A Little Gem

I am sitting down to write my second-to-last paper of my entire masters degree. I literally only have 3 classes left until graduation. I cannot believe it. I've been reflecting on the last 3 years a lot lately as I try to wrap my head around the thought of being done with school and being a certified counselor. It feels surreal.  The other day I had a client say, "Man, you've done a lot for your age!" When I thought about that statement it started to kind of click, "wow, I'm 27, I have 2 children, I taught 3 years of 6th grade, worked an internship at a psychiatric hospital, interned at a private practice, and now about to graduate with a job lined up and ready to go! It feels like a whirlwind!!!" 


I found something today that made me look back at the progression of my career…

During my first semester of student teaching at A&M (Fall 2007) I wrote down 10 goals that I wanted my students to learn from me or feel. It did not have a lot to do with the content I was teaching, it was more things like… Feel valued, worthwhile, and accepted by me. Feel heard by me. Feel safe in my classroom. Feel like they can come to me when they need help regarding school, friendships, and stuff at home.

I kept this piece of paper in my desk all 3 years that I taught and looked at it quite often. I kept it right on top of a stack of papers inside my top drawer. I probably saw that paper almost everyday. Right now its packed up in a box in the attic and it will come down if I ever decide to teach again. That's not out of the realm of future possibilities. I loved teaching, actually. It was pretty hard to give up that part of my life, but my babies are for sure worth it. 

Anyway, at the end of each school year I gave my students a series of questions and told them they could keep it anonymous. I wanted them to let me know if I had made them feel heard, worthwhile, accepted, safe, etc. (I also asked things like "Did you ask for tutoring and/or receive extra help if you struggled…did you feel that enough technology was used in our classroom…stuff like that). I kept their answers and reflected on them many times. I really wanted them to have a good experience and hoped that the next year I could make it an even better one. 

Today I was going through my recently fixed laptop (I overloaded it with too much junk to the point that it wouldn't turn on, so we had to have a friend take the hard drive out and remove 25 gigabytes of pictures…Yes, I admit I am a pictureholic. I need help.), and I found a little gem. It's a picture of one of the papers that a student had written (2009 school year). I took a picture of it back then because it was so sweet and it made me smile. It had the same affect on me today as I read the answer to #10. "She could've been a counselor! :)" The question I asked the class was "Did you feel like you could talk to me about your problems with school, friends, and/or home?"

Man! It's like this girl could see into my future. When I read this today I just thought it was so neat that something I am doing 4 years later is something that a 12-year-old girl thought I'd be good at when I taught her in the 6th grade.

Of course her note on the back was the best part. "Mrs. Coats, you are my favorite teacher. When I'm 50 I believe I'll still remember you. You really are awesome. -Ale"

I tell you what, those kinds of notes and words of encouragement from a kid is THE BEST PART OF TEACHING. I know my teacher friends will agree. When it clicks with a student and you see that you were apart of helping them--it's all so worth it. And the best part is that, while confidential, I still get to experience that in counseling! I'll never be able to post a note from a client on the internet or show a friend, but helping a person out and getting to see that moment where they've just seen something in a new light is so exhilarating. I love it. In a lot of ways teaching is what has brought me to counseling and I couldn't be more grateful for that experience. 

Thank you, Ale, for your sweet words. They still make me smile today! 

Smith Sharks

Field day at Smith Elementary is a little different than at other schools. It's just a tad bit better. :) K-5 has their own field day and 6th grade has a seperate field day at the middle school where they play the other 6th grade at the neighboring elementary school. It's pretty dang cool if you ask me. I love the rivalry. ;)

Do you see how they put pink duct tape over the other school's name and mascot? Too funny.

The girls doing cheers with one another

The tough Smith Sharks

One of the boys in the 400 relay!

Two of my past students who are now 7th graders at the middle school, Madison & Paige, got out of class to come see me! They have gotten taller than me in one year!

Smith Sharks rock! :)

Essay

I got a copy of my student's essay about me! You know, the one I posted about a while back where I got a rose and a certificate.

It was sweet and cracked me up at the same time! There were a few parts where I literally laughed out loud at some of the things he wrote - kids are so honest! If I didn't know exactly what he meant in some parts I don't know if I'd want my principal to read it! Haha! I'll put my comments in another color along the way.=)

BEST MANNERED TEACHER ESSAY

BY: JONATHAN HOCKLESS

The teacher I would like to nominate for the best mannered teacher award is my reading teacher Mrs. Coats. She is a 6^th grade Reading/Social Studies teacher at Smith Elementary School in Forney, Texas. Her classroom is a fun-filled, relaxing environment. It feels like home. She brings a lot of fun and love for teaching into the classroom. She is kind, patient, and she makes learning fun. Here are the reasons I am nominating her for this award.  (I was very proud of his writing in this paragraph especially!)

She is a very kind and she does not yell unless we are not behaving at all. (LOL!) She likes us to have fun while we are learning. She likes to read all kinds of books and she is an excellent teacher. She is not rude and she does not ignore us when we raise our hands. She does not wait to offer her help with our work if we don’t understand it. 

She takes her time to help us if we do not understand what she is teaching. She is also very patient with us if we are talking too much. She does not mind if we talk a little as long as we do not get too loud. Sometimes she does not even teach the lesson and she just talks with us. (I know EXACTLY what day he's talking about because this does not happen often. I liked that it meant a lot to him, though). When she does things where we have to take notes she knows that some of us are slow when we write so she writes the notes on the board so it does not take forever to teach the lesson. (teehee)

She also makes reading novels fun by picking ones that are exciting and not boring. (They think I'm awesome because I picked Number the Stars...they don't realize its on my book list...=) She is considerate about things like our grades and asks us if we want the whole class to hear them. (He means when grades are due...I will tell them their grade, but they can come to my desk if they don't want the whole class to hear it). She is also considerate about what she picks when we read novels. She also is kind when we talk a lot; she just gives us a warning before she gives us a conduct mark. (I'm not a push-over, I promise=) That is why Mrs. Coats is my best mannered teacher. (So cute!)

Isn't it funny? I love it! :)

"Best-Mannered Teacher"

Me? Best-Mannered? {Insert mischievous grin here}

*Side note: Did you know I was voted most-mischievous in high school? Yep. I was. At first I wasn't sure why, but then my dear, sweet friends explained to me that I am most definitely mischievous. Always plotting, pranking, planning.

So, I find it interesting that I have been awarded with "best-mannered."

My husband laughed at me since he gets to here me burp all of the time...

Anyway, let me back up. About 2 weeks ago, I got a letter at school from the wife of the superintendent of Forney ISD saying that one of my students, who is in the National League of Junior Cotillions, had written an essay about me, nominating me for the award of "best-mannered teacher." I thought it was neat because this boy isn't even in my homeroom and therefore chose to write about me anyway!

So this past Friday night, Casey & I went to the Grand Spring Ball at the Hampton Inn in Mesquite. The ballroom was the same one we had our wedding reception in. Hadn't been there since then (December 2007). It was so cute seeing all the 6th-8th graders dressed up in fancy dresses and tuxedos. They danced the fox trot and the waltz, and all of the girls were taller than the boys. So funny. =)

Then after a few dances, they called out the students that had written essays about their teachers. There were 5 of us. The students (3 girls and 2 boys) gave their teacher a rose and a certificate before we walked out to take a picture. While we were taking our picture, they announced that my student won the grand prize for the best essay!! I was most excited to hear that! He made his writing teacher proud. =)

I did a short video of the kids dancing, but it won't upload on the blog and I'm frustrated with it! Grrr!

Check out this hilarious picture of my student and I in front of this hilarious prom-like backdrop!

Another neat thing happened to me on Friday! I got teacher of the month at school! I was so excited! I hadn't gotten this award before and felt so lucky to have gotten it in only my 2nd year of teaching! When they announced it over the intercom my students all cheered and clapped for me! They even made me a cute little "Congratulations" sign and hung it in my room. They are so sweet! =) That made for 2 awards in the same day! Yay! =)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I can't believe it is March. I can't believe there's less than 3 months until summer break! Woohoo!!

Texas looks great in white, doesn't it?

This is what I woke up to on Thursday morning when I opened the garage door and I was shocked! I did NOT think there would be any snow and I was not prepared! I took a quick picture on my way out the door to school.

By the time I got to school it was apparent we would have ourselves a good ole snowball fight at recess! These next 2 pictures were taken on my teammates phone and emailed to me so they look a little different. Here are the kiddos at recess. If you look in the far right-hand corner, you'll see me trying to get away from all of the snowballs that had been thrown at me when I first entered the "fight."

Here I am running away again! Ha ha!

I took this picture from my classroom window.

This was when I got home from work that day.

Lucy absolutely LOVED the snow! She was hilarious in it!

You can see tons of snow falling in this picture!

Check out this funny video of Lucy in the snow! She loved it and acted like a little bunny rabbit hopping around! Very funny in person - don't know if the video will capture her true love for the snow=)

Attempting to make a snow angel, but I was wayyy too cold in jeans!

Casey & I having fun in the snow!

I brought Ella out in the snow to see how she'd like it...she didn't really.

Ella & I

Our house looks pretty in white!=)

The tree looks pretty, too!

Casey & our pitiful snowman with a strawberry nose!

It was a great day and I will post another post later about my snow day on Friday!

Hope you're all having a fantastic week!

Harry Potter!

The week after Halloween (that tells you how far behind I am with blogging…) was Young Reader’s Week at school! Each day the kiddos did something regarding reading such as writing a letter to their favorite author, making their own book, and dressing up as a book character!

As you can see, I dressed up as Harry Potter! Not because I like Harry Potter, because I’ve never read the books, but because I had someone that I could borrow the outfit from! And another person to borrow the Hogwarts banner from! This costume cost me zero dollars and the kiddos loved it! Score! :)

Check out some of my other teacher friends! They were so creative! A lot of us, including myself, were put in the Forney newspaper! In that same paper is an article that I co-wrote about my students going to the North Forney High School football game. I had Casey pick up 2 papers for me. :)

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Hope everyone is having a fantastic week! Mine is going great! Only 16 days til Christmas and only 10 days til I have 2 weeks off! Hip hip! Hooray!

Lovin’ My Job Right Now

There were soooooooo many times last year where I did NOT like my job. For whatever reason there were bad days. Either the kids were bad, I hated morning duty, I felt like my principal and AP did not like me, I hated all of the paperwork, I didn’t feel supported by my team or at home, or I felt that I just wasn’t good at it.

This year is not last year.

I looooove my job. I love my kids, I love my principal and AP, I love my team, I love my husband, and I am GOOD at my job. (I still don’t like morning duty or the paperwork, but the rest of my job makes those things so small:).

I know I am teaching my kids something.

I can feel it in my veins.

They are learning things about reading, culture, respect, common sense, and even Jesus.

Yes, I said Jesus. (They have learned that I will answer any question they have. It started with them asking me what the moment of silence was for, then it turned into what I do during it, and then that ball just kept rolling. But really that story is for another day).

Tomorrow is my PDAS (my evaluation). I am not scared like last year. I am ready (I think:). I am not even doing anything differently than I would any other day. Obviously, more thought goes into making sure all of the main objectives they want to see are covered in the tiny time they will be in your room (45 minutes, when I have each class for 90). Heck, I left work earlier today (the night before my PDAS) than I have any other day in the last couple of weeks!

Last year I would not have thought I would care enough to stay at work late to make things BETTER. I was just concerned with staying afloat.

Anyway, here are a few cutie pictures of my super awesome students. (Don’t worry guys, we have waivers from all of their parents saying that they are allowed to have their picture posted on the internet – Forney’s website – and this blog has thousands of less readers – 41 total to be exact. :)

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The first picture is of my current 6th graders hanging signs at the new high school for their homecoming game (their school is right across the street from us). The one next to it at the top is ME in a firefighter’s suit. That is from last year. That thing was crazy heavy. I look funny. Ha-ha. Next to it are some kiddos from this year carrying the posters to the high school. We did that the beginning of October. The 2nd row on the left is when the pumpkin patch came to our school. Each kid got to pick out a pumpkin for $2. The bottom right is a picture of all of the 6th graders from last year posing with the firemen. :)

Have a great week everyone!

Ps. Can you all believe that the holidays are almost here? I am so excited! I realize it is more than a month away, but I can’t wait to put up our Christmas tree! Yay!

Double the Fun

Last Sunday after church two of my students from last year got baptized. I wrote about their story before, here http://caseyandlaurencoats.blogspot.com/2009/08/power-of-prayer.html?zx=c344d56dc7615d99 They are now in 7th grade and in Casey’s youth group. It has been awesome to see them accept Christ and then show that step of faith by being baptized. I love both of these girls so much and it makes me love my job so much more! It is cool to have kids who I taught last year join our church and youth group the next year when they are in 7th grade. We have 3 of my former students at our church now, and none of them were members before. I can’t wait to see if any of my current students will start coming!

I love this picture of Madison getting baptized with her sister, Paige watching in the water, waiting her turn.

Madison

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Paige

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It just so happened, that on the same day, Kristi’s (my team teacher from last year) neices were getting baptized as well! So, Kristi was there! It was a funny little coincidence that both of the twins’ 6th grade teachers were there to see them get baptized. Here is our little reunion picture! :)

Kristi, Lauren, Madison, & Paige

The Power of Prayer

Good grief today was good.

Let me start by saying that at our wedding, Casey's best man, Scott, told me in his speech that he thought that I should utilize the power that prayer has and really work in our marriage through prayer. I have thought about his words several times since our wedding, and I have listened to them again on our wedding video.

Anyway, lately the power of prayer has really been evident in my life. There have been several things that I have really poured out in prayer lately and so many of them have been answered.

There is one story in particular that really touched me today.

Let me back up by saying that there are a couple of girls from my class at school last year (6th grade) that our now in our youth group (as of a couple of weeks ago when they promoted into 7th grade). They started coming to our church about a month before school let out in May and Blake, the Jr. High guy was their Sunday School teacher while they were still in 6th. (It has been really cool to have them at church, by the way). They were twins that I was really close to last year. This morning I saw them and their mom and her fiance at church.

Today at church, David Griffin preached about salvation. He said very early on in the sermon that we should pray for other people's salvation. I usually don't take notes, but I have for the past couple of weeks on our church bulletin (we call it a cLink). Anyway, when he said that I wrote out "Pray for other's salvation" and then I wrote my twin girls' last name next to it. I felt it lay very heavy on me during the entire sermon and kept praying and thinking of them and their family. I didn't know if they were Christians or not, but didn't really think that they were, but wasn't sure either way.

The service was great, and we actually had an alter call, which we basically NEVER do. I was a littl shocked that we did, actually. :) Anyway, I looked over at the girls and their parents several times and they never moved. I actually felt dissapointment...even though I didn't know if they were Christians or not.

I left the service and went to the youth worker meeting to get food ready and set up chairs. While I was in that room, Blake, our junior high minister told me to come with him. He said he had a surprise for me. Blake likes to play jokes, so my first thought is that I was about to walk into some prank. Instead, I went with him to a room where he got his Bible off of a cabinet and pulled out two cards. He said, "What does this mean to you?" He showed me that both of my girls from class had filled out cards and accepted Christ this morning. I immediately started crying, took the cards, went to show Casey, and get the bulletin out of my purse. Blake followed me, and I am sure he thought I was crying more than was necessary, but I showed him the place where I had written their name on my cLink. That was the part that got me so much. I felt like God had taken my prayer and showed me how powerful He was -- in less than an hour. Wow.

I could go on and on about this because I still feel so dumbfounded, but I am sure you get the point by now.

Summary: Prayer is powerful and God is VERY good :)

Rockin' the TAKS

Several weeks ago we had ROCK THE TAKS day! It was the Friday before our big week of TAKS. It was super fun. Everyone--teachers and students alike--dressed up like rock stars.

Here is a picture of my 6th grade partner, Kristi. She was seriously rockin' it!

Here's a picture of our Pre-K aide, Kyla. She was hard core :)

Here's a picture of me with 3 of my 6th grade girls...notice my rocker tattoos :)

Jocelyn (5th grade reading teacher) and myself rockin out! :)

And here is one of the funniest things I did for my students. They are ALL Twilight fans...I already had on a Twilight shirt, so I thought I'd go all out for Edward ;) The kids sure got a kick out of it!

We got our TAKS scores back today.....all day we knew the principals knew, but they wouldn't tell us....they put on some pretty hardcore facades and I was getting pretty scared not knowing. Around noon, our principal came over on the intercom and told us that we were having an 'emergency staff meeting' after school. A little scary! Little did we know, they were plotting a party.

Cake,

punch,

party favors.

and....

Now for my good news.....

I got 95% passing in reading with 49% commended!!!!

And while I'm really excited about that, I'm even more excited because we got exemplary as a school!!!!!!! Now, for the lowest SES school in Forney, and also a newly named Title I school, we're pretty stoked! Our principal actually started crying when she told us. She's always worked at pretty 'rough' schools, and this is the first time a school that she has been principal at has gotten exemplary!! We were all so excited.

Now, the very best of it all, is that I realized I only had 2 students fail...then, I thought...I have 7 students that have never passed reading on their first try. That means I had 5 pass on the first try for the first time in their lives! That was perhaps the most exciting news of all! One girl in particular passed both math & reading and she's NEVER passed reading before. I cannot WAIT to tell her. I'm pretty sure I'm going to cry when I get to tell her. I will be so excited....this is going to do incredible things for her self-esteem. Yay!!

So, now that TAKS is over, I've got my scores, and there's only 12 days left of school, I'm loving my job! :) Ha ha!

Awkward Turtle...

In class today a kid was reading at his desk (let's call him Daniel), and then all the sudden sat up and blurted out, "Mrs. Coats, what's a virgin?" I sat there awkwardly for half a second while a couple of the other students laughed. It was obvious that only a few of them knew what it meant. I was a little caught off-guard because these are the same students that sometimes say really crude things and know some really crude gestures (they are 12 afterall), so I was naturally a little surprised that they didn't know the word virgin. However, I was also a happy to hear that they have some innocence and naivety left.

Anyway, before I could say anything, one of the other boys (let's call him Justin) says, "I'll tell him!" and he runs over there and whispers into his ear, but still so loudly that we could all still hear him. "It's a person that hasn't had sex." Well, at least he got it right. I didn't want to have to correct him, haha. Daniel's face got REALLY red and he put his head back down on his desk to continue reading. I asked him why he had suddenly asked that question. He said it was in the book he was reading, which was Twilight. I thought for a minute and really couldn't remember that part. I went over to him and asked to see it in the book. I literally laughed out loud for a moment.

The word was "aversion."

Say it out loud to yourself and you will see why I and half the class laughed a little. It definitely sounds the same.

Super hilarious and also a teachable moment. I wrote aversion on the board and told them what it meant. Not nearly as awkward :)