First Week 2018 Recap

In the years past, I tried to begin the curriculum as quickly as possible.  Usually this meant we were starting on the second or third day.  This year I considered all of the things I wanted to do to get to know my students, and it just made sense to spread them out over the first three days.  This allowed me to get everything done (almost).  Normally I end up over planning, and then stressing about getting everything done.  Spreading everything out was a welcome change.

Wednesday, September 5th
Our very first day started with the instructions to fill out an"All About Me" page and scan the syllabus.  My goal was to not rush students through the "All About Me" questionnaire.  This year, I used the questionnaire from Five Foot One Teacher (@fivefootoneteacher on Instagram).  It is available from her First Day of School Packet on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Overall, I liked the questionnaire.  It asked questions that I usually wouldn't ask.  However, if I use it again next year, I am going to have to make a few adaptations.  Very few students understood the prompt "My family consists of...", the question about goals suggests becoming a better reader or writer, which is not totally applicable to math, and one question asks about what students did over the summer.  After reading a post on facebook about how some students are just surviving the summer, the question does not sit well with me, especially because I work in a school district with at least 70% of the student population living in poverty.

After students finished the questionnaire, I went over the highlights of the syllabus, but didn't go over every little thing.  I encouraged them to read the syllabus (it was part of their Do Now after all).  Then we went over the important safety information.  I did no other rules after that because I wanted to students to understand how important our safety procedures are.  I did a brief "About Me" presentation.  When I was a student I always liked the teachers that shared a little personal information the most.  It helps students to see that you are human and relatable, and that you have more to teach than just your subject area.  I keep it simple.  I share my age, astrological sign, family info (husband, baby, pets, birth order), my favorite things, and my high school activities.

Side note:  I shared that I was the Battalion Executive Officer (2nd in command) of my NJROTC unit.  We don't have a JROTC in our school, so I get to explain a little about it.  I am proud to share that I am teaching a future Marine, and he salutes the flag every morning during the pledge.  I then had the opportunity to give him some pointers on his positioning.  A deeper connection was made.

The highlight of my first day was playing "Save the Dinosaur!"  This is from another Teachers Pay Teachers product from Five Foot One Teacher. (The original activity is titled "Save the Chicken," but I had a dinosaur instead.)  I don't want to share exactly how the game works because it is all explained in the product, but here is what I can share:  The game can engage the whole class.  It is a team effort, so if your students try to resist, they will be peer pressured into participating.  Students will need to strategize to complete the task, so you will see your natural leaders emerge, and get a sense of how your students approach challenges.  It was very low prep; I just had to act out a part and purchase a toy dinosaur.  I made this a competition between classes, so I also had Jolly Ranchers for the winning classes.  My only disappointment was that my students had a good strategy right away, so I didn't get to witness too much trial and error.





For the first time ever, I had extra time at the end of the first day.  I gave my students time to catch up with each other.  If I use the same plans next year, I want to have a simple, no-prep back-up activity ready.


Thursday, September 6th
I started the second day with a syllabus quiz. (It's not a real quiz.)  I projected 7 questions on the SMART Board, and had students answer in teams.  I used these buzzers from Amazon to make it more engaging.  Students in my smaller classes loved it.  Doing this activity with my one large class was a struggle.  I wish they had a set of 6 buzzers, but I worked with what I had.  We went over the basic rules about cell phone use and tardies.

Then we had a scavenger hunt to help students familiarize themselves with the classroom.  I taped cards around the room anywhere there was something I wanted students to know about and/or use.  Each card displayed what the item was, a description of what it was for, and somewhere in the description was one letter that was bolder and larger than the others.  After finding all the things, students had to unscramble the letters to reveal a message.  Students worked quietly throughout the activity, but it took forever.  On the student's recording sheet they were asked to identify each item, explain it's purpose and location, and record the letter from the card.  I've already decided to use this activity again next year, but I'm going to type the purpose for each item onto the record sheet so student's only need to find the item and the enlarged letter.

Friday, September 7th 
On Thursday, I intended to go over the procedures after completing the scavenger hunt (when students knew what I was talking about and where it was).  I had to do this on Friday instead.  For the Do Now, I projected each class' assigned seating arrangement.  (I number my desks, so I simply list each number, and the type the students' names next to their seat numbers.)  I started each class with an "Algebra Skills Inventory," and then we went over the entrance and exit procedures.

I decided to save the 100 Numbers Task for this day because I wanted students to experience working together with their table partners.  It also served as an ice breaker for any students that did not already know their table partners.  I'm sure everyone knows about the 100 Numbers Task by now, but if you don't, check out the original post from Sarah Van Der Werf.  Instead of giving out Jolly Ranchers for the team that found the most numbers, I gave the Jolly Ranchers to the team that had the greatest improvement.

After the 100 Numbers Task, I introduced Five Foot One Teacher's One Word Project.  The basic premise is that students choose a word they want to live up to for the year, and meditate on the word while writing it out repeatedly.  I love this whole idea.  It's an informal and different way to set a goal for the year, and I love that it is about becoming a better version of yourself and not about grades.  I made an exemplar to show students, and I chose the word 'Fearless.'  I opened up to my students that I chose the word because there are so many things I want to try to make myself a better teacher for them, but since these things are out of my comfort zone, I usually chicken out.  Being fearless when trying new things is my goal as a teacher this year.


This week has been difficult too.  It's a tough transition becoming a mom, but becoming a back-to-school mom is another thing I am going to have to adapt to.  I love teaching and I'm so happy at school, but I miss my little boy.  My older cat's health is declining and we have to give him subcutaneous fluids twice daily.  He's not eating and it seems it's only a matter of days before we have to say goodbye.  I feel like I'm already super behind in planning, but overall I had a fantastic week of school, and I'm honestly sad this is a three day weekend because I want to be with my students.

See the vlog of my first week here:

Teacher Time Investments

Making Changes in 2018

Every year I plan to continue blogging throughout the school year.  Every year I fail.  Every year, when I finally get around to writing a blog post, I share my lament about not blogging regularly throughout the school year.  Here we are yet again.

Today I'm blogging about all the changes that I made/ am going through.

1.  My Pencil System
I've updated my pencil system yet again.  I actually never shared my current pencil system on my blog before. 

I like to keep it simple.  I (or more accurately a student volunteer that receives community service hours) attach a piece of mini-duck tape to the top of each pencil to remind students that these pencils do not belong to them.  Then I clip them onto the cookie sheet attached to my wall as shown above.  Students take a pencil for the period when they need one, and (ideally) they put it back at the end of the period.  I know so many people like to have students write their name on the board when they borrow a pencil, but (a) I don't have time to hunt students down at the end of the period to make sure that they return my pencils, (b) I don't leave markers out because I have students that draw (sometimes inappropriate things) on my marker board, and (c) my marker board is not even magnetic, so keeping the pencils on my white board is not even an option.  I like to keep my system simple, and just accept that I won't always get 100% of my pencils back.

My students this year seem to eat my pencils.  I put up new pencils every Monday, then by Tuesday I have 1 or 2 pencils left.  One day, while angrily ruminating on this issue, I remembered something.  I changed the title of my "participation" grade to "professionalism."  Students can earn up to 5 points each day, and one of those points was meant to be preparedness, but I never thoroughly kept track of it.  Once I remembered this, I reminded my students that coming to class prepared is part of their job.  Then I told them that should they ask me for a pencil or to go back to their locker for a pencil because all of mine had disappeared, they would lose their preparedness point for the day.  This may seem harsh, but it forces them to solve the problem on their own (borrow from a friend, pick-up the pencil in the hallway, etc.).  There is always a way to come to class with a pencil.  And realistically, it's only 1/25 of their professionalism grade for the week that is only 5% of their overall grade. 

2.  My Attitude
Every teacher anywhere knows that our to-do lists are never ending.  I always used to panic about getting all the things done.  There's just never enough time.  I'm in my 6th year of teaching, and I've finally realized something.  Anything that I needed to have done was completed in time because I prioritize.  Realizing this has been life changing.  I can cut myself off when it's getting late and I'm getting tired because I will have the most important things done when they need to be done, and everything else that needs to get done will have it's own time.  My new motto for this year has been "it will get done when it needs to get done," and this motto has brought me so much freedom.  I've also noticed that I've really mellowed out the past few months, and I think it's because...

3.  I'm expecting!
Between the change in my attitude, having more experience as a teacher, and my involvement in the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club, I finally feel ready to start a family.  It has been a fear of mine that I wouldn't be able to have a family of my own because teaching is so time consuming.  I'm sure that it will continue to be time consuming, but I feel that I can manage it so much better now than I ever did before.  In fact, most nights when I come home I don't have too much to do to prepare for school, and I need it to be that way right now because I've reached an all new level of exhaustion.

At this time I'm in my 19th week.  I'm due June 30th and will begin my third trimester as we *hopefully* start spring break.  My last day of school is June 22nd, so it will be fun to see what happens there.  I'm having a boy!  My husband and I are beyond excited, and enjoying the uninterrupted sleep when we do have it. 

I vlogged my experience as a teacher through my first trimester, and will continue to vlog through my second and third trimesters.

4.  My Classroom Management 
I saved this one for last because I am still working through this change.  I thought classroom management was one of those things that once you had it under your belt, you were done.  Not so much.  This year I learned that your classroom management techniques/style will continue to evolve with you.  One thing is guaranteed to change each year - your students.  My students this year are drastically different from the students I've had in the past.  In my Geometry classes, specifically, the boys outnumber the girls 2 to 1.  As I'm sure you can imagine, it makes my classes unusually difficult to manage compared to the years where my numbers are more even.  It is February, and I am still trying to adapt and find something that works long-term.

To add to my difficulty, I have been suffering from pregnancy congestion since we've returned from winter break.  (Fun fact:  Pregnant ladies don't get antibiotics.)  I've had a persistent cough and sometimes stuffy/runny nose.  This means that I've also had varying degrees of a sore throat and voice loss.  I still cannot use my teacher voice.  The bright side is I have no excuse to not work on talking less, which is a goal I've had for awhile. 

I currently have some solutions to try out for the next week.  Once I find something worth sharing, I will write a follow-up blog post.

My 40 HTWC Experience

As of yesterday, I am officially a graduate of the 40 Hour Teacher Workweek  Club.  The club is a big investment, and I've heard from other teachers interested in the club, but not sure if the club is worth the money.  I can not definitively say if the club will work for you or not, but I can share my experience of the past year.

In November, I shared a video of my experience on my YouTube channel.  Initially, I wanted to write out a post for my blog, but since it's still winter break, I'd rather add an update and spend the time with my family.  Here's the link to my video:

Now that it is winter break, and my year is complete, I was able to accomplish something I never thought possible.  For the first time in my 6 years of teaching, I was able to do nothing work related over winter break.  I put in the work the week prior to break.  I have a routine that I previously blogged about in place that keeps me a week ahead.  I forced myself to maintain this routine despite everything else going on, I used a to do list from the club to organize my week, I was able to accept a minimum viable product (a good, not perfect project outline), and I even completed my household chores.  With the club, I was encouraged to try to reach this goal because I saw other teachers share their successes.  I'm empowered to give this strategy a try again this up-coming school week.  I hope that I can begin to take my weekends back.

The 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club is accepting new members now through January 9th.  If the experience that I shared helped you decide to join, please include my name in your referral information - Brianne Beebe; email:  briannebeebe@gmail.com.

**This post is NOT sponsored.  All thoughts and opinions shared in the video and in this post are my own.

My 2017-2018 Classroom Tour

Everything is not perfect yet, and it may never be.  I'm totally okay with that.  Check out my classroom tour from the first day of school this year.

My First Year Teaching SAT Math Prep

This past year I taught SAT Math Prep for the first time ever.  I had two sections that met every other day of approximately 10 students.  The only things I was given were a few of the CollegeBoard "The Official SAT Study Guide" books and a course description.  Everything else was up to me.

I spent hours scouring the Internet for resources.  Since the SAT was recently changed (March 2016) finding anything was difficult.  I purchased three workbooks specifically for math throughout the year.  The thing is that even with these workbooks, I have nothing to go on.  There is no actual curriculum for SAT Prep.  That is what I need to work on during the time that I have left this summer.

The most "helpful" thing I found was Shmoop.com.  I used it piece together a rough course outline.  You can get a 24 hour free trial, and I used that to basically copy and paste all of the test questions I could find.  Overall, I think it was a good start, but I don't want to use it at all this year.  The feedback that I heard from my students most often regarding the Shmoop resources is that the questions they provide are nothing like the actual SAT questions, and I simply did not care for their word problems.

I got a lot of use out of the Steve Warner SAT Math Bundle, but it did not align at all with the course outline I created using Shmoop.  Because of this it was difficult to integrate the SAT Math Bundle into my course last year.  From the math bundle, I enjoyed using the pretest.  I will start my class with that this year.  The bundle is strategy-based, and my course outline was topic-based.  Before summer ends I want to go through the books from the bundle, and identify the topic addressed in each strategy so I can use the parts I need as I need them. 

These are the three workbooks I purchased:  (* indicates Amazon affiliate links)

• Kaplan Math Workbook for the New SAT (Kaplan Test Prep)* - This was the first workbook I purchased.  Actually, I purchased it one day during class out of frustration while students were completing practice problems.  I used this for supplemental problems and sub plans.
• Math Workout for the SAT, 4th Edition: Extra Practice to Help Achieve an Excellent SAT Math Score (College Test Preparation)* - This was the second workbook I purchased.  I also used this for supplemental problems.
• The College Panda's SAT Math: Advanced Guide and Workbook for the New SAT* - This book I purchased at the end of the school year, so I have not used it yet.  I am excited to try this book because it has glowing reviews on Amazon.  

As part of my purchase order for this school year, I ordered books for my SAT Prep classes, but I won't receive them until I go back to my classroom.  I have my fingers crossed that when I go in today they will be there so I can get to work on a new SAT Prep scope and sequence.

Does anyone have any hints or tips for teaching an SAT Math Prep course?

Hard Questions

All summer I have been considering the changes proposed by my principal to improve my classes.  I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around his one recommendation especially, so I wanted to open it up to the #MTBoS for advice.

The first recommendation (and this was to my whole department, not just me) is to eliminate homework.  His perspective is that since we are in a Title I school, assigning homework just widens the gap between students that have access to tutors and parents that are able to help with homework and those that do not.  I can't say that I disagree with this point.  My perspective has always been that students need to experience doing the math on their own, without me there to help them.  It is also my perspective that students need more time to interact with the material.  We only have 42 minute periods.  I can barely get through everything I have to teach as it is.  How could I possibly create more time for students to practice?

The solution I've been considering is changing the name from "homework" to "daily practice."  I don't care if students do their homework at home or during study hall or during lunch or while waiting for sports practice to begin.  All I care about is that they put forth the effort to try it.  I think if I call it "daily practice" instead I'm sending the message that math is something we need to practice daily.  Not that we have to do this at home.  Just for context:  A typical homework assignment in my class generally 4-5 questions long.  It should not take longer than 10-15 minutes to complete.

The second recommendation is to eliminate test corrections and retests.  My policy is that students may take a retest after completing test corrections.  My rationale is that I simply want students to improve.  Students traditionally take a test on the unit, and think they are done with it whether they were successful or not.  Having the test corrections/retest policy encouraged students to spend more time learning and understanding material that they found difficult.  My principal's perspective is that a student's class grade should be similar (within 5-10 points) of his/her regents score, and that allowing students the opportunity to retest is inflating student course grades.  I disagree with this because a class grade reflects a student's effort over an entire year, and a regents score reflects how a student did on a longer test under more stressful conditions on one day.

My solutions so far include intentionally spiraling quiz and test questions, having shorter quizzes more often, and adjusting percentage weights for calculating grades.  I am currently reading Make It Stick, and it sounds like more frequent quizzes with spiraled questions will solve many problems for me.  However, the thought of eliminating test corrections and retests makes me feel icky inside.  (I don't know any other way to describe it.)  I've always done test corrections.  I don't know what taking this opportunity away will do to my students, and I also don't know that more quizzes will help my students for sure until I try it.  As I write this, I am forming an idea for using the quizzes to replace test corrections - moving in the direction of a standards based grading approach.  Just for context:  Final test grades are 50% the first test score, 25% test corrections, and 25% retest score - this was my principal's suggestion a few years ago.

My questions for my fellow #MTBoS members are:
(1)  What are your thoughts on "Daily Practice" vs. "Homework?"
(2)  What are your thoughts/experiences on eliminating test corrections/retest procedures?

My 2017-2018 Goal #SundayFunday

I'm so sad.  Just as I was looking for the post about #MTBoS Sunday Funday to submit my post, I saw that I was too late.  Just a heads up if you plan to play along, your post has to be up by SIX AM.  That'll teach me to not read carefully just because I'm in a rush.  *sigh*  At least now that I know my post doesn't actually have to go up on Sunday, I can just post within my usual posting schedule.

This week's Sunday Funday post is forcing me to think out my goals for the new school year.  I wanted to postpone this until right before school starts, but it really is in my best interest to think this out sooner rather than later.  When I was reflecting on what my goal could and should be, I realized that I had my goal in mind all summer long.

My goal for the 2017-2018 school year is to increase student engagement.

This has always been my biggest weakness as a teacher.  (Skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to read the mini-rant.)  As a student I absolutely hated being called on in class.  I remember becoming anxious anytime the teacher asked for volunteers, and even more so when the teacher would "randomly" start calling on people.  My anxiety would approach its apex anytime I ever dared to volunteer an answer.  I also remember being annoyed with teachers that would use the report card comment, "participation in class limited."  My parents would start talking to me about what I had to do because they thought I wasn't participating in class.  But I was.  Why can't participation be recognized in its nonverbal forms?  Anyway, because I didn't like this being done to me, I don't like to do it to my students as a teacher.  Luckily, calling on students is not the only way to engage them.

Here are the steps that I am going to take to engage my students in their learning:

1)  I will have to incorporate questioning into my lessons.  I will have to plan questions ahead of time to ask during the lesson.  I may even have to write them out on index cards  or post-it notes to keep with me during the lesson.  I am going to have to force myself to call on my students.  For the past few years I have written out my students' names on popsicle sticks so I could call on them randomly, but I've never followed through.  Maybe I will give this method another try this year.  I know there are apps on your phone that will do the same thing, but I don't always wear pockets and, sadly, I don't trust my students enough to just leave my phone out in my room during lessons.

2)  Last year, my school was awarded a grant to purchase TI-nspire calculators and pay for training.  We also purchased two sets of Navigators.  The sets went to the Algebra I and Algebra II teachers.  Before the end of the year both teachers were telling administration how much they loved them (one of the administrators had seen them in action during an observation), and how beneficial it would be for other math teachers to have them too.  The administration agreed, and ordered us a few more sets of Navigators.  I'm hoping, wishing, and praying that I can add using TI-Navigators to my repertoire of engagement tools.  I could use them to ask questions before, during, and after lessons and collect and record responses from every student.

3)  I have a few ideas for some inquiry based lessons.  I want them to be short experiments toward the beginning of a lesson for students to gain hands-on experience with what we're learning.  I've been mulling this idea over for years.  There's so much you can do in Geometry, but so little time.  My compromise is to keep it short and simple.  I may also be able to do some things using the Geometry feature of the TI-nspire.

4)  During the 2016-2017 school year my school sent me to a conference to learn about strategies to improve math instruction.  I implemented a few strategies immediately after, but not since.  I need to refresh the training I had, and start incorporating the strategies into my lesson plans.  For example, there were many strategies that involved students working together, and I would like to have more student collaboration in my classes.

5)  At the beginning of summer vacation, I went in to visit my principal and to ask him about what he thinks I need to change to improve, and he gave me many ideas, but one that has stuck is that I need to "push" students.  He mentioned that my mentor has become great at it, so I'm going to have to ask her more about what I specifically need to do.


I'm proud that I not only have a goal for the new school year, but I also have a plan.  I always say that I am going to journal to keep myself accountable, but I don't know that it will work for me.  I think instead, I might come up with some sort of form to check off what I did each day to engage students.  Also, I want to share this post with my school's instructional coach.  I'm hoping she can give me more ideas, and help me keep accountable.

Lesson Reflections

Part of my daily routine is to note how each of my lessons went.  Making this a routine was a battle for me, but I stuck with it all year long.  Completing lesson reflections gave me direction and focus on the changes I could make to my lessons over the summer.  I would write notes to myself such as, lesson took long, cut out_____, or had 5 minutes to spare, add _____, or change _____ notes to ______, etc.  I was able to make the necessary changes to my Geometry curriculum in about a week (back when I still had momentum and motivation at the beginning of summer).

Actually, I met with my principal early in July to discuss some things because I simply would not be able to relax this summer if they were still on my mind.  He told me I needed to take a break and to stop thinking about Geometry for a few weeks.  Instead of working on finishing the changes, I threw myself into creating new products for Teachers Pay Teachers, starting a YouTube channel, and improving my blog.  I have not gone back to making changes since.  As I write this, I have one last unit of Geometry to fix, and all of my General Geometry course to fix.  I think this will easily be done within a week because of the notes I have to guide me.

If I'm correct, I was inspired by similar work that misscalcul8 did.  (I know I got it from somewhere.)  I believe she even recommended completing the task in Google Sheets, which is what I did.  Last year, I used an Excel Spreadsheet, which was good, but Google Sheets worked out better for me.  As I'm teaching, I usually have an Internet browser open, and I could easily keep Google Sheets open and that would remind me to take notes throughout the day.  Even as I was delivering my lessons, I would start thinking about the changes I would need make to note of in my lesson reflection.

As teachers, we are constantly reflecting and making notes to ourselves about the things we want to change or improve.  I like this method of documenting those thoughts.

How I Set Up my Sheets:

• Every course I teach has its own sheet.
• The first row are all of the units for the course.  I widened the column for each unit.
• The first column is numbered for the different topics in the unit.  This numbering generally corresponds to how I save my files.
• I formatted each cell to keep the text in the upper left corner, and to wrap the text.

Once the sheets were set up, I was ready to start reflecting on my lessons.  I typed out the title of each topic in bold, and then started typing my reflection of the lesson.  If there was an additional day for the topic, I would write in bold "Day 2" and then type the reflection of the second day's activity.

Here is what my lesson reflections now look like:

At the end of the year, I read though everything I wrote and color-coded the text.  Anything I need to add is in pink, anything I need to remove is in purple, and anything I need to change is in green.  This has helped guide and focus me to knowing exactly what changes I need to make and where.  In short, it has been a game-changer in my summer back-to-school preparations. 

My goal for this up-coming school year is to remember to refer back to this document before I teach topics for the reminders and tips I wrote to myself.  And, of course, I will be making a whole new set of lesson reflections for the new school year.

How do you keep track of your lesson reflections?

How to Lesson Plan Effieciently - Weekly Routine Update

Not a DITL post!

I have been in such a blogging slump lately.  I have many things that I'm dying to blog about, but I haven't been able to give it the time and energy it needs.  Then there are things that I'm interested in blogging, but I don't know that they will interest anyone besides me.  I decided that I don't care if anyone else is interested.  One of the reasons I started keeping a blog is so that I can look back on the things I tried in the past, and to keep a record for my own personal reflection.

This week was our first week back from spring break.  It was rough.  It all started with Sunday night.  I had a difficult time falling asleep.  Once I was asleep, I woke up at some point each hour.  I remember reading the clock at some point when it was 12-something, 1-something, 2-something, 3:40-something, and then 4:49; eleven minutes before my alarm went off.

This really set the tone for my entire week.  Of course, I had my final mini-observation on Monday.  It went very well despite my sleep deprivation.  Our administration pieces together six 10-minute observations to inform our evaluations.  They come in twice at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of the class periods.  This time he was looking for closure on my lesson (because it was missing the first time he came for an end of class observation), and I was able to present it well.

All in all, it wasn't a bad week.  It was just eventful.  Like on Friday, when our math department was greeted with the news that we were having a surprise half-day meeting.  First thing in the morning.  For the first four periods.  Meaning sub plans were required, and my plans for the day were pretty much shot.  The funny thing is that these meetings were planned in advance at the beginning of the year.  It was in my planner.  But every other meeting was altered to either a different day, a different time, or even a different purpose before this one.  Honestly, I was kind of hoping that everyone else forgot about it, and that we could just go on teaching as usual.  No such luck.

My only real gripe was that for the first time since I established a new planning routine, my routine didn't quite work out.  The goal of my routine is to leave school on Friday with all plans planned, all copies made, and all SMART Notebook files ready to go for the following week.  It is now 7 pm on Sunday, and I just made it to my goal.  The frustrating thing is that I would already be prepping for the following week if everything had gone as planned.  Truthfully, though, I am happy to have the opportunity to examine the flaws of my routine, and plan for solutions (if possible).

Here is what I think went wrong:

1. I was exhausted all week after my interrupted Sunday night sleep.  I never caught up on my sleep, and it made it impossible for me to focus on my tasks.  Solution:  Naps are sometimes necessary.
2. So many things kept popping up that took away my planning time.  (Copier malfunctions, Prom Dress Drive organization, a trip to Urgent Care, Senior Trip preparations, sitting like a bump on a log and staring off in space out of exhaustion instead of getting work done, etc.)  Solution:  There is none.  This is why my routine was meant to be flexible in the first place.  This was just the first week that I encountered daily obstacles.
3. Hesitation.  I had two topics in General Geometry that I wasn't sure how to approach.  I took time to think them over, and started creating activities for each of them that didn't pan out.  When I found a flaw in the plan, I had to go back and start over.  I now have a matching activity and a worksheet.  I'm not in love with the worksheet, but it will get the job done.  Next year, (or hopefully over the summer), I can create something that I love to replace the worksheet.  Solution:  I plan to tweak things over the summer in all of my courses, but this is something that could still happen.  This is something that I don't think I can really control.  Also, Teachers Pay Teachers is a fabulous back-up plan.  (Even though it let me down this time.)

That in a nutshell was my week.  I'm hoping that this week goes much more smoothly.  I'm trying to enter it with a positive mindset.  Now, I'm hoping to make a quick and easy dinner, get my outfits set for the week, and engage in some sort of pampering before another week begins.

Small School vs. Large School [#MTBoSBlaugust]

It's #MTBoSBlaugust 2016!  I'm challenging myself to blog daily throughout August, and you can too.  Join the fun!

I went to a large high school.  At least it's larger than the school I work in now.  My high school has approximately 500 students in each class (grades 9-12).  The high school where I work is actually a junior/senior high school (grades 7-12), and has approximately 600 students total (an average of 100 students in each class).  I actually experienced a culture shock when I began working there.  I kind of noticed the differences, but never mediated on them, and now that I have, I thought the differences deserved a blog post.  (Especially if other teachers begin working in a school with such a difference from the one they experienced.)  I am only focusing on two key differences that have impacted my teaching in a small school.  I know that there are many other differences as well.  Feel free to share your experiences and insights in the comments section below!

This whole thought started today when I considered the groups I want to use this school year.  I've had students that refused to work in groups in the past.  These students had a history with their peers, and refused to engage in any kind of work with them.  This is sad, but not surprising when you consider that their class size is so small, and most of them have been together since Kindergarten.  We have two schools in our district.  The elementary runs from K through 6.  I imagine this student felt trapped.  Can you imagine being stuck with the same people that you don't like and that don't like you for so many years?  I really don't know how to remedy this situation.  The one thing I can hope for is, since my classes are so diverse grade-wise, that student can meet someone new that they feel comfortable with.

In the district I grew up in, we had schools that were for Kindergarten and first grade, schools for second through fifth grade (sometimes they included sixth), schools for sixth through eighth grade, and then the high school.  How the schools were split up changed a few times throughout my education.  We originally had six small neighborhood elementary schools, and it was realized that because the schools were based on the neighborhoods, the schools were unintentionally segregating students (racially - we're in a diverse little city, but at the time the different neighborhoods had predominant races).  Anyway, the point is that every few years we were given a fresh start, with new peers.  As someone that was bullied, I can attest that changing schools made all the difference.  Students in a small school don't get that chance, and it's difficult for them because their peers don't forget the thing that happened in elementary school that started the bullying.

The other big difference that I notice is the student interactions.  In my small school, students all know each other because they have been together for so long.  It's a strange dynamic at times.  Students won't exchange words with one another, but they will know all about each other.  It's like students have their inner circle of closest friends, a slightly larger concentric circle of  close friends, a larger concentric circle of friends, another larger concentric circle of acquaintances, and then there's a few outliers of people that they student knows, but does not often engage.  The weirdest thing is the way rumors and information spreads.  For example, a student threw up outside of my classroom.  Everyone knew about it within a period.  Can you imagine?  Your minor, yet embarrassing moment becomes fodder for almost the whole school?  (The 7th and 8th grade are kind of on another planet.  The high school students couldn't be bothered with them, unless they have a younger sibling.)  News about fights and verbal altercations travel even faster, and students are eager to tell us teachers about it.  As a student, I would hate for my teachers to know about my personal business without being the one to tell them myself. 

In the high school I attended, we sort of had cliques.  Not the well-defined "we don't talk to those people" cliques that other schools at that time had, but groups with a common interest.  And it was normal to be part of multiple cliques.  If something happened that was noteworthy, the people that you hung out with would know about it, and anyone that witnessed it.  Your witnesses would tell other people, but most likely it would end there.  The whole school would know about your fight or the time you tripped in the cafeteria and spilled your lunch.  I felt like I had a sort of anonymity, and as a generally private person, I enjoyed that.  (She wrote on her blog for the whole world to potentially read.)

The weirdest thing about working in a small school, as a teacher, is that students that I haven't had yet know about me.  Case in point:  I walked into the gym to help the 11th grade set up their bleachers for the battle of classes tradition we have.  I overhear from across the gym where the 7th and 8th graders are setting up:  *gasp* "It's Ms. Beebe!"  It perplexes me because from one year to the next I had no idea who my teachers would be, and I rarely knew who any of the other teachers in my school were.

I don't know why this topic and the difference interest me so much, but they do.  I would love to hear about your experiences and observations.

How I Decided to Become a Math Teacher [#MTBoSBlaugust]

It's #MTBoSBlaugust 2016!  I'm challenging myself to blog daily throughout August, and you can too.  Join the fun!

If you read my Day 2 post (20 facts about me), you may have noticed that I started here:
1.  In 2nd grade, we had a teacher that gave every student an award at the end of the year.  She developed different categories for different talents and strengths.  I received the "Math Whiz" award.

And then ended here:
20.  I hated math until my senior year of high school when I took Calculus.

I didn't do that on purpose, but it prompted today's post.  In 10 years, I went from enjoying math to hating it, and then loving it.

I don't remember having a favorite subject in elementary school.  I was usually pretty good at everything.  I know for a time I really liked science.  I do remember that when I couldn't fall asleep, I would think about number patterns.  Is that weird?

When I started seventh grade, I was put into accelerated math, English, and science.  In accelerated math and science, the 7th and 8th grade curricula are combined into one year.  So when I was in 8th grade, we were learning 9th grade math (then called Math A semesters 1 and 2) and Earth Science.  Also in 8th grade, when we started foreign languages, I was put into accelerated Spanish.

Eighth grade is where I started to hate math.  I don't remember specifics about the content.  I remember that I did not like the teacher, and she did not like me.  That year, in addition to learning the 9th grade material, we also had to take the 8th grade state test.  So in the middle of the year, we stopped learning new content to review the previous year's content.  We were so used to doing more complex things, that we forgot all of the basic things from the year before.  This aggravated our teacher, and she told us (the accelerated class) that we were all dumb.  She even brought in Dum-Dum lollipops for us.  When I asked if I could have 2 because I was the dumbest of all, she obliged and perpetuated what I was learning about myself and math - that I was bad at math and that I was stupid.  I also remember that year she gave our entire class detention because we were unable to complete the previous night's homework - not because we were lazy or didn't want to do it - because we did not understand.  (As a student that had to take the bus home each day, and could not stay after school because my parents did not have the means to pick me up, this caused a lot of undue stress.)  We never did serve the detention.  She came in the next day and apologized.  We later learned that she had been going through a divorce at that time, and had a tough year when she was teaching us.

In high school it got better, but I was still under the impression that I was bad at math.  I did not like it, but I was doing okay (As and Bs, and the occasional C).  I continued on in the accelerated program, and at the end of 10th grade I had completed the three required credits in Math, Science, and Spanish.  I was ready to drop them all, have some study halls, and take some electives.  My guidance counselor refused to let me drop all three.  She gave me the choice to drop one.  At that point, I hated Spanish more than any other class, so I dropped Spanish and continued with math and science.  In eleventh grade I took Physics, and Pre-Calculus.  I actually loved Physics.  It is my favorite of all the high school science courses I took.  After, Physics though my choices were take AP science courses.  I decided to drop science because I was having a bad experience in AP US History, and I stayed in math for my senior year.

This is where it gets good.  I took Calculus.  There were two sections available.  There was high school Calculus and College Calculus.  One of my electives was only offered the same period as College Calculus, so I was put into high school Calculus.  I think this played a role in developing my confidence because I was not lumped in with all the same super-smart people that I usually had classes with.  We had a smaller class (and we were all friends), and we had so much fun in that class.  The teacher we had that year was my all-time favorite math teacher.  I really flourished in this class.  Things just clicked.  I definitely like to get the procedures down, and then let the understanding catch up to me later, and this is how the teacher would teach us when we requested.  (He would start to explain, we would get lost, we'd ask for the procedure, we'd learn the procedure, then we were able to go back and understand.)  I was the class task-master, always shouting out "Let's do this" and pointing to the board every time my friends tried to get the class off task.  Now my math teacher referred to me as the class super star instead of the "dumbest one of all".  That year I completed Calculus with the highest grade.  In my high school, we always had an award ceremony at a local banquet hall at the end of the year.  I went every year for maintaining high honor roll for the school year.  My senior year, in addition to high honor roll, I received the Calculus award.

Throughout high school, I could never decide what I wanted to do with my life.  My smart-ass answer every time someone would ask me was, "Well, I know I don't want to wake up at 40 and realize that I've wasted my life pursuing a career that I hate because I was forced to make a decision at 17."  For all four years of high school, I was part of our Naval Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) unit.  NJROTC had a huge impact on me, and I knew that my future career needed to include a leadership aspect.

Toward the end of my senior year, I decided that I wanted to teach math.  I thought if I could make it through four years of hating math, and then learn to love it, I would have something to offer students that hated math too.  I think this year I will tell my story toward the beginning of the year, and incorporate how I am an example of how having a growth mindset can be beneficial.

Keep-Change-Start-Stop

A little reflection to help keep me focused...

KEEP

•  Setting aside time for me - This year, for the first time ever, I closed my classroom door and used my prep period to actually prep.  It was so refreshing, and so peaceful.  I have always dedicated my prep periods to helping students, but what usually ends up happening is that the period that I offer to provide extra help to students becomes the period that I babysit students that don't want to be in their study hall.  I need to put my needs first a little more.  (Trying to get a measly bathroom break has become a real struggle.)

CHANGE

• My Attitude! - I'm certain that a vicious cycle was started and perpetuated this past year (in one class period in particular).  My students made me miserable, I was a miserable teacher, I did not create the classroom environment that I usually have, my students were miserable, and round and round we go.  There's a quote (I love my inspirational quotes!) that I found on Pinterest:  "Our days are happier when we give people a bit of our hearts rather than a piece of our minds."  Teaching teenagers, it feels like every little thing needs to be a teachable moment (ie:  "You're teachers/professors won't let you ____________ next year/in college," "If you had done X, Y, and Z, you wouldn't be in this predicament now," "If you cared about your grade from the beginning of the quarter you wouldn't be begging for extra credit now," etc.)  I do it all time, other teachers in my building do it all the time; it is our default setting.  From the student's perspective it must be extremely negative.  I'm certain that they tune us out when we say these things, especially if they are being said out of anger and frustration.  And ultimately, the student needs help, and these comments are dismissive.  I am determined to change my behavior this year.  I will let my actions say these things instead of my mouth.  (ie:  "I'm sorry, but it is too late for you to turn in the assignment," and "We cannot change it now, but what can we do differently next time?")  If any of the above things need to be said (because sometimes they really do), I will save them for a heart-to-heart.
• Seating Arrangements - I think I'm finally ready to put my desks into groups.  So many teachers advocate for group seating, and newer teachers fear the classroom management repercussions.  My desks are not really conducive to anything other than rows, but you know what?  Students will adjust.  They did just that each time we did a group activity.  I'd rather just keep them in groups all year long to allow for regular collaboration.  (Bonus:  When my desks are arranged in groups, my room feels so much more spacious!)

START

•  Using Twitter more often - So as I mentioned in a previous post, I am teaching SAT Math Prep for the first time this year.  I literally just threw out a quick question into the MTBoS if anyone had anything to help a newbie SAT Prep teacher.  Ask and you shall receive.  You may even receive a three-part blog post.  I am forever grateful to @MathCurmudgeon, and I am feeling encouraged to use Twitter more often.  I just need to integrate it into my daily routine.
• Integrating GeoGebra & Desmos into my classroom - Truthfully I have not done so because I have not had the time to learn how to use them.  Also, in the spirit of full disclosure, I was a Geometer's Sketchpad loyalist simply because I already know how to use it.  Thanks to a one-hour GeoGebra session at a math conference last spring (given by my favorite college professor), I am no longer intimidated by a new application.  I think GeoGebra is more user friendly, and we all know that being free gives it a huge advantage.  (I also learned this year that the Chrome carts in my school are not difficult to obtain.)  Desmos is something that I need to look into more.  What does it do for Geometry?  At the very least, I would like my students to learn how to graph on it, since we don't have enough graphing calculators for each student to take home.  I am going to spend some time this summer learning more about these applications.  (Perhaps I will consult some MTBoS peeps on Twitter.)

STOP

• Using interactive notebooks in General Geometry - It just doesn't make sense, and I cannot get the same buy-in that I do from my regents-level Geometry students.  I just finished re-formatting my notes yesterday.  (I will instead provide guided notes, and teach students how to organize a binder.  On the plus side, I will be able to teach them organization skills that are more universally transferable to their other classes.)
• Letting students use my microwave - They leave a big mess, and it's not worth my time to have to continuously clean the microwave.  Also, I'd like to be rid of the smells that linger.

Overall, I am feeling much more optimistic about this new year.  I just want to keep up my momentum.  I suspect that since this past school year was so dreadful, I was ready to start fresh for the new year right away.  I mean, it was early May, and I was already starting to plan for the next school year. I'm not writing this to complain, but just to affirm that something good came out of something bad.  I am so excited to start the next school year, and I haven't felt this much enthusiasm about a new school year since when I first started teaching.

My First Year as a Math Team Coach

This year our school's Senior High Math Team fell in my lap.  The experience was interesting and enlightening.

The way the math team works in our school is that it is part of a large Math League comprised of 4 neighboring counties.  The league is broken down into 6 sections of neighboring schools.  Each month (October through February) a school hosts their section's competition.  Each competition is broken down into an individual round and a team or relay round.  During the individual round, students have 10 minutes to answer two questions from Algebra, 10 minutes for two questions from Geometry, and 10 minutes to answer questions from Algebra 2.  The team or relay round is also for 10 minutes.  Individuals and teams earn 1 point for each correct answer.  No partial credit; it's either right or wrong.

After 5 regular meets, we have a sectional meet for each team that places first in their section.  Then we have the state meet.  The state meet is for all of the Math Leagues in New York State.  Our league puts together the top 20-something students and creates an A team, a B team, and a team of alternates.

For the first time ever, a student from our school made it to states!  This student is particularly brilliant and he is the heart of our team.  He works very hard and is dedicated to learning.  Our school is very proud of him.

During the season our team met every Wednesday (or at least tried to), and the students worked together to solve problems from past competitions.  I helped students as much as I could, but much of the time I felt unequipped.  It wasn't until the state meet that I realized why.  I didn't grow up enjoying math.  I never spent any of my free time doing math for fun.  Ever.  At least not like this.

One of my goals for this summer to spend some time studying math just for fun.  There are some Algebra 2 topics I should brush up on, I've missed doing calculus (it wasn't until high school calculus that I discovered my love for math), and I've always wanted to learn Number Theory.  It's weird, but since graduating college and becoming a teacher I feel like I've been getting dumber when it comes to math.  I'm hoping that my efforts will help me be a better math coach.

Passing the Test

Sorry if the title of this post has led you to believe that I am sharing some sort of secret to ensure test success.  This is not that post.  This is the post that I have been wanting to write for months, but didn't know how to say it or even how to start.

Year 4 has been my worst teaching year in my short career.  It's hard for me to pinpoint why exactly.  I was definitely in a funk all of last summer, exhausted much of the time despite the amount of rest I had.  I started the school year in a bit of a funk as well.  The strangest part is that I finally began to accomplish the work-life balance I've been longing for since I started teaching.  For the first time, I did not have to share my classroom with another teacher, and it was amazing.  I had two prep periods where I was actually able to prep.  I was finally able to re-use much of what I created and curated in the past.  And, I was finally able to shut my "teacher-brain" off when I was home, and take a break from thinking about work.  I had less work to do on nights and over weekends.  I still had work to do at home, but there was definitely less of it.  This year, I felt much more comfortable and confident in teaching my content.  I'm excited to spend this summer and next year really improving and perfecting how to teach each topic.

I know that  a definite part of why my year was so miserable was the student population I worked with this year.  I had about 20 students that really weren't ready for Geometry, that either barely made it through Algebra or didn't really make it through Algebra at all.  (Our school will allow students to continue on in math if they've received credit for Algebra, but didn't pass the Algebra Regents.  These students are then expected to pass the Regents in January, but without any real test prep.)  These students should not have been placed in Common Core Regents Geometry, and they did not want to be there.  These students have fought me just about every step of the way, and all I could do was try to make the best of it.

One of my greatest strengths as a teacher has been the bond that I create with my students.  I thought I completely failed at this aspect this year.  I have not felt close to my new students at all.  I was very surprised when in the last two weeks they asked me if I would be chaperoning their prom and senior trip (which is 1 and 2 years away).  I guess I haven't complete failed after all.

Throughout most of the year, I've felt totally and completely emotionally drained and exhausted.  Recently, I've been experiencing nausea on a daily basis, and I went to the doctor to find out that I am physically fine, and that my symptoms are just caused by stress.  I have been experiencing teacher burnout.  If you don't know about or understand teacher burnout, you can read about it here.  I know that burnout has negatively effected my teaching this year and my teacher-student relationships.  In the past few months, I've felt as though the figurative dark clouds have begun passing on.  I'm not sure what exactly it is that I've done to recover.  If I figure it out, I will write a post about it.  Maybe it's because summer is almost here, and tomorrow is my last day with the kids.  Maybe it's because I've accepted my situation and decided to try to make the best of it.  I don't know.  What I do know is that I've been tested this year.  I've had many days when I questioned becoming a teacher or thought about what I could do instead that would make me as happy as I was initially.  However, I know that I want to continue teaching, and I don't want to give it up.  I see this as passing a major test in my career.  No other career will allow me to share my love of mathematics with the students that I enjoy working with, and allow me to be creative.  This is still the career for me.

Teaching Partitioning Segments

We came back from Spring Break on Thursday, and I started our first day back with Partitioning Segments.  This was my first time ever teaching Partitioning Segments.  In fact, I never learned how to partition segments when I was in school, or even during my undergraduate studies.  I let my students know this before I began my lesson.  I know you're not supposed to share such things before you teach, but I thought it was only fair to warn my students that we may in for a bumpy ride.

I used http://mathbitsnotebook.com to research how to partition segments, and developed my notes for the lesson from here.  I used the first method they list - using similar triangles.

Here is how my lesson developed throughout the day:
1st period:  My students were wonderfully patient.  They helped me realize that seeing the graph for each example would benefit some of them.  (I didn't include them in the notes handout to save space.  Next year I know that I cannot afford to omit coordinate axes.)  In calculating the rise and run of the segments, I would ask, "how many spaces are there from _____ to ____?"  Not all students are able to grasp how that works with positive and negative numbers being mixed together.  We realized that direction of the rise and run matters.  (The website didn't show an example of partitioning a segment with a negative slope.)  My students struggled with understanding the concept at first, as I struggled with my explanation.  The first example was rough, they asked many questions throughout the second example, and then were confident for the last two examples.

After this class, I decided that I needed to have some way for my students to graph the line segments. I printed out a class set of coordinate axes, and slipped them into the ticket holders I purchased to use as dry erase boards.

2nd period:  This class is my advanced class.  They progressed through the examples much like my first period did, but being advanced, they didn't need the graphs like my first period did.  This information will help me plan for differentiation next year.

3rd period:  This is my most challenging class.  (On this particular day some of my heavy hitters were absent, making class run much more smoothly overall.). By now my explanation was much better, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.  These are the students that really benefited from the graphs.  This class also advanced through the examples as my earlier classes did.  In this class, we also discussed the possible shortcut of graphing the line segment, finding the x-coordinate, and then using the graph to determine the y-coordinate.

Although teaching this topic our first day back from break was challenging, I really enjoyed the process of learning to teach the topic better for next year.  I haven't had such huge epiphanies lately because I've been so comfortable with the topics I've been teaching.  I look forward to seeing how the changes I'm making to future topics effect how I teach and how my students learn.

20 Minute Challenge

This post falls under the "Taking Care of Me" theme from my last post.

I hate clutter.  It prevents me from being productive, and distracts me from what needs to get to done.  I tried to eradicate it as much as I could over winter break.  I made progress in my kitchen.  (I still need to go through my cabinets though.)  I made progress with putting away holiday decor.   I made progress in our hallway closet, and I made major progress in my craft area.

The one area where I still need to de-clutter and re-organize is my desk/office area.  This is a little more difficult now that I'm back at work.  I come home and I want to exercise and relax, but I also need to get some work done. (Our mid-year self-evaluation is due this Friday!)  I also need to eat dinner, clean up the daily kitchen mess, etc.  With my work schedule I come home and have about three-and-a-half hours to get everything done before I start getting ready for bed.

Enter my 20 minute challenge.  Every day this week, I am going to come home, and set aside 20 minutes to work on something.  My schedule is listed below.  I will have 20 minutes, and 20 minutes only to complete the task of the day.  By giving myself this time limit, I am pressuring myself, and I move a lot faster that I would without a time limit.  (I noticed that this worked for me when I do laundry, and take the time I have while my load is washing or drying to complete a task.  When I'm really energetic, I like to complete as many tasks as I can in that period of time.)

Monday:  Desk surface and office area surfaces
Tuesday:  Paper clutter and mail
Wednesday:  Desk drawer
Thursday:  Kitchen cabinets

Hopefully, completing these tasks will help be more productive overall when I'm home.  (So I don't end up working on the couch and watching TV because the desk area is too cluttered.)

Taking Care of Me First

This current school year has me feeling absolutely burned out.  I feel like I've done a 180.  I spent my Thanksgiving and Winter breaks without even thinking about work (almost).  I was sick this fall, and was able to take a sick day without feeling any guilt what-so-ever.  Most people would say that these are good things.  Especially the people that know me in real life.

But I just don't feel the love I used to for teaching.  I feel my focus has shifted from teaching to all of the other nonsense that comes with being a teacher.  In other words, more of my thoughts and energy are being invested in all of the paperwork, communications, planning, etc. instead of on what is going on in my classroom when my students are there.  I seriously groan when the bell rings at the end of my preps because now I have to spend my time teaching instead of getting things done.  It used to be the opposite!  

I have done nothing for school over Winter break.  Truthfully, I needed the break.  On the other hand, I now feel that I have wasted time by not making progress in all of the things that I have to do.  Since I am dreading going back to work tomorrow, I wanted to take a moment to adjust my attitude, and reflect on what is going right.  

In regards to burn out, I keep hearing/reading about taking care of yourself first.  The repeated analogy is that when you fly, you're told to fix your oxygen mask before someone else's in the event of an emergency because if something happens to you, you won't be able to help anyone else.  The same principle can be applied to teachers.  We constantly give of ourselves, but when you don't take care of yourself, you will have nothing left to give.  

One thing I've been trying to do is spend time relaxing and doing the things that make me happy.  This has meant more time scrapbooking and crafting!  I've been using yoga to relax.  I had a hard time keeping up with it during the holidays, but I've been doing it more regularly over break.  (I just have to remember not to beat myself up if I miss a day or two.)  I plan on incorporating more strenuous exercise as well starting this week.  Ideally, I would like to get to the gym twice during the week, but when I don't get home until 5, and have to change clothes, and then drive 15 minutes to get there, and it's cold on top of it all, I know it's not very likely.  My solution is to do HIIT workouts at home, I just need to actually do it.  

I'm trying to become more mindful.  I've been reading a book called "Mindfulness for Teachers".  It's helped so much just from one chapter, but I started reading it in November, and I'm still on the second chapter because by the time I have time to read, I'm exhausted.  I need to make time to read.  One thing I'm doing to help me read more is learning how to speed read.  I installed an app called "Acceleread" on my iPad.  So far I'm enjoying it, but I don't know how well or if it's working yet.  I've only done three lessons so far.  (Be careful if you look this app up.  I did the first two free lessons, and then got suckered into buying the full version of the app because I felt I had to continue this program after investing so much time into it.  I really do like the app though.)

Another app I'm using to become more mindful is "Stop, Breathe & Think".  It's a meditation app.  You check in by explaining how you feel at that moment, and the app offers you a few meditations to choose from.  You listen to a guided meditation, and then you are rewarded with virtual stickers.  The app is free, but some of the mediations require a purchase.  The app is fair in offering both free and paid mediations.  I enjoy this app, and plan to use it daily.  (And by "daily", I mean I'm eventually going to end up skipping a day here and there.)

So for now the plan is to do these few small things, and hopefully turn things around for the rest of this year.  I may start some kind of gratitude journal.  I want to focus on one good teaching thing each day.  

Sorry for the rambly, less teacher-y post, but I feel better about returning to work tomorrow, and hopefully I can help someone else out that may be feeling the same way.

#WhyImGratefulForMTBoS

I've been in a funk all summer long.  I know that it's because of the rough year I had.  I had more job stress than normal because of pressure that was placed on me at the very beginning of the year, I had two different state tests to prepare my Geometry students for,  I was co-advising the senior class (which meant that I was preparing and chaperoning their class trip to VA), I was weepy all year about my seniors leaving because I absolutely adore that class, my husband was working 7 days a week for most of the year, and I lost two family members that had been sick for a period of time.  I was mentally, emotionally, and physically drained.

On the other hand, four out of my five classes were amazing.  The class dynamics were awesome, and the kids were just awesome as individuals.  I had one student in particular that would always pick up on my bad days and make sure I knew that I was still making a difference.  I really wish I had been a better teacher for these students this past year because it's what they deserved.

Once summer began I wanted to do as little as absolutely possible.  And I did.  This was a mistake.  One of the things I wanted to accomplish this summer was scrapbooking, and after becoming so sloth-like, I didn't even want to scrapbook.  Eventually I started blogging again, and it helped me to focus on the things that I need to accomplish this summer.   This helped a little.

What helped the most was when the people who write the blogs I follow started posting more and more posts about getting the new year started.  As much as I didn't even want to think about the next school year, I knew I had to, and the people that make up the MTBoS motivated me to do it.

Yesterday started the official countdowns.  Yesterday was one week until I have to return to school for aligning curricula to common core with my department.  Yesterday was two weeks until we begin our staff development days.  Today marks three weeks until the first day of school.

So I'm just posting to thank the people that make up the MTBoS for pulling me out of the funk I'd gotten myself into.  You're all helping me to be a better teacher for next year, and helping me to find the excitement I normally feel for this time of year.