Yikes, a long weekend this is turning into. My poor Rosie the bulldog has a nasty bladder infection so I'm been taking care of her (and the mess she is leaving around the house) and trying to work on my 2nd term grades which are due a week from tomorrow. But I wanted to take a moment to respond to some questions Ms. George had left me on her extremely helpful and enlightening post http://msgeorgemsenglishteacher.blogspot.com/2009/02/to-answer-your-question.html
So here we go:
Are you happy in your position? Yes and no...I love the 7th graders because they still respect (and fear sometimes) their teachers so in terms of classroom management I'm happy. My team members and principal are amazing and supportive. I also enjoy my student's enthusiasm and drive (they haven't lost it yet!!!)
The things I don't like is the content. I want to teach more novels and love the fact that high schoolers have more life experience to use when reading literature. I also miss that at the high school level I would be teaching multiple grade levels and ability levels at the same time and the constant change in courses each semester and year. I don't feel challenged sometimes at the middle school level because I'm teaching the same class three times a day. I do like that I learn from my mistakes and improve my lessons as I go through the day.
Are you happy with your team (if you have one)? My team is great! I'm part of a three person team and we are diverse in terms of experience, personality, and age. I feel like it makes us a more balanced team and the kids really respond to us because we get along so well.
What makes you wonder about the HS position? I student taught last year at two local high schools and loved it. The only things I had a hard time with (and I'm wondering if time will help with these) is classroom management (my seniors made my life a living hell but it was the last two months of the year and they didn't want to do any work anymore) and all the prep (I taught four different classes with three mentors). Although it was exhausting at times doing all that prep work and reading all those novels at the speed of light, I felt such a sense of accomplishment at the end of the units. I've only felt that way once this year and that is because of the play I just taught.
Is it something you could do next year? My unofficial game plan (which could change with this economy) is to keep my eyes open for any local opening at the hs level and apply but also assume I'm returning to my current school. If something does come my way, I will give my
resignation and move on from there.
Is there a way you could observe a few classes in the HS to see if you are a fit for the culture/department? See my response on student teaching.
Do you see yourself continuing in the MS for one, five, ten years? I could see myself doing ms level for a while but I don't know how fulfilled I will be. Believe me, I realize how lucky I am. I'm having one of the smoothest first years and I'm afraid that my experience at another school or district could be completely different. For example, my school is pretty casual. They trust us. I don't turn in my lesson plans and I don't have administration breathing down my neck. If I was to get pregnant (and that is something in our future to think about), my principal would hold my job for me and let me take as much time as I needed.
Do you plan to keep teaching or do you want to be in Administration? At this point, the only interest I have in administration is to one day be a department head (again, this was my daydreaming of my career as a successful high school teacher). But I can't imagine myself being completely out of the classroom.
So there you go! Hopefully that is more helpful, Ms. George. I also have a few more things on my mind (is it better to stay at your school a couple of years in terms of your resume or should I make the jump before I'm labeled as a ms veteran? Also, my husband and I are looking to start a family within the next couple of years... how should that affect my decision to leave my school and start in a new district?). Thanks for taking the time to listen to me and for all your help!!!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Twice in one day!!!!
Thank you Sweet, Sassy, and Always Classy http://mysweetandsouthernlife.blogspot.com/ , for tagging me for The Honest Scrap Award! And at the same time as I was singing your praises!!!!
The rules are...
(1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs for brilliance in content/design
(2) Show the winners and let them know
(3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself
I choose:
1. Danielle http://yelliebabi.blogspot.com/
2. Kristen http://fijifruits.blogspot.com/
3. Kimberly http://kimberlypye.blogspot.com/
4. Ms. George http://msgeorgemsenglishteacher.blogspot.com/
5. Kappa Prep http://kappaprep.blogspot.com/
6. Laura http://teachermuse.blogspot.com/
7. Barbara http://prayingforgrace.blogspot.com/
All seven of these ladies have inspired me through their words and their blogs! Sorry if any of you have already received this award... I'm hoping there are no repeats!
And now, my ten honest things:
1. I have some days where I leave my job and think, "Wow, middle school isn't too bad". I always dreamed of teaching high school so when I do have those days, I wonder how long I'll put off the move to high school and the novels I've always wanted to teach. It isn't a horrible thing but something that throws my plans off a bit.
2. I can't wait to buy a house this year. My hubby and I have been looking on and off since 2005 so the suspense is killing me. We really think this is the year though because of the low house prices, the possible tax credit, and the fact we have a good amount saved up for the down payment. Let's just hope neither of us lose our jobs (darn economy).
3. I have the baby bug! I have two friends who gave birth this past year and I'm starting to think I'm ready! Of course, hubby and I are waiting for a house but who knows!
4. I can't wait to take classes towards my Masters. I'll always love the fresh school supplies, new textbooks, and the adrenaline I feel when I write an essay or take test.
5. I take a nap (almost) every day after work. A guilty pleasure, I know! And its not even a short one. It's usually at least an hour, if not more. Then I wake up, ready to make dinner and do all my teacher stuff.
6. I am obsessed with Dave Matthews. I even got to meet him once! It was such an amazing night. It was the night before my birthday, too. I got to hug him and boy, I didn't want to let go!!!
7. I use Dove body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. I love the stuff, especially the body wash. Smells so good!!
8. I converted to Catholicism in 2007 and am so happy I did. I felt so lost spiritually and now I am so happy I found a home. I got involved right away and now I am a lector and Eucharist minister (I start my training soon!!!!) at my parish.
9. I wear my pearl earrings every day! I love how they dress up a casual outfit but also completes my more dressy stuff. Addicted!!!!
10. My 10 year high school reunion is coming up this fall and I'm a little excited to go. I honestly hated high school and had a crappy experience.... Remind me to tell you my yearbook story. Talk about ruining someone reputation because the wrong profile was put under my picture!
Boy, that was fun!!!! I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks so much for my very first blog award!!!!
The rules are...
(1) Choose a minimum of 7 blogs for brilliance in content/design
(2) Show the winners and let them know
(3) List at least 10 honest things about yourself
I choose:
1. Danielle http://yelliebabi.blogspot.com/
2. Kristen http://fijifruits.blogspot.com/
3. Kimberly http://kimberlypye.blogspot.com/
4. Ms. George http://msgeorgemsenglishteacher.blogspot.com/
5. Kappa Prep http://kappaprep.blogspot.com/
6. Laura http://teachermuse.blogspot.com/
7. Barbara http://prayingforgrace.blogspot.com/
All seven of these ladies have inspired me through their words and their blogs! Sorry if any of you have already received this award... I'm hoping there are no repeats!
And now, my ten honest things:
1. I have some days where I leave my job and think, "Wow, middle school isn't too bad". I always dreamed of teaching high school so when I do have those days, I wonder how long I'll put off the move to high school and the novels I've always wanted to teach. It isn't a horrible thing but something that throws my plans off a bit.
2. I can't wait to buy a house this year. My hubby and I have been looking on and off since 2005 so the suspense is killing me. We really think this is the year though because of the low house prices, the possible tax credit, and the fact we have a good amount saved up for the down payment. Let's just hope neither of us lose our jobs (darn economy).
3. I have the baby bug! I have two friends who gave birth this past year and I'm starting to think I'm ready! Of course, hubby and I are waiting for a house but who knows!
4. I can't wait to take classes towards my Masters. I'll always love the fresh school supplies, new textbooks, and the adrenaline I feel when I write an essay or take test.
5. I take a nap (almost) every day after work. A guilty pleasure, I know! And its not even a short one. It's usually at least an hour, if not more. Then I wake up, ready to make dinner and do all my teacher stuff.
6. I am obsessed with Dave Matthews. I even got to meet him once! It was such an amazing night. It was the night before my birthday, too. I got to hug him and boy, I didn't want to let go!!!
7. I use Dove body wash, shampoo, and conditioner. I love the stuff, especially the body wash. Smells so good!!
8. I converted to Catholicism in 2007 and am so happy I did. I felt so lost spiritually and now I am so happy I found a home. I got involved right away and now I am a lector and Eucharist minister (I start my training soon!!!!) at my parish.
9. I wear my pearl earrings every day! I love how they dress up a casual outfit but also completes my more dressy stuff. Addicted!!!!
10. My 10 year high school reunion is coming up this fall and I'm a little excited to go. I honestly hated high school and had a crappy experience.... Remind me to tell you my yearbook story. Talk about ruining someone reputation because the wrong profile was put under my picture!
Boy, that was fun!!!! I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks so much for my very first blog award!!!!
Thumb Thursdays
So since I'm in "I want to write more in this blog" kick, I came up with a way to at least make sure I would have a reason to write more in this thing. Thus the idea of thumb Thursday.... My way of sharing with you what is thumbs up and thumbs down in my life this particular week.
Thumbs up:
Thumbs up:
- A huge pink and green thumbs up to my swap partner Sweet, Sassy, and Always Classy http://mysweetandsouthernlife.blogspot.com/ for her amazing gifts I received in the mail just yesterday from our Pink swap through Kappa Prep's blog! All I can say is this girl went above and beyond. I can't find my digital camera right now (yikes!!!) but when I do, I need to put up pictures. First, a wicked cute white basket with pink and white cloth inside, a beautiful pink and green picture frame which will look uber cute on my desk at school, pink and green tissues, nail file, pink heart coasters, a cupcake-decorated spatula, pink kitchen towels, a cute pink mini book on pampering yourself, a pink heart container filled with pink Hershey kisses (yum!!!), a adorable pink heart with sequins and beads on it, and it the list goes on from there. Thank you so much!!!! You are the sweetest and most generous lady! Everything was wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a pink ribbon (how cute!!!!)
- Winning one of Kappa Prep's skirts on ebay! Pictures to follow once it comes it. Its a cute silk spring skirt so I'm looking forward to getting it in time for spring (which we all know will take forever in New England).
- Having an awesome teaching day today! We are getting ready for the Our Town test tomorrow so today we played a review game which went so well. I had 4 rows set up with 6 chairs in each row. The front seat gets a dry erase board and has to answer the question asked (I had 5 categories to choose from, one for each act, people, and potpourri). If the person gets it right, they get up and return to the back of the row while everyone moves up a seat. If you get it wrong, you have to stay until you get an answer right. Not only is it holding everyone accountable (which can be tough when you are doing any time of team games) but I can also use it for informal assessment. The students loved it and I can't wait to try it with my next unit! We also talked about themes in Our Town and I had the class split up into four groups (I choose four themes for this unit) and using their notes and the book, they had to come up with a moment from the play that is an example of this theme. Each group had a different color marker and I had poster paper around the room with a different theme on it so they had to walk around the room, see what others wrote, and come up with a completely different example. Again, it went so well and they did a wonderful job. After the groups finished, we went around the room to share what we wrote and how the example they choose showed the theme. They really did a great job sharing and explaining.
Thumbs down:
- Things in three: I've had three wakes or funerals in the last 10 days so that has been a huge bummer. My oldest friend's mother passed away last week from a short but courageous fight with cancer at the age of 51, my best friend's grandmother passed away yesterday, and finally another of my closest friend's father passed away Monday. Its been a pretty sad week and my thoughts and prayers go out to all of them.
Honestly, its been a good week overall. I feel very grateful for the wonderful things that came my way but also for the reminder that life is short so we have to appreciate life while we still have time (like Our Town tries to teach us!!!)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I feel....
I feel like a horrible blogger. I barely post anymore and if I do, I feel it lacks substance. I read so many other insightful or entertaining blogs and think, wow if only I could have a blog like that. And then I see blog awards passed around..... I'm not trying to have a pity party. I just wished I could make this blog better! To one day be worthy....
Anyways, enough with the negativity.
Did anyone watch last night's Bachelor!!! OMG :-) I don't want to spoil it for those who recorded it and haven't seen it but I loved the last five minutes. I think Jason made the best decision there! My top three are still in: Jillian, Molly, and Melissa. I'm really rooting for them and I don't think I'm alone. I'm excited to see what the Seattle visit will bring. I feel like they are doing it earlier in the season but perhaps I'm wrong.
Teaching is rocking right now. We started a persuasive writing unit (yikes, teaching writing) but so far, so good. I really thought my low group would have a hard time with it but they did better than both my high and my average classes. I think its because I modified the lesson a bit and gave them the graphic organizer instead of them having to make it themselves. My goal of this unit is to tie it in with the "Our Town" unit we will be finishing next week. Since we've been talking about whether this book should be taught at the middle school level (I didn't read it until high school and even then I don't feel like I truly appreciate like I do now), I want them to try to persuade me whether I should teach it at this level (middle school vs. high school). It's still a work in progress but I would really like to hear what they think and see what they did or didn't get out of it.
Well, I'm off to correct the "Our Town" Act II quizzes from today! I'm pretty sure we'll have no school tomorrow (darn New England snow storms) but just in case, I need to be prepared!
Anyways, enough with the negativity.
Did anyone watch last night's Bachelor!!! OMG :-) I don't want to spoil it for those who recorded it and haven't seen it but I loved the last five minutes. I think Jason made the best decision there! My top three are still in: Jillian, Molly, and Melissa. I'm really rooting for them and I don't think I'm alone. I'm excited to see what the Seattle visit will bring. I feel like they are doing it earlier in the season but perhaps I'm wrong.
Teaching is rocking right now. We started a persuasive writing unit (yikes, teaching writing) but so far, so good. I really thought my low group would have a hard time with it but they did better than both my high and my average classes. I think its because I modified the lesson a bit and gave them the graphic organizer instead of them having to make it themselves. My goal of this unit is to tie it in with the "Our Town" unit we will be finishing next week. Since we've been talking about whether this book should be taught at the middle school level (I didn't read it until high school and even then I don't feel like I truly appreciate like I do now), I want them to try to persuade me whether I should teach it at this level (middle school vs. high school). It's still a work in progress but I would really like to hear what they think and see what they did or didn't get out of it.
Well, I'm off to correct the "Our Town" Act II quizzes from today! I'm pretty sure we'll have no school tomorrow (darn New England snow storms) but just in case, I need to be prepared!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Gosh...
Quick recap:
Holidays were busy but great. Got to see pretty much any and all family members and got lots of cute preppy clothes, teaching books, movies, and a scone pan!!!! My goal of being a housewife is slowly coming true ;-)
Back to school and rocking out "Our Town". Act I quiz is Wednesday so I'm interested to see how the kiddies do. Tomorrow we are going over the study guide summary form they've been working on and then watching the first act.
Went to last Thursday's Bruins game with my hubby, his best friend Jon, and one of my best friend's, Ashley (who happens to be dating Jon). Such a blast and they totally won.
The Bachelor is on tonight!!!! I watched last week's episode and teaser after the show and was shocked. DeAnna!!!!! What is she doing to Jason!?!?!?!?! Ok, freak out over. All I can say is this is the season to watch. Plus, how could you not love Jason! I was so bummed last season when Jason went home broken-hearted and I am so glad he has a second chance :-)
I think that's pretty much it! Have a great week!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Last minute Christmas suggestion?!?!?!
So I'm trying to think of a last minute Christmas idea for a relative and I thought some sort of Catholic daily devotional publication could be a great idea. The only problem is there are so many to choose from. I decided on three that I like based on their website but I'm looking for advice from my fellow Catholic readers...
My Daily Visitor
http://www.osv.com/MDVNav/MyDailyVisitorHomePage/tabid/440/Default.aspx
The Word Among Us
http://wau.org/
Living Faith
http://www.livingfaith.com/
I personally have subscribed to The Word Among Us but found it dry at times and not as inspirational as I hoped (just to give you an indication, I really enjoy the Little Blue Books Advent devotions from the Diocese of Saginaw http://www.littlebooks.org/ ).
Anyways, I know its late in the game so I'm not expecting lots of feedback, but any would be appreciated!
My Daily Visitor
http://www.osv.com/MDVNav/MyDailyVisitorHomePage/tabid/440/Default.aspx
The Word Among Us
http://wau.org/
Living Faith
http://www.livingfaith.com/
I personally have subscribed to The Word Among Us but found it dry at times and not as inspirational as I hoped (just to give you an indication, I really enjoy the Little Blue Books Advent devotions from the Diocese of Saginaw http://www.littlebooks.org/ ).
Anyways, I know its late in the game so I'm not expecting lots of feedback, but any would be appreciated!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Wow... has it been a strange few weeks....
Hi everyone... what a crazy few weeks its been in Pink and Green teacher world. First, I came down with one of the worst colds I ever had the beginning of the month (so bad that I actually called out of school) which then turned into bronchitis in time for my husband and my birthdays (sweet). During this time (last week to this week) New England has been hit with not only a crippling ice storm that has caused power outages and school cancellations (more on that later) but also a snow storm today and possibly twice this upcoming weekend.
DH, Rosie, I were forced from our home because of said ice storm last week which caused/still causing major power outages and lack of heat. We had to stay at my mother's last Friday until Sunday because our power and heat was out. We finally got power back Sunday night but heat was on and off until yesterday. Knock on wood everything is finally working for us here, but there are so many others still suffering.
On that note, I've been out of work since last Friday because of the damage from said ice storm. I guess my school district was hit hard (central MA) and school will out of session until next Monday (22nd) unless the horrible snowstorm they are talking about hits us as well.
So, its been a strange couple of weeks. In the off time, however, I've kept busy. I've Christmas shopped, caught up on laundry, watched "Our Town" so I can use the film along with the play that we are reading in class, and all my correcting I was slacking on since my illness (I'm talking tests from THANKSGIVING!!!!!!)
Back to birthdays... DH and I had a lovely birthdays. He bought me a beautiful diamond journey necklace (the one with seven diamonds that go from small to large in a bit of a curve), took me out to my favorite Japanese restaurant, and to see Four Christmases (which was a cute movie). We also decided to spring on new cellphones so I got the AT&T Quickfire and he got an IPhone. I can't say enough about the Quickfire... I love the keyboard for easy texting and the touch screen is a wonderful addition as well.
Anyways, I'm going to work on some more correcting and then call it a night. Hope all is well with everyone and that you are all enjoying this wonderful Christmas season!!!!
DH, Rosie, I were forced from our home because of said ice storm last week which caused/still causing major power outages and lack of heat. We had to stay at my mother's last Friday until Sunday because our power and heat was out. We finally got power back Sunday night but heat was on and off until yesterday. Knock on wood everything is finally working for us here, but there are so many others still suffering.
On that note, I've been out of work since last Friday because of the damage from said ice storm. I guess my school district was hit hard (central MA) and school will out of session until next Monday (22nd) unless the horrible snowstorm they are talking about hits us as well.
So, its been a strange couple of weeks. In the off time, however, I've kept busy. I've Christmas shopped, caught up on laundry, watched "Our Town" so I can use the film along with the play that we are reading in class, and all my correcting I was slacking on since my illness (I'm talking tests from THANKSGIVING!!!!!!)
Back to birthdays... DH and I had a lovely birthdays. He bought me a beautiful diamond journey necklace (the one with seven diamonds that go from small to large in a bit of a curve), took me out to my favorite Japanese restaurant, and to see Four Christmases (which was a cute movie). We also decided to spring on new cellphones so I got the AT&T Quickfire and he got an IPhone. I can't say enough about the Quickfire... I love the keyboard for easy texting and the touch screen is a wonderful addition as well.
Anyways, I'm going to work on some more correcting and then call it a night. Hope all is well with everyone and that you are all enjoying this wonderful Christmas season!!!!
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