Reflections

As my papers still sit on my coffee table ungraded, I’m not worried. I know it’ll all get done, and now I have a new dresser to put together (at some later date because, if you didn’t know, IKEA instructions are INTENSE!). For today, I’ll simply reflect on some cool things I haven’t mentioned in my posts for the past week.

1. Many of my students were able to Skype with Jonathan Maberry (author of many YA novels including the Rot and Ruin series that my students are obsessed with). One of my students that attended said he had so much fun and learned so much about the writing process that Maberry went through. This particular student will be an author some day. He knows it. I know it. Now he has even more inspiration from an actual person who has made it. This coming week my students will have the opportunity to Skype with another Young Adult novelist: Matt De La Pena. You can bet that student already has a ticket to the event.

2. I formally observed my intern for the first time (with completed paperwork and everything!) and she was great! She adapted to different classes and added as the day went on. It was cool also that I had my own personal post-observation meeting with my assessing administrator the same day. It was cool that I could use some of the things I learned in my own meeting to share with her at her’s.

3. I cleaned out my car. For those of you that know me, you know this is a major accomplishment. So much stuff… so little motivation to carry it upstairs to my apartment or across a parking lot into my classroom.

4. I went to A Gift for Teaching for some free retail therapy. I don’t need to preach about how much teachers spend of their own money on their classrooms; we all know it happens. Our tri-county area is blessed with a teacher store called “A Gift for Teaching.” Businesses and individuals donate supplies and teachers can “shop” there for supplies. There are rules and stipulations and this, of course, doesn’t take care of everything that I need for my classroom. Nevertheless, it’s a big help and I’m very grateful for the opportunity.

There are plenty more and I’m sure I’ll bring them up at some point during this month, but for now those are some good things to share.

Prediction of tomorrow’s post? The effects of daylight savings time on 10th graders ;).

Happy Sunday!