The Final Countdown

Teachers earn their summer in the last 10 days of school. They are the best and worst days of the school year. 

They're great because you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And all sorts of fun events get crammed into the last two weeks. There's often food involved. 

The last days are difficult because there's SO much to do. My brain is on the verge of exploding at all times. I have to write everything down. Revised schedules. Special events. Field day assignments. 

We also have to pack up our rooms. I'm moving rooms. Again. Everything has to go in a box. Every box has to be labeled. I have over 1000 books in my room. Seriously. So this task is a bit daunting. And has to be completed in the midst of final writing conferences and finalizing grades. 

So, please don't judge me if I fall asleep while we're talking on the phone, lose the Windex while I'm cleaning house, or come to school wearing two pairs of earrings simultaneously. 

Awkward Questions

If you're not a middle school teacher, you may not realize the job means being under the scrutiny of 25 pairs of eyes for the majority of your day. 

Middle schoolers notice. And they have no qualms about asking questions. Most of the time they're just curious and haven't learned to filter. 

So yesterday I painted my fingernails AND toenails--with a topcoat, even. Which happens so rarely that it should go down in the annals of mani/pedis.  I was feeling pretty accomplished. 

Until today, when a student asked me where my pinkie toenails were. 

My reply: "Hiding."

I have normal-sized feet, but tiny toenails. So by the time I get to my pinkie toes, I'm painting more skin than nail. 

My advice to you if you're joining the crazy world of middle school teaching? If a question is not too personal, answer it and move on. 

Fun Friday

Fridays in my classroom mean "Fun Friday Free Writes." I set a timer. We all have to keep writing until the timer goes off. 

It's hard. Especially at first. Students think I'm cruel for calling it fun. 

But when the timer goes off, anyone who wants to can share what they've written. At the beginning of the school year, no one wants to share. As the school year wears on, students start to open up and see the potential. 

I have a student that started weekly "Thoughts with Ben."  He comes in excited to write. And his classmates are eager to see what he has to share each week. 

He spends his week coming up with jokes--and on Fridays he can't seem to move his pencil fast enough to get them all down before the timer goes off.  He writes one liners like Mitch Hedberg. 

Some from this week:

"If you have two pens--and a friend asks you for one...at least you've got a friend."

"You can drink spring water in winter."

Boogers

I teach at a rural, high poverty school. I can think of a dozen reasons to NOT have this job for a career, but I can think of many, many more reasons why it's all worth it. For one, middle schoolers never fail to entertain. 

Today one student shared his poem about how his brother ate boogers (really). There were a few groans, then other students chimed in. 

"Boogers were the perfect snack--your mom might tell you you can't have a snack, but you always carried them with you."

"Yeah, just reach up and clean out."

"Like a Lunchable that's always there."

"Don't act like you never ate a booger! Everybody ate their boogers when they were little."

Ah, middle school.