8.29.2011

New Logo

On an unrelated to teaching note (finally) I have received a logo for my photography from my dear friend Josiah. Here are a few of my more recent engagement photo shots with the logo used.






8.27.2011

Time (Teaching Reflections 2)

Hard to believe that August is almost over. Time seems to have stopped in a way and all the days blend together. Wake up early, go to school. See about 150 students a day. Try to keep their names straight and not call Johnny, Steven or Emily, Susan. Figure out new ways to get the class to quiet down and not cry when the floor is a mess by the end of the day. Come home, take a break, eat dinner, freak out that tomorrow is not planned and do some grading. Go to bed (later than advisable) and sleep ok. Wake up the next morning and start over.

It will be a miracle if teaching doesn't kill me by the end of the year. I've never been so tired. I was warned the first year was hard. I wonder if the first year at every new job is like this. I doubt it.

8.20.2011

Teaching Update

I feel like I have dropped of the face of the world for the past several weeks since I've started teaching. I am adjusted to my new life in San Bernardino, my new full time job as a middle school teacher, and waking up at 6 am (if not earlier) every day. I am so far adjusting pretty well to all except the waking up early part.

Here a few details about my school so far: I teach at Cesar E. Chavez Middle School which is grades 6-8. I teach 7th Grade English Language Arts. Our school is also an International Baccalaureate School that has a Middle Years Program (which is the program for grades 6-10... we only work on grades 6-8 and the partner high school, Cajon, does 9-10). It has many specific focuses on created students as lifelong learners, problem solvers, and many other things that I am still learning.

My school is 71% Latino, 15% White, and 8% African American. Compared to Santa Maria (which was about 85% Latino, 10% White, and 1% African American) this school is a bit more diverse. 25% of the school are English Language Learners and almost 80% have free or reduced lunch.

I teach 2 Middle Years Program (MYP) classes which are like honors classes. I also teach 2 English Core classes that have a Support Class attached to them (so they become a blocked class). I have a wide variety of students, which I love.

Stay tuned for less facts and more feelings, and pictures.