The Principal's Office...

The school year is almost over! Yahoo! A terrible thing happened today... I was called into the PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE. Of course the principal is my boss so that isn't the tragedy my nerves imagined. By the way, I hate meeting with the boss under 'formal' conditions, even worse is asking for something that I want. So instead of getting raked over the coals (I'm a good teacher and have nothing to worry about) I was presented with several compliments about how I was a great fit- yada, yada, yada, and then was offered a new teaching position in the building. A position I never would have asked for nor desired to teach if left to my own devices. What is it? Teaching a class called Read 180. Well the idea didn't make me want to run for the hills- so I accepted. Truthfully, the challenge of a new curriculum will be a good thing. So I reserve judgment and will do my best to see it through. Then after the fat lady sings (one year later) then I'll know if I should have found out how fast I can summit a mountain.

Summer School

So I had planned on taking June off and enjoy my summer. I was signed up for several training sessions to improve my teaching and had a large stack of books to read for fun. So what am I doing? I'm teaching summer school. I can't complain though. I learned a week ago that my landlord wants to sell the home I rent when our lease is over. So I have until the end of the year to decide what to do and take action. One day later after receiving the news, an opportunity to teach an additional three weeks of summer school landed in my lap in addition to the two I planned on teaching in July. So while I had to give up some of my plans and desires in order to earn more money, I am feeling blessed that God continues to provide for my family and me. So I had to sacrifice something I wanted- but the rewards are much greater. What is most surprising is how much fun I am having teaching. I've heard many times over how terrible summer school is- how desperate someone would have to be for money in order to lower themselves to teach summer school. I was surprised about how enthused our least motivated students were when I was teaching them. It was a ton of fun. The students really change their mind set in summer school. Unlike the school year when six classes a day overwhelms they can handle one class very well and the teaching is continuous. I am truly amazed by how much they learned and the confidence they gained. Now I only had the students for one week- half of a session- but WOW these kids would typically fail and choose to do nothing in a regular classroom. They really came through for me and for themselves. I had no idea it would be such a rewarding experience. Let's hope my group of students next week are just as much fun as this group was.

Yahoo School is Over!

I can't tell you how relieved I am that the school year is nearly over. I've been working so hard and I need some down time. Not to mention I need some time to recharge and start working the great ideas I've stumbled across over the past few months. So I'm gonna kick up my heels and relax.

Shanee's First Communion

Shanee made her First Communion on Sunday. I was so proud of her. She wore my dress- and she got to carry the wreath of flowers for the statue of Mary. I almost cried but couldn't as I was singing in the church choir.

My Little Man

We had a very loving Thanksgiving. All morning my children helped me to cook our turkey and side dishes. Both of them peeled potatoes and ran empty packages and such to the trash. My daughter helped me fold laundry and my son helped wash dishes. Best of all they were very well behaved when we put all the food away without eating a bite in order to visit a friend's home and eat there. We brought our share of the meal: sweet potatoes and a pumpkin roll. At dinner our friends asked who would like to say grace and my son raised his hand high and was very eager. Even better our hostess looked at my son, Anthony, and said all right make sure you say it really loud so everyone can hear. Anthony very proudly nodded his head and then said in a rather loud but mumbly voice the family prayer we recite at every meal. I think that every one was floored that he wanted to lead the prayer let alone rattled a prayer off so fast that our hostess couldn't even mention what she was thankful for. She got a word in edgewise after the 'amen' and quickly added "and thank you for everyone being together." I was so proud of my little man for raising his hand up and confidently sharing his prayer with the group. He really enjoys his faith formation classes every Sunday morning after Mass. He insists we pray all the prayers he is learning each night and brings his prayer book and bible to class to show off. He does the same thing at school though and brought a "Thanksgiving" storybook to school to share with his teacher. She even read it to the class.

Shanee has been ill. Her asthma really did a number on her yesterday so I have her on prescription medications again. She has to restrict her activity which she doesn't like. I keep her inside when asthma bothers her and only allow her to play quietly, watch tv, and read books. This is not easy for kids but especially for Shanee who loves to run, swing, ride bike, and play. She really takes to the challenge though and finds new books to read and catches up on tv time as I rarely let the kiddos watch television. She is doing very well in school and still has all B's and A's. I watch her homework and she is really doing well. Her teacher called me and my little girl is going to be singing a solo in the Christmas Concert Dec. 4th. Her character is Senorita Bonita the spanish teacher who has Santa Claus and the elves attending her school. I'm looking forward to the concert and am helping her learn her lines and solo. She will make her first communion this year and has been learning her catechism. Just two weeks ago she had to memorize the names of the books in the Torah and Gospels. She is also a champ at the ten commandments- heck I didn't even remember them all in order. Helping Shanee learn them was fun they set the commandments to a kid song. What else? Oh two of her fish died this week. I changed the water in the tank and they went into shock. Her two goldfish made it but the minnows couldn't handle it. So we'll have to buy her a couple more fish again soon.

So to wrap up we have a lot to be thankful for a great day and some many little blessings that are shared each and every day. God Bless!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I must say I am truly thankful for all the blessings in my life. I have my beautiful children, my loving husband, and rewarding career. God intercedes on my behalf at every turn.

So here I am ushering in another holiday season... and I can't believe how fortunate I am in my life. I continue to pray and thank God for my blessings. I'm speechless!

My kiddos are doing good in school and are happy- they need to be better at cleaning their rooms but overall are good natured well mannered children.

My hubbie continues to seek a job that is more satisfying and that day will come.

Me: I work hard and enjoy my career- my students are reading "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "The Tragedy of Macbeth" both awesome stories worthy of study and entertaining enough to keep even my most difficult to entertain students engaged.

Soon- we will have a Shakespeare Monologue Competition!!

Being a Teacher

Well here I am in the second year of teaching and I love it. My first year was fairly frustrating and discouraging. I had some high points and managed to stay optimistic enough to look forward to my next year. Now here I am in year two and in some ways I feel like I am just learning how to teach. What am I doing right that I wasn't doing last year? I didn't feel confident enough to require many exams last year. This year I develop an exam at the end of every unit. I am still working on how to present information and then how to reinforce and practice concepts. So my biggest struggle is designing activities and assignments that reteach or practice concepts. I am much stronger at delivering my lessons; I place emphasis on a daily objective so students are aware of what the point of the day is. I am carrying out units that extend over a semester in between required units- that makes me more productive. The students complain because they don’t like to multitask. Heck- most of them have never worked as hard as I am asking them to do. A typical day involves writing around 3 pages of notes, brainstorming, projects, or assignments. When we read I ask students to paraphrase everything and keep a record. Finally, I give minimal directions so that students are forced to use their imaginations and tap personal opinions and thoughts. The last thing I want is to read 150 papers/projects that are all copies of each other. I offer my students alternatives to the required assignment at nearly every turn. What I still need to work on is giving detailed directions to my classes that are most talkative. If they have one second of down time they loose focus and act helpless. When they have directions and steps that are clearly outlined they are productive and better focused. I have several classes that can handle and are comfortable with my preferred method of teaching and two groups that need tight concise directions. I will be starting new units by the end of next week- wow! Each group has survived two units so far and is on the way to a third. I really enjoy what I am teaching- American and British literature. I hated teaching via genre study it just didn’t make sense to me and I had trouble making meaning of it. Teaching with history as a framework along side the literature is right up my alley.

I am looking forward to work nearly every day and am constantly challenging myself to be creative and effective as a teacher. I am measuring how well my students are learning and am still developing as a professional. I have noticed that my colleagues are taking notice of my dedication and have started asking for my help and acknowledging me as an equal. I was evaluated by one of the administrators last week and was given compliments and praise both in my planning and execution of my lesson. I varied what activities we would have and made sure that the lesson was not only teacher led but student driven as well. It isn’t easy to make literature that is so far removed from my students relevant to them. I’m talking colonial Puritan literature, which preaches fire and brimstone and everlasting damnation. So I’ll have students look to modern newspapers to find echoes of puritan values and philosophies still present today. I’m still developing the activity so we’ll see how it goes over. But here I am- I love my job and every day I finally feel like I have the ability to improve and carry out my own visions.

After a year plus of pushing forward and not having a ton of confidence I am so grateful and happy to be where I am now. I'm not trying to toot my own horn just express my great relief and gratitude.