Midterms...
It's been over a month since I last wrote, and I've been teaching for that long. We recently gave midterms out to the students, so I figured it was time for a progress self-report.
One month down. The first days of school started off nicely. The kids were tired and well-behaved. It took me a while to get to know their names, and I think the only reason I know them now is because most of them have gotten in trouble one way or another. The honeymoon's over. I've got them all: The silent, troubled kid, the smart kid who only acts out when the other tough kids are there to trigger him to be tough, Princess McWhiner...
So far, I'm the "cool teacher". I don't wear that proudly. In fact, I'm kind of nervous about that label. It would seem that I'm not teaching up to par, and that the kids are getting away with not doing anything in my class. I've even been nominated by students for "best teacher" for the yearbook or something. I've not heard anything, and I'm glad it's not going anywhere.
Part of my job requires that I sponsor a club, namely the "Future Farmers of America". I think it's a great organization that helps kids out. My big problem is, however, that I have no idea how to officiate any meeting, and it's driving me crazy. I'm trying to talk to my "mentor" teacher, who sponsors the high school chapter, but all he does is say "read this", or "read that", which often has very little to NO information on actually how to conduct a meeting. I've asked numerous times for help with my lesson plans, and he tells me to talk about FFA. "What should I teach next?" "FFA." What about after that? "More FFA." "Am I ever going to teach about the different agricultural fields?" It's kind of maddening. This club seems to demand more unpaid time than my paid time in the classroom. So, I'm just winging it the best I can. It's been hit-and-miss.
Hurricane Frances messed things up. I had the students planting gardens, but they got ruined. But in this tragedy, I was inspired to try something new, and I've gotten good reactions from it. I'm having the kids do what's called a "variety trial", where they grow new cultivars of plants and compare them to the "standard" cultivar that's most grown in the industry. I'm having them log height data, keep notes, do rudimentary research. Something that combines all aspects of a standardized test into one semester-long project.
We'll see how it turns out.
So far, it's been a very, very stressful month.
Anyway, that's the quick-and-dirty summation of my educational career. I hope to write more.
One month down. The first days of school started off nicely. The kids were tired and well-behaved. It took me a while to get to know their names, and I think the only reason I know them now is because most of them have gotten in trouble one way or another. The honeymoon's over. I've got them all: The silent, troubled kid, the smart kid who only acts out when the other tough kids are there to trigger him to be tough, Princess McWhiner...
So far, I'm the "cool teacher". I don't wear that proudly. In fact, I'm kind of nervous about that label. It would seem that I'm not teaching up to par, and that the kids are getting away with not doing anything in my class. I've even been nominated by students for "best teacher" for the yearbook or something. I've not heard anything, and I'm glad it's not going anywhere.
Part of my job requires that I sponsor a club, namely the "Future Farmers of America". I think it's a great organization that helps kids out. My big problem is, however, that I have no idea how to officiate any meeting, and it's driving me crazy. I'm trying to talk to my "mentor" teacher, who sponsors the high school chapter, but all he does is say "read this", or "read that", which often has very little to NO information on actually how to conduct a meeting. I've asked numerous times for help with my lesson plans, and he tells me to talk about FFA. "What should I teach next?" "FFA." What about after that? "More FFA." "Am I ever going to teach about the different agricultural fields?" It's kind of maddening. This club seems to demand more unpaid time than my paid time in the classroom. So, I'm just winging it the best I can. It's been hit-and-miss.
Hurricane Frances messed things up. I had the students planting gardens, but they got ruined. But in this tragedy, I was inspired to try something new, and I've gotten good reactions from it. I'm having the kids do what's called a "variety trial", where they grow new cultivars of plants and compare them to the "standard" cultivar that's most grown in the industry. I'm having them log height data, keep notes, do rudimentary research. Something that combines all aspects of a standardized test into one semester-long project.
We'll see how it turns out.
So far, it's been a very, very stressful month.
Anyway, that's the quick-and-dirty summation of my educational career. I hope to write more.