A True 6th Grader

I have so much to share about teaching, my school, my classroom, my students...and everything else that is going on in my (our) life, but I just don't have the time to sit and focus on writing...because all I currently focus on is teaching, my school, my classroom, my students...(poor Chad).

I need to start writing down the things that my students say and do because honestly, not only does it make me love even more what I get to do every day, but it snaps me into reality of how pure, innocent, and naive my students are to our cruel world. It also makes me realize how much they need me, just as much as I need them, to get through the day to day happenings; including life situations that seem unfair for a 6th grader, an 11 year old. Here are just a few happenings/sayings in my daily life as a 6th grade teacher...

• First day of school, "So, you're my 6th grade teacher? (Being looked up and down) Are you old enough?"
• (Second week of school) As the students were working quietly at their desks, I popped into the room next door to grab something off the printer. When I reentered the room they all started clapping. I was appreciative and quickly instructed them to get back to work. Apparently I had done something right in just a few days.
• In reading aloud Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl (great book by the way), there was a scene where Danny's dad cocked the rifle back to shoot at a pheasant. Not expecting it, the students started laughing when I said "cock". What is going to happen when I have to teach a bit of sex ed.?
• Two boys came overly excited into class on a Monday. They were eager to share and show me their new purchases from the weekend. I was a bit nervous, and then suddenly both of them wipped out a stick of deoderant. I laughed so hard and my nervousness moved to thankfulness.
• One morning a student got dropped off an hour and a half before school started. She was crying, so without question I opened the door to let her in. She proceeded to share with me that her mom and her mom's fiance got into a big fight the night before and her mom woke her up in the middle of the night to sleep on the floor of her bedroom. Then she had to get dropped off so early for school because her mom and the fiance were still fighting and they didn't want to be around each other....mom just went to work. My student was afraid because she couldn't figure out how to solve their problem so her mom wouldn't call off the wedding. (Wow...talk about a gut wrencher.)
• A mom came in to talk to me about the worries her daughter had about being gone for our week over-night trip to Canada. The jist of the story is, mom is a recovering breast cancer patient and when my student was gone a year ago for an extended period of time visiting family, she returned to mom being in the hospital due to an infection. My student is worried that if she is gone for a week at our outdoor ed program, when she returns she won't have a mom anymore...even through her mom is clear and free of cancer. (Seriously? The worries of a 6th grader are unfair. They're only 11.)
• An unexpected student and her mom came into my classroom one morning because the student, while at her dad's house the night before, made me a "muffin-cake" to show me she was sorry for a recent loss. For all that don't know what a "muffin-cake" is, it's a Jiffy blueberry muffin mix baked in the bottom of a throw-away-tin pie pan. It's actually brilliant because it was as if I had received one big muffin top...and everyone knows that's the best part of every muffin.
• Okay a funny one...I have a couple of boys that are beginning to notice girls. One of them brought in a brand new white, trendy hat. He informed me very nervously and all in one breath that "He got the hat because girls like hats and he likes a girl and he's hoping that if he wears the hat then the girl will like him." (Oh dear, he has so much to learn.)
• Direct quote, "I thought the sub was...well...I guess just okay, but it's really hard to compare to Mrs. MacDonald because I like her a lot." (*tear* I like them too.)
• My favorite description of a 6th grader...Sixth graders are like first graders in a big kid body.

I look forward to sharing more thoughts/happenings/sayings of my 6th grade teaching adventures.

6th Grade Teacher Shoes

So here I am. A 6th grade teacher. I am teaching a grade that I thought I would never be teaching. I've always swayed more to the likings of the 2nd-3rd grade level, however; it often seems in life, I don't always get what I think is going to be best for myself. I'm slowly finding myself "at home" in my classroom. My environment is becoming and very slowly shaping into what I want it to be. I have a long way to go and much to learn and in the meantime I'm just as much a sponge as my students are, sucking up every bit of information that I can.

My "dream classroom" is nowhere near to what I am doing right now because I feel I am barely staying afloat with the demands of the basic curriculum. I have so many (what I think) oustanding ideas that I would love to implement in my class, but I feel like I just don't have the time. However, I do have two things that are a part of our daily routine, morning meeting and current events, that I absolutely love. Our morning meeting is very simple (thanks to my Kirk 2nd grade team) yet it has brought a tremendous amount of community into the classroom. Not to mention I love seeing the kids get excited about our little gathering. We all gather in a circle, a fairly small one at that, and passed around the circle is a purple, squishy ball-like-thing that lights up when dropped, hit, bounced, etc. It's rather fun to play with. So, the student with the ball is the only student that can talk. The first time around the circle the student has to compliment another student. This, a suprise to me, is a very difficult task for a 6th grader. The student that receives a compliment must respond with a simple, "thank you". I love seeing the look on a student's face when they receive a compliment. It's almost as if they are in disbelief of how outstanding or liked they really are. Then the second time around the cirlce (ball passed the opposite direction), whoever started the meeting asks a question and everyone else must answer using only one sentence. I have some chatty ones that could go on and on forever. This has been a great insight to who my students really are, what they like, how passionate they are, what they don't like, challenges they face, etc. This 10 minute gathering is really quite powerful and I am in "awe" by it.

Second, current events. This is one of the few memories I have from 6th grade. Each student is assigned to a day of the week (about 4-5 per day). On their current event day they are to present a current event of interest to them, where the resource is no more than two days old. As they present from the front of the class, not only do they share the basics (who, what, where, when and why), but they also have to talk about how the article affects them and/or why they chose that particular subject to present. It's been quite fascinating the topics chosen and has definitely kept all of us up to date on what's going on in the world.

As time moves on I can only imagine that I will feel more comfortable and begin to fit into the teacher shoes I am supposed to be wearing. Until then, I trip on my shoe laces, get knots in them or my tongue is just stuck sideways and feels a bit uncomfortable. One thing I know for sure, I have found what I am supposed to be doing, teaching where I am supposed to be teaching and working with a group of students that will forever leave an imprint in my life.