Big Change

I am changing schools, again. This time I am also changing subjects and teaching something I have never formally taught before. It came out of the blue. I never would have considered it and I almost didn't go to the interview or accept the job when it was offered.  But now it has been decided.

I am not teaching Math or Science, I am an English Teacher. I just finished my Multivariable Calculus class on Monday and today I signed up for an online "Teaching Writing" class at Mankato. Not too many people know that I have an English degree and an English teaching license.

Another thing you do not know (how could you from this sparsely populated blog?) is that I write and read a lot. I have many, many unpublished drafts on this blog. I read a lot when I am not taking math classes and teaching full-time. I like fiction. I fell in love with books as a teenager and learned to love literature when I read Moby Dick in 10th grade. I have read most of Shakespeare. I recently realized that I like Dickens and I love modern fiction.

The otherpiece is that I am going to a very different type of school. It is a school for pregnant and parenting teens. I have three boys, a husband and a male dog. This is going to be a big change, but it feels right.

MCTM Notes

I didn't really go to a bad session, I took something away from every session I went to. I had a goal to learn about what to do with my Honors Stats after the AP exam and that was taken care of by Andy Pethan, his talk on "Rebuilding Statistics."

I am in my 3rd year of doing sbg and I am feeling a bit unsatisfied when I go to talks on the subject (but I still go). I have been incorporating problem solving along with my skills assessment and that is working well. I have made it so that my workload is manageable and the students are successful. The problem solving piece has made my course more challenging and interesting yet it is still accessible to the kids who struggle. I am in the process of organizing my stuff since I have been job hopping.

I liked what Carol Mahler did with her 7th graders at St. Louis Park. She developed a program so that students work at their own pace and it was very well planned out and successful. I am excited to see it all when she posts it and hope to use a lot of it when I teach 6th and 7th grade next year.

Update

I am settling in to my new job. This has not been an easy year. I feel like I am finally back to teaching the way I like to teach. I am doing skills tests and problem solving, students are keeping track of their progress. I am not overwhelmed with reassessments. I have students who seem to be well prepared for my classes. I am happy to be teaching Geometry again. Technology is not emphasized at all and I can't believe how wonderful that feels. I have an old computer (a Dell with a floppy drive!) and a projector and it is working for me. I bought myself a Mac Mini for home. The hardest part is teaching Stats, I am finding it boring and don't know enough to make it interesting. I have only 4 students in my Stats class and I am their 4th teacher this year.

Anybody know any good math blogs that focus on Stats?

I haven't felt like writing. I am doing too much math and have little time. I am in the middle of a Calculus 2 class at Normandale (taking it as a refresher) which I am really enjoying.