Over 200 papers to grade.

Before the weekend even begins, there will have been about 200 papers that either had been graded or will need grading by Monday. The thought is a bit exhausting. Thankfully, I have wonderful "You better not stress, Chelsea" supporters, and they have selflessly donated their time to help me. (Thank you, Miss EB, Mr. R, and Mrs. MS, for your time and love through Crayola markers and grading scales!)

It all started when we were told we couldn't give O's to students on their report cards even though our online gradebook program says otherwise. We presented our case about why we should, and so Mrs. F said, "Well, why aren't your gradebooks consistent with each other?"

So in attempt to plead and strengthen our case, we need to have everything tick-tock and updated by (was) Friday (now Tuesday). If this is what we need to do to be able to give our kids deserved O's, I don't mind. I've just been overcome with fatigue all week. I was at school for 11 hours today... I didn't leave until 8pm. Oof.

I write now because 1) to help me unwind and 2) I'll be in Richmond this weekend, visiting C.

We had a meeting with Mrs. F today as well. It ended on a positive note (with a few confidence-building compliments... why I got higher-leveled kids because I'm really creative to make it work... yay, but yikes! Pressure!). I told her about Psycho Parent Episode #7 that happened this morning. She got really defensive and was like, "I'm going to give her a call. It won't happen again." It felt nice to be defended like that because Psycho Parent definitely crossed the line.

Now let's fade to PP Episode #7...

Ten minutes before it was time to officially start the day, Psycho Parent came storming into the room, uninvited and unprepared. With her glittering politically-biased pin on her lapel, she meant business. Business that I did not have time or patience for. She demanded to know why her son frequently does not come home prepared to do his homework. He never had his work or his folder. I explained to her that I personally hand each student their homework folders every afternoon, but what happens in transit to home is not my responsibility. Well, she then went onto say that it needed to stop and something needed to be done. She stormed over to W's desk and started ranting about how untidy it was and "how often do they get to clean out their desks?!"

She whirled over to the mailboxes and started criticizing my organization, that *obviously* this was the problem. She was left speechless after her own son put his folder in the CORRECT mailbox. (Insert rubber brick to the head here.) At this time, the other children were chaotic because of this mother. I tried to push her along and said she needed to leave. She handed me a letter to be "at my leisure."

Ms. R came in by that point and was on a mission to get rid of the parent since it's one of her hot buttons. It bubbled down to my going to find Mrs. E to come down to exterminate her presence in my classroom.

When I returned, I tried to be as firm as possible with "I need to start the day. Now." She finally left. However, unfortunately, she left annoyance and frazzled structure.

To make sense of why she was walking around with the principal yesterday, this confirms why. From what Mrs. F insinuated, Psycho Parent has questioned my teaching abilities. Clearly, the principal threw it back in her face when she gave her a walk-through and showed her we are teaching, not just hanging out with seven year olds. :P

The moral of the story: I will not invite her again to sort the students' Saddlebags, and I need to be more blunt about her son's bad behavior. That's the main cause of his grades/etc.

To end on an amusing note...
This was a response I read on one of our reading quizzes. Always an interesting time.

The story was about a girl making a paper airplane.

The question was: "Retell the story using the words first, next, and last."

KH's response was: "listen to me waeds do you waet to listen to me yes yes yes !?"
[Translation: "Listen to me, words. Do you want to listen to me? Yes yes yes !?"

-- Miss Chelsea :)

The Year of Parents.

As of this coming Monday, I will have 22 students. And this is not due to moving for once. According to one parent, it is because I am quote, too timid, unquote. When the principal told me that I was losing a student due to my "timidity," I almost bursted out with an "are you kidding me?!" laugh. Thankfully, common sense and professionalism killed that desire on the spot.

On Friday, Mrs. F came into the computer lab as I was setting up my students and told me LS was going to be going to Ms. R's room on Monday. This was the first time I heard of this, so naturally I was confused. She explained that she met with the parent that morning, and the parent had concerns that I was too timid to tell her "like it is." She apparently didn't think looking and perusing through LS's work (clear and straightforward evidence) at conference day was bold enough.

Well, to tell this parent "like it is" would be to say, "You need to motivate your child at home because I am here to teach not to stand over her shoulder to make sure she does her work."

The principal went on to explain that I need to not be bullied by parents which I appreciated her acknowledging that. While I didn't directly feel bullied this time, I did feel overwhelmed by this parent's constant "concerns" (refer to Parent #3) over and over about her daughter. Yes, I would have concerns about my daughter, too, if she were struggling to adjust to second grade. But when it's a home problem, the teacher can't enter that arena. It's not her place.

To sum it up all nice and tidy, Mrs. F then said she told the parent that if she wanted a firmer hand, then she was going to get it. And this will be the first and last time to honor her request. With Ms. R as LS's teacher, she will get firmer all right. I hope overall this will be an enlightening experience for LS and the mother. I mean no illwill towards the two. The mom is nice and concerned, but she needs to realize that she has a major part in her daughter's education. It's not just up to the teacher to perform "miracles." And screaming at her daughter hasn't really been working obviously, so she needs to find another way.

I certainly appreciated Mrs. F sticking up for me, too. She said, "My teachers aren't mean and won't scream at the children. That is something you work with at home. You have a responsibility to motivate your child to do their work; my teachers are here to teach, not babysit."

So, yay, point for the principal!

I won't lie and say I'm not thrilled that I have one less (needy) student. Now I have an even number and that sooo works better for group activities. Unfortunately, the numbers fare lesser for my girls though. 5 girls. 17 boys.

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On a related note about parents, my dad's wife (CJ) has been really concerned over my brother's (CE) kindergarten progress and the parent-teacher relationship. First off, CE's teacher seems like an inconsiderate space cadet.

As a teacher, if you don't put down any grades on a progress report and solely put "Conference Needed" on the comments line, that insinuates that the student is not doing well. That's what this teacher did. It worked CJ into an emotional frenzy and thought it was due to her outspoken concern about the teacher losing CE's homework folder. I reassured her she wasn't turning into one of my Psycho Parents; she had every right to express concern over the teacher's lack of communication. There are other tidbits that aren't really necessary to this story, but it bubbled up all the same.

They had the conference and CE is doing fine, but needs some extra assistance with typical kindergarten stuff (which all kids need). The real thing they (unfortunately) got out of the conference was confirmation moreso that the teacher is a space cadet times two by leaving Dad and CJ waiting for 45 minutes OUTSIDE. She forgot them.

Dad has a temper, too, so whoa, I wouldn't want to be the teacher of those parents. And from all the other stories of this teacher, I wouldn't want my child in her classroom. (Side note-- I fear I will one day be one of those picky moms because I already know toooooo much about the education world and what happens. :P However, I know I will never reach the ranks of Psycho Parent. Thank Heavens! Whew.)

It's just really interesting to be an observer to both sides of the educational world. Parent-to-teacher and teacher-to-parent. At least I'll know how I would like to be when I become a parent someday.

All right, enough musings for now, but I will leave you with two adorable stories that made my heart all fuzzy.
1. Mr. R sent me flowers to school the other week, and all the kids were excited about it when I explained to them what a fiance was. After, M shouted out that he had a fiance, too. Then Z replied, "A chicken strip is my fiance!" I don't think they understood what a fiance was. :P

2. D's Army dad was coming home. She lives with her grandma and doesn't know her mom, so she was sooo excited all week and kept telling me about his coming home. She saw him last at the beginning of the year. Well, he came to school on Thursday to see her, and she was so happy to see her daddy. It warmed all my little heartstrings. :)

-- Miss Chelsea :)

Bring it on, Sparkle.

It's still a trial in progress with behavior in my class. We did have an excellent day earlier in the week, so I KNOW it can happen. I just wish they would do it more. Even though I despise Mondays, the children are relatively calm on those days. Not sure why...

As of yesterday morning, I had 24 students. As of yesterday afternoon, I had 23. One has moved to Chesapeake... which is kind of sad since she was 1) a girl and 2) a good student. Now I have 6 girls and 17 boys. Yikes.

It's official, GM is in love with me. The second day of school he drew a picture of me and him at the beach. He parrots a lot of what I say. And now I am the subject of his spelling homework sentences:
- I am hugging Miss F.
- I hugged Miss F.
- I am smiling at Miss F.
- I smiled at Miss F.

Mr. R is going to get jealous now that he has competition against a seven year old. ;)

Now, last year, we all know I had some problems with specific parents. It wouldn't be a thrilling school year without a Part Deux. I have just those parents.

Parent #1 - Concerned, but Not Concerned Enough to Do Anything About It
- This parent writes about a note per week, detailing their concern over their child's grades or behavior. They make requests for seat changes, minute-by-minute information regarding schedules, etc. Because the parent doesn't want to deal with educational matters, the concern is then placed unto a grandparent to be the point of contact... who comes to find out later had been writing the notes all along.

Parent #2 - Always on the Defensive, then Turns Offensive
- This parent is notified about their child's progress and the teacher's concern over the low grades. They make excuses for the lack of accountability on their child (i.e., working too much, not home all the time, etc.). Just when you thought the phone conversation was over, they accuse the teacher of not doing her job and not giving their child more opportunities for a third/fourth/fifth retest in any given subject. When the teacher explains that lessons have been taught at least four different time and evidence of this is in the weekly Saddlebag of their student's work, this parent finds more reasons why they are not the ones to blame. This parent is a teacher's worst headache.

Parent #3 - Passive Activist
- This parent is all verbally gungho about having their student succeed and demands to be notified of misbehavior and poor grades at the beginning of the year. When the teacher notifies them of either of the aforementioned, this parent agrees and thanks for the call. Over the next few days, the behavior still hasn't changed and it is back to square one to the cyclic procedure.

Parent #4 - A Child's First and Foremost Teacher
- This parent is a teacher's favorite. This parent sometimes comes into the classroom to help out with organizing, filing, or even bringing in treats. They may struggle to make ends meet, but they put the emphasis on education first. They do what they need to do to help their child reach their potential. If the means are available, they get a tutor. They also study their child's sent-home work with their child, even if it is for five minutes a day. They check their student's homework every night to keep their student accountable. They build a partnership with the teacher and know it is not a one-person show.

Well, that's about it. Miss EB and I are going to look for bridesmaid dresses today, I think. We'll see, we'll see... if I can get out of my pj's and motivate myself to get dressed. :P

-- Miss Chelsea :)