The first week of school went well. I had the opportunity to teach all six sections of my science class in two days to my beautiful and intelligent students. As a class, we reviewed the course syllabus and I set high expectations for them explaining that they are no longer in elementary school; they are now in the big leagues. I emphasized that they are no longer in the D league, rather they are now playing in the NBA (a reference for my basketball fans). I allowed students to create class rules, consequences, clean up procedures and rewards while in groups, showing them that my classroom is a shared classroom and that I want them to have a say in how it is governed. I plan to hold students accountable for the cleanliness of the classroom because they are entitled to have a clean and safe space to explore the wonders of science, and because I want them to feel comfortable and at home when they’re in my class.
Learning 150 student’s name is definitely one challenge that I have encountered thus far, but my goal is to learn all of my student’s names by the end of the second week of school. Overall, I had an amazing and successful first few days at my school. The administration is extremely supportive and my colleagues are always willing to support when needed. A fellow teacher told me that half of her advisory group mentioned my class or myself as a highlight of their day. I’m grateful to have been given the opportunity to engage such intelligent young folk and am excited to plan fun activities for next week!
So far, so good – off to a good start!
*I realized that it will be challenging to write a daily blog post, therefore I will post blurbs about my teaching experience and include pictures.
Don’t forget to checkout my hashtag on twitter – #Eds1stYear
