Sometimes Kids can be Inappropriate.....

A few months ago I was in a 3rd grade classroom, teaching a mini-lesson for writing. The topic of the mini lesson was on adjectives......you know, descriptive words.
To get the kids thinking about what adjectives are, I had them give me some words to describe kids... they said things like:
"smart"
"playful"
"funny"
Next I had them give me some words to help describe animals. They said things like:
"hairy"
"stinky"
"wrinkly"
And then I call on D, a child who at times can be inappropriate. His comment?
"Those gorillas have big ole' titties!"
I watched the mouth of his classroom teacher drop, and tried quick to compose myself.
My response:
"One thing that makes mammals so special is their ability to feed their babies milk, but we should refer to those body parts as the mammary glands".
Whoa!!

I look "tight" today....

I wore an old outfit today that I haven't worn in quite some time....
Not sure if it is the bright color or just the fact that my shoes perfectly match my shirt, but I always get a ton of compliments when I wear this outfit.
In fact, one kid that I have never spoken to before came up to me today to tell me that I "looked tight in that outfit".
I guess that is a pretty big compliment, huh!?

Hatchlings

Another old post from my personal blog.

May 20, 2005

Ahhhh, its that time of year again...Spring! All the little animal babies are being born are so sweet! I thought I would share some pictures that I took of some hatching chicks. A 2nd grade teacher that I work with has been working with a program through the University of MN that allows inner-city schools to observe and witness the "miracle of life. It was pretty cool to watch the eggs hatch from the incubator. The kids were so excited, as were the little chicks!! I can hear peeping out in the hallway when I walk into my room, it is so cute! Just look at these little fluff balls!

Anyway, I think this is a great program that is set up, otherwise these kids would probably NEVER get to see it happen. The chicks will be going back to the farm later this afternoon. I am not sure about their fate, but I do hope they will not become chicken nuggets!! Its very different to see animals after raising them, so I do hope the kids don't become vegetarians because of this little project!!

The Wandering Bear.....

Another old post I found from my personal blog.

May 17, 2005

Okay, can things get any weirder in the neighborhood in which I work?? Today the news choppers, cops and the DNR were out looking for a Black Bear who has wandered into the Big City. This is the news as I hear it from my students as I walk in to work today,

"Ms. S, did you hear about the bear?"

"I saw it in my back yard!!"

"The cops are going to find it and put it to sleep, but not kill it"

Okay, last week they are looking for a cop-killer and today they are back at it again...but looking for a bear. I feel bad for the poor thing!! We had a bear loose a few weeks ago too, and that one was shot and killed when it made its way to the freeway.

I don't know what this means, but it is probably not a good sign if beras are moving into the city...disappearing territories and the smell of Krispy Kreme....

Lockdowns....

A common practice in schools across America these days is the lockdown drill. With all the incidents of mass violence and school shootings that we have seen over the past nine years or so (pretty much since Columbine), it is something that must be practiced.

So we have practiced.
There have actually been a couple of incidents in the past couple of years in which the schools I worked at had to go into lockdown- for real. Below are a couple of entires from my personal blog that recount specific lockdown encounters.

May 6, 2005

My drive to work this morning started out like normal, but as I got closer and closer to work, I knew something out of the ordinary was going on... you see, every corner on the main street that I drive down had a police officer parked with its lights on. So what could this be all about???

Was the President of The United States visiting today and I somehow didn't know about it? What else could cause police from all neighboring cities as well as the St Paul Police to be out full-force on a Friday morning at 7 am??

As soon as I got to the school I was informed that we were on lock-down because a St Paul police officer was killed a few blocks away from the school at like 2am. Apparently he was working undercover when he was shot 10-12 times and the suspects fled. So now they are doing a thorough search of the neighborhood in which I teach.

So how am I going to get through this already-hectic Friday, with kids that are scared to walk down their own streets??? This neighborhood that I work in is one that I am glad I do not also reside. Too much crap like this happening all the time. I am fortunate that I will only have to work another 30 days or so before school is out and I move to a new school. Scary!!

PS I have to keep looking through my old archives to find the other lockdown stories....

Made me laugh!

School #2 has an autism program for grades k-3. This is the school I am at in the afternoon and when I was walking into the building yesterday, I was carrying my lunch.....a clear container with cooked asparagus and a piece of chicken. Well anyway, as I was walking in the door, one of the little practically non-verbal autistic kids was walking by. He looked right at my lunch and without sensoring himself (do kids with autism ever sensor themselves?!) he yells out really loud, "GROSS"!!!!!!!
I seriously laughed all the way to my classroom!

Kids like to tell it like it is! LOL

Ghetto Fabulous Names

So by now it is no secret that I work at neighborhood schools in really tough, poor neighborhoods in the inner city. I absolutely LOVE what I do, and wouldn't ever dream of trading my poor, needy, diverse students for the more well-off white kids in the suburbs. This is my niche.

So that being said, I do have to tell you that I have come across some very interesting names throughout my career and have started to make a list of the ones I remember. I wanted to share with you some of the unusual "names" of students I have personally known. (I am not even going to go there with some of the ethnic names I've come across!) The following names span all races....

Golden

Daisy

Foxy

Charisma

Dream

Hope

Precious (I've known at least four girls with this name)

Faith

Destiny

Diamond (again, 5-6 girls with this name)

Sparkle

Heaven

Unique

Star or Estrella

Lyric

Darling

Honey

Modesty

Sunshine

Jersey

China

Dakota

Carolina

Georgia

Green (whose last name also happened to be a shade of green)

Sterling

Seven

Justice

Prince

Reality

Passion

Long time coming.....

I am just 8 weeks shy of completing my 9th year of teaching in the Inner-City. I have come across so many unique situations that I have contemplated writing a book of my stories. Hopefully this blog will be a place I can document and share the experiences I have :)