Taking a breath...

Whewwwwww....

Thursday was my official last day in my first year in the Bronx. 180 days of learning a growing and understanding something completely different is done for now.

I could write a book on everything I learned this year but now I am going to enjoy my summer break. In the past week, I have read three of the books on my summer reading list. The one I just finished was amazing. Right up there with the "Life of Pi" as my favorite piece of fiction to date. It is called "Song yet Sung" by James McBride. A truly great read. I have brought in the summer by listening to my latest music fave. Check out Justin Nozuka. Very talented musician for a teenager.

This summer is about returning to some priorities. I got my profession going now I need to concentrate on getting Jakey healthy. Can't wait. Expect more blogging this summer. Now that I have 2 months to chill. Got to love teaching!! (Photo is of my and some students on Crazy Hat Day, we are cats meowwww)

Republicans are ridiculous!!

For anyone else out there who is supporting the no flag pin wearing, refusing to put hand over his heart during the pledge, believes everything and anything his former pastor said with no educated opinion of his own, has a wife or shall we say "baby mama", and Muslim radical Barack (who's sane) Obama, here is a website that will help.

The Republican National Convention already said, out right truthfully, that they will begin very soon a complete smear campaign against Barack. They are going to make the junior senator look sketchy by associating with anything and everything left left left liberal liberal liberal radical radical radical.

Barack Obama has now created this website: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/fightthesmearshome/

It will tell you the truth about anything ridiculous thing you have heard such as:

Michelle Obama using the word "whitey" in a speech (come on, now that is funny)
Barack being a muslim
Obama refusing to say the pledge
and him refusing to release his birth certificate.

If you are tired of this type of politics then stay informed. John McCain is running a dimwitted campaign and his days of being a "maverick" are long gone.

I swear if our country falls for this again I am moving to Norway (where I can legally get married by the way). We were in a war in 2004 with an administration that has no respect for the law or constitution and everyone voted for Bushwacked because somehow gays wanting basic legal rights was somehow worse.

STAY INFORMED!!!!!!!

Your feeling political this Friday,
Jake

The Final Countdown!!!!

Thats right people, as of this Friday we have 9 days left. It is almost over!! Wooooohoooooo!!!!

Love my students, but the time has come. I am just beat. It has been quite busy with all kinds of end of the year data and cleaning up. Jakey needs a break. I taught all last year (yes most jobs work all year but not with 18 children), then we moved(kicked my a**), and then I have had my Boogie Down Bronx experience. I feel accomplished and proud with how the year ended. Next year, a new group of children.

In my spare time, I have been hanging out indoors. Our recent NYC heatwave was unreal!! Over a 100 degree heat with humidity. In the words of Paris Hilton "Thats hot". It finally cooled off with a wicked lightning and thunder storm last night. Today is much better.

While hanging indoors, I have been researching and writing poetry. I find it very relaxing. I have started with sonnets and cinquains. I will end this blog with a couple. I also have been listening to music. If you get a chance check out the British artist, Duffy, I have really enjoyed her. She is a way better version of Amy Winehouse, minus all the drama and crack.

That is all I have for now, Peace!!

Poem #1: Inspired by class 1-100. It has been an up and down year but these kids will always hold a special place in my heart.

Wating

They sing,
Just waiting, WAITING, waiting for our world to change
Walk to school amongst the wolves
Poverty playing out in front of them
waiting, WAITING, unaware.

Trash blows, music blares, horns blow
voices carry, cars speed, their world.

A school with no walls
filled with frustrated hollers
creating a choir deafened to them by now
mouths move, eyes narrow
they drift to that place where no noise is necessary
waiting WAITING, unaware

The battle to change their setting
A visionary, a prophet needed
it must walk amongst them
coming from within
going to the core then explode

A script etched across their faces
their needs "tagged" for all to see
always a missed priority
and them...
waiting, WAITING, unaware

They sing,
waiting, WAITING on their world to change
Walk to school amongst the wolves.

Poems 2 and 3: A couple attempts at Cinquain.

HOPE
constant necessary
uplifting comforting unyielding
between my thoughts and logic
belief

CHANGE
rocky uneven
winding freeing releasing
to follow ones heart to awareness
peace

Thanks, me

Hi!!

I’m Back…

It has been quite a while since I have sat down at the blog. No worries though, it is just “that” time of the year in the teaching world. As of next Tuesday, we will have 23 days (I think) left with the children. It has been quite busy trying to wrap up, and pretty draining.

I always heard that at the end of the year, most of the kids just click. Finally all that knowledge you have crammed in their minds just makes sense to them. I wasn’t quite sure what to look for, but sure enough it arrived. I sat down to start assessing my kiddos, and boy did they impress me. Within the matter of a month March to April, a lot of them went through the roof. I loved every minute of it. They were reading and discussing their books, they are blowing through the math standards. Their writing is developing. I was so flipping proud of them.

This is supposed to be the time where classes are getting sick of each other. I am suppose to play the role of tapping my foot watching the calendar, and the kids are suppose to morph into little second grade monsters. I was sitting back hanging out this afternoon, and the complete opposite is happening. Our class feels closer than ever. They are energized and witty. They are determined and focused. Maybe we were a perfect fit. A class of late bloomers, me in my teaching and they in their learning.

I have almost made it through a full year in the Bronx. Wow!! I can’t even believe it. I will take this experience with me forever. Teaching first grade in the Bronx…

I have had quite the interesting life path. Maybe I am like a first grader?? Maybe all the knowledge I need is up there, and I am about to just click. Maybe, just maybe, I am learning from them. They are modeling to me how to stay determined and take off. What a thought! Open my eyes and see what surrounds you. The path is there amongst the crayons, books, backpacks, and dirty hands.

Peace!!

Horton...

We had soooo much fun with this....

We went to the movies after reading the book for a week.

Cutest thing was when we were leaving the movie (for those who have seen the movie or remember the book) it was very windy so inside the theater there was dusting floating everywhere. As we were walking out, the kids went nuts yelling "A SPECK!!!!" and chasing them around trying to catch them. Loved it!!

A new clasroom indeed...

Well chummy chums,

the days of smooth sailing, sipping mojitos in the sun type days in class 205-D are over.

Lets me just say my last post, turned out to be one of 4 new kids I got in 7 days. YIKES!!

Case #2 - My next amazingly new child is a boy that needed to be moved from his last class because parents were complaining about him. He is a wild card. Dont really know where I stand with him. So far he listens to me. He of course chose to throw his first official fit 15 minutes before the weekend on Friday. He wouldnt stop calling the kids at his table stupid and telling them to "shut up" but then he refused to write his homework. FOOT DOWN!! Although my first reaction was to go go Diva on him and say "OH no you didn't", but I put him in a "quote on quote- thinking spot" aka time out. Change the name and its no longer corporal punishment. Huh, you see, starting to use the old noggin now. When I went to speak to him later, I had a tough love heart to heart. Down on his level we talked about what made him act that way and after a little coaxing he explained that he "was just angry" in the softest voice. Taking into account what he had been through this week, we talked about his friends from his old class and made a plan to visit them next week. Next thing you know, he is back on trek. He is still a mystery and mentally exhausting because you have to keep him in line without being too stern because he will lose it and throw pencils. A fine line indeed...

Case #2

A girl with spunk!! She began on crazy hat day. She is very animated but also goes into her on little world. She joins our class because she just got put into foster care in the area. She is the oldest of 4, two being babies, and they all got broken up. No one really knows what schools she came from or much information yet, but I have all the info I need on her. I can tell she was the care taker of the kids. She loves to help, and has a mature side that most 7 year olds should not have. She is still such a child though, and has alot to learn about being in school. She is very animated and has already made friends. She will be just fine. I am happy this class can become somewhere safe for her.

Case #3

Oh boyyyy! Where to start! This young girl began school a couple weeks ago, but they were so concerned with her behavior that she started in the suspension room so her group setting would be small. Like most crazy acting kids she became famous, and she landed on my roster. She has sever emotional needs, and when you hear her story it breaks your heart. Not going to go into too much detail here, but her father and brother made her life hell in a way that no 7 year old should ever experience. When you look into her eyes, she is lost. Not present in her petite little body. Academically, she is in the top of my class. A great reader and writer. She began this week because they found her a one-on-one para. She really changed the dynamic. She crawls over the floor and under tables. When she doesn't get her way she goes under my teachers shelves and will not come out. She hasnt shown her violent streak yet, but it is there lurking. The original kids in my class have big hearts so they have been looking out for her so far. She responded well to structure. When I knew she would be joining our class instantly began practicing and reviewing class routines and when she began she fell right in.

For instance, we have a really structured way we do reader's workshop in our class. the kids get their "just right" books and go to their spots with their reading buddies. During independent reading they read back to back with their buddies silently. After that they turn and read sided by side taking turn reading and listening to their buddies. Then they go to work time. Meanwhile I am meeting with guided reading groups. Friday, the kids showed the new kids how to do it. We methodically went through the process, and as the kids followed the process, I took the newbies on a little tour pointing out all the wonderful behavior I saw (the originals were so proud of themselves). I made a really big deal out of it and then asked the previous mentioned two girls to try the process by themselves. Like butter...
I was very proud of them. I hope this girl makes some break throughs in our class. If I could look back on her time in class 100 and see that she showed sign of returning again. And her eyes would sparkle a little bit, I would feel accomplished.

You would think that this craziness would really turn me off to the whole scene at 163. But it really has made me connect to the kids in the my class at a much deeper level. My job is to educate, to give them an advantage in life by starting them off in school with the right "smarts". But now I see that even above that, 100 must be a safe place from them. A place they can count on and trust. Mr. Robbins will be there everyday, expecting the very best from them behaviorally and academically. They will come to a class with a familiar structure. A structure they rely on when they come off the crazy streets of the Bronx.

Some people ask if it is worth giving up certain professional musts to teach in this environment. "There are so much better schools out there" I hear all the time. "No one can really change the world" or "everyone thinks they can change the world" gets thrown at me as if I need some out. I will know when the time has come. But right now, this job gives me meaning. And it reminds me of why I started this in the first place. If you made it this far in this long post, thanks for listening...

Not a Mister Rogers Post..

Anyway,

I work on Jupiter.

No really, I have moments like, "WTF is going on here at 163"

EXAMPLE:

I just got a new student last Wed.

Seemed O.K., but one word...NUTS!!

Today, I tried to redirect her during writing. She had to move down to the bottom of our behavior board for talking to her new friend clear across the carpet during instruction, so she was ticked. When I asked her to write, she CHUNKED the paper at my face.

I asked her to come speak to me at the back of the room. I was proud of myself, I kept my cool, I mean she is 6. Then she got even more mad, went out in the hall and began to tear down my student work. I called security to come get her, YES I SAID SECURITY, and then she lost it. She threw freaking crayons at me, and kicked a bucket at me. I was like "Damn Girl, you got issues". I wanted to be like "Oh no you didn't just throw crayons at me. I mean girl you live in the Bronx, crayons, seriously." I better be careful she might make a shank out of her pencil (really happened in a second grade classroom) and come at me.

Needless to say, I am not having a Mr. Rogers kind of week. I mean hell, if I tried to switch my shoes in front of them, they would steal them and hock them on the street for 5 bucks, and then go buy a damn snack at the bodega and eat it my class. Oh my friend, it is quite the vicious cycle.

Meanwhile, i have made friends with the roosters in my parking lot across from school. Maybe they will have advice, but I think they are just playing me so they can jump in my car for their getaway someday. But they will have to face it, someday they might end up at the store across the street that butcher live chickens in front of you (NOT KIDDING)!!

Again, I say JUPITER!!

Peace and Love