Ever since it became an “option” in middle school, all the way through my collegiate years, cheating has made me sick to my stomach.  I *hate* cheating.  I think it is a sorry and pathetic habit to have and hide.  I’ve always felt it was better to fail with honor than pass by cheating

I have a few students, unfortunatley, that are cheating right under my nose and I can’t catch them so they keep slipping by.  Sometimes when I grade their papers I want to pull out my hair and start screaming because I’ll see all the wrong work and then the right answer amidst a mess of numbers.  The work is not leading to this correct answer, so I have to wonder HOW DID YOU GET IT??

This is coming from the same students that turn in their homework right on top of the “smart” friend’s homework and it looks almost IDENTICAL to their friend’s.  I mean line-for-line, mistake-for-mistake, the EXACT same!!

I’ve threatened to fail them, I’ve tried to emphasize the honor system, I’ve even tried the fear of God, but NOTHING is getting through to them.  Cheating is an addiction that is too hard to let go off.

Yuck, ickh, gross.  Cheating is a shame for all students!  Bleckh!

I always have hated cheating, and I always will.

Today was one of those days at school where no one wanted to pay attention.  It was the first day back from Spring break and to make matters worse the sun was shining and the weather was just right; not too warm and not cold at all.

Every period I had with my 4th graders they kept insisting we finish our lesson quickly and have free time to play.  Unfortunately for them the opportunity didn’t present itself until the end of the day during Science.  We finished early and I told them it was okay to go outside and enjoy the weather.

It is so much fun to watch them all playing together on the playground.  My three boys always go on the swings and compete to see who can jump off the furthest.   And all five girls manage to fit themselves on one tire swing and scream at the top of their lungs.

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In 4th grade Islamic studies we’re finishing up a unit on Ramadan.  I wish I had been a little more organized back in September and thought to teach to my students this Unit during the actual month of Ramadan.  Alas, it’s now March and we are left to talk about Ramadan as a memory, not as something we’re currently living through.

It’s fun talking about Ramadan with my students.  Their perception of Eid in school is so different from how I felt about it when I was their age.  In my elementary school days I looked forward to Christmas parties, and Valentine’s chocolates, and Halloween candy.  In their elementary school days, they’re excited to decorate the classroom for Eid, exchange gifts, and have extra time during recess to play with eachother.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved Ramadan when I was little (and still do), but it wasn’t a love that I could take with me to school and talk about with my peers.

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I’ve recently come across a problem in my 4th grade classroom.  My students want to put stickers on everything.

Okay, maybe not everything.  But it’s starting to feel that way.  Every few days I have a student come up to me, eyes wide open, very deer-caught-in-headlights with a concern:  they’ve seen or read something “inappropriate” in a book, and their answer is to cover whatever it is up with a sticker.

Aside from the fact that I can’t figure out why they chose stickers to solve the problem, I don’t know how to respond to the problem.  I honestly don’t find half the things they think are inappropriate bad.  In my opinion they’re over reacting.

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I’ve never really been into the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.  I think I’ve only seen one complete episode.  I was watching it with my sister and I was quickly turned off by it.  Why?  Well, the premise of the sitcom is that Raymond is this guy that is annoyingly always in need of having everyone be happy with him, and for the most part it works out and, well… everybody loves Raymond.  What’s so bad about that?  My sister told me that the character Raymond reminds her of me.

I felt so… pegged.  I hate when that happens; when someone says something about you that is so on point, it’s uncomfortable and you can’t deny it but you really wish you could.

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