I have a highly gifted student in my Journalism class. He has a very high IQ, and his memory is impeccable. He never has to take notes because he remembers everything. I’ve witnessed this first hand. He’s scored almost 100% on every single test I’ve given, and he does not take notes or study for his tests. He’s brilliant, literally. He is a sophomore now, but he’s so smart he’s going to skip his junior year, so he’ll be a senior next year. He’ll be in college by the time he’s 17.
Since today is Halloween, I came up with two fun games for my Journalism students to play rather than start a new topic. As his classmates began to play, this boy is sobbing in the back corner. I am not exaggerating, he was uncontrollably crying. His shoulders were shaking and I could hear him trying to gasp for breath. All the other students were looking at him, and I was completely caught off guard. I went over to him, and he refused to talk to me. He said he didn’t want to talk about it. I asked if he wanted to leave the room for a bit, but he wanted to sit at his desk and cry.
He literally cried through the entire 50 minute class. The other kids were playing games, so they didn’t really notice. Once the bell rang, I asked him to stay behind. He was finally ready to talk. He had just come from math class, and he thinks he failed his Advance Formulas and Trigonometry test. He said he just went blank during his test, and this is the first test he’s ever failed. He was devastated. I didn’t quite know what to say to him. I encouraged him to talk to his teacher and to let me know if there’s anything I could do to help. I told him one failed test wasn’t going to ruin his grade, but he wasn’t quite so positive. His entire day is ruined because of this test.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Random Thoughts
*Some kid threw up in the hallway outside my classroom today. I had to "control" the situation and make sure no one stepped in it until the janitor came to clean it up.
*My car door is broken. In order to get out of my car, I have to roll down the window and open it from the outside or crawl over the console and go out the passenger side door.
*I think I have the best sister and brother-in-law in the world.
*One of my students came in for help yesterday during his study hall. He saw a kid out in the hallway, so he yelled, "Hey, toad!" I asked my student why he called that kid toad. He said, "I don't even know his real name. One day he came to hockey practice with a green shirt and brown pants. He had really bad acne on his face, so he looked like a toad. We started calling him toad after that." I was laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. Kids come up with the darndest things.
*I have to go to the dentist tonight, and I'm not looking forward to it. I have a chipped tooth due to grinding my teeth, so I'm going to have to go back in to get that fixed. Grrrr...
*There's a new guy working in the Enterprise office connected to my office. He's cute. I'm going to go "get some water" so I have an excuse to see him.
*I think someone stole my contacts. Ok, well, I guess I ran out of contacts, which is totally not me because I'm a planner and a thinker aheader. I usually have a two month supply minimum. Now I have to wear my glasses until my order comes in.
*I made a teacher laugh today. He's a very clever guy and always has a smart, witty remark to everything. I beat him to a punch line today, and he thought I was pretty funny.
*This very same teacher and I were trying to figure out a word that has two a's, i's or u's in a row. There's words such as meet and booth, but is there any word that has "aa" or "ii" or "uu" in a row? If so, leave a comment.
*There's only one number between 1 and 100 that is spelled in alphabetical order. I figured it out in about two minutes. This same teacher took about 20 minutes. What is the number and how long did it take you to figure it out?
*My car door is broken. In order to get out of my car, I have to roll down the window and open it from the outside or crawl over the console and go out the passenger side door.
*I think I have the best sister and brother-in-law in the world.
*One of my students came in for help yesterday during his study hall. He saw a kid out in the hallway, so he yelled, "Hey, toad!" I asked my student why he called that kid toad. He said, "I don't even know his real name. One day he came to hockey practice with a green shirt and brown pants. He had really bad acne on his face, so he looked like a toad. We started calling him toad after that." I was laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my eyes. Kids come up with the darndest things.
*I have to go to the dentist tonight, and I'm not looking forward to it. I have a chipped tooth due to grinding my teeth, so I'm going to have to go back in to get that fixed. Grrrr...
*There's a new guy working in the Enterprise office connected to my office. He's cute. I'm going to go "get some water" so I have an excuse to see him.
*I think someone stole my contacts. Ok, well, I guess I ran out of contacts, which is totally not me because I'm a planner and a thinker aheader. I usually have a two month supply minimum. Now I have to wear my glasses until my order comes in.
*I made a teacher laugh today. He's a very clever guy and always has a smart, witty remark to everything. I beat him to a punch line today, and he thought I was pretty funny.
*This very same teacher and I were trying to figure out a word that has two a's, i's or u's in a row. There's words such as meet and booth, but is there any word that has "aa" or "ii" or "uu" in a row? If so, leave a comment.
*There's only one number between 1 and 100 that is spelled in alphabetical order. I figured it out in about two minutes. This same teacher took about 20 minutes. What is the number and how long did it take you to figure it out?
Monday, October 27, 2008
My Smile
Last week in class, we talked about interviewing for a teaching position. My teacher went around the room one by one and told us her observations of each one of us and what we would have to "overcome" during an interview.
For example, one of my classmates is a jock. He played semi-pro basketball in college, and while he's a very smart guy, he doesn't exactly come across as very bright when you first meet him. My teacher told him he's going to have to overcome his "dumb jock" stereotype.
One of the ladies in my class, is 45 and has four kids, but she's very small (5'0", 110 pounds) and has a very quiet, sweet voice. She's going to have to prove that she can handle a room full of 30 high school students.
Then it was my turn. Imagine my surprise when my teacher said, "Shiloh...All you have to do is smile and you can win over an entire room full of people. You won't have any problems getting a job if you just smile the entire time." I was quite flattered, to say the least.
For example, one of my classmates is a jock. He played semi-pro basketball in college, and while he's a very smart guy, he doesn't exactly come across as very bright when you first meet him. My teacher told him he's going to have to overcome his "dumb jock" stereotype.
One of the ladies in my class, is 45 and has four kids, but she's very small (5'0", 110 pounds) and has a very quiet, sweet voice. She's going to have to prove that she can handle a room full of 30 high school students.
Then it was my turn. Imagine my surprise when my teacher said, "Shiloh...All you have to do is smile and you can win over an entire room full of people. You won't have any problems getting a job if you just smile the entire time." I was quite flattered, to say the least.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I Made a Mistake
I can't believe I forgot to tell you this story. I gave my Journalism students a test last week. I was quite proud of myself. It was a fill-in-the-blank test with 30 questions on it and a word bank with 30 answers. If my students studied and listened on review day, I knew they were going to do great.
On test day, I handed out the test, and since I hadn't made an answer KEY yet, I thought it would be the perfect time to make it as my students took the test. I had my word bank beside me, so I started filling in the answers. After I filled in two or three answers, I realized that the answers were in order!!! Let me first explain that the day before, I had designed a game for the students to play. In order to save me some time and energy, the test was actually the game. But, I had forgotten to mix up the answers from the game.
So I looked at my students to see if anyone realized what I had done. I could see a few people smiling, and I knew they had figured out the pattern. Others were skipping questions and not doing the test in order. I didn't know what to do, so I just let them take the test. I figured this was a freebie for the entire 30 students.
Once everyone had the test turned in, I decided we'd grade the test in class (in order to save me more time and energy). I don't do this often. In fact, it was the first time I had done this, but I figured if everyone figured out the pattern, they had done okay on the test. One of the students raised her hand and said, "Ms. N. Did you know the answers were in order?"
I started to laugh. Another student said, "That's not very nice to do."
Another student said, "What? I didn't know the answers were in order!"
Another student said, "Sweet, I got 100%."
I explained to them that I didn't realize the answers were in order until I had already handed out the test. We graded the test together, and 25 out of 30 students realized the pattern and got 100%. The other five weren't as quick and didn't do so well on the test.
It was a first-year teacher mistake, and I'll never do that again. :)
On test day, I handed out the test, and since I hadn't made an answer KEY yet, I thought it would be the perfect time to make it as my students took the test. I had my word bank beside me, so I started filling in the answers. After I filled in two or three answers, I realized that the answers were in order!!! Let me first explain that the day before, I had designed a game for the students to play. In order to save me some time and energy, the test was actually the game. But, I had forgotten to mix up the answers from the game.
So I looked at my students to see if anyone realized what I had done. I could see a few people smiling, and I knew they had figured out the pattern. Others were skipping questions and not doing the test in order. I didn't know what to do, so I just let them take the test. I figured this was a freebie for the entire 30 students.
Once everyone had the test turned in, I decided we'd grade the test in class (in order to save me more time and energy). I don't do this often. In fact, it was the first time I had done this, but I figured if everyone figured out the pattern, they had done okay on the test. One of the students raised her hand and said, "Ms. N. Did you know the answers were in order?"
I started to laugh. Another student said, "That's not very nice to do."
Another student said, "What? I didn't know the answers were in order!"
Another student said, "Sweet, I got 100%."
I explained to them that I didn't realize the answers were in order until I had already handed out the test. We graded the test together, and 25 out of 30 students realized the pattern and got 100%. The other five weren't as quick and didn't do so well on the test.
It was a first-year teacher mistake, and I'll never do that again. :)
Five Day Weekend
I had a great five day weekend. We were on fall break, so I didn't have school Wednesday-Friday. It's going to be hard to go back to school tomorrow. I was able to get some homework done, grade some papers, update my gradebook, and most importantly, read a book and watch a movie. Two movies, actually. I also had lunch with Katie on Thursday and Megan on Friday.
Wednesday night, Sonya, Amanda, Amy, Kari, Nikki, and I had dinner at Pei Wei and then went shopping at Colorado Mills. I also attended a substitute meeting in the afternoon, so I'm officially hired to work at Chatfield next semester.
Thursday night, Kari invited me over for dinner. She made a fabulous BBQ Chicken Salad, and Kari, Amy and I watched The Office, SNL, and Grey's Anatomy.
Friday night, Kari, Amanda, Amy and I went to dinner at Chick-Fil-A (our favorite fast food place) and then went to see Mamma Mia. It's a super cute movie, and I recommend it to anyone who likes a fun movie.
Saturday, Kari, Amy, Megan and I went for a 24 mile bike ride. I got home from the ride around noon and watched the Huskers game with mom and dad. Huskers won!!! Saturday night, I was home alone, so I made a fabulous meal (I made it up and it was delish and gluten free). I rented the movie 21, so I ate popcorn and watched a movie. This is also a good flick, if you need something to rent. Then I played on the internet for a few hours.
Today, I went to church, then Kari, Amy and I went for a 15 mile bike ride. I also got my new pedals for my bike, which doesn't mean much to anyone who doesn't ride, but if you know what I'm talking about, I'm super excited. My new pedals and shoes will help me go faster without using so much energy. It will be perfect for the MS150 next year. Now I'm finishing up my book and watching the Steelers game. A nice end to a great long weekend.
All right, now that I've bored you with my weekend, I'll say goodbye for now.
Wednesday night, Sonya, Amanda, Amy, Kari, Nikki, and I had dinner at Pei Wei and then went shopping at Colorado Mills. I also attended a substitute meeting in the afternoon, so I'm officially hired to work at Chatfield next semester.
Thursday night, Kari invited me over for dinner. She made a fabulous BBQ Chicken Salad, and Kari, Amy and I watched The Office, SNL, and Grey's Anatomy.
Friday night, Kari, Amanda, Amy and I went to dinner at Chick-Fil-A (our favorite fast food place) and then went to see Mamma Mia. It's a super cute movie, and I recommend it to anyone who likes a fun movie.
Saturday, Kari, Amy, Megan and I went for a 24 mile bike ride. I got home from the ride around noon and watched the Huskers game with mom and dad. Huskers won!!! Saturday night, I was home alone, so I made a fabulous meal (I made it up and it was delish and gluten free). I rented the movie 21, so I ate popcorn and watched a movie. This is also a good flick, if you need something to rent. Then I played on the internet for a few hours.
Today, I went to church, then Kari, Amy and I went for a 15 mile bike ride. I also got my new pedals for my bike, which doesn't mean much to anyone who doesn't ride, but if you know what I'm talking about, I'm super excited. My new pedals and shoes will help me go faster without using so much energy. It will be perfect for the MS150 next year. Now I'm finishing up my book and watching the Steelers game. A nice end to a great long weekend.
All right, now that I've bored you with my weekend, I'll say goodbye for now.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Natural Inclinations vs. What God Wants
I have recently encountered several situations where I had to turn to God for the right answer. I knew what I wanted. I knew what I desired. I knew what choice I wanted to make. But I also knew that I wouldn't find peace with MY desire until I knew it was Christ's desire, as well.
Rick warren writes: “On one occasion my application was to work on the quality of sensitivity. It took several months for God to build that into my life. I needed to see how this quality related to all areas of my life. He kept putting me into situations where I was tempted to do the opposite—to be insensitive. He may do the same with you. God may teach you to love others by putting you in the midst of unlovely people. You may have to learn patience while experiencing irritations, and learn peace in the midst of chaos. You are then discovering how to have joy even in times of sorrow and testing.
You must realize that when God wants to build a positive quality into your life, He must allow you to encounter situations where you chose to do the right thing instead of following your natural inclinations. The real test is, 'How will applying this Scripture to my situation help me become more like Jesus?'”
I feel peace knowing I did the right thing in my situations rather than following my natural inclinations. It's not easy, but when you follow God's heard rather than your own emotions, the blessings are sure to come.
I encourage you to take a look at your life. In what area is God wanting you to follow His ways rather than your own?
Rick warren writes: “On one occasion my application was to work on the quality of sensitivity. It took several months for God to build that into my life. I needed to see how this quality related to all areas of my life. He kept putting me into situations where I was tempted to do the opposite—to be insensitive. He may do the same with you. God may teach you to love others by putting you in the midst of unlovely people. You may have to learn patience while experiencing irritations, and learn peace in the midst of chaos. You are then discovering how to have joy even in times of sorrow and testing.
You must realize that when God wants to build a positive quality into your life, He must allow you to encounter situations where you chose to do the right thing instead of following your natural inclinations. The real test is, 'How will applying this Scripture to my situation help me become more like Jesus?'”
I feel peace knowing I did the right thing in my situations rather than following my natural inclinations. It's not easy, but when you follow God's heard rather than your own emotions, the blessings are sure to come.
I encourage you to take a look at your life. In what area is God wanting you to follow His ways rather than your own?
Monday, October 20, 2008
Monkey's, The Cricket, and Cowboys
This weekend was a pretty low key weekend, the kind I like best. I didn't have a ton of homework, nor did I have any lesson plans to create, so I took some time to relax and enjoy the most perfect weekend in CO history. Well, I might be exaggerating a tad, but it was incredible weather and a great reminder of why I love CO so much. 
I watched Case Friday night so Shan and Jeff could go on a double date with their friends, Nathan and Vali. Saturday, Shan, Jeff, Case, Katie and I went to Free Day at the Denver Zoo. The zoo, quite literally, was a zoo. Every person with a kid and stroller was there because, well, it was free. 
I watched Case Friday night so Shan and Jeff could go on a double date with their friends, Nathan and Vali. Saturday, Shan, Jeff, Case, Katie and I went to Free Day at the Denver Zoo. The zoo, quite literally, was a zoo. Every person with a kid and stroller was there because, well, it was free. Saturday night, I went to dinner with Kari, Katie, Kari's cousin Amy, and Amy's husband Adam. Amy and Adam were in town from MN, so we had to show them a good time in Denver. We ate at the Cherry Cricket, which is known for some fabulous burgers. Fabulous they were! Then we went to the Rio for margarita's, where we met up with Sonya, Joseph and Mike. We couldn't let the night go by without putting on our dancing shoes, so we ended our night at The Cowboy Lounge. 
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