Can You Hear Me Now?

The million dollar question is "how will I get my kids to read MORE?" We have a 30 book challenge, and I'm pulling my hair trying to think of ways to get my students to take reading serious. I almost cried like a wuss today!  I take my kids excelling just that serious.  We have to teach our kids that they will get nowhere, and nowhere fast without the ability to read and comprehend.  I even made up a story about a person that didn't get a large lump sum of money, because they couldn't read and understand the documents that were sent to them.  I sure hope I remember that story when they ask me about it again, because I know they will!  However, I hope and pray that none of them grow up to be "that person".  I'm teaching kids to read like my life is depending on it, because their lives are depending on it!

As apart of the reading challenge, students who have read at least 10 books by now will be invited to a school dance.  Have you ever been to a middle school dance?  I've been to two.  The first one was when I was in middle school. I was in 6th grade to be exact.  A boy  came up to me to dance, and the only move I could think of was the "Humpty Dance".  I wasn't good at thinking on my toes when I was 11.  I was so shy, so school dances had me scared out of my mind.  The second one was as a teacher.  Well, those kids where doing more than the "Humpty Dance", and that had me even more scared out of my mind.  So, I will be policing readers next week at the dance.  I'll be happy if they did the "Humpty Dance".  The dances these days make the "Humpty" look like the "Charleston"!!

I told one of my students to stop making noise.  He had been making this noise repeatedly, but insisted that it wasn't him.  So, I gave him "that look", after the last time he made it.  He said, "Oh My God".  Then he said, "God help me".  I told him that I was glad that he knows who to call on when he needs help.  He replied, "Yep, because I know God".  Out of the mouth of babes!

I always joke around my school, "how can you tell a (name of school) teacher?", by the number of phones they carry.....LOL...  Well, today we got cool phones from by Verizon... We received the Blackberry Bold. I turned mine off, because I haven't figured out how lock the darn blast thing!  How many degree does it take to lock a Blackberry??

Educationally Yours,
T.W.T