Learning, Laughter, and Love in Middle School English

Ask my students if I am ever absent, and they will tell you no.  I hate missing school!  It's because I am selfish. I don't want anyone else to teach my lessons, and I don't like being away from my students.  I like to read stories with my voices, I like to greet them with music, and there is nothing I want to miss (okay, State Testing)!  However, on Friday my Creative Writing class, along with the drama teacher's class, had the opportunity to go see Romeo and Juliet at the Old Globe in San Diego. I have to admit that I wasn't excited about missing three of my classes, being sandwiched between 60 middle schoolers on a school bus, and sitting through a play. I know I am an English teacher and am supposed to love plays, but generally, I don't. I love watching my students perform but not strangers.  I arrived at school at my usual time to check in with the sub. I was worried she would not know how to work the computer/video. I'm so glad I did. Disaster wa...

I'm not gonna lie. I want students to love me and love my class. I could say I don't care about either, but that would be a lie.  That's why embracing the practice of telling kids to "figure it out" when they ask me certain questions has been hard for me.  As a parent, I remember reading a book that said, "Don't do anything for your child that he can do himself."  It certainly made sense as a parent, so why didn't I apply this to teaching? After following Catlin Tucker like a stalker on Twitter, I knew I had to try this strategy for my students' own good. This year one my primary goal was to provide students with meaningful feedback AS they worked, rather than waiting until they turned something in.  This has proved to be one of the best moves I have ever made as a teacher because I honestly feel like I am TEACHING rather than just GRADING, which can often seem punitive. Students are applying what they are learning in REAL time.  By the t...