...ceremony...

So the greatest day of our lives (as a PLC) occurred last week.  We were honored with an incredible award.  None of us ever really thought we would receive such recognition.  We were speechless.  We were so excited that we called an unscheduled meeting to have a mini-ceremony.  I even made cookies.

We were given a Dundie by another teacher.

Go ahead and Google it if you don't know what it means.  (Hint:  Season 2, Episode 1)

For those of you who do know what it means, you understand how appropriate it is for us (if you have been keeping up with this blog recently).

Measurements of the Dundie were taken with a nearby ruler.  Rumor has it that one of my fellow PLC members is going to build a case for it out of plexi-glass.

...i want it that way...

During the passing periods we play music in the hallways.  I usually find myself singing along to the songs, which invites interesting comments from students as they walk by.  Today the song that was playing during one passing period was I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys.  Of course I was singing.  As a student entered my classroom, she noticed I was singing along enthusiastically and said, I don't even know this song.  I've never heard it in my life.  Man, am I really that old?  Shoot.  Well, when she is my age, she will be rocking out to Justin Bieber and teenagers won't be able to sing along with her...


And I was like, baby, baby, baby, oooh...

...oops...

Apparently for some reason the video for ...differentiated instruction... wasn't working.  I think it is working now.  Enjoy.

...tie down drugs...

This week is Red Ribbon Week.  It's all about encouraging students to be drug-free.  So, to bring attention to the cause, we have theme days, just like Homecoming Spirit Week:  pajama day (put drugs to bed), jersey day (sports, not snorts), etc.

Today's theme:  Tie Down Drugs, Wear a Tie

So, many students and staff were sporting their drug-free spirit by wearing ties.

One particular student didn't just wear a tie, but he wore a red tie.  He didn't just wear a red tie, but he wore a suit.  He didn't just wear a suit, but he wore a red suit.  That's right, red tie, vest, jacket (past his knees by the way), pants, and shoes.  All red.

A teacher sees this student in the hallway outside of my classroom during a passing period.

Teacher:  I had a Christmas present that looked like you once.


Love it.

...bellwork...

So I start each class with an assignment that students work on right away when the bell rings.  I call it bellwork.  Genius, I know.  Most of my colleagues follow this same procedure.

Another teacher teaches the same class as I do, so we try to make sure we are doing the same things.  A new quarter just began, and we are beginning with a new type of bellwork assignment.  He came up with the idea, and was working on it over the weekend.  During our prep hour today he came into my classroom and asked me a question in regards to it.  I asked him if we could work on it my classroom, or if I needed to go to his.  He began walking towards his room.  I took that to mean we needed to go to his classroom.

So, I put my activities on hold, and followed him.  He went straight to his computer and began opening up a file.  It was a picture of his cute, little children.  So, we took a moment to chat about their cuteness & he changed his desktop from a somewhat frightening picture of one son, to this uber-cute picture of both.  Then he started messing with things on the desktop, & I asked what he needed me to look at for the bellwork assignment.

His response:  Oh, it's in my car.


Wow.  That was really helpful.  When will I learn that the guys in my hallway should not be trusted when they suggest I come check something out in their classroom?  90% of the time it is not related to the task at hand, but simply a picture or video that they think is funny.

Just to be fair to myself, I don't always fall into this trap.

Don't worry, the assignment was created before our prep hour was over.

...president...

Location:  Hallway

Time:  Passing Period

Student who is new to the school this year, talking to another teacher:  Are you Mr. Moore?


Teacher:  No


Student:  Oh, who is Mr. Moore?  Everyone says he should be president.


Student turns to me:  Wait, YOU should be president!


Well, if I ever decide to run, it will have to wait at least a couple years to ensure I will have at least one voter.  Of course, when I asked why I should run, all she could say was, I don't know.  You just SHOULD.


I will let you before I make my decision.

...laughing till you cry...

Today was a time to laugh.  A time to laugh so hard you cry.

In a PLC meeting comments were made about how one of the teachers had a coffee stain on his pants.  This particular teacher tends to say "poop stains!" as an exclamatory phrase on a regular basis.  At one point during the meeting he said this...and eventually he came to the realization that the alleged coffee stain on his pants wasn't a coffee stain at all.

That's right.  It literally was a poop stain, courtesy of his son's diaper.
We laughed so hard we cried.  Thankfully I didn't wear eyeliner today, or I would have had make-up streaming down my face.


Later today I learned about a lesson that this same teacher held in his Spanish class.  He was teaching his students words like corta (cut) and pelo (hair).  So...he actually told a student to cut his hair.  Yep.  A student cut his hair in class. When I asked him why he would do that, what was his response?

The more memorable the experience with the word the more likely they are to remember it.


I'm sure those students will never forget the day their Spanish teacher had a chunk of hair cut off the top of his head...especially if they noticed the poop stains on his pants.

...vocab sentences...

Vocabulary word:  Chattel

Chattel = personal, movable property; slave

Student's sentence:  I carry lil Wayne in my heart like he is my chattel.


My response:  wow

Yeah, I wrote that on her paper.

At least she used it correctly.

...differentiated instruction...

All my educator friends will appreciate this.

The rest of you...I think you will chuckle as well.

Enjoy!

...pencils can be dangerous...

I was explaining a packet of information about personality styles to a class.

As I was talking, I noticed a student nearly poke herself in the eye with her pencil.  It seemed to bounce off of her cheek bone...

Somehow the whole situation struck me as funny...and uncontrollable laughter overtook me.  Seriously, I couldn't quit.  I was the only one who saw it, and the student involved didn't exactly see the humor.  So there I was, holding a giant packet, laughing hysterically, with a room full of students starring at me, trying to figure out why I was laughing after asking a student if she was okay.

She said it hurt, but was ok.  It never made contact with her eye.  It won't leave a mark...on her face anyway.  But it has left a mark on my mind.  In fact, as I type this, I am holding back the laughter.

Well, the uncontrollable laughter has moved to mostly controllable.

The crazy thing is, when it happened, it looked as if she threw the pencil at her face on purpose.  Odd.