One third of the way down!  That’s insane to me.  Completely insane, but there it is.  My ninth graders are working on open responses right now.  I pulled up my PPT that has the grading rubric for how I score them right there.  I feel so much more organized than previous years, which is odd because I see many more students.

I think my organization is definitely related to my bullet journal.  It was a new organizational system to me part way through last year, but it’s definitely working.  I know what I’m doing each day of the week.  I know what needs to be photocopied when.  Over my previous years of teaching, I’ve used an organizer.  And I still use it now to keep notes and such, but the act of drawing out my days and month has definitely helped me.  It makes me take the time to look over my week and plan what I know needs to be done before I do it.  It’s helped me organize what I do with my classes, and has helped me to keep a rhythm to my weeks.  I’m so grateful that I’ve stumbled into this system.

November is an odd month here at my school.  As a vocational school, we rotate A week and B week.  I saw my A week students 5 times in this entire month.  Between a district Professional Development day, Veterans’ Day, and Thanksgiving recess, that was all the time we had.  For the most part, the fact that these weeks are so uneven will get fixed in the wash, but it still shocks me.

It’s been a long time since I last posted.  This year is fairly crazy in terms of how many students I see and how many rooms I float into.  It’s been burning out my ability to keep track of my days here.

I thought I wouldn’t like my schedule this year, but as is often the case, I dig being the underdog and attempting to elevate my station.  The new teachers working with me are great, and I love seeing all the kids.  I won’t lie, the work load can get intense with so many students.  I see twice as many as I saw last year.  But I’m having fun with my curriculum.  With the classes this year it feels more like discrete problem solving with my students.  Specifically what are you struggling with, and how can I focus on that issue? Don’t get me wrong, I like the global teaching of ELA that I’ve done in the past, but the more specific tactical help is an enjoyable change.

I can’t believe I’ll be through a third of the year on the 29th!  It’s flying by, zoom!