Finding out that I’m likely going to be teaching a completely different set of courses next year has reduced the desire to keep track of what I’m doing with the courses I have currently. If things go as I’m being told, all of my students will be seniors. While it generally feels like there’s more status attached to teaching upper-level courses, I’ll miss teaching sophomores. It’s such a pivotal age in adolescence; driver’s licenses, first jobs, and a shift between expectations others have for you and what you want for your own life.
Continue readingWeekly Wishes 2024A: Week 6
Finding something to look forward to is really difficult. I don’t know if that’s a symptom of depression, or what. I don’t really feel like there’s much to get excited about. There’s definitely stuff that I want to get done. But I feel very much in the middle of things, and the end is really far off.
Continue readingWeekly Wins 2024A: Weeks 4-5
I hate that this is starting to feel like just another chore. So I’m going to try a different angle: at the start of the week, I’ll post some ideas about what I’m looking forward to, and at the end of the week, I’ll post what I’m thankful for.
Maybe that will help?
Continue readingWeekly Wishes 2024A: Week 4
It feels like every day I have to roll out of bed and start sprinting. There’s too much to do, and not enough time to get everything done.
Continue readingWeekly Wins 2024A: Week 3
Made it through the week, but I feel like I’ve been running from one thing to the next the entire time.
Continue readingWeekly Wishes 2024A: Week 3
I’m REALLY hoping that this week will go smoothly. We have missed SO much school and I’m having to re-re-re-arrange everything so that I don’t end up running out of time in the middle of a unit at the end of the term.
Continue readingWeekly Wins 2024A: Week 2
This week has been a challenge. We only went to school Thursday and Friday, and we had a delayed start both days. This meant that my morning classes were half the length of my afternoon classes – including my planning period.
Continue readingLooking Back: “Priorities”
My 2023 Word for the Year was “Priorities.”
Teaching is a profession that can be exhausting and overwhelming. There is always, ALWAYS more that you could do. And it’s “for the children,” of course, so there’s always pressure to do more. Between that and the fact that the world is full of interesting ideas and activities, I’ve always found it difficult to avoid overextending myself.
Continue readingWeekly Wishes 2024A: Week 2
In addition to last week’s delayed start and lost day, we’re off Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but school has already been cancelled for Tuesday. That means revamping my lesson plans. (The ones I just wrote… sigh.)
Continue readingWeekly Wins 2024A: Week 1
Things don’t always go exactly as planned. You make adjustments as best you can, but sometimes it feels like you’re hanging on by your fingertips.
At the beginning of the week, we had a two-hour delay. Then on Thursday evening, we found out that school would be cancelled on Friday. I’m a veteran teacher; I can adjust as needed. And it helps that the new term just started, which means that I’m not in the middle of a unit or anything.
But it’s still a challenge!
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Teaching Reflection 
