Little Things

Some funny things:

• There was a lesson on perimeter and area. One of the tasks was to come up with an expression for a box like the one below if the numbers were just x's: 

So I was guiding one student through it. It should have looked like x+x+x+x, but they came up with x+x+x+house. It was one of those moments where you have to giggle internally, and guide them in the right direction.

• Another time, we were going over square numbers. I was reminding one student not to forget to square her number, so i said, "so then we put a square here..." and she drew a tiny square where a tiny 2 should go. So again, I chuckled internally, realized she didn't understand what a square number meant, and started over with explaining square numbers.

• A lot of my students have terrible eyesight. When I ask them to read something off the board or pay attention, they face forward and squint like crazy. I might look into optometrists around DC to see if we can in-kind some glasses or have a health day where kids could be checked for free. We'll see. Anyways, I lent one student my glasses and he said, "Oh yes. OH YES! There medicine in these things??" While he is usually more distracted, he was more engaged and started copying from the board immediately.

Things to work on:

• So waaaay back on our first day, the school had us handing out schedules. It was crazy because we had a huge stack of paper, and by the time 1st period was starting, there was still a thick stack. There are so many students who don't show up to school. When I enter grades, there are many names I don't recognize at all. Just last week, we were getting new students. Their first day was 2 weeks into school!!
• Students like to eat in class. The only thing I see them eating though is chips, candy, and sugary drinks. The healthiest thing I've seen is sunflower seeds, which end up all over the floor.

Nice things:

• One of my students is a little louder in class, but I've been helping him in the back, which helps him focus. I didn't think he particularly enjoyed it until he asked me, "Ms. M, can I be your City Year assistant?" I thought that was great. I asked him what he meant by that and maybe we could work something out. I think since then he's forgotten, but I hope that mentality persists!

• Another girl said, "Are we working back there with you again today?" At first I thought she was going to complain, but she said, "I work better back there with you."