- I am not a blogger. I'm terrible at keeping up with things like this. My diary as a child jumps months, sometimes even years between entries. This will likely end up the same. But if I can get a few good ideas out there before I forget the password to this page, at least I will have done something.
- I am an awful typer, and there will likely be a few misspellings as a result of this.
- I will be honest about the events, ideas, and people described here, though names will be changed to protect the innocent. :)
- I think the only way to survive teaching is to have a good sense of humor about it. There are days when I fantasize about going 95 on the freeway and throwing all my grading out the window. But there are those other days when a kid says or does something that reminds you why you took this job in the first place. That's what makes it worth it.
So, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm a high school history teacher, located in beautiful, sunny Southern California. I've been teaching for six years, and I'm lucky enough to be at a beautiful new school that looks more like a community college campus than a high school. Most of the staff that I work with is young (like myself), and really enthusiastic about teaching. I have taught nearly every kind of Social Science class possible (except geography and psychology), and all kinds of students, from EL to AP.
We are currently on Spring Break, and I have had tons of friends say how jealous they are that we get a two week vacation in the middle of the year. What most non-educators fail to realize is that Spring Break (as well as Thanksgiving, Winter Break, summer vacation, and all the three-day weekends in between) aren't really "vacations." During every break, I am still writing lesson plans, grading papers, and emailing with parents and students. The only difference between "break" and regular school days is that I can work in my pajamas.
Currently, I'm working on putting together a study session schedule for my AP students, and I am met with a recurring quandary - how much responsibility am I putting on myself in relation to how much I am putting on my students? It's far too easy for me to take on too much responsibility when it comes to my students' achievement I want to give them every possibility to succeed, and yet I don't want to make things so easy on them that they don't take the initiative to study and work on their own. This is my third year teaching AP US History, and looking at my study calendars from last year, I have spent over 100 hours after school in the month leading up to the exam helping them study. My students' pass rate went up significantly last year from my first year, but I'm not sure whether it can be attributed to my knowing the content better, or the extra study sessions I set up, or the fact that I had an incredibly bright group of kids last year. How much dedication is too much? I know they should be studying at home, but I know most high schoolers don't have the motivation or maturity to force themselves to do it on their own. Is this support? Or coddling?
