Adapters

I've come to the conclusion that there are two types of people when it comes to change. Those that adapt and those that complain. Complaining keeps things consistent for the most part; while adapting allows room for growth. Don't get me wrong consistency is nice, but growing isn't all that bad either. I hope I am one who adapts to change. I sure have experienced some change these last couple of months. With common core shenanigans, switching counties and schools, adjusting to a new form of teaching and living in a new city. Change is part of my daily schedule. Complaining about it's recurrence will only make matters worse. If you are going to refuse to adapt to change then do it quietly because the sound of complaining can become quiet draining. 

Here's a tip. Try smiling when change happens. It's hard to be in an awful mood when there's a smile plastered on your face.

That one time...

It's one thing to be caught texting in class, but to recreate a cell phone on an index card and pass it to your friends in class deserves a round of applause. To be honest with you I was in complete awe that a student would go to this length to text in class. Imagine if this much effort was put into class work. Perhaps our grades would not be on the lower end of the spectrum.

Background: this student had their phone taken away by their parents; which obviously caused severe enough withdrawal to create an illustration of a cell phone. 

Paper buffet

It's funny how we tend to worry about the littlest things sometimes. Over the last several weeks my main worry is focused around paper. I know odd. Who worries about paper. Apparently I do now. I've never been one to worry about paper but when you're given five reams of paper to last you the entire school year, worry tends to happen. To be honest, I didn't really know what a ream was until the beginning of this school year. I've heard of the word I just didn't know how big a ream was. Turns out it's a single pack of paper. I was hoping it would be a box of paper, but I was wrong. To make matters worse my paper worry has seeped into my dreams. Yep, I dreamed of endless amounts of paper and then had other dreams where I was experiencing a paper drought.  I have started to look at paper in a totally new light. Each piece more precious than a pound of gold. This paper worry is new territory for me. For the last five years I have been surrounded by endless amounts of paper at school. A paper buffet if you have it. At any given moment I could grab a pack of paper and no one would question me. Now, I slightly considered locking my paper up just to keep it safe. I triple think how many copies I need to make. If a student loses their notes they better fork over two dollars for me to print another copy. Who needs to have hard copies of IEP accommodations; I'll just look them up on the computer.

 Oh are the days of endless paper.   

Unforgettables

There will always be unforgettable students and moments in education. Friday provided me with two unforgettable moments. 

1. A student in my second period class looked me up and down and asked if I was willing to take his mom shopping because she apparently has issues dressing cool and I do not.

2. It has taken six years, but it finally happened. A student said they "F***ing hate this class." This outburst warranted an impromptu meeting after the bell and I congratulated this student for being the first to ever say that in my class. I informed this little darling that I will remember this day for the rest of my life and that I was grateful that I at least liked what I was wearing that day. 

I ended Friday by taking a stroll through Trader Joes where I bought sunflowers and the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies. It only seemed natural.