25 Book Campaign

Our school district does a reading campaign for every student to read 25 books each year. Our principal came around yesterday and told the teachers to make sure their homeroom students have a book to read and if not, take them to the library to check a book out. All my students now have books but a few are not strong readers. They don't enjoy reading because they struggle with it so badly. I try to model good reading by reading a book during homeroom too. However, sometimes I need to use that 15 minutes to prepare for the day. Does anyone have any good tips to motivate the kids to read? The students have to read a book, do a book review on a prepared form, and get me to read the review and sign off on it. When they have reached certain goals (4 books a month, 10 books total, etc.), they receive some sort of prize from the librarian. I am really trying but feel I am failing miserably!

With the Thanksgiving break so late in November, I am feeling pressed for time. We just found out today that our nine weeks test are going to be next week and the semester tests will start the following Tuesday. OH I AM STRESSED!!! With grad school classes winding down, final exams and papers due, and trying to make study guides and tests, I feel like I am slowly losing my mind. Every little thing is aggravating me and I am starting to take it out on my husband and kids! Plus, there are only 22 shopping days left before Christmas and I have two weddings, three parties, and a baby shower to attend! What happened to this semester? Is anyone else feeling the stress from lack of time? I am usually a very organized and detailed person, but I am at a loss here. I have decided that one of my New Year's resolutions will be to stop, take a breath, say a prayer, and shut down every day for at least 30 minutes. I have got to stop beating myself up and pulling out all my hair! I just hope that this 3o minutes of shut down does not come during a class or my principal will have me fired! HA!

Dazed and Confused

My principal came to me this afternoon and asked me to prepare work for a student who dropped out after the first nine weeks. She wants me to get enough work together for the second nine weeks for this student to do the work independently. He is twenty-one years old and is a 6th year senior. Something is not right with this picture! How does one student get to do his work from home and not all of them? He has no special circumstances that I can see other than he smokes pot on a regular basis and cannot stay clean and out of jail long enough to come to school. Has my principal not heard of a GED or has she lost her mind? Is it wrong of me to be asking these questions? Is it wrong of me to feel like I am the one being punished by having to take extra time to prepare work that he will probably never finish! Politics in school--UGH!

After School Tutoring

We offer after school tutoring for our students who did not make proficient on the state tests. Actually, some students are required to attend. However, I only have 6 students out of 24 who actually show up regularly. One teacher makes cookies for her after school kids but she only gets about 10 regulars. She is single and has time to do that stuff. But I don't have time to bribe my students. We have two forty-minute sessions with 3 kids showing up for each session. It is becoming difficult to teach 3 students for that long. I have talked with the administration about making one session for all students in literacy and one session for all students in math (maybe on different days?) but they don't seem to want to listen to logic. I just feel as if my time is being wasted and there are three literacy teachers that tutor after school from 3:30 to 5:00 every day but Friday. It seems kind of ridiculous for three teachers to be paid for 12 students attending. I am just getting frustrated!!