Learning, Laughter, and Love in Middle School English

I was sitting in Vinaka Coffee Shop in Carlsbad about twenty years ago reading a book on classroom management, when I stumbled across a gem that I have held on to ever since--magic cards!  No, these cards have nothing to do with card tricks or Yu-gi-Oh.  Instead, they are a great way to get honest feedback from your students that can help you be a better teacher  I really wish I could give credit to the author of the book, but even after searching the internet, I could find nothing about these cards or what book they came from! Who Doesn't Like Positives? We just wrapped up the fifth week of school, so I felt students had enough information about me and my class to give me some honest feedback.  I had students pack up all of their things except a pen or pencil and passed out a square of paper to each student.  I told them that they should not write their names on the card but that they would be handing me the sheet of paper as they walked out the door....

Came back after lunch. This was on my computer.  This morning I woke up at 7 and reached over the side of my bed for my laptop.  I have done this every Saturday since school started.  I wanted  to prepare for our Monday morning meeting.  I spent twenty minutes trying to upload a file to a shared folder. Despite my efforts, I was unsuccessful.  A few minutes later I was in tears. I actually told my husband I didn't know if I could do this any more. You see, I have been teaching for twenty-seven years, and these  meetings are one of many new things added to our already overflowing plates.  I became a teacher because I love teaching. I became a teacher because I love kids. This file that I was trying to upload would have no immediate effect on my students or my teaching. After wallowing in self-pity for a few minutes, I decided that today's blog would have to be about all of the reasons I still love teaching.  There are many! What I Love ...

 This post is probably more for teachers than parents, but it might give parents some insight into what we teachers do besides plan lessons, grade essays,, and teach their kiddos. :) Every year I am inundated with emails containing very important information about my students.  Some of the emails contain Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), 504 plans, and important medical information. In addition, I have parents fill out a digital form (I love Google), and one of my questions is whether or not they have anything important they'd like to share with me regarding their child. Many parents tell me things like: my child wears glasses, my child has ADHD, my child has been homeschooled since kindergarten, etc.  With 150ish students, the amount of information I receive can be overwhelming. In the past, I created folders in Google for IEPs and 504s, but they are easy to access. The information was not organized by the period in which I had the student either. The emai...