Welcome Back

Well, that was refreshing. I haven't made it back to my apartment yet, but I've already started thinking my new year, both in work and in life.

As far as work goes, I have a few new realizations and goals for this year. First, I've realized, with the help of a recent This American Life podcast about middle school, that middle school isn't about school. I will not optimize my impact by trying only to teach science. The kids are there to socialize, to go through puberty, and to find their place in the social pyramid. They aren't there to learn. My place is to ease their transition from whiny children to competent adults. I should focus on teaching them how to be students, how to think critically, and how to exploit their strengths and improve their weaknesses. Science is merely the medium in which I must teach these things. Once this Science Fair @&$))$& is done with, I'm going to get on that. I want to focus on two main things: taking responsible notes and making efficient use of work time. These I feel will help them make the most success in the coming years of school. And, it'll make the seventh graders much easier to teach next year.

I did a lot of thinking about this in the car. Long car rides are great for thinking about school in a big-picture sort of way. I even came up with a possible solution for insanity that Science Fair Work Week #2 promises to be; I'm going to find CMT review worksheets for those students who haven't done their experiment. So, rather than having them make trouble because they don't have anything to do while the rest of the class is writing results and conclusions, they can be learning. Or, at least kept busy.

My personal new year's resolutions are pretty bland. I want to take better care of myself, lose weight, blah blah blah. I even am planning on making it to yoga tonight, even though I recently learned that Netflix has the first eight seasons of Law and Order(original). Instead, I'll go sweat in a hot room with thinner, more flexible women. But until then, I'll sit in Starbucks and write my thoughts down.