Staying Positive

The first week of school has come and gone.  The biggest challenge of the first week was staying positive.  Like most teachers I had bright visions of how this year would go.  The adaption of the Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS)  gave me great hopes for a better school year.  Being a member of the committee I was ready to launch and enforce the system in my classroom.  The first day started out rough as three students came in upset about their schedule.  Students seem to think that scheduling is easy and they should be able to take what ever courses they want to.  After looking at our course matrix, the students quickly learned that there were no other options.

The kick off event went well, even on a hot day in a building that only has air conditioning on the ground floor.  Every student received the same message and expectations.  I was again greeted with negativity by students through out the day.  One student demanded that she be allowed to leave for work stating that I approved it last year.  I had to clarify what was discussed last year and refer her to administration as I can not approve that kind of request.

The rest of the week became more difficult as temperatures rose in my classroom - an upstairs interior room.  I continued to change schedules for students and teacher assistants, finding the right fit for everyone. I reminded students to do the homework already assigned to avoid getting behind in the first week of school.  I had to remind students to stay awake.  Phrasing everything using our expectations, and providing reward tickets to students doing a good job was helpful.  I believe in the PBIS system and look forward to seeing the change it will make in our school.

 I messed up on Friday.  Seventh hour I got a student working, and then worked one-on-one with a student that really needs the intense assistance.  At the end of the hour I quickly gathered my stuff and went to the English class that I co-teach.  I was thankful that another teacher let us move downstairs to her room for the hour as I was nauseous, had a headache, and was feeling dizzy.  I later deduced that I had heat exhaustion.  In my haste to get to eighth hour I left a student in my room sleeping.  I was not aware of this until I went to look for him after being notified that he was not in his eighth hour class.  I have since talked to the assistant principal, acknowledged my mistake, and laid out the steps I will take so that it doesn't happen again.  One of those steps was to get rid of the bean bag in my room.  I like my room to be comfortable, but that was just inviting kids to sleep.  One of the expectations in my room is to stay awake.

Here is the list of expectations the students and I created:

	Academic Support	Transition Wednesdays	Teacher
Be Responsible	Do your job and work Let others work without distractions Pay attention to your assigned task Follow cell phone rules Follow the dress code Clean up after yourself Ask for help when needed Use passbook and ask for permission to leave the room Keep candy and food out of the classroom Only have water in the classroom Stay awake	Pay attention to your assigned task Complete the assignment on time Participate in discussion and activity Follow cell phone rules Clean up after yourself Use passbook and ask for permission to leave the room Keep candy and food out of the classroom Only have water in the classroom	Follow through with expectations and consequences
Be Respectful	Be quiet Leave other people’s possessions alone Speak at an appropriate level Use nice words Be nice Help others with problems Listen instead of blame Use good manners Treat others the way that you want to be treated Use appropriate language Respect other people’s preferred seating	Be quiet and listen when others are speaking Speak at an appropriate level Consider other people’s opinions Use appropriate language	Provide independence to students
Be Safe	Keep your hands and feet your yourself Keep your things put away and off the floor Remain seated until the bell rings	Keep your hands and feet your yourself Keep your things put away and off the floor Remain seated until the bell rings	Keep floors clean and clear

 

Happy New Year!

Last year got so crazy that I was not able to keep up on this blog as often as I planned.  I am hoping to do better this year.  Here are a few things I learned last year:
1. Connections are key - without creating relationships with the students you will get no where.
2. It's not personal - students can hit you where it hurts, emotionally, but it's not personal.
3. Students with disabilities have amazing abilities.
4. Stand up for these students, you might be the only one that will.

As a new year approaches I am looking forward to a few things as well.
1. Our school is rolling out the Positive Behavior Intervention System (PBIS) - I am looking forward to seeing how this helps the students I work with.
2. I have three new teachers to work with.  I am the only high school special education teacher returning from last year.  This will bring challenges, but I am excited about the women I am going to be working with.
3. We have a new superintendent and curriculum and instruction director that I am excited to work with.
4. I know the students I am working with well.  I co-taught English 11 last year and really got to know the students that are seniors, and on my case load this year.
5. New English texts - I am co-teaching English 11 and 12 this year and am excited about the new text and resources we have.

This year will bring many challenges.  I have a caseload of twenty students, but most will not be in my classroom.  I have two at alternate settings and nine at our Alternative Learning Center.  My district is building a new high school that we will move into next year, which will include much discussion and planning this year.  I am on the PBIS committee, the Professional Leadership Community (PLC) Leadership Team, it is our IEP audit year, and I will be mentoring two of our new teachers.  It will be busy, but rewarding.

Bring on the new year!