Being Absent!

Wow, preparing for a substitute is more work than planning a lesson. I had to be out for a workshop last week and I spent about 3 hours preparing plans for my students. I had to make a long note to the substitute about what I expected to be done with notes for her to read to the students. Then I had to make sure I had everything in place and labeled so that she didn't have to search for anything! It was exhausting! I know now that I will be at school at all costs. I get back to find paragraphs written about each one of my classes which only put me in a bad mood. I have fairly good classes. The first time that I had to be out my substitute left great notes but this time was a whole new story. I read the notes that the substitute left out loud to my students only to find out that half of it wasn't even true! I was put in a bad mood that morning for nothing!

Frustrated!

If all I had to do everyday was walk into the classroom and teach my students I would absolutely LOVE everything about my job! No one ever tells you what teaching is really all about. The paperwork, the late nights, the time spent away from your family, and the students that should have never made it to the level that they are at. I often get very frustrated with all of it, but because I love the teaching part more than anything, I keep going. For the most part I have an excellent group of students. They are always eager to learn when they walk in my classroom. Now that doesn't say that they actually learn something but at least I know they are trying to be on the same page as the rest of us. I have to really "spoon feed" one of my classes but I think they are one of my favorite classes. They are very involved with my lessons but the poor students are awful test takers!

Workshop

We took some of our basic students to a Geometry workshop yesterday. They had the best time doing hands-on activities that had to do with everything we have been covering. It was exciting to see that most of my students still remembered what we had done at the beginning of the year. The students from CHS answered the most questions and were the most involved.

Above is one of my students. He amazes me. He definitely has the brains to learn Geometry but he has a hard time with the lectures. He has to have a hands-on approach to everything we do. After I teach our lesson for the day, I either go to his desk or have one of my other students go to his desk to show him exactly how what we are doing works. I either give a demonstration or explain a little further. Once I do this, it is almost like it clicks right then. He is one of those students that needs that little extra boost.

Above is one of my students who wants to learn Algebra but struggles with the basic concepts. He requires full attention when doing homework so that I can keep him on the right track. He has a hard time paying attention when I am doing the lesson so I have to spend extra time with him at the end of class. He is a smart student but does not have good test taking abilities. I have just started a new way of giving my tests. After being with my students for almost 9 weeks, I can tell which are my better test takers and which are not. In order to be fair, I have started giving tests that cater to all of my students needs such as this one's. He is doing much better on his tests and is excited about learning.