Why I came to work today...

At my school, it is not uncommon to receive random emails during school hours entitled "Why I came to work today" from any of staff.  It's kind of a little game we play.  Sometimes we really want to share something inspirational that happened that day, but most of the time, we really want to share something funny/cute/ironic/ridiculous/etc. that a student did or said.  In a work environment that right now is extremely stressful and unnerving (see picture below), these emails are a welcome relief and always put a smile on my face. :)

These are getting a little old, but this one was so good I had to share!

Well, today for me was definitely a "Why I came to work..." kind of day!  And in an inspirational way, no less!  Today in my 1st period Supplemental Math class, I had a student tell me that I made math fun!  That's right...Math with Ms. Moote=Fun! He said that he usually hates math, (as do most/really all of my students), but that today in class math was actually fun.  Another student who has never been confident in his math abilities then exclaimed in front of the whole class that this math is easy! I made writing ratios, finding unit rates, and cross multiplying equivalent ratios fun and exciting and easy.  And the best part is knowing that my students think it is fun and 'easy' because they actually understand what they're doing.  That's a big deal for my kiddos.  The reason that they have to take Supplemental Math in the first place is because they are struggling in the mainstream math classrooms.  My class is essentially an extra math class where we pre-teach and re-teach the material they are learning in their regular math classes.  And that is why I came/went to work today!


Here are some other random/fun "Why I came to work" moments...

1. In one of my reading classes...(We were about to read an article about Woody Gurthrie, the man who wrote "This Land is Your Land."  He grew up in during the Great Depression.)
-Me: "Does anybody know anything about the Great Depression?"
-Student: "The Great Depression is when you get so sad that you might die." 

2. Student - "Teachers know how to text?!?!" (referring to cell phones)

3. Student - "Ms. Moote, the guy who invented homework must have been a nerd."