Who Says the Second Semester is Better Than the First?!
I thought the second semester was going to be easier than the first. I came back from the break rejuvenated and refreshed. I was ready to tackle another semester of h*ll. But for some reason my kids are way worse this semester than last. The thing that bothers me the most is that they seem to be more disrespectful. I can’t even ask a student to sit down with out back talk. These days have gotten so bad that everyday I just want to cry. Cry because I feel inadequate and that I am unable to make it through another day. I just hope that next week is better.
Eighth grade science officially becomes a state tested subject on March 04, 2007. Here I am about a month away. I really do not think my kids are ready. Somehow I have managed to teach majority of the benchmarks, but I still feel my kids are not ready. The last practice test they took went awful. With an average of about 23% correct, they are far from ready. I can’t tell if they just do not know the information, or if they didn’t try. Our school gives practice MCT tests every nine weeks. At this point the kids know that it doesn’t count. For this reason they are done with the fifty -five question test in about twenty minutes. I guess, it all goes back to motivation.
One thing that I am happy about is the conclusion of science fair which, came to an end last week. It was a hassle which did not benefit the students. The people at the top came to our poorly put together science fair, which clearly showed the motivation of our students. Of course they said it wasn’t good enough. Or in the eyes of my town it didn’t look good enough. Because so many students didn’t complete the assignment which was worth six grades, we the teachers, were ordered to give the students another chance. Although I have informed all my students who did not complete the assignment the first time, they have made no effort to make up the assignments. With this said, I will be failing a large percentage of my students. I know it will be more than twenty-five percent which is a not acceptable according to the district. They must be unaware of the students I am teaching. I teach unmotivated students with raging hormones, and no parental support. I heard middle school is tough to teach, but wow. These kids are tough to teach. They have so many other things on their minds other than school. I know I am teaching eighth grade science but my kids say some of the most inappropriate things. It is obvious they are going through puberty!
Am I making a difference? That is the question If I knew and could measure the answer to that question, I would then know my worth. I would know if my absolute misery is worth it. Am I truly changing the world one child at a time? This is a statement that I chose to believe is true. I know I am changing the world one child at a time. This is what I tell myself everyday. This is the only way I make it through the day. This all I can do. Believe that I am making a difference!
Eighth grade science officially becomes a state tested subject on March 04, 2007. Here I am about a month away. I really do not think my kids are ready. Somehow I have managed to teach majority of the benchmarks, but I still feel my kids are not ready. The last practice test they took went awful. With an average of about 23% correct, they are far from ready. I can’t tell if they just do not know the information, or if they didn’t try. Our school gives practice MCT tests every nine weeks. At this point the kids know that it doesn’t count. For this reason they are done with the fifty -five question test in about twenty minutes. I guess, it all goes back to motivation.
One thing that I am happy about is the conclusion of science fair which, came to an end last week. It was a hassle which did not benefit the students. The people at the top came to our poorly put together science fair, which clearly showed the motivation of our students. Of course they said it wasn’t good enough. Or in the eyes of my town it didn’t look good enough. Because so many students didn’t complete the assignment which was worth six grades, we the teachers, were ordered to give the students another chance. Although I have informed all my students who did not complete the assignment the first time, they have made no effort to make up the assignments. With this said, I will be failing a large percentage of my students. I know it will be more than twenty-five percent which is a not acceptable according to the district. They must be unaware of the students I am teaching. I teach unmotivated students with raging hormones, and no parental support. I heard middle school is tough to teach, but wow. These kids are tough to teach. They have so many other things on their minds other than school. I know I am teaching eighth grade science but my kids say some of the most inappropriate things. It is obvious they are going through puberty!
Am I making a difference? That is the question If I knew and could measure the answer to that question, I would then know my worth. I would know if my absolute misery is worth it. Am I truly changing the world one child at a time? This is a statement that I chose to believe is true. I know I am changing the world one child at a time. This is what I tell myself everyday. This is the only way I make it through the day. This all I can do. Believe that I am making a difference!
posted by A J @ 7:00 PM
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