TAKS Day!

Today was the last chance for 8th graders in the state of TX to take the Reading TAKS (which is what I teach during the year--the kids who fail it). I've been teaching the 8th grade TAKS summer school and have really enjoyed the students. I even teared up when the Math TAKS kids left yesterday and ours left today.

Ours. They have really become our kids. Most teachers absolutely can't stand the kind of kids that we've been teaching, but I love them. I don't do well teaching the GT kids. I don't get the cream of the crop, but I love them just the same. We have really had an amazing group of teachers and administrators working on this too, and today I told the principals that I have enjoyed this more than the regular school year. I think we were all pretty much amazed at how well it went seeing as how we had all Katy ISD failures in one school---and some of those kiddos have LOTS OF PROBLEMS!

This is what we've had:
1. Boy high on pot b/c he had a fight with his mom that morning
2. Same boy--girlfriend pregnant for the 3rd time (other 2 were miscarriages)
3. Student from my school--told me this morning as I walked over to tell him good luck that he was going to be a daddy.
4. Girl fights---turned out to be over a shirt!
5. Gang fights--from across the district
6. Student who got 2 tattoos last Sunday---homemade ones, not from a tattoo parlor
7. Girl hung over from the night before so she slept half the day

This is what we ended up with:
1. A group of kids who met teachers who actually cared
2. Student from #3 above who came out of the test and told me with a smile on his face, "I tried!"
3. Students actually using some of the strategies we taught them!
4. Teachers like me who realize this is the type of kid we live for
5. Kids who have told me many times, "I wish I would have learned this earlier". (maybe they did but chose not to listen, maybe their teacher never taught it)
6. Hopefully---a group of kids who passed the TAKS!!!

Now...let me explain that most of the kids in the 1st list are from the alternative school--where they've been sent due to unwanted behaviors. However, every one of us really fell in love with some of these students. I have to brag on them because they deserve it. I told them every day that they were an amazingly smart group of kids. What teenager wants to do summer school where all the teachers do is throw more TAKS stuff at them? Each one of them walked out of here smiling today (I assume it's b/c tomorrow they get to sleep in), and were all so proud of themselves! They have changed into a group of students who came in 4 weeks ago with a "I don't care about this stuff" attitude to "I want to go to 9th grade" attitude and really trying. That's the most we could ask for--and it happened!

I am so fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet each and every one of these students and teachers, and I can only hope that on July 18th when we get the results, that these students are rewarded for all their hard work. I can truly say that I am going to miss them!