The long and winding road...

the conversation with rita bender was pretty...sweet, to say the least.  i talk A LOT, most of the time unnecessarily, during our meetings and classes.  but with this, i really didn't want to.  i wanted to sit back and take it in.

Finding information about the city of Jackson that is accurate can be difficult.  Depending on the topic, the city might hide the information pretty deep in the Jackson website, or it is buried somewhere inside a 50-something page PDF document.  Other statistics seem to disagree with each other, depending on the source.  There are numerous individuals who would love to provide their own statistics or opinions on specific situations - politics, education, crime rate.  Sorting through information to be able to find the most accurate and up-to-date information can be difficult, but there are interesting and useful things gleaned in the process.  The following information is an attempt to examine and assess the community of Jackson, Mississippi in the fall of 2009.

1.  Defining the Community

The city of Jackson is in an extremely effective location for trade and economic growth.  As the capital of Jackson, there are many goods produced and services offered.  City-data.com notes that the "diversity of businesses and industry and its position as the state capital help insulate the metropolitan area from the economic downturns experienced by other cities."  There are sixteen banks in the city, four of which have their headquarters in Jackson (Consumer National Bank, Trustmark National Bank, First American Bank and First Commercial Bank).  In the tri-county area of Hinds, Madison, and Rankin counties (Jackson has land in all three counties), agriculture is a $180 million business.  Cattle is the main good, although cotton, grains, poultry, and timber are also vital to the agricultural portion of the city's economy.  There are 500 manufacturers present throughout the city.  The automobile industry is a promising new sector for growth, as the Nissan Motor Company opened its major plant in neighboring Canton, Mississippi and created over 3,300 new jobs.  The community also produces fabricated metals, electrical and electronic equipment, food products, apparel, wood products, furniture, transportation products, portable electric tools, and aircraft parts.  

2.  Geography

The city of Jackson encompasses approximately 109 square miles, about 2 square miles of those being water and the rest being land.  The city of Jackson is located about 294 feet above sea level.  It is equidistant (for the most part) from New Orleans (to the south), Memphis (to the north), Atlanta (to the east), and Dallas (to the west).  This distance to nearby major cities for trade is aided immensely by the transportation systems available to Jackson.  There are two airports, Jackson-Evers International Airport and Hawkins Field.  Though closed to passenger traffic, Hawkins Field still handles an impressive amount of air traffic.  Two major train lines, Canadian National and Kansas City Southern, run through the city.  The railroad system runs through the city and is fully functional and highly used.  The closest port is the Port of Vicksburg, located on the Mississippi River on the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, 45 miles west of Jackson.  The city is located on the Pearl River and also has access to the Ross Barnett Reservoir.  The city itself sits on top of a volcano, the peak of which is located 2,900 feet below the feet of the Mississippi Coliseum.

3.  Basic Demographics

Though there are different numbers provided by different sources, a 2006 count puts Jackson at a population of 177,977.  Throughout the 1990's, the city experienced a 5% decline in population.  In the years of 2000-2005, the city has been believed to have declined in population by 3%.  The racial breakdown of the city remains about the same, regardless of any increase or decrease in population.  A little over two-thirds of the city is African-American, making up about 71% of the population, and the white population representing with 28%, and the last 1% being the percent of Asian individuals.  This is, I believe, always the makeup for the city limits of Jackson, Mississippi.  The surrounding "suburbs" - Brandon, Byram, Clinton, Flowood, Ridgeland, Madison, Richland - would not follow this same racial breakdown.  According to the 2000 census, there were 67,841 households in Jackson.  39% of those households had at least one child under the age of 18 years.  Only 35% of the households represented married couples, whereas over 25% of the households were single-parent households, held together by a female.  The city has a median income of a little over $30,000, which is less than half the national average.  The city also boasts a fairly high crime rate, with 979 violent crimes per people.

4.  Economic Elements

Simply driving through downtown Jackson can give you a picture of the economic situation of the city, but after some research, I'm not so sure if it is an accurate picture.  Though the unemployment rate of the city (10.4%) is higher than the national average (6.9%), there are a lot of other factors that lead me to believe the overall picture is not as bad as it might seem.  According to job tracking trends in the city, "the number of Jackson, Mississippi jobs has increased by 63% since January 2008 (simplyhired.com)."  There are pieces of data that can raise an eyebrow of concern - over 60% of the households in the city earn less than $50,000 a year, though the national average income for a household is $60,000.  One should remember, however, that real estate and cost of living in Jackson is among the lowest in the nation.  A lowered household income in Jackson compared with the rest of the nation would not necessarily mean a lowered quality of life.  

Also, 67% of the population has less than an associate's degree to claim as their highest level of education.  Again, though this statistic could seem troubling, it is important to remember the type of job opportunities that Jackson has to offer.  The top employers are the State of Mississippi (32,000), The United States Government (5,500), Jackson Public Schools District (4,500), Nissan Motor Company (4,000), and Baptist Health Systems (2,700).  Many of these jobs offer opportunities to people of all different educational levels.  Also, the average commute is 19 minutes, and, as the city of Jackson is not extremely large and is easily traveled, it stands to speculate that those individuals who occupy jobs that require higher levels of education could (and very likely do) live outside the city limits and reside in the suburbs.  There are several publicly-traded companies that are headquartered in Jackson, being: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.; EastGroup Properties, Inc.; Parkway Properties, Inc., and Trustmark Corporation.  

There are also new incentives being offered to attract new companies, and to encourage existing companies to step up and reinvent their organization.  For new businesses, the city offers lowered taxes, high quality labor, training programs, and tax credits for companies who create new jobs and provide basic skills for training and/or childcare.  For existing companies, The City of Jackson Storefront Improvement Program offers grants for exterior structural improvements in designated areas of the city.  There is encouragement for new businesses to locate in designated areas of the city, and there is a push for revitalizing the entire "downtown" section of the city.

5.  Physical Infrastructure

The city of Jackson is serviced by two airports - The Jackson-Evers International Airport deals with both commercial and industrial air traffic, whereas Hawkins Field only deals with industrial air traffic.  Three major interstates run through the city - 55, 20, and 220.  The major U.S. Highways of 49, 51, and 80 also run through Jackson and help to make the city easily traveled.  The State Highways of 18 and 25 (Lakeland Drive) make travel to the suburbs quick and easy.  Other major veins through the city - State, Capitol, Northside, and Fortification Streets, Terry Road, and Woodrow Wilson/Clinton Boulevard - make travel easy.  JATRAN is the form of public transportation, but its usefulness could be questioned.  It only runs Monday-Saturday on 13 routes from 5:00am-7:00pm.  There is no evening travel for safety reasons, and no travel on Sunday for...well, religious reasons.  The fare is $2.00 each way.  Being from a major city, I just want to quickly state something.  13 routes in a city the size of Jackson is not enough to be useful.  Also, perhaps because it is not used much, the rate is incredibly high for a city the size of Jackson.  As much as I've noticed, the public transportation system is not used much.  There are taxis, but they are all companies or privately owned, as there is no city taxi system.  Jackson is a hub for both Greyhound and Amtrak services.  Jackson also has a railroad system for trade which is highly trafficked, mainly by Canadian National and Kansas City Southern Railways.

6.  Cultural and Recreational Resources

Though Jackson is a comparatively small city, there are many cultural and recreational opportunities and resources.  Ballet Mississippi performs throughout the world, and every Christmas performs The Nutcracker at Thalia Mara Hall.  They host the Ballet Competition every fourth year, rotating with Moscow, Helsinki, and various towns in Bulgaria.  There is the Celtic Heritage Society of Mississippi, which hosts the Celtic Festival late every summer (early September this year).  The campus of Jackson State University has a botanical garden, which is used for academic and recreational purposes.  The Jackson Zoo can be considered small when compared with other major zoos, but it is a major hotspot for fundraisers, school functions, and community programs.  The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum is the home for many local proms, business meetings, and tours.  There is a recreation of an old village in the Delta, and the amount of history contained in the museum and on the lands is a great source of information for the culture of Mississippi.  The Mississippi Museum of Art has a great standard collection of photographs telling the story of Mississippi, including award-winning photographs from Eudora Welty.  The MMA also is home to different traveling installations, including a recent collection of work from world-renowned artist Raoul Duffy.  The MMA is free of charge and is a center of culture of students, citizens, and visitors alike.  The Mynelle Gardens, located in south Jackson are a center for weddings, anniversary parties, and church functions.  New Stage Theatre is home to productions - both independent and "traditional" - and is well-visited throughout the year.  The Russell C. Davis Planetarium is a staple of school students and is becoming a popular location for the young adult population of the city.  There are numerous community organizations, functions, and fundraisers throughout the city which keep citizens involved.  

7.  The Power Structure

Jackson uses the Mayor-Council government style with the Mayor being elected at large and then seven Council members being elected from the seven Wards of Jackson.  The city is headed by the mayor, currently Harvey Johnson, Jr.  There is also a Central Administrative Officer, who serves as a link between the Mayor's office and all other offices and departments; a City Attorney, who is in charge of city litigations; a City Clerk; a seven-member Council; Civil Service Commission; Historic Preservation Commission; Jackson Housing Authority, and dozens of other organizations, commissions, and committees.  In regards to who holds real power and who makes things happen, I think it depends on where you are.  For the area of my school, it's all in the hands of Councilman Stokes and the Police Department.  Also, the School Board controls most of what concerns me, as my daily life pretty much is confined to the school building.  Each members seem to focus on a specific issue - whether it's the Library System Administration Board scraping funds together for 13 months to renovate the Eudora Welty Library after a damaging fire, the Jackson Zoological Park petitioning for money for another outdoor habitat for the orangoutangs, or the Jackson Redevelopment Authority Board of Commissioners listening to bids for the Hotel King Edward, each committee has power in its own right.  Behind this report, there is a nifty flowchart, provided by the Mayor's Office for the City of Jackson, to help better understand the roles of individuals in the city.

8.  Role of Governmental Agencies

As mentioned above, each governmental agency is given a lot of autonomy for their specific area.  The School Board handles most of the issues regarding JPS, the Police and Fire Departments handle their issues, the Housing Authority and Redevelopment Committee deal with specific issues.  All of these committees and agencies report, at the end of the day, and through a round-about pattern, back to the Mayor's Office.  Funds that are needed, events that will be held, permits that need approval all must go through the Mayor's Office.  This is also where the CAO comes in hand.  A lot of the work that needs to go to the Mayor is handled and organized by the CAO, making the job of the Mayor a task that one can handle.  In the city, I really do feel that citizens are encouraged to show up, speak out, and act on issues that concern them.  I think a lot of issues might not be solved overnight in this manner, but they're definitely dealt with and not just pushed under a rug.

9.  History

Jackson has a history that is similar to that of most Southern cities, moments of glory and moments of...well, shame.  To be as brief as possible, the city was originally part of the Choctaw Nation and in 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek removed the Native Americans from most of the land, and the city became the permanent seat of government for the state of Mississippi.  The city was first referred to as LeFleur's Bluff because it had been founded by Louis LeFleur, and it was founded along Natchez Trace.  In a report to the Mississippi General Assembly in 1821, surveyors had reported that Jackson had "beautiful and healthy surroundings, good water, abundant timber, navigable waters, and proximity to the trading route Natchez Trace."  Rail systems developed the city after the Civil War.  During World War II, Hawkins Airfield was used as a training base for all the Dutch military crews (after 1941).  

When the Civil Rights Movement began to gather steam, Jackson saw a lot of action.  On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers was murdered by Byron de la Beckwith, which increased the already intense activity in the city.  Massive, public movements for Civil Rights and voter registration followed the murder and became extremely effective in putting Jackson on the map of Civi Rights.  Civil Rights issues ensued until June of 1966 when James Meredith organized a march from Memphis to Jackson and (after being hit by a sniper's bullet during the march) delivered a speech to a crowd of 15,000 regarding the implementation of Civil Rights legislation.  May 15, 1970, police killed two and wounded twelve during a protest regarding the Vietnam War.  The incident made national news.  

In 1997, Harvey Johnson, Jr. became the city's first African-American mayor.  He was followed in 2005 by Frank Melton.  The somewhat comical years of Melton's reign witnessed martial law, wearing arms on school and church property, a marked increase in both unemployment and violent crime, questionable antics, and (my personal favorite), stopping a school bus to give children hugs.  In 2009, Melton passed away after election results, and Harvey Johnson, Jr. was re-elected to the position of mayor.

10.  Community Barriers

In summary of most of the information gathered so far, the serious problems that face the community are poverty, unemployment, crime, and level of education of the population.  Many of the individuals in the community do not finish high school, do not finish on time, and if they do finish, they do not go on to college.  In my specific school, the graduating class last year started out their freshman year with a little over 250 students.  They graduated only around 150, and those were pretty good odds, considering the area and the odds they are facing.  A 10.4% unemployment rate that seems to be increasing, a population that is continuously decreasing, and a median income that is half of  the national average are not good things to have on your side.  The crime rate will likely take a nosedive with the new administration, but even then, it is nowhere close to the national average, and would still be considered a dangerous city.

11.  Values

Values of Jackson would include Christianity, education, and progression.  Everywhere you go, there are churches, church groups, church festivals, church reunions, and preachers.  Christianity, regardless of the depth of belief or practice, seems to be a binding force and a bonding place for most citizens in Jackson.  Jackson Public Schools and Jackson State University create a foothold for education to take a prominent place in everyone's life.  Someone has a friend, neighbor, neice, nephew, grandchild, or child in JPS, and most individuals become involved in the JPS family.  A lot of JSU alumni tend to stay in the area and stay involved in the educational field, giving weight to the education in Jackson.  A new value that seems to have taken hold is that of progression.  Whether it's rejuvenating downtown or renovating an old museum, there seems to be an air of recognition that Jackson has fallen behind the times and must catch up.  There is a willingness to go forward, as long as there is still an appreciation for the way things were, since people tend to view the way "things were" as the way they "should be."

12.  Uniqueness

There are many unique things about the city of Jackson, but there is one thing that always catches my attention: the crime rate.  As of 2007, Jackson had more than double the national average for the United States.  After looking at car theft, arson, rape, robbery, and other violent crimes, Jackson's crime rate was calculated at 703.5, whereas the national average is 320.9.  In 2007, Jackson was ranked as the 23rd most dangerous city, but in the closing months of Frank Melton's tenure, the city saw a spike in crime, and (unofficially) rose to the 14th most dangerous city in the United States.  Malcolm McMillian was, at one time, holding the offices as both the Sheriff and the Police Chief of Jackson.  However, in summer 2009, Tyrone Lewis stepped in as Chief of Police for JPD and McMillian retained his position.  There has been a concerted effort on all parts to reduce crime in Jackson, so one could that effort to show in new statistics.

Also, two other interesting facts about Jackson: the city is ranked 10th in the nation in concentration of African-American same-sex couples, and it is located on top of a volcano, making it the only capital or major city in the United States to boast that physical feature.

13.  Schools, Colleges, and/or Universities

If not saturated with anything else, Jackson is definitely soaked to the brim with education.  Given the largest public education system in the state, an equally impressive selection of private school opportunities, and an awesome array of higher-education choices, Jackson can hold its own in the education realm.  Jackson Public Schools is comprised of 38 elementary schools, 10 middle, and 8 high schools.  There are also alternative schools, career placement and development programs and schools, adult education, and environmental education locations.

In regards to private school opportunities, Jackson 32 different schools, ranging from Pre-K to 12th grade, affiliated with religions ranging from Roman Catholic to Church of God in Christ, co-ed and single-sex school.  There are many different private schools in the city, and they offer a quality alternative to the public school system.  The Mississippi School for the Blind and The Mississippi School for the Deaf are also located in Jackson.

Comparing the two school systems is very interesting.  According to the Mississippi Department of Education for the 2006-2007 school year, the public school system is made up of the following racial groups: African-American (94.8%), White (4.4%), and Asian (0.2%).  Interestingly enough, private schools are made up of basically the same racial groups, just in a completely different ratio.  African-American students make up only 25.5% of the private school population, Whites bring in a whopping 73.2% of the population, American Indians 0.6% of the private school population, Asian 0.4% of the private school population, and Hispanic students make up 0.3% of the private school population.  

Also interesting is the number of children in Pre-K programs in public and private schools.  In Jackson Public Schools, there are about 520 children in Pre-K, but around 2,750 children in the kindergarten classrooms.  Private schools in Jackson, however, see around 950 children in the Pre-K programs, and then about 700 children in the kindergartens.  Finally, perhaps most interesting (or most upsetting), are the comparison of high school students.  Public schools had (according to the 2006-2007 Mississippi Department of Education information) 2,900 students in grade 9, but only about 1,500 (half) of the students travel through to the 12th grade.  In the private schools, however, there are about 360 that enter the 9th grade, and almost all of those (and some additional ones, as well, as the number was somewhere around 380) will graduate the 12th grade.

Once a student makes it through the gauntlet of a Jackson education, they have plenty of opportunities presented to them to stay in Jackson for their higher education.  Jackson State University was founded in 1877 and is a public, Historically Black College or University (HBCU).  Most graduates are focused in education or business studies.  Reformed Theological Seminary was founded in 1963 and has different campuses throughout the South, with the Jackson campus being smaller (about 450 students) and focused more on Master's programs.  Millsaps College was founded in 1892, is a private and religiously-affiliated institution (Methodist).  Belhaven College was founded in 1883, and is a Presbyterian-affiliated college, preparing students for different leadership roles in their adult lives.  The University of Mississippi Medical Center was founded in 1955, and is the stepping ground for medical students.

hazing has always been an issue in my life.  in high school, every athletic team that i can think of got in trouble at least once during my four years for hazing issues.  the marching band got in trouble for hazing.  the dance team got in trouble for hazing.  different school organizations were faced with disciplinary actions when it was discovered that they were engaging in "questionable" activities aimed at new members.

though i initially agreed with this blog (http://garyrubinstein.teachfor.us/2009/08/30/high-expectations-not-so-fast/), when i linked to the post he referenced, i rethought my stance.

easily, the hardest things about second year is living up to and living down things you did in the past.  as i write this, we are still dealing with the repercussions of a pretty solid fight.  there are a lot of fights next to my room and kopanke's because there is a big gap there with only females (it's actually 8 different rooms in a row with only females) and traditionally, females aren't going to break up fights.  last year i got into a jump to pull a kid out and, though nothing happened, in the weeks after that, there were a couple different altercations and i somehow got involved.  last week two of my girls got into it in the lunch room and i had to physically restrain one while she was trying to punch the other one, and my softball girls were literally scrambling over seats to fight last thursday until i "love tapped" two of them.  it's been assumed that i will get into the fight, or try to physically prevent it.  i feel okay with that assumption, as i'm pretty comfortable in my hoss-ness.  but today the fight was pretty intense and while i got in it as fast as i could, i definitely didn't get "in" it.  after the fight when the cops were there to arrest the kids, we were talking about it and i was asked by two of my assistant principals, a security guard, and two other female teachers, "why didn't you get in there?" uhhhhhh sorry, didn't know i was getting an added bonus to get my face punched in.  plus i was in a shift dress and i looked good.  wasn't about to mess that dress up.

i also have to live up to specific things.  i mentioned the cursing earlier, but that's something that was a big deal.  i didn't curse, and i wouldn't put up with it.  and i know you can pull the "i'm the teacher so i can do whatever i want to do" but i don't wear that too well.  so now if i curse to get a point across or to express my anger, i feel like it lost some of its effectiveness.  last year i stayed after a lot to help with state testing and ACT prep, and didn't get paid for it.  i was really supportive of sporting evens and organizational activities, and not that i don't want to keep that up, but i also would like my personal life to remain in tact.  i just feel like there are expectations of me that i never know if i'm fulfilling or not.  the one thing i'd really hate is if someone was like, "you're not as hard as they said" or "i thought you were going to be a lot more strict."  

sometimes i also find it hard to be all the way immersed in the material.  you only want to go over "to kill a mockingbird" so many times.  i don't want to keep trying to express malcolm x's awakening in "hair" to a bunch of students who don't get it.  once you come up with a creative lesson for prepositions...it's not as fun the when you're in the 700th minute of it.  it's not burnout, because i still want to be there, nd it's not that i don't want or need to teach the material.  but i don't want to throw away the effective methods that i had last year just to fulfill my desire for excitement.  i want something new and fresh, but a lot of those things work, and the students don't understand i've already taught that 8 or 9 times when i get to them.  i wish there was a cure for that.  sometimes it feels like "the mondays" every block of the week.

another hard thing about second year is the emotions, i think.  i don't get shocked when there's a wicked fight or a see a young girl get pregnant.  there's not much anger when i see students fail to live up to their potential.  in a way, i'm worried that i've come to be okay with the status quo.  i don't want to be neutral when a kid puts his head down all through class.  i don't want to be okay with a 60% average as a passing grade.  though i feel like i'm pretty culturally responsive, i don't want to be accepting of those things.  they are not okay with me.

a hard part of second year is that i think i've lost  a little of the conservative, outspoken, backwoods city girl.  and i don't like that.

i won't say that i'm the most organized person in the world, but i think i'm pretty good at keeping track of stuff.  i've found a couple things that work for me, and hopefully someone can use them.

1.  DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS.  i take a lot of time for pretty much everything.  i think about organization in the beginning - what do i need to keep track of for the rest of the year?  how can i distinguish my personal and professional "to-do" lists?  where do my grades go?  how many binders do i have to lug around?  how will i deal with constantly changing rosters?  where will i keep rewards?  how do i keep track of discipline?  if you're a binder person, use a binder.  if you like a computer, do everything digital.  you may work better with legal pad, with a stack of looseleaf paper, or maybe even a trapper keeper.  but the important thing is use what works for YOU.  i use notecards for to-dos, and i do everything by hand.  i don't do any grades or anything on the computer until the very end.  i just feel like it puts too much crap on my computer, and it's a lot harder to sort through and find things on a computer than in a folder (i think).  i use one binder for attendance, behavior, grades, parent contacts, discipline, seating charts, and sub material.  i have another binder that has ALL my lesson plans in it in sheet protectors so that when my kids are absent, they just go up to the red binder on the podium and take out the lesson and any handouts.  i get rid of all of my extra handouts (unless it's a full class) after i've distributed them to my class and i only keep an answer sheet(s) and a sheet or packet to copy the next time around for the students.  if i keep 18 copies of something extra just because i had extra, it piles up like you wouldn't believe.  i don't have much storage in my classroom, and i use it the best way that i can.  i store all my handouts (master class copy and answer sheet) in a manilla folder in my file cabinet, clearly labeling on the outside what the item inside is, what general lesson it can go with ("simile," "mechanics odds and ends"), an MDE competency, and then either a smile or a frown.  the smile means it was regular classwork, and the frown means it was punishment or extra work.  for some reason, i have a LOT of frowns in my files...

2.  I'M COLORED. something that REALLY works for me is color.  i use colored notecards for bathroom and pen passes, i only grade in green or purple, i check bellwork with an orange sharpie, i use colored sheets of paper and i buy little paper tabs to make dividers, i use the same color for each class (red for 1A, orange for 2A, etc.), i use the same colors of dry-erase for specific things, i always write my classroom stuff in black ink, and i try to highlight things in the same colors.  it makes things sooooo much easier.  if i need something for, i know exactly where to go, just by the color, and then i can go from there.  the students are only allowed to write in black in, so my green and purple show up well, and the orange sharpie is really obvious as well.

3.  DO AS I SAY.  make your students do their paper like you want to grade it.  if you want print, tell them it has to be in print.  pencil hard to read?  make them use only ink.  teach them how to properly write a heading, or what is acceptable to have on their paper.  i still get girls who want to draw hearts or bubbles over their "i"s  or write their "e" like the number "3".  i simple circle it all over the paper the first time i see it and tell them to write the words like they see them in the textbook.  i don't care about sloppy handwriting, if i recognize most of the letters, i'll figure it out.  but to doodle or just draw crap instead of letters? nope.  golden rule (even though it's number 5 on my classwork rules) - "write clearly and legibly at all times.  if i can't read it, it's wrong."  there's also pretty strict guidelines about if they can skip lines, where they start on the page, and several other things.  this makes my life easier when i grade.  i don't have to look for crap everywhere, i can just identify it (or should be able to) quickly on the paper and grade it.

4.  GET YOUR GROOVE ON.  perhaps the biggest key to organization was developing a routine that works for me.  i'm a morning person, so my alarm is set for 4.12 every morning.  depending on what needs to be done, i either go to the gym and shower or get things done around the house and shower.  i eat breakfast, go over my stuff for school, write out a brief "to-do" list for the day - on a colored notecard - and i keep that with me.  i try to get to school at the same time every day so i can socialize and prep and breathe.  i stay hard-core on a time schedule with my kids.  bellwork is listed as "5 minutes" on the board, but they know that means 3 minutes from when the bell rings and then 2 minutes for me to check it as i walk around the room giving directions for the next task.  stay on a time schedule during class helps me keep my sanity and the kids in control.  after school i keep the softball girls on a schedule - i pick them up from the auditorium by 3.35, they're dressed, fed, and ready to go by 3.55 and we either hop on the bus or start running at 4.00 on the dot.  we practice till 5.25, take 5 minutes to put the equipment up, and then i take the hour (i'm not kidding, most of the time it's an hour) where i wait for their rides to go over things - either make a couple phone calls, talk to other sponsors, or read the paper.  when i get home i unpack, cook, eat, and figure out what i need to do for the next day.  i'm normally all set by about 8.00 and i make some more phone calls, read, and am (hopefully) asleep by 9.00.  most of my errands and chores are done on the weekends, but it can get messy at times.  as we speak, i have about 2 weeks of laundry waiting to be cleaned.  i could use a trip to the grocery, and i need to scrub my floors and vacuum out my car.  the routine still isn't perfect, but it's definitely helped with my stress level.

it's definitely been a trial and error process, but i think that i've found a lot of things that work for me to stay organized.  i'm not sure they would work for everyone else (or anyone else, for that matter), but they really do work for me.  the first thing you need to do when you're trying to get organized is look at what you need - do you have a time management problem, do you forget things, are you a procrastinator, do you lose your keys every day, do you never seem to have a pen when you need it?  you need to analyze your situation and figure out what you need before you can adopt different organizational tips and tricks.

superlatives are always a bad idea.  asking my for my greatest success or greatest failure is pretty difficult.  i've had a lot of success, and i've had a lot of failure.  but i have difficulty siphoning it down to the GREATEST.  here we go, regardless.

i think my greatest success this year was getting my students to read and write better.  with regards to curriculum in other classrooms, i didn't talk to many of the other teachers until around december.  and, when i did, i was a little bothered by the lack of difficulty or rigor in the material.  i realized i had been pushing my kids to read much more, write pages more, and analyze numerous literary elements that other teachers had not required of their students.

as we moved closer and closer to the writing portion of the state test, i was able to split my students into ability groups, focusing on their problem ares - planning, composing, editing.  the activities and practice i devised for the writing process worked really well with the students.  we were able to tie into the curriculum every resource that teaching tolerance has for high school (and even some junior high) students.  they liked writing when it was pertinent to their lives.

soooooo i picked issues that would be meaningful to the students - drinking age, corporal punishment, driving age, the castle law, and the legalization of marijuana.  we worked and worked and edited and edited and worked and worked...and were ready.

on the day of the test, i watched my little ducks marching down the hall to take the writing portion of the test, being blessed by my slow clap and loving "pats" as they walked by my room.  i had to hold homeroom for six hours, all the while wondering how they did.  when they were finally released for lunch, i popped my head out and talked to some of them.  the first thing i asked was, "did you feel prepared?" the response?  "ahhhh md. cooooooooke, they axed the EXACT same things you made us do.  you see dat test befo we did?"  i just laughed and told him to move on.  throughout the day, my students continued to tell me how they felt prepared and were comfortable with the test.

throughout the year, there were so many times i felt battered down, like there was no way to make them understand the material they needed to understand.  they couldn't tell me what a "verb" was, let alone figure out how a metaphor helped to create a specific mood.  we went over the same things every day, it seemed.  at times i would just sit silently in the back of the room, frustrated that they weren't picking up material they NEEDED to collect and store.  as we got closer to the test, i put more and more of myself into the lessons - making them do massive amounts of timed drills and then painstakingly explaining and exploring each answer - right and wrong.  

i had been extremely strict on them throughout the year, and the closer we drew to the test, the more i broke out of the disciplinary mode and went into the tutor mode.  i encouraged them when they gave correct responses, and tried to understand why they weren't grasping the things they needed to.  

writing was a simple task for me to break down with them.  as a general rule, "writing" for state and district assessments tends to be very formulaic and lacking any personal touch.  this makes it pretty easy to teach.  we went through the steps, details, and did it TOGETHER.  i kept track of attendance in a very visible way, rewarded students for staying for extra help, and pushed until the day of the writing test.  i definitely saw a chance in my kids, and they were so confident after the writing test.

i could not have asked for more.  it felt good.  real nice-like.

aaaaaand my greatest failure.  i'm torn between several different issues, but i think my failure, as a teacher, was doing the exact OPPOSITE of d-walt.  she mentions in her blog that she stayed organized, kept up with all her worksheets, notes, handouts, and everything.  i kept next to NOTHING of my lessons.  some of that is my own doing, and some of that was beyond my control.  

because of the resource situation at my school, i didn't copy very many things, and i didn't do overhead notes or power point presentations.  i had a lot of inclusion students, wherein i lost TONS of copies of tests, activity directions and supplemental materials that i had acquired.  (by the way, come up with a no-fail system of taking inventory of things you have, and when you send them out with an inclusion student, make SURE you get them back, even if you have to truck it down to the room and repeatedly remind them that those are YOUR satp books and you need them back.)  

the curriculum and instruction binder i was supposed to keep up for my district was a joke.  it never was looked through - it just is an item on a checklist of things that i as a "teacher" need to have.  to be honest, i could've had the empty binder in my room, instead of it being filled with lessons i never wrote or used.  

and my lesson plans?  the "official" lessons that were turned in were made by the english II teachers.  but, since my class is a remedial addition to that, i obviously couldn't teach what they were teaching.  i mean, if you're using stories out of the literature book (which i didn't even have) to teach theme, i can't rightly read the same story and teach about theme.  i can't use the lessons out of the satp book to teach subject/verb agreement when that's what you're teaching.  i can't use the "write source" books (which i didn't even have) to teach brainstorming techniques.  but that's what the lessons said.  

MY lesson plans were comprised of the other teachers coming to me and saying, "we worked on transitive and intransitive verbs today, and they didn't seem to get it.  can you go over that tomorrow?"  any personal schedule i had planned on or thought out for my classroom was trampled all over by the over-arching academic plans.  

i have a pretty good memory, so when i look back at the curriculum, i know (for the most part) what i taught and the activities that we did, but i have no way of just looking back at a lesson plan and feeling completely set.  i feel, as a teacher, that's a pretty huge failure.

along with that i feel that i failed:

-my nine girls who got pregnant sometime between august and may

-my twelve students who were expelled for fighting

-my students who did not pass the state test (numbers are still out on that one)

-my colleagues for not working more as a team

-my colleagues for not being more supportive of their clubs and organizations

-myself, at times, for not pushing myself more to do a little more, each day, to help EACH student succeed

the good thing is that, with these failures (and allllll of my others), there are a lot of things that i can learn.  i came up with a really good way to keep track of my lessons, a really good way to work on attendance, some innovative ideas for collaborating with other teachers, and a pretty simple way to stay involved in school and community activities.  i think i learned a lot this year, perhaps moreso from my failures than from anything else.  i think i've been really lucky to have experienced the situations i did this year.  and, oddly enough, i'm looking forward to more failures next year, as it seems they're bringing out the best in me.

...i would have a school district that actually was focused on educating children.  i did venture into creating a school district that would do that.  below is the link to my school district plan.  i think one interesting thing about my school district is the different academic tracks i allow for my students - academic honors, core 40, and a general diploma.  the students have a LARGE amount of freedom in choosing their courses, but always are able to have an end goal in sight, which will help with retention and graduation rates.

This summer, I need to practice on three things:

i would like to dedicate this to scotty jiminez: