Steep.....
the title of this post describes the way i feel about my learning curve right now and this year in general.
i feel like i've crossed into new territory as a teacher in the last few weeks since vacation, which is probably why i've been out of touch on the blog. i really like writing here and i kno that you like reading it, so i will try to go back to my once per week writing schedule.
i was so burned out in december although i'm not sure how much i realized it until i went back to school in january. i have been feeling the giddiness about teaching and my students' little (and big) bits of progress that i see. i think a few things are influencing this: i got a vacation which was absolutely wonderful and renewing; i have put some organizational systems in place in my classroom which is great; i have kept up on my grading a little bit more than i had in the past which is a huge accomplishment for me (more on that later); i am getting to know my students better and i just feel more trust in general in the classroom.
even my biggest day-to-day challenge--my strategic class--has changed a lot. i am praying that i continue to see that change next week and that their improved behavior wasn't just due to the end of the semester because that's slightly possible. i have my TFA program director and my school supervisor both observing me this week coming week so that is kind of intense. at the same time, i look forward to "showing off" all of the progress i've made, both in my teaching and jut in my ease in the classroom. in the end, i am the one who knows how much progress i make. people who only observe me teaching 4-5 times during the year can't really know the enormity of the changes i am going through. but it is nice to have positive affirmation.
so right now, i am loving teaching and loving my students. they are all making their selections for where they want to go to high school and i think that has been motivating them, also. we have 4 more months of school--and included in that is a week of spring break so really a little bit less. 8th graders' grades are due 1.5 weeks before school ends, and then there is all of this dead time, then graduation practice, dinner dance, all of this stuff.
i just revised my long term plan taking all of those date changes into account and i am starting to feel more organized.
okay, so grades: the last two grading periods, i was working on bubbling my kids' grades into the scantron sheet the sunday night before they were due. i had huge piles of grading to finish those weekends, etc. the semester ended last friday, and i made an executive decision about grading during break. i decided that i would stop assigning work that i would grade on the marking period one week before grades were due. that would give me a weekend and a week before the end of the marking period to finish grading quizzes, deal with makeup work, etc. i wanted to get grades finished before i left school yesterday (friday) which i did!!! that left me this weekend to plan and look forward, instead of focusing on grades and not being ready for the new semester. there was definitely a feeling of ending at school on friday among the kids, although i always feel like they totally feed off of teacher moods and vibes, and our approach and attitudes contribute in a big way to the atmosphere in our classrooms.
i should probably get back to my planning process. i have some stuff to do in order to prepare for my TFA observation!
go democrats!!
i feel like i've crossed into new territory as a teacher in the last few weeks since vacation, which is probably why i've been out of touch on the blog. i really like writing here and i kno that you like reading it, so i will try to go back to my once per week writing schedule.
i was so burned out in december although i'm not sure how much i realized it until i went back to school in january. i have been feeling the giddiness about teaching and my students' little (and big) bits of progress that i see. i think a few things are influencing this: i got a vacation which was absolutely wonderful and renewing; i have put some organizational systems in place in my classroom which is great; i have kept up on my grading a little bit more than i had in the past which is a huge accomplishment for me (more on that later); i am getting to know my students better and i just feel more trust in general in the classroom.
even my biggest day-to-day challenge--my strategic class--has changed a lot. i am praying that i continue to see that change next week and that their improved behavior wasn't just due to the end of the semester because that's slightly possible. i have my TFA program director and my school supervisor both observing me this week coming week so that is kind of intense. at the same time, i look forward to "showing off" all of the progress i've made, both in my teaching and jut in my ease in the classroom. in the end, i am the one who knows how much progress i make. people who only observe me teaching 4-5 times during the year can't really know the enormity of the changes i am going through. but it is nice to have positive affirmation.
so right now, i am loving teaching and loving my students. they are all making their selections for where they want to go to high school and i think that has been motivating them, also. we have 4 more months of school--and included in that is a week of spring break so really a little bit less. 8th graders' grades are due 1.5 weeks before school ends, and then there is all of this dead time, then graduation practice, dinner dance, all of this stuff.
i just revised my long term plan taking all of those date changes into account and i am starting to feel more organized.
okay, so grades: the last two grading periods, i was working on bubbling my kids' grades into the scantron sheet the sunday night before they were due. i had huge piles of grading to finish those weekends, etc. the semester ended last friday, and i made an executive decision about grading during break. i decided that i would stop assigning work that i would grade on the marking period one week before grades were due. that would give me a weekend and a week before the end of the marking period to finish grading quizzes, deal with makeup work, etc. i wanted to get grades finished before i left school yesterday (friday) which i did!!! that left me this weekend to plan and look forward, instead of focusing on grades and not being ready for the new semester. there was definitely a feeling of ending at school on friday among the kids, although i always feel like they totally feed off of teacher moods and vibes, and our approach and attitudes contribute in a big way to the atmosphere in our classrooms.
i should probably get back to my planning process. i have some stuff to do in order to prepare for my TFA observation!
go democrats!!
posted by Allyson B. at
3:15 PM
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