The Great Experiment

There were some things I wanted to write about regarding the first week and my kids, but I didn't do it immediately, and lo and behold, I've forgotten all my brilliant ideas.

However, as I put together my notes/lesson for tomorrow, and realized how I could have taught this set of lessons better, I was thinking about how much of an experiment teaching is. All teachers have to mess up, and then, hopefully, the good ones learn from their mistakes. I suppose it's like this in any job, but it's unfortunate that actual students' lives hang in the balance. That D- might change the course of a student's future. I think that's the thing that gets me the most; the great responsibility we have. And sometimes you may never know the impact you make, good or bad.

Anyways, this is only marginally related, but here are some goals for my second year:

- help insure that my classroom is a place that kids can learn (aka better classroom management)

- convert to powerpoint in Geometry

- backwards planning: plan in one to two week chunks and have handouts ready before the day of

- experiment with assessment - I am trying out Dan Meyer's assessment policy with my Geometry classes this year

I found that I have only enough time to really focus on improving one of my two preps (Algebra and Geometry). Last year was my first time teaching Geometry, and I only had one Algebra class, so I spent all my time working with Geometry. I had hoped to spend more time on Algebra this year, but I found that after last year, I feel so much more comfortable with Geometry, so I'm more comfortable experimenting with and improving on it. Plus, our Algebra program is somewhat more limited as we have more common assessments there that I'd have to deal with.

Basically, I'm trying out new things with Geometry first. Hopefully, things that go well can transfer into my Algebra classes next year. I'd really like to be at the forefront of building up our Geometry program because it's an area our school has struggled in in the past. Who knew that my second least favorite part of math in high school would become my favorite to teach.