I'm Back

I have been on a hiatus from blogging. Let me explain: I'm engaged :) ... holidays... end of course testing at school... end of semester grades... February graduation coming up... So as of last week I feel like things are slowing down and I have a hold of everything finally and I have the time to write and reflect again!! I am in the midst of planning my wedding and last week we finalized the date and have a priest. I also have my dress!!! And several other details which I am really excited about. I decided mid-week, last week that I have my *** together. I don't know how long this will last ... but it is a nice feeling. I am starting my fourth semester in my second year, so I have taught biology and chemistry all the way through 3 times and I am FINALLY feeling comfortable with the material. I also don't feel so anxious about classroom management. Part of the classroom management piece is the time of year. In the beginning of the year we have all new students who are angry at school, hate teachers, haven't bought into the idea of a second chance, feel worthless or stupid, and it shows more in their behavior. I'm not saying that it becomes effortless in the second semester, but I am saying it is not such an uphill battle. The majority of students have adjusted to the school and though we have rolling admission we don't get as many at one time as we do in the first month. I am about to start the new semester on Wednesday and I am really excited. I look forward to having class time that is not devoted to cramming for a test... I will get to doing more labs, meet new students, & see most of my fall semester students move on to new classes with a sense of accomplishment. I am going to set a few goals for the new semester. ONE is to stick to my timeline. I ran out of time last semester in both subjects and I paid for it in the end (thus no time to blog). TWO is to use my ease of connecting to students to help them set goals and see a reason for setting those goals. THREE is to be smarter about my use of time in the classroom, not let things drag, build in ways for students to switch activities so they don't get bored, build in "down time" for current events discussion, etc. FOUR is to be more active in my attendance group. I am good about helping to plan, but in the discussion itself I do a lot of listening (which is more-or-less good) but I know it would be more balanced if I had a little more input, just to facilitate discussion. FIVE organization organization organization... specifically keeping crap OFF my desk. :)