Hijoles! (Oh My Gosh)
So today was the start of my 5/6 grade year at Terranova....and can I just mention that 9 & 10 year olds possess more energy than I EVER thought humanly possible. Not joking. Those little guys were NUTS! :)
Seriously...at the beginning of the day, I was thinking..."I can't do this. This is NOT what I signed up for. I can't manage this." And then by the end of the day, I was thinking of how I was going to tie them up and beat them...and then by the early evening, I was thinking of disciplinary strategies (notice the healthy progression of thought unfolding here)....and now, I'm writing a letter to the parents to be checked over and signed...and tomorrow, we're getting straight down to business. No more Miss Nice K....hehe. :)
No, really, though. It was extremely chaotic...and I find several reasons that are the culprits:
1. I had NO IDEA what they had done...or what we were going to do because I had no materials or notes from last week in my absence.
2. I had NO IDEA as to the schedule of classes or what happens during electives/recess/etc....now I have a clear copy.
3. There is a freaking small country of children in front of my eyes every morning...30 of them....at VARYING levels...and we're not talking like...some can conjugate verbs and some can't...no, no, no...lemme give you a detailed description:
Tory-speaks three languages....decently proficient in English
Devin & Andrew- both from Houston (of all places)....do'nt speak a lick of Spanish...but have mastered the TAKS test in their respective schools
Siria, Janet, Kari, Katihuscka, Victor, Carlos- CRINGE in fear when I look at them and say something in English becasue they DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH (not even a little bit most of the time)
Chantel, Valeria, Joshua, Roberto, Memo- they get it most of the time becasue they've spent some time in the States (or have possibly lived there for a short period of time)
And the rest...you get it. Some are done in a split second with every activity...and are sitting there yacking away in Spanish...or in the case of Andrew, who gets it, are just spaced out....ADHD....in outer space...somewhere close to Venus...along with Alex, who doesn't understand...but even if he did, he'd still be on a rocketship headed somewhere directly away from the four walls of our lovely little English world.
Not to mention...they're LITTLE KIDS....little kids with LOTS OF ENERGY...lots of NOT wanting to be in the classroom, but instead OUTSIDE....or on a horse, or playing soccer, or watching tv. And it's not like there's space in the room to accommodate ANYTHING other than sitting confined to their noisy little desks...becasue there are nine million of them...all with BACKPACKS...HUGE backpacks...with 3000 notebooks, pencils, pencil sharpeners, rulers, markers....for EVERY CLASS. Then there's the infamous boys who throw stuff at eachother....of course...what else is new? Ruben, Alex, and Victor had to stand facing the wall today...and let me tell you how I broke the "no-Spanish" rule and went off in my best "I am your grandmother who is about to beat you with a spoon" voice to explain the directions of facing the wall to them....they got it...did they continue throwing paper airplanes? Yes....
Then there's the trip to the flag ceremony...that was hilarious. We sure did have to practice walking in a straight line with our hands over our mouths a few times before we could actually walk away from the premises. That was great....UNTIL they turned the corner...and RAN to the playground....my steadily yelling after them in Spanish....then we line up for what I later found out was the posting of the Mexican flag and the singing of the national anthem. That was funny...my kids had NO interest....so they're half sitting, half standing...half squatting...hitting eachother on the back....making funny noises. Yeah...those are Miss K's.....wonderful.
Later...after lunch....we're supposed to switch...6th for me....5th for Luis, my counterpart...turns out Luis never came...I had NO IDEA where he was....so I winged it...taught Spanish...that was FUNny. But we made it through. My poor only-English speaking boys....didn't have a clue...but they managed to produce a word or two in Spanish...mission accomplished, no?
Anyways....so all I have to say is that I'm seriously gonna need some more caffeine...and maybe some multi-vitamins (a teacher actually suggested that to me today!)....and perhaps a weapon...or four....:)
No, really...now I know...now I know about art class at 1whatever...and that they TAKE their backpacks to the library WITH everything that they need for the period...and that there are certain disciplinary procedures...and that my kids asked ALL WEEK for me to come...and wrote me letters....one even said that it makes him sad that I'm not here for the first week...and happy that I'm here for the second week. :)
So in the midst of emotion, excitement, no plan on my part....and a few other random factors...it was a hectic day. But tomorrow will be better. There is a plan in place...and there is a letter to the parents about our classroom...and about what's happening....and how things will run. And tomorrow there will be strict discipline (or so I say)....and a rigid schedule...and I think they'll get it. I'll get it. It'll be good. I'm really excited about a fun year...just have to get used to all that is new and different...and hearing faculty meetings in Spanish, as well as directions...and where I'm supposed to be and at what time...and the disciplinary history of every one of my rambunctious delights...yeah. I'll get it down. It'll blossom soon. Until then....hijoles!
Seriously...at the beginning of the day, I was thinking..."I can't do this. This is NOT what I signed up for. I can't manage this." And then by the end of the day, I was thinking of how I was going to tie them up and beat them...and then by the early evening, I was thinking of disciplinary strategies (notice the healthy progression of thought unfolding here)....and now, I'm writing a letter to the parents to be checked over and signed...and tomorrow, we're getting straight down to business. No more Miss Nice K....hehe. :)
No, really, though. It was extremely chaotic...and I find several reasons that are the culprits:
1. I had NO IDEA what they had done...or what we were going to do because I had no materials or notes from last week in my absence.
2. I had NO IDEA as to the schedule of classes or what happens during electives/recess/etc....now I have a clear copy.
3. There is a freaking small country of children in front of my eyes every morning...30 of them....at VARYING levels...and we're not talking like...some can conjugate verbs and some can't...no, no, no...lemme give you a detailed description:
Tory-speaks three languages....decently proficient in English
Devin & Andrew- both from Houston (of all places)....do'nt speak a lick of Spanish...but have mastered the TAKS test in their respective schools
Siria, Janet, Kari, Katihuscka, Victor, Carlos- CRINGE in fear when I look at them and say something in English becasue they DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH (not even a little bit most of the time)
Chantel, Valeria, Joshua, Roberto, Memo- they get it most of the time becasue they've spent some time in the States (or have possibly lived there for a short period of time)
And the rest...you get it. Some are done in a split second with every activity...and are sitting there yacking away in Spanish...or in the case of Andrew, who gets it, are just spaced out....ADHD....in outer space...somewhere close to Venus...along with Alex, who doesn't understand...but even if he did, he'd still be on a rocketship headed somewhere directly away from the four walls of our lovely little English world.
Not to mention...they're LITTLE KIDS....little kids with LOTS OF ENERGY...lots of NOT wanting to be in the classroom, but instead OUTSIDE....or on a horse, or playing soccer, or watching tv. And it's not like there's space in the room to accommodate ANYTHING other than sitting confined to their noisy little desks...becasue there are nine million of them...all with BACKPACKS...HUGE backpacks...with 3000 notebooks, pencils, pencil sharpeners, rulers, markers....for EVERY CLASS. Then there's the infamous boys who throw stuff at eachother....of course...what else is new? Ruben, Alex, and Victor had to stand facing the wall today...and let me tell you how I broke the "no-Spanish" rule and went off in my best "I am your grandmother who is about to beat you with a spoon" voice to explain the directions of facing the wall to them....they got it...did they continue throwing paper airplanes? Yes....
Then there's the trip to the flag ceremony...that was hilarious. We sure did have to practice walking in a straight line with our hands over our mouths a few times before we could actually walk away from the premises. That was great....UNTIL they turned the corner...and RAN to the playground....my steadily yelling after them in Spanish....then we line up for what I later found out was the posting of the Mexican flag and the singing of the national anthem. That was funny...my kids had NO interest....so they're half sitting, half standing...half squatting...hitting eachother on the back....making funny noises. Yeah...those are Miss K's.....wonderful.
Later...after lunch....we're supposed to switch...6th for me....5th for Luis, my counterpart...turns out Luis never came...I had NO IDEA where he was....so I winged it...taught Spanish...that was FUNny. But we made it through. My poor only-English speaking boys....didn't have a clue...but they managed to produce a word or two in Spanish...mission accomplished, no?
Anyways....so all I have to say is that I'm seriously gonna need some more caffeine...and maybe some multi-vitamins (a teacher actually suggested that to me today!)....and perhaps a weapon...or four....:)
No, really...now I know...now I know about art class at 1whatever...and that they TAKE their backpacks to the library WITH everything that they need for the period...and that there are certain disciplinary procedures...and that my kids asked ALL WEEK for me to come...and wrote me letters....one even said that it makes him sad that I'm not here for the first week...and happy that I'm here for the second week. :)
So in the midst of emotion, excitement, no plan on my part....and a few other random factors...it was a hectic day. But tomorrow will be better. There is a plan in place...and there is a letter to the parents about our classroom...and about what's happening....and how things will run. And tomorrow there will be strict discipline (or so I say)....and a rigid schedule...and I think they'll get it. I'll get it. It'll be good. I'm really excited about a fun year...just have to get used to all that is new and different...and hearing faculty meetings in Spanish, as well as directions...and where I'm supposed to be and at what time...and the disciplinary history of every one of my rambunctious delights...yeah. I'll get it down. It'll blossom soon. Until then....hijoles!
posted by Courtney @ 5:12 PM
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