Posted in First-Year, Growth, Reflections, Struggles on Dec 7th, 2008 5 Comments »
Teaching geometry during my first year felt like one long trial run. It was my first time teaching content, my first time encountering common misconceptions, my first time exploring what kind of lessons would be most engaging and effective. It was difficult to anticipate where we’d take a wrong turn, to pinpoint what works and [...]
Posted in First-Year, Philosophy, Teach For America, Teacher Perks on Nov 13th, 2008 No Comments »
I’ve noticed that I’ve been griping with my fellow teachers a lot. From the kids who think they know it all, to the unpredictable schedules, to colleagues who think they can get away with being useless, to the clocks that NEVER seem to stay in sync with one another…we whine and grouch and make a [...]
Posted in First-Year, Struggles on Nov 11th, 2008 2 Comments »
There’s always something to grade, something to plan, something to analyze, something to improve, something school related that I should be doing at every moment of the day. Or, at least that is what it feels like. Though (for my own mental and emotional health) I make time for myself and for loved ones, I [...]
Posted in First-Year, Struggles on Oct 22nd, 2008 1 Comment »
PROGRESS REPORTS ARE DUE ON FRIDAY AND I DON’T HAVE ALL MY GRADES IN!
I HAVE TO WRITE A QUIZ FOR FRIDAY!
I HAVE TO PLAN FOR MY CULINARY ARTS ELECTIVE ON FRIDAY!
I HAVE A FRIEND FROM BERKELEY WHO IS FLYING IN TO NY TO STAY WITH ME FOR THE WEEKEND. I MUST BE HER TOUR GUIDE [...]
Posted in First-Year, Growth, Teacher Perks on Oct 9th, 2008 1 Comment »
Mondays and Wednesdays are my lighter days of the week. After my hour long commute from Queens through Manhattan into the Bronx (that’s a total of 3 boroughs a day!) I arrive at my school to be greeted by my (mostly) wonderful students. And, instead of teaching, for the first 97 minute period of the [...]
Posted in Advice, First-Year, Lighthearted, Random Meanderings on Oct 4th, 2008 3 Comments »
They say that if you’re planning on making any dramatic changes to your physical appearance, you should probably do it before you meet your kids.
Unfortunately for me, I did not hear that piece of advice until AFTER I had my long, long hair chopped off this past week. I’ve never had my hair shorter than [...]
Posted in First-Year, Reflections, Teacher Perks on Sep 25th, 2008 1 Comment »
One of my mentors, another high school chem teacher, emphasized the need to focus on at least one good thing that happened during the school day.
Today, I had no trouble figuring it out
As I sat in the sky lit atrium at 5:45pm a student pulled up a chair next to me. For the [...]
Posted in First-Year, Growth, Struggles on Sep 21st, 2008 No Comments »
I knew that teaching would be an emotional roller coaster, but I had no idea the twists and turns would be this frequent.
Monday: I had a good start to the week.
Tuesday: I approached break point #1.
I finished my last class of the day with a little bit of time to spare. So, I gave my [...]
Posted in First-Year, Reflections, Struggles, The Achievement Gap on Sep 8th, 2008 No Comments »
Here are some first week quotes that should shed some light on my experience thus far:
“Miss, you ain’t gonna stay.”-student on day 1
“Miss, you should get with a Puerto Rican. You’d have sexy kids.”-female student
“Principal T asked us what we thought of you. Don’t worry, we all said you were good.”-student after school
Students say [...]
Posted in Advice, First-Year, Growth, Methods, Uncategorized on Aug 21st, 2008 3 Comments »
Things are about to get crazy busy for us teachers. I’d say the busiest time of the year is the first few months. My OTF advisor last year shared that it feels like an uphill battle up until Thanksgiving break. Once break hits, the rest of the year feels like a downhill slope. I recall [...]
