 4 days where I stand at my closet and I don't know what to wear. I need more teaching clothes and I need it to be fall/winter because that will make my choices much smaller. Although it is freezing inside the school so I could probably get away with wearing my wool sweater.

I am happy it's the weekend though, and my friend Becky will be visiting me! :)