Posted in Lighthearted, Teacher Perks on Dec 18th, 2008 No Comments »
I AM SO DONE WITH THIS WEEK…AND IT JUST STARTED.
I apologize, students, for my lack of enthusiasm that is sure to show as the week progresses.
I try to remain even tempered as a teacher. No matter what’s on my mind outside of work I make sure to be calm in front of my classes. If [...]
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 Lighthearted, Teacher Perks on Nov 11th, 2008 4 Comments »
Before this gets too stale, 3 Reasons why the Halloween school day was awesome:
1. Allowing the Halloween spirit infiltrate my lesson.
It was Friday, a review and quiz day. Rather than using my default green background on the keynote, I used orange. And rather than merely putting up review questions on the board that our class [...]
Posted in Classroom Management, Methods, Teacher Perks, Teaching is Collaborative on Oct 28th, 2008 7 Comments »
Though I maintain this year’s schedule is far more difficult than last, not everything’s turned for worse. One difference is… I’VE GOT HELP NOW!
Three things:
1. An Algebra Tutor
Recently graduated from college, and helps out in ALL THREE of my algebra classes. We’re developing a routine where he pulls out 3-4 students per day to provide [...]
Posted in Lighthearted, Teacher Perks on Oct 10th, 2008 No Comments »
My favorite field trips in school include the farm in 3rd grade, camp at Catalina in 5th grade, outdoor ed. camp in 6th grade, Washington DC in 8th grade, Knott’s Berry Farm for band in jr. high, and Six Flags for fall rally in high school. As a student, field trips were a day of [...]
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 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 Summer, Teacher Perks on Jul 30th, 2008 No Comments »
One CST released question asks students to estimate what percentage of the year is spent in school. “Students attend school 180 days of the year…. what percentage is this?” A little less than 50%! Of course, weekends and breaks are interespersed throughout the schoolyear, but the bulk of this off time is during the offseason.
Ah, [...]
