About a year ago, I started freaking out with the whole prospect of video taping my class for the National Board Certification. Was I crazy? Why did I pick my worst teaching year to complete this project? My most challenging kids to put on camera? Turns out that challenging students had the most interesting things to write about as I analyzed my video tapes. What could I have done better? What will I do differently next time? How did my knowledge of students affect my in the moment decisions? So many decisions, so many possibilities. What is important? The National Board process combined with challenging kids really threw me for a loop producing my second most formative year as a teacher (besides student teaching and the first year of solo teaching!). Last year, I matured more as an educator... I'm not just treading water anymore, trying to survive in the water's whim. I've built my own raft (based on content area knowledge, pedagogy, and knowledge of students) and now I am navigating the waters to where I know the river needs to go.
About 9 months ago, we had our first dinner with Evans and Emily, two folks who lived in San Anselmo at SFTS. I had never met them before and here they were walking into my apartment for dinner. We made pizza for them, they brought a salad. We had wonderful polite conversation, sipped our wine, and started to get to know each other. Evans was in the middle of his 2nd year in seminary. Emily was training to be a massage therapist. They were interesting, nice folk. Many similar beliefs and life desires. One of the best things was Emily was from Michigan, about 35 minutes from where I grew up!
About 2.5 months ago, we got our first housing rejection email. "You sound like great people, any landlord would be lucky to have you." "Too many people in the space." "This house is too old for a group, so we rented it to a small family" (as if kids running around are better than careful adults!). It was a big blow to our excitement. Back to craigslist for more houses!
Today was a good day at school. I had the students sort out 2-step equation puzzles, then we took notes on the proper steps and justifications. (properties of equality and inverses). I forgot to bring my phone numbers home... lucky for the students who I told I was going to call home on! (too much talking is the sin of the teenager, especially when they're not allowed to use their cell phones!).
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Worlds Collide = God's Message for Work in My Life?
About two and a half years ago: Grant and I had dinner with our friend Ryan and dreamed about what it would be like to live in community. What would it be like to raise your kids with another family? To have one large nursery at first... then maybe a huge boys room and a huge girls room? (not quite like The Duggar's)
About one year ago: I was teaching a yoga class at Oakland Yoga Studio every Wednesday afternoon from 4:30-5:30pm. Grant could never come because he had a schedule conflict (school or work or something). My best friend, Marisa, was my loyal student. We spent some good quality time together. No one else seem to realize that I was teaching a class there. Hmm. The owner of the studio gave me an incredible rate. I gave myself 3 months to try it out. August, September, October... then I came to realize that the schedule was too hard to maintain. I could not run from staff meetings on Wednesday afternoons to yoga teacher mode.
About 6 months ago: I did something really crazy... I sent in my portfolio for certification with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. This is the cream of the crop in teaching credentials. Most teacher strive to meet the minimum requirements it takes to get into the classroom legally. The national boards are for teachers who want to take their commitment to continue to grow as a professional to a new level. Only after 5 years in the classroom could I have even dreamed that something like this process would have been possible. But wow. I am certainly a better teacher for having done this... and did I mention how hard those students were last year? I'll know in December whether I passed...
Today: I attended a seminar about how I will work with an interdisciplinary team of 9th grade teachers to diagnose our students' learning needs based on inquiry of their current learning conditions and trying out new and different strategies. We do this alot anyways, but now we're talking about it as a team. We'll be tracking the progress of a select group of focus student to help us focus our work as teachers. The conversation about priviledge and oppression, and about the class and racial dynamics that take place in the classroom strangely correlate with the intercultural work that we are engaging in as a church congregation over at FCCO. Hmm. My worlds collide again.
About one year ago: I was teaching a yoga class at Oakland Yoga Studio every Wednesday afternoon from 4:30-5:30pm. Grant could never come because he had a schedule conflict (school or work or something). My best friend, Marisa, was my loyal student. We spent some good quality time together. No one else seem to realize that I was teaching a class there. Hmm. The owner of the studio gave me an incredible rate. I gave myself 3 months to try it out. August, September, October... then I came to realize that the schedule was too hard to maintain. I could not run from staff meetings on Wednesday afternoons to yoga teacher mode.
About 6 months ago: I did something really crazy... I sent in my portfolio for certification with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. This is the cream of the crop in teaching credentials. Most teacher strive to meet the minimum requirements it takes to get into the classroom legally. The national boards are for teachers who want to take their commitment to continue to grow as a professional to a new level. Only after 5 years in the classroom could I have even dreamed that something like this process would have been possible. But wow. I am certainly a better teacher for having done this... and did I mention how hard those students were last year? I'll know in December whether I passed...
Today: I attended a seminar about how I will work with an interdisciplinary team of 9th grade teachers to diagnose our students' learning needs based on inquiry of their current learning conditions and trying out new and different strategies. We do this alot anyways, but now we're talking about it as a team. We'll be tracking the progress of a select group of focus student to help us focus our work as teachers. The conversation about priviledge and oppression, and about the class and racial dynamics that take place in the classroom strangely correlate with the intercultural work that we are engaging in as a church congregation over at FCCO. Hmm. My worlds collide again.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A New Format
About one year ago: As an experienced math teacher, I was highly encouraged to teach the most challenging class at my school -- 9th Grade Algebra 1. I taught all freshmen, all day. They (meaning the students) really did make it challenging. One of my hardest years was 2008-2009. Another reason why this blog went un-updated for so long.
About 10 months ago: Grant met Evans, a student at San Francisco Theological Union, another person who was interested in living in community.
About 1 month ago: I moved all of 6 blocks away from our apartment. I am soooo thankful that we're still in the same (approximately) neighborhood.
Today: Spent the day at a PD getting excited about how to make my classroom more exciting.. (for me and the students). We practiced some Kagen strategies (to get kids working in groups and talking about their learning). I got some (embarrassingly so) public recognition for the work that I did last year with my freshman (moving students out of Far Below Basic and Below Basic into Basic and Proficient categories for the state standardized testing. Tomorrow, I head back into the classroom to hang out with kids, teach a little math, and celebrate the retirement of a beloved secretary. (you know, it really is the secretaries that run the school, right?)
About 10 months ago: Grant met Evans, a student at San Francisco Theological Union, another person who was interested in living in community.
About 1 month ago: I moved all of 6 blocks away from our apartment. I am soooo thankful that we're still in the same (approximately) neighborhood.
Today: Spent the day at a PD getting excited about how to make my classroom more exciting.. (for me and the students). We practiced some Kagen strategies (to get kids working in groups and talking about their learning). I got some (embarrassingly so) public recognition for the work that I did last year with my freshman (moving students out of Far Below Basic and Below Basic into Basic and Proficient categories for the state standardized testing. Tomorrow, I head back into the classroom to hang out with kids, teach a little math, and celebrate the retirement of a beloved secretary. (you know, it really is the secretaries that run the school, right?)
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Happy 09!
Fitting that today is 09-09-09 and the last day I wrote was 08-08-08. What a crazy and interesting and challenging year, month, and day it has been! I wish I had included you all in it. I'm about to change all that... a new goal for myself... to write at least one post per week. With my part-time-self, I should be able to find the time to do at least that. To increase your anticipation of posts to come, I will leave you with THIS LINK, and let you wonder what is going on.
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