Christmas Break is Here... ALMOST!

Today was my last day of actually teaching before Christmas. We still have exams, but that just entails handing them out, giving instructions, and waiting for them to be returned so I can grade!

I love teaching. I like my kids. I actually baked over 100 cookies tonight, just because I wanted to give them a treat for exams. But being a teacher unfortunately involves more than that. There's meetings and meetings, and, well, more meetings. Sometimes these can be helpful, other times it seems like a waste of time. It's always great to spend time with other "math minds." (If you are one, you'll understand, and if not, well, you probably think the whole lot of us math people are insane, so you probably think we should stick together.) We get along well because we understand each other and we value the importance of mathematics. But we're also people. Some days we all work great together, and sometimes not. I love my colleagues; I guess I should stop rambling and get to the point...

Today one of the other teachers I work with said to me, "I really appreciate you, as a teacher." That meant the WORLD to me. To be young and new, and have someone who has been there for a while and has experience tell me that I'm doing a good job and that he thinks I bring something to our department as an educator... that's unbelievable. It's difficult to be a first year teacher. I struggle to stay more than a day ahead of my kids (in planning, not in general content knowledge... I do understand the math!). I feel like there are days that go really great, and days that I could have done more. I could have had more prepared. I could have had better examples. I could have reviewed more. I could have better prepared them for this or that. I could have spent more time planning. All of that. There are days I feel like I didn't get through to anyone, or someone was left behind, or that maybe they just all hate me. But compliments like that encourage me. They were healing words to my soul. If you ever read this, THANK YOU. I doubt you will ever even stumble across this silly little blog, but if you do, I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out who I am and that I'm talking about you.

Teachers

So, in middle school, my favorite teacher found us a class pen pal. She lived in Russia, and we would all write to her and she would respond to us. Ten years later, that teacher is now retired and my friend. And she found our pen pal on Facebook. We've been getting to know each other again, and she is ALSO a teacher. She teaches English in Russia. So we get to discuss teaching and education. It's such a cool connection. And today was her birthday. But it's already tomorrow there...

In order to find out what time it was there, I used one of my FAVORITE sites: Wolfram Alpha. It solves math problems, gives you information about any date in history, can tell you the about history of the use of any given name, or it can serve as the best world clock ever. It tells you the time at the location you want to know about, the time where you are, and the difference.

Anyway, give it a try. I personally love to check the time in places like Rome, where I spent 5 1/2 weeks in 2009.

**I made a widget that let you type in the place, but it didn't work. So if you want to try it, go to Wolfram|Alpha and type in "What time is it in Russia?" or any other place. Or really, any kind of search!

**Oh, here's the link to my widget... I haven't managed to imbed it, but this is the next best thing. The Best World Clock EVER

Sometimes Being the New Teacher can be FUN!

I've thought about updating a lot recently and I think it was because I've had some things to say, but most of them are slipping my mind at the moment. We had our second conference night and I actually DID meet with some parents this time. That went pretty well. The rest of the 3 1/2 hours I was there I worked on things I needed to get done for school. Unfortunately, I STILL had work to do when I got home... it's never-ending! I did a lot today during my prep and brought next-to-nothing home this weekend! THAT is SO exciting!

For those of you who don't know my secret identity, I'll tell you this. I'm a very petite girl. I don't really look like I'm that much older than my students. Today was payday... a.k.a. Jeans Day. I was standing in the halls between periods and one of my students was telling a friend a story as they walked by. I gave her some sort of look and laughed, and her friend says, "Who is that?!"

Apparently, some kids have no idea I'm a teacher.

More School Spirit!

I chaperoned a "Spirit Bus" to a soccer game tonight. Our boys are doing great, and have won again, which means they've now made it further in the playoffs than ever before. Our awesome assistant principal really wanted to encourage students to come to the game and ride the bus, so he made it completely free. Free ride, free entry, and free food. My mother was skeptical... she didn't think we'd fill a bus. I was supposed to ride a spirit bus to a football game against the school I student taught at, but the bus was cancelled so I didn't go. We were afraid it would be like that... Wow, were we wrong! Not only did we fill a bus, but another full bus left an hour later when some of the sports teams finished their practices.

I love soccer, so the game was great, but the ride wasn't bad either. Got some tests graded on the way there and a power point made on the ride home. I'd call it a successful evening!

Spirit Week

Yes, it's spirit week. At my school, we don't have spirit week for homecoming. Homecoming has come and gone, is done and OVER. We have Spirit week for our final game of the year... the big rivalry game. There are dress-up themes every day. (Today I was a pirate!) We decorated our doors on Monday. There's a big pep rally Thursday night for the community and one at school Friday. It's fun, but crazy. And it's also the end of the nine weeks... which doesn't exactly make this as fun as it could be, but I'm enjoying it!

Homecoming

I chaperoned the dance...

...and live to tell the tale.

Kids these days!

Tonight at a middle school soccer game, one of my freshmen thought my 9 year old cousin was my daughter. This first year math teacher is NOT that old. And then his grandma didn't believe I was old enough to be a teacher! Yikes! He had to show her my school ID so she'd believe I was really his teacher.

Conferences were tonight, but no one wanted to meet with me! So I got LOTS of work done. :)

Soccer Can Make One Crazy

Tonight my school's girls' soccer team played the school I student taught at. I was SO excited because my cooperating teacher's daughters play. So I got to see her and catch up and talk about teaching, and specifically, teaching math. It was great to be able to say, "It took the whole period to go over the homework over composition of functions" and to have someone understand that! One student from her class that I taught last year was on the team, and one from one of my geometry classes. I said hello them both, and I got to see her two girls play as well. It was so nice to hear an update about things at there school, because I truly enjoyed working with the math department there. They were great.

My other cooperating teacher retired this year. He's been following my blog and thinks I'm overwhelmed because I haven't updated lately... THIS UPDATE IS FOR YOU!! Thanks for all the fun times last year, and for all you (and Mrs. D and the whole department) taught me! We had a good time, but I must say, I couldn't be happier than to be right where I am. Also, she will probably be telling you soon that I had to go take care of a "popcorn emergency."

Don't worry, I handled it! ;)

Anyway, conferences tomorrow... No one has signed up for me yet... I just hope my brother's game doesn't get the time switched with the girls because I'd hate to miss a rival middle school soccer game!

Speaking of soccer... a storm got one of my brother's games cancelled yesterday. Since all the boys were already at the field but the girls' game was still going on, they all ended up in our living room. One of my students was here too, since he's the older brother of one of my brother's friends... I learned this weekend when I went to the fair (where I saw eight students), that I can't go anywhere anymore! I'm apparently not even safe in my parents' home!

Stress Free Evening

Tomorrow we have a two hour delay, which means I only need to plan for about 30 minute classes instead of 50. Score! And we'll be returning quizzes in all of my classes, and then going over them as well as returning any other papers they still need to see and telling them their midterm grades. Easy day. Yay. :)

I needed to change my license to a 4 year resident educator license. It's a new program the state is putting new teachers through and it's kind of a pain. I sent in my application and the state put me on a payment hold. I was ANGRY. So today I called them. The nice woman on the phone instantly told me that it was a mistake on their part and something they had to enter manually. Everything should be finished in 48 hours. What a relief! Sometimes people really can be helpful when you call!

It's been a good day.

Out of Creative Ideas for a Title...

Well, it's been 4 weeks since the first day of school. Can you believe it? I sure can't. I'm still adjusting to life. I cannot believe that I really teach at my old high school. You would think that the reality would be completely sunk in by now, but it's just not. I'm thrilled, and SO blessed.

Routines are starting to set in. I know how each day runs and I am pretty good at figuring out a tentative plan for the week and adjusting accordingly for the constant changes in the daily schedule (regular day, long homeroom, short homeroom... who knows?!). Friday we have a 2-hour delay for an in-service, so my classes will be really short. It's crazy, but I don't actually have the bell schedule memorized, so I just remember which schedule we're on and check the correct row and column on the chart I keep on my desk.

My little brother is the greatest kid on earth. He sets up my computers every morning and helps pack up and clean up at the end of the day. It makes my mornings much smoother, and gets me out of school faster at the end of the day.

Midterms are coming up already too! Yikes! I've got lots of work to do in the next week. Tomorrow I will be observed by my principal! The kids have been warned, and I think it will be fine. I sure hope so!

OH! And I FINALLY got a contract today! I'm SO official.

Well, that was random, but I think that's all. Absolutely enjoying life lately... hope you are too!

Oh, Study Hall!

Just thought I'd give you a quick anecdote from study hall today.

A student comes in and complains about an essay that he has to write. Apparently NO ONE did the assignment last night, so today they were told to do it again, and that anyone who does not have it tomorrow gets a detention. He wanted to go bug his English teacher because he said he didn't understand it. I said "no." Did he read the story? No. Were the directions clearly spelled out? Yes. I basically read the directions to him, emphasizing each point. (Note: this essay requires about 6 sentences.)

Finally, the guy behind him says, "You know, in the time you've complained about this, you could have had it done."

To which I reply, "Yes, get to work and don't talk until that essay's finished."

The student asks, "Can I talk when I'm done?"

"Not until I read it."

"But you're a math teacher."

AHH! WRONG THING TO SAY STUDY HALL STUDENT. I told him that I went to a liberal arts college and that I got a 4 on my AP English test when I was a student at my school. The stereotype that math teachers can't write or use proper grammar or otherwise speak their native language infuriates me. I may not always love writing, but I don't think you'll find any grammar mistakes in this post. If you do, please let me know and I'll fix them immediately. 

Anyway, he did get the essay done, so if I did nothing else today, I did save one student from 30 minutes in a silent, windowless room. And I did read the essay. I added and erased a few commas and told him that the language could definitely be cleaned up some (it was awkward and wordy) but that he would at least get by. Secretly, I wanted to read the story and let him know what a decent essay sounds like, but I'm doing so much math every day, I just don't have time to write essays on short stories! I sadly don't have much reading time at all. YES, SOME MATH TEACHERS EVEN LIKE TO READ! ;-)

Testing!

Gave my first tests in Algebra I and Geometry on Monday and Tuesday. The Algebra ones went great! Geometry was okay. I've found that a lot of students struggle with Geometry because it requires a whole different way of thinking than they're used to. For those it clicks for, it's really easy. I know my mom loved geometry... her geometry teacher told me!

I've also learned that you hear some interesting things in the teachers' lounge! 

But back to testing... Algebra II tests are tomorrow. I'm really glad I asked my department head about how she formats her Algebra II tests before I left today... because she just handed me hers and said I could use it if I want! I'm planning on it. I'm pretty sure it's the same test I took when I was a student. Guess this means that I have to recollect them after the test... they can't be reused if the students have them!

Finally... sports. (Finished talking about testing now.)

-Watched my little brother win (by a lot) this week in MS soccer. Fun times. Graded papers over dinner during a rain delay. 

-Sold popcorn with my freshmen at a rivalry volleyball game. Now that the kids have it down, I don't really have to do much (unlike the first game, where my co-advisor and I did it all ourselves), so I graded papers there too! 

A friend of mine who was an English major said my blog was very readable. I'm glad... as a math person, I'm not much of a writer. I can write, and I actually like grammar, but I don't always enjoy it. But I love my job, so I think that comes out in my writing... or at least I hope it does! 

Weekend of Memories

Friday my school had a moment of silence and showed video clips from September 11, 2001. I was in 7th grade that day. I was in band when things started, and since we were all in our "special" classes, all the 7th grade teachers had prep that period. Naturally, one of the history teachers was watching the news. My friends and I filed in to our preAlgebra class and we'll never forget that history teacher coming down the hall and telling our teacher to turn on the news. I don't remember exactly what else he said, but I remember confusion and the crazy indescribable look on his face. We saw the live footage of the second plane. I don't think many other teachers let us watch the news that day. There was a lot of confusion... I guess that's middle school for you.

Later, when I was a freshman in high school, our English teacher made us draw pictures about that day. I don't remember the point of the assignment. We probably wrote a poem or something too. But I do remember a very artistic classmate of mine's drawing. He drew us sitting in that preAlgebra class. It was a drawing of what he saw at that moment. He remembered who sat where and made and included the backs of our heads. And up in the corner of that drawing was the mounted TV from our classroom, with that image we saw so many times over those days.

So thank you, pre-Algebra teacher. The firefighters get a lot of recognition (which they deserve, because they were great!), but we won't ever forget you either. Thanks for letting us witness history happening, and thank you for keeping us calm.

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This weekend I attended a wedding in the town I went to college in. I stayed with younger friends all weekend, but the couple who got married were seniors when I was a freshman. It was a weird combination of feeling really old and really young. I had a great time, but I realize that I'm not cut out for college life anymore. I'm SO tired and I am seriously lacking the motivation to grade these papers sitting next to me.

It was a strange weekend of reliving old memories, making happy new ones, and reflecting on a sad day 10 years past. I hope that I'm never the teacher that my preAlgebra teacher was to me. I don't want anyone to ever have to go through another day like that.

Thanks for reading.

Busy Busy Busy

Had a great long weekend. The university I attended doesn't have Labor Day off (to encourage freshmen to stay on campus) so it was my first Labor Day off since I was in high school myself. How nice!

It's also great because now that I've got one day of school down for the week, there are only 3 left instead of four! I think I've got a pretty good idea of what the week is going to look like, but I still have a lot to do to prepare for tomorrow. Looks like there may be several interruptions this week, so we're going to hold off any tests until the beginning of next week.

New teachers in Ohio are now considered "Resident Educators" for 4 years. This means we have to go through a mentorship program that lasts 4 years. First meeting for that was today. It will be a long process, but the upside is that there are several new teachers in my district who are new to the profession, so we'll all be going through it together. And my mentor is a really great teacher, and I had him as a teacher back when I was a high school freshman!

Dropped by the volleyball game so I could help my co-advisor to the freshman class count ballots, but it turns out not every class that was supposed to vote did today. No big deal, we'll count them soon. Just more that contributes to a busy week. Staff meeting tomorrow, then it looks like my week will slow down a bit.

Still loving my job! :)

Another week done!

Last night was Open House... when I was in school we called it "Meet the Teacher Night." Parents come in and follow their kid's schedule. They go to all their classes in the order they go to them so that they can meet all the teachers. I printed up a bunch of handouts and made small talk. There were 13 families that signed it in my room. That's it. Guess I didn't need those 45 handouts.

I stayed after school and just worked on things, then went to dinner with a few other teachers. We came back for open house and I finally got home around 9pm. My classroom had to be 80 degrees, even after the sun had gone done. It was miserable.

Today wasn't much better, but my awesome 12-year old brother carried my fan in to the school for me this morning, and it helped a ton. Still, after driving home in a car that desperately needs the a/c charged, I was miserable.

Oh well, another week complete and now I'm camping! My parents' friends have a wireless hotspot. We don't rough it at all! I've uploaded my lessons for next week, so I feel really accomplished! Time to enjoy a great weekend with family and friends. (There will be over 25 of us tomorrow!)

Enjoy your holiday weekend, everyone. This math teacher is ready to relax!

Day 5

Day 5 is quite the accomplishment because it means I've now taught each day of the week! Things are going very smoothly! Collaborating with the other new math teacher has been great, and it's made life easier for both of us. I have quizzes prepped for two different classes. Those are happening tomorrow and Thursday, so we'll see if they've learned anything from me!

It's getting easier already, but it's exhausting. My last post was Friday afternoon... by 10:30 that night I was asleep! I sold popcorn for the freshman class on Saturday... with my co-advisor... no freshmen. Two are signed up for tonight though, and I have their names, so they better show up! 

Yesterday we had a fire drill. I forgot to take my keys with me... oops! But I didn't lose any kids! Today I forgot to turn on the TV for the morning announcements... one of my students has been put in charge of reminding me.

Coffee with one of my favorite teachers (from when I was in elementary and middle school) tomorrow evening and a school open house Thursday night. I'm going to be one busy teacher, so hopefully I can post again soon!

**Oh, and that class that kept changing in size... it was 14, but one of my students is moving, so now it's 13. I think we're finally set on the class size, but we'll see! So not counting that student... I have 91 different students... one of the science teachers has about 140, so I'm really lucky!

Week 1: Complete!

I did it. I made it to the end of the week! It's not so bad! I had to create a whole new seating chart and hand out books to my class that grew today. So I handed them a paper on order of operations and had them work on that while I figured out what was going to work best for them. It felt like chaos to me, but they were working. Looks like we're going to have to take it slow for a while. They really need to work on some of the beginning skills. I have some experience teaching Geometry, but Algebra may be a struggle as far as knowing the best way to teach it. I have some ideas, we'll just see how long it takes me to really be ready to put them into action.

After my marathon mornings of 4 classes in a row, I have a study hall. It's only 30 minutes, and once I take attendance, get seated, and figure out what I should work on during that time, the time is typically half gone. Not to mention the interruptions that come from trying to figure out where the 3 students who haven't come to my study hall at all this week are. Turns out two of them were scheduled to two different study halls. I don't know about you, but I thought the last Time-Turners had been destroyed after Hermione and Harry rescued Sirius and Buckbeak from the tower... so I don't know how they're to be in two places at once! They're going to stay in the other one, so they're not my responsibility anymore.

Had a double lunch period again after that, so I worked some more in my classroom, ate with those I normally have my lunch with (but I walked to the lounge before the bell rang and the students crowded the hall, of course), then worked through my prep to get Monday's guided notes for Geometry finished. Didn't want to have to stay late on a Friday!

Day 2

Nothing quite as exciting happened today.

I'm advising the freshman class so I had to take my Algebra I class with me to the meeting today. Except... most of them AREN'T freshmen. So they got to sit in the back. Most of the other class meetings that occurred throughout the morning finished with at least some time left in the period, so I told my students to leave their stuff behind. Well, there are a lot of things freshmen need to be told, so of course it took the whole period. And then I had a line of people outside my locked classroom door. Oops. But it really wasn't a problem.

I also got 5 or 6 new students added to that class by the end of the day. Guess it's good that we didn't get anything done today, since my class will be so much larger tomorrow (I did only have 9 students today, oh well).

I'm the in-school suspension monitor for lunch. And since no one has managed to get into trouble yet, I had a double lunch!

Won tickets to Kennywood on the radio on the way home too!

Good day. :)

Oh yeah, I won a two week membership to a local gym last night from Saturday's Teacher Appreciation Day at Staples! I'm good at winning things... lol.

Update: Upon closer evaluation, it looks like I've only got 3 students to add to that class, so they're still a small class. 12 I believe. :)


Update #2: Apparently I have 14 in this class now. Oh, the joys of the first week! We'll see what I actually have tomorrow! ;)

Today I was told I should write a book...

I started my teaching job Monday. It was great! Our school was rated Excellent with Distinction by the ODE, so it was a great start to the year. More exciting for those teachers who were actually a part of making that happen, but still, it's very cool. And it means I work in a great place.

Those first two days were exciting. There were meetings, there was time to work on my room, but mostly, there were teachers. Others who have chosen the same profession as I have. I worked in my classroom a few days before school started, and there wasn't anyone there. I am a people person, so I was excited!

I was ready for the first day. I was excited. I was a little nervous. I've never had my own classroom before, I've only jumped in to someone else's classroom. But these are my students and I don't have to run my ideas by anyone on a day-to-day basis. It was feeling strange, but exciting.

I finally get out the door this morning and forget my lunch. Oops. I went back for it. Crisis averted. I get to school and manage to get inside without getting completely wet (oh yeah, it was storming on my first day too). I get in my classroom. Change from rain boots to dress shoes. Set up the computer. Turn on the projector. Display the homeroom seating chart. Things are great. Then I decide to take a book to the lounge so I can make copies. They aren't too important, but if I get lucky enough to find the copiers not in use, these papers could be helpful...

The copiers are in use and others are waiting. Oh well. I can skip that. Quick bathroom break and things will be fine...

...and the fire alarm goes off...


Those rain boots... the rain jacket. They're down the hall in my classroom, where the door is open and the lights are on... oops. I wash my hands and walk outside. Stand under an umbrella with a fellow member of the math department. We wait. Loud thunder. Lots of lightning. The bell rings. We have to stop the students from going inside. More loud thunder. More lightning that lights up the sky. They send us in the gym.

There are two new math teachers. The others (jokingly) said this was our initiation.

And as we discuss all of this at lunch, I'm told I should write a book... starting with the story of the fire alarms. I chose to write a blog instead.