"Tracking" Students' Progress

This week one of the highlights of my time was doing a special project with my Geometry class.  Right now we are learning about area for different shapes, but focusing mainly on circles. This activity goal was to find the area of the track. I used the announcement that the school board had approved a project where the track would be resurfaced. So we were going to see if we could come up with a close number to the company that is resurfacing it.

I split them into groups. Each had a different objective, in hopes that they wouldn't just copy each other's sheets. Find the area of lanes 1-4. Find the area of lanes 5-8. Find the area of the space inside the track. Find the area of all other parts of the black top.

With a sunny, 65 degree day to help us along, we walked out with tape measures (or yard sticks) in hand. They needed to take measurements and then come to a conclusion on what they needed to do with those measurements. Then we were going to see if we added all their areas together (tracks parts) we could get close to what the professional company came up with to resurface the track.

Besides having this be a good learning tool, this also helped with the morale of the classes. It was such a nice day outside and we were inside (with no windows). I think that they had fun doing it and I had fun hearing all the different ways they were going to measure long distances.

I think I will be doing this again in the future. Just to let you know, all three classes came close to the actual professional number. And one class even was within 10 yards!

The Energy Bus

This week all the teachers (and student teachers) were given a book to read as a part of staff development throughout the faculty.

The purpose of this "book study" was not just another thing to add to your to-do list, but it was more for the staff to power through these final weeks of the year where sometimes tensions get high and stress sets in. My initial thought was, "Great. Something else to add to my reading pile." However, I picked it up and it had a great deal of information to share.

Not only did it re-energize me to do my best as a teacher and professional, but also it re-energized me to still be a great student for our seminars, a great collaborator with the other math teachers and student teachers inside and outside of my building and a better coach for the track athletes.

I highly recommend adding this to your reading list. It's fairly short, but really it packs a punch. It seems like it is geared more toward the business side of things, but there are obvious and abundant applications for teachers and professionals in general. It is well worth your time.

Not only was this a book study and I'm guessing we will discuss it at our next PLC day, but also the principal is doing a great job of bringing this theory of an "Energy Bus" into the school. The basic premiss this book was written on are the "10 Rules For the Ride of Your Life." So each week from now until the end of the school year the staff is focusing on a particular rule. He has posted the "ticket" on each teacher's door as a constant reminder of the goal that week.

This week is "You're the Driver of Your Own Bus." This is basically saying that even though each of us have bad things that happen in our work, school or homes we can't let that define us, but instead we need to use that to motivate us to make a positive situation out of a perceivable negative.

Here's some more information on the book and the plan if you'd like: www.theenergybus.com

When the Household CEOs come to school

Monday and Tuesday this week each ended with hours of parent/teacher conferences.

The conferences were very interesting and insightful. I really enjoyed getting the chance to meet several students' parents. As parents were walking over to our table I tried to guess who their child was based on looks. I was getting pretty good at it by the end.

Since I am in a small school district several of the parents know the teachers, know each other and/or grew up within five blocks of the school. So the conferences we had were both a time to discuss the students, but also a time for my CT to catch up with old friends. I learned a lot about the parents in a short time, but there were several that gave me a more complete look into the life of a particular student.

The night did not go without its rough spots. A couple parents were upset with the grade of their students. My CT handled these situations much better than I could. All in all, I think the parents were frustrated that their students weren't getting the grade they wanted them to so they needed to let that be heard. It wasn't uncomfortable by any means, but it just took some time to calm them down and try to put a plan in place to best serve their students.

However, there were many great moments in the nights as well. One parent said that her student loved using the new technology in Math class which she thought would never happen. Another said that his student liked having the extra help with both my CT and I in the classroom to further their education and understanding.

Another benefit of these conferences was that I got to know the administration and other teachers significantly better during the "down" times of conferences. It was almost a sense of solidarity in which we were able to converse and laugh.  It was a good night and I'm glad I was lucky enough to be a part of this experience!

Substituting for Substitution

This week I got my first experience of having my own classroom. My CT was gone and I got to substitute. Ironically we were learning about solving Systems of Equations using the Substitution Method, so I thought that was pretty fitting.

Even though I have been with these students for almost nine weeks, some of them acted like I was someone completely new since they have never experienced me for an extended period of time without my CT in the classroom.

I have to admit, it was a strange feeling to know that if I failed at the activity or lesson there is no other backup besides my own creativity and quick thinking. However, I feel like that since I knew that I would be on my own without a "safety net" I over-prepared so I didn't have that terrible feeling of running out of lesson with twenty minutes left.

The students were great. Obviously they were thrown for a loop as well knowing that I was still learning how to teach, but they acted very respectful and some were helpful to hand things out or pick things up.

Surprisingly the day flew by. All in all, it was a good day. It was my first taste of how I want to run my classroom without any fear or nervousness of what my CT would say. So now that I have at least one day under my belt I feel much more at ease when I will have my own classroom.

The "D & F" List

The "D & F" List can be the source of much consternation for some.

I'm sure several schools have this in some form, but my school makes it very specific and accessible to teachers. In fact since I'm in such a small school, our PLC days (which are usually saved for teacher collaboration) focus on this list.

This list outlines each and every student that has a "D" or an "F" in one or more classes. This shows each and every class that a student is struggling in.

The community of teachers and administrators sees this list as a good indicator of other things going on in the students' lives. So in our PLC meeting time we discuss what we can do as teachers and mentors to influence the lives of these kids. Many times it is piecing information together from different sources and conversations to get a more complete picture of each student. It definitely opened my eyes to a much deeper sense of the socioeconomic undertones of the school and the community in general.