Home for Christmas!

I arrived in snowy Minneapolis yesterday morning. It is a pretty big change to leave a city that is sunny and 70 degrees and arrive in a city that is below 20 degrees with snow on the ground. Needless to say, my body is a little confused.

Even though I am adjusting to the cold, I am excited to be home and am grateful that I am able to spend the holidays with my family and friends.

As I open presents this year it will be hard to not think about my students, many of them who will be lucky if they get anything for Christmas... I hope everyone understands how lucky they are to have what they do. In fact, if you are able to read this on a computer, chances are you are part of the elite in this country. Most of my students come from families that are computer illiterate and do not have a computer or Internet access at home. The only opportunity they have to be on a computer is a rare opportunity at school. (which has become even more rare after my classroom laptops were stolen). I know Thanksgiving was last month, but... I am still very thankful for all I have.

I wish everyone the best this holiday season. Thank you for your love and support!

- Joe

"You Look Chubby Today"

Over the past few months I have definitely found that teaching is not for the self-conscious. Although I have trouble with honesty in my classroom, my students are always brutally honest with me. Here are a few of my favorite examples:

Last week I bought a new polo to wear to school. I was pretty excited, it was a nice shirt and another piece of clothing I could add to my "work rotation" that would give me an escape from the daily shirt and tie. About 5 minutes into the morning announcements one of my students commented, "Meester... you look chubby today." I have gained a little bit of weight since moving to Houston, but only like 3 pounds. I hope it isn't that noticeable. I am going to blame it on the horizontal strips and undershirt combination... hopefully.

On Friday I was in the middle of teaching my students how to measure precisely using the imperial system (inches, feet, ect) when one of my students suggested that I should use Proactive. I actually appreciated my students logic (I did have a pimply on my forehead), but didn't necessarily like the delivery. I think this means that my students care about how I look?

These are just two examples. I also receive a lot of comments about how I need to shave, look tired, or nerdy. My students also like to comment on how I gel, or don't gel my hair and how I look better (or worse) with my glasses on. I am not sure I should begin to take fashion tips from my 5th graders, but it is interesting to hear their comments.

My favorite comments come when I do something "weird" or funny, such as when I obnoxiously sang happy birthday to a student, and over half my class suggested that was the reason I didn't have a wife. They like to say that one a lot. "Mr. that's probably why you don't have a wife."

- You need to understand that me being 23 years old without a wife or children is pretty rare in this community (especially that I do not have children). My first day of teaching 5th grade my students asked me (in this order):
1. How many kids do you have?
2. How many wives have you had?
when I answered zero to both they were pretty confused...

Coach Swartz

I just completed all of my online courses to become a certified coach in the state of Texas. Since I am going to get paid to coach high school wrestling in Texas, I have to be certified by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). From what I understand, UIL is very similar to the Minnesota State High School League, as it the the governing body of high school sports in Texas. Anyway, I had to complete three online "training sessions" on: steroid education, safety, and coaches and officials positive expectations. I am also required to be certified in CPR, which I will be completing tomorrow after school (well after tutorials and before wrestling).

My life is still very busy, but it is nice to have this taken care of so I can get paid for coaching. I don't get paid much, but it will be enough to cover my gas from driving to and from meets and practice as well as a little extra.

Snow... In Houston?!?!

I am sure many of you are aware now that it snowed on Friday in Houston. It was quite the event.

By Thursday evening every local new station was covering the story of a possible "snow storm" in Houston on Friday. Friday arrived and at about 9:00am so did the snow. Being from Minnesota, the initial "snow" was not what I would call "snow." It was more of a combination of snow and rain or "sleet" as I taught my students (I need to take advantage of every learning opportunity I can get). As the day continued, and the temperatures dropped, real snow began to fall and even accumulate on the ground.

Not wanting my students to miss out on a truly once-in-a-lifetime event, I took my class outside. We were outside not just to play in the snow, but to learn hands-on about a new form of precipitation for many of my students, snow. We discussed freezing point, rain, snow, sleet, and lots of other good science and math stuff... and well, played in the snow too.

I attached some pictures of my students from the snow day. I am sure this will be a day many of them will not soon forget.

Home Again!

I wanted to make a note that I booked my plane tickets to come back to Minnesota for the Holidays! Here is my itinerary for those of you who are interested:

December 19th - Arrive in Minnesota 4:20pm
January 2nd - Fly Back to Houston 2:55pm

I have a lot of work to do between now and then so I will undoubtedly return tired, hungry, and a little grumpy. All things considered, I am looking forward to seeing everyone again.

Robbery!

I returned to Houston late Saturday night, well-rested and refueled. I really enjoyed spending my break back home. It was great to see my family and friends from Minnesota again. I am truly thankful for everyone that is part of my life.


I woke up early on Sunday to accomplish as much as I possibly could in one day before the rush of school started again on Monday. I had to unpack, do laundry, clean, and complete what seemed to be a thousand other random things. Not to worry, I was able to have the Vikings game on while I lesson planned... although I live in Texas, I am still true to the Vikings (especially when they are winning). I went to bed Sunday prepared for what I expected to be an unruly bunch of students coming off of a long Thanksgiving break. If the students were going to be "wound-up," I was going to be even more prepared to be able to be an effective teacher.


No matter how prepared I was for Monday, I wasn't ready for what I was about to see when I walked into my classroom...


I arrived at my school at about 6:35am on Monday. I signed in at the office and walked back to my "classroom." It was still a little dark out so after I unlocked the door I turned on the light. My room seemed a little out of place. I first noticed that my LCD projector and elmo (modern over-head projector) cart was moved by the door with all the chords rolled up on it. Everything was unplugged, but this wasn't too strange. I was absent on Monday and Tuesday before break so another teacher might have borrowed them when I was in Minnesota.


I turned to look closer. My laptops were missing from my "interactive math station." Again, I thought someone might have borrowed them, but as I looked closer I began to notice they weren't "borrowed" at all... they had been stolen. I saw blood on my station table and another blood print on the wall. The table had been pulled out and my shelf was moved. Behind the shelf the Ethernet chords for the laptops had been cut and ripped out of the wall. My computer speakers were also missing...



Blood on the wall behind my shelf


Blood on the table



Cut Ethernet Chord and Broken Chord = No Internet :(


The police came to my classroom at around 9:45am to check out the crime scene. The school called them... I am not really sure why, because the officer basically told me that they weren't going to be able to do anything. A projector and Elmo were also stolen from another teacher's room at my school. They are thinking the robberies are related, even though the other room is on the other side of the school grounds.

I suspect the robber(s) came in through the window, as one of my students noticed more blood on the outside of my classroom by the window and blood on the blinds inside my room. The window was not broken though... so they must have taken it out or somehow prided it open.

It is really frustrating to me that someone would steal from a school, especially the school that I work at. I know how much those laptops meant to my students and how much they enjoyed learning on them (don't tell them they were learning... they got to play math and science "games" on them sometimes). It might be different if they were just stealing from me, but stealing from 39 fifth grade students?! That I do not understand.

Our classroom will continue to progress without the laptops and other equipment that was lost, but it was a serious blow to my morale.

Learning took place long before computers... and it will continue without them.

Home for Thanksgiving...

I arrived in Minnesota on Saturday... it is really nice to be back. The weather is actually relatively close to the same here as it was in Houston when I left (around 50-60 degrees and drizzly). The break couldn't have come at a better time. The last few weeks have been very hectic and busy to say the least...

I was asked recently by the head wrestling coach at Sam Houston High School (Sam Houston Math, Science & Technology Center) to help coach there high school team recently. In 2007, John Hopkins University reffered to Sam Houston as a "dropout factory" where at least 40% of the entering freshman class does not make it to their senior year. Needless to say, "Sam" is a rough place, where I will hopefully be able to impact a few students' lives through my presence at their coach and encouragement on and off the mat.

Despite already being very busy (sometimes to the point of being overwhelmed), I accepted the offer and began coaching both the boys and girls varsity and junior varsity teams on a daily basis (Yes you read that right, they do have girls varsity wrestling in Texas - it is separate from the boys wrestling team). Wrestling is a little different in Texas than what I am used to. I feel it is less intense and of a lower quality than wrestling in Minnesota, especially the team I participated on in high school. Most of the wrestlers do not start until 9th grade so their experience definitely limits even the good wrestlers on most teams.

The teams I am currently coaching remind me a lot of the team I coached in Saint Paul that helped to spur this entire journey. There are a few committed guys and girls that are there everyday, but for the most part, participation varies due to other commitments, such as having to work after school or on the weekends to help make ends meet. I really like being back with the sport of wrestling and feel that through coaching I will be able to impact these students' lives as well.

I forgot how much I enjoy coaching, and even though we are currently loosing more than we are winning, I am having a good time and I think the wrestlers are too.

I know that very few, if any, of my wrestlers will go on to wrestle after high school, but for many of them wrestling is a release and a chance to learn a lot of important life skills. Currently, I am working with the team on the importance of "showing up," whether it is in wrestling or in life, it is really hard to win (or succeed) if you don't show up. We will be setting personal goals shortly with regards to attendance at practice and school.

BACK AT BERRY...
Things are actually going a little better. My classroom management has really improved over the past few weeks. All of my students that were suspended are back in the classroom now (well all but the two long-term suspensions) and they are a little better behaved. Although things are not perfect, and many students still need reminders, we are on our way to having a well run and efficient classroom, where behavior does not slow down our ability to learn.

On a more negative note, on of my students who I have been struggling to try and get to come to school has not been at school at all in November and I was told on Thursday that she will not be coming back. Her mother, who I do not believe has completed high school herself, will be homeschooling here. This is a blow to my moral, as this student had a lot of potential and was a good learner. I feel that she will continue to get further and further behind at home and eventually drop out when she is old enough. I know this is negative, but from what I am told... this is "usually what happens."

My students are still struggling in almost all content areas, and sometimes it seems that regardless of the amount of time I spend on a topic or how many different modalities I show it in... the students still do not understand or grasp the concept. On our last math assessment I put all of the steps on how to solve the problems on the board, including various math strategies they could use on the test. Despite my best effort (and doing everything but giving the students the answers) my class still only had a class average of 63%. I am not sure what to do or how to change my instruction, but I do not think this is acceptable.

I am going to be meeting with my mentor and my TFA program director next week and will hopefully have answers and ideas on how to do a more effective job teaching (and reteaching).

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Looking back on my experiences thus far with Teach For America and my time in Houston it is easy to think of many things that I am thankful for...

Parent - Teacher Conferences

Unfortunately the old saying "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree" rings truer to me after completing my first round of true:
parent - teacher conferences
and in some case:
parent - teacher - student conferences...
and many times:
parent - student - teacher - translator conferences).

Well I made it out alive. I am actually pretty happy that I was busy this afternoon. We to not have students on Wednesday afternoons at Berry Elementary School, but today was different due to conferences. I had a pretty decent turnout for conferences. I would estimate that I was able to speak (or speak through a translator) to about 50% of my students' parents (or many times guardian).

I was really happy to see that the mothers of both of my two most challenging students were at conferences and I was able to discuss with them their students' behavior in my class (both of their children are currently suspended - both as the final stage out of many, many occurrences - but their last "events" were: one student stood up in class to inform me that they hated me and wanted to kill me. The other student had been tormenting and bullying other classmates to the point where some of my students no longer wanted to come to school).

Anyway, I met with the first students' mother, who informed me that the only reason their child acted up or misbehaved was because of the behavior of other students in the classroom. During the entire translated conference, the parent continued to blame other students, the school, myself, and anyone or anything else, other than the students' own actions for the way the student acted. This story sounded awful familiar to the story her daughter told myself a few days ago before being suspended by the principal. I explained to the mother that her daughters actions were a choice and that I understood that she was not at fault, but after several seating arrangement changes, adaptations, chances to refocus (glorified time-out), and other intervention steps... it was definitely her daughters' choice to misbehave that was causing the problem.

The story was about the same with the second parent, except for the son was with on this conference, oh, and the mother spoke English. They entered the room and the mother began to tell me the same story her son tells me just about everyday. About how someone else started it, and it was not his fault, ect. About 15 minutes into our conference, the mother began to realize that her little boy, might actually be acting up, and that he may not be telling her the truth at home. The next 15 minutes of this abnormally long conference went much differently... ended with the mother suggesting that he son was going to get his *#%$ whooped when he got home and that she would be checking with my to ensure that this does not happen again.

Hopefully I will be updating you later with good news regarding the behavior in my classroom, but as of right now it still leaves room to be desired. Here is the current situation:
1 student at alternative school
3 students suspended
and this is just in my homeroom. The LAST thing I want to do is have students get suspended or sent to another school. All this does is put them even further behind where they already are in there academics. The principal thinks that it works, but judging by the attitude of the student who was suspended and then ended up in alternative school... I am still not sold on the idea.

I know that some of the problems in my classroom regarding behavior may stem from my inexperience, but I honestly feel like I am doing a good job... some of these students are just very hard to control... at all.

Well... it's past my bedtime, but just wanted to share with you a little bit about conferences before bed.

Octobers Already Over?

The posts have once again gotten spread a little thin through the month of October. I will attribute the time off to my birthday and a slight cold that I haven't been able to kick.

Well I made it through October... I am not sure if that is the best way to put it. "Made it through" sounds as if I survived something or persevered over some type of obstacle, but I guess when I think about it... some days I do think I have "made it through."

I am hoping to affect lots of change and to see my students grow and flourish, but the truth is that many of them are still struggling. Most of them are still waiting for their breakthrough in math or science (among other classes, just the only ones I teach). I have had a few big successes teaching thus far, but really only even to keep going the next day. It seems as if when my motivation is at an all time low something good happens in my classroom.

For example, a few days after one of my students was expelled from school for hitting another student (prior blog), one of my students figured out how to change improper fractions to mixed numbers during after school tutorials. (tutorials - small group instruction that I teach after school for math on Tuesdays and Thursdays). His comments of "oh mister, I get it" and "this is easy" have been the fuel that has kept me going over the past several days.

After the last two weeks I feel as if I am due for something good again. My students' last exam scores, on material I had just taught to them for the past two weeks, came back much lower than I expected. I had some students score well 90-95%, but the class average was still about a 50%. My goal is to have my students performing at a class average of 80% mastery of each topic I teach... therefore 50% mastery is unacceptable. I was told this was "normal," but really, I am not looking for normal, or to have my students continue at the same rate that they have in years past... I guess I have a lot of work ahead of me.

On a different note...
I caught two of my students stealing from me last week.

They were taking prizes from my "treasure chest," which I have as a reward system for my students. Students can earn tickets (at my discretion) and then enter them in the drawing that takes place every other Friday.

One of the students that stole was one of my best students and I was crushed on the inside to have to punish him for what he had done. Sometimes it is hard to be fair as a teacher. It is so easy to reprimand the "trouble maker" but sometimes hard to do the same to the "good student." I was fair though, and gave both students the same consequences. My principal wanted them suspended, but I didn't see how missing school was going to help them at all. I think that one of the students would actually have enjoyed the day off. Both students had to write me an apology and then a phone call was made home to their parents. Judging by their behavior in class the next day, I think their parents (or guardian) must have taken care of it. I don't know if I agree with the "whoopin" some of my students get at home when they misbehave, but it seems to be very effective.
Unfortunately, neither one of my classes will be having a drawing from the "treasure chest" this Friday...

Weekend... What Weekend?

Word on the street is that this is one of the nicest weekends we have had in Houston for a long time... It is currently 74 degrees and no humidity, but it could just as well be raining to me.

I left school last night, Friday at 8:00 pm. I was busy cleaning up my room, grading papers, replying to work emails, and filling out paper work for one of my students who got suspended and will now be going to an alternative school for the next 30 days. The student has had numerous warnings and trips to the principals office for behavior this school year, but on Thursday he took it to another level by slapping a girl in the face.

I heard the large "SLAP" when I was working with another group of students (the students were working in groups in stations so they were all in different parts of the room). By the time I turned around the damage had been done. The girl had her hands on her face with tears running down her chin and neck. The boy was in the middle of telling the student that he would he hit again too... when I ran across the room to grab him. I did not know what fully happened, but did know that I had 16 other students in my room that I needed to teach so I had my classroom "neighbor" watch my room while I escorted the students to the office. I dropped them off at the office for the principal to figure things out and went back to teaching.

Usually I am not one to pass things off for others to take care of them, but in this case (physical violence) I felt more comfortable having the principal take care of it. Also, I knew it would take too long to talk with these students in the hall and figure out what just happened and I couldn't leave my classroom unattended for that long.

I arrived home Friday night, ate, supper, and fell asleep. I was planning on finishing grading some of the approximately 80 math and science journals I needed to grade this weekend, but instead, accidentally fell asleep on the couch around 9:30pm due to exhaustion.

I was up at 6:00am this morning to get ready for a training that I needed to be at by 8. I got ready and drove to the location it was supposed to be at, but I could not find the school. I think the email had the wrong address as the GPS in my car and on my found had me arriving at a large house where the school was "supposed to be." I decided the "highly recommended" training was not meant for me and headed home in frustration after not finding the school.

I treated myself to a Starbuck's on the way home and began grading journals. It is about 3:15pm and I have just finished grading the last journal (along with a stack of assignments). My math and science grades are all up to day. It is a good feeling to be caught up with everything... well until next week comes.

Tomorrow I will be up early to lesson plan and ensure everything is ready for the week to come.

Weekend... What weekend?! For me all the two days formally known as my weekend are are two catch-up and planning days... not the time outdoors and football watching they once were...

I hope your weekend is going well. Do something fun for me!

Home Sick?!

Despite news of the first snowfall in Minnesota, I can't help but miss my home state as the calender turns to October and colder air begins to move in.

This past weekend was homecoming at the University of Minnesota, which was always one of my favorite times of year on campus. This year is the first year in a very long time that Minnesota will be having a "real" homecoming, as the new on-campus stadium is complete and students will get to experience a homecoming "home game" for once. I was, and still am, really excited about the Gopher's new stadium and the impact it will have on the University in the years to come. Throughout my time at the "U" I felt that school spirit and pride were not as prevalent as it is at many other schools throughout the country. The new stadium's location on campus and the festivities that will surround it will surely help in bringing out more Minnesota pride. I bet homecoming was a blast this year and I feel like I missed out a little by not being there.

My car is fix and out of the shop. I was able to take care of the entire situation on my own, which I suppose can be looked at as a "mini-milestone" in my adult life. It was a difficult being in a new city and trying to find a repair shop and take care of the whole process without the help of my dad (and his brother who runs an auto body repair shop). I had to go out on my own to get quotes, find repair people, and finally decide who I could trust to do the work. Everything worked out though, and I am back to driving my '01 Pontiac, which now looks pretty close to new.

Another thing I miss about being back home during the Fall is the start of hunting seasons in Minnesota. Although I haven't been able to participate as much as I would have liked to in the past few years due to school commitments, I always like to go hunting with my brothers, dad, and other family members. Even when I wasn't able to go with, it was always fun to listen to the hunting stories and see the game they were able to take in over the weekends. Sharing stories over hunting was a conversation that quickly linked my brothers and I together more, as they both have a strong passion for the outdoors that they were happy to share with anyone that would listen.

I am not excited to miss deer hunting this year, as it was a weekend I looked forward to spending with my dad and brothers every year. The weekend was spent hunting during the morning, resting in the middle of the day, and hunting again till dark. In the evening it was a time to share as the men of the family, playing cards, watching TV, and discussing strategy about the following days hunts. I usually didn't have the most information to contribute as far as strategy was concerned, but it was a fun time to all be together in one place. I hope to get back to deer hunting with the family in the future, and just maybe, be lucky enough to have a big buck wonder in front of my stand t0 "out hunt" my brothers for a season.

As many of you know, October is my birthday month, along with my mom, grandpa (and a few aunts and uncles). I will be turning 23 on the 23rd. This will be my first birthday away from home (well Minnesota). I will miss my special birthday meal provided by my mom, and even though I will be 23, I will still miss having a home-cooked birthday cake.

To end on a more positive note, I will be coming back to Minnesota on November 21st and staying until the 28th. This will be a nice "vacation" as I am able to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday with the people I am most thankful for: my family and friends. I am looking forward to seeing many of you during this trip back to Minnesota. Hopefully there won't be too much snow... as I am finally getting used to the warmer weather.

Prepared?!

This past weekend was my first true three-day weekend as a teacher. Houston Independent School District (HISD) observed a "Fall Holiday" on Monday which gave all teachers and students the day off.

This break was much needed after the recent classroom changes. I was able to spend most of the weekend catching up in my Alternative Certification Course (ACP) and University of St. Thomas (UST) graduate course that I am taking. I had been putting these classes on the "back burner" as my focus needed to be entirely on getting my new classroom and students to a point where we could work effectively and with a plan to get back on track with learning. After working everyday over the long weekend on school work (either for my students or my personal school work) I felt as if I was actually prepared for the week ahead.

I was very excited. This was the first time that I had felt completely prepared for the week before it had even started. I had all of my personal coursework completed. My lesson plans were finished for the entire week with all of my materials gathered and printed out. I was really proud of myself.

But that's the thing about about my life (and I think life in general)... just when things seem to all be going your way... something has to happen to through you off of your game.

Like I said earlier, I had Monday off so that afternoon I was running errands. I was going here and there, getting stuff for school, a new charger for my phone, things for my house, all of the items I was able to live without when I was too busy to make time to get them. Everything was going well. It was going to be a great week, or so I thought...

I was stopped at a red light. The light turned green so I accelerated. About five seconds later the car in front of me slammed on their breaks, stopping in the middle of the intersection. I tried to stop, but ended up running into the back of his car, completely ruining the front end of my car. I will need to get a new front bumper, hood, both headlights, and possibly some work down to both of my front side panels. Evidently my car was a lot less stronger than his because his bumper left the scene with two scratches. I couldn't believe it. The weekend I thought I was so prepared for now was going to be packed with phone calls to my insurance company, auto body shops, and car dealerships. I was going to spend the little bit of free time that I was able to save myself by working all weekend, calling and researching about my car. This was not part of my plan...

Anyway, the driver said that he was cut-off by another driver that was trying to take a right turn onto the road we were on before our light turned green. The car I hit, almost hit the car in front of him, but avoided it, causing me to hit him... hopefully that makes sense.

I guess in the end I should be happy that no one was hurt... other than my hopes of having a completely stress-free and prepared week.

Glasses, Lice, and Swine Flu

I had seen the school nurse a couple times before at Berry, but I had never really had the chance to talk to her...

After this past week I know her fairly well, as she has been at my classroom just about everyday. On Monday the nurse delivered several notes for parents to me and explained how she has been trying to do vision screening of students before school by taking students from the cafeteria (where the students wait until 7:30am when I pick them up). Several of my students have been recommended to get classes. I was a little bit excited as the fact that my students can't read the board could be a very large factor in their success in my classroom.

I had not even had the chance to consider my students vision as a hindrance to their success as I thought through the numerous challenges they had in front of them. On top of most of them struggling to read in their non-native language of English, a lot of them may just be unable to read the words because they cannot see them.

While doing vision screening the nurse also found lice in some of the students in my class. At the moment she told me about the students who would not be in class on Monday due to lice, I felt as if I had it too. Fortunately, I do not have lice, but I am still a little paranoid. I think my class is lice free now... at least for the time being. I have been told that lice can be a big problem at my school due to the living conditions of a lot of my students.

On Tuesday I was notified by the nurse that one of my students that had been absent Monday was being checked for swine flu as six members of her family all currently have the virus. I was supposed to get the results back on Wednesday from the nurse as to the condition of my student, but have found out nothing yet. The student was absent all week though...

A lot of my students have been sick lately so there is definitely something going around. It is really hard to have students missing class as most of them are already so far behind. Missing school just adds to the amount of work they will need to do to get caught up with where they should be.

Our Kids

Also on Monday, my last day of teaching PK-5th grade science lab I was informed that one of my students has been getting abused at home. She has always been rather quiet and kept to herself, but only seeing her for 45 minutes a day, I wasn't really able to put a finger on what was wrong.

Her homeroom teacher told me the news. The little girls' mother had previously physically abused her and she had been taken to live with her grandparents. I guess the mother was now living with the grandparents and was again starting to abuse the little girl. The homeroom teacher told me so I would be able to keep an eye on the fragile first grader to make sure nothing bad was happening to her at home.

The girl already had some strange marks on her body, but the school was not able to pin point that those marks came from her mother.

It is so sad to think that this is actually going on. I know that this little girl is not the only student having to deal with issues like this at home either. Everyday my mind it plagued with the thoughts that some of my students may be getting physically or mentally abused at home. They most of my kids have a rough enough life already and the thought of having to deal with something like this makes me sick to my stomach.

As I get to know my students and their stories I am more motivated to make a difference.

The other day I was explaining to someone about what I currently do for a living and they looked at me and said that I was brave for working with those kids.

The person I was having a conversation with did not mean any harm by the statement. I was actually at a charity fundraiser they had organized when the conversation took place so I know they have a good heart, but the comment was still very telling of our society.

I feel it is statements like these that allow many of the problems my students face to exist. Instead of tackling issues head on, and working to make things better, we quickly turn to labels like those kids. These label allow us to separate ourselves from the issue and instead of acting, look at the situation with pity.

Instead, we should think of these students and children in our country as Our Kids and begin to take responsibility for the future generations we are developing.

In reality these students are our kids, in my mind they are my kids. I am very attached and I feel that I am very accountable for their successes and failures. I work hard everyday, not for those kids, but instead for our kids and our future.

Wild Dogs

Although it has only been a week, it seems as if it has been forever since I have written.

I should be going to bed, but I feel it is only fair to write something quickly for the people who check my blog (hi mom) and so I can get a few things recorded before I forget them.

Monday was my last day teaching PK-5th grade science lab. Even though it was my "last day" it was still very eventful...

I got to school early on Monday to make sure I was prepared for the day ahead. I was going to have the 5th grade teacher that I will be replacing shadowing me all day so he is able to learn some of the procedures and how I interact with my kids throughout the day. I was a little nervous about him being in my classroom all day. I was hopping there would not be any conversation about the switch or anything that would put my in an awkward situation.

Anyway, I got to school early, it was still dark outside. I signed in at the front office as I do everyday and began to walk to my classroom. I was about 50 feet from my classroom / trailer when a huge German Shepard mixed dog came running at me. The dog barked and growled as if it was protecting the door to my classroom. I quickly slipped into the door of the trailer that is attached to mine and slammed the door. I am sure I mumbled a few curse words as the fear of the dog coming out of no where almost made me have to go home to get new pants before school started.

I peeked my head outside again to see if the dog was still there and it was laying in front of my classroom door. I closed the door and decided to walk through the connected classroom and begin my work for the day. I would call the office in a little bit when I knew someone would be up there to answer.

About thirty minutes later I looked outside again and the dog was gone. I walked around and couldn't find it anywhere. Once the teacher whose room connects to mine got to school I told her all about my morning encounter. She explained to me that the dog was probably a stray, which I agreed with, as there are dogs all over the area where my school is located. On my way to and from school I see a couple stray dogs everyday. It is pretty strange to see so many dogs just wandering around the streets, but after a few weeks at my school I guess I have gotten used to it.

Anyway, at the end of the school day, the dog was back again. It was at the side of my trailer, barking and growling at students as they quickly walked by on the other side (outside) of the school's fence (chain link with barbed wire on top) on their way home. Usually this would be taking place the other way around, with the dog outside the school grounds and the kids on the inside, but fortunately school had just let out and most of the students had already left by the time anyone noticed the dog again.

The Houston Animal control officer showed up about 10 minutes later and shot the dog with a tranquilizer. I was happy he was going to get the dog out of the school area and that all the students would be safe, but once he shot the dog it ran underneath my classroom (which is up on blocks with an aluminum skirt). The animal control officer waited a little bit and then decided to crawl through the same hole the dog did to go underneath my classroom. I was very impressed by his bravery, or craziness, as I would not have crawled under the building into the darkness where the dog had just ran.

The animal control officer could not find the dog under the building, which is something I still don't understand. Either way, he packed up a little bit later and we haven't seen the dog since. He thinks the dog had babies underneath my building but he could not find them either so I guess I will just have to wait and see. So far, there have been no sighting though. lots of stray dogs, just not that one.

Suprize! Changing Classes...

I will no longer be teaching PK-5th grade science lab.

I found out on Thursday afternoon that my administrative team was considering moving me to be a 5th grade homeroom teacher where I would teach both math and science to all of the 5th grade students (I currently teach one section of 5th grade science lab - they get science twice a day). They felt the switch was necessary as a current 5th grade teacher was under performing in his role.

By Friday morning, my fate was sealed. As I walked to breakfast to meet my Pre-kindergarten students for breakfast I was stopped in the hallway by my mentor and told that I would be moving to 5th grade.

I am not sure how to feel about the change. On one hand, it is a compliment. Fifth grade is a year in which the students and tested by the state. These tests are very important for the school because the state views the 5th grade students as a product of what the school can produce (even though most of our students come and go... which means they aren't really a PK-5 product of our school). The state bases the school's funding, support, and overall ranking based on 5th grade scores so teachers in this position are usually there because they are effective and good at what they do. They are also usually not first year teachers.

I am a little bit sad about the change as well. I am not excited to be leaving the great team I am currently on in science lab. There are five science lab teachers and we have been working together really well over the first couple weeks of school. Although we all have our own classrooms and students, we have been able to collaborate on lesson plans and setting up labs to make the schedule more manageable. We have also begun to develop very good systems that would have been great to have been a part of moving forward. I really like all of the people on the science team and am sad to leave them.

Another reason I am upset about leaving the science lab team is the enormous amount of work I have done to prepare myself for this school year and my role as a science lab teacher. Preparing for the amount of different students I saw everyday was very time consuming and I had spent a lot of time working on long term plans and systems for my classroom. I had put in countless hours getting my room ready and making sure it was inviting for students...
Now that I am switching with another teacher I will be leaving all of my hard work behind for someone else. I am going to have to start over and develop new systems and plans for my 5th grade class. I will be able to use some of my experience in science lab for the science classroom portion, but will be starting from scratch in math.

I spent this morning trying to move some of my materials from my current classroom to my new classroom. I already think I liked my old classroom better. I have put so much time into making it a good place for learning; it is hard to let it go. The room I will be moving into was a mess. The teacher I am replacing has put some effort into getting his room ready, but it is by no means where I would like it to be. There are lots of books, copies, and materials unrelated to math or science in all of the shelves around the room. I spent three and a half hours there this morning and am not even close to having my new classroom how I want it... I have a feeling the upcoming week will be long!

I will be teaching my last day of science lab on Monday. I am really going to miss my students. Even though they were bad at times, they quickly grow on you. From the "I love you Mr. Swartz's" and "bye's" when they leave the classroom; to the loud yelling of "Good morning (or afternoon) Mr. Swartz" when they first come into the classroom, it will be hard to have new classes already. I will be modeling my procedures and what science lab looks like to the teacher I will be replacing in 5th grade, as my old job will be his new role.

Tuesday will be my first day teaching science and math to 5th grade. I will have my own homeroom of 5th grade students and will have a completely different schedule for my school day.

I am a little bit stressed right now...

Time to Breath

I never thought I would be happy to say that my school started before Labor Day, but it worked out great.

I am finished with my first two weeks of teaching, which are getting a little bit better compared to day one, but still not too great. In teaching, there are "good days" and "bad days," "good classes" and "bad classes," I am just hoping I can continue to have them all shifting more towards the positive. It seems as if it only takes one student to dismantle a classroom that is seemingly going perfect... as I become a better teacher, I hope this isn't always the case.

It was great to have the extra day this weekend. I was able to get some of the paper work that has been piling up on my desk at home sorted out. I am taking night classes at the University of St. Thomas in Houston on Tuesday nights and have to take an Alternative Certification Program (ACP) course on Monday nights so I had all kinds of information from both of them. My week is pretty full between school, St. Thomas graduate classes, the ACP program, and random Teach For America (TFA) events/workshops.

I still don't feel like I have a very good system down for managing all of my work, but hopefully, over time, I will be able to organize everything so I can be efficient and effective with my time. I am sure many of you have noticed that I have not been keeping up with my blogging, but that is mainly due to my inability to manage my workload right now.

Well, I have to get back to planning for the rest of the day. It is 9:15 and I have already been at school for about 3 hours. I got here a little earlier today to try and get organized for the week. At 7:30am I ate breakfast with my preschoolers (PK) class. We ate and then sang a few songs before their homeroom teacher picked them up at 8:15am. That is the only time I see PK now during the day.

Our schedule has been adjusted so they have "science" at the same time they are eating breakfast. Today I taught them "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" to help them learn the parts of the body. We sang in both English and Spanish. Thanks to two years in Mrs. Entzi's Spanish class I was able to teach them in both languages without any problems. I think the other teachers were pretty impressed since they know I don't know any Spanish... haha

Back to work... 5 classes left to teach today, and then class tonight. I should be home around 8:30pm.

Take care,
- Joe

First Day of School - Nobody Said It Would Be Easy

But Nobody Said It Would Be This Hard!

Pushing, shoving, hitting, choking, punching, standing on desks, jumping off desks, and running out of the classroom to "go home"...

I have been through a lot of training these past three months, but nothing covered a lot of the events that were to happen on my first day of school at Berry Elementary School.

I arrived woke up at 5:30am to get ready for school. I showered, shaved, ironed my clothes, and took care of the other morning necessities before rushing out the door. I felt very prepared and excited for my first day of school with students at my full time placement.

Training with my school members has gone really well over the last two weeks so I was confident that today would be a good day. I feel like we have a very good team of teachers and administrators at Berry who are committed to the students, but no matter how great your teachers are; the students may have other plans for you...

I thought I was prepared...
I arrived at school around 6:45am. My commuted had went rather smoothly. I left a little bit later than expected because on the way out the door I decided I better grab an English muffin to make sure I had enough energy for the morning. My first class didn't start till 7:30am so I took the time to make sure both my room and myself were prepared for the day.

My first class went really well. At Berry all students are served breakfast (most in their first period classrooms). I was pleasantly surprised that teachers also get breakfast at Berry! It is nothing special, but it just added about ten minutes to the amount I get to sleep each night.

By the time all of the parents had left the first grade classroom I was teaching in and all students had eaten breakfast, there wasn't much time to teach. On the first day of school it is a pretty slow start to the day. Parents are seemingly everywhere in the building. The hallways are crowded with crying students, parents trying to sneak out without their children noticing, and some parents that the students can't wait till they leave (usually in the older grades).

After first grade I was able to go back to my classroom for planning time. The first week of school I will be teaching first grade in their homeroom class to help with their adjustment to school. For some of these students, it is their first time in the school building so it can be hard on them.

9:35 is the time that fifth grade comes to my classroom. There is a big change between fifth grade and first. I spent my planning time trying to plan ahead and making sure that I didn't talk to the 5th graders like they were first graders. They are the "big kids" of the school. Fifth grade is a funny year... as the students made they way to my classroom I couldn't help but notice that most of the girls are much taller than the boys in this grade. It made me laugh to myself a little. Despite the height/maturity differences, my fifth grade class was great an behaved very well.

10:40-11:00 is my lunch time. This seems like a pretty early time to eat lunch. I wasn't really even that hungry after eating two breakfasts, but I ate anyway... I am starting to grow attached to my microwave meals. The "steamers" from Healthy Choice aren't too bad.

The afternoon was to be my downfall.

3rd grade made their way to my room at 11:10. I don't really even remember having third grade in my classroom. I am not sure if it was good or bad, but it must be good. I do remember smiling when they entered and when they left so it must be a good sign.

12:10 is the time that I would like you to stop what you are doing and say a little pray for me... this is the time that my kindergartners come to my classroom. You can pray for patience, a good classroom, some type of magic that allows students to listen to me, or whatever you would like... after today, anything would help.

"THE CLASS"

My kindergartners didn't make it to my classroom until 12:20pm. I actually went looking for them and met a frazzled teacher in the hallway, trying to heard 24 of the cutest little kids down the hallway. The first thing she said to me was, "be careful, you have a couple runners in this bunch." I wasn't sure what that meant, but I put two and two together and figured that some of her students had tried to run away from the class earlier in the day. The teacher, an assistant, and myself slowly walked the students to my classroom on the other side of the school. Once at my classroom, they wished me "good luck." They are only kindergartners, how how could it be I though...

Once the students were in my room it was just me... and 24 students that used to be really cute. I told the students to take their seats (at this age, you don't ask). About 15 of the 24 did. I was able to talk to the other students and ended up with about 19 students in their chairs. The other six moved quickly around the room exploring everything it had to offer.

A couple ran behind my desk. One immediately opened the cage to my Walking Sticks (bugs) to play with them. One had his hand in the Meal Worm cage (kinda like grub worms, used to study the life cycle). A the other two immediately began fighting over a chair. I attended to the fighters first. Who I was able to calm down, but as soon as I turned my back they were back at it. I had separated them by two desks, but that wasn't enough, the medal folding chair must have held a special place in the hearts of these two boys.

I turned back from closing the Walking Stick cage to attend to the two boys fighting... just in time to see from the corner of my eye that the students that were behind my desk now had my drawers open and were quickly filing through them. I am not sure what they were looking for, but I promise you, there is nothing fun in my file cabinets.

Once I was able to get the students out from behind my desk, the cage closed, and had almost restored the peace in my classroom I heard a statement that no teacher ever wants to hear, "Teacher, a boy is missing!" I said, "What," and began counting the students. I quickly stopped counting as I realized that if someone had left my classroom it was more important to catch them than to let them get any farther from the door. I push the "emergency button" to the office and didn't receive a response (I later found out it was broken). I then yelled to the teach whose trailer is connected to mine that they needed to watch my class.

I ran out the door and found my student running... They had made it down the ramp to my room and just to the other side of the fence. Without hesitation I pick the student up. "What are you doing?" "Where are you going?" I asked in a worried voice. The student looked right back at me and told me, "I'm going home, I have had enough of this for today." I coaxed the student into coming back to my classroom.

As I entered my room, child in my arms, I saw a student standing on top of a table just about to jump off. I looked for the next door teacher to see how this could be. She was trying to pull two boys off each other on the other side of the room. The boy jumped before I could get to him and grazed another student on his way down. The other student returned the favor by placing the jumper in a headlock, which I immediately pulled off and held the students apart.

This was my classroom, not a WWE training facility. I told the neighboring teacher that I needed to take some of these students to the office so we can try get control.

While this was happening I heard my favorite quote from the day. A kindergartener told the neighboring teacher, "I don't have to listen to you, I'm grown." (as in grown up)

I lifted up my jumper, who began to hit me on the back and knee me in the ribs. He did not want to be slowed down by his teacher. I grabbed another student by the hand and said that he needed to come with me. These two students were the main instigators of the chaos. They might not be the only ones, but it would at least help the other ones get under control.

On the way to the office I realized that I had another student that left the room when I did. He wasn't in trouble, but for some reason was following the three of us to the office. At this point I just invited him to come with because it would have been to hard to expose the two who where in trouble to the classroom again.

On the way to the office the boy who was just holding my hand managed to get away and begin running for the fence. I think he could feel that he was going to get in trouble. Luckily the fifth grade class was walking by and one of the fifth graders was able to catch him for me. (I had this student earlier in the day... he might be my new "favorite").

Once at the office the two boys continued their misbehaving. Secretly, I was kinda happy because I didn't want my principal to think I was making things up or I was just blowing things out of proportion. One student told the principal when ask what his name was that he did not have a name. The principal did not think this was funny or the fact that both boys tried to run away as soon as I let them go.

The principal sent two people down to my classroom to help settle down the chaos. It was still a zoo when we got there. It took all four of us (neighboring teacher, two administrative people, and myself) to restore order to the classroom.

Even will all of us there... it was still a struggle. They students were picked up a 1:05pm, I was relieved that they were leaving, but embarrassed at what had just taken place. I was also upset at myself for not being able to control this situation. I have very high expectations for myself and my students and today I definitely did not meet them with my kindergartners.

1:15pm start time for my preschoolers left little time rest before my preschoolers arrived. These students were adorable too, but having been tricked before I wasn't going to let them fool me. My preschool class looked and acted like angels compared to the kindergarten class I just had. They sat and attentively listened the whole class period. We were able to play games, sing songs, and overall have a great day.

At 2:00 we have a fire alarm. I still had my pre-schoolers which meant that the fire alarm would be a challenge. About half-way through class one of my students decided that he wanted his mommy and hung to me, crying in my shirt the rest of the class period. We were sitting on the floor so it wasn't that big of a deal, other than my whole right shoulder getting sopping wet. I hope he is adjusting better tomorrow because my arm is sore from holding him the whole time we were outside for the fire drill (FYI fire drills in over 95 degree weather with preschoolers and no shade is not a good time).

2:15 was the start of my last class of the day. Second grade went well aside from three girls that interrupted class to put on lip gloss. It ended up on my desk and I don't expect to see it tomorrow.

3:10 the day is over... It went very fast. I am tired and will probably be sleeping before 10:00pm tonight. 5:30am comes early and I need to be ready for another long day.

Oh yeah... I have to actually pay for that...

I am finally facing the harsh realities of working all summer and not making any money. I made it through June alright with my TeachForAmerica "relocation money," but as my mailbox begins to actually have mail in it, I am coming to the realization that you actually have to pay the money you spend on your credit cards.

I had never really used credit cards in the past so owing someone money is new to me (well other than students loans - which AmeriCorps will pay the interest on when I am in TeachForAmerica). I can't really stand paying the ridiculous interest rates associated with credit cards today so it looks like I will be tightening up my belt and watching the spending much more diligently until my first pay check arrives.

It is amazing to me how many hidden cost there are to being a teacher, especially when it is your first year. Decorations, pencils, organization tools, white board markers, ect. all of the items that could easily be taken for granted in a school that is fortunate to have resources more readily available to them. Some of my students will come to school on the first day with supplies, but more than likely most will not, and in order to begin learning on day one, I will need to provide those resources. I don't say this to complain, or to look for pity, I just wanted to bring to light the amount of extra costs that go into teaching that some may not realize.

Teachers in Houston get paid well, and I am sure I will be able to live more than comfortably on my salary. I will just need to be sure to budget in some expenses for my kids each month. Seeing how blessed I have been to be raised with a wonderful family and supportive community I have no problem picking up a couple folders and pencils here and there to make sure my kids have the same opportunity to be successful.

First Day at Berry (no students)

So much for the short lived free time... I knew it wouldn't last.

After last weeks training sessions at various Houston Independent School District (HISD) locations, this week training shifts gears.

Today was my first official day at Berry Elementary. Although there will be no students in the classrooms until the 24th, I was still anxious and nervous as I drove to school.

My schedule isn't too bad. I left for school around 7:00 am after getting ready, packing a lunch, and gathering all the materials I felt I would need for the day. Traffic was manageable, it only took me five minutes longer to get to my school than Samantha (my GPS) told me it would (the six plus lanes of traffic both ways helps with the flow I guess). I got to school and was surprised by a free breakfast in the cafeteria and greeted by many smiling faces.

All of the people at my school seem great. There are three other Teach For America (TFA) member at my school, which is comforting. I am the only TFA science lab teacher, but I met my mentor today (who also teaches science lab) and after one day, think she will really help me become a better teacher. She is really nice and willing to help me out.

After a long morning in the cafeteria for more training, I was able to go and see my classroom. I will be teaching in a "temporary classroom" (which is a trailer outside the brick and mortar school). It isn't too bad, expect that I will be teaching my students while they sit in metal folding chairs at folding tables. Encase you are wondering, I don't think this will be ideal for my younger students, especially the kindergartners. I will make it work though, at least we have chairs and tables. We are still working on getting me a computer, overhead, projector... pretty much all other supplies, but I was told that the school might be able to find some of the things that are not their. I thought it was funny when I was told I was missing my Texas flag... I have a feeling that will be the first "new" item in my classroom. :) Anyway, I am excited to have my own classroom and ready to make it a great space for my students, no matter what shortcomings it may have.

On a different note, I saw some students registering for school today. I have a feeling they were pre kindergarten or kindergarten. They were so small! They were adorable. They each looked scared to death about what they were about to get into. Clinging to their parents as mom or dad signed them up for school. They aren't even really sure what they are getting into. I am a little nervous about my youngest students. They are so small, are they going to cry? I am not sure how I am going to deal with students who have trouble adjusting to the classroom... something to add to my list of things to work on.

When I think about it... I am a lot like the little children I saw today. I am sure I walked into the school with a nervous look on my face, scared that I no idea about what I am getting into...
But fortunately for me... I signed myself up.

Training and "Free Time?!?"

The past week has consisted mainly of training. I now have training workshops not only with Teach For America (TFA), but also with the Houston Independent School District (HISD). The HISD training sessions are sometimes useful, but after an entire summer of training with TFA, many of them are as exciting as watching paint dry. You can only image how much fun it is to sit in a cafeteria for six to eight hours a day listening to someone talk about teacher assessment criteria...

Other than the necessary evil of employee and teacher training sessions I have been able to experience something new... free time! I finally have had a chance to organize my closet, cupboards, fridge ect. For those of you that know me, this was a huge accomplishment and a big step in helping to maintain my sanity. For anyone that is wondering, yes, my clothes are organised by color (and function).

With free time also comes a social life, which has been a great addition to my life here in Houston. A member of TFA had people over the other night to their rental house. It was great to see everyone outside of the "business professional" realm of training and just hang out a little.

Next week looks like it will be more of the same... training, training, training...

James Berry Elementary School

I have my placement! I will be teaching Pre-Kindergarden through 5th grade science lab at James Berry Elementary School in the Fall. The "Berry Bees" are part of the Houston Independent School District and located almost directly north of downtown Houston.

The link that follows provides a little bit more information about Berry Elementary School.

The school is about a 15 minute drive from my apartment without traffic, which should be great. I guess traffic gets really bad in Houston so I will update you on my commute once school starts.

Other than that, I am back in the swing of things here. I have "Round Zero" right now with TeachForAmerica. It is more training to bridge the gap between institute (which I just finished) and actual training with my school. During this training we are focusing on developing goals, long-term plans, and classroom management procedures for the classes we will be teaching this upcoming school year.

My first day with students will be August 24th!

Apology

I would like to say "sorry" to anyone who started reading my blog just to be disappointed that I faded out just when things were starting to get good...

I quickly became too busy with institute work, finding a place to live, and weddings to be able to keep the blog updated.

After the completion of summer school I went back home to Minnesota and realized that there were a couple people reading this... so for them, I will do a much better job of keeping things updated from now on.

- Joe

Everyone Passed!

Sorry to ruin the suspense with the title, but I couldn’t help but letting you know right away…

All of my 6^th grade students will be in seventh grade next year! On the surface, this doesn’t seem like that big of an accomplishment… as seventh is the logical grade to come after sixth grade. Well for my students this hasn’t always been the case. To be 15 and in 6th grade, means that there have been times when the next grade does not simply follow the one you just finished.

In Texas there are promotion tests that students need to pass in order to move on to the next grade (I am not 100% sure how they work, but I do know that sixth grade is one of the major testing years for students). Although there are circumstances where students are able to move on without passing all of the subjects of their promotion tests, most of the time these tests help to determine the students readiness for the next grade.

In my classroom, none of my students passed their test the first time they took it during the regular school year. This time, they were all able to pass!

I am not going to say that there is some direct correlation between my students passing and my teaching… but somehow, all of my students were able to pass. It could have just been someone believing in them and telling them that he knows they are going to do well that was enough to help them get the score they needed. It could have been the 10 minute lecture about going to bed the night before the test and getting to school in time to eat breakfast so they can do their best. I am not really sure, but whatever it was it worked.

LETTING THE STUDENTS KNOW

I found out my test scores at the beginning of the day on our last day of school, but I wasn’t able to tell my students because they were to get their folders with all of their scores in it in their last period class. It was hard not to tell them, as they all seemed slightly on edge, worried about whether or not they were going to pass. They asked me a couple times and I had to lie and say that I didn’t know…

At the end of the day two students ran up to me before leaving for the summer… “meester… meester… meester,” they said. “We did it! We passed the test!” I couldn’t believe how excited these two students were about something school related. All summer they were two of my hardest students to get engaged or even to get them to keep their head up off their desk. Their excitement turned quickly to a little bit of anger, “You knew the whole time didn’t you!” I just smiled. “Man, why you gotta play games like that… I have been scared the whole day,” they answered back. I looked up and congratulated both of my students and wished them a good summer. They caught me off guard when they looked back and offered a simple “thank you.”

I am not entirely able to do justice to that moment in writing, but it is those moments that make all of the hard work worth it!

Fire Alarm!

Someone pulled the fire alarm today at lunch...

Initially I was pretty nervous. None of the students were in the classroom and with everyone being on edge the last couple weeks about the gang activity, I wasn't excited about what was about to happen.

The mass of students leaving the caffeteria and courtyard area was chaos, but suprisingly everyone made it outside and to the other side of the parking lot, just like it stated would happen in the manual. The students went back into their groups (almost completely divided by race and then another division by gang affliation).**

The groups of students stood, rather peacefully, for the entire length of the fire alarm. It seemed like we were outside forever. It was in the upper nineties here today with a high humidity. The little room under the trees nearby was filled by the students and the teachers needed to "stand gaurd" out in the sun. I think I was more ready to get back inside when the alarm was over than the students...

The only thing I didn't really understand about this whole event was why the student pulled the fire alarm. No fights took place, no classes were missed (well some time out of third period, but mainly lunch time), and the student didn't get out of a test). Honestly, who pulls the fire alarm at lunch time?!?

**I do want to make a note... not ALL of the students that go to Sharpstown are involved in gang activities. I want to make sure that people are aware of this. It does seem as if there is a very high percentage of students who are involved, but I do know that some are not. Also, there are a lot of good kids that go to this school... so please do not feel that any of the students are in anyway "bad kids." Some of them have made bad decisions, but they all are, or have the potential to be, great students.