The Most Important Thing

I recently heard an administrator (not mine) refer to our state's standardized test as "the most important thing in a students life". I disagree with this opinion. There are students who have parents who are incarcerated, who have been homeless or in foster care at some point, and who have a parent who is, or parents who are, recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction. I know of at least one who has seen someone die a violent death. I am sure these students would also disagree with this administrator's take on testing.

Good Teaching Conference

During the weekend of March 14th, I had the pleasure of attending CTA's Good Teaching Conference. This was the best conference I have been to in the past nine years. There was something there for every area of concern (content areas, retirement planning, union activism, stress management, classroom management, etc...) The source of my stress this year has become classroom management (yes, CTG it is true). I attended sessions by Rick Morris and others that shared common philosophies. Returning to work with a new plan gave me a renewed energy and sense of purpose. I was somewhat concerned about changing course at this juncture in the school year; however, the old way was not working. There have been a few bumps in the road, but this new management system is definitely the one I will be using from the start of next year.

Spring Break!

The first day of Spring Break, there's nothing like it! I'll spend part of the break working on the classroom website and adjusting my map for the rest of the school year. Household maintenance and short getaway are on my To-Do List as well.

Students turned in Social Studies projects yesterday, and I stayed at work until I was finished grading them. Nothing hanging over my head! I also downloaded my first podcast to our classroom website. Add to that the fact that my students and I are getting used to the new discipline program (Thanks Rick Morris), and you have what turned out to be a great week.