Reflection

One change I will make to my lesson plans immediately is to use visual examples to illustrate performance outcomes for students. Especially since I only teach English language learners, this enhancement to my plans is extremely important. The lesson plan we watched in action at the induction session made this very clear. Students were shown examples of the end product during the instruction/direction segment of the plan so they knew from the beginning what they would be required to produce.

The other reminder I needed to see was to have written instructions available to the students at all times in addition to the verbal explanation of directions. I have since tried to do this regularly in my classes and it saves me a lot of time otherwise spent repeating myself.

A Month in...

Here we are and it's already October! I've been a teacher for over a month now. How's it going, you ask? Depends on the day for sure. If you'd asked me yesterday I would have answered "Great!" Today, not so great. Funny how things can change from one day to the next. The hardest part for me is that there is so much yet to learn! I want to be an excellent and experienced teacher NOW. I am very fortunate to have a wonderful, supportive administration and great teachers to work with. I'm proud to be a part of the team at my school. Our kids are very lucky too.

First Week Reflection

Well, I can't say the week went as well as I'd hoped but it definitely ended on a good note. First of all, I was sick all week with some kind of a stomach flu so I was not feeling as excited or motivated as I would have had I been healthy. Then, on Monday, I had the same group of 12 students for 5 hours! I misunderstood thinking I would have my homeroom class just for first period but as it turns out I had them for periods 1-3. Then, also for periods 4 and 5 which is the normal time I have this group. Therefore, I was not prepared with 5 hours of planned activities. My lack of preparation and the extended time together did not set us up for a good first week.

I also had a couple of classes with a much higher number of student than anticipated. My first and second periods had 31 students. By the end of the week they were down to 27 so that is more manageable. For me, the hardest part of my first week as a new teacher was knowing what to let go (behavior wise). Having never started with my own class I had never seen how an effective teacher would set the tone the first few days. By Friday I had to start over with a few of my classes and firmly re-visit the class expectations. The results were encouraging. I am now looking forward to my second week. It's amazing how invested I feel in my students already after just a few days together. I can't wait to develop a stronger teacher/student relationship with all of them.

Looking forward...

to a very exciting year! Every time someone says "Oh, you're teaching MIDDLE school," I am further convinced that this is the right place for me. I love a challenge and I look forward to meeting my students and inspiring them to embrace learning. I remember well what it was like in middle school: so concerned with being cool and figuring out who the heck I was!

The new teacher training was great. I received a lot of helpful information and good ideas to help me prepare. I am glad to know that there are many of us first year teachers out there and that it is okay and expected that I will make mistakes. I tend towards being a perfectionist so this is something I will keep reminding myself. I'll just keep on keepin' on.

I'm very impressed with the technology available to teachers in this district. However, it's a little overwhelming as I am unfamiliar with many of the programs available. I look forward to more training and am so glad that the tech department is ready and willing to provide it.

Well, as you can imagine there is TONS to do to get ready. Until next time....

Welcome to my Blog!

This is my first shot at creating a blog. Hopefully, I will learn the tricks soon to make it visually and intellectually stimulating:) Enjoy!