Aim to Be Awesome, Not Perfect

I realized this morning I hadn't blogged in a couple days... turns out it has been about 8 days.  Wow! In the process of being a reflective teacher, I realized that I was focusing so much on my profession that I wasn't focusing on me and my family, especially starting right after Halloween.  And that focus was affecting me - specifically my outlook, my attitude, and my disposition.  All I could see was what I was doing wrong and what they weren't understanding because of a variety of reasons.  Because of that, my dispostiion was affecting my students. We weren't having good days, in learning and behavior.   Then there was finally that one class that kinda broke me.   After that, I realized that I needed a break.  Having a sub to go to PD or even taking a day to get a pedicure and have lunch with a friend was not enough of a break - and me not being in the classroom might have hurt my students - and that was part of my growing problem.  ...

So in the blogging challenge , days 9 and 10 are about me.  Day 9: Share one of your biggest accomplishments in teaching.     I still don't know what I did, or how it happened, but something wonderful happened. Last year, I had one inteverntion class with 15 students. Some days this class was the highlight of the day, other days it was the class I just needed to get through.  We played games, we did homework, we talked and shared, and 3 days a week we did a computer program called Think Through Math.  We get to April and the wonderful/dreaded state assessments. Kids take them and then we wait for their scores.  Like or not, these scores are one way teachers are judged.  And like I said, I don't know how it happened, but 9 of my 15 darlings passed the test! I cried.  I don't know if I will ever hit a highlight like this.    Day 10: Share: Share five random facts about yourself. My favorite number is 8. I was born in Ken...

Okay, so it is a day late... First up, Who inspires me? This one is easy.  I am inpsired by pretty much every teacher I work with or meet.  Some exude a passion I want to emulate.  Some have amazing skills that I want to acquire.  Some create relationships with students with such ease that I just stand there, in awe.  Some keep giving and giving when it is obvious their tank is empty.  Every day I see or hear something inspiring, something pushing me to be a better planner, a better listener, more giving - basically just a better teacher.  And I can't wait to find something inspiring tomorrow... Second, My desk drawer tries to be organized, but it isn't. I have cute little bins and started the year with all my pens and pencils and post-its in the right spot.  But over 10 weeks time, that organization has dwindled.  The bins are still there but some are more full than others. Their contents are mixed.  I guess what it says about it...

Mentor:  someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person (according to Merriam-Webster ) I had to look it up, because to be honest, I wasn't sure I could describe one.  I had a 'mentor' my first year of teaching, but I don't feel like I got anything from her.  She didn't really reach out to me, and honestly, I didn't seek her out either.   So what does a good mentor do?  If I could go back to that time - to her or to me - what advice would I give?  Looking back, what did I need that first year? First, I think a good mentor checks in.  As a teacher, time is precious. I understand that we all have a thousand items are our to-do list, and we work many more hours than advertised.  But having someone stick their head in my room, on a regular basis, to make sure I was okay, would have been nice.  The conversation doesn't have to be long or be about lesson plans. Just knowing someone is there, a...

Day 5 : Classroom Thoughts - What I See and What I Want to See Here are a couple photos of my room (with kids): What I see:   Students grouped together and sharing information Students using technology (they are playing Kahoot) Walls have decor on them Word Walls What I would like to see: Furniture that makes it easier for students to sit in different groupings Students creating together  Sorry this is short, but it is a little hard for me.  What do you see?  What would you like to see?  

What do I love about teaching? I love the kids. I love the people I work with. I love how everyday changes, for good or bad. I really like how no two days are the same. I love the aha moment. It is so awesome to be there for that.  I love how the kids make me have my own aha  moments too. Sharing those moments with them has been really cool. I love hearing "You are my favorite teacher." I love hugs and big smiles. I love working at a school that has a such a strong sense of community. I am blessed to have so many wonderful I love about my job!

In the blogging challenge , I am supposed to pick one thing that was noticed at a recent observation. Last week, my instruction coach mentioned that my teaching partner and I need to do a better job of talking about our objectives for the day.  We both have them listed on the board, but I guess she and I forget to talk about them most days. After my coach mentioned it, I have been paying attention to whether or not I say anything.  I know I talked about objectives on Monday but not so much on Wednesday.  I know this is probably a simple thing for most teachers, but I guess it is something I forget. When I look back on each class, there is such a rush to get moving so we have as much practice time as possible in class that I forget to take a minute to talk about our goals and objectives. So this is definitely something I need to work on.  Maybe blogging about it will keep it in the forefront of my mind.

It's day 2 and I am supposed to talk technology... should be easy, right? I have a LARGE goal for technology. My vision is warm-ups as Google Forms or Socrative quizzes to see where kids are, then they head to centers - videos or small group (with me) for more learning, a center for practice or a space for enrichment.  Lofty but totally doable, right? And if I was in the same grade as last year, with the same TEKS, I think I would be able to do it. But moving up a grade, the great state of Texas changing the TEKS on us (48% change in 7th grade math), and wifi issues (recently fixed) have slowed this vision.  But that is still my ultimate goal - it might just take a year or two.   So I think my big goal for tech this year is to get kids to create with tech. I already did one small project with my Accelerated students (link here to school blog), and it went well enough that I want to try it again, and expand it.  I am searching for other ideas as well, so ...

So Krista Tyler posted this and I have been wanting to do it - so I am jumping in! Here is the original post . I also am joining the #MTBOS Challenge for the remainder of 2014 that I heard about from Middle School Math Rules ! Luckily, both of these deal with goals! My PROFESSIONAL GOALS: to integrate more technology where students create and share to better explain our daily class goals to share more tech with my fellow teachers MY PERSONAL GOALS: spend more time with my family to watch "Breaking Bad" (it has been clogging my DVR for almost a year) to finally paint my bedroom Now that I have these written down, let's see how I do! 

This blog post is painful to write. I had a day where the technology failed (and I don't mean 'internet not working', 'page didn't load', or "wifi speed was really slow"). As I think about that class, I have lots of circumstances to explain it. It was a Friday AND Halloween. It's the second-to-last class period, close to the end of the day. It is a large, social group. This class is my struggle everyday.  I could go on and on... We were starting a new unit on ratios, rates, and proportions.  My teaching partner and I agreed we were going to work on a cute activity called Witches Potion , where we have a recipe that make 2 batches of potion and we were going to alter it - for 4 batches, 1 batch, and enough for everyone in the class to have a batch.  It is a great Halloween-themed, real-life example of how we use ratios.  Her class was going to work in groups with the worksheet. I wanted to be different. Since I have daily access to tablet...