Reach Before Teach (Middle School)

Oct. 27, 2019 We finished conferences a week ago. We had more parents there than I've ever experienced - about 70% of my students were represented during the two evenings. I don't remember having more than a few minutes to take a drink on either evening, and forget going to the bathroom! I'm blessed. I see these students about 45 minutes a day. I'm not seeing them at their absolute worst most days. I see them with their friends, trying on new roles within their lives. Are they being a leader or a follower? Are they being kind or demanding? Are they funny or serious? Parents don't get to see their children in this way. They see them in so many other ways it is hard for them to understand their child outside of the paradigm/setting the parent knows the kid. My own children were nothing in the classroom like they were with me. For our middle child, I swear one year we needed a picture to confirm we were talking about the same kid (who pushes, still, every button ...

Oct. 12, 2019 Every single time I start blogging, I swear it will be different. I swear  it will . . . and then life gets in the way. The first quarter has already disappeared. I am not completely sure where that time went. I heard a saying this year - Days go slowly; years go quickly. That has been beyond true for me. A few takeaways for me as I get restarted and refocused. *Students truly are changing. What I think they should know, they do not. What I think they shouldn't know, they do (this is mostly life experience). They are experiencing trauma and terrible things at a rate higher than any kid between 12 and 14 should. They have seen poverty, violence, and so much more. They do not know parts of speech or how to write a simple sentence. *We have to respond to where they are. I know this; I've heard this; I've lived this. This year, though, it seems so much more applicable than in years past. Our assistant superintendent said at board meeting Monday we have to ...