A move to the coat closet

I have one particular girl in my class who is extremely difficult to deal with but I am convinced things are getting better as she begged me to talk to the vocal music teacher to let her switch from instrumental music to vocal music. I probably let her Kanietra get away with more than she should, I let her go to the bathroom whenever she wants or even when she just whispers to me that she is going to lose it. I let her rearrange the desks everyday(mainly she just straightens them) and even let her sit anywhere in the classroom so that she can get her work done. All of this is in an effort to keep her angry outbursts to a minimum where she starts throwing things and calling others names. She has had a really good week this week and except for a few times screaming my name back tome as I ask her to do something she has been great. Yesterday, I told my homeroom since they had done well yesterday afternoon and were continuing to do well that I would get them a treat. They all recorded exactly what they wanted on a sheet of paper and I said now if some people talk they will not receive their treat on Monday. The class started having an outburst of teasing one another between the boys and Kanietra instead of getting involved simply picked up all her stuff and walked over to the coat nook to sit down. I walked over and talked to her once I got everyone else settled down and asked her if everything was ok. She replied "Ms. Yost I really want my bag of hot fries and they are all so loud. I just want to stay on task so I get them so I moved." I replied with an astonished, "Oh." and went back to helping Rodneshia spell festival and trying to get my boys on task.
Who knew that a coat area would be so useful and that a positive reward instead of threatening her with in school suspension again would mean so much. At the end of the class she handed me a page and a half of writing and I was so excited. Not only did I get her to work but it was in her best handwriting and i could tell she meticulously picked every word.
Sometimes I guess moving to the quiet and solitude of a closet is what we all need.

First Days of School

I have had my first four days at L'Ouverture Middle School as a sixth grade communication arts and social studies teacher. I have to teach social studies for one period because the school doesn't have the budget to hire a social studies teacher. We have a total of 25 students in the entire sixth grade. Yep thats right, not 25 per class but in the entire grade, which means I have about six to ten kids in my classroom each period throughout the day.
My kids are great. There are only a few that I am worried about and even the ones who make bad behavior choices are nowhere near what I experienced in L.A. For instance, LaTasha has an incredibly hard time having a good attitude, each morning we talk about her goal of having a good attitude for the day and she told me today, "Ms. Yost this goal is hard for me to work out, but I don't give up so I will keep on trying." I said thats is all I ask from you, my personal goal for her is that she will stop saying "Scuse me and what's wrong with you?" to everyone she comes in contact with.
I count my blessings everyday though. They listen to me and they respect me. I constantly hear them saying in the hall, "Remember how Ms. Yost said to not talk bad about people." Well, those weren't my exact words but they warm my heart.

HARD

Institute is hard...and I am convinced my corps member advisor is going to make this month even harder for us. He told us tonight he is going to push us farther and harder than any of the other CMAs. I want to be an excellent teacher, but I am not sure if I am quite ready for what is to come. We talked tonight about life maps-things that have formed us to be the people we are today. I talked about how when I was in first grade my teacher said I was too withdrawn and I was going to be unsuccessful in her classroom within the first two weeks of school. As a result my mom pulled me out of school and homeschooled me till the sixth grade. I will never tell a student that they will not be successful because of this. I truly believe that every student has an incredible potential and ability to learn.

Institute is going to get harder, but it's worth it. I have never been more motivated by a job in my life or felt so good at 5:45 in the morning. I know I can help my students achieve all they can and I am going to work until I can be an excellent teacher.

The Beginnings

This blog is dedicated to my stories, experiences and adventures these next two years while teaching. I truly believe that one day all children will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education, this is Teach for America's tagline and the beginnings of my blog.