2nd period down, and 4 more to go!

TESTING TESTING TESTING... whew!

You may be thinking it is just a test, but for these students it is 50% of their period grade. It is a lot of pressure, especially for the little ones. It is hard to believe that 6 weeks out of the school year are spent taking tests. That can make you brain hurt!

My students did really well this period. However, this does not mean that everyone passed. They learned very quickly that things are going to start getting harder. First period was spent doing a lot of review, and I think most of them got their hopes up that the whole year would be that easy. Little did they know, things began to get harder, which meant they had to work harder. Some of them chose to do just that, while others developed the "I don't care" mindset. It has been a struggle motivate all of my students to work to their full potential. I wish that were something that was easy, but unfortunately that can be one of the biggest challenges as a teacher (even in the US). I am hoping that this period will serve as a wake-up call to some of them.

It became very evident to me this period that some of my students are having a hard time keeping up. I have really started to notice a big gap, and it is getting harder to meet the needs of each individual student. For example, I have 3 students who cannot read or write, and that puts them way behind the rest of the class. They have not mastered skills like letter-sound correspondence and blending, skills they should have learned in kindergarten. I have been trying to work with these students individually and outside of class, but it just is not enough. I know that the best thing for these students is to go back to first grade next semester and build their foundation, and then repeat second grade next year. Unfortunately, that is not as easy as it sounds. Repeating a grade here is looked down upon even more than in the US. It is hard to convince parents that it would be in the best interest of their child. I am in the process of talking with Olu about this situation, and will hopefully have the opportunity to talk with their parents in the next few weeks. Please pray for this situation, and that my actions and words will be seen and heard in a loving way.

As for the grade results... I had two students make straight A's this period, and I am looking forward to taking them into town for a treat next week! I also had about 10 students make all A's and B's!! Once again, I am a proud and happy teacher!! Even those that failed certain subject areas are still improving, and that is what is important!

As a teacher, one of my goals is to build confidence and self esteem in every child. I look for small ways to do this every day. I am really looking forward to the end of the semester when I will be able to take my entire class out for ice cream. Thanks to a good friend, Emily Holladay, for providing the money for us to be able to do this! This will be a wonderful and exciting way for us to close the semester.

As for Holly and I... we are doing well. As most of you know, we both got sick last weekend, but have recovered. Stomach virus + no running water = yuck! Yeah, that was probably too much information. Anyway... thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!