The Last 10 Weeks of School

     I haven't blogged much here in the past three years. If you look, I didn't blog even once in 2015. In these past three years, I went back to grad school, got a Master in Teaching degree, and started working in a middle school, teaching math and science. 

     It has taken a lot out of me. For both years of the MiT program and this first year of teaching, it's been a constant struggle to get enough sleep, eat enough and eat healthy, and try to feel like I'm alive and it's all worthwhile. This year has been just as difficult as the MiT program, but in different ways. I love working with the kids, but I've really struggled to be the teacher I want to be for them. It's been very discouraging.

Which is why I'm going to try to make the best of the remaining 10 weeks of school. The first three weeks are going to be a major push for preparing the kids for the standardized test. It's going to be hard for everyone, teachers and students, and then I expect that the students' motivation to learn will be sapped for the remaining 7 weeks of school.

To be honest, I'm already dreaming of summer, and even now, on my third day of spring break, I'm having a hard time making myself think about this stuff. I'd much rather pretend it wasn't going to happen, but it is, so I'm trying to do a bit of preparatory work to make it less painful, stressful, and frustrating when I'm living it. 

Ideas for the Last 10 Weeks of School:

- Have a challenge for advanced students for each standard.

- Have extra practice worksheets tied to each standard for the students who need a little extra support.

- Have team building/class building/fun activities twice per week.

- Have the basic out line of the ten weeks written out before spring break ends.

- Have 5 half-hour to hour long "Oops!" lesson plans that are fun, engaging, easy, and pre-planned so they can just be shoved in when ever they are needed.

- Make 1 project per standard cluster.

- Make less things for me to grade.