Blog # 2: What's going well, what's gotta go.

I have a lot to learn.

I found out yesterday some of my kids could be gang affiliated, one kid showed up with bright red eyes and a changed affect, reports of 2 runaways... and I've been learning how to teach and so I missed a lot of cues. I feel like I'm years away from being the teacher that can see these kids and be one of the teachers who can try to be some of the change these kids need.

SO lets start with 2 things that are working, to stay positive.
1) I teach 9th grade science, but to keep the topic from getting stale I have a weekly current event assignment. The topic has to be science, and it helps my students build basic skills while integrating research tasks with ELA. It's been a slow build up for buy in- I started with 30% turn in rates, now up to 60%.
2) I've gotten better with discipline and classroom management. I've moved away from counterproductive habits (group punishment, showing frustration) and gotten better with differentiating my approach by student and situation.

2 places I have to get better:
1) I need more confidence in my role. I'm still so busy white knuckling the lesson plan that my focus is more on me than on the learning. This is going to take more planning further ahead than I'm currently running, so I'm swimming instead of treading water.
2) I need to improve my management skills running labs. I have to get better at hit-and-go contact so I don't have my back to the rest of the class. This is going to need me to sit in and observe other teachers running labs and just observing. Another fix is going to be prepping the demo and intro *after* I've run through the lab myself to I'm doing less remedial coaching and more moving the herd along.

Blog post #1: I need to write a blog, or I'll fail.

I apologize for the late start to this, group. This is the post supposed to reflect which time management and self-care tips from the first webinar will bring me the most benefit and success. There is the physical exercise side of things... but my $10 Planet Fitness dues are unfortunately going to waste. I have focused my physical outlet today on finally clearing out the laundry pile which had reached an unfortunate height roughly equivalent to a 3rd grader. I just don't have the room in my schedule to do anything more than walking everywhere I can reach, taking all the stairs and none of the elevators, and pacing as I teach. I'm currently in my 3rd consecutive month of trying to finish reading Man's Search For Meaning... I feel sure I'll get to the end soon.

Personal life has recently been simplified by a recent breakup, so I've been lucky enough to expand my social circle to include some of my coworkers. I have a strong support group in my PLC and in the classrooms around me who have helped me through some serious challenges with students, curriculum, and stress. My family is good about regular conversations by phone from the East Coast. My brother offered to visit, but I had to graciously decline as him showing up during the last month and a half of the school year with 2 Rio classes to finish would have competed pretty thoroughly with any chance to display my love and devotion.

Lastly, organization. Honestly? Always my weak point. I've improved this school year. I've learned to keep my pacing consistent and my curricula documented to the great satisfaction of my PLC and IL, and I'm generally on track with basic housekeeping tasks. (Other than, you know, actual housekeeping.) I use something called a Rocket Book with an app to store and organize all my daily notes- I use the app and my cell phone camera to upload my daily notes up to Google drive, send email etc. as a way to avoid individual scraps of paper, different planners, etc.

Thanks for reading... more soon! Denis Valyo