I heart 5th graders but I hate U-Haul
Alright, here it is. What we’ve been waiting for. The answer to the question: What the heck has Sarah Bliss been up to?
So, here goes. First of all, my things in New Orleans were fine. A few weekends ago, I returned to NO to pick up my car and pack up my house. The weekend was the most bizarre of my life- UHAUL did not want to give us a truck we had reserved, so I haggled and we got a truck, then we had to pack up 3 houses in one day and fit 6 people’s belongings in one 26 foot truck. Yeah, you heard me- I was driving a 26 foot moving truck. NEVER, I repeat NEVER use U-Haul. Our truck broke down on the side of the highway, my friends were stranded for 6 hours and U-Haul apparently has the worst reputation for not servicing their trucks. The weekend was so ridiculous (other “highlights” include witnessing a car crash, getting a urinary tract infection, staying in a random hotel room where someone had left their belongings, getting stuck at a tollbooth, getting lost in New Orleans without a cell phone in a sketchy neighborhood and urinating on the U-Haul building.) We wrote a log of all the ridiculous events. Enough about that weekend. The timeline will speak for itself. To be posted later.
On to the more important stuff. My kids are incredible. I have a homeroom of 15 kids, they are the lowest readers and many of the students farthest behind grade level. We have one non-reader who misspells his name sometimes. And then we have kids who can define proper and common noun before I teach it and write fluid essays with a start, middle and end. Hello, differentiation! My job is gonna be to reach all of these kids and move them forward from where they started. MUCH easier said than done.
My homeroom is the Oregon Ducks; it’s supposed to be where we went to college, but UPS was taken by my friend Robin who went there and teaches the 4th grade. So, Oregon it is, I have my kids writing Go Ducks! On all their papers. It is so cute.
Just to get an idea of the Fabulous fifth grade students (there are 50 in all):
-- O’Shea cocks her head and looks at us funny when we talk, but likes to write us notes and draw pictures of us with front and back views. So cute!
-- Kent likes to make parrot noises in class- we’re working on that one.
-- Silas (the non reader) had 4 people family members die during the hurricane, including one family member who he saw get shot.
-- Roy’al is the most rhythmic person I’ve ever met- she feels the beat at all times, and getting her to stand still is a challenge. She forgets here homework a lot, but when she has it (and does not have to go to homework hall) she beams and brags about how she did it.
-- Rashad is pint sized but has a puffball of dreds that explode out of his head. He is one of the smartest, and only gets in trouble because he is so friendly he will talk to anyone who is around.
I will tell about a few of my students each time I post- I could write an essay about each, they are adorable and almost all LOVE to learn. We have 4 kids on the “Bench” which is like suspension. I must say there is a pleasure/satisfaction when a “bad” kid tells us “I ain’t never comin’ back to this school!” when we know very well they are trying (in vain) to hurt our feelings and they will definitely be back the next day. KIPP refuses to suspend students , arguing that they should be in the class learning. I totally agree. So kids on the bench wear red shirts so everyone knows they are not allowed to speak with them. These kids have so much pent-up aggression and sadness that they like to take it out on each other and us sometimes. It is something we are working through but tantrums, fights and refusal to listen to authority are all problems we are dealing with. Hearing the stories of watching mama cut a hole in the roof with a kitchen knife as the water rose toward the ceiling breaks my heart every time. Ms. Harris only lets them use the word “hate” in her class when discussing Katrina.
I feel like I have 50 children of my own, and every day with them is special no matter whether it is Monday of last week (mania- they wouldn’t stop talking, terrible lesson plan on my part and spent most of the class disciplining including 40 minutes walking in the halls- all 50 of them- until they did it quietly) or Thursday (excellent lesson, students quiet and attentive, very excited about learning.) The love I have for these children is an emotion I have never felt before- and it has only been 3 weeks! Seeing them grow throughout the year will be very special. Teaching is exactly what I should be doing in my life right now.
With love and ganas,
Sarah B.
So, here goes. First of all, my things in New Orleans were fine. A few weekends ago, I returned to NO to pick up my car and pack up my house. The weekend was the most bizarre of my life- UHAUL did not want to give us a truck we had reserved, so I haggled and we got a truck, then we had to pack up 3 houses in one day and fit 6 people’s belongings in one 26 foot truck. Yeah, you heard me- I was driving a 26 foot moving truck. NEVER, I repeat NEVER use U-Haul. Our truck broke down on the side of the highway, my friends were stranded for 6 hours and U-Haul apparently has the worst reputation for not servicing their trucks. The weekend was so ridiculous (other “highlights” include witnessing a car crash, getting a urinary tract infection, staying in a random hotel room where someone had left their belongings, getting stuck at a tollbooth, getting lost in New Orleans without a cell phone in a sketchy neighborhood and urinating on the U-Haul building.) We wrote a log of all the ridiculous events. Enough about that weekend. The timeline will speak for itself. To be posted later.
On to the more important stuff. My kids are incredible. I have a homeroom of 15 kids, they are the lowest readers and many of the students farthest behind grade level. We have one non-reader who misspells his name sometimes. And then we have kids who can define proper and common noun before I teach it and write fluid essays with a start, middle and end. Hello, differentiation! My job is gonna be to reach all of these kids and move them forward from where they started. MUCH easier said than done.
My homeroom is the Oregon Ducks; it’s supposed to be where we went to college, but UPS was taken by my friend Robin who went there and teaches the 4th grade. So, Oregon it is, I have my kids writing Go Ducks! On all their papers. It is so cute.
Just to get an idea of the Fabulous fifth grade students (there are 50 in all):
-- O’Shea cocks her head and looks at us funny when we talk, but likes to write us notes and draw pictures of us with front and back views. So cute!
-- Kent likes to make parrot noises in class- we’re working on that one.
-- Silas (the non reader) had 4 people family members die during the hurricane, including one family member who he saw get shot.
-- Roy’al is the most rhythmic person I’ve ever met- she feels the beat at all times, and getting her to stand still is a challenge. She forgets here homework a lot, but when she has it (and does not have to go to homework hall) she beams and brags about how she did it.
-- Rashad is pint sized but has a puffball of dreds that explode out of his head. He is one of the smartest, and only gets in trouble because he is so friendly he will talk to anyone who is around.
I will tell about a few of my students each time I post- I could write an essay about each, they are adorable and almost all LOVE to learn. We have 4 kids on the “Bench” which is like suspension. I must say there is a pleasure/satisfaction when a “bad” kid tells us “I ain’t never comin’ back to this school!” when we know very well they are trying (in vain) to hurt our feelings and they will definitely be back the next day. KIPP refuses to suspend students , arguing that they should be in the class learning. I totally agree. So kids on the bench wear red shirts so everyone knows they are not allowed to speak with them. These kids have so much pent-up aggression and sadness that they like to take it out on each other and us sometimes. It is something we are working through but tantrums, fights and refusal to listen to authority are all problems we are dealing with. Hearing the stories of watching mama cut a hole in the roof with a kitchen knife as the water rose toward the ceiling breaks my heart every time. Ms. Harris only lets them use the word “hate” in her class when discussing Katrina.
I feel like I have 50 children of my own, and every day with them is special no matter whether it is Monday of last week (mania- they wouldn’t stop talking, terrible lesson plan on my part and spent most of the class disciplining including 40 minutes walking in the halls- all 50 of them- until they did it quietly) or Thursday (excellent lesson, students quiet and attentive, very excited about learning.) The love I have for these children is an emotion I have never felt before- and it has only been 3 weeks! Seeing them grow throughout the year will be very special. Teaching is exactly what I should be doing in my life right now.
With love and ganas,
Sarah B.
posted by MissBliss at 8:36 PM
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