Let the Laughter begin!

I have started another school year, and this time I have decide to keep track of the funny things that happen during the day.
I am teaching at a Junior High in Payson, UT.  It is full of 7th-9th graders and I am lucky enough to have most of the 9th graders in World History, but also in Spanish classes.  Today in Spanish II I was crying...because I was laughing so hard.
    I remembered a game that Senora Pennington played with us at GHS so I played it with them for the last 5 or so minutes of class.  It was simple...I tell them to do something in Spanish and they do it.  So I tell them to stand up.  Then to put their finger on their nose, then to put a foot on their chair.  And then I told them all to sit down.  All of the sudden one of my students just dies laughing...and he goes "SHE DIDN'T SAY 'SIMON SAYS'" Apparently, he was under the impression that we were playing 'Simon says.' So there he is, standing up with his finger on his nose, a foot on his chair, laughing hysterically...it was a great moment, and the release I needed...what a fantastic way to finish the first week of school :)

It's all gotta start somewhere

Once upon a time I started this blog.
And today I'm actually writing on it, the miracles never cease.
It has been a very intense past couple months full of many adventures.  My first semester of teaching officially ended. With it came one of the most stressful weeks of my life.  I honestly don't really remember anything like that before.  I didn't have very much time for really anything.  And I also learned about myself that when I stress I tend to be a bit introverted...and I don't talk a lot. Who knew?
Well finals ended grades were put in and then BAM! Powerschool, that lovely data collector that holds the information for well everything at the school crashed.  And all grades put in after January 10 were lost (meaning that whole stressful week was a bit pointless) and that also means that my rolls for my new classes are still a bit messed up.  BUT the aftermath wasn't too bad and it's all good now...minus the fact that I will have students coming in to see me saying their grades are not what they should be. (such is life)
However, this post is going to focus on the new classes.
I have no idea what it is, if it's me or them but this round of students is different.  Maybe I just have a better idea of what to look for...or maybe I just have a different caliber of students, who knows.  But what I do know is that this semester is not going to be EXACTLY like last semester and I still have a ton of improvements to do.
One of my hardest classes is a freshman geography class. Don't get me wrong, I truly enjoy working with all of these young people.  Sometimes, however they just do not know when to stop.  I had to be "bad teacher" today, and I hated it.  I did pull a few students aside and made a "deal" with them...If they are good for the entire month of February they are going to get a treat.  And good means I do not yell at them more than 2 times a class period.  One of them I had to send out of my classroom today because he is just plain crude.  This is a new twist to my adventure.  I've usually been pretty spoiled at Timpview High, very respectful, behaved students who know when it is ok to talk and when you need to tone it down.  Well this young man....let's just say my goal for the semester is to help him be better....not sure how I'm going to do it but we'll see.
Ok...that's enough rambling for today.  Tomorrow is a full day of World Civ. and it's a modern day.   Should be fun.
Let the learning continue.