I Told You It Was Bad...

See! My desk is a horrible mess!

Wednesday:  In the bottom left corner of the picture (the upper left corner of the desk) you'll see a pile of extra papers. These are additional copies of tests/quizzes that have already been finished or class handouts that I ran a few extras of... I probably don't need any of them! Then there's a stack of binders. And then another one. I see 4 total. There's also a blue file folder (Algebra II) and a red one (Algebra I). I see my travel mug, regular mug, and a can of Cherry Coke. The yellow folders standing up are my attempt to stay on top of make-up work for kids. (The black planning book has been a huge help with that.) The little slips of paper in front of those are reminders for kids who signed up to sell pop at the volleyball games.

There's also 2 remotes, a plethora of sticky notes, a form that I need to finish filling out tomorrow and turn in, and a pile of papers (make that two piles) that really should be sorted through to throw away, actually deal with, or file.

And of course, 2 math books and a name tag my cousin felt the need to make me last year.

Organizational Nightmare!

Did you notice? I changed the title of the blog! It's a little more accurate now, even though the URL is the same. I don't have any amazing or funny stories to tell, I just thought I'd give you a little info on what this year has been like and how it's been different.

First of all, if I haven't said it already, year TWO is WAY easier than year ONE!!! I hardly ever bring work home, I don't have to spend hours planning, I have a really nicely organized planning book, my lessons are pretty much always ready to go, I'm caught up on Geometry copies for probably the next two weeks, I have nothing to grade but a couple of make-up tests, and things are just going pretty smoothly all around. 

But not everything is perfect. My desk is a colossal mess at the moment. Granted, it was typically messy last year, but I feel like I cleaned it up a lot more often! The thing is, I've decided to start organizing some of my papers differently. I really like the new system, but the transition means a lot of stuff everywhere. I've arranged all of my geometry keys into one nice 3-ring binder, so when someone is absent and wants to know what went in the blanks on the notes or whether they did their homework correctly, they can just check the binder. And if someone misses several days, I don't have to dig through 3 different folders to find every single last thing. I also have a separate folder for the originals so I know what to copy. I think I need to get rid of most of my little file folders now that I'm organized this way, except maybe one per chapter for tests, quizzes, and other various things I don't want it to be easy for kids to get their hands on.

I also want to put together a binder of all the Algebra I homework. That way they can do the same thing... look in the binder if they want to see the steps for a particular problem. One of my cooperating teachers in student teaching did this, but she had a spiral notebook. I like the 2-ring binder idea better because I can add, remove, and change assignments more easily. I'll probably do this with Algebra II eventually too, but for now I'm still using my notes from 10th grade for that class. (Yep, that's right, teaching it from my own high school notes! We're still using the same book, and the teacher I had is right next door!)

Anyway, this means my desk is COVERED in binders. I have 2 binders for Geometry, 1 for the class of 2015 (I'm their advisor), and the one I think I'm going to put the Algebra homework in. And until I shoved them in a drawer some recent morning, I had my sub binder and my teacher handbook. I really need a better organizational system for storing these binders. Maybe if I ever get that bottom desk drawer organized again...

So anyway, I had originally titled this post "Musings About Year Two," but I think the new title is better, don't you?!

3 Random Stories

I had a headache before lunch. My Algebra II class came in and I yelled, "SIT DOWN." That sure got them quiet. I do raise my voice on occasion, but I don't actually yell all that often. Then I said, "Well, at least I know one way to get you to shut up. I have a headache so you're going to get out your homework and be quiet." Or something like that.


So today a teacher came into the teacher's lounge at lunch. Told us about a situation with a student. One teacher was so shocked she spit out her McDonalds' Happy Meal Milk, while the teacher next to her spun around and nearly died laughing.

My roommate majored in English (as you know if you checked out the link I posted to her blog). I (obviously) majored in math. So this weekend we had an argument that only the two of us could have. We debated the spelling of a math word. Oh, and I won. Ha! (The word was "collinear" by the way.)

P.S. We started watching NUMB3RS on Netflix. You really should check it out if you've never seen it. I'm in love with Charlie. If you know a hot genius like that, send him my way. (lol)

Check Out My Roommate's Blog!

Yes, I totally stole her title, because she just promoted me on her blog about 20 seconds ago (maybe 2 minutes by the time I finish typing this)! She's a wordpress girl, but you should check it out anyway. She's a writer. Seriously, she's writing a novel. So yeah, we have totally different career aspirations... math vs. literature... but we're great friends.

You see, when I was hired last year, it was about 2 weeks before school started, and I was hired at my alma mater, so my first year of teaching was spent living at home with my parents. But this spring, I became a real adult and I bought a house! So in addition to not updating my blog over the summer because it's a teaching blog and I wasn't teaching school, I also didn't update because I was busy with cleaning and painting and remodeling and babysitting. (You've gotta do something to make some extra cash when you buy your first house!)

So anyway, go check her out. Because one day she might be a famous Sci-Fi writer!

http://dorothylynn.wordpress.com

Year Two

I could have SWORN I had updated a week or so ago! Guess not! The year is off to a good start. I'm "teaching" night school two days a week and already busy with fundraisers for the sophomore class. Also, we had our first meeting for the second year of Ohio's Resident Educator program. Busy as can be!

Year Two Fast Approaching!

This first year teacher has reached August, which means the full year one is about over! Guess the blog needs a new title...

I haven't thought about school much this summer. Tried to just take a mental break from it and I've been working on my house and enjoying life. I've also been babysitting. I prefer to call myself the nanny though, because we keep busy!

I've made one trip to the teacher store and found a book of Geometry worksheets that work out to give you a word, phrase, picture, or something similar if you do everything right. That way students will have an idea of whether or not they're on the right track. They're great for sick days or professional days! I've been to my classroom, but there's not a ton to do there. I don't decorate the way my friend who teaches elementary does! What I really should be doing is beginning to work on what I want those first days to look like, but who knows how much thought I'll give to that next week on vacation. Guess those 4 week days when I return and the two teacher work days will be important for that!

Also I will be having lunch with my new co-advisior for the Class of 2015... No more popcorn! We're moving to pop, so we're moving up in the world!

Just thought I'd quickly post to say that I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, I'm just enjoying the schedule of a teacher, because I must say, it's pretty great!

Enjoy what's left of summer and hopefully I'll revamp this soon!

The Things Teenagers Say...

I could probably write a book on crazy things teenagers say, like when they hear a rumor that I'm dating a coach, they come to class and ask me, "Are your favorite sports to watch soccer and tennis?" But that's nothing to what happened today.

We had a fire drill, and after a few minutes of standing outside, a male teacher summons everyone back in, saying, "We've got work to do!" Then the best thing ever happens. One of my female students says...

"That Mr. ----------, he is one good looking man!"

Me: "What?"
Her: "Nothing"
I laugh.
She says, "I didn't think you were listening!"

I love my job.

Even on boring test days that result in hectic afternoons.