asd's

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is Friday. No complaints here--I'm always glad when a week goes by quickly. Tomorrow is department meetings, which we rarely get. I'm also trying to figure out something a little light hearted to do in class tomorrow; after just two days of the Holocaust stuff, I can tell the students are a little weighed down (I am too!). I'm thinking some sort of game or something, but since I've had a non stop headache since Tuesday, my brain is having a hard time coming up with anything creative.

So, like I said, I'm two days into the Holocaust unit and have had some neat experiences already. I showed the students a few pictures (the least graphic ones I could find) of people at concentration camps and explained a little about each one. I've never really been able to keep all students attention for longer than 3 minutes but they seemed completely engrossed. I had a light-bulb minute during 2nd period; I had so many students asking deep questions about the why's and how's of the Holocaust, so I decided that each class would have one poster board where they could write the questions they have and then I'd do my best to answer. It went really well for the rest of the classes...and it helps me focus on things they are most interested in.

We had our quarterly class meeting today. All the 8th graders piled into the auditorium to listen to a rehash of the school rules and an update on the new school-wide ASD policy. I may have explained what ASD's were before, but here's the latest: ASD's are After School Detention. Students receive ASD's based on classroom/hallway behavior, tardies, etc. In the past, if a student received an ASD they had to "make them up" by attending the after school detention in one of the classrooms in the school for 30 minutes for each ASD. The teacher in charge of the ASD was getting very lenient with these kids and if they cleaned his boards or washed desks, after 5 minutes, they could leave. Some kids wanted ASD's just to stay after school with each other. Now, however, the policy has (as the administration keeps saying and I laugh because the kids don't know what this mean) the policy has more "bite" to it. Students are assigned a day on which to make up their ASD's; ASD's are only served on Tuesdays and Thursdays for one hour each day. Students stay the full hour, are assigned an essay topic (Why I am always tardy...Why My teacher gave me this ASD...etc.) on which they have to write a one and half page report, get up at the end of the hour and present their paper to the rest of the students. If a student fails to make up an ASD on the assigned date, they get one more ASD...and are suspended for one day. In each class, students are allowed only 3 tardies; after the third, teachers have been instructed to give ASD's. This week already (keep in mind this is the first week of the new policy)I have given out four ASD's for tardies, all today. I think it has had an effect, however, because the usualy tardies have been cut down and I see a little bit more hustle in the students in the hall.

Yesterday our new journalism camera lost all battery power. I remember also receiving a battery charger and had to charge the battery before the camera could be used in the first place. I searched through my closet and desk and couldn't seem to find the battery charger. I had a major panic when I couldn't find it at home, either. I had this sinking feeling that someone had stolen it. At the beginning of 3rd period (journalism class), I told the students the bad news...and that to keep their eyes out for the stolen charger (now I think how silly I was--who would steal a battery charger?). I decided while they were working on yearbook pages, I'd search a little deeper in my desk. Right in the top drawer I found the missing charger. I laughed and shook my head, turned the students and said, "I was just kidding about the charger, I found it." They were all very glad as we have yearbook deadline #1 in just about a week and still have loads of pictures to take!!

I hope all my readers are as happy as I am that tomorrow is Friday. Have a great one!