February 2012
15 posts
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I'm digging my heels in and turning it around...
Couldn’t sleep last night
Woke up late
Not a drop of hot water in my shower. Not. a. drop.
Knocked over my makeup bag and spilled eyeshadow all over my floor
Made it down three flights of stairs before I realized I forgot my keys
My grades disappeared from the grade book on the morning they are due.
This week might just need to be over!
EDIT:
spilled my whole coffee on a...
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www.rsc.org/images/BreadChemistry_tcm18-163980.pdf →
Need this!
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“Ms. Basye, I prob’ly shouldn’t say this, but you look like a true...”
– Michael
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WTF Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, TGIF all rolled...
This week has been ugly outside of the classroom. It’s all IEP stuff, so I can’t share, but all I have to ask is, how explicit does one have to be in a Behavior Support Plan? Do I really need to spell out that an adult cannot scream at a child? Yes, is the answer. Do I really need to spell out that every adult is responsible for executing this “plan”? Yes. Does it matter?...
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5 miles at 5 am
And that is the only thing that was pleasant about today.
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“You all up in my Kool Aid, and you don’t know what flavor I am!”
– Calvin
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Fun(ny) Friday: My students believe i'm 49
Are they silly? Or do I look old?
In other news, these kids are finally starting to grow on me. It has helped that our classes got redistributed and I have a more even load of seventh graders—there are some massive behavioral problems in this grade, but with only four or five per class period of fifty minutes, it is totally manageable. Even fun. This week was Operation: Run Like A Machine,...
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Wellness Wednesday too
Five classes taught
Six math stations ran perfectly (good for my mental wellbeing)
Four IEPs Scheduled
Two GOOD phone calls to mamas
Thirty-five pages read
Four miles ran
All by 6:00pm. Winning.
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WTF. Wednesday
A collection of the week’s moments that made me say “WTF.”
I go for a PD and come back to find out that some kid had gone into my desk, stolen my trail mix, and thrown it all over the room.
I am the new chair/head/liaison of the SPED department at my school. Pretty sure by default, no one wants to do it. It’s another one of those how-am-I-qualified-to-do-this moments...
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"What the f**k is a white girl from Kansas doing...
Dear hater(s),
I am being nice and fair and respectful and clear and patient. Therefore, I am generally winning, kid by kid. Thanks for asking though. I’ma get back to work now.
Ms. Basye
January 2012
18 posts
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“Ms. Basye, can you take off that green sweater? It ruins your outfit, and I can...”
– Sherman
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Thankful Thursday: My district joins the 21st...
I am at a PD to get trained on our new IEP software. I’m thankful for it because:
It is hooked up with student contact info, so it gets updated on IEP automatically
It has notification capability.
Most of California uses it, so most kids’ IEPs will get automatically put on my caseload, rather than having to wait. And wait. And wait.
And most of all
It doesn’t look like it was...
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Ah! Except it was Tuesday!
I forgot that I didn’t have school yesterday, due to Chinese New Year. Today felt like a Monday, but I give you Toilet Tuesday.
So what is driving me to the proverbial toilet, a.k.a. the only place I can find solitary respite from madness, is the following:
All my kids fall into three ethnic categories: 1) Asian, 2) African American, and 3) Latino, and they have all taken to calling all of...
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Moment Monday...is back
Redeeming-qualities—those moments when they keep themselves from being considered completely terrible.
Paula came in before lunch to clean up another class’s mess, just because
Even if they are loud and disrespectful in class, all the loud and disrespectful kids make sure to yell “HEY MS BASYE!” throughout the day very loudly..and disrespectfully. :)
Why I love SPED? I...
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“Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s...”
– Obama (via kateoplis)
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“A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond...”
– President Obama, SOTU (via girlwithalessonplan)
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Matt Damon and Mother Reject Union's Award because... →
leightd:
thanksandyes:
We’re officially in Wonderland.
Well of course teachers with more intensive training are preferable, but unfortunately they don’t want to work in the schools and districts that TFA often places in! The school I work in shows the need for TFA teachers: this year, approximately 1 of every 3 staff members quit, and the majority of the staff is now made up of TFA teachers...
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Matt Damon and Mother Reject Union's Award because... →
thanksandyes:
We’re officially in Wonderland.
Eye roll. And I’m sorry, but I have more nuanced answers elsewhere. TFA is not the enemy, and I’m going to reblog something like this every time. It’s not perfect, and it’s certainly not “the solution,” but wouldn’t collaboration improve it? Wouldn’t some sort of hybrid teacher-training-and-recruiting...
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It's back:
Moment Monday
Toilet Tuesday
WTF Wednesday
Thankful Thursday
Fun Friday
Ok, If i don’t do this, you’ll never hear from me, and a whole year will have gone by without me knowing what happened.
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“Ms. Basye, I think what happened is that..why we did bad on our quiz is...”
– Evan
Couldn’t have said it better myself
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Time for another lesson on averages and cause and...
Students: HOW DO I HAVE AN F?!
Me: Well, you got an F on your quiz, and you didn't do your homework, and you were gone for three days, so you got an F on your Participation grade.
Students: Well, I thought I would have at least gotten a B.
Me: Well, you got an F on your quiz, and you didn't do your homework, and you were gone for three days, so you got an F on your Participation grade.
Students: You don't make sense.
Me: ....
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Me (all week): We have a quiz Friday, we have a quiz Friday. Do your homework so you can practice for your quiz on Friday! We have a quiz Friday!
Students on Friday: OH MY GOD WE HAVE A QUIZ?!!?!?!
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Impressive (but sad) articulation from a 14 year...
Me: What's wrong with you today? You look sad, and you're too quiet.
Dominik: Nothing.
Me: I don't believe it. Did anything happen? Is Mom ok?
Dominik: No, no. It's nothing like that. It's just life.
Me: Girls?
Dominik: No. Just life.
Me: What about it?
Dominik: Well, you know when you just start thinking, and you get tired?
Me: Yeah...
Dominik: Well, I was just sitting there, thinking about life, and I got tired. It's too much, I hate it. Like I don't wanna die, but I'm just tired. You know?
Me: I know. Go chill in the back.
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December 2011
17 posts
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Why
did I tell my 7th graders they could have as much time as they didn’t waste? Because now I technically have only 27 out of 100 minutes to have a “party,” and I really just want to show a movie and then join all my high school teacher friends who are already drinking. Do I have to follow through on this?
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Update!
Four hours left, and my brain is shutting down into break mode. So, before I get too lazy, let me just say that the new job is great:
I love this because my 8th graders are beautiful human beings. They are a diverse group—meaning every race and gender and a complete spectrum of disabilities—who have been together for three years and treat each other beautifully. They do what I say the...
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This new job and I, it's love
I am in Go Mode until break, so I’ll explain later. BUT, I will say, that this job is a perfect mix of challenging and possible. And I feel good.
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“Barnett Berry, head of the Center for Teaching Quality, based in North Carolina,...”
– Teaching for America
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“Ms. Basye, can you get me some glue because I am TOO goodlookin’ to get it...”
– Dominic
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“Of course the best experience was actually going to the White House (in 2008...”
– Self and Obama Chat Basketball - KANSAS OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE
A little non-teaching something :)
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Wish me luck!
Fighting second first day of school jitters.
Although, we are just spending the time until Holiday Break cleaning and rearranging and doing the whole first-few-weeks-of-school song and dance. Same teacher in same room for many years + her sudden absence + different sub everyday for over half of the semester = a nasty mess of a class and classroom.
Let’s go!
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“As TFA tried to grow and gain private and federal money, they had to develop a...”
– Why I did TFA, and why you shouldn’t | Gary Rubinstein’s TFA Blog
This, this, this! As a corps member and alum, this is my biggest complaint about TFA. This particular strain of successes are the ones that grow and get blown up because they are the money-earners. I mean, from a business...
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Why I did TFA, and why you shouldn't →
lhuddles:
The 2011 corps is nearly 6,000, twelve times as big as the cohorts from the early 90s. Unfortunately, the landscape in education has changed a lot in the past twenty years. Instead of facing teacher shortages, we have teacher surpluses. There are regions where experienced teachers are being laid off to make room for incoming TFA corps members because the district has signed a contract...
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Hallelujah
My most severe student—you know, that student that makes your stomach sink at the thought of him—is transferring schools Thursday. I am transferring jobs, down the hall Thursday. I should stop feeling hopeless, debilitating dread about coming to school and really, getting out of bed in general, starting Thursday. Quality of life should increase by Thursday.
If not, commit me because...
Watchnpr:
What’s Behind A Temper Tantrum? Scientists Deconstruct The Screams
Toddlers outfitted with high-tech wireless recording devices have helped researchers discover that tantrums have a very distinct, predictable pattern. Understanding that tantrums have a rhythm can not only help parents know when to intervene, but also give them a sense of control.
Source: YouTube (by permission),...
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One more week, one more week, one more week...
Could you be experiencing job burnout? Ask yourself the following questions:
Have you become cynical or critical at work?
Do you drag yourself to work and have trouble getting started once you arrive?
Have you become irritable or impatient with co-workers, customers or clients?
Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive?
Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?
Do you...
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