"If you don't stop hitting on me, you might have to sit in the hallway!"

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve updated people on what’s going on here. School has been keeping me super busy lately, but hopefully I’ll get settled into a better routine pretty soon. I teach all four levels of high school, each that have their own rewards and challenges.

I have biology with ninth graders this semester. My ninth grade is probably my most difficult class at the moment. There are twenty five of them, and we have class in the science lab right now since the high school classrooms aren’t finished, and it’s just way too small of a space for them. You can hardly walk up and down the rows which means they are so close to each other that they just have to poke each other and touch each other and hit each other and throw stuff at the people sitting next to them…. I mean, what else can you do? They get very loud, very fast, and it’s very hard to get them quieted down. So, it’s a little challenging at times, but they are a nice group of kids except when they cheat, which is another whole issue there. I had a chat with Juan, the ring leader of the naughtiness, the other day. That seemed to help things a little, so I think I’ll keep working on that one and figure things will only get better if I can get some of the naughty ones on my side!

Next come my tenth graders. I have geometry class with them. To start with, they were my least favorite class, but they are really starting to grow on me. They are another pretty big class, but listen better than ninth graders. They are a nice group of kids, and there are definitely characters in that class. Chris, for example, told me he is a professional skater. Mike is a quiet one that sits in the back, but always has a smile. JP is the chubby kid who likes to play soccer and is just a general goof in class. Little Eduardo doesn’t speak much English but works really hard and is just so eager to learn. It will be fun to keep getting to know those kids.

My eleventh graders are a bunch of characters. I teach them algebra 2 and biology. They are for the most part, a very smart group, and at least so far have been pretty motivated. The girls seem like they could get really catty with each other, but so far seem to be ok. There are 11 kids in that class, and only three boys. The new boy, Michael, has blue eyes, and all the sophomore girls think he’s dreamy. It’s pretty funny.

My seniors are another bunch of characters. I have chemistry and pre-calculus with them. The girls in that class are very smart and very motivated. They work hard, ask questions, and always do what they are supposed to. They are genuinely nice girls and always tell me they like my clothes. Christie is probably the smartest one out of the bunch. She is very intelligent and applies herself, but yet she’s not nerdy at all. Alana is just a genuinely nice girl, and you can tell all the younger girls seem to look up to her. The boys are good kids too, but a handful. I have to tutor Eduardo every day after school in algebra 2 and junior chemistry both of which he failed last year, while at the same time trying to teach him pre-calculus and senior chemistry. It’s a little difficult, but we are making it work. Henry tries to hit on my call the time. In the middle of class yesterday while I was doing examples of pH calculations on the board, he raised his hand and says, “Miss Scislow, I have a question. Can you please smile? We were just discussing what a beautiful smile you have.” Awkward! German is another character. He is just a big flirt in general, but not quite as blatant as Henry. I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s the next Rico Suave or something.

So, like I said, each class is very unique and has it’s good points, yet also it’s challenges. I think it will be a really difficult year at time, but also a really rewarding one. I’ll try to update more about what I’m up to. Send me e-mails to let me know what you are all up to too!

Also, if you didn’t get it, I have new Facebook pictures up that show my daily “walk to school” basically. The link is http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2008132&l=d78c1&id=88400178.