I don’t know what kind of odd colds are going around your parts, but I do know that this one I had was not a team player. It knocked me on my rear!

Even my oldest son complained about it.

I’m currently still struggling to pull it together. I promise I’ll get back in there and catch up my posts soon.

The post Being Sick Sucks appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

For me, blogging started out as a way to take my journaling to a digital platform. It gave me the ability to not only share what I was going through, but to take chances with different styles of writing until I was able to craft my own writer’s voice. Grant it, it wasn’t always easy.

When I first began, it was not about teaching. It was about my struggle with my weight, exercise, and dieting, along with my affinity with a certain NASCAR driver who is now retired, and no, it was not Dale Jr. despite what people may think. I used this as a way to work through things. It became my emotional outlet.

The teaching blog? It was also my emotional outlet. A way to deal with those things that as a teacher we have to let go of if we are to move on.

I never expected teaching to be so filled with emotional heaviness, but as soon as I saw the disparaging differences in socioeconomics, I was filled with a heaviness. I first described it as a culture shock. I was surprised to see how different things were. I may have grown up poor, but I grew up in a 2 parent household. I didn’t have to go see one in prison. There were no visitations. Things were good. Wrapping my head around my students’ truths was not so easy. So I took to blogging to keep my sanity and keep my journaling in the digital realm.

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The word “FLEX” has been used, but considering it was used in a Will Smith (Fresh Prince) song from the 90s, was it really new? For some reason, old things become new again, and word meanings change.

Skibidi Toilet pretty much became the bane of my existence, along with Sigma. The combination of that with Ohio and Rizz left me bumfuzzled. When I thought I understood it in the correct context, something changed.

Apparently, Skibidi Toilet is something that isn’t good and when paired with Ohio, it is much worse. But Rizz is charisma, while Sigma means to be in charge. You’re the big dog. Basically an Alpha, but you are all alone in your alpha-ness. You don’t need a pack beneath you to prove you are the best.

Yes, I made this mistake. I had laryngitis and the only way to have a voice was to talk much deeper than normal. Pair that with me stepping in front of a male student about to harrass a female, and well, one thing led to another, and I proclaimed that I was the Alpha in my classroom. I was dominant. My room. My rules. I was in charge.

Don’t do that. You will never live it down.

Just trust me on this.

The best thing to do is to demand that they use regular language in the classroom unless they are prepared for whatever consequences for using the slang may be. Just keep up with what is trending. Otherwise, it could get quite interesting.

The post Are you ready for the slang? appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

We may come up with some crazy kind of game with the kids, or become kids ourselves chasing each other around with the water guns, but just know that it will involve being outside and having a blast just hanging out with family and friends.

For the food, it’s going to involve an absolute feast. We will definitely have grilled burgers, but the grilled hot dogs and the potato salad are going to be the stars of the show.

I’ve made the same potato salad for years. If you want the recipe, you’ll find it here.

The same goes with the chili for the hot dogs. You’re going to need a beer for that one. Find the recipe for the chili here.

Once you’ve made those, just know that people will be beating down the door to get to your next cookout.

The post How I like to spend the 4th of July appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

This past school year was nice having a ten day break between each 9 weeks, but our district decided to do away with that and just have two long breaks when we normally would have them (Christmas and Spring Break). Without school ending early, its still a long year with a short summer. With so many taking courses during the summer to pursue Masters, it really leaves no time to relax and unwind. It was one of the reasons why I created my ideal travel destinations with long and short trips.

The best way to take a vacay or break is to go on some short day trips or trips that do not require a long length of travel time to get there and back. By doing this, you can get out and have some fun, but you are not going to be as exhausted when you get back. Short energizing trips are just as great as those longer trips.

What’s your favorite short trip destination? Comment below.

The post Summers are getting shorter for teachers appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

Truthfully, I went searching for information on classroom ideas, and I realized that while there were many blogs about Elementary and even High School, but Middle School seemed to be left out of the loop. Especially when it came to ELA teachers.

You’ll also find that I do try to cover different trends with teaching reading and writing to middle school. Middle school is its own animal, so to speak. Elementary is cute and high school is more elevated, but middle school requires a special type of teacher. Plus, these days, finding ways to engage middle school students in the middle of the “Skibbidi Ohio Toilet Rizz Tuesday Tuesday So Sigma” era of slang can be challenging as well.

For that, I offer my blog.

The post Why did I become a teacher blogger? appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

I just can’t do this anymore.

I tried to tough it out and thought that perhaps it was nothing more than a rough spot in the road, but soon it became obvious that it was so much more than that.

A student that I don’t teach this year, but whom I would teach next year, begged me to stay. I told her that it wouldn’t matter. God has a way of moving me forward, and I’ve been praying for Him to do just that. I want to try something new, or perfect something old. Either way, if I stayed, He would only make me more miserable until I complied.

I have wanted to step out and do more, but I’ve been so afraid to take that leap. I would love to take what I’ve learned through teaching and to apply it to a different subject. Despite what we think as teachers, we do gain skills that we can apply to so many other situations. Our multi-tasking, peace making, teaching, counseling, negotiating, and even computer skills can be used in a variety of settings. I’m excited to be able to move forward.

For me, it’s business. I’ve wanted to run my own business for such a long time, and now that I have the space (thanks to my son for buying me a home that we are perfecting the perfect studio space for me) I can do just that. Plus, I’ve already found new clients. It’s a win-win for me.

For those still stuck in the trenches… I’ll be praying for you. This group of students is so very different. It’s the age we are in. Not actual age in years, but this generation.

Besides, there are only so many skibidi sigma Tuesday toilets I can take.

The post Walking away from teaching appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

Each year, at the beginning of the year, I share with my students that I write. I have written numerous books. I have a website online that some will eventually find that has links to my books on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I even have copies of my books in my classroom.

This year, a handful of my homeroom students became infatuated with trying to read all of my books. They also provided me with the encouragement I needed to finish a book that I’d been struggling to finish for almost three years. I was stuck. I shared with them an idea I was toying with, and they said, “Do it!” So I did. I changed up my point of view, and the book practically finished itself easily. I even dedicated the book to them.

I have fallen into a vicious cycle of devouring every genre of book I can get my hands on through Kindle Unlimited and writing. Reading and writing have taken over my life. I keep a notebook handy for jotting down important things I have to do and scribbling inspiration when it strikes. My students have asked about the notebook, and I tell them that when you have something that you believe in, you should find a way to achieve it. Hence, my notebook.

If I am in the middle of my day and inspiration strikes, I write it down. Everything goes in that notebook.

1. To do lists
2. Conversation ideas
3. Book ideas
4. Blog post ideas
5. Things that I need to learn to improve
6. Research
7. Chapters I’ve written to type up when I get home (written during my lunch)

I started a Goal book this year that has, currently, 68 things that I want to accomplish this year with room to write down up to 140. If something strikes me as I want to do this, it goes in my goal list. I can transfer my goal list to next year. So far, I have accomplished quite a few of my yearly goals. It’s a win for me. I’ve also read nearly 47 books this year. When I tell my students, they look at me in awe.

We should all have goals and passions that we are working toward. At the beginning of the year, I had my students write down their goals. Some will find that they have strayed far away from their goals. Some will find that they are on track to accomplish their goals. Staying passionate about who you are and what you want to do is the key to success.

The post Story Time: Sharing my passion appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

Survival mode during the holidays can mean many things for many people. For me, it is about trying to be patient and understanding. It is about trying not to stress out when things are chaotic. It’s about not letting that one student who is wanting to be ugly to me get the better of me. And yes, I had a student who was hateful to me on Friday, and my students whom I taught last year looked at her and said, “That just wasn’t right.” I fought the urge to write her up for the disrespect, but then I thought back and realized that this week was the first time she has been that way with me. I don’t know what is going on at home. I don’t know what she may be dealing with outside of my class. She may have just needed to let off some steam. Moments like this, I’m reminded of what my dad said to me when I was upset and hurt at my mom’s death: Give it to me because I’m big enough to handle it, and I have large shoulders to bear the burden for both of us.

That doesn’t give anyone permission to run me over or be nasty, but I can also pause and think about what is going on. Students don’t always do that.

My 6th graders are starting to become extra needy right now, too. They are starting to congregate around my desk if I dare sit down. It’s frustrating because I’m claustrophobic, yet at the same time, they are all trying to gain my attention.

Two more days, though. I just need to hang in there for two more days, and then it will be a nice break.

The post Story Time: Survival Mode appeared first on Teaching ELA in the Middle.

But what if there isn’t a full moon in sight?

Friday, on my way to work, I listened to my grandson in the back seat talk softly and sweetly to the sky. I asked him what he was doing, and he said, “My friends are following me.”

“Who are your friends?”

“The moon and the star. They are following me.”

I glanced out the window and up at the sky where a crescent moon and “star” (I’m pretty sure that’s a planet) were gleaming through spotty cloud cover. “Oh,” I replied. “Well, I guess they are just going to have to follow us to school, aren’t they?”

“Yep!” he said with a small laugh.

It was sweet and innocent. When we pulled into the parking lot, he glanced up and told them both goodbye. As we entered the building, a sudden change came over him. This sweet child suddenly became fully animated, highly hyper, and louder than usual. My first thoughts were that I needed to make sure he had his medication. Fridays are generally hard for him because he is excited about the weekend and seeing mom. He’s also super-focused on the end of the day. How many hours until…? How much longer…? When do we…?

By the time I walked up for morning duty, he was still in a somewhat hyper state, but seemed to be coming down.

When the students came in, it was the same transition for them. A sudden animation, hyper, loud, and unusually rowdy. This same state carried throughout the day. Several teachers and I exchanged glances with the same question, “Is it a full moon?”

We don’t see this type of behavior during a crescent moon. We don’t randomly see this when we haven’t. It was insanity. In the classroom and out of the classroom. It was almost like they were anticipating something that we couldn’t. They were excited, but we were not.

Of course, this week will be the last full week before our Thanksgiving break. I’m looking forward to that break. Seven school days, and then we have five days off. We will come back, work three weeks, and then we have a lovely three week break. This school year seems to be slipping quickly by for us. Maybe that is the “feeling” that is in the air? Perhaps they feel the excitement of a new year approaching. The excitement of a change.

For me, I’m excited to leave 2023 behind me. It’s been a difficult year. December 16th will be one year since my son’s accident. 2023 has been filled with one thing after another. His recovery is still ongoing. Dealing with the insurance is still ongoing.

Maybe I, too, should be excited.

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