The scores are in!

I got the kids' scores and they look great!  I had another student pass the test, so that is a total of 3 students that are getting a GED diploma this semester.  I have 1 student who is only 10 points away, and another that is only 20 points.  They are both about 2-3 questions away from passing.  I had another student come up on his math score almost 150 points.  YouthBuild gives bonuses to students who pass subjects for the first time, for moving up 40 points, and for passing the tests.  My students are breaking the bank! Next semester I have 5 that I fully expect to get their diploma and more that could possibly get it if they are really dedicated to studying. I still have 3 students who haven't recieved their scores because thy took it a couple days later.  I'll keep my fingers crossed for them.

We are about to head up to Huntsvegas for the holidays.  Merry Christmahannukwanzikah everybody!

Student pics

Freezing and smoking before the GED test.

I thought this scene was kind of funny.  They were acting like they were freezing to death, but they really needed that cigarette before the GED test. Also, my co-worker Ramell is a photographer in addition to working at YouthBuild.  He took pictures of most of the kids and had them write a word that describes them on their picture.  They turned out nicely.  Some of them are kind of funny because they refuse to smile, but put words like funny or charismatic while they have an expression on their face that says something more along the lines of, "I wanna kill someone." Here is a link to the pics, http://ramellross.com/index.php?/ongoing/2nd-chancers/.

Nature

So you probably already know that I am a proponent of environental education.  It is sometimes a little difficult to do much environmental ed in a GED classroom where most of the students need math more than they need science lessons.  Nevertheless, I did have the opportunity to bring a little bit of nature into the classroom for the students to experience. 



Green anole



I found a couple of green anoles which are all over the place down here.  They are sometimes called American chameleons even though they aren't related to chameleons.  They can change color to blend in with their surroundings.  I put one of them that I found in a jar to get a better look at it.  It was green when I found it, but by the time the students got into the room, it had turned brown to blend in with the color of the desk it was sitting on.  They passed it around and got a good look at it, then I put some leaves and grass in the jar.  In just a couple of minutes it had turned green like it was when I found it.  We then took it outside and released it into a tree.

Praying Mantis

We also found a wicked looking praying mantis.  I brought one in earlier in the semester that was pretty small and had bright green legs, but this one was huge.  It looked like a leaf and kind of freaked out some of the students. We talked about its camoflauge and how it would help with hunting, then let it go out on the pole in whinch we found it. Then I showed them some of the crazy stuff you can find on the internet about praying mantises such as some of the larger ones catching hummingbirds and frogs.





Eastern Box Turtle

The lizards weren't the only reptiles we had in the clasroom this semester.  We also had an eastern box turtle join us on the same day as the collard green harvesting.  Ramell was going to bring it to me earlier, but the turtle escaped in his house for almost a week.  Finally he located it and brought it in for the class to observe.  He was a little bit shy and didn't want to come out of his shell very much, but it was cool to show him to the students.  I ended up letting him go in the woods behind our new house. 

Some of the other wildlife we had were leaf-footed bugs, jumping spiders, an injured pidgeon, a hawk that landed just outside of the classroom, and a cicada nymph. My plan is to start a terrarium in the classroom like I had when I was working at Pine Hill so the students can bring in creatures and we can observe them in a way that isn't quite as harmful to the animals before letting them go.



Eric and his bird



Collard Greens



Check out our humonsterous collards.



My students hanging out with the kids in the garden.

This semester's YouthBuild students cooperated with Greensboro Elementary school on a collard green garden. I may need to get some tips from my students for next year because these were some of the biggest collards I have ever seen.  And they got that way fast, so they were still tender. My students prepared the soil and planted the collards. The elementary students were all assigned one plant to take care of after they were planted.  They were in charge of watering, measure size and growth and lots of other educational activities.  When it came time to harvest, they sold the greens as a fundraiser for the elementary school.  These pictures are of my students at harvest time, interacting with the elementary students who took care of the plants after YB students planted them. Some of the greens that were not sold were harvested, cooked, and served for the school's lunch that day. Another exciting part about the day was the appearance of Terri Sewell who was running for the House of Representative in Alabama. She answered questions for our students and encouraged them to vote.  She soon after became the first black woman to be elected to the House of Representatives in Alabama.

Raheem couldn't wait for lunch, so he got an early start.





Motorcycle Museum



students checkin out the Model-T


Early in the semester, I accompanied the student on a trip to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum.  Although I am not the biggest motorcycle fan, it was really interesting, and the students had a good time.  There was a race that day on the track directly behind the museum.  You could see them racing out of the window from the upper stories of the museum.  There were lots of old bikes and quite a few motorized bicycles that had pedals and a motor. The best part of the trip, however, was the drive there and back.  The students crack me up.

YB students watching the race.

Still waiting... Still...

Well, the scores weren't posted by the end of the day Friday, so I am still waiting. I hope they come in soon. I am really anxious to see how my students did on their final test of the year. Since I have no classes and don't have scores to report, I figured I would post some of the stuff I meant to post throughout the year that didn't make it on here for various reasons: fleas in comuter room, no internet for a month, computer crash, impromtu relocation of everything we own, and finally me being lazy.

Still Waiting.....

So... The kids took the GED last Sunday, and the scores are supposed to come in some time today. I am sitting here at work... waiting... I hope I have at least 1 more pass.

GED Results

So... I receved the actual test scores of my students today and they are really good. I already knew that 2 passed, but one of those students did so by coming up 90 points on math in a little over 1 month. Most of the other students raised their score at least a little bit, and a couple passed subjects for the first time. One student is only 30 points away from getting his diploma. Another made the highest score ever for a YouthBuild Greensboro student in a single subject with a 560 in reading. The lowest score he made on the 3 subjects he tested in was a 500. Now all he needs is to pass his math test. The next test is scheduled for this Friday (for most of the class) and Saturday (for the other 4). I will have at least 1 more student pass the test this go round, hopefully more.

Long time no post

Wow! It has been a long time since I put anything on here. Since my last post, I have battled a flea infestation (and lost), moved, had a sattelite installer bust a water pipe and never return to fix it, met my new nephew J.J., ate too much on Thanksgiving, crashed my computer, and had 2 students pass their GED. School is going really well right now. We told the students they passed this Friday after calling them in for a meeting and acting like they were in trouble. They were both really excited. We still haven't received the official scores, so I don't know what everyone else made yet. Hopefully this is just a preview of what will happen when the rest of the students take the GED later this month.

YouthBuild on Time Video

Poetry

I began teaching poetry this week.  I have been showing the students lots of different types of poems that I have found on YouTube. Tuesday, I played a profanity riddled rap song and printed out the lyrics. They had to look for similes and metaphors. Some of the students have expressed interest in writing some poetry in class while others seem terrified at the prospect. I tried to draw a parallel between rap music and poetry since they are all fans of hip-hop.  So far we have watched DMX, Saul Williams, Taylor Mali, Charles Bukowski, Maya Angelou, Shel Silverstein, Lord Byron, and Dave Chapelle poems.  I was surprised, but quite a few of them were really into the Lord Byron poem.  They also really liked Saul Williams performing Black Stacy. Tomorrow we are going to watch The Raven and another Saul William poem, Coded Language. Some of the students who have poetry are also going to share or perform (for my rapping students) their works for the rest of the class. I am thinking about downloading a nerd-core rap song to play for them.  I want to expand their horizons.

This week has been much more pleasant for the students than last week was.  They hated the 80 problem fraction test and complained the whole time, but I had one students that finished early and nailed nearly every problem. I had three students get suspended on Friday for various reasons, and another got dismissed from the program, but I also got a new student who only needs to pass the math portion to attain his GED.

Update... Finally

So... I have been really busy teaching and planning, so I haven't had much of a chance to write anything until now.  The first two weeks were great.  I love my students.  I was worried about being in front of adults since I am accustomed to working in from of elementary age students, but it all seems natural. They even like my stupid neck ties.  One student made a rap to go with my 1 Fish 2 Fish Red Fish Blue Fish tie.

After my first day teaching, I went on a field trip that night to see a documentary called Citizen Architect about Auburn's Rural Studio which goes into poor areas in Alabama and constructs buildings for the community or for needy citizens.  My classroom was built by Rural Studio, as was Hero's (my employer) office building. On Friday, we went to a poetry reading where a few of my students read some original poetry they created last semester, and two of my students performed with their rap group, GB 57.

My classroom is starting to look like a real classroom.  I have some posters up and a science shelf for rock samples. I even bought a broom today and finally was able to sweep. Now I need some maps for social studies lessons, and possibly some of those inspirational posters that teachers put up.

Until next time...

School Starts Tomorrow

I get to meet all of my students tomorrow.  I have most of the week planned out, but I don't know how it is going to go.  I know working with young adults is going to be quite a bit different than working with 5th graders. I don't actually teach anything until Tuesday though. This should be interesting...

Classroom

I have been spending most of this week analyzing tests and putting together notebooks, so I haven't had much time to put things up in the classroom.  Here is a picture of it anyways.  Imagine it without quite as many desks, more stuff on the walls, and without all the crap laying everywhere. I'm gonna slide the whiteboard over too, so we can enjoy the lop-sided window.

First Post Ever!

I thought I would start a teacher blog.  Hopefully I will keep up with it so folks know whats going on down here.  Maybe it will also encourage me to reflect upon my job as an educator. Maybe people will also be able to give me ideas that can help me in the classroom as well.

I start my new job as a GED teacher tomorrow.  The students won't be there until August 16th, so this week will be mainly analyzing tests and coming up with education plans for each student.  I am accustomed to working with elementary aged students, so this will be a new experience for me.