So, the blog is under construction and in the capable hands of Danny. Please be patient as we make these new changes.
I think I should aim for Wizard of Oz instead of Ms. Frizzle
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Do you ever have a day during which you wonder if those around you actually do possess a brain, heart, or courage? Welcome to my daily world known as freshman teacher.
I'm not sure when it happens, nor why, but it seems that all of my students came to high school missing one (or more) of the three, and almost always the brain. I have now made it my personal goal to help my 129 students find theirs and begin to make good use of it. Perhaps we're part of the way there. Or maybe it was just a Monday....
My first month
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Whew!!
What a month it's been so far! I have never been so busy in my life, but luckily, I am loving it! The first week I lost my voice by the end of every day. The second week I used my mother's trick and stopped yelling over the students. I have quickly realized that every moment is a teachable moment and every day teaches me at least one profound lesson.
Here are some of the lessons I've learned so far:
- Beg, borrow, and steal everything you can from more experienced (a.k.a. older) teachers
- Be flexible when planning for students
- Project EVERYTHING on the board so that you can point instead of talking
- Work smarter not harder
- Don't grade everything, it's okay to have check grades
- Students will retain about 1/50 of what you say
- Every quiz will be a pop quiz for somebody in your class, even if you announced it the day before
- We must figure out how to make students into independent learners
- I will never see 20% of my paycheck
- I still look like a high school student, but that makes me a cool teacher to some students
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