For years, I’ve been reading so many amazing teacher blogs, and I toyed with the idea of starting my own. But something always held me back–the idea that I didn’t have anything to say that would be interesting or useful to anyone else. And maybe I still don’t. But I want to document the journey that I’m taking with my students–the good, the bad, and the everything else.
I began teaching after a 20-year career in the television business. I walked into my first classroom (as an 8th grade English teacher) in the middle of February, after a long string of substitute teachers. So, the kids weren’t exactly receptive, and honestly, I had no idea what I was doing, and virtually no guidance. But we all survived, and the next year I moved up to 9th grade, and that’s where I spent the bulk of my teaching career thus far. Three years ago, my district made the decision to adopt the middle school model, and freshmen would now be at the high schools. I had a choice to make as well–move to a high school and continue to teach freshmen, or stay in middle school, and teach younger students. I decided to stay, took my 4-8 certification test, and just finished my third year teaching 7th grade ELA. I like 7th graders, but they are a different animal, that’s for sure.
My first group really spoiled me–they were funny, and smart, and I think they learned a lot, plus we had a lot of fun. I’ve caught myself wishing I could have a do-over with them, because I feel like they would really love some of the things I’ve done since they were in my class.
For years, I’ve been interested in inquiry learning. I have always believed that kids (and parents–and administrators, and pretty much everyone in education) was too caught up in testing, and scores, and grades, and had forgotten that it should be about learning, and how fun that is. I would bring things into my lessons that would push kids to becoming better thinkers, and allow them to learn in a different way than just I talk, they listen, they take a test, repeat. I have continued to look for new ways to teach, ways that don’t rely on me being a talking head while students sit silently.
With this blog, I will document the methods I bring into my class. I will explain the rationale behind them. I will describe how I implement them. I will observe and report on how the students react, how they utilize the tools I give them, and whether or not these methods are working. I will do my best to be honest, even in reporting any colossal mistakes I make. So, it will be the good (lots of that, I hope), the bad (there’s bound to be some), and the ugly (hopefully I’ll keep that to a minimum!). At any rate, it should be an adventure.