The Ying and Yang of Teaching 11

Here are some of the highlights from the past few weeks:

• I had to tell two eighth-graders to stop throwing snowballs. It resulted in one of them calling me a cabron to my back. One of my fourth-grades ratted him out. I then called the principal and we approached the student. Let's just say this kid has major issues, and at one point he got angry for getting caught and got all banji and started punching his palms. It could have gotten ugly. 
• Last week, while cleaning up my room after my class party,  I gave a group of fourth-grade girls the last few bags of Doritos snack-size bags, as they passed my room. It was a random act of generosity. Today, one of the girls saw me coming in and she yelled, "You gave me a bag of Doritos! You rock!" I laughed and smiled most of the morning.
• Yesterday, one of my students told me he and his sister need coats for the winter weather, but their mother doesn't have the money to buy them. They have both been wearing hoodies during these chilly weeks. My amazing school keeps a supply of coats for students in this predicament. I got both students this morning, took them to the storage room and they walked away smiling with their new coats, gloves and hats. 
• I am seeing progress with comprehension in my reading groups when I preload comprehension questions, so that the students read with purpose, while emphasizing "pause and reflect" while we read together.