Something Different

Folks, there are two weeks left of summer before I have to report back to school.  TWO WEEKS.  Where did the summer go?  Well, it didn't help that I wasn't really done with work things until the first week of July.  We were out of school on the 19th, then the week after that I was taking a week-long, all-day (8:00am-3:00pm) AP class at a local college.  In that week, I was also working on settling into a new house (we moved June 20th).  Shortly after that, I was taking Jacob to swim lessons at a local gym (four days a week, for two weeks, half an hour each day) which wasn't bad, but it was the middle of the morning, so I kind of felt like I didn't really accomplish much in a day.  Then we went on vacation to Williamsburg and Virginia Beach (which I'll blog about later).  We came home on a Friday and I left again that Sunday, this time for a three-day conference in Philadelphia for work.  And now, here I am, with two weeks left until we're back to school.  Ack!

I want to work on some planning for the upcoming school year, but I'm not 100% sure where to start right now.  I have a ton of things pinned to my Pinterest boards for AVID, interactive notebooks, and other random school things.  I guess I'll need to sort through that.  I've picked up some things for my classroom, and my school books are sitting in my bedroom.  Some of the blogs I follow are written by teachers, and one of them has started a teacher blog challenge.  She mentions that it was actually making the rounds last year, but she was looking for something to break up the monotony of her blogging, so she's working through it now.  It seemed like a pretty good idea, and you know what teachers are known for, right?  Borrowing ideas from other people... and giving credit, of course (here's a link to her blog:  Everybody is a Genius).  She's a high school math teacher, and I started following her because of her interactive notebook posts.  So, here we go...

Reflective Teaching: A 30-Day Blogging Challenge for Teachers

Day 1
Write your goals for the school year. Be as specific or abstract as you’d like to be!

1.  Create a Learner-Centered Classroom

Yes, that's the new buzzword for the year it seems.  But I visited an elementary school last year where this concept was in place, and it was amazing.  We talk about wanting our kids to be more independent and that we want them to take ownership of their work.  This is that kind of environment.  The teacher was a facilitator, and while they did provide instruction, they weren't the star of the show.  The learner-centered classroom moves the students toward self-teaching.  The video below is one we watched at our conference in Philadelphia, and it discusses the concept, but in a different way.  

Source: Sugata Mitra's New Experiments in Self-Teaching

Whatever the case, the learner-centered classroom allows for flexibility in student learning: choice in assignments, how to complete the assignments, where to work in the classroom, etc.  I can't do it all in one year, but I want to bring more of this into my classroom.

2.  Work on Patience

It seems that since becoming a mom, I've had very little patience in my classroom for stupid behavior.  I teach high school.  I don't want to hear, "Mrs. Hohlfeld!  He took my pen!" and other similar complaints.  This is one of the many reasons why I didn't go into elementary education.  I just couldn't deal.  And now my tolerance and patience level is significantly lower.  I come home to a three year old who has horrific mood swings.  One minute, he's happy as can be.  The next minute, he's screaming over God knows what.  So I just can't tolerate that kind of crap in the classroom.  I need to work on patience both at work and at home. 

3.  Figure Out My Place

At the end of this past school year, I really struggled with figuring out what my place was at school.  I'm not in any kind of leadership position, and I feel like I'm often over-looked.  In our school, we have this thing where teachers are recognized for their contributions to the school with a varsity letter and seals.  I'm the only one in my department who hasn't been recognized.  But at the same time, I don't really know WHAT to do.  I have ideas, but I'm not a planner.  At least, not on a grand scale.  I want to be able to see my family.  I don't live close enough to school to run home between school and an event to see them.  So I get stuck.  Maybe I just need to lose that thinking?  I don't know.

That's where I am now.  As the school year moves forward, I'll need to revise (obviously).  Stay tuned for Day 2 of this challenge.  And we'll see how long I can keep this up.