Im Going Crazy

I don't know where to begin. These kids are driving me insane. I think I am going to have an ulcer before the school year is over. At this point, I have stretched myself thin as a teacher. I have gone above and beyond the call of duty. Now, its time for these kids to step up to the plate. Gave a test on Friday, 6 kids had to retake it due to their horrible performance. Did they study? NOPE. Did they know they had a retest on Monday? YEP. Did they call me to ask for help like I instructed them to? NOPE. I am the test maker therefor the best person to call about a test is the test-maker. I was sooo frustrated today. Don't even get me started over the homework that is not being turned in. Of course, the students who are not turning in homework are also the ones doing poorly on my test. I cannot deal with this laziness. Time to call some parents.

Funny Friday

Today was quite an interesting day. The kids were extra hype today but they finally are making improvement. 7 out of 12 kids made 100's on our retest. I can finally move off of equations! Not much to say today. Plenty of papers to grade and plans to make for next week

Funny Quotes & Stanley Descriptions

Student: Mr Stanley you stepped on my $100 shoes

Me: Well your shoe got stepped on by $100 loafers so at least they are even

Boy to another boy in class: You smell like strawberries

Nun: Today was one of those days you need 10 shots of whiskey. Good thing I don't drink

Student: Mr Stanley, don't be trying to get sensational with me

Same Student: Mr Stanley I'm not yo friend. I'm not doing this work

Me: *sideeye*

Student: UGHHH Mr Stanley ima do yo work leave me alone

Stanley Descriptions:

-Always dresses up like a business man

-Funny accent

-Looks very well educated

-Looks like Ryan Howard

-Spiffy besides when he had that bowtie on

-Bentley Fonsworth's son

-Loafers in every color

-Very Christiany (that's not a word lol)

How To Mend A Broken Heart

Well today I was not feeling too well but naturally I still went to work. My boss jokingly said the only way I could miss school was if I was going to a funeral....and i were in the casket lol. Today went fairly well in comparison to the other days I had this week. Its amazing how much these kids do not know to be in the 9th grade. It frustrates me to no end to know that someone's administration or teacher let these students progress without knowing content. I still push on and try to cram in as much as possible. I am still struggling with their studying and am planning to spend our homeroom time learning study skills. The lack of prior instruction or not knowing how to study will not be their excuse. The learned the definition of excuses today and have to recite it everyday (lol). We can't let the past be a crutch on our abilities. I am also working on varying instruction as much as possible and reteaching using different methods. We have been doing partner work, group work, drawing, making collages, and today they created math review worksheets to help them teach themselves the material. Tomorrow is our re-retest and I am hoping we have significant changes in performance as a result of the reteaching and student created worksheets. There is also talk of yet another staff change due to our inability to find good teachers or teachers that desire to teach this age and demographic. I'm ready for consistency and I am sure the kids are too.

Now for the title of this post. Today one of my favorite students had his heartbroken. Now I know I am not supposed to have favorites but you naturally tend to gravitate to some more than others. He works hard in class and even though he aggravates me at times, I recognize his potential and acknowledge his determination. He apparently wrote a girl a song today. She took his song, threw it on the floor, and stepped on it in his face. He was so angry and would not do work in my class. At the end of the day, my patience is typically non existent for such behavior but it was very out of character for the kid who likes to hurry to get my work done to not engage at all. So his friends explain to me what happened and he and I talk outside. He really liked her and she just crushed his little feelings. I told him that he was young and had lots of opportunities to find a nice young lady who would appreciate him and what he has to offer. I mean, the kid wants to be a doctor. He'll have no problem then. He seemed to appreciate the talk because afterwards he came back into class and got on task. Being a teacher requires you to wear many hats.

Lone Soldier

Whelp, things have changed once again. One of the teachers quit today. This is yet another change that I can not shelter the kids from or prevent them from finding fault in themselves. It really takes a special person to handle these kids and its not for everyone. I never would have imagined myself teaching high school or else I'd probably would have never changed my major in the first place and graduated on time. LOL. I love it most days and really wonder how well I would have managed the younger kids I intended to teach. I am still trying to manage my social life and these kids. They are exhausting and I spend so much time pushing and pulling them that when I get home all I want to do is sleep. Even though I am teaching 9th graders, I feel like im teaching 3rd or that I have 22 kids who have to occupy my time, space, energy, and even my food from 7:30 to 3:30. I have yet to make it home before 5pm. My new goal is to leave school by 4 at the lastest on any given day except for meetings. Slightly worried but still happy.

When It Works, It Works

Lessons that engage and keep student interest= the most difficult thing a teacher has to accomplish. With all the many things that interest teenagers, it is hard keeping students engaged and on task. While I am not always the most engaging teacher, I have managed to be quite successful 85% of the time. The key has been two major things: Lesson variety (movement, individual, partner, whole group, small group) within the lesson everyday and communication. My students are very real and upfront with me about the things they like and dislike. They are starting to learn how they learn best which is a huge accomplishment. Friday's lesson on adjectives had students telling me how much fun they had in class whereas today's math lesson had students leaving accomplished. Most of the students failed my last math test and we pretty upset. We brainstormed together how we could make improvements and fix the problems. We pushed out a vigorous lesson today but many questions and commonly missed issues were addressed. While I am not always able to see such whole group victories everyday, I bask in the small ones. There was one student who was not feeling challenged enough nor adjusting to the other teacher's teaching style who moved into my math class. She was not doing work or participating and made a complete 180 degree turn around in class today. There was another student whose potential was being hindered by another student, moved into my class and has been one of my star performers. I have 5 students still struggling with multiplication who are currently being tutored by peer students who made the decision and sacrificed their homework time to tutor their friends. Im so proud of the work they are accomplishing and the sense of community they are establishing amongst themselves.

There are no Animals in the Ocean

The title of the post was how my day started. LOL. These are moments were I don't even comment, just shake my head and keep it moving. Today was the first good day this week. Yet another day of change but I think that now that the other lead teacher is here we can finally have some consistency. She is great. Vibrant personality with lots of ideas. I hope that the students easily adapt to her and her teaching style. The boys naturally have developed some crushes. smh #fast. We talked today about homicide amongst teenagers and how to begin to combat people with our brain power and knowledge rather than fighting. I love moments that help them become better men. I had to talk to one of my students because he continual has issues with respecting elders. He has a great deal of respect for me for some reason (which i can't complain about) but others approach him the wrong way. He reacts in a way that people think negatively about him when he is truly one of the hardest workers in my class. We talked about giving respect even when it isn't given to you and dealing with people we don't necessarily like. It was great to have him truly listen and take in my advice. Another student talked about how he was able to realize how much I actually cared about them unlike teachers they have had in the past. Im tough, I'm firm, but I am consistent and have high expectations that are required to be met. One of my biggest goals as a teacher was to communicate that feeling of love and realness. Slowly these boys are being molded into respectable young men and I am glad to have an active part in that process.

What You Not Finna Do

So I can see now that as a father I would probably do the most. Not necessarily sheltering my children but definitely going HAM on their behalf if I felt they were being mistreated. So today this lady who tutors at the school would not go in my classroom alone. My kids are very well behaved on average. I run a tight ship and my kids know better than to test me but so much. I left them alone the other day and this other teacher stopped by my room. She came to me later and said that my boys were perfect. I simply replied, I know. I can say that because my boys know 1. Mr Stanley is slick crazy 2. Never embarrass Mr. Stanley, make him look good. So when this lady refused to go into my classroom I was very offended. To me, I read two messages. 1. You have a problem being alone in a room with 15 Black boys 2. You don't have faith or trust in my ability to discipline and run my classroom. My boss said that it was moreso her inability to exert discipline over a large group but apart of me still feels slighted mainly because she was a white female and the kids we serve are often prejudged and labeled. I teach 15 boys that do not fit the stereotype. I have future doctors, NFL players, MLB players, accountants, lawyers, etc. My boys haven't had all the resources or opportunities but they recongize their own potential and I'll be damned if I let anyone send them any negative energy or messages.

Now to contradict my earlier statement slightly....there was a small physical altercation in my room. It made me extremely angry because they start drama over the smallest things. I went off. Parents were called and they have to write an apology letter to me before they can enter my class tomorrow. The boys looked pitiful because I let them have it. Later in the day one comes up to me and says "Mr. Stanley, are you still mad at me?". I smiled and said no. I have to remind myself that they will make mistakes and show them that I don't hold grudges. I try to communicate that its their actions that pisses me off sometimes, not them as a person.

Oh Mondays

Today was quite a blah day. I had two additional students join my room today putting the total to 15. Now in an ordinary setting where we aren't so individualized in instruction or cramped up in a hot portable this would be ok. Today, however, I was slick tired and not really in the mood for a lot of defiance. I don't even think the kids were acting out per se but I just couldn't deal with it today. We were doing math centers which in theory were perfect for the content that we had just went over and helpful for some other problem areas. Instead of being diligent, students were not staying on task, talking about each other, taking out phones, etc and I just ended the centers after three rotations. Honestly, 15 in my room just can not cut it. If i had started with the 15 from the beginning I think things would be different but the random additions are throwing off our routine. There is talk about splitting my class and mixing with the girls which will be helpful but I I'm a little attached so this may be easier said than done. Ultimately, I love what I am doing and can't wait til things mellow out and we stop making so many changes.

Beware of Mr. Stanley

Today was a good day. I love knowing how to do what I do well. It makes for a great level of comfort when people randomly stop into my classroom unannounced. Today was that day apparently. Three parents stopped by today and my students are always busy with a task. I leave very little room for down or play time. Today when the parents walked in, the kids were busy making posters that would be use to teach the different operations you do with decimals (addition, subtraction, etc). It was a great way to show the parents that we are about the business. One of my parents I have actually known for the past 4 years and had no idea I was teaching her son. We worked together at Vanderbilt. I also had a chance to speak with a number of parents last night. My boys work hard and they have involved parents who were delighted that I even took the time to call them.

In the past two days I have gotten two new students, taking my class size up to 13. Its apparent that I do not have to orient new students because my old students beat me to it. Thats the joy about having set classroom procedures. Expectations are easily recognized and reachable. Part of this "new orientation" my students give is to explain how strict I am and how much work we do. As I explained to the parents, we work hard in class and we have homework nightly and on weekends. While I do realize how tough that seems, I wish my teachers in the past hadn't let up on the work they assigned. My Senior English teacher was the only teacher who really made us work hard so when I got to Vanderbilt I was not prepared for the workload. I want my boys to be able to attend any University and feel just as at ease as some of the colleagues I had at Vanderbilt felt when they attended.

Mr. Stanley a Pimp

My students are rather comfortable with me. At times I really appreciate that trust and openness and other times I am so baffled at why they feel the need to say certain things around or to me. So today's topic of involuntary discussion was the fact that one of my kids learned that there was a 3 to 1 ratio of women to men in America. From this ratio they also decided that there were not enough men in the world so women had no choice but to want them. They also decided that this meant bountiful options for any women they wanted. I just laughed at this conversation and went on about the day. If they only really knew. So the elementary teachers were back on campus because all of metro teachers returned today and we are of course housed in the portables at the elementary school. The school is staffed with a lot of young females. I met these teachers for the first time at in-service on Tuesday and everyone knew that I was already teaching. So teachers that saw me would speak and ask how things were going. Well this one teacher who passes me is this white lady (who is also slightly attractive) passes by and speaks. Of course the same boy who had the statistic from earlier witnessed this and was like "Uh oh Mr. Stanley, I see you pullin the white girls, Mr Stanley don't discriminate". SMH. He proceeds to be say "I bet Mr Stanley be pullin all the teachers after school, be talking to five at one time". The rest of his peers just cosigning in. LOL. 5 at one time??? LOL. SMH.

I have to record their "burning" song one day. So burning in school means talking about people or someone. SMH if they only knew what we know burning as lol.

No Fault, No Blame

Everyday is so draining but I'm beginning to see some minor growth. Growth is growth though. Its so unfortunate that I have some students so far behind. One lesson I learned today was that you can't place blame or fault on anyone. Yes, students have been passed on for years and years without being given the chance to truly learn and succeed. Placing the blame on last year's teacher, or the 3rd grade teacher, or a parent will get me no where but frustrated and annoyed. Instead, realistic goals and solutions turn the story of devastation into one of triumph. One of the things I told my students in the first week was that "Failure leads to Success". While I have already had to retest the first test, students are showing progress and learning from mistakes. I too am learning from the mistakes I make in teaching and reteaching those lessons that did not quite come off the right way. For example, my lesson on conjugating verbs was HORRIBLE but I retaught it today and the kids were showing comprehension. #GREATSUCCESS

Ummmm No Ma'am No Sir

So today was quite an interesting day

1. Student: Man i bet Mr Stanley was shakin it when he went to college (shakin it means partyin). Mr. Stanley did you go to parties in college

Me: Yeah

Student: I bet Mr. Stanley be taking different girls home every night

Me: No that's how you take 3 letters home in one night that you can't get rid of

2. I got hit in the butt by one of the girls. SMH. Then her friend tried to make her do it again. NO MA'AM. SMH. Fast ass kids

3. Girl: Mr Stanley you one of them pretty boys aint u? You just be feelin yo'self when you get dressed in the morning.

4. Girl: Mr Stanley my cousin. He my uncle and my brother. Can i use yo phone?

Me: No

5. Girl: Mr Stanley can you be my daddy. I don't like my dad and step daddy.
Me: Do what? NO

6. Boy: Mr. Stanley, can I go home with you

Me: No absolutely not

Another Student: You gay bruh plus Mr. Stanley ain't got kids, he not tryin to have you at his house

7. Same boy from 6: Mr Stanley, im gonna get on your nerves until you let me get some water

Me: what you are about to do is get out of my face

The heat is gettin to everybody. Luckily there is no school tomorrow or Friday. #THANKUJESUS

Things You Don't Think Nuns Would Say

So I always refer to the nuns as "my nuns", not really sure why. They tend to say some of the funniest things tho. But this one takes the cake. So im talking with one of the sisters who prepares the kids lunches and snacks. This is our dialogue

Nun: I'm just looking for things to have for the kids for snack time. They have a lot of stuff in here (here meaning her portable where she serves food from)
Me: Oh ok
Nun: Oh look, some margarita mix. We should fix some for the kids but we don't have any liquor *laughes*
Me: *look of slight confusion, slight agreement, slight wtf* (all while laughing)
Nun: I bet the kids would like that
Me: I bet they would too. Im not sure what kind of effect it would have (trying to somehow not to make myself seem like an alcoholic)
Nun: Yeah me either

LOL, when I tell you i was dying. SMH. Sadly, I had a bottle of Jose in the back sit of the car. Even more sadly, the nuns ride with me to school almost everyday. LOL

Another Nun story: On the way to school
Nun: The kids are will learn keyboarding starting on Monday
Me: Ok
Nun: You need to work that into the schedule.
Me: Ok
Nun: Now they can't learn keyboarding the biblical way
Me: *looks of mass confusion*
Nun: You know what that means?
Me: No i don't. *still confused*
Nun: You know, the seek and ye shall find method
smh lol. U crazy lady. Nuns got Bible jokes lol.



More Student Quotes

Girl: Mr Stanley got on his jerkin outfit today. He think he the stuff today
WTH is a jerkin outfit? Dang can I be fly? I didn't even do anything but walk by them.

Boy: Mr Stanley you look nice without your glasses
Other Boy: You gay for that bruh
Boy: Nah, Mr Stanley look mean with his glasses
*Little do they know, them mugs are fake anyways lol*

Boy: Mr Stanley be getting buck with us all the time.

Girl: Mr Stanley you my cousin. I don't like none of these people here except you. I don't like him cuz he won't give me the basketball, i don't like him cuz he short, i don't like him cuz he think he Kobe, (she continues to go through EVERY boy in my class smh)

Boy 1: He trying to talk to yo girl
Boy 2: He ain't bout to take my gal......he can take my gal. Ill just call anotha one right now.
smh

Whelp, There Goes The Happy Story

So of course all of those good days had to mean that surely a bad one was brewing. WHELP, today was that day. My test results were not as good as expected, so you know what that means...back to the drawing board. All these changes have me so unprepared and there are so many obstacles in the way. SUCH AS no internet in my room, not being able to prepare before the school year started, etc. I mean being flexible and versatile should be a part of the experience, but everyday is NOT gonna work for me. THEN a fight almost broke out in my room and i flipped. I was on the brink of cursing them out. It was over something real petty too. My students of course have cell phones at the age of 14 and 15. Most of them have bluetoothes as well. Well my macbook picks up on bluetooths. Well one of the devices trying to connect was entitled "pussy monsta". I'm pretty real with my kids so I asked who it belonged to. No one wanted to confess but the guilty person was doing his best for me not to notice him. Not only did I notice him but i also noticed him changing the name of his bluetooth name. I leave him the opportunity to confess. Of course he doesn't. So I tell the class I am not letting them go home until the guilty party comes forward. I can do that, I'm Dean of Students. LOL. So finally he confesses and another student decides to start talking sideways to him. The two go back and forth making threats and slick buckin at each other. So i lose my mind and start yellin and fussin. I'm sure everyone thought I was crazy but at this point they were pissing me off because they wouldn't stop after I kept telling them to stop. The whole day just irked my nerves.

Its isn't the victory after all but the fight that the kiddos make

Today we put in a long hard day in Math today. My kids were all struggling with long division so I decided to dedicate as much time as necessary to make sure they learned it. However, I needed them to conquer it today and they DID IT! Its the small victories like this that let me know I am doing my job right. Now I just have to transform them into writers. Oh Boy!

Fraternal Bonds High School Edition

Today was another good day. The transitions are becoming a lot smoother and the kids are learning the procedures fairly quickly. A lot more of the things they are struggling with are coming to the light. So I try to never have favorites but there is always one kid who manages to crave more of my attention than others. The smallest boy in class with the biggest personality chose me instead of I him. He is incredibly great with technology. He connected all of the computers in my room in less than 5 minutes. He has spent the past two days having part of his lunch time with me in my room. I feel there are a lot of underlying reasons for that but I'm glad I have become someone he feels connected to so quickly.
On the other hand....these kids get low key pledged lol. I have never been a believer in sending kids out but exercise surely does the body good when you act out in my class. Two kids found that out today. One for cursing and the other for having his phone out in class. The kids was all like "dang Mr. Stanley don't play". Hopefully that should be the last time but I had to send a message that I mean what I say.

Funny Quotes

So as you know, I always seem to have the kids who speak their mind at any given time or say off the wall things. I will try to remember the quotes but sometimes they happen at really random and inconvenient times of the day lol.

1. Kid: Mr Stanley are you married?
Me: No
Kid: Do you have any kids?
Me: No
Kid: Do you have a girlfriend?
Me: No
Kid: Well you need to go to the club to find a girlfriend

2. Me: *giving some speech about balancing social lives and academics*
Kid: Mr. Stanley do you go to the club?
Me: Sometimes
Kid: No you don't. That's why you don't have a girlfriend

3. People who steal are called cluckers #newkidterminology

4. Kid: Mr. Stanley got college boy swag

5. Me: Where did you get those scratches from?
Girl: I was riding on the back of a truck with (someone i can't remember) and she was going fast and i fell and scrap myself here, here, here, here, and here (pointing to all locations) and I hit my head but it was fun
Me: *blank stares*
Girl: They was goin to call the amalance (that's how she pronounced it) but I said i was gucci. They thought I had a concussion.
Me: Oh ok *looks of mass confusion*
Girl: They were about to give her a citation cuz her license was suspended
Me: *SMH*

6. Girls: Mr. Stanley, you married?
Me: No
Girls: Why not?
Me: I'm only 23, why should I be married?
Girls: Well do you have a girlfriend
Me: No
Girls: *walks away laughing*

First Day of School: First Lesson "Fly By the Seat of Your Pants

So today marked my first day. Naturally I had the first day jitters and was up by 5am. Since I tend to have most of my creative thoughts in the morning I added on to my lesson plan to spice it up then headed off to work. Apparently on Saturday after I spent almost 4 hours moving and arranging furniture, the guy who cleaned my floor decided that he would pile all of it up on one part of the room. My first task therefore became to rearrange my room before the kids got to school. I arrived at 7:15 and damn it the school bus was on time so they arrived at 7:30. Since when did buses actually make it to school on time the first day??? Luckily the principal aka the Nun wanted to have some private meeting with the kids so she bought me enough time to fix the room back to the way it was supposed to look before they arrived.
I greet all the students in the cafeteria where they were having their meeting and shook all of their hands. Of course there was one girl who decided that her hands were too dirty to shake my hand *sideeye*. The nun was like "it looks like she isn't one for shaking hands" so i replied as I cut my eye at her "looks like she's about to learn. Shaking hands is polite". Right then I knew she was going to be my problem child. So after, I took the boys into class for their first lesson. Yes we did work on the first day of school. LOL. Class went flawlessly. They were very attentive, extremely engaged, and very respectful. They didn't even notice that we spent 1hr 30 minutes on math lol. Towards the end of the math lesson one of the other teachers gives me the message that I would also be teaching the language arts piece too. WTF, I only prepared for the math class and you want me to teach a 1hr class on the fly. Well because I'm the shit, I pulled together this lesson using two poems. One about a man who gets mad because someone gave him the wrong clock and the other about the destruction of the world. From that we talked about reading with accuracy, speed, fluency, and comprehension. Now to say this lesson went perfect would be a stretch because the girls joined in my class. Let's just say they were not so easily transitioned back into school. Attitude was on 10 and they tried for the longest to avoid participation until they realized the lesson wasn't all that boring and it was something to which they could relate. Then we all were recruited to move limbs. The kids had to move all these limbs to the street. I felt bad so I helped for a little while but I had on Cole Haans, slacks, a dress shirt, and a bowtie you know that was very short lived. The rest of the day turned out pretty well and the girls finally realized that I wasn't as evil as I may have seemed. They all have lots to accomplish because the deficits are so great but I am looking forward to the challenge and am blessed to have such ambitious and courageous young men to work with (i don't have to teach the girls anymore...for now lol).