Dirty but happy, digging and scratching

[jobey_in_error]

I've had a great first week of school. The new seventh-graders seem very young. I seem very old. I may have been moderately brilliant a few times, but I'll spare you all the boastful details. No guarantee it will last after all. But at least I'm able to almost keep on top of things, without half-killing myself in the process. So far, anyway. Did I

Comments

[jobey_in_error]

I feel a bit more encouraged about starting back to grad school this week--maybe it'll go as well for us

I definitely hope so! I recommend a ridiculously sunny attitude and, if necessary, a lobotomy. Hope you've slept recently. ;)

They're in ELD (ESL) class for two periods out of seven. One of them, I think, is getting something out of his other classes, but the other just has to try to play along, which I don't get -- I've never had a Beginner in my own class before, and I'm baffled that they do it this way. Surely even spending his time in the OTHER, more Advanced, ELD classes would still be more useful for a year or two yet then packing him off to mainstream English classes. Because no, no translator in school. (There are so many English learners here -- we would never have enough.) The office scrambled last week to find a translator for school/family communication with the liaison office -- we had to borrow someone from a few towns over. (Did I mention we're in a very small town?)

[shimotsuki]

Sounds like you're off to a great start -- and that you're loving what you're doing, which is huge.

I love the way some of the names you've picked seem to match the classes' personalities. Falcons, indeed!

Feeling sorry for the Arabic speakers dumped into the thick of things. I saw above that at least they're getting some ESL, but wow, that's got to be tough (for them and for you). Do they get frustrated in your class and act out, or are they at least trying to hang in there?

Hope the rest of the year goes as well!

[jobey_in_error]

Belated comment is quite belated; sorry about that.

I was expecting the poor kids to eventually get frustrated and start acting out -- I was also working on a plan to help prevent some of the other kids, as they got frustrated with their work, get bored and start staying stupid stuff about Islam -- and I was trying to find out why we didn't already have a "Success Team"-type meeting so that we could meet the kids' parents and coordinators --

And then they mysteriously disappeared from my roster since last Friday.

I just love the way their counselor kept us in the loop about these two. :P (In her defense, beginning of the year, she's split between two schools, yadda yadda. So it's not necessarily her fault. Still, very aggravating.)

Hope to find out if they are still at our school when we go back this week.

Thanks so much for the good wishes. ♥