I’ve been a pretty good boy these last 13 days. My blogs, for the most part, have been upbeat, positive, and that’s how I’m trying to keep myself.
#nottoday
Yesterday, my love of middle school was deep and wide like the Mighty Mississippi, a 45 minute drive from our house. I love to visit the river towns and just watch the water flow. The boats, the barges, the wildlife, all it just warms me in a way I cannot explain.
No, today, my feelings about middle school is that of fingernails on a chalkboard. Every little foolish comment, every snarky look, every eye roll is like a banshee’s cry. A long, excruciatingly painful sound that makes your bones just quiver.
Three examples:
1. We are doing the Slice of Life challenge with my classes. My students are a bit (a lot) immature, as you’d expect sixth graders to be, so they spend tons of time looking for headers to insert in their KidBlogs. The problem: no sources. We’ve talked A LOT about the fact they cannot just go out on the Internet, grab a picture, and post it. Easily half the blogs have this problem. So, students were told today that as I go through their final totals, any blogs without a source for their headers will not count towards their total. Blogging all 31 days means a pizza lunch purchased by me, so this is a big deal for some of my students. I had students angry and in tears that I would “be that mean” to take down their blogs. No, I’m only doing this IF you are not documenting your sources.
#seriouslyyouarehearingmetalknotlistening
2. As I looked through Facebook a few nights ago, and found a post from a teacher who did a social experiment with her students and cell phones. Every time her high school students during her class received a notification, she had that student get up and mark a tally. It was quite amazing how the paper looked at the end of the day. Our students are SO distracted by social media and their phones that I’m quickly changing my thoughts on phones in class. Anyway, I thought it would be interesting to do with sixth graders, so each hour, I talked students through what they would do IF they’ve received a notification.
#easypezyright
Wrong! My first two classes did as they were told. In my third class, I had 5 students who took full advantage of their phones, sending snap chats to each other.
#areyououtofyourdamnminds
Needless to say, they turned their phones into the office and got an earful from me. This is why we don’t allow phones in sixth grade.
3. As students were ticked off they had to actually do what they were told for their blogs, I had a student email me a pretty rude and disrespectful email dealing with that topic. I pulled him aside and give him an earful as well. I am a first born, there for I am a rule follower. I can remember muttering about things teachers did or said, but I cannot fathom how students get it into their heads they can write things like this to us. This is digital citizenship 101, and we are missing the boat somewhere.
So, in the words of Dory: “Good feelings gone!”
I’m going home tonight, running three hard miles on the treadmill, then making my wife and I pizza. She’s been stressed because for the last two days, she has not gotten the “two hour late” text from her school, getting into the car and leaving, only to hear it on the radio.
There are days where I do wish my connections were local, real life, and our technology addictions weren’t even invented yet.
I guess that means I’m getting old.
#getoffmylawn
#ventoff
March 14, 2019 at 5:07 pm
Wow! I hope you feel better after that one- I can say that I have felt that way before- especially with the 6th graders. 6th grade is that odd part of life- one step in elementary school, one toe in middle and high school. I don’t remember the time fondly as a child!
March 14, 2019 at 5:10 pm
Well, just the the sound is grating and awful, it’s gone quickly. If sixth graders have taught me anything, it’s to be resilient! 🙂
March 14, 2019 at 5:25 pm
I totally get that feeling of frustration today. For what it is worth, high school students are not much better some days.
March 14, 2019 at 6:36 pm
Everyone has these days, and I know they’ll pass, like a kidney stone! 😀
March 14, 2019 at 5:28 pm
Cell phones in class are a big issue in Ontario right now because the Ministry of Education has just announced they are now banned in classrooms (unless there is a medical reason or an educational reason for them to be there.) It’s had lots of people talking about digital citizenship and the importance to teaching kids to be responsible with their phones. I can tell you are frustrated, but you’ve done a good thing by pointing out the importance of using the phone responsibly. I wonder what anyone of them would write as a self-reflection about this experiment – how tempting was it to have the phone out? Why couldn’t they concentrate? Perhaps the regular rules are actually there to help, not make them feel picked on. Maybe they could blog about it. 🙂
March 14, 2019 at 6:35 pm
Hee hee! A blog about the results may be in the works! 😉
March 14, 2019 at 6:26 pm
I’m there with my sixth graders, too. Hang in there! Spring break is on the horizon!
March 14, 2019 at 6:35 pm
Nope, no spring break! We use Easter as our “spring break” and it’s gone because of 12 snow days! 😦 But, we’ll make it through!
March 14, 2019 at 7:44 pm
We have a zero tolerance cell phone policy at our school. Our high school on the other hand…that’s a different story. I’m sorry your day was so atrocious. There’s a part of me that wishes we didn’t have so much technology at our fingertips. Using books and dial-up Internet worked for us! We could’ve stayed with that right? Hang in there. It’s almost the weekend. Just one day more.
March 14, 2019 at 8:36 pm
*putting on red wing* The sun will come out, tomorrow! 😀
March 14, 2019 at 9:47 pm
So real. I love your honesty.
March 14, 2019 at 10:46 pm
First, we use Kidblog, too. Second, I love your #2 (that sounds weird, but true). And third, my husband and I love pizza date night at home, too — to remind ourselves that we are just human (and maybe getting too old).
March 15, 2019 at 7:43 am
Sometimes, you just need to remind yourselves that yes, you need a break too. 🙂
March 14, 2019 at 11:42 pm
#areyououtofyourdamnminds
That hashtag pretty much summed up my day too. My post definitely went in the same venting direction. My school provides all students with Chromebooks, which provides amazing educational opportunities, levels playing fields, and opens everything up to distraction and misuse. We have a tracking program that teachers can use, and they know I use it, and that I will close tabs right out from under them from the other side of the room (and I do really love doing that!) and yet the 6th graders still persist in going to Google Hangouts and texting each other during class. TGI(almost)F. I’m sorry you lost your Easter vacation. That (and all your snow) will make this a really long spring for kids and teachers.
March 15, 2019 at 7:41 am
I would LOVE that option of closing tabs student tabs from my computer! Goodness, the havoc I could create makes my evil side so happy!
As for break, we’ll make it. It’s about mindset, and we keep preaching finding the positives. The positive with all these snow days, great times to make snowmen, catch up on movies, and just hang out with your family. 🙂
March 15, 2019 at 6:33 pm
Those are all very nice positives!
March 14, 2019 at 11:58 pm
Oh no, your poor wife! What a rough day all around. I hope you enjoyed your dinner at least.
March 15, 2019 at 7:39 am
She went to yoga class, I came home, did a few dishes, and make pizza! It was a good way to make a generally crappy day end well! 🙂
March 15, 2019 at 10:44 am
I love how you said you’ve been a “good boy” but #nottoday. We ALL have those days and we ALL deserve the chance to vent and get it off our chest. It helps us to continue to be positive moving forward. I hope you have a better day today! #TGIF
March 15, 2019 at 1:02 pm
We do, and I did, and hopefully (though my class is wired like another snow storm is coming), we can continue forward in a positive manner.
March 16, 2019 at 12:48 pm
So true. I haven’t taught middle school but I’m pretty sure middle school teachers are saints. Next week will be better. *or it will provide more relatable blog material.*
March 17, 2019 at 6:28 pm
I sitting firmly on the “will provide more blog fodder” side, but that’s just me! 😉
March 17, 2019 at 6:15 pm
Perfect ending #oldgoat