Tales of a Teacher

I've grown up with a "girl power" mindset. I've read books about empowering young ladies, and encouraging girls that they are fully capable of doing anything boys can do.. maybe better. I am the first one to argue for women's rights, and am very passionate about gender equality. All this being said, I will be teaching third grade this year. My class is special, though. Because I have a class that is very heavy on the male side... Actually, I only have males.  It's funny, yes. You may laugh.  Tomorrow begins a very interesting year. At 7:20 in the morning, the new guys in my life will walk through the door of my classroom. One cannot simply prepare your brain for that. I have tried. I have read books. I have researched. I have even Pinterested.  In my research, I found this video . For those that have time, go watch it. It will give you insight to my classroom, and how life for boys isn't as easy as I had once thought. We may thing we l

Bring. It. On.  Here are pictures of my classroom for your enjoyment. Or your un-enjoyment. Either way, it's still my classroom. BIG SHOUT OUT to my Aunt Ruth, my Aunt Lisa, my Mom, my Dad, my Boyfriend Jake, and his mom Kathy for helping turn an ugly brown room into something semi-pleasing to the eye.  By the way, I have no theme. So as you scroll through these pictures, save yourself the pain of trying to decipher the strange eclectic theme of my room. It's theme is.. theme-less. Now, here's what you've been waiting for: Grabbed this idea from The Responsive Classroom and Teach for America, and tweaked it for my own liking. It's all about getting the students involved and out of their seats on the first day of school. I'll post some of their responses after we do this exercise. Also, writing the date and my name in real Cursive made me feel like a real life teacher.  Like my TV? Haha Word Wall. Love it. Hate it.  All

I cannot find my pencil. I swear I had it yesterday. Someone must have stole it, or it ran away. I don't know where my pencil is. I thought it was on the floor. I came back from the bathroom, and it must've followed me out the door. My pencil seems to be missing. Can I borrow another one from you? Hey pencil, don't fail me now. You're still my number two. I've already lost three pencils this week.  I just sort of forget. I think that somebody takes them just to see me fret. Can anybody lend me a pencil? You'll be my new best friend. Well, at least until tomorrow, when my pencil woes begin again. I found a pencil in my desk, But it doesn't have any lead. Can I get up to sharpen it? Or, perhaps, will you do it instead? If you find my pencil anywhere  Tell him to come home. I've been really missing him lately, and I can't do homework alone. Don't mind the bite marks. Disr

Education is what makes the world go round. Without an education, George Washington wouldn't have been able to lead the United States in a Revolutionary War victory that ultimately led to the foundation of the great country we live in.  Nikola Tesla couldn't have been a world renown inventor that changed the world's capability to use electricity. Sonia Sotomayor would not have broken the modern stereotypes and been named the first Hispanic female Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Before William Shakespeare began writing beautiful sonnets and plays, he had to have someone teach him to read and write at some point.  Without the help of a teacher, Hellen Keller would not have been able to overcome her struggles of being deaf and blind.  Beethoven didn't just wake up one day composing music and playing the piano; someone sacrificed time and effort because they saw something in him, and pushed him to become one of the greatest musical composers of all