I haven't written in a while and I don't miss it. I think if I take the 30 minutes, a few times a week, that I had spent writing, and put it towards my triathlon work, I will find it more satisfying right now. My job is amazing, so I don't need to vent. I'll still update occasionally, let's say once a week, but that's all I can promise.
This year I celebrated Christmas with my boyfriend's family, which made it my first official Christmas. I had a blast and racked up some presents too. We followed that with a one-nighter in Atlantic City. We had a fantastic fondue dinner and won about $400 each at craps. Not bad!
Unfortunately, on Saturday, I hit a pothole and needed to spend that $400 on two new tires.
Today marks the end of another year. It was a successful, and challenging, and best, and worst, year. I got my dream job, lost my grandmother, and moved in with my boyfriend. I work longer hours than ever before in my life. I've averaged about 1 mile per day of running this year (total of 362 miles recorded in 2012). I completed one triathlon and about half a dozen 5Ks. I had shin splints and knee pain, but no back pain. I spent a lot of time with my family. I lost some weight and gained it back. I eat less frozen food. All in all, I feel more "together" than I did a year ago, probably owing most to a new job and new living arrangements.
I have some new goals and some old goals for 2013.
Job:
Improve consistency of work quality, both from me and my students. That means better formatted lesson plans, which will help me next year, and holding students accountable for neat, thorough, and rigorous assignments.
Life:
Look for leftovers before cooking a new meal.
Finally lose the last 9 of the 10 lbs I've been working on since 2009. I'll see 131 lbs this year!
Fitness:
4 triathlons (2 sprint, 2 Olympic), a half marathon (or two), some 5Ks.
2:30 in the UNITE Half Marathon (April; last time 2:44)
1:40 in the Hempstead Harbor Tri (June; last time 1:50).
3:30 in the New York City Tri (July; last time 4:04).
A REAL sub-30 5K, then a sub-29, then a sub-28.
Safely reach 15 mpw, then 20 mpw.
Happy New Year!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Good News
I had a meeting with my principal and IL today. I meet with the principal once a month for a check in, so I figured she'd meet with the two of us together because the week was busy. I brought my planner, and a list in my head of things I was working to improve. I figured we'd plan a time for her to observe me.
I walk in, and they're waiting, but chatting non-urgently. I sit down, and the principal starts by announcing that they had room in the budget for a holiday bonus, and handed me a pay stub for $300, money already in my bank account. "That happens?" was my eloquent response.
And then she continued: I know next school year is a long time away, and I don't know if you've thought about it, but we've started to think about it, and we'd love if you joined us again.
"Um, yes! Wait, let me think about it--yes."
I'll be teaching 7th grade science at VMS once again and I CAN'T WAIT. I can already think about how I'm going to improve my lesson plans in the same curriculum.
By the way, the NSA scores were good. Not great like last time, but good. Average of 81%, with an 82 on the lab practical. 89% on the multiple choice, which confirms my suspicions that I grade the short and long answers too harshly. At least now I have a number to beat next year!
To conclude, I give you a piece that was handed to her English teacher by a student:
Goals. Many people think that goals are just strong ideas about life, but goals are more than that. They are the shining stars of life. They are guidances of many people’s lives. They are the bigger pictures of hard work and success. Goals allow us to push ourselves to be strong individuals, so that we may achieve greatness beyond measure. Without goals, our lives, education, purpose, and minds are astray. Our lives will wander off into darkness, and our souls will be eaten alive by the lack of direction. Goals are like our light and north stars. North Stars are stars that help lead people to their destination. Goals are the same way. We create them, so that we can go through life with something to accomplish. Without the existence of goals, we will be lost and are more likely to run into a wall at a dead end. The goals we make for ourselves will help us to back up, turn around, and start over so that we can be on the right path. Therefore, goals are more than huge ideas that we think and talk about, but they are our stars of guidance and possible ways to be more successful in our lives.
I walk in, and they're waiting, but chatting non-urgently. I sit down, and the principal starts by announcing that they had room in the budget for a holiday bonus, and handed me a pay stub for $300, money already in my bank account. "That happens?" was my eloquent response.
And then she continued: I know next school year is a long time away, and I don't know if you've thought about it, but we've started to think about it, and we'd love if you joined us again.
"Um, yes! Wait, let me think about it--yes."
I'll be teaching 7th grade science at VMS once again and I CAN'T WAIT. I can already think about how I'm going to improve my lesson plans in the same curriculum.
By the way, the NSA scores were good. Not great like last time, but good. Average of 81%, with an 82 on the lab practical. 89% on the multiple choice, which confirms my suspicions that I grade the short and long answers too harshly. At least now I have a number to beat next year!
To conclude, I give you a piece that was handed to her English teacher by a student:
Goals. Many people think that goals are just strong ideas about life, but goals are more than that. They are the shining stars of life. They are guidances of many people’s lives. They are the bigger pictures of hard work and success. Goals allow us to push ourselves to be strong individuals, so that we may achieve greatness beyond measure. Without goals, our lives, education, purpose, and minds are astray. Our lives will wander off into darkness, and our souls will be eaten alive by the lack of direction. Goals are like our light and north stars. North Stars are stars that help lead people to their destination. Goals are the same way. We create them, so that we can go through life with something to accomplish. Without the existence of goals, we will be lost and are more likely to run into a wall at a dead end. The goals we make for ourselves will help us to back up, turn around, and start over so that we can be on the right path. Therefore, goals are more than huge ideas that we think and talk about, but they are our stars of guidance and possible ways to be more successful in our lives.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Concert
Last Thursday we had our Winter Concert and it was fun...and horrible and exhausting. School ended at 2:30, so it was "study hall" until about 4, then a dress rehearsal, then more study hall, then the concert. It was hours of babysitting, and I hate managing a classroom when I am not invested in managing them (i.e. have to teach them anything). They were noisy and anxious about the performance, and I was cranky to start the day.
The concert was beautiful, though. I finally understood that scene at the end of The Music Man, when the kids play their instruments terribly, and the parents were overwhelmingly proud. It was kind of like that. There is some talent, both by middle school standards and by normal people standards, but overall it was pretty...cute. And keeping kids quiet without yelling or taking dollars was challenging. Definitely challenging. By the end of the night (7PM +) I was really ready to race out of there and put my feet up. Due to the testing schedule, I had only had about 40 minutes of down time during the day. Fortunately, 10 of those minutes were spent eating pizza.
Friday was the NSA, and it was about twice as rigorous and about three times as long as the first one. My entire weekend was spent either grading or working out, except for a lunch with my parents, frozen yogurt on Saturday night with Boyfriend, and a nice hangout with the med students on Friday night. There was a lot of grading, but I managed to finish the grading over the weekend and the data entry today. I also ran 5 miles, swam 800 yards with my new Y membership, ran 2.2 miles, and biked for 15 minutes. Not bad for a rainy December weekend. I hope to keep it up.
This afternoon marks the second week of my school's new Workout Warriors (WOW), where we meet up after school twice a week and follow a crazy MMA workout video. I look forward to the workout, where a bunch of young teachers will embarrass themselves in the privacy of the school gym, but mostly I can't wait to put on a t-shirt.
Four days of school left until I've made it to my second Christmas Break.
The concert was beautiful, though. I finally understood that scene at the end of The Music Man, when the kids play their instruments terribly, and the parents were overwhelmingly proud. It was kind of like that. There is some talent, both by middle school standards and by normal people standards, but overall it was pretty...cute. And keeping kids quiet without yelling or taking dollars was challenging. Definitely challenging. By the end of the night (7PM +) I was really ready to race out of there and put my feet up. Due to the testing schedule, I had only had about 40 minutes of down time during the day. Fortunately, 10 of those minutes were spent eating pizza.
Friday was the NSA, and it was about twice as rigorous and about three times as long as the first one. My entire weekend was spent either grading or working out, except for a lunch with my parents, frozen yogurt on Saturday night with Boyfriend, and a nice hangout with the med students on Friday night. There was a lot of grading, but I managed to finish the grading over the weekend and the data entry today. I also ran 5 miles, swam 800 yards with my new Y membership, ran 2.2 miles, and biked for 15 minutes. Not bad for a rainy December weekend. I hope to keep it up.
This afternoon marks the second week of my school's new Workout Warriors (WOW), where we meet up after school twice a week and follow a crazy MMA workout video. I look forward to the workout, where a bunch of young teachers will embarrass themselves in the privacy of the school gym, but mostly I can't wait to put on a t-shirt.
Four days of school left until I've made it to my second Christmas Break.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
T-minus 3 Days
Until the NSA 7.2. It is time for our SECOND interim assessment. This year is going by so fast.
Today I had a challenging moment. The class right after lunch, which is always the most full of personality, had a really sloppy transition into the class. My IL happened to be there, and popped into the class to lecture the students about their transitions. I'm not sure how it seemed to them (she's really good at expressing seriousness), but I was a little embarrassed. It did help the class run more smoothly, though. And it wasn't until after the class that I realized how good it was that she yelled at them, not at me.
Afterwards, we discussed making my transitions cleaner. That's my next PD goal. I can't wait to improve that, because it'll help all my classes run more tightly.
Detention was actually easy today, due to the small group. I managed to have an incredibly productive day, and I think I'll be done with my planning (I hope) by Friday, so I can spend all of Friday grading. Ideally, I'll finish by Thursday morning, so I can spend Thursday grading the practical.
My drive home was 50 minutes of debating whether I should go running, how long I should run, and whether I should run indoors our outdoors. I ended up deciding on outside, since I have these shiny new visibility accessories I need to use. I'd start with 2 miles and see where it went. I ended up doing an incredibly enjoyable 2.77 miles in 30 minutes (probably my longest short run). I love running in the dark. It's just a little bit more exciting, but so incredibly relaxing. I think I'll keep it up.
Today I had a challenging moment. The class right after lunch, which is always the most full of personality, had a really sloppy transition into the class. My IL happened to be there, and popped into the class to lecture the students about their transitions. I'm not sure how it seemed to them (she's really good at expressing seriousness), but I was a little embarrassed. It did help the class run more smoothly, though. And it wasn't until after the class that I realized how good it was that she yelled at them, not at me.
Afterwards, we discussed making my transitions cleaner. That's my next PD goal. I can't wait to improve that, because it'll help all my classes run more tightly.
Detention was actually easy today, due to the small group. I managed to have an incredibly productive day, and I think I'll be done with my planning (I hope) by Friday, so I can spend all of Friday grading. Ideally, I'll finish by Thursday morning, so I can spend Thursday grading the practical.
My drive home was 50 minutes of debating whether I should go running, how long I should run, and whether I should run indoors our outdoors. I ended up deciding on outside, since I have these shiny new visibility accessories I need to use. I'd start with 2 miles and see where it went. I ended up doing an incredibly enjoyable 2.77 miles in 30 minutes (probably my longest short run). I love running in the dark. It's just a little bit more exciting, but so incredibly relaxing. I think I'll keep it up.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Big Chill 5K - Race Report
Training:
This is probably the first time I've really trained for speed rather than distance, which was new and kind of exciting. I focused on two things: speed and consistency.
This year I've run more than any other year of my life (almost 350 miles), but also suffered from shin splints for the first time. Each time (July and October) I'd reach 10 miles per week, I'd throw in one single interval training session and walk away with sore shins and have to rest for a week or two. This time around, I decided I'd build mileage from scratch, but at a slightly faster speed (10 min/mi instead of 12 min/mi). It's been working well, and I even had two consecutive 10+ mile weeks with no pain. I guess I'll have to stay away from interval workouts for a while, even though they're fun.
In the last few weeks, my best runs were a 2 and 2.2 mile run at 10 min/mi, and a 4 mile run at 11 min/mi, all personal bests in training. I've been hoping for a sub-30 5K as long as I've been running (about 4 years), and really thought I could do it (I once ran a 29:45, but I really don't think the race was a full 5K. It didn't feel right).
Pre-race:
I had asked my boyfriend to pick up my race packet the day before the race, because pick-up was 7-8 AM and the race wasn't until 9 AM. I'll always choose the extra hour of sleep. Unfortunately, they'd lost my registration and he couldn't sign the waiver for me, so it was an early morning anyway. Entry for the race was a toy donation for Toys for Tots, so I hadn't paid yet anyway.
I was worried about getting locked out of the race (already 7,000 registered) so I called and asked...and they said they didn't have a cap on registration. That's good because it meant I would race, but potentially bad for several reasons. Most races cap registration because of limited space, water, or medical support. I prepared to race without any of these things.
Race Day:
I woke up early and ate my usual pre-race fare: an Eggo waffle with a light spread of peanut butter. It was 2 hours before race start, which was perfect.
When I arrived at 7:45 the next morning, I re-registered...but there were no more timing chips left. I was a little cranky about this, because I knew it was a crowded race with a crowded start, and I hoped I'd come close to 30 minutes.
I planned to run with a friend of mine who had run cross country in high school, but hadn't been training lately. She hoped she could keep up with me, and I hoped I could keep up with her.
We lined up a little ways behind the wiry guys in singlets (it was 40 degrees F and drizzly), right around some not-too-skinny women who we matched perfectly.
The race started, but I didn't hear the gun go off. It took a few seconds to get the start line, but I started my GPS tracker as soon as possible.
It was crowded, but for the most part, I didn't have to run too much around people. I had to make a few quick moves to avoid getting cut off, but it wasn't as bad as I expected.
I lost my friend within the first half mile...she pulled ahead. I didn't want to blow myself out early. I really wanted this race. I tuned into the song that was playing in my headphones and focused on keeping a steady effort on the gently rolling hills that I was not expecting.
The official split for my first mile was 9:40, which is right on target for a 30-minute race. Runkeeper (the GPS app on my phone) told me 9:20, so I assumed it was not playing fair.
The hills kept rolling, but I was moving steadily. I slowed down a bit in the second mile, moving steadily but not painfully. Runkeeper split was 9:40.
The last mile started to get painful, but that's about right for a 5K. My legs felt fine, and I realized after the race that I didn't have any problems with my legs, feet, or shins at all. The problem was my lungs. They started to burn as I tried to pick up the pace just a little bit in the last mile. By the last half mile, I had to take off my gloves as I suddenly started burning up.
The end of the course had a lot of turns, so I really didn't know where the end was and I didn't trust the GPS. My lungs were really burning. We made our last turn, and the finish line was not very far away. If I had known how close it was, I could've made my final kick earlier, I think. I kicked it and crossed the finish line with 30:18 on the clock.
My friend had finished around 29, and she claims that it took at least 15 seconds to cross the start line after the gun. According to Runkeeper, I had run 3.18 miles in 30:18, which means we covered some distance before the start line, or I spent too much effort running around people. It also said I completed 3.11 miles (5K) in 29:49.
So, if you squint, I kind of got a sub-30 5K. I don't feel good about it, though. My next chance is a 5K in early February, but by then, I hope to have loftier goals like 29 or 28. In fact, I think I'm going to do my own unofficial sub-30 5K, maybe in celebration of New Years'.
This is probably the first time I've really trained for speed rather than distance, which was new and kind of exciting. I focused on two things: speed and consistency.
This year I've run more than any other year of my life (almost 350 miles), but also suffered from shin splints for the first time. Each time (July and October) I'd reach 10 miles per week, I'd throw in one single interval training session and walk away with sore shins and have to rest for a week or two. This time around, I decided I'd build mileage from scratch, but at a slightly faster speed (10 min/mi instead of 12 min/mi). It's been working well, and I even had two consecutive 10+ mile weeks with no pain. I guess I'll have to stay away from interval workouts for a while, even though they're fun.
In the last few weeks, my best runs were a 2 and 2.2 mile run at 10 min/mi, and a 4 mile run at 11 min/mi, all personal bests in training. I've been hoping for a sub-30 5K as long as I've been running (about 4 years), and really thought I could do it (I once ran a 29:45, but I really don't think the race was a full 5K. It didn't feel right).
Pre-race:
I had asked my boyfriend to pick up my race packet the day before the race, because pick-up was 7-8 AM and the race wasn't until 9 AM. I'll always choose the extra hour of sleep. Unfortunately, they'd lost my registration and he couldn't sign the waiver for me, so it was an early morning anyway. Entry for the race was a toy donation for Toys for Tots, so I hadn't paid yet anyway.
I was worried about getting locked out of the race (already 7,000 registered) so I called and asked...and they said they didn't have a cap on registration. That's good because it meant I would race, but potentially bad for several reasons. Most races cap registration because of limited space, water, or medical support. I prepared to race without any of these things.
Race Day:
I woke up early and ate my usual pre-race fare: an Eggo waffle with a light spread of peanut butter. It was 2 hours before race start, which was perfect.
When I arrived at 7:45 the next morning, I re-registered...but there were no more timing chips left. I was a little cranky about this, because I knew it was a crowded race with a crowded start, and I hoped I'd come close to 30 minutes.
I planned to run with a friend of mine who had run cross country in high school, but hadn't been training lately. She hoped she could keep up with me, and I hoped I could keep up with her.
We lined up a little ways behind the wiry guys in singlets (it was 40 degrees F and drizzly), right around some not-too-skinny women who we matched perfectly.
The race started, but I didn't hear the gun go off. It took a few seconds to get the start line, but I started my GPS tracker as soon as possible.
It was crowded, but for the most part, I didn't have to run too much around people. I had to make a few quick moves to avoid getting cut off, but it wasn't as bad as I expected.
I lost my friend within the first half mile...she pulled ahead. I didn't want to blow myself out early. I really wanted this race. I tuned into the song that was playing in my headphones and focused on keeping a steady effort on the gently rolling hills that I was not expecting.
The official split for my first mile was 9:40, which is right on target for a 30-minute race. Runkeeper (the GPS app on my phone) told me 9:20, so I assumed it was not playing fair.
The hills kept rolling, but I was moving steadily. I slowed down a bit in the second mile, moving steadily but not painfully. Runkeeper split was 9:40.
The last mile started to get painful, but that's about right for a 5K. My legs felt fine, and I realized after the race that I didn't have any problems with my legs, feet, or shins at all. The problem was my lungs. They started to burn as I tried to pick up the pace just a little bit in the last mile. By the last half mile, I had to take off my gloves as I suddenly started burning up.
The end of the course had a lot of turns, so I really didn't know where the end was and I didn't trust the GPS. My lungs were really burning. We made our last turn, and the finish line was not very far away. If I had known how close it was, I could've made my final kick earlier, I think. I kicked it and crossed the finish line with 30:18 on the clock.
My friend had finished around 29, and she claims that it took at least 15 seconds to cross the start line after the gun. According to Runkeeper, I had run 3.18 miles in 30:18, which means we covered some distance before the start line, or I spent too much effort running around people. It also said I completed 3.11 miles (5K) in 29:49.
So, if you squint, I kind of got a sub-30 5K. I don't feel good about it, though. My next chance is a 5K in early February, but by then, I hope to have loftier goals like 29 or 28. In fact, I think I'm going to do my own unofficial sub-30 5K, maybe in celebration of New Years'.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Flying
I got to fly twice today.
The first was this morning, during my first class. The class was running especially smoothly, which was good, because my IL was in the room. I was remembering all my techniques (check for understanding, circulate and check student work, etc) and it was great. About two-thirds of the way through the class, my IL waves me over to her. This usually happens when she's been trying to gesture a message to me that I'm just not getting, and when the gesturing gets too furious, she'll find a convenient break (30 seconds to write the answer...GO) and wave me over. I didn't think I'd been missing anything, but I walked over to her as she stood up. She leaned over and whispered, "I'm really impressed to see how much you've improved. You're using all your techniques and the class is producing higher quality work."
Flying.
Moreover, I have a full period test tomorrow, so it'll be an easy (albeit grading-heavy) day.
The second time I got to fly was in the evening. I had been planning all week to try out nighttime running on this night. I looked at the weather report and noticed that tonight it would be nearly 60 degrees when I got home, so it was set. I'd do about 2-2.5 miles at a pretty fast pace, as a sort of "test run" run for the 5K on Saturday. It was my first time running in the dark, but I had a brand new, very...visible, vest that my parents bought for me. It's really, really, yellow.
I started out running smoothly. I easily picked up the pace, but felt good. I was listening to an audiobook with one headphone in, so I could hear traffic. I waited extra long at intersections, and it was a little difficult to see all the cracks in the sidewalk. About 5 minutes in, I accidentally hit some button on my phone and it shut off the audiobook. Oh well. I didn't want to stop and fiddle, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to "enjoy the moment" and "listen to my body".
I had an extremely good time and felt incredible. Flying again.
Of course, soon after I returned to my apartment complex, I stepped off the curb and rolled my ankle. I did that sort of run-run-roll-catch-run-run-nope-ow-walk-walk graceful dance that only an experienced ankle-roller could manage. I rushed upstairs to shower and make dinner before the run wore off and it started hurting. I think it'll be okay, but I took some Advil just to be sure. I'm hoping I'll still be in top shape for Saturday, but I might have to skip Thursday's run. I felt fast, now it hurts a little. A small price to pay for flying.
The first was this morning, during my first class. The class was running especially smoothly, which was good, because my IL was in the room. I was remembering all my techniques (check for understanding, circulate and check student work, etc) and it was great. About two-thirds of the way through the class, my IL waves me over to her. This usually happens when she's been trying to gesture a message to me that I'm just not getting, and when the gesturing gets too furious, she'll find a convenient break (30 seconds to write the answer...GO) and wave me over. I didn't think I'd been missing anything, but I walked over to her as she stood up. She leaned over and whispered, "I'm really impressed to see how much you've improved. You're using all your techniques and the class is producing higher quality work."
Flying.
Moreover, I have a full period test tomorrow, so it'll be an easy (albeit grading-heavy) day.
The second time I got to fly was in the evening. I had been planning all week to try out nighttime running on this night. I looked at the weather report and noticed that tonight it would be nearly 60 degrees when I got home, so it was set. I'd do about 2-2.5 miles at a pretty fast pace, as a sort of "test run" run for the 5K on Saturday. It was my first time running in the dark, but I had a brand new, very...visible, vest that my parents bought for me. It's really, really, yellow.
I started out running smoothly. I easily picked up the pace, but felt good. I was listening to an audiobook with one headphone in, so I could hear traffic. I waited extra long at intersections, and it was a little difficult to see all the cracks in the sidewalk. About 5 minutes in, I accidentally hit some button on my phone and it shut off the audiobook. Oh well. I didn't want to stop and fiddle, so I decided it would be a good opportunity to "enjoy the moment" and "listen to my body".
I had an extremely good time and felt incredible. Flying again.
Of course, soon after I returned to my apartment complex, I stepped off the curb and rolled my ankle. I did that sort of run-run-roll-catch-run-run-nope-ow-walk-walk graceful dance that only an experienced ankle-roller could manage. I rushed upstairs to shower and make dinner before the run wore off and it started hurting. I think it'll be okay, but I took some Advil just to be sure. I'm hoping I'll still be in top shape for Saturday, but I might have to skip Thursday's run. I felt fast, now it hurts a little. A small price to pay for flying.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Monday
I don't have a lot to write about, and it's Monday and I'm pretty tired.
School is going really well. My IL commented about how she has been giving me progressively less and less feedback. In fact, she came in for a scheduled observation today, and had no criticisms for me. Not bad!
I've been doing well at running. I've done two consecutive 10+ mile weeks, but at my new faster pace. My bests are Tuesday's 2.2 miles at 10 min/mi, and Saturday's 4 miles at 11 min/mi. I'm running a 5K at Rutgers on Saturday, and I'm hoping to break 30. It's unlikely, but when 7000+ people are running on a street in December, anything can happen. I'm feeling pretty good, although my calves are sore.
This year I'm doing triathlon training right. I've already run more than I ever have this far past summer. I have plans to acquire an indoor bike trainer and swimming pool access. I hope to be really strong once the race season starts.
Today, I surprised Boyfriend with steak fajitas. I'll go enjoy those now.
School is going really well. My IL commented about how she has been giving me progressively less and less feedback. In fact, she came in for a scheduled observation today, and had no criticisms for me. Not bad!
I've been doing well at running. I've done two consecutive 10+ mile weeks, but at my new faster pace. My bests are Tuesday's 2.2 miles at 10 min/mi, and Saturday's 4 miles at 11 min/mi. I'm running a 5K at Rutgers on Saturday, and I'm hoping to break 30. It's unlikely, but when 7000+ people are running on a street in December, anything can happen. I'm feeling pretty good, although my calves are sore.
This year I'm doing triathlon training right. I've already run more than I ever have this far past summer. I have plans to acquire an indoor bike trainer and swimming pool access. I hope to be really strong once the race season starts.
Today, I surprised Boyfriend with steak fajitas. I'll go enjoy those now.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Super Sleuthing
Today I played detective, and while the results of my work made me very angry, I was pretty satisfied anyway.
I was checking homework, which was less-than-thrilling because it was an extra long assignment and an extra long weekend. I noticed that one student had submitted work that was not her own. I check homeworks for completion, then check off names as I go. For some students, I see the name and know it's perfect anyway. For some students, I need to make sure every question was completed, because they try to get away with stuff, and any incomplete assignment means detention. This student was inconsistent with her work, so even though I had a few pages to flip through, I was going to look at every single question.
The first thing I noticed was that the work was not in her handwriting. Her handwriting is not quite that of a middle-schooler, although she is new to North Star, so we've forgiven her as long as it's legible. This homework assignment, however, was written in perfectly neat, girly handwriting that not only didn't match this girls previous assignments, but also didn't even match the name on the top of the page.
Wow, she had someone else do her homework for her. What does that take? A really good friendship? Money? Candy? I'd probably do it for candy. I flipped through a recent quiz, and pulled out a couple of papers that had similar handwriting (I matched a funny "e"). In between answering questions in special ed math, I carefully compared papers to see who might be completing this girls homework for her.
Then I found the answer: at the top, where she had written her name, I noticed that I could see another erased name on top. Someone didn't do her homework for her; she had literally STOLEN someone else's work and passed it off as her own. I could see the other girl's name and team name, both of which had been poorly erased.
I was furious.
The girl was pulled out of class and given a two-day suspension. She spent the entire day sitting in the dean's office, alternately weeping and temper-tantrum-ing, coming out with such offensive remarks as, "I swear on my grandmother's grave that I didn't do it."
By the end of the day, we found she had stolen her history homework from another student, who was wrongly assigned detention.
I can't believe she would do that. She's one of our most struggling students, failing every course and often skipping out early on detention or homework center for a doctor's appointment or other event with her mother.
In brighter news, though, my day went smoothly. I was able to teach the students how to organize notes in the I, A, 1, a, etc. format, which is surprisingly difficult to teach. They picked it up like champs, though, and after my first class, my IL made me tape my next class to see how my improvements have changed the pace of the class and quality of student work. Okay!
Thanksgiving weekend was nice and family-y, with lots of food (and drink) and even a friend I hadn't seen in a while. I had my first pain-free week of 10 miles run, including an awesome 4-miler along the Charles River. I'm starting to make my triathlon plans for next summer.
I was checking homework, which was less-than-thrilling because it was an extra long assignment and an extra long weekend. I noticed that one student had submitted work that was not her own. I check homeworks for completion, then check off names as I go. For some students, I see the name and know it's perfect anyway. For some students, I need to make sure every question was completed, because they try to get away with stuff, and any incomplete assignment means detention. This student was inconsistent with her work, so even though I had a few pages to flip through, I was going to look at every single question.
The first thing I noticed was that the work was not in her handwriting. Her handwriting is not quite that of a middle-schooler, although she is new to North Star, so we've forgiven her as long as it's legible. This homework assignment, however, was written in perfectly neat, girly handwriting that not only didn't match this girls previous assignments, but also didn't even match the name on the top of the page.
Wow, she had someone else do her homework for her. What does that take? A really good friendship? Money? Candy? I'd probably do it for candy. I flipped through a recent quiz, and pulled out a couple of papers that had similar handwriting (I matched a funny "e"). In between answering questions in special ed math, I carefully compared papers to see who might be completing this girls homework for her.
Then I found the answer: at the top, where she had written her name, I noticed that I could see another erased name on top. Someone didn't do her homework for her; she had literally STOLEN someone else's work and passed it off as her own. I could see the other girl's name and team name, both of which had been poorly erased.
I was furious.
The girl was pulled out of class and given a two-day suspension. She spent the entire day sitting in the dean's office, alternately weeping and temper-tantrum-ing, coming out with such offensive remarks as, "I swear on my grandmother's grave that I didn't do it."
By the end of the day, we found she had stolen her history homework from another student, who was wrongly assigned detention.
I can't believe she would do that. She's one of our most struggling students, failing every course and often skipping out early on detention or homework center for a doctor's appointment or other event with her mother.
In brighter news, though, my day went smoothly. I was able to teach the students how to organize notes in the I, A, 1, a, etc. format, which is surprisingly difficult to teach. They picked it up like champs, though, and after my first class, my IL made me tape my next class to see how my improvements have changed the pace of the class and quality of student work. Okay!
Thanksgiving weekend was nice and family-y, with lots of food (and drink) and even a friend I hadn't seen in a while. I had my first pain-free week of 10 miles run, including an awesome 4-miler along the Charles River. I'm starting to make my triathlon plans for next summer.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Threes
Although I've been a little less motivated to blog lately, I tend to want to write when I've come up with three things worth mentioning.
The first is another awesome encounter with the principal. She popped into my class yesterday after lunch, which is not terribly unusual. She walked through, and then left. I figured it was because I had mentioned that I find that class the most challenging, and she wanted to check it out. After class, she approached me in the hallway and asked how I was feeling. What? Oh! On Friday, during our check-in, I mentioned that I thought I was coming down with a cold. She was actually checking to see how I was doing. She cares about me. Crazy. I'm getting spoiled here.
I've noticed I've been getting sick less. I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but last year I was sick about once per month. This year, I had one real cold, and suffered through a few sniffly days of school. I also had two almost-colds that never really panned out. Not bad, considering Thanksgiving break is almost NOW.
This week we had about a dozen visitors from a TFA-related charter school in North Carolina. They were gracious, observed politely, and left us thank you notes. They also LOVED our school (as they should) and took notes about a lot of the awesome stuff we did. And then we swapped stories about some of the more challenging schools.
This afternoon, I had one of my favorite things happen. Twice. After each of my two afternoon classes, a handful of kids demanded to stay after class to ask me more questions about stuff only tangentially related to class content. It was awesome. I got to talk even more about science, and they eagerly swallowed up every little bit.
And then I exhaustedly drove home, and had a nice jog on the treadmill. Since dealing with various pains (shin, knee, etc.), this was my first continuous 2 mile run. There was no pain at all. Not only that, I've been taking it really "slowly" by running fast. For the last month, I've been running short intervals (1-8 minutes at a time with walking breaks in between), but faster than normal (10 minutes per mile). Today I ran 2 miles at 10 min/mi. It's one of my best paces, and it was on a treadmill, and my headphones fell out after the first mile. I can't wait until my new headphones arrive in the mail from Hong Kong sometime soon.
This weekend I'm going to Boston with my parents. There will be good food, good drinks, good museums, and hopefully some good running adventures.
That's more than three things, but that's how I roll. I start the writing, and it finishes itself.
The first is another awesome encounter with the principal. She popped into my class yesterday after lunch, which is not terribly unusual. She walked through, and then left. I figured it was because I had mentioned that I find that class the most challenging, and she wanted to check it out. After class, she approached me in the hallway and asked how I was feeling. What? Oh! On Friday, during our check-in, I mentioned that I thought I was coming down with a cold. She was actually checking to see how I was doing. She cares about me. Crazy. I'm getting spoiled here.
I've noticed I've been getting sick less. I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but last year I was sick about once per month. This year, I had one real cold, and suffered through a few sniffly days of school. I also had two almost-colds that never really panned out. Not bad, considering Thanksgiving break is almost NOW.
This week we had about a dozen visitors from a TFA-related charter school in North Carolina. They were gracious, observed politely, and left us thank you notes. They also LOVED our school (as they should) and took notes about a lot of the awesome stuff we did. And then we swapped stories about some of the more challenging schools.
This afternoon, I had one of my favorite things happen. Twice. After each of my two afternoon classes, a handful of kids demanded to stay after class to ask me more questions about stuff only tangentially related to class content. It was awesome. I got to talk even more about science, and they eagerly swallowed up every little bit.
And then I exhaustedly drove home, and had a nice jog on the treadmill. Since dealing with various pains (shin, knee, etc.), this was my first continuous 2 mile run. There was no pain at all. Not only that, I've been taking it really "slowly" by running fast. For the last month, I've been running short intervals (1-8 minutes at a time with walking breaks in between), but faster than normal (10 minutes per mile). Today I ran 2 miles at 10 min/mi. It's one of my best paces, and it was on a treadmill, and my headphones fell out after the first mile. I can't wait until my new headphones arrive in the mail from Hong Kong sometime soon.
This weekend I'm going to Boston with my parents. There will be good food, good drinks, good museums, and hopefully some good running adventures.
That's more than three things, but that's how I roll. I start the writing, and it finishes itself.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Baby-Gay-Writing
This week was busy. There was a lot of getting used to our own space again, but there were also special circumstances.
Our special education teacher had a baby on Monday (!), and I've been covering one of her classes. It's an easy classes, more a test of patience than a management challenge. There are only three students, and it's math. Two of the kids are pretty good; I set them in the right direction and they work through the 90-minute block. The third is an adorable, sweet girl who is very, very slow. I have to constantly monitor her to see whether she is thinking slowly, or lost. I'm happy to get to teach her math, and I'm a little excited for her assessment on Wednesday. Fortunately for my schedule and stress level, we are (most likely) hiring a temporary special ed teacher starting after Thanksgiving, so I'll get my morning back.
Tuesday morning's seventh grade circle was exceptionally heart-warming. I was a little nervous when the principal brought up the concept of a state referendum, but she rallied the students' utmost professionalism and led a grade-wide discussion on same-sex marriage. She introduced the idea in a clever way: Think about the person you care about most, whether it is your mother or sister or cousin or uncle. Then think about what would happen if that person were sick, and you couldn't see them in the hospital.
In 90 seconds, the principal had gotten a room full of 12-year olds invested in the concept of marriage and civil rights. The next 10-15 minutes were serious and motivating, and ended with a great comment with a student who said something along the lines of: Just like in Virginia vs. Loving, these referendums created great opportunities for civil rights, because Americans have voted to support something that may make them a little uncomfortable, but represents freedom and equality.
That is a pretty special seventh-grader.
This year, I "introduced" my kids to persuasive essays. As it turns out, they've been writing them for years. Not only that, I was similarly impressed to discover that they were not new to writing workshops and excellent at giving and receiving criticism. They spent about 10 minutes in deep discussion of each others' writing, in a rigorous and respectful way. I loved every minute of it.
Now it's the weekend. I have to take a test tomorrow, as part of the Great Certification Saga, but I can relax after that.
Our special education teacher had a baby on Monday (!), and I've been covering one of her classes. It's an easy classes, more a test of patience than a management challenge. There are only three students, and it's math. Two of the kids are pretty good; I set them in the right direction and they work through the 90-minute block. The third is an adorable, sweet girl who is very, very slow. I have to constantly monitor her to see whether she is thinking slowly, or lost. I'm happy to get to teach her math, and I'm a little excited for her assessment on Wednesday. Fortunately for my schedule and stress level, we are (most likely) hiring a temporary special ed teacher starting after Thanksgiving, so I'll get my morning back.
Tuesday morning's seventh grade circle was exceptionally heart-warming. I was a little nervous when the principal brought up the concept of a state referendum, but she rallied the students' utmost professionalism and led a grade-wide discussion on same-sex marriage. She introduced the idea in a clever way: Think about the person you care about most, whether it is your mother or sister or cousin or uncle. Then think about what would happen if that person were sick, and you couldn't see them in the hospital.
In 90 seconds, the principal had gotten a room full of 12-year olds invested in the concept of marriage and civil rights. The next 10-15 minutes were serious and motivating, and ended with a great comment with a student who said something along the lines of: Just like in Virginia vs. Loving, these referendums created great opportunities for civil rights, because Americans have voted to support something that may make them a little uncomfortable, but represents freedom and equality.
That is a pretty special seventh-grader.
This year, I "introduced" my kids to persuasive essays. As it turns out, they've been writing them for years. Not only that, I was similarly impressed to discover that they were not new to writing workshops and excellent at giving and receiving criticism. They spent about 10 minutes in deep discussion of each others' writing, in a rigorous and respectful way. I loved every minute of it.
Now it's the weekend. I have to take a test tomorrow, as part of the Great Certification Saga, but I can relax after that.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
College
This past weekend I went back to college. It was a reunion for my co-ed literary fraternity. Despite some of the frustration about hearing college students complain about how busy they are (I only wish I were that busy again), I had a really good time.
I got to catch up with about a dozen of my friends from school. It's so much fun hearing how everyone is making their way in the world, as everything from a literary publicist to medical student. It's almost as exciting to hear about as it is to share my life updates (almost).
For the first time in a while, I got a chance to do some writing. I got to spill my innermost thoughts onto paper, without the expectation that you would be reading it. It was nice, and relaxing. It helped me figure out some stuff that I wouldn't have otherwise. You get a watered down version. It's politically correct and usually pre-thought out, during the 40-ish minutes I have to drive home and the short jog or drink or dinner. On Saturday, I got to write just because. And I figured out how I feel about things. I'm very happy with my life, but very overwhelmed with work. I'm generally exhausted, but still enthusiastic. I ended up with something along the lines of, "There's no greater feeling than watching a room full of 12-year olds finally understand why the ocean is salty, except maybe feeling well-rested enough to enjoy it."
I guess that's how I feel.
I love every minute, and some things are really exciting, but I also can't wait until Thanksgiving break.
I also got some really positive feedback from my IL today, which made me feel good.
I got to catch up with about a dozen of my friends from school. It's so much fun hearing how everyone is making their way in the world, as everything from a literary publicist to medical student. It's almost as exciting to hear about as it is to share my life updates (almost).
For the first time in a while, I got a chance to do some writing. I got to spill my innermost thoughts onto paper, without the expectation that you would be reading it. It was nice, and relaxing. It helped me figure out some stuff that I wouldn't have otherwise. You get a watered down version. It's politically correct and usually pre-thought out, during the 40-ish minutes I have to drive home and the short jog or drink or dinner. On Saturday, I got to write just because. And I figured out how I feel about things. I'm very happy with my life, but very overwhelmed with work. I'm generally exhausted, but still enthusiastic. I ended up with something along the lines of, "There's no greater feeling than watching a room full of 12-year olds finally understand why the ocean is salty, except maybe feeling well-rested enough to enjoy it."
I guess that's how I feel.
I love every minute, and some things are really exciting, but I also can't wait until Thanksgiving break.
I also got some really positive feedback from my IL today, which made me feel good.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Appreciation
I had a tough day today, but only inside my head. The kids were good and I had an easy day (long quiz and short reading assignment). I was exhausted. I was up way too late on Tuesday night (Yay Obama!) and had a rough evening last night (it took me three trips to the gym to find an open treadmill, and other things). My back was hurting and my foot was hurting as well. I think the floor at our "new" school is harder than what I'm used to. It was just a long day. This week has been challenging and exhausting.
I still can't talking about how much I love my job, though. My mom pointed out that this year's blog talks a lot more "we" than last year's. That perfectly sums up my year so far (finishing week 10). I'm part of a team. We work together to education children. We help each other all the time. We work to help each other improve and to make our lives easier, because we work hard enough as it is. Not only does it make us happier, it makes the school better. It helps us educate better and it helps our kids go to college (and graduate college!). I didn't have that. I was working alone, and a school full of teachers working alone. It was much more challenging, much more stressful, and much less successful.
And still, I'm completely blown away whenever we're shown appreciation. We've had a rough week, but we've been working on a modified scheduled, so we've been able to go home a little bit after 4PM every day. Today, we had a faculty meeting planned at 4:30. I went to the prescribed location, and the group was waiting in the hallway. As we walked into the room, someone commented that it smelled funny. And we saw that they had laid out a table of plastic cups each filled with a little bit of champagne, and a sign saying, "Welcome back home, Vailsburg." We had a toast to our hard work this week, and discussed the logistics of packing up and moving back home. We also got to watch a slideshow of our adventures here.
Yet again, I love this place.
I still can't talking about how much I love my job, though. My mom pointed out that this year's blog talks a lot more "we" than last year's. That perfectly sums up my year so far (finishing week 10). I'm part of a team. We work together to education children. We help each other all the time. We work to help each other improve and to make our lives easier, because we work hard enough as it is. Not only does it make us happier, it makes the school better. It helps us educate better and it helps our kids go to college (and graduate college!). I didn't have that. I was working alone, and a school full of teachers working alone. It was much more challenging, much more stressful, and much less successful.
And still, I'm completely blown away whenever we're shown appreciation. We've had a rough week, but we've been working on a modified scheduled, so we've been able to go home a little bit after 4PM every day. Today, we had a faculty meeting planned at 4:30. I went to the prescribed location, and the group was waiting in the hallway. As we walked into the room, someone commented that it smelled funny. And we saw that they had laid out a table of plastic cups each filled with a little bit of champagne, and a sign saying, "Welcome back home, Vailsburg." We had a toast to our hard work this week, and discussed the logistics of packing up and moving back home. We also got to watch a slideshow of our adventures here.
Yet again, I love this place.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Homeless
The storm has been rough on everyone, but Newark was hit hard. Most of our students still don't have power, and neither does our school. Fortunately, North Star is willing to make sacrifices to educate our children, and today we made it work even though Newark Public Schools is still closed. It was frustrated to get started, but it was a good thing.
Over the weekend, the ops staff worked 24-hour days to move our school to another building. One of the North Star schools was only using half the building, so they cleaned the other half and moved in tables and chairs for our students. They also moved carts, projectors, doc cams, and office supplies. We arrived this morning to a school ready to go.
The schedule was modified so that all classes were an hour long (normal for me, but unusual for all other subjects) and there were no specials or after school activities. It was busy, but it worked. The school day also included a 90-minute study hall at the end of the day to allow students to do their homework in a warm, well-lit environment...and they were really excited about that. Crazy kids.
And it all worked out. Everything ran smoothly, which was a little surprising to all of us. I took a little while to get into my groove, but by my third class I was flying along. I even got cc'd on a a very nice email from a colleague to the principal and IL, saying how well I was doing. Not bad.
We'll be at our new home through the week, which will be rough, but I think we can handle it. The kids are happy to have something to do, and believe it or not, they love learning. The biggest problem was that they had all finished their books last week and had no independent reading books left.
The novelty will wear off, though, and tomorrow we get an added bonus: election. In a school that normally holds 280 students, and today managed to hold 800 students, will also be acting as a polling place tomorrow. It will certainly be interesting.
All in all, I was amazed at how well everyone came together and worked to teach our kids today, despite difficulties. It took the cooperation of the kids, teachers, and school leaders. I think our principal expressed it best this morning at our staff meeting when, right before the kids started arriving, she looked around the room with pride and burst into tears. We're pretty awesome.
Over the weekend, the ops staff worked 24-hour days to move our school to another building. One of the North Star schools was only using half the building, so they cleaned the other half and moved in tables and chairs for our students. They also moved carts, projectors, doc cams, and office supplies. We arrived this morning to a school ready to go.
The schedule was modified so that all classes were an hour long (normal for me, but unusual for all other subjects) and there were no specials or after school activities. It was busy, but it worked. The school day also included a 90-minute study hall at the end of the day to allow students to do their homework in a warm, well-lit environment...and they were really excited about that. Crazy kids.
And it all worked out. Everything ran smoothly, which was a little surprising to all of us. I took a little while to get into my groove, but by my third class I was flying along. I even got cc'd on a a very nice email from a colleague to the principal and IL, saying how well I was doing. Not bad.
We'll be at our new home through the week, which will be rough, but I think we can handle it. The kids are happy to have something to do, and believe it or not, they love learning. The biggest problem was that they had all finished their books last week and had no independent reading books left.
The novelty will wear off, though, and tomorrow we get an added bonus: election. In a school that normally holds 280 students, and today managed to hold 800 students, will also be acting as a polling place tomorrow. It will certainly be interesting.
All in all, I was amazed at how well everyone came together and worked to teach our kids today, despite difficulties. It took the cooperation of the kids, teachers, and school leaders. I think our principal expressed it best this morning at our staff meeting when, right before the kids started arriving, she looked around the room with pride and burst into tears. We're pretty awesome.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Apocalypse
This week was the apocalypse. Well, it was Hurricaine Sandy. And it turns out that the apocalypse is merely boring. Not scary, not exciting, just terribly boring.
The weekend was uneventful, with a CPR class that was incredibly boring (and it's way easier to do it for real than on plastic mannequins) and wonderful Chinese food with my boyfriend's parents. They took us out to eat, then sent us home with a ton of food (chicken Parmesan meatballs, etc.). We hunkered down throughout the noisy, slightly scary wind Sunday night, as school was cancelled for Monday (only Monday). And we thought that was the worst of it.
Monday evening, the rain began and the wind was unbelievable. It's amazing what can this planet can throw together when it wants to. We lost power by 7PM, and went to sleep early (after watching some transformers blow out above the line of buildings). Tuesday cancelled.
In the morning, we drove around a bit to observe the aftermath. There were trees everywhere and electricity nowhere.
We ate too much perishable food, and read by headlamp. Wednesday cancelled. I drove back to Roslyn, passing many trees on the ground. No power, but a generator and a house full of friends and family.
I spent the night with my parents, though no internet, and headed back home. I had spent most of Wednesday at the fire house, but there was an empty house full of dirty clothes. We couldn't get a crew here for a few calls, because everyone was finally home sleeping, so I left for New Jersey. I wasn't sure if Thursday would be cancelled.
Thursday cancelled. Power still out. We lit a few candles, made some pasta (had to eat it all, no refrigerator), and watched some ER on the iPad by candlelight. It was romantic and a little chilly.
Thursday morning, we headed to the mall. I bought some clothes (pants size 4!). The food court was full of food service employees with no food. The power had just returned last night and they hadn't received food yet. We drove back to Piscataway, drove around a little more, and finally found an open bagel joint that didn't have bagels. I had a yummy omlet wrap. We spent the afternoon at Tim's friend's apartment, with hot water and cable. We arrived home, to end the saga, and to find that our electricity had returned! And internet! And Friday is cancelled! I finally get my one day of real, internet-ful, electricity-ful relaxing vacation, before Saturday morning's Praxis exam.
If only my shin splints could stop hurting...
The weekend was uneventful, with a CPR class that was incredibly boring (and it's way easier to do it for real than on plastic mannequins) and wonderful Chinese food with my boyfriend's parents. They took us out to eat, then sent us home with a ton of food (chicken Parmesan meatballs, etc.). We hunkered down throughout the noisy, slightly scary wind Sunday night, as school was cancelled for Monday (only Monday). And we thought that was the worst of it.
Monday evening, the rain began and the wind was unbelievable. It's amazing what can this planet can throw together when it wants to. We lost power by 7PM, and went to sleep early (after watching some transformers blow out above the line of buildings). Tuesday cancelled.
In the morning, we drove around a bit to observe the aftermath. There were trees everywhere and electricity nowhere.
We ate too much perishable food, and read by headlamp. Wednesday cancelled. I drove back to Roslyn, passing many trees on the ground. No power, but a generator and a house full of friends and family.
I spent the night with my parents, though no internet, and headed back home. I had spent most of Wednesday at the fire house, but there was an empty house full of dirty clothes. We couldn't get a crew here for a few calls, because everyone was finally home sleeping, so I left for New Jersey. I wasn't sure if Thursday would be cancelled.
Thursday cancelled. Power still out. We lit a few candles, made some pasta (had to eat it all, no refrigerator), and watched some ER on the iPad by candlelight. It was romantic and a little chilly.
Thursday morning, we headed to the mall. I bought some clothes (pants size 4!). The food court was full of food service employees with no food. The power had just returned last night and they hadn't received food yet. We drove back to Piscataway, drove around a little more, and finally found an open bagel joint that didn't have bagels. I had a yummy omlet wrap. We spent the afternoon at Tim's friend's apartment, with hot water and cable. We arrived home, to end the saga, and to find that our electricity had returned! And internet! And Friday is cancelled! I finally get my one day of real, internet-ful, electricity-ful relaxing vacation, before Saturday morning's Praxis exam.
If only my shin splints could stop hurting...
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Teaching Day
Here's some insight into my brain: When I sit down to blog, this is what comes out first:
[Some days I have planning days, and some days I have teaching days. Today was a teaching day. My first lesson was so much fun that I couldn't sit down an focus for any amount of time in the three hours before my second class. I did a little work, I walked up and down the hallway, I ate a piece of Halloween candy
Tomorrow is lab day and the Halloween party. Lab day should've been today, but I had to push it back because of the practical on Tuesday. Thursdays are tough anyway, because it's a shortened day for staff meetings. I have less prep time, and I teach back
Maternity leave]
Unfortunately, my audience prefers coherent and complete stories, so here's what a finished blog looks like:
Some days I have planning days, and some days I have teaching days. Today was a teaching day. My first lesson was so much fun that I couldn't sit down an focus for any amount of time in the three hours before my second class. I did a little work, I walked up and down the hallway, I ate a piece of Halloween candy, schmoozed with some colleagues, and did a little bit more work. On other days, I get into planning mode and can't wait until class ends so that I can get back to crafting lessons. Today was a teaching day.
Tomorrow is lab day and the Halloween party. Lab day should've been today, but I had to push it back because of the practical on Tuesday. Thursdays are tough anyway, because it's a shortened day for staff meetings. I have less prep time, and I teach back-to-back with the 5th grade science teacher, which makes cleanup and prep more challenging. This creates some logistical chaos with the experiment.
Moreover, tomorrow afternoon is the Halloween party. The 7th graders are having their first dance, and they get to dress up and eat pizza as well. They'll be excited tomorrow, which always makes teaching more challenging. For Halloween, I'll be the water cycle. I couldn't find any good ideas (these kids have never heard of Ms. Frizzle), so I'll laminate the different parts of the water cycle and pin them to my clothes.
The lab is testing how rock composition affects the rate at which water abrasion occurs. Each student will be given a film-canister-esque cylinder with chunks of granite and one with chunks of halite (rock salt). They will cover the rocks with salt and shake, then pour off the water. They will mass the rocks before the experiment and once every minute. They should see the halite decrease in mass noticeably, while the granite will not. I am so excited for the experiment, because they will be so excited. I also really can't wait to see another round of lab reports.
I found out yesterday that I may have to cover another class while the special ed teacher is on maternity leave, starting sometime in the next three weeks. I will teach a small group pull-out math class for three sixth graders. It sounds really fun, but at the moment the thought of planning and teaching another class is a little intimidating. Fortunately, I will be compensated. Also, it is possible they will find and hire a temporary teacher for then. Being flexible.
Today I ran 2 miles, which means I'm 3 days into my mission to be consistent. I want to run consistently so I can build mileage and train for a marathon in the spring. I am 4 miles into my 12 for the week. That means I'm 1/3 of the way through my weekly mileage and 2/3 of the way through my weekday mileage. I think I can do this.
[Some days I have planning days, and some days I have teaching days. Today was a teaching day. My first lesson was so much fun that I couldn't sit down an focus for any amount of time in the three hours before my second class. I did a little work, I walked up and down the hallway, I ate a piece of Halloween candy
Tomorrow is lab day and the Halloween party. Lab day should've been today, but I had to push it back because of the practical on Tuesday. Thursdays are tough anyway, because it's a shortened day for staff meetings. I have less prep time, and I teach back
Maternity leave]
Unfortunately, my audience prefers coherent and complete stories, so here's what a finished blog looks like:
Some days I have planning days, and some days I have teaching days. Today was a teaching day. My first lesson was so much fun that I couldn't sit down an focus for any amount of time in the three hours before my second class. I did a little work, I walked up and down the hallway, I ate a piece of Halloween candy, schmoozed with some colleagues, and did a little bit more work. On other days, I get into planning mode and can't wait until class ends so that I can get back to crafting lessons. Today was a teaching day.
Tomorrow is lab day and the Halloween party. Lab day should've been today, but I had to push it back because of the practical on Tuesday. Thursdays are tough anyway, because it's a shortened day for staff meetings. I have less prep time, and I teach back-to-back with the 5th grade science teacher, which makes cleanup and prep more challenging. This creates some logistical chaos with the experiment.
Moreover, tomorrow afternoon is the Halloween party. The 7th graders are having their first dance, and they get to dress up and eat pizza as well. They'll be excited tomorrow, which always makes teaching more challenging. For Halloween, I'll be the water cycle. I couldn't find any good ideas (these kids have never heard of Ms. Frizzle), so I'll laminate the different parts of the water cycle and pin them to my clothes.
The lab is testing how rock composition affects the rate at which water abrasion occurs. Each student will be given a film-canister-esque cylinder with chunks of granite and one with chunks of halite (rock salt). They will cover the rocks with salt and shake, then pour off the water. They will mass the rocks before the experiment and once every minute. They should see the halite decrease in mass noticeably, while the granite will not. I am so excited for the experiment, because they will be so excited. I also really can't wait to see another round of lab reports.
I found out yesterday that I may have to cover another class while the special ed teacher is on maternity leave, starting sometime in the next three weeks. I will teach a small group pull-out math class for three sixth graders. It sounds really fun, but at the moment the thought of planning and teaching another class is a little intimidating. Fortunately, I will be compensated. Also, it is possible they will find and hire a temporary teacher for then. Being flexible.
Today I ran 2 miles, which means I'm 3 days into my mission to be consistent. I want to run consistently so I can build mileage and train for a marathon in the spring. I am 4 miles into my 12 for the week. That means I'm 1/3 of the way through my weekly mileage and 2/3 of the way through my weekday mileage. I think I can do this.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Stuffy Head
I have a stuffy head today. That is a bad sign. I'm hoping I can eat a burrito and get a good night's sleep, and I'll feel fine in the morning.
On Friday, I had another opportunity to be observed by the principal and receive feedback. I love feedback. It's helpful, and it makes me feel like I'm on the right track.
I met with my IL today, and received more feedback. Part of that feedback was complimenting my ability to take feedback. I'm okay with that. In addition, I realized how well we get along and work well together. She asked me if I got a chance to take care of something that came up in terms of rescheduling the practical, and I started explaining how I rearranged the lesson, planned time for review, and created a different homework assignment for the extra day. Before I was even done explaining, she was cracking up about how on top of things I was. Cool, I can handle that. She also assured me that I'm doing a good job, but that she definitely won't let me get complacent. I expressed my concern that I would become complacent, because last year I became complacent, and ended up miserable.
In addition to not letting me become complacent, my IL will keep me accountable for my crazy ideas. Today, I brought up the idea of having kids reading (as a class) a short journal article when we get to glaciers, and then maybe having them read and write newspaper articles relating classroom content to current events. Rather than just smiling and nodding, she wrote it down and is prepared to ask me about it in a couple of weeks. This is part of our plans to push our students, even if they exceed the rigor of the NSA.
What is the end goal of this? I want to build informed people. I want teenagers who read newspaper articles about science and question the reasoning and validity behind claims. I want teenagers who question every claim they hear on TV. I want teenagers who can approach any situation from a skeptical, scientific viewpoint. Fortunately, they're not teenagers yet, but when they are, watch out! They'll be well-informed and critical, rather than just critical (like most teenagers) (except me) (when I was a teenager, I knew everything) (no, seriously).
Now, I'll take my stuffy head home and decide whether a two mile run will help or hurt.
On Friday, I had another opportunity to be observed by the principal and receive feedback. I love feedback. It's helpful, and it makes me feel like I'm on the right track.
I met with my IL today, and received more feedback. Part of that feedback was complimenting my ability to take feedback. I'm okay with that. In addition, I realized how well we get along and work well together. She asked me if I got a chance to take care of something that came up in terms of rescheduling the practical, and I started explaining how I rearranged the lesson, planned time for review, and created a different homework assignment for the extra day. Before I was even done explaining, she was cracking up about how on top of things I was. Cool, I can handle that. She also assured me that I'm doing a good job, but that she definitely won't let me get complacent. I expressed my concern that I would become complacent, because last year I became complacent, and ended up miserable.
In addition to not letting me become complacent, my IL will keep me accountable for my crazy ideas. Today, I brought up the idea of having kids reading (as a class) a short journal article when we get to glaciers, and then maybe having them read and write newspaper articles relating classroom content to current events. Rather than just smiling and nodding, she wrote it down and is prepared to ask me about it in a couple of weeks. This is part of our plans to push our students, even if they exceed the rigor of the NSA.
What is the end goal of this? I want to build informed people. I want teenagers who read newspaper articles about science and question the reasoning and validity behind claims. I want teenagers who question every claim they hear on TV. I want teenagers who can approach any situation from a skeptical, scientific viewpoint. Fortunately, they're not teenagers yet, but when they are, watch out! They'll be well-informed and critical, rather than just critical (like most teenagers) (except me) (when I was a teenager, I knew everything) (no, seriously).
Now, I'll take my stuffy head home and decide whether a two mile run will help or hurt.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Super Sunday
Boyfriend is in the library all day today, so I took the day on MY terms.
I woke up at a bright 7:30 after nearly 10 hours (!) of sleep. I read some internet, then decided that the best way to get my run back was to enter a local 5K, preferably one with less than or equal to 3 females in the 25-29 age category. After a quick jog to and from the bathroom, to make sure my shin splints were absent. They were.
I arrived at the park in Fanwood at about 9:00 for a 9:30 race. I love this area the more and more I explore. Fanwood is very suburban and diverse, with a little Main Street. The park was full of a few hundred joggers of all ages, many of whom knew each other previously or were part of jogging clubs, fundraising clubs, and even the local fire department. (I thought about striking up a conversation, several times. I'm really a social butterfly in my head.) I put down my $25 and took number 385.
At 9:20, the race director announced that everyone should walk over to the starting line, as the race was starting in 10-15 minutes. I used that opportunity to use the bathroom, which I soon found out was not a great idea. I then discovered the 10-ish minute walk to the starting line, which I had to sprint the last quarter mile of. I was definitely warmed up and ready to go by the time I reached the starting line, with about 30 seconds to spare.
The race started out great, which I should've known was a bad sign. I settled into the crowd and completed my first mile in about 9:50. Right on pace for a sub-30 finish. A big hill popped up, but it was a bridge, and the rest of the area looked flat. It wasn't. There were more hills, and at the halfway point, I was really hurting. I tried to pick up the pace for the last mile, and then the last half mile, but didn't have enough left in me for either. I kicked on the last 2-tenths for a 32:01 finish. Not good, but it got me out of my running funk this week. Surprisingly, I finished in the top half of gender and division. I was 4th in my division. I could've gotten a medal if I finished in about 30:20. Next year. Next year, I think I can win a medal!
I grabbed half a bagel and a banana after the race and headed right to ballet. We had a substitute ballet teacher today, and she was fantastic. She had been teaching dance for many, many years. Not only was it enjoyable to watch a short, round, extremely flexible 50-something woman with wonderful turnout, but she had all the teacher skills: differentiation, personal feedback, and classroom awareness.
After ballet, I picked up some bagels and cider, and had just enough time to sit in my car with frozen yogurt for 10 minutes before my massage. And then my massage. It successfully turned both my body and brain to mashed potatoes. I drove home and enjoyed a well-deserved nap.
I plan on ending my Super Sunday with some Buffy the Vampire Slayer, chicken-and-potbelly-sausage and peppers on a kaiser roll, and maybe a glass of cold Muscato.
I woke up at a bright 7:30 after nearly 10 hours (!) of sleep. I read some internet, then decided that the best way to get my run back was to enter a local 5K, preferably one with less than or equal to 3 females in the 25-29 age category. After a quick jog to and from the bathroom, to make sure my shin splints were absent. They were.
I arrived at the park in Fanwood at about 9:00 for a 9:30 race. I love this area the more and more I explore. Fanwood is very suburban and diverse, with a little Main Street. The park was full of a few hundred joggers of all ages, many of whom knew each other previously or were part of jogging clubs, fundraising clubs, and even the local fire department. (I thought about striking up a conversation, several times. I'm really a social butterfly in my head.) I put down my $25 and took number 385.
At 9:20, the race director announced that everyone should walk over to the starting line, as the race was starting in 10-15 minutes. I used that opportunity to use the bathroom, which I soon found out was not a great idea. I then discovered the 10-ish minute walk to the starting line, which I had to sprint the last quarter mile of. I was definitely warmed up and ready to go by the time I reached the starting line, with about 30 seconds to spare.
The race started out great, which I should've known was a bad sign. I settled into the crowd and completed my first mile in about 9:50. Right on pace for a sub-30 finish. A big hill popped up, but it was a bridge, and the rest of the area looked flat. It wasn't. There were more hills, and at the halfway point, I was really hurting. I tried to pick up the pace for the last mile, and then the last half mile, but didn't have enough left in me for either. I kicked on the last 2-tenths for a 32:01 finish. Not good, but it got me out of my running funk this week. Surprisingly, I finished in the top half of gender and division. I was 4th in my division. I could've gotten a medal if I finished in about 30:20. Next year. Next year, I think I can win a medal!
I grabbed half a bagel and a banana after the race and headed right to ballet. We had a substitute ballet teacher today, and she was fantastic. She had been teaching dance for many, many years. Not only was it enjoyable to watch a short, round, extremely flexible 50-something woman with wonderful turnout, but she had all the teacher skills: differentiation, personal feedback, and classroom awareness.
After ballet, I picked up some bagels and cider, and had just enough time to sit in my car with frozen yogurt for 10 minutes before my massage. And then my massage. It successfully turned both my body and brain to mashed potatoes. I drove home and enjoyed a well-deserved nap.
I plan on ending my Super Sunday with some Buffy the Vampire Slayer, chicken-and-potbelly-sausage and peppers on a kaiser roll, and maybe a glass of cold Muscato.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Results
I know you're all eagerly awaiting the results. I know I was. But I didn't get them right away.
The morning ran smoothly, with an exceptional sunshine breakfast (each Wednesday, a different pair of teachers provides breakfast for the faculty). I decided that if today was the end of my career, I at least had gotten to start the day with pumpkin french toast and bacon.
The test started smoothly, and then kids kept raising their hands. I quickly realized that some of the pictures photocopied on the test were awful. A volcano they were supposed to identify (fissure volcano) was unidentifiable. And then, two pictures they were supposed to label were unreadable. I had to pull the dean out of the hallway and ask her to cut-and-paste the two pictures onto a separate document and make 80 copies. And distribute them. She was great, and we got half-decent pictures. Still not ideal, though, and I think the results for those questions will be weak. Not the best test conditions.
And then they finished the test in about an hour--and they still had another whole hour. They were really starting to get antsy by the end of the two hours.
Finally, finally I could start grading. I put my head down for about four hours and cranked out some grades. Unfortunately, the spreadsheet that was programmed to calculate all the statistics was not set up yet--because they were still working out the details of the practical, which was changed yesterday, and which wouldn't actually count in the combined score for the NSA. I made popcorn and drank apple cider until the spreadsheet was ready.
In a flurry of data entry, the numbers filled the page. And they were GOOD. Class average: 86%! One student passed for the first time all year. Only 5 students failed, and three of those were special ed. One special ed student passed (I knew she would). Only about a dozen students scored below 80%. One entire class had no failures. There were two 100's.
Tomorrow brings more detailed data analysis, but I did my happy dance today. I silent-excitement-ed my swelled head all the way home.
The morning ran smoothly, with an exceptional sunshine breakfast (each Wednesday, a different pair of teachers provides breakfast for the faculty). I decided that if today was the end of my career, I at least had gotten to start the day with pumpkin french toast and bacon.
The test started smoothly, and then kids kept raising their hands. I quickly realized that some of the pictures photocopied on the test were awful. A volcano they were supposed to identify (fissure volcano) was unidentifiable. And then, two pictures they were supposed to label were unreadable. I had to pull the dean out of the hallway and ask her to cut-and-paste the two pictures onto a separate document and make 80 copies. And distribute them. She was great, and we got half-decent pictures. Still not ideal, though, and I think the results for those questions will be weak. Not the best test conditions.
And then they finished the test in about an hour--and they still had another whole hour. They were really starting to get antsy by the end of the two hours.
Finally, finally I could start grading. I put my head down for about four hours and cranked out some grades. Unfortunately, the spreadsheet that was programmed to calculate all the statistics was not set up yet--because they were still working out the details of the practical, which was changed yesterday, and which wouldn't actually count in the combined score for the NSA. I made popcorn and drank apple cider until the spreadsheet was ready.
In a flurry of data entry, the numbers filled the page. And they were GOOD. Class average: 86%! One student passed for the first time all year. Only 5 students failed, and three of those were special ed. One special ed student passed (I knew she would). Only about a dozen students scored below 80%. One entire class had no failures. There were two 100's.
Tomorrow brings more detailed data analysis, but I did my happy dance today. I silent-excitement-ed my swelled head all the way home.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Poker Face
Today was a day. Oh boy, was today a day.
With one day to go before the NSA1, it was science's last scramble before the big one. And this morning, I received an email about the lab practical. The practical was scheduled for Thursday in class and is a 20-ish minute exercise in which the students have the opportunity to design and execute an entire experiment. It's usually something very simple; in fact, the actual practical will be along the lines of: Is it easier to drop a penny in a cup with one eye closed or with both eyes open?
Today, we received an email telling us that the practical will be completely different than what we expected. It won't be a general describe-and-execute-a-lab. Instead, they will be expected to identify variables and write a hypothesis and graph data. Things they know how to do, but were not prepared to do. Fortunately, we now have until next week to do it, but unfortunately, I had to change my plans for today's three-in-a-row about ten minutes before class started. Fortunately, the kids really stepped up and did a great job, but unfortunately, I was really stressed out, and it showed. My IL passed by and noticed that the kids were a little "off". I said, "Of course, because I'm off, and they know it. I need to put on my poker face." My poker face isn't too bad, because the other classes picked up after that.
Then, I got an email from the NJ DOE regarding my certification. There are some other issues, but I won't talk about that. I'm too cranky.
Oh, and it's Tuesday, so I have detention. The kids were not cooperative at all. Detention is very frustrating. At least, I have free labor to sharpen pencils for tomorrow's exam.
T-minus one day until NSA1. I've got this.
With one day to go before the NSA1, it was science's last scramble before the big one. And this morning, I received an email about the lab practical. The practical was scheduled for Thursday in class and is a 20-ish minute exercise in which the students have the opportunity to design and execute an entire experiment. It's usually something very simple; in fact, the actual practical will be along the lines of: Is it easier to drop a penny in a cup with one eye closed or with both eyes open?
Today, we received an email telling us that the practical will be completely different than what we expected. It won't be a general describe-and-execute-a-lab. Instead, they will be expected to identify variables and write a hypothesis and graph data. Things they know how to do, but were not prepared to do. Fortunately, we now have until next week to do it, but unfortunately, I had to change my plans for today's three-in-a-row about ten minutes before class started. Fortunately, the kids really stepped up and did a great job, but unfortunately, I was really stressed out, and it showed. My IL passed by and noticed that the kids were a little "off". I said, "Of course, because I'm off, and they know it. I need to put on my poker face." My poker face isn't too bad, because the other classes picked up after that.
Then, I got an email from the NJ DOE regarding my certification. There are some other issues, but I won't talk about that. I'm too cranky.
Oh, and it's Tuesday, so I have detention. The kids were not cooperative at all. Detention is very frustrating. At least, I have free labor to sharpen pencils for tomorrow's exam.
T-minus one day until NSA1. I've got this.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Unicorn
Friday I had my monthly check-in with my principal. I was nervous, but it was as wonderful as it could have been. I told her how happy I was and what I was working on improving. She asked if there were any issues I noticed, and I mentioned that the 7th graders were very social and chatty, and that I felt that it shouldn't be the teacher's job to separate students and that they should have the maturity to self-police.
Before I left, she scheduled next month's check-in and an observation. She suggested that she observe during my chattiest class so she could offer another point of view. I felt like she really wanted to help me. She's not out to get me, she's there to help me. The observation is in a few weeks, and I'll be nervous, but I'll be totally in control because she's NOT out to get me.
Towards the end of the meeting, I mentioned again how lucky I felt to work there. Okay, maybe I was fishing for compliments a little bit. And I got it. She answered that she's lucky to have found me, because science teachers are like unicorns.
I know, right? I was thrilled and flattered, but also, duh! Science teachers are not widespread enough that a place like Bridgeport should be letting them go so quickly. I didn't mean this to be a rant. I really love this place.
Today began the first quarter interim assessments (NSAs). Because it is so busy (proctoring all morning then teaching 3 out of 4 hours), I managed to finish my next week's planning today. That's a big relief and I might even sleep. I'm still nervous about the NSA, but it's not too bad. Although, I had the kids do a self-reflection, and reading their own concerns about the NSA made me so anxious that I just had to put the pile in my "inbox". In 48 hours, I'll know exactly which of my students know what content.
Today we had a review game and it was really fun. It involved Powerpoint and homemade mini-whiteboards and independent variables, but what ended up happening was 100% engagement and joy. That is one of the end goals of every training I've had in TFA and at NSA: all students should be engaged and challenged and smiling. It was so much fun for everyone.
I have some niggling shin pain again, so I'm taking the day off. However, I think I've picked my next A-race: the New Jersey Marathon on May 5. That's it. I've told you, now I've got to do it. 80% on the NSA and the New Jersey Marathon in May.
Before I left, she scheduled next month's check-in and an observation. She suggested that she observe during my chattiest class so she could offer another point of view. I felt like she really wanted to help me. She's not out to get me, she's there to help me. The observation is in a few weeks, and I'll be nervous, but I'll be totally in control because she's NOT out to get me.
Towards the end of the meeting, I mentioned again how lucky I felt to work there. Okay, maybe I was fishing for compliments a little bit. And I got it. She answered that she's lucky to have found me, because science teachers are like unicorns.
I know, right? I was thrilled and flattered, but also, duh! Science teachers are not widespread enough that a place like Bridgeport should be letting them go so quickly. I didn't mean this to be a rant. I really love this place.
Today began the first quarter interim assessments (NSAs). Because it is so busy (proctoring all morning then teaching 3 out of 4 hours), I managed to finish my next week's planning today. That's a big relief and I might even sleep. I'm still nervous about the NSA, but it's not too bad. Although, I had the kids do a self-reflection, and reading their own concerns about the NSA made me so anxious that I just had to put the pile in my "inbox". In 48 hours, I'll know exactly which of my students know what content.
Today we had a review game and it was really fun. It involved Powerpoint and homemade mini-whiteboards and independent variables, but what ended up happening was 100% engagement and joy. That is one of the end goals of every training I've had in TFA and at NSA: all students should be engaged and challenged and smiling. It was so much fun for everyone.
I have some niggling shin pain again, so I'm taking the day off. However, I think I've picked my next A-race: the New Jersey Marathon on May 5. That's it. I've told you, now I've got to do it. 80% on the NSA and the New Jersey Marathon in May.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
ur so gay
Ah, 7th graders. Always coming up with creative ways to be 12. I received an email this morning, to the effect of: the boys have a new game where they make a gesture with their thumb and fingers in a circle, which represents something inappropriate. If another boy sees it, it means they're gay. If you see this happening, take $3 off their paycheck.
It's a little funny, because I remember being that age, but it helped remind me how well my school is run. This school-wide communication helped us crack down on a morale issue amongst students almost immediately. I caught the behavior once and saw a colleague do it as well. I would be surprised if we saw it anymore by next week.
Of course, I want to stand on a table and explain what gay really means, and why it's not a bad thing to be. But sometimes I have to sacrifice my blindingly idealistic principles for the sake of job security.
Yesterday, I attended a 504 meeting. A 504 plan is a little less severe than an individualized education plan (IEP), and is often for students with ADHD (like this meeting was). What was different about this meeting, though, from ones I attended last year, was that I was included. My opinions were asked and valued. I was not disparaged by my principal in front of a student's parent. I was treated as a useful member of the faculty and was allowed to share suggestions that have actually helped this students succeed (I may know a little bit about attention deficits).
I had a quiz today that covered all of the content and the question types that will appear on the NSA next week. The average was 79%. I'm not thrilled but not disappointed either. I would love for all students to exceed 80%, but if I nailed that this year, that I'd have nothing to work for. I analyzed all of the questions and picked out the ones that many students got wrong, and then incorporated those topics into the next few days' review. It was a useful test, and I'm proud of most of the kids. I do have work to do, though. Tomorrow is another day. In fact, tomorrow is Lab Coat Friday!
It's a little funny, because I remember being that age, but it helped remind me how well my school is run. This school-wide communication helped us crack down on a morale issue amongst students almost immediately. I caught the behavior once and saw a colleague do it as well. I would be surprised if we saw it anymore by next week.
Of course, I want to stand on a table and explain what gay really means, and why it's not a bad thing to be. But sometimes I have to sacrifice my blindingly idealistic principles for the sake of job security.
Yesterday, I attended a 504 meeting. A 504 plan is a little less severe than an individualized education plan (IEP), and is often for students with ADHD (like this meeting was). What was different about this meeting, though, from ones I attended last year, was that I was included. My opinions were asked and valued. I was not disparaged by my principal in front of a student's parent. I was treated as a useful member of the faculty and was allowed to share suggestions that have actually helped this students succeed (I may know a little bit about attention deficits).
I had a quiz today that covered all of the content and the question types that will appear on the NSA next week. The average was 79%. I'm not thrilled but not disappointed either. I would love for all students to exceed 80%, but if I nailed that this year, that I'd have nothing to work for. I analyzed all of the questions and picked out the ones that many students got wrong, and then incorporated those topics into the next few days' review. It was a useful test, and I'm proud of most of the kids. I do have work to do, though. Tomorrow is another day. In fact, tomorrow is Lab Coat Friday!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Monday-Tuesday
As wonderful as three-day weekends are, the Tuesday back is awful. There was so much tired everywhere today.
I got through it, though. I've gotten better at forcing energy when I don't have it, because if I sound tired, the kids will never stay focused. It helps that my lessons are a little too long, so I really feel the urgency.
The weekend was great. I had relaxation, good food, and family time. I also ran lots of miles and lifted some weights. I felt pretty good about it, but waking up at 5:15 to get from Long Island to Newark for work makes for a long day.
I was all ready to for a 2-ish mile run after work today, until I got out of the car. In the process of walking to my apartment, realizing I left my phone in the car, and going back outside to get it, I lost all motivation for running. It was too cold and rainy. That said, I had worked out every day for the previous three days straight, so I could use the break. Instead, I'll go tomorrow evening, when the boyfriend has a late dissection lab.
This afternoon, I had the usual Tuesday detention, but it was an unusually big and giggly group. Fortunately, the principal stopped by and hung out for a little while. The kids stayed silent for the rest of the time. Apparently, she likes helping out in these situations. Like, she enjoys it. I didn't get yelled at, and I get the impression that I won't get yelled at over this. It's crazy.
I got no planning done today, which is unusual for a Tuesday, but I graded an entire set of exit tickets and two classes of lab reports, which take a while. This week is mostly dedicated to grading, considering that I'm a week ahead on grading and have a quiz on Thursday. And I'm excited about that quiz, too. It's well aligned to the Interim Assessment, so I'll see what the kids can do before next week.
I'll get my run in tomorrow, I promise.
I got through it, though. I've gotten better at forcing energy when I don't have it, because if I sound tired, the kids will never stay focused. It helps that my lessons are a little too long, so I really feel the urgency.
The weekend was great. I had relaxation, good food, and family time. I also ran lots of miles and lifted some weights. I felt pretty good about it, but waking up at 5:15 to get from Long Island to Newark for work makes for a long day.
I was all ready to for a 2-ish mile run after work today, until I got out of the car. In the process of walking to my apartment, realizing I left my phone in the car, and going back outside to get it, I lost all motivation for running. It was too cold and rainy. That said, I had worked out every day for the previous three days straight, so I could use the break. Instead, I'll go tomorrow evening, when the boyfriend has a late dissection lab.
This afternoon, I had the usual Tuesday detention, but it was an unusually big and giggly group. Fortunately, the principal stopped by and hung out for a little while. The kids stayed silent for the rest of the time. Apparently, she likes helping out in these situations. Like, she enjoys it. I didn't get yelled at, and I get the impression that I won't get yelled at over this. It's crazy.
I got no planning done today, which is unusual for a Tuesday, but I graded an entire set of exit tickets and two classes of lab reports, which take a while. This week is mostly dedicated to grading, considering that I'm a week ahead on grading and have a quiz on Thursday. And I'm excited about that quiz, too. It's well aligned to the Interim Assessment, so I'll see what the kids can do before next week.
I'll get my run in tomorrow, I promise.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Early End of Week
I'm healthier this year. Well, I had a cold, but it was easier. I was healthy for six weeks, then sick for four days, and now back to 95% (just a tad bit sniffly). I think the reduced stress of a healthy, supportive, challenging job is really helping my body. The cold was so easy to get through, just a couple days of tired ick.
My students' Excellence scores improved by yesterday; averages increased 5%, 6%, and 8% by class, and one class even reached 80%. I can't wait to try again on Tuesday.
Due to our half day tomorrow, I am not teaching, so I'm done teaching for the week. I have free work time all day tomorrow, and an early release/work time after about 12:30. My only duties are morning and afternoon homeroom.
We commonly have visitors at North Star. Last week, M. Night Shyamalan came to visit, because he's working on a book about schools who are closing the Achievement Gap (I can't figure out what the twist ending will be, though). Today, we had 16 guests from the University of Chicago (I think?) who are planning on starting a charter school there. A few folks came into my classroom to take notes, and I know they were here to see how awesome we are. It was great, and made me feel like a celebrity.
I'm a little intimidated by so much work time tomorrow, because I don't have the world's greatest attention span. I've created a list of the tasks I'd like to do (I've already finished my "have to do" tasks for the week), in order of importance, and I'm going to divide them into alternating 30- and 60-minute blocks. I think I got this. I'd like to stay and work until 4, but if I can't focus and I'm just fooling around, it's not worth my time to stay. I think I can, though. After 4, I'm taking the afternoon to go to the park and put in a long run. 5 miles.
On another note, I made a delicious honey-soy-ginger glazed cod with mushroom risotto. It's amazing how much difference a little Pecorino can make.
My students' Excellence scores improved by yesterday; averages increased 5%, 6%, and 8% by class, and one class even reached 80%. I can't wait to try again on Tuesday.
Due to our half day tomorrow, I am not teaching, so I'm done teaching for the week. I have free work time all day tomorrow, and an early release/work time after about 12:30. My only duties are morning and afternoon homeroom.
We commonly have visitors at North Star. Last week, M. Night Shyamalan came to visit, because he's working on a book about schools who are closing the Achievement Gap (I can't figure out what the twist ending will be, though). Today, we had 16 guests from the University of Chicago (I think?) who are planning on starting a charter school there. A few folks came into my classroom to take notes, and I know they were here to see how awesome we are. It was great, and made me feel like a celebrity.
I'm a little intimidated by so much work time tomorrow, because I don't have the world's greatest attention span. I've created a list of the tasks I'd like to do (I've already finished my "have to do" tasks for the week), in order of importance, and I'm going to divide them into alternating 30- and 60-minute blocks. I think I got this. I'd like to stay and work until 4, but if I can't focus and I'm just fooling around, it's not worth my time to stay. I think I can, though. After 4, I'm taking the afternoon to go to the park and put in a long run. 5 miles.
On another note, I made a delicious honey-soy-ginger glazed cod with mushroom risotto. It's amazing how much difference a little Pecorino can make.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
The Good and the Bad
I forgot to share a bad, or potentially bad, moment yesterday. Not in the dangerously bad way, more like the hilariously bad way.
We were comparing and contrasting the four different types of volcanoes (cinder cone, shield, composite, and fissure). Students were given a description of the structure and formation of each type, and asked to draw a schematic diagram of one. For most of them, I circulated the room and found an exemplar drawing, asked the student to show it to the class on the doc cam (like an overhead projector?), and then asked the class how it fit (or didn't fit) the description of the type of volcano.
For the last type of volcano, because I want the students to think I am interested in their choices and opinions (I am, but also have to keep the class moving), I asked for a volunteer to show their picture, rather than cold calling a student. A usually-not-so-enthusiastic student raised her hand, so I gave her a chance to shine. She brought her picture up to show the class...and you can probably guess where this is going. Unknowing to her, her volcano resembled...um...something that I'd rather not show a class of twelve-year olds. Unless I had their parents' permission and it was part of an anatomy unit. Fortunately, only a couple of students snickered, and I tried not to look horrified, and the event passed largely unnoticed.
Today there was a great teacher moment, the kind that involves a chorus of student "Oh!"s of understanding. The students had read a historical account of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (Did you know the warning signs of the eruption were largely unnoticed because the citizens of Pompeii experienced earthquakes quite frequently, and thought the large plume of smoke was the gods expressing their anger regarding a recent war). They were asked to apply their scientific knowledge of the volcanic process to the history of the Vesuvius eruption, and write a scientific-historical account of the event. They were told to be as creative as they wanted (within the time limit).
One student wanted to invoke the Roman gods of the era, so he asked me to ask a classmate (who was an expert on Roman mythology - yeah, my 7th graders are awesome) who the Roman god of fire was. The student thinks for a moment, and says, "I think it is Vulcan." Here's where I step in: "And what do you think was named after Vulcan?" I saw the cogs turning: "Vulcan...volcanoes!" And they all went "Oh!" and history was connected with science and it was good.
We were comparing and contrasting the four different types of volcanoes (cinder cone, shield, composite, and fissure). Students were given a description of the structure and formation of each type, and asked to draw a schematic diagram of one. For most of them, I circulated the room and found an exemplar drawing, asked the student to show it to the class on the doc cam (like an overhead projector?), and then asked the class how it fit (or didn't fit) the description of the type of volcano.
For the last type of volcano, because I want the students to think I am interested in their choices and opinions (I am, but also have to keep the class moving), I asked for a volunteer to show their picture, rather than cold calling a student. A usually-not-so-enthusiastic student raised her hand, so I gave her a chance to shine. She brought her picture up to show the class...and you can probably guess where this is going. Unknowing to her, her volcano resembled...um...something that I'd rather not show a class of twelve-year olds. Unless I had their parents' permission and it was part of an anatomy unit. Fortunately, only a couple of students snickered, and I tried not to look horrified, and the event passed largely unnoticed.
Today there was a great teacher moment, the kind that involves a chorus of student "Oh!"s of understanding. The students had read a historical account of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius (Did you know the warning signs of the eruption were largely unnoticed because the citizens of Pompeii experienced earthquakes quite frequently, and thought the large plume of smoke was the gods expressing their anger regarding a recent war). They were asked to apply their scientific knowledge of the volcanic process to the history of the Vesuvius eruption, and write a scientific-historical account of the event. They were told to be as creative as they wanted (within the time limit).
One student wanted to invoke the Roman gods of the era, so he asked me to ask a classmate (who was an expert on Roman mythology - yeah, my 7th graders are awesome) who the Roman god of fire was. The student thinks for a moment, and says, "I think it is Vulcan." Here's where I step in: "And what do you think was named after Vulcan?" I saw the cogs turning: "Vulcan...volcanoes!" And they all went "Oh!" and history was connected with science and it was good.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
So Sniffly
I think I have snot filling every empty space in my head, even my brain. My brain is probably being squished to death by mucus.
Today's lesson went a little bit unexpectedly. It turned out, having the students read a case study of the Vesuvius eruption, and then writing their own account based on their new knowledge of volcanic processes from last week, was a bit too ambitious for one day. We had enough time for the reading, and a great discussion comparing types of volcanoes, but not time for writing. So, being the responsible teacher that I am, rather then saying Oh Well, and pushing everything back a day (leaving me with one less day to plan), I worked to squeeze the writing into tomorrow's lesson. I'm excited about it, actually. They're great writers, and I'd love to see what they can do.
I also started Vocab Excellence today. Math class begins with "Excellence Worksheets", which are short, timed assignments on previously taught concepts. Grades are heavily tracked, which gives the kids incentive (and competition), and it helps get the memorization skills out of the way so we can push the kids farther. It's good for having kids learn times tables and stuff like that. So, taking a page out of the other North Star school's science teacher's book, I created a Vocab Excellence Worksheet, which had 20 definitions that students had to identify. Today they had 4 minutes to complete it, but in the future it will be only 3. They got excited about it, but they haven't been working on their science vocabulary. I've been having trouble getting them comfortable with the definitions (and quickly), so this is a great idea. On the first try (and without warning), my classes scored 67%, 72%, and 70%. Ugh. I think/hope tomorrow will be much better, now that they know what to expect.
I received a piece of feedback today that was very meaningful: my CFUs (checks for understanding, questioning of concepts) were strong. That was one of my goals this year, and I'm working hard at it. CFUs are good not only for having kids practice expressing concepts, but mostly because with some skillful CFUs, I can figure out who knows what in a very short time. I'll have to keep up the good work while still pushing the rigor.
My biggest area of improvement is the Do Nows, when the kids first enter the room. They enter silently, but take forever to get started. Thanks to my IL's advice, I now make it clear they have 30 seconds once I start the timer (after the last student shakes my hand and enters the room) to copy the homework assignment, put away their homework, and begin the Do Now. Otherwise, dollars will be lost. I tried this for my last class today, and it worked like a charm.
I also need to remember to keep 100% of students tracking 100% of the time. I keep forgetting/getting lazy/getting distracted.
Detention is my least favorite task in this school, because it's usually a room full of angry, frustrated kids who have to sit for 90 minutes and work silently on their homework. However, due to the start of homework center, tutoring, and other after school small group sessions, I had only 5 kids in detention. It was a treat. I got so much work done. I'm actually almost done planning for next week, only half a lesson left.
After 3 straight days of exercise - Saturday hiking, Sunday ballet, Monday jogging/weights - I get a well-earned break for a haircut tonight. Now that I'm done with tutoring and Jewish holidays, my weeks have a little bit more me time. Not a lot, but enough to (hopefully) stay in shape and get over this cold.
Today's lesson went a little bit unexpectedly. It turned out, having the students read a case study of the Vesuvius eruption, and then writing their own account based on their new knowledge of volcanic processes from last week, was a bit too ambitious for one day. We had enough time for the reading, and a great discussion comparing types of volcanoes, but not time for writing. So, being the responsible teacher that I am, rather then saying Oh Well, and pushing everything back a day (leaving me with one less day to plan), I worked to squeeze the writing into tomorrow's lesson. I'm excited about it, actually. They're great writers, and I'd love to see what they can do.
I also started Vocab Excellence today. Math class begins with "Excellence Worksheets", which are short, timed assignments on previously taught concepts. Grades are heavily tracked, which gives the kids incentive (and competition), and it helps get the memorization skills out of the way so we can push the kids farther. It's good for having kids learn times tables and stuff like that. So, taking a page out of the other North Star school's science teacher's book, I created a Vocab Excellence Worksheet, which had 20 definitions that students had to identify. Today they had 4 minutes to complete it, but in the future it will be only 3. They got excited about it, but they haven't been working on their science vocabulary. I've been having trouble getting them comfortable with the definitions (and quickly), so this is a great idea. On the first try (and without warning), my classes scored 67%, 72%, and 70%. Ugh. I think/hope tomorrow will be much better, now that they know what to expect.
I received a piece of feedback today that was very meaningful: my CFUs (checks for understanding, questioning of concepts) were strong. That was one of my goals this year, and I'm working hard at it. CFUs are good not only for having kids practice expressing concepts, but mostly because with some skillful CFUs, I can figure out who knows what in a very short time. I'll have to keep up the good work while still pushing the rigor.
My biggest area of improvement is the Do Nows, when the kids first enter the room. They enter silently, but take forever to get started. Thanks to my IL's advice, I now make it clear they have 30 seconds once I start the timer (after the last student shakes my hand and enters the room) to copy the homework assignment, put away their homework, and begin the Do Now. Otherwise, dollars will be lost. I tried this for my last class today, and it worked like a charm.
I also need to remember to keep 100% of students tracking 100% of the time. I keep forgetting/getting lazy/getting distracted.
Detention is my least favorite task in this school, because it's usually a room full of angry, frustrated kids who have to sit for 90 minutes and work silently on their homework. However, due to the start of homework center, tutoring, and other after school small group sessions, I had only 5 kids in detention. It was a treat. I got so much work done. I'm actually almost done planning for next week, only half a lesson left.
After 3 straight days of exercise - Saturday hiking, Sunday ballet, Monday jogging/weights - I get a well-earned break for a haircut tonight. Now that I'm done with tutoring and Jewish holidays, my weeks have a little bit more me time. Not a lot, but enough to (hopefully) stay in shape and get over this cold.
Monday, October 1, 2012
12-Year Olds
12-year olds baffle me. Even after 1.1 school years, I'm still confused. Today, the two girls who caused so much trouble last week were angels. They participated in class, and were generally above average in behavior. This, combined with their above-average intelligence, makes for a good classroom environment. Since they are a couple of the strongest personalities in the class, it really brought the class together.
And then, after school, during homework center, Girl Who Said Something that Ended in -itch Under Her Breath asked if she could sit next to me. She did, and showed off all her homework. She even showed me a paragraph she had to write for history class about her life goal of becoming a criminal lawyer (and she'd be great at it). She also mentioned how much she loved science.
I don't understand these kids.
I later spoke to the dean about it, and she pointed out the obvious explanation: she loves attention. Unsurprisingly. As long as I continue to provide constant positive reinforcement, she'll continue to be my BFF.
My first class didn't run so smoothly, because I was not thoroughly an expert on the content (borrowed the lesson plan from a colleague) and it was a little disorganized. However, I used my morning prep to reorganize the lesson and print out new worksheets. The later 2 classes went swimmingly.
I had another behavior experience in the afternoon. One student, who has a permanent case of the giggles and a C- average, was being his giggly off-task self, especially after being told he couldn't use the bathroom. He's one of those kids who has to use the bathroom during science class every day. So, I asked him to stand outside for a moment, and I would give him a pep talk during the next 2-minute independent work time, which was soon. It's something I know I need to do more often. However, during this time, my IL walked by and gave him a talking to, and took him to the dean. It was in the hallway, but the other kids noticed. Without the class clown, the class gelled and we got to some serious talking about different types of volcanoes. I think I need to use the dean more. I hate to send kids away from class, but if it helps 25 other kids learn better, sometimes it has to be done.
Even with the sniffles (bound to happen eventually), I fit in a jog and weight workout. I'm proud.
And then, after school, during homework center, Girl Who Said Something that Ended in -itch Under Her Breath asked if she could sit next to me. She did, and showed off all her homework. She even showed me a paragraph she had to write for history class about her life goal of becoming a criminal lawyer (and she'd be great at it). She also mentioned how much she loved science.
I don't understand these kids.
I later spoke to the dean about it, and she pointed out the obvious explanation: she loves attention. Unsurprisingly. As long as I continue to provide constant positive reinforcement, she'll continue to be my BFF.
My first class didn't run so smoothly, because I was not thoroughly an expert on the content (borrowed the lesson plan from a colleague) and it was a little disorganized. However, I used my morning prep to reorganize the lesson and print out new worksheets. The later 2 classes went swimmingly.
I had another behavior experience in the afternoon. One student, who has a permanent case of the giggles and a C- average, was being his giggly off-task self, especially after being told he couldn't use the bathroom. He's one of those kids who has to use the bathroom during science class every day. So, I asked him to stand outside for a moment, and I would give him a pep talk during the next 2-minute independent work time, which was soon. It's something I know I need to do more often. However, during this time, my IL walked by and gave him a talking to, and took him to the dean. It was in the hallway, but the other kids noticed. Without the class clown, the class gelled and we got to some serious talking about different types of volcanoes. I think I need to use the dean more. I hate to send kids away from class, but if it helps 25 other kids learn better, sometimes it has to be done.
Even with the sniffles (bound to happen eventually), I fit in a jog and weight workout. I'm proud.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Follow Up
The rest of the day didn't go quite as smoothly, but was still fun and pretty successful. I did have a great North Star moment, though, in the dismissal room: two kids were comparing quiz grades in my class. One had a 72 and one had an 85. The 72-girl said, "Damn, I gotta work harder."
This is a great place.
This is a great place.
Honeymoon Over
Okay, it stopped being perfect yesterday. That said, it's still a whole lot better than last year.
Yesterday morning, there was a fifth grade field trip, so several teachers were out of the building, and I had to cover one typing class. Typing is challenging in general; it's a sort of filler class, and the students know that. It's an important skill, but is usually taught by another subject teacher as is something along the lines of "Log on to Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing" and stick to that for 50 minutes. I think it sounds like a blast, but the kids don't like it. It's always a struggle to keep them on task.
And yesterday, I taught a class in the morning, and then took that same class to typing. It was a two-hour fun fest. This is the class that is often the most challenging, but they were fine during science class. During typing, however, three students were talking, giggling, and off task the entire time. I took dollars off, but they didn't listen. I separated one girl from the group, but after she found someone else to talk to, I sent her to the dean's office. And here is where it gets extra interesting.
When I set girl #1 to the dean's office, girl #2 snarls under her breath, "Bitch". Of course, in my insecurity, I wasn't completely sure, so I waited until after class to take her to the dean. I was fuming at this point.
Unfortunately, I couldn't be 100% confident that she used profanity directed towards me, and explained that to the dean. She took two students out of class to ask what happened. One didn't hear anything, and the other swore that she said "Snitch". Yeah, okay. So she didn't get suspended, but the three students were pulled out of class for the day and forced to apologize for me. Next time, I need to be more confident in my accusations. The three kids are not new to the dean's office.
I'm a little concerned that this student now thinks that she can get away with this stuff. I was also incredibly guilty about sending students out of my classroom. I think I have this ridiculous guilt complex about sending kids out, after some events last year. I was assured, though, by everyone, including the dean, that sending out kids is okay. In fact, the dean likes it, because then she can keep track of which students are problematic. She told me that whenever I need a break from the Kids We Love Most, I am free to send them to her. Well, okay. Still not in Kansas anymore.
And then today, we started volcanoes. It's as easy as I thought. I say the word "volcano" and kids perk up. They did everything I asked them. They were perfect angels this morning. They've already learned about volcanoes (this section of the course is pretty consistent with the 5th grade curriculum), but that didn't slow their enthusiasm. Their hands were in the air the whole time, basically teaching the class for me. "What happens next?" "And after that?" The best part was at the end, I left a few minutes for questions because they had SO MANY. The first student asked a question--and hands shot up in the air. Thus began the first mostly-student run Q&A session in science class. It was super easy and super fun.
Silent excitement for volcanoes!
Yesterday morning, there was a fifth grade field trip, so several teachers were out of the building, and I had to cover one typing class. Typing is challenging in general; it's a sort of filler class, and the students know that. It's an important skill, but is usually taught by another subject teacher as is something along the lines of "Log on to Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing" and stick to that for 50 minutes. I think it sounds like a blast, but the kids don't like it. It's always a struggle to keep them on task.
And yesterday, I taught a class in the morning, and then took that same class to typing. It was a two-hour fun fest. This is the class that is often the most challenging, but they were fine during science class. During typing, however, three students were talking, giggling, and off task the entire time. I took dollars off, but they didn't listen. I separated one girl from the group, but after she found someone else to talk to, I sent her to the dean's office. And here is where it gets extra interesting.
When I set girl #1 to the dean's office, girl #2 snarls under her breath, "Bitch". Of course, in my insecurity, I wasn't completely sure, so I waited until after class to take her to the dean. I was fuming at this point.
Unfortunately, I couldn't be 100% confident that she used profanity directed towards me, and explained that to the dean. She took two students out of class to ask what happened. One didn't hear anything, and the other swore that she said "Snitch". Yeah, okay. So she didn't get suspended, but the three students were pulled out of class for the day and forced to apologize for me. Next time, I need to be more confident in my accusations. The three kids are not new to the dean's office.
I'm a little concerned that this student now thinks that she can get away with this stuff. I was also incredibly guilty about sending students out of my classroom. I think I have this ridiculous guilt complex about sending kids out, after some events last year. I was assured, though, by everyone, including the dean, that sending out kids is okay. In fact, the dean likes it, because then she can keep track of which students are problematic. She told me that whenever I need a break from the Kids We Love Most, I am free to send them to her. Well, okay. Still not in Kansas anymore.
And then today, we started volcanoes. It's as easy as I thought. I say the word "volcano" and kids perk up. They did everything I asked them. They were perfect angels this morning. They've already learned about volcanoes (this section of the course is pretty consistent with the 5th grade curriculum), but that didn't slow their enthusiasm. Their hands were in the air the whole time, basically teaching the class for me. "What happens next?" "And after that?" The best part was at the end, I left a few minutes for questions because they had SO MANY. The first student asked a question--and hands shot up in the air. Thus began the first mostly-student run Q&A session in science class. It was super easy and super fun.
Silent excitement for volcanoes!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Yom Kippur
Yesterday, I was worried I was coming down with a cold, so I skipped out on my workout and ate Mexican food instead. It happens.
Today is Yom Kippur, the annual Jews-don't-eat day. It's certainly tough fasting all day, but it's important to me, probably more so than any Jewish tradition. I started to appreciate it 5 years ago, when I was Africa. I was in the middle of nowhere, and feeling homesick. I fasted, and was as cranky and hungry as the rest of my family, at the exact same time, thousands of miles away. New Jersey isn't so far, but it still helped.
Fasting is much easier when I'm working all day; it feels like cheating. I guess I'm missing out on the repenting meditation of the holiday, but I had my moments. Every time I was hungry, or thirsty, I thought about how I am kind of clearing myself out of last year's junk (and last night's huevos rancheros). It's like spring cleaning. Everything I did wrong (I'm sure there was something) is forgotten, or forgiven, and now I can start the year fresh. It's like starting a new school year. If only Yom Kippur were a year earlier.
Besides, I got so much more work done today because I avoided the staff room and didn't need time for lunch (or snacks) (or other snacks). Unfortunately, today was the day my classroom-mate decided to treat his best few students to McDonald's. In fact, I am almost done with next week's lesson planning. (It does help that today's lesson had to be split in two, pushing everything back one day.)
To finish off the post for today, I share with you an email I sent to my IL, in response to her feedback from today's lesson.
Today is Yom Kippur, the annual Jews-don't-eat day. It's certainly tough fasting all day, but it's important to me, probably more so than any Jewish tradition. I started to appreciate it 5 years ago, when I was Africa. I was in the middle of nowhere, and feeling homesick. I fasted, and was as cranky and hungry as the rest of my family, at the exact same time, thousands of miles away. New Jersey isn't so far, but it still helped.
Fasting is much easier when I'm working all day; it feels like cheating. I guess I'm missing out on the repenting meditation of the holiday, but I had my moments. Every time I was hungry, or thirsty, I thought about how I am kind of clearing myself out of last year's junk (and last night's huevos rancheros). It's like spring cleaning. Everything I did wrong (I'm sure there was something) is forgotten, or forgiven, and now I can start the year fresh. It's like starting a new school year. If only Yom Kippur were a year earlier.
Besides, I got so much more work done today because I avoided the staff room and didn't need time for lunch (or snacks) (or other snacks). Unfortunately, today was the day my classroom-mate decided to treat his best few students to McDonald's. In fact, I am almost done with next week's lesson planning. (It does help that today's lesson had to be split in two, pushing everything back one day.)
To finish off the post for today, I share with you an email I sent to my IL, in response to her feedback from today's lesson.
Thank you for the feedback. It
was really helpful to have students explain how they calculated slope, so the
class could hear it a different way. In Salaam, almost all kids knew slope from
the start, so I had a student show how they did an ENTIRE problem, and the kids
corrected mistakes, and then discussed why it had to be a certain way. I’m
actually pretty confident in Salaam’s mastery of slope. This allowed me more time
in the class to review the definitions of underwater landforms more, which
helped the flow of the lesson when it came down to labeling the diagram. I also
limited the “pens down” time, which also helped the flow. Also, C was a
hand-raising rock star.
I am going to work on seating
charts: In Imani [first class - faith], I need to split up D/S and T/C. In Salaam [second class - peace],
I need to split up K/A and maybe D/K and
P/F. Ganas [third class - passion] has been rearranged recently, but I will keep an extra
eye out for chronic problems.
I have my list of students to
call sitting on my table—I keep forgetting! Priorities to remember tomorrow:
1-use checklist
2- ENERGY in the morning
3-Check off answers during IP (
did during Do Now in Salaam, really helped! It was easy to point out what they
need to look at again)
Thanks,
Robin
And the email response included exclamation points and excitement about seeing my class next time.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Night Off
Today started out with a bad case of the Mondays. I was moving slowly, and my kids were still having trouble with independent and dependent variables. After my first class, I rearranged my lesson to incorporate more review of variables. This led to some really good discussions, which felt really good. There was not a lot of teacher talking, but a lot of student voice. By the end, I had a much better idea of what I need to review before the interim assessment in 2 weeks.
I managed to, like only happens occasionally, get ahead on my to-do list. I even planned next Monday's lesson, which is...October! It is very soon no longer September.
On my way home, I paid a phone call to the replacement science teacher back in Bridgeport. She sounds nice. She sounds a lot like me. It's gonna be a bloodbath. I gave her as much advice as I could in 45 minutes, but then I had to go running before it got dark. I gave her some advice on how to deal with some of the students, and the principal. Mostly, that she should anticipate problems and seek out solutions on her own, because those that should help her may not.
I got a run in today, but was limited by daylight. I also felt some niggling in my knee and foot, so cut it short at 2 miles. It still felt good.
My boyfriend was out studying, so I had a relaxing evening alone. I didn't have to worry about cooking dinner or sitting at a table. Instead, there were fish sticks and miso soup on the couch, and some Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A good night off.
I managed to, like only happens occasionally, get ahead on my to-do list. I even planned next Monday's lesson, which is...October! It is very soon no longer September.
On my way home, I paid a phone call to the replacement science teacher back in Bridgeport. She sounds nice. She sounds a lot like me. It's gonna be a bloodbath. I gave her as much advice as I could in 45 minutes, but then I had to go running before it got dark. I gave her some advice on how to deal with some of the students, and the principal. Mostly, that she should anticipate problems and seek out solutions on her own, because those that should help her may not.
I got a run in today, but was limited by daylight. I also felt some niggling in my knee and foot, so cut it short at 2 miles. It still felt good.
My boyfriend was out studying, so I had a relaxing evening alone. I didn't have to worry about cooking dinner or sitting at a table. Instead, there were fish sticks and miso soup on the couch, and some Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A good night off.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Good Things
This week was a good week. Do I say that every week?
I'm trying to write more, I really am. I mean to, but it gets busy, and suddenly it's 9PM and I need to go to sleep. I did manage to get in a full workout twice during this work week, so next week I'll workout at least twice and blog at least three times. I need to prioritize blogging. I think it's harder to keep it up because I have less stuff to vent at the end of the day.
It was definitely stressful week, though.. I spent several hours this week on the phone with a lovely woman at the NJ Department of Education, and let me tell you, she really knew what she was doing. (That was sarcasm.) I spent a lot of time explaining to her that some colleges don't calculate GPAs, and other asinine conversations. It didn't help that in order to talk to her, I have to call up the DOE, traverse the automated menu, wait on hold for a customer service representative, and then have that representative send an email to my "Application Examiner" that I wish to speak to her. I then wait for a return phone call. It's really fun (also sarcasm) and it doesn't help that I occasionally have to put my phone down, like to teach.
Fortunately, my Director of Operations (a.k.a. Staples Liason, a.k.a. Fixes Photocopier, a.k.a. Is Generally Awesome) supported me the whole time, offering to answer the phone for me if I was teaching and guiding me through the whole process. It's still not solved, but I've reached a place where I've done what I can and can comfortably wait for bureaucratic processing.
The last two days' lessons have been on why the oceans are salty. Yesterday, the lesson was half a period of independently reading an article and taking notes, and the other half was answering questions in a classroom discussion format. And the kids were amazing. After 25 minutes of reading, they (almost) all knew exactly how the oceans became salty, and their discussions helped cement the concept for the other students. The kids are really supportive of each other and help peers work their way through difficult concepts, within a formal classroom discussion setting. It's beautiful.
Today, due to our half day for work time, we had a modified schedule. I taught my three classes consecutively in the morning, which involved a lot of preparation and a little anxiety. It turned out awesome. The lesson started with a demonstration, in which I had a flask full of water with red food coloring boiling on a hot plate. The kids correctly predicted that as the water boiled off, the remaining water would become a darker red, because the food coloring does not evaporate, so the concentration of food coloring increases. The color of the water really didn't change noticeably, but the kids were expecting it, so they saw it. Who says I can't use confirmation bias to my own advantage. So, other than teaching for 3 hours less 10 minutes with a slightly burnt thumb, from moving the hot plate without looking, the demonstration was perfect.
The rest of today's class was a short video on ocean water, which I stopped every minute or two so the students could answer and discuss a concept that was mentioned. It certainly wasn't the most exciting video, but the kids loved it. I even had to add in a moment for "silent excitement" (a way we allow our students to express excitement, a "spirit fingers" sort of thing) for the scientists using a salinometer to send salinity measurements via satellite right to the laboratory. (It was really cool.) It was a high school level video, and the kids were really thinking hard. I could see them thinking. And they came up with brilliant connections to every day life and last year's science class. I love them. These kids are amazing.
To top it off, my IL returned and observed a class. She gave zero real-time feedback and met with me afterwards to tell me that not only have I shown huge improvement and consistent ability to implement feedback, but that other colleagues have commented similarly.
I really love this job.
I'm trying to write more, I really am. I mean to, but it gets busy, and suddenly it's 9PM and I need to go to sleep. I did manage to get in a full workout twice during this work week, so next week I'll workout at least twice and blog at least three times. I need to prioritize blogging. I think it's harder to keep it up because I have less stuff to vent at the end of the day.
It was definitely stressful week, though.. I spent several hours this week on the phone with a lovely woman at the NJ Department of Education, and let me tell you, she really knew what she was doing. (That was sarcasm.) I spent a lot of time explaining to her that some colleges don't calculate GPAs, and other asinine conversations. It didn't help that in order to talk to her, I have to call up the DOE, traverse the automated menu, wait on hold for a customer service representative, and then have that representative send an email to my "Application Examiner" that I wish to speak to her. I then wait for a return phone call. It's really fun (also sarcasm) and it doesn't help that I occasionally have to put my phone down, like to teach.
Fortunately, my Director of Operations (a.k.a. Staples Liason, a.k.a. Fixes Photocopier, a.k.a. Is Generally Awesome) supported me the whole time, offering to answer the phone for me if I was teaching and guiding me through the whole process. It's still not solved, but I've reached a place where I've done what I can and can comfortably wait for bureaucratic processing.
The last two days' lessons have been on why the oceans are salty. Yesterday, the lesson was half a period of independently reading an article and taking notes, and the other half was answering questions in a classroom discussion format. And the kids were amazing. After 25 minutes of reading, they (almost) all knew exactly how the oceans became salty, and their discussions helped cement the concept for the other students. The kids are really supportive of each other and help peers work their way through difficult concepts, within a formal classroom discussion setting. It's beautiful.
Today, due to our half day for work time, we had a modified schedule. I taught my three classes consecutively in the morning, which involved a lot of preparation and a little anxiety. It turned out awesome. The lesson started with a demonstration, in which I had a flask full of water with red food coloring boiling on a hot plate. The kids correctly predicted that as the water boiled off, the remaining water would become a darker red, because the food coloring does not evaporate, so the concentration of food coloring increases. The color of the water really didn't change noticeably, but the kids were expecting it, so they saw it. Who says I can't use confirmation bias to my own advantage. So, other than teaching for 3 hours less 10 minutes with a slightly burnt thumb, from moving the hot plate without looking, the demonstration was perfect.
The rest of today's class was a short video on ocean water, which I stopped every minute or two so the students could answer and discuss a concept that was mentioned. It certainly wasn't the most exciting video, but the kids loved it. I even had to add in a moment for "silent excitement" (a way we allow our students to express excitement, a "spirit fingers" sort of thing) for the scientists using a salinometer to send salinity measurements via satellite right to the laboratory. (It was really cool.) It was a high school level video, and the kids were really thinking hard. I could see them thinking. And they came up with brilliant connections to every day life and last year's science class. I love them. These kids are amazing.
To top it off, my IL returned and observed a class. She gave zero real-time feedback and met with me afterwards to tell me that not only have I shown huge improvement and consistent ability to implement feedback, but that other colleagues have commented similarly.
I really love this job.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Rosh Hashanah
Great principal interaction #5: My IL is away for the week (covering for another principal on paternity leave), so I had my weekly planning meeting with the principal. I was able to convey my enthusiasm and my togetherness, and she had wonderful things to say. We shared enthusiasm over geology, and I think I showed her that I can keep up with my work even after leaving early yesterday for Rosh Hashanah. She suggested that I find more opportunities for my students to read science nonfiction. I love having students read, because it makes my job easier, and I love encouraging science literacy. I'll have to get on that. The meeting went well, and she observed my class immediately following.
I was nervous about the observation, but the class went pretty well. Of course, when she walks in the room, the kids are on their best behavior. I had feedback in my inbox by the time I sat down right after class. I was complimented on some great participation (many times, 100%!) and clear directions, but I need to improve my scanning. That is, when I tell the students to track the speaker, I have to make sure they are doing that. I have to NOT track the speaker. It's hard, because I want to listen carefully and respectfully to the student answering my question, but I need to be scanning for compliance. That'll be my next task.
Today I distributed progress reports to all my students, which consisted of a list of all grades so far for each student, signatures required. Surprisingly, I only received one concerned-parent phone call. It went well. I hate parent contacts, but I'm good at them, usually. This one was pretty easy. She was concerned that her student, who has an 80% average, had failed several exit tickets. I explained to her that exit tickets are only a small part of the quarter grade, and that she was showing an upward trend (her last three assignments were 80%, 100%, and 100%). And then the parent thank yous always makes it feel good.
I went home for Rosh Hashanah, and it was nice. There was a lot of food and I always love spending time with family and friends. I took a bunch of leftovers to school today, which helped me make even more friends.
Everything is still good. (Except for my NJ certification, that's kind of a frustrating jumble of phone calls and voicemail.) I'm so happy that I can work so hard on improvement every day, rather than worrying about damage control. I'm (mostly) keeping up with my planning and grading. My two goals for this week are to SCAN, not track the speaker, and to dig up more articles for the students to read.
I was nervous about the observation, but the class went pretty well. Of course, when she walks in the room, the kids are on their best behavior. I had feedback in my inbox by the time I sat down right after class. I was complimented on some great participation (many times, 100%!) and clear directions, but I need to improve my scanning. That is, when I tell the students to track the speaker, I have to make sure they are doing that. I have to NOT track the speaker. It's hard, because I want to listen carefully and respectfully to the student answering my question, but I need to be scanning for compliance. That'll be my next task.
Today I distributed progress reports to all my students, which consisted of a list of all grades so far for each student, signatures required. Surprisingly, I only received one concerned-parent phone call. It went well. I hate parent contacts, but I'm good at them, usually. This one was pretty easy. She was concerned that her student, who has an 80% average, had failed several exit tickets. I explained to her that exit tickets are only a small part of the quarter grade, and that she was showing an upward trend (her last three assignments were 80%, 100%, and 100%). And then the parent thank yous always makes it feel good.
I went home for Rosh Hashanah, and it was nice. There was a lot of food and I always love spending time with family and friends. I took a bunch of leftovers to school today, which helped me make even more friends.
Everything is still good. (Except for my NJ certification, that's kind of a frustrating jumble of phone calls and voicemail.) I'm so happy that I can work so hard on improvement every day, rather than worrying about damage control. I'm (mostly) keeping up with my planning and grading. My two goals for this week are to SCAN, not track the speaker, and to dig up more articles for the students to read.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Parents!
Today I ran 4 miles, bringing this week's total up to...4 miles. Felt good, though my legs were tired.I might do another 2 tomorrow, or I might attend a ballet class. One of those is easy/less fun and one of them will leave my calves and glutes screaming for days, but also leave me happy. I'll do better next week. This was a busy week, so I'll try to catch you up now.
Wednesday included my best and worst classes so far this year. The lesson was on calculating the slope of a line, which I didn't realize before is a very abstract concept, the kind that you either get or you don't. My first class in the morning was just getting it. It was a tough lesson, and I managed to really challenge the kids for a whole 55 minutes. The lesson was going well from the start, so I was really getting into it and the kids were getting into it and the whole thing snowballed into a whole high-on-teaching sort of deal. I ended up with a bunch of happy and engaged kids who really understood the material.
Unfortunately, what I didn't consider at the time was that the morning class tends to perform a little bit better than the other classes. Since the first class was just pushing the kids to their limit, the next class was just not grasping it. And, since they're twelve, they get the I'm-confused giggles. I was so frustrated, and realized I would have been smarter to split the lesson into two days, but couldn't adjust the agenda on such short notice. Next year. By the time the third class rolled around, I did better, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as the first one.
That evening was Back to School Night, so I was at school until 8. It was an inspiring experience, because the event is mandatory, so the building was packed with caring parents. I had the opportunity to introduce myself, and then was swarmed by a dozen parent all wanting to know how their child was doing. I think I did a good job of being honest, but not too honest that it would be inappropriate in front of a room full of other parents (and some kids). It was fun, and challenging, and exhausting.
Thursday was the test, and it went better than expected. I've only graded two class sets so far, but they were 84% and 81%. More kids understand slope than I thought, although a few students were still missing questions on controls and variables. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to include these concepts in with the rest of the course. I saved the best class for last, though, and I'm hoping they can break 85%.
The exciting part about Lab Coat Friday is that it was the due date of our first lab report final draft. The rough drafts were handed in Wednesday, and I got a wide range of work. I gave some feedback, and received a beautiful collection of 7th grade lab reports on Friday. I'm really excited to look at them, although it'll take a long time to grade all of them. I really emphasized that I prefer typed to written, although I couldn't require it. Some students did a beautiful job of formatting, and others...didn't. I had to juggle some flash drives in the morning, and print out a dozen lab reports from my email, but it was worth it. These assignments are beautiful. Now I have to decide whether to take off points on professionalism from a student's report because he ended it with, "P.S. :Ms. Zelman ROCKS!!!!!!!! P.S.S :Ms. Zelman is the best female science teacher in the entire universe." (The 5th and 6th grade teachers are both male.)
I think I'm gonna like it here.
Wednesday included my best and worst classes so far this year. The lesson was on calculating the slope of a line, which I didn't realize before is a very abstract concept, the kind that you either get or you don't. My first class in the morning was just getting it. It was a tough lesson, and I managed to really challenge the kids for a whole 55 minutes. The lesson was going well from the start, so I was really getting into it and the kids were getting into it and the whole thing snowballed into a whole high-on-teaching sort of deal. I ended up with a bunch of happy and engaged kids who really understood the material.
Unfortunately, what I didn't consider at the time was that the morning class tends to perform a little bit better than the other classes. Since the first class was just pushing the kids to their limit, the next class was just not grasping it. And, since they're twelve, they get the I'm-confused giggles. I was so frustrated, and realized I would have been smarter to split the lesson into two days, but couldn't adjust the agenda on such short notice. Next year. By the time the third class rolled around, I did better, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as the first one.
That evening was Back to School Night, so I was at school until 8. It was an inspiring experience, because the event is mandatory, so the building was packed with caring parents. I had the opportunity to introduce myself, and then was swarmed by a dozen parent all wanting to know how their child was doing. I think I did a good job of being honest, but not too honest that it would be inappropriate in front of a room full of other parents (and some kids). It was fun, and challenging, and exhausting.
Thursday was the test, and it went better than expected. I've only graded two class sets so far, but they were 84% and 81%. More kids understand slope than I thought, although a few students were still missing questions on controls and variables. Fortunately, it's pretty easy to include these concepts in with the rest of the course. I saved the best class for last, though, and I'm hoping they can break 85%.
The exciting part about Lab Coat Friday is that it was the due date of our first lab report final draft. The rough drafts were handed in Wednesday, and I got a wide range of work. I gave some feedback, and received a beautiful collection of 7th grade lab reports on Friday. I'm really excited to look at them, although it'll take a long time to grade all of them. I really emphasized that I prefer typed to written, although I couldn't require it. Some students did a beautiful job of formatting, and others...didn't. I had to juggle some flash drives in the morning, and print out a dozen lab reports from my email, but it was worth it. These assignments are beautiful. Now I have to decide whether to take off points on professionalism from a student's report because he ended it with, "P.S. :Ms. Zelman ROCKS!!!!!!!! P.S.S :Ms. Zelman is the best female science teacher in the entire universe." (The 5th and 6th grade teachers are both male.)
I think I'm gonna like it here.
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