I nevur Make misteaks.

My third year, my tenth year, and my eleventh year.


The third year was by far the worst incident of the three. About 20 minutes before the kids arrived, I turned on all nine sinks and sat down to get some work done. (Science teachers in my school had to do this every couple of weeks to keep some foul smell from making its way out of the drains). The sound of nine running sinks filled the room - loud, although somewhat relaxing. After about 7 or 8 minutes, I got up from my desk to shut them off...

My tenth and eleventh years involved incidents nearly identical to each other. A new project-based curriculum involved 7th grade science students growing basil hydroponically - without soil. (Pretty cool - learn more here). Plants were to be suspended in nutrient solution, which would flow from tank to tank via pumps. Anyway, I helped one of our 7th grade teachers set up her pumps just in time for her first class of the day...

Those were the three times I flooded classrooms.

The tenth and eleventh years were minor, as far as floods are concerned. They were cleaned up in a matter of minutes, although there were kids in the room both times. My third year was a very different story. Unbeknownst to me, a couple of the sinks had paper towels left in them, which clogged the drains. That year, I didn't flood one classroom - I flooded two. Mine was cleaned up and ready to use that day. The one below me was out of commission for about a week. (Did you know that ceiling tiles fall down, one by one, when soaked with water?).

I like to tell stories like these at the start of the school year.
"Hey kids, don't worry if you make a mistake in here. Listen to this."

Seven Years.

"Would anyone like more time on the quiz?"

Silence.
"Ok. Please circle the first letter of your first name and pass up your quiz."
"Why do you always make us circle the first letter of our first name?"
"To make sure there's a name."

Seven years.

That little gem took me seven years to figure out.

Once in a while, just to keep things fresh, I'll switch to the second letter. Or the last letter. When I'm feeling really zany, I'll switch the circle to a box. Or even an underline.
That's right - an underline. 

Watch out, kids. Today's a crazy day.

Now, every class has asked me (multiple times) why I have them do that. I always give the same response, word for word: 

"To make sure there's a name."

The class then gives me the sterotypical, "Oooooooohhhhhhh."
Then one student raises his or her hand, and in a concerned voice says, "I accidentally circled the second letter. Is that ok?"

I love middle school.

 Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

I am a Sucker

I took a note the other day.

It doesn't happen often.
I don't know if that means that there aren't many kids passing notes, or if it means that they're way better at passing them than I am at spotting them. Either way, it doesn't happen often. Maybe four or five times a year.

But this note was a special one. The receiver REALLY didn't want to give it up. And this was a good kid. A rule-following kid. As I walked towards her, she quickly stuck both hands under her desk, confirming that she had the note. I stuck my hand out.

"Give it to me, please."
"What?"
"Give it to me, please."
"Give what?"

We were off to a great start. Normally (which I guess means the three or four other times per year), after the second, "Give it to me, please," the student presents a defeated face and hands the note over. I then stick it in my back pocket and forget about it until I'm emptying my pockets when I get home. But this time, she didn't.

"The note that's in your hand. Give it to me, please."
"What note?"
"The one that's in your hand." 
(Blank stare).

By now, my interest is piqued. This is a special note. Something she really feels she can't give to me.

"This will be much worse if you don't give it to me. Please give me the note."
"She gave it to me," pointing to her friend. So much for loyalty. 
"Give me the note, please."

Finally, it ends. I get the defeated face, and I'm presented with the note. 
I put it in my back pocket, as usual. And, as usual, by the time class ends, I forget about it.

Until I get home and empty my pockets.
I reach into my back pocket for a pad of sticky notes I had also forgotten about, and I feel the note. 

It is time.

I de-crumple the note. It's really small, written in pencil, and a little smudged after its day in my pocket. I can barely read it, but I hold it close to my face and decipher:

I will bring Just Dance and Just Dance 2 for Wii. It will be a great party! 

I am a sucker.

Like Brainteasers?

So do middle school kids.

Sometimes, when we finish a couple of minutes early, I like to do a couple with the class.

I've been using the same ones for several years, and it's interesting to see how quickly (if at all) the kids can figure them out. A few of my favorites follow. Now, I know that the Google search bar is just a few inches up, but no cheating!

(Don't worry - answers included below)! 

Feel free to post your favorites!

________________________________________________________________________

Truth-Tellers and Lie-Tellers
You're walking through the woods, and you come to a fork in the path. You know that one direction leads to the Truth-Teller Village (where everyone always tells the truth), and the other leads to the Lie-Teller Village (where everyone always lies). At the fork in the road is an old man. You don't know whether he is a Truth-Teller or a Lie-Teller, but you are allowed to ask him one question. Your goal is to reach the Truth-Teller Village.
What question do you ask? 

________________________________________________________________________

 
The Pattern

Take a look at the pattern to the left.
What comes next?

I love the "Ooooohhhhhhhhh," I get from kids on this one.





________________________________________________________________________

 
 Pennies
 
Given the arrangement of pennies to the right,
move exactly one penny and create one row
and one column each containing exactly four pennies.



 _________________________________________________________________________

And, the mother of them all...

1 11 21 1211

Given the following pattern, what is the next line?

1

11

21

1211

After a couple of minutes, I usually tell the kids that...
1. The math involved isn't anything a kindergartner couldn't do.
2. I never figured it out. Someone had to tell me (although I tried it for two weeks).
3. Just for fun, I usually tell them the next line - 111221 - and ask for the one after that.
    (It goes on forever) 

_________________________________________________________________________

Brainteaser Answers

Truth-Tellers and Lie-Tellers

You ask, "Which way to your village?"

A Truth-Teller tells the truth and points toward the Truth-Teller village.

A Lie-Teller tells a lie and points toward the Truth-Teller village.   

 

The Pattern

Given the image
to the left, I think
we can declare
this one solved!

Pennies

 

Place the uppermost
penny directly on top
of the center penny.

Four across, four down!   

1 11 21 1211

This is a "say what you see pattern.

Each line, when read out loud, describes the line immediately above it:

                             1 

                            11             "One 1"

                            21             "Two 1's"

                        1211          "One 2, One 1"

                      111221       "One 1, One 2, Two 1's" 

So, the next line would be...312211

That's, "Three 1's, Two 2's, One 1" 

Sometimes, it's Ok to Lie.

It was early in my teaching career.


Photo Credit: Evan-Amos as a
part of Vanamo Media

A student with some severe social, emotional, and anger issues was moved into my class after some trouble with another teacher. It wasn't the teacher's fault, but the student seemed to like her a little too much, and after he started petting her arm, the move was made. Although he has reached adulthood by now, let's call him Brian.

When I was told of the schedule change, I was understandably nervous, although I didn't let it show. Brian was notoriously known by every staff member (and probably most students). I was still a relatively inexperienced teacher, although at that time, I didn't realize how inexperienced I was. Still, I had an idea. When Brian came in, I decided to give it a try.


"Hi, are you joining the class today?"
"Yes."
"Great! What school are you coming from?"

With that, Brian stopped. He looked at me like I was out of my mind.
"This isn't my new school. I go here."
"Oh yeah, that's right. Anyway, I'm glad you're here. Why don't you take a seat right there and I'll be over to talk to you in a minute."

Brian walked over and took his seat, making about five students uncomfortable in the process. After getting the class going, I went over to make sure everything was going ok.

"Hey, so how is your first day going so far? I know it can be hard to change schools."
"This isn't my first day - I told you already."
"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. Anyway, is this seat ok for you?"

I repeated this one or two more times over the course of the next 40 minutes, stopping short of pushing Brian over the edge. At the end of the period, I asked Brian to stay after class for a minute and decided to take one last risk.

"I just wanted to let you know how well you did today. I know how hard it can be to switch schools."
"I've BEEN at the school all year." A little tense.
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting. Anyway, I'd like to call your house and let your parents know how well you did. Is that ok?"

And with that, I won Brian over. He came in the next day, and asked if I could call his house again. I told him I'd be happy to call when I had a good reason to. I honestly don't remember if I ever called again. Now, I'm not saying that Brian behaved perfectly in my class, because he didn't. But I can say that I can't remember a single incident in particular, and he was with me for the rest of the year.

My point is this: As a middle school teacher, students should not see you as their friend. It is, however, imperative that they think you like them, and hopefully you do, as building relationships with students is the name of the game. My interactions with Brian gave him a chance to make a fresh start with a teacher who appeared to be happy to have him in class. During the middle school years, kids are acutely aware and impacted by what they believe others think of them

Sometimes, it's ok to lie.

Gross! (and Awesome) Lab

One of the messiest, grossest, and BEST labs that I have - Oobleck!

With very simple materials, students can create this strangely behaving non-Newtonian fluid. It acts like a liquid when handled slowly, but solidifies when handled quickly! (I usually use it in my middle school classroom to teach about atomic/molecular motion in solids and liquids).

A day or two day ago, I uploaded the lab to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
(See it here - there's a free downloadable preview).

Due to some curriculum and grade level changes, I haven't had the opportunity to do this lab with my classes in a couple of years, but looking it over reminded me what a great learning experience it is - I've had kids come back to me years later and still remember it.

Below are some videos (not of me or my class) showing Oobleck's strange behavior. 
Think you know how it works? The first three comments on this post get the lab and key for free! (Please leave your email address in the comment, or email it to me separately if you'd prefer).

Oobleck on a Speaker

Mythbusters Making (and Trying to Walk Across) Oobleck

 

There's also a recipe that involves glue and Borax.

 I haven't used it, but I know others who have:

Cool Science Tricks

Today, I wanted to share some of the cool science that my class has been doing. 
(Although these particular videos aren't from my classroom, they showcase the science).
Enjoy!



Egg in Vinegar
When the egg is dissolved in vinegar, the shell dissolves, but leaves the inner membrane in tact. Besides being cool in general, it's a great example of diffusion - Certain fluids (and small solids) can pass through the membrane.

"Blowing Out" a Candle
When baking soda and vinegar are mixed, they create and invisible gas - carbon dioxide gas (the same stuff you breathe out). This gas is denser than air, and can be poured just like water. 

Decomposition of Water
Electric current breaks water into hydrogen and oxygen gas! The salt is to help the mixture conduct electricity. (A lab similar to this is available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store). 

 

Please share any cool or interesting science from your class!

A Bad Lesson

I like interviews.

I like them so much that, when my close teacher friends go on interviews, I always ask about questions and how they answered them. I'm not exactly sure why - it's probably because I like talking about teaching. Some of my friends indulge me, others don't.

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine went on an interview for a teaching/department head job. I've been the head of a science department for six years now, so I was especially curious as to the questions they asked. I also wanted to think about how I would answer them.

 I only remember one of the questions. When she told it to me, I secretly thought, "Ohhh, I have a good answer for this one." Then, when she told me her answer, it made me stop thinking that. Her answer was better than mine. A lot better.

The question was, "What would you do if you observed a teacher in your department and saw a bad lesson?" It's a pretty simple, straightforward question. How would you answer it?


At the time, I probably would have said something like, "Well, I hope that I would have already formed a relationship with this teacher, and that I would have a good idea of whether this was an normal lesson or an outlier for them. Then I would discuss it with the teacher, asking them to reflect on the lesson."

My friend didn't say that.

She said, "Can you explain what you mean by a 'bad lesson'?"

That made me stop and think. Describing a lesson as a "bad lesson" really doesn't get at what the purpose of the lesson is. Looking back on it, it really isn't such a great question. The interviewer explained that by "bad lesson," she was referring to a classic, boring "sage on a stage" type lesson that didn't usually engage the kids.

So, what makes a bad lesson?

My friend continued, "I'd have to find out if the kids were learning. As long as the kids are learning, I don't know that I'd call it a bad lesson, so I'd need more information as to why or what parts of the objective were not learned."
This was a great answer - if I had been interviewing her, it would have been a HUGE plus in my notes. (She did not, however, get the job. Their loss).

Anyway, this makes a very important point - lessons and teachers should be assessed by the results they produce. Any lesson that efficiently progresses students toward a worthwhile objective is by definition an excellent one.

While teachers, as professionals, should be willing to try new things and grow our skills, we make a huge mistake when we judge lessons and teachers based on teaching strategies alone. A teacher that lectures students regularly is not necessarily doing a bad job, nor is a teacher regularly using student-centered strategies doing a necessarily good one - or vice versa.

Any teacher that effectively builds relationships with kids and consistently effects learning is good enough for me.

There They Were Again - Kissing.

Do you remember middle school? I do. 

Every morning, I got off the bus and walked towards my suburban New York middle school. I waited outside until the first bell (we had to wait outside until the first bell). I walked through the hall on my way to my locker, hoping it would be clear. 

But every morning, it wasn't. Every morning, they were standing there, leaning against my locker, kissing.
Not just smooching, or pecking, but full-on, make-out kissing. Looking back on it, I'm not sure why nobody stopped them - we don't even let kids hold hands in my current middle school - but that wasn't my perspective then. Back then, I remember that every morning, it was my job to awkwardly interrupt them so that I could get to my locker and put my jacket away. (Yeah, I was interrupting them).

Thinking back on it, there's probably no way that this happened every morning, or that it was even close to as bad as I remember, but that's how I remember it. It's funny to think about.

Now, every morning, I get out of my car and enter school at around 6:30am, walk through empty halls, open my room, turn on the coffee maker, and get myself ready for the day's lesson. (Don't pretend you're not impressed with how far I've come). But as a middle school student, I don't remember thinking on the way to school about the lessons I would probably experience that day. I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I definitely don't remember it. And I didn't have especially bad teachers - there were even some good and excellent ones in there.

I'm pretty sure that the reason I didn't think about it was because I was twelve years old, and I had other things on my mind. Like if Jared and Emma would be in front of my locker. Kissing.

So that's the kind of stuff I try to remember now. Somehow, I have to wade through all of this middle school stuff and teach 30 kids four times a day what an endoplasmic reticulum does. And the funny thing is, I'm good at it. I even enjoy the middle school stuff now, and I enjoy helping current twelve year olds find their ways through it.

Do you remember middle school?