Teaching in rural Mississippi has many challenges, and one of them is the Exposure Gap. The town that I teach in is just over an hour from Memphis, 2+ from Jackson and Little Rock and over 6 from the coast. Some may call the town that I work in even “big” when compared to some of the closer towns of 500-1000. However, some of my students have never been to Walmart, eaten out, or gone to any festivals or had many other experiences that kids in urban areas may have.
A week ago we took the PreK-1st grade students on a field trip to the Memphis Zoo. Many of the students had never been that far away from home, to Tennessee or to a big city before. Leading up to the the field trip during guided reading, we were reading books about the zoo. On of my students, T, was not…
They did it! 100% of the students in my class WILL be heading to 1st grade So overjoyed and humbled. When my principal brought in the test scores, I was down with the 4th graders helping with MCT2 prep, and she stopped class and announced that they had all passed. Rumors had been spreading for…
read more »Nerves are setting in! Tomorrow my students will begin to take the Kindergarten Exit Exam. I have been told by many teachers at my school that we have done what we should, and that they are ready, but I can’t help but to feel the butterflies banging together in my stomach. The first grade teacher…
read more »Wow — how is it already the middle of March? As I sit here and begin to plan for the upcoming week, I can only think of how absolutely wonderful this past week has been. We have been on Spring break for the past week, and I have not touched any school work for the…
read more »There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
read more »While the spring semester is surely flying by — with the help of this 3 days weekend — February could possibly be worse than October. Tensions are starting to raise with the MCT2 now less than 3 months away, and the Kindergarten Exit Exam a mere 45 days away. This month has surely tested my…
read more »While I feel like I have neglected this blog, this entire month has seemed like a blur. The past 4 weeks have gone by so quickly, and second semester has been such a breath of fresh air! The same challenges are also around, as in I have to change my daily schedule many times a…
read more »It is New Years Day and the end of break is very near. Tomorrow I will return to being Mi’ Ball, even though our students do not come back until Wednesday (not complaining, I could use 2 days of waking up early again before they come back). This is also the 1/4 of the way…
read more »2nd 9 weeks testing is over. My kids have actually learned something in the past 9 weeks, and it amazes me. My students never cease to amaze me in the things that we are able to teach them. This past 9 weeks we learned about greater than and less than with the signs that they…
read more »As I sit in the Dallas airport and see many children walking by, I wonder if the 25 that I left in Mississippi have been as lucky. Over the past week I have spent time to myself, read 2 books, watched movies, dedicated an ENTIRE Saturday to watching college football, shopped, spent some time in…
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