Thank Goodness for the Bill of Rights

     Lets talk about the Bill of Rights... “Ms. Silverstein, does that mean I can get me a gun?”…well Omar I wouldn’t suggest it…this just means that we have the right to own a gun” haha! Hey Ms. “Does that man like in the movies when they show up at your house and say We Got a Warrant!” Yes, Vanessa that is what search and seizure means. As you can tell by my some of the comments in class today the kids were really excited about learning about history instead of English. Class actually went well and then kids were engaged. I did have one girl named Veronica refuse to do what I asked her to do or work in a group…I almost had to throw her out of class.

I was so proud because I let them work in groups which can get rowdy and they made such good posters about all ten of the Bill of Right and put them in their own words and draw pictures and I was so proud of their posters! It stinks because just when the kids start to like me and open up we have out last day tomorrow. The kids are really excited because they reached their class goal of 50 points. So tomorrow we are having a class party and playing educational games. I have to go to target tonight and get some cookies, and juice boxes, and chips and stuff for the party.

     I am getting my fingerprints taken on Friday afternoon for my new job, every teacher has to get it done and then I am hoping to go down to Galveston Beach for the night and come back to Rice late on Saturday. I don’t have a car so I’m just kinda going along with other people’s plans. Today’s theme song on the way to school was “The Dog Day’s Are Over” by Florence and the Machine. On the way back to rice I jammed out to “E.T. (Featuring Kanye West and Katy Perry). Still waiting on some new song suggestions…

    I hope everyone else is doing well. I can’t believe I only have 10 days left at institute! It has gone by fast but slow. I have been pushed really hard and I am definitely ready for a little break before I start full time with my own class in the fall. I feel a lot more prepare to teach which is good and I miss my family and can’t wait to see yall!

Love,

Molly

"I'm a Survivor...i'm not gonna give up i'm gonna make it!"

     The test is over and now all I have to do is WAIT on the scores to come in but the good thing is that it is no longer in my hands anymore. It was so weird on Sunday to wake up and not have to immediately start studying. All of the sudden I had some free time and guess what…I was BORED. I am so use to going a million miles per  hour that I could not decide what do with myself! Crazy. So on Saturday night a bunch of us went to a restaurant called 100 percent Taquitos and watch the Mexico vs. U.S. soccer game. The entire restaurant was going for Mexico…we stood out! Then we went out on the town in Rice Village. It was fun to go out without worrying about waking up early to study haha. On Sunday I went to the gym and laid out at the pool for like two hours. Then I had about a week and half worth’s of laundry to do so I decide to tackle that chore. I ended up playing volleyball later in the afternoon and made it to bed by 11 last night…it was a first.

    Today my kids were taking their post assessment test so I didn’t have to teach but did have to be there to proctor the test. I will be teaching the rest of the week and my last day at school is on Thursday. Hard to believe my time at Patrick Henry is almost up. I have to print a bunch of papers and handouts tonight as well as make some posters and chart paper for my Tuesday and Thursday lesson. I was able to talk to Angel yesterday and she said that she had the TIME of her life and I was so glad to hear that her trip went well. If you haven’t looked at her picture on Facebook take some time to check it out. I want to go to Scotland!

    I’m trying to decide what I am going to do for the 4^th of July because people are wanting to get out of Houston and have an adventure. I don’t know what my plans are because it is hard to not have a car here. There has been some talk about going to Austin but then there is finding a place to stay and all that…I will keep you updated on my plans. I wish I could come to lake but we have to be ready to work on Tuesday Morning. We don’t even get Friday off. So really it is just a three day weekend, but that’s better than nothing!

    I received a lovely email from Uncle Headley and Mrs. Nancy and they had such encouraging words for me. I love getting emails from yall and also knowing what yall are up to. It is also nice to know that I have people praying for me because I sure know I need it!

Oh and today on the bus ride home I listened to Destiny’s Child “I’m a Survivor” it was such a pump up song! Let me know if you have any other pump up songs I can listen to on the bus on the way to and from Rice.

Check it out!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_RVId9OkgI

Love,

Molly

Patrick Henry Middle School's Patriot of the Week for LEADERSHIP goes to...Molly Silverstein

     Thursday was probably my best day teaching so far, which is odd because it was the day I felt least prepared for since I’ve been trying to prioritize study for my test on Saturday. The kids were relatively well behaved and I was able to let them work in groups without the class completely falling apart! I got about 4 and ½ of sleep last night so I feel a little bit better but I am really going to focus on studying and getting some sleep the next two days, plus I really need to go for a run. I haven’t been able to since Sunday because of the weather (its been raining here a lot) and because I honestly haven’t had the time. Lauren seem to be busy taking on a new role as “wedding planner” for her friend this weekend. The nerve of some people …haha. I officially signed my lease online last night and set up the delivery times for all my furniture that I have gotten. Tonight I have mandatory study hall all night but I’m glad because we are not allowed to lesson plan during this time so it is good for me because I can really focus. Everyone keeps telling me that they are buying me a drink after my test on Saturday because the third week of teaching is the hardest and to have a test at the end of the week on top of that is just overwhelming. I’m looking forward to getting the test over with. I don’t know exactly when Angel returns from her trip to Scotland but I am so excited to hear about everything she and David got to do while they were over there!  Lets see, I want to hear what everyone else is up to this weekend. I can’t believe how quickly the 4^th of July is approaching? What is everyone’s official plans to celebrate I wish I could come to the lake!

      So I told this to Mom on the phone last night but yesterday I one of our sessions we were watching fellow colleagues who were doing great things in there classroom and they wanted us to watch the videos and comment on them. Well when I was observed on Monday apparently do very well at the Behavioral Management Cycle so in the middle of the session we watched a video of ME in my classroom implementing this cycle. I was happy that I was being noticed for my hard work but was not prepared for the entire school to see me on camera. I turned bright red!!!! I also said right at the end of my video “Awww Yeah! We got 16 Class points” so now everyone that sees me says “Aww yeah!”. It was actually really funny.  Brendon, a fellow 8^th grade teacher turned to me and I was wearing a coral cardigan and was like, “Molly, oh my gosh, your face is the color of your sweater”…it stayed that way for about the next 30 minutes.

    Today, on Friday morning we were in session and at the end they give out awards for the week based on different values that teach for America drills into your head and guess who received their first award ever!!! I got the award for Patrick Henry’s Leadership Award for this past week! I got an actual certificate and everything. I was really excited because I didn’t think I would every get an award…its kinda a big deal to be recognized in front of everyone. So at least my hard work is paying off. Okay well tomorrow is a BIG DAY I need everyone to please be praying for me today and especially tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. when I sit down to take my test. I need you to pray for me to be calm, confidence in what I know, and making smart answer choices! I can’t WAIT for this test to be over! Love you and I will let you all know how the test goes!!!

Love,

Molly

P.S. Here is the note I got from my Leader This week, “ Molly, Great us of previous posters in your classroom. I do think your review was needed and that your students are being set up for success because of it. Good job fixing behaviors and giving consequences when needed :)” -Eric

Middle of the Week...

I woke up with a slight tingle in my throat which wasn’t a good sign because it has now turned into a cough. I don’t think the fact that I’m getting very little sleep is helping the fact that I’m getting sick. I’m trying to drink a ton of water because I really can’t afford to be sick on Saturday when I take my test. Mom was nice enough to try and get me something called in to the CVS here because I think it is a sinus infection. Oh well just got to push through it. My class actually went well today, as in I didn’t have to give out any lunch detentions!!! We were comparing the written version of Martin Luther King Jr’s speech to the audio version. I did a little background buildup of the Civil Rights movement and then I broke the class up into groups to work on their worksheets and Venn diagrams. I still have two more lesson’s to do tonight, plus I have to re-write my lesson plan for tomorrow and still find some time to study for my test. I could use all the prayers I can get for this test. I am determined to try and have a positive attitude walking into the test and then once it is over I will be so relieved. I am making sure that I go to bed super early on Friday so I don’t fall asleep during the test. I hear Dad is out of town and I’m sure the dogs are missing him. Love yall  but I got a lot to do tonight.

Love,
Molly

Hey Molly!...You okay...You look kinda tired...

     It’s hard for your brain to function when your roommates alarm clock goes off at 2:30, 3:45, and then 5:30, interrupting your limited 5 hours of sleep the night before you are being observed by your group leader. I love Emily but I think we were both ready to throw her alarm clock out the window because it seemed to be possessed. Then we overslept our actual alarm and thank goodness I work up at 6:15 and was calmy said, “Emily don’t freak out but we have to be on the bus in 15 minutes. I got ready in about 2 minutes and then had to head down to grab breakfast and pack my lunch! Not to b negative Nancy but today was not best day in the classroom. I had so many people in there observing me that my brain just got so flustered and I kept losing my train of thought. I also have now had 3 students pulled from my class and kicked out of summer school because of behavioral problems. So I have lost Eric, then Anthony, and now Edwin. I am slightly relieved because it takes away some of the classroom behavior but I feel bad that yet again these kids get the shaft in their education. I am trying to teach the kids to compare and contrast two different text right now..hopefully tomorrow will go better. I have meeting tonight at 5:30, which is literally when I step off the bus, then 6:00-6:45, and finally mandatory study hall from 7:00-9:00 and then its time to work on lesson plans for the next day and the two more that I have due on Thursday!!!! Yay!!!! I have also been told twice today that I look really tired…aka…not lookin so great. Anyways got to get back to work. NO time to waste. Love you.

Love,

Molly

Wistle While You Work...

Sorry it has taken me so long to blog but I have just been so busy lesson planning and study for my test that I have this Friday. I went out on the town Friday night and had fun, but woke up early on Saturday to get some work done. I ended up playing beach volleyball for a couple of hours which is really intense in this Texas heat. I stayed in on Saturday night and worked and did laundry and tried to get some sleep. I was sad on Sunday when I woke up and wasn’t able to give Dad a hug but I called him on my way to church. Some friends and I went to this church that you can walk to from campus and it was alright. They were very welcoming and it was good to get back into going church…I can’t remember the last time I’ve been. I came back from church and literally worked till 12 o’clock that night and then I made myself go to sleep but I didn’t sleep well at all because I was so nervous about teaching today. 
    I got an email from my leader last night and it said, “ Hey Molly, Melva asked for CMs (core members) that were doing well on the behavior management cycle and I gave her your name! You do well with giving directions and then narrating who is actually doing the directions you gave. You also do well with correcting student that are not doing what you asked (Ms. Andrus says so as well). With that said, Melva wants to video tape CM’s that do this well (the BMC) and I picked you for our team. She will be in Monday to see you in action if that is ok! She plans to video tape…that is not the day I am observing you by the way. Thanks! –Eric”. So with that email in my head I was so worried about being on camera and having my kids act out but everything went well today and guess what we have a board in our Teach For America Headquarters at Patrick Henry called the “Patrick Henry All-Star Patriots” and my name is on the board twice for being good at “managing student practice” and “Reinforcing Rules and Consequences”. It is nice to have your name in a start up on a bulletin board!!! This week is going to be crazy because my lesson plans are getting to be more intense and I am trying to fit in time to study for my test on Saturday. It will be so nice to get that over with. Today went well and I am just tired but you learn to just push through it and get your work done. Tomorrow I am being observed again and then have a bunch of meetings and study sessions to go to. The kids have been alright, they are still acting out but I am getting better and managing them even though it is so annoying when you are trying to talk and they won’t stop talking. I hope that I am impacting these kids because some days it just feels like I am not making a difference at all. Last night I made so many poster board and chart paper for my classroom that my fingers are still stained from the markers. I am getting use to wearing professional clothes and now it feels weird to not be in something professional. The Teacher Olympics we had on Friday was fun and my team did when the (Who can grade the fastest competition). Okay well love yall and will try to write soon...maybe a day or two. 
Love,
Molly 

I Made it Through My First Full Week!

Today is a special day because it is Sarah’s Birthday and I am so sad that I can’t be there to celebrate with her. Today was also an important day for me to because I was observed during my teaching period. Today I did a lesson on comparing and contrasting two different texts. I decided to do one story today and another one on Monday and then we will compare them. Today’s story was called Jacob’s Rescue and it is about a Jewish boy in the holocaust and his experiences living in the ghetto. Then on Monday we are going to compare the concept of being “trapped” to a Tupac poem. I changed up the room a little today and had the students sit in a semi-circle facing me and told them that we would be reading a lot today and this circle was going to provide the framework for them to be leaders in our class discussion. Of course Edwin acted out so I had to send him to the back of the room but I also lost another student today named Eric who was expelled for spitting at another student and then starting an argument with a teacher. Hopefully I can hold on too the rest of my class the next couple of weeks. 

     Thank goodness it is Friday because I am so exhausted and do not want to teach tomorrow. I do have mandatory study hall tonight but we also have classes all day tomorrow so it will still be exhausting. I will try to catch up a little this weekend in between studying and finishing making lesson plans. I did have a chance to fit a run in today which was nice and then I played beach volleyball for like 30 minutes. (Not going to lie I still have a pretty good serve!)

     Tomorrow we are having a like thirty minute break to have a little fun at my school by having a Teacher Olympics. The event are hilarious: two people will race to see who can grade the fastest and most accurately, two people will race to alphabetize a set of papers, a poster making competition, a catwalk competition to demonstrate different teacher facial expressions and body gestures, and also a teacher stare-off! It should be pretty fun. I am competing in the poster competition and one other but I can’t remember what they signed me up for. I will let you know if the 8^th grade teachers win. Also my school had special t-shirts made for with Patrick Henry on them and a cool logo so we can wear those tomorrow with jeans instead of business professional! Yay!  

            Anyways Lala wrote me an email and it made my day. I love to hear encouraging words from yall and want you to catch me up on what you are doing in your lives since I never have time to call anyone! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Much Love,

Molly