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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.