We will post these by weeks....
Introduce yourself as to a first name, what grade and what subject you teach (do not include your last name or your school). And share how you are... How are you? We may want to use the teaching phases:
Anticipation, Reflection, Disillusion, Survival, Rejuvenation
(Know that people will be responding to your posts and offering their insights and advice.)
Start with what is working?
What challenges did you face this week? (classroom management, discipline, content...)
What whoo-hooo celebrate a success? (about your kids, your team, your school, your own successes)
What advice have you figured out?
Hello, my name is Vicky and I teach 8th grade language arts. This is my 7th year teaching and my 3rd (straight) year in this subject area. I suppose I am still in the anticipation stage after day 2 of the new school year. So far everything is running as smoothly as possible given a new schedule, new expectations, and new students.
It's hard to say what is working right now since I am still in a honeymoon period with my new students. I am waiting until about week 3 to make assumptions about what is going to work for these new students.
My challenges have been the usual ones. Since I know very little about my students I don't know which students don't need to sit near each other or who is best friends with who. I am also still trying to frantically learn names and that makes calling students down for minor behaviors tough.
My successes are that everyone seems prepared (keep in mind it is only the second day) and motivated to work on the assignments I have given. I'm excited to see how far we can go this year.
My advice at this point would be to continue thinking positive. There are, inevitably, going to be some changes and mishaps during the first week, but that is life. As I am trying to keep the million things I have to do straight in my brain, I have found that lists are my best friends. :)
Best,
Vicky
Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Monday, August 29, 2016
Week 1: Late Rejuvenation
My name is Jeanie and I teach 7th grade Social Studies. This is my third year at my school, but second year teaching 7th grade. I taught 6th grade SS my first year.
Honestly, over the summer, I felt a lot of disillusionment. At the end of the last school year, I found out that the principal changed my team. It was devastating. I worked with one member throughout my entire time at my school, and another, Emily, became a very dear and amazing mentor to me. We worked so well together. At the end of the year, our team had significantly less referrals than any other team in the 7th grade. I attribute that to our positive outlook and reward-driven team discipline plan, which I hoped I could carry-on to my next team and school year.
In July, I met with my new team to discuss some of the team logistics. None of us had ever worked with each other, so we had to start from scratch. It was difficult because we are all such different people with very different philosophies. Although we seemed to disagree on many issues, we were all willing to compromise. That, I think, is one of the most important attributes a teacher can have, flexibility, an open-mind, and a willingness to compromise.
The change in team was only one of the big changes I'm experiencing. My school changed our entire schedule from a middle school to a junior high model. We still have teams, but we no longer have planning as a grade, instead it's with our subject. This means I'll be more on my own. It also means teaching five classes instead of four. There are many pros and cons, but the biggest pro is that we have smaller class sizes (an average of about 18) and the biggest con is losing a portion of our planning. Planning is a valuable time to talk and get advice from other colleagues, and the thought of losing that is daunting for me as a new teacher.
Despite the many changes, and the anxiety I felt, it all changed after today. Today was the first day of school. I was not looking forward to today, or even this year. However, I didn't let that ruin my mood. And I ended up having a fantastic day! The kids reminded my why I do this. I love teaching. I love sharing my passion and connecting with students.
I want to end on a success that I had today. I listened to a lot of Ted Talks this summer, and one of them stuck out to me. I can't remember which one, but this person said we need to tell the kids WHY they should care about our subject. That's kind of a tall-order for Social Studies, but I took it on! I gave them three reasons 1. to prepare them for their future job in a globalized world, 2. to help them understand the development of current events and how they came to be, 3. fight ignorance.
I used real-life examples for each (including a cringe-worth quote from Brittany Spears), and they agreed! They nodded their heads, asked questions, even agreed and added their own stories. I really think they got a new appreciation for the subject before they even started it. I think I'm going to start every year with my "argument" to get them to CARE about learning my subject.
Honestly, over the summer, I felt a lot of disillusionment. At the end of the last school year, I found out that the principal changed my team. It was devastating. I worked with one member throughout my entire time at my school, and another, Emily, became a very dear and amazing mentor to me. We worked so well together. At the end of the year, our team had significantly less referrals than any other team in the 7th grade. I attribute that to our positive outlook and reward-driven team discipline plan, which I hoped I could carry-on to my next team and school year.
In July, I met with my new team to discuss some of the team logistics. None of us had ever worked with each other, so we had to start from scratch. It was difficult because we are all such different people with very different philosophies. Although we seemed to disagree on many issues, we were all willing to compromise. That, I think, is one of the most important attributes a teacher can have, flexibility, an open-mind, and a willingness to compromise.
The change in team was only one of the big changes I'm experiencing. My school changed our entire schedule from a middle school to a junior high model. We still have teams, but we no longer have planning as a grade, instead it's with our subject. This means I'll be more on my own. It also means teaching five classes instead of four. There are many pros and cons, but the biggest pro is that we have smaller class sizes (an average of about 18) and the biggest con is losing a portion of our planning. Planning is a valuable time to talk and get advice from other colleagues, and the thought of losing that is daunting for me as a new teacher.
Despite the many changes, and the anxiety I felt, it all changed after today. Today was the first day of school. I was not looking forward to today, or even this year. However, I didn't let that ruin my mood. And I ended up having a fantastic day! The kids reminded my why I do this. I love teaching. I love sharing my passion and connecting with students.
I want to end on a success that I had today. I listened to a lot of Ted Talks this summer, and one of them stuck out to me. I can't remember which one, but this person said we need to tell the kids WHY they should care about our subject. That's kind of a tall-order for Social Studies, but I took it on! I gave them three reasons 1. to prepare them for their future job in a globalized world, 2. to help them understand the development of current events and how they came to be, 3. fight ignorance.
I used real-life examples for each (including a cringe-worth quote from Brittany Spears), and they agreed! They nodded their heads, asked questions, even agreed and added their own stories. I really think they got a new appreciation for the subject before they even started it. I think I'm going to start every year with my "argument" to get them to CARE about learning my subject.
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Blogs to Share
I am thinking we may have blogs we read, blogs we post to.... What do you think about sharing those with one another?
I kept one all last year. It has advice based on the 16 characteristics of exemplary middle schools.
middleschool2015-2016.blogspot.com
If you have one you love, share it here.
Also, I received a post from Mark Garrett. He is the superintendent of McDowell County Schools.
I kept one all last year. It has advice based on the 16 characteristics of exemplary middle schools.
middleschool2015-2016.blogspot.com
If you have one you love, share it here.
Also, I received a post from Mark Garrett. He is the superintendent of McDowell County Schools.
Good Morning:
I wanted to take a quick moment this morning to wish you all well as you officially kick off a new school year. There is nothing quite as exciting as the first day of school. With this new year, we once again have the distinction and privilege of impacting the young people of McDowell County and beyond. Great opportunities await.
As we move into 2016-17, I wanted to pass along the ten reflections that I shared at our convocation last Tuesday. I encourage you to ponder on and apply as we serve together this year:
- Do what is best for students and it will be what is best for adults
- We are in the people business and customer service is crucial
- All means all
- Culture trumps strategy
- Great performances come as a result of great preparation
- Playtime is crucial for everyone
- Don't invest in toxic behaviors or toxic people
- Learning is an active process
- Growth should be the goal
- The better you know your standards, the better the students will know them
Know that you have my support and admiration as you continue to impact lives all around you for the better. Students notice and they remember. Tell your story. Build your legacy.
Let this great day lead to a great week, month, and year for everyone.
Respectfully.
Mark Garrett, Superintendent
McDowell County Schools
Week 1: Back to school tomorrow!
We will post these by weeks....
Introduce yourself as to a first name, what grade and what subject you teach (do not include your last name or your school). And share how you are... How are you? We may want to use the teaching phases:
Anticipation, Reflection, Disillusion, Survival, Rejuvenation
(Know that people will be responding to your posts and offering their insights and advice.)
Start with what is working?
What challenges did you face this week? (classroom management, discipline, content...)
What whoo-hooo celebrate a success? (about your kids, your team, your school, your own successes)
What advice have you figured out?
Greetings! My name is Bethany and I teach 7th grade Social Studies. Currently, I am both highly-anticipatory and I'll be honest, slightly reluctant as we start our 2016-2017 school year tomorrow. I can't wait to spend time with all 106 of my new students, getting to know them and establishing classroom procedures and relationships. However, I always enjoy my summer freedom and laziness so much, it is with reluctance I go back to work tomorrow. I'll post again in response to the other questions later in the week. Good luck to everyone else starting back this week, too! As always, I have to remind myself that these kids are going to need a few adjustment days to get back into the routine of school.
Greetings! My name is Bethany and I teach 7th grade Social Studies. Currently, I am both highly-anticipatory and I'll be honest, slightly reluctant as we start our 2016-2017 school year tomorrow. I can't wait to spend time with all 106 of my new students, getting to know them and establishing classroom procedures and relationships. However, I always enjoy my summer freedom and laziness so much, it is with reluctance I go back to work tomorrow. I'll post again in response to the other questions later in the week. Good luck to everyone else starting back this week, too! As always, I have to remind myself that these kids are going to need a few adjustment days to get back into the routine of school.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Week 1 - Starting School!!!
Setting the stage...
Last year I blogged as part of my professional development plan. My last is posted on a page. It is why I think we need to do this.
We will post these by weeks....
Introduce yourself with your first name, what grade, and what subject you teach (do not include your last name or your school)
What year you are as a teacher. 1st year, 2nd....
How are you?
We will want to use the teaching phases: Anticipation, Reflection, Disillusion, Survival, Rejuvenation as labels.
(Know that people will be responding to your posts and offering their insights and advice.)
Start with what is working?
What challenges did you face this week? (classroom management, discipline, content...)
What whoo-hooo celebrate a success? (about your kids, your team, your school, your own successes)
What advice have you figured out?
What made you weep?
Other?
Last year I blogged as part of my professional development plan. My last is posted on a page. It is why I think we need to do this.
We will post these by weeks....
Introduce yourself with your first name, what grade, and what subject you teach (do not include your last name or your school)
What year you are as a teacher. 1st year, 2nd....
How are you?
We will want to use the teaching phases: Anticipation, Reflection, Disillusion, Survival, Rejuvenation as labels.
(Know that people will be responding to your posts and offering their insights and advice.)
Start with what is working?
What challenges did you face this week? (classroom management, discipline, content...)
What whoo-hooo celebrate a success? (about your kids, your team, your school, your own successes)
What advice have you figured out?
What made you weep?
Other?
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