It never ends! ...

...The things I want to say that is. There are so many things that happen every day that I want to share on my blog, but I don't want to kill anyone with boredom. I'll try to make it snappy.

I got a new student last week. His name is Munashe and he is from Zimbabwe. The first day, the students were fascinated by him. They loved showing him around and asking him questions. He shared with us that at his old school "the teachers would hit us with a piece of a broken wooden chair if we talked". Apparently he loved his new-found freedom in American schools because by day two, he had made enemies with almost every person in the class, including the teachers. He's definitely a little punk, but is staring to shape up a little bit.

One of my students, Shawn, is crazy. Most of the time he is in special education, but some "lucky" days we get him all day in class. Shawn has ED which in the educational world stands for emotional disturbance (I think I talked about his crazy little sister, Spring, in an earlier post). The last three days have been pretty eventful with Shawn. Three days ago, he got in trouble in the hall going from recess to lunch. The janitor had to hold him down while he squealed like a stuck pig because he was so mad. Then the principal came and carried him (actually carried with his little legs sticking straight out) into his office. Yesterday, Shawn got in a fight with Ms. Miley, his Spec. Ed. teacher who already doesn't like him. He ended up calling her every name in the book...Everyname and then pushed her to the ground. She hit pretty hard on her knees I guess. I wasn't too surprised about the cursing (he has flipped me off, called me a B*%&$, and told me to go...somewhere on multiple occasions) but he was screaming the F-word and he actually pushed her! *Don't worry mom- I'm not going to die!*

This next parts for my dad-
This week and last week we have been studying poetry in Reader's Workshop. I wanted to connect the poetry to something all of my kids love- music. So, when I taught alliteration, I used the words for CSNY's "Helplessly Hoping". I played them the song too. I also used the words and music to Peter Gabriel's "Biko" to analyze poetry today. I've used a lot of other songs too, but these two stand out the most. Since I was little, every time my day played these songs he would say something like, "Listen how the beginning sound repeats. It's alliterations. See now we are on the H's. Now it's the G's..." With Biko it was always, "Get it? You can blow out a candle, but you can't blow out a fire because blowing on it only makes it bigger. Get it?" I finally spread that knowledge to others Dad! They surprisingly loved Biko after they got over the fact that they thought it was weird. They made me print the words to that and "Where is the Love" by the Black Eyed Peas so they could read again later. All day today I kept hearing random little voices singing "Biko, Biko, Because Biko" under their breath. I'm glad that I have found something that really connects my students with their culture and interests. Music is my new teaching tool, bribe, and reward for good behavior. Plus, I think a little exposure to something other than hip-hop and rap will be good for them. Having to convince a 10-year-old that Peter Gabriel was not Akon proved that to me.

*Sorry for the lack of pictures. I'll try to get some new ones on soon!