A Wise Man Once Said

"Early to bed and early to rise make a man healthy, wealthy and wise". This is a common saying used by many, but practiced by few. So in order to even out the numbers of those heading some kind of proverbish type saying I have modified the one above. So here it goes - "Late to bed and early to rise makes a man cranky with blood shot eyes."
This can definitely apply to teaching. I find that I am not getting the rest that I need to be an effective teacher. The reasons for this lack of sleep are broad, however the fact remains that when I don't get enough sleep I am not as able to handle the events of the day and I find myself riding the patients roller coaster. Often times I find that the students are the ones behind the controls - which never results in a good thing.
So the moral is to get the maximum amount of sleep that you can so you can handle what comes your way.

Take One Down, Pass it Around. . .

After this first week of the new semester I am encouraged and reminded that most, if not all kids want to be good and do well. The trick is to help remind them that this is what they really want. The next trick after that is to remember that teaching styles are individual and that what your mentor does in his classes could really blow up in your face. In the end it can really come down to personality and how you use yours to effectively teach the current group of students that you have.

Cross Dissolve

After today I think I have figured out another important part to the whole classroom structure and that is TRANSITIONS. OK so maybe I didn't invent this whole idea, and I know that somewhere along the way I was taught about transitioning, but today was one of those "I get it now" days. It really makes a difference because of following: Students are less likely to get board, Instruction is more clear, Students are more willing to participate and the class time flies by fast. These are the things that I picked up on anyway from my experience today. Again I think this is another tactic to combat the whole classroom management issue.

Warming Up

Even though it was -2 degrees this morning and it's cold all day, I still feel like things are warming up in the teaching department. I have now met all of my students and been through each of my classes one time. At this point I am still really optimistic at how this group of students will do. I was able to fill each class period with a variety of activities to do through out the eighty minute block period. Going from bell to bell is a key issue that can make the class enjoyable for the students and more enjoyable for me as a teacher. When kids are having to stay up on things and know that they will have to use each class period to the fullest they are more likely to turn in better work and less likely to cause management problems.
I'm getting ready to launch my podcast this weekend. I'm excited and hope that it works out like I want it to.

Brand New Day

Today was the kickoff to another semester with new students. It was exciting. There is a lot to be said about starting out with a fresh set of students. They have little perceptions of me and I can have high expectations for them. It's also great because I get to put into play all of the new ideas and developments that I have thought about using. I know I'm no veteran teacher, but even just having one semester under my belt helps me feel more confident in my ability to teach and manage a class.
Speaking of management, I had a management moment with a couple of my students today in my Communications Technology class. I knew of these students' reputations from interacting and seeing them in another tech class they had with another teacher. They can both work well and I have seen them do good work, but on the other end they both can cause significant problems by bothering other students who are trying to get their work done. Today they didn't do anything really significant, but I wasn't wanting them to get to that point. So I took them out into the hall for a little preventative work. I tried to be clear and let them know that I knew of how they both operated with other teachers and classes and that it wasn't going to be acceptable. I also tried to let them know that I felt that they were capable of good work and that I wanted to see it in my class. I felt for the most part that it was a good start to my preventative measures in my class with a couple of students that have potential to cause disruption. On the other hand they also have the potential to bring a different dynamic to the class that wouldn't normally be there.
Overall it was a good day - one that makes me feel like I would like to stay in the teaching business. However tomorrow is another day. For now I'll just get some sleep and get ready to bring it for one more day.

Think Fast Internship

I just finished my first semester in an internship at Mountain Ridge Jr High, in Highland Ut. I wasn't expecting to get an internship and was actually planning on having a very relaxing final semester of classes before I started my student teaching. However, as the fates would have it I ended up taking the internship and jumping right in to the teaching scene with only a short weekend to shake the daze of reality and get ready for my classes.
There is a lot that took place in the first semester of teaching that I am now looking back on so I can make some changes. I feel like there are a lot of things that I have done well, or at least some good ideas that need to be re-tooled. One of my biggest challenges was to be organized and clear in my instruction. I also realize that I need a more concrete management plan.
I anticipate to have a better semester than the last one now that I have been through the ringer and had some time to prepare. I plan to keep track of my experiences during this semester in this journal and post it on the web using a blog. I will also be collaborating with Todd Anderson, who is currently student teaching a Mountain Ridge Jr High. Together we hope to address different topics and issues that we are dealing with in class and podcast our discussions to try and create a small professional community of those who are in our similar situation in their teaching career.

Logo

Here is my first try at a logo for my podcast.