Chelsea+Matousek

**Welcome to Chelsea's Cheerful Channel! I am the 8th grade math teacher at Hillcrest Middle School in Dalzell. I teach Math 8 and Algebra 1. It is a lot of fun! I am from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I am excited to be part of the 2011 SWWP here at USC Sumter. If any of you see Richard Boone on campus, tell him to add me to facebook! **
 * Hello Ladies! **



 **My new purchase **

== == =Tap Water is the New Black= Tap water is something we should drink more of, but use less of. Conserve water. Don't water your plants, water yourself. Don't wash your car, wash your kidneys. Save the phosphates, drink water. Save the water, throw shaving cream balloons. Make H2O, not war. Drink sky juice, not cow juice. Water: I'd tap that. = = = = = = = = =My Teacher Story:=

Close Encounter

“Watch for your cars!” I shouted to the middle school students as I waved traffic to move forward. Second quarter had begun—and so did my duty post at parent pickup. On this particular day progress reports were being sent home. I patrolled the area, walking up and down the sidewalk under the awning. While monitoring, I noticed a short, pudgy boy looking at his progress report. Being the silly-natured person that I am, I snuck up and snatched the paper from him. He was caught off guard, of course, as I inquired, “Let’s see if you have what it takes to be one of my students.” I noticed that his name was Carter, and he was in sixth grade. I looked at his scores and WOW—they were horrible! All were failing grades, and one was even a twenty-five percent! I looked at him incredulously and asked, “What’s up with these grades?” He stood there with a look on his face as if he was thinking, “…uhhh who is this lady?” I asked him if he wanted to repeat sixth grade and be classmates with the students who were currently in fifth grade. He replied, “No ma’am” in a small, innocent voice. I responded, “That’s right, because you want to have me in two years, not three years, right?” He quickly forced out a, “Yes ma’am.” This encounter was the beginning of a relationship that would change us both for the better.

Unfortunately for Carter, I also had the parent drop off duty post in the mornings. This meant that I was the first and last teacher he saw each and every day. Initially when he got to school I would just simply ask, “Is your homework done?” He would respond either with a “Yes ma’am,” “No ma’am,” or “I didn’t have any.” As our encounters became routine, I would have him show me his homework when he got to school; sometimes he would ask me for help. Before long, I was checking his homework in the mornings, and then making sure he had his homework assignments with him before he left school every afternoon. I even told his teachers that if they had any problems with him they could send him to my class. One day, I sat in on one of his social studies classes just to remind him that I was going to be ubiquitous when it came to helping him succeed! I would not let him fail.

Eventually I gained the title of Carter’s “math mama”, and Carter became “my son.” He began to confide in me when he had problems with fellow students and asked me for advice about issues he had with his cousin. He told me about his basketball games, that he received the MVP award from his team, and about his trips to see his daddy in Washington, D.C.

As Carter began to open up to me and include me in his side of social difficulties, I discovered that he was not always the innocent one. One day his social studies teacher reported an incident to me in which he had called a girl a name during class. Much to Carter’s chagrin, I called his teacher’s classroom and had her put Carter on the phone. I let him know that I knew of the incident. I asked him why he made the comment and how he would feel if she had called him the same thing. I helped him to see that there were better, more effective ways to handle this situation.

Being Carter’s disciplinarian occurred another time. At parent pickup one day, Carter was dribbling his basketball. I told him to hold on to the ball so it wouldn’t roll under or hit a car. Unfortunately, shortly after I turned my back, I heard the ball bouncing on the pavement. I told Carter that he would have to serve a lunch and break detention the next day. This was the first time I had actually doled out a punishment to him. The next day, when I walked outside to go to the cafeteria for lunch, I saw Carter against the brick wall during his break. He looked so miserable serving his detention. My heart broke! I could feel myself caving in. I wanted to let him go enjoy his break time, yet I knew I couldn’t. I cared for him too much to let him think what he had done was okay. Besides, if I didn’t follow through, he would think he could get away with anything by the time he officially became my student in eighth grade.

On the days when interims and progress reports were sent home, Carter automatically knew to hand them over to me for inspection. He progressively made improvements from that twenty-five percent! Carter told me, “Ms. Matousek, I don’t have any missing assignments because I want to have you in two years, not in three.” This statement came several months after our first encounter, which made me realize that, for some reason, he was listening to me.

At the awards ceremony on the last day of school this year, Carter received a perfect attendance award, an award for no discipline referrals, and an accelerated reader award! I was so proud of him. I was beaming as if he really was my son! His final report card had him passing the entire year with Ds and Cs. I told him that this works for now, but next year…it’s not going to fly! Carter really is a great kid, and I am looking forward to helping him achieve more and prepare for his life as one of my eighth grade students. After completing my first year of teaching in Sumter last year, I strongly considered moving back to Michigan to be closer to my family. Those feelings have disappeared this year. It’s not that I don’t want to be close to my family, but I feel that I am needed right where I am. Carter, so far, is holding up his end of the deal—to have me in two years—so I have to uphold mine! I have to be here for him. I know that I have played a part in helping Carter grow. He probably doesn’t realize that he has helped me as well, and I want to see him continue to grow so he will be successful in high school and beyond.

I know I can’t give every child the attention they need all the time, but I do know that one little push from someone who cares can make a big difference. It is clear to me now why I had the courage to leave my family and friends to go somewhere all alone without familiar support. Making a difference in Carter’s life ended up making the biggest difference in my own.