michael: "Hey, have you seen the new California quarter?"
me: "No."
michael: "It has Abraham Lincoln on it."
me: "Lincoln was never in California."
michael (not listening): "Oh wait! Maybe that's Jeff Gordon."
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About Me
- laura
- a 27 year old with two degrees in history, a fiance, a military commission, and more than her fair share of neuroses. i've figured out what i'm doing with the rest of my life, but getting the government to agree with me is going to be the trick.
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2006
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September
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- why must we get so off topic?
- answer to a pressing question
- what?
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- deep fried update
- sunshine
- single tear
- ramblings
- exciting times
- and the heavens rejoiced
- but i'm not a redhead
- i so do not need this right now
- an open letter to my friends
- where does he come up with this stuff?
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September
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1 comment:
I keep forgetting to do this.
Okay, not to scare you, but you are going to feel like you're just trying to keep your head above water for the whole year. My mentor tells me that you don't necessarily feel like you're coming into your own until maybe after your third year (which really sucks if you ever plan on switching schools, because then it's like starting all over again).
But, the nice part about this all is that you must keep it in perspective. This is your first year, and you're not expected to be perfect every single day. (This was really hard for me to come to terms with. I hate when I'm not the best I could possibly be at that second, and that it will be a process.) So, keep that in my mind. When you feel swamped, just say to yourself, "This is my first year! It's okay!" I would always try to think back to the first year of college. You certainly weren't as comfortable with everything as you were when you were a senior. It takes time. So try not to be hard on yourself during the process.
As for keeping track of absentees. This was one of the biggest pains in my butt last year. I have block scheduling too. So, if they miss a day; they miss a lot.
This year I went to Staples and bought colored file folders. I made one for each student and separated the classes by color. When a kid's absent I put all of the papers I hand out that day in his/her folder. I also created a sheet for absentees. I made sections that look like this:
____Grammar
____Writing
etc.
(since I teach stuff that would fall into different categories each day).
I have lines for their names, dates, and periods at the top. I fill those out and check with sections we covered the day. Then, I briefly write what we did. It's a small pain to do that, but it ends up saving me so much headache. The kid can come in, check out the folder and know what he/she missed. This way, I don't have to waste time explaining every little detail to the kid.
Also, if the guidance office calls and says that the kid's mom is picking up his work, then I have it all there ready to go. I don't have to scramble to get it all down to them.
Other things that help keep me organized, (because I must be organized).
-Having a homework bin for each class. They put their HW or makeup work there.
-I use a different magazine rack for graded assignments. Once I grade the assignments, I put them in the class's magazine rack, so I know that I can pass those back.
-Our gradebook is electronic, but I also keep a hard copy. I fill out the book, then put them in the computer, then I highlight the columns I've entered in my book. This way, if I take work home, I can write it in the gradebook. Then I can just enter it in the morning. It's easier to enter, because I just go down the column, since I already have them listed in alphabetical order. I also don't have to worry about the papers then. I just put them in the magazine rack, because they're ready to be passed back.
-I make them write in their journals for the first five minutes of class. It serves two purposes: to give them daily writing practice and to give me five minutes of peace and quiet to take roll and take care of any other matters that pop up. I just put a quote, question, or topic on the board. Really it's amazing, because I can take roll in peace. Otherwise, kids won't just sit there and be quiet for a couple of minutes after the bell rings. You know how they are. For your class, you could put up questions, topics, or quotes that deal with History. You could make them answer something that relates to what you taught them the previous day.
That's all I can think of right now. It's crazy, but it's definitely easier the second year around. So just know that you won't always feel the way you do right now. Someday we might be those teachers who stroll in for the first day of school like it's old news. Someday maybe the nightmares will go away.
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