"Of everything I did this week in my teaching, what would I do differently if I had the chance to do it again, and why?"

This week I tried to implement a new seating arrangement for two of my classes and the process did not go too well. I allowed students to come in class and sit down before instructing of their new seats. This created a long disruption and attitudes flared at me. The next I do this, I will create the new seating chart and then have it visible to students when they walk into my classroom. I could also instruct them where to go while I am standing at my door when they enter the classroom. It was a train wreck and I screwed up on that one.

"Of everything I did this week in my teaching, what would I do differently if I had the chance to do it again, and why?" This question can be answered from any aspect of your job as a teacher.

"Of everything I did this week in my teaching, what would I do differently if I had the chance to do it again, and why?" This question can be answered from any aspect of your job as a teacher.

If I had an opportunity to, I would redo my Pharmacy Services unit. Aside from my background in Chemistry and Biology, I have a background in Pharmacy. This week we concluded discussion in Pharmacy Services and I feel that I gave them the experience that any other teacher would have. However, their experience from me should have been astonishing.Yes the students did pretty cool labs, but I should have given them a better experience. It would have been awesome to make medicinal lollipops, suppositories, creams, and lip balm --- all fun labs. Because of time constraints, I had to forfeit excessive labs. It is very disheartening to have to teach and concern myself with a test deadline ---- data. We should be able to spend more time on topics that students are really interested in without the worry of not having test data to submit. Other than that, all was good. 

"Of everything I did this week in my teaching, what would I do differently if I had the chance to do it again, and why?"

This week has been really somber besides the visit from Dr. Montrois who gave me a lot of great pointers after he sat in my class.  Unfortunately right before he arrived as some of you may have seen on the news, one of our students as South Cobb was hit by a car crossing Austell rd. I did not have the pleasure of meeting or teaching this student but this morning Isiaiah Dean past away.  I guess what I would do differently is  be more prepared to address students in time of crisis and need when tragedy strikes in any form.   We live in a dangerous world be aware that at any time something fatal can happen.  Though I think handled it ok,  I just felt like there was more opportunity for dialogue that I let go by the way side rather speak to my students about it.  There were counselors on site to help that we allowed the students to speak to but just for me personally I wish I was a little more prepared.

"Of everything I did this week in my teaching, what would I do differently if I had the chance to do it again, and why?" 

I feel like I have a pretty good idea of where I want to go with my classes.  But, building the curriculum, the lessons, the worksheets, the activities, just about all of it, is so time consuming.  So, I just keep chipping away at it, keeping everything with notes and just keep building.  I am always adding to my lessons, trying to make them the best that they can be.  

So, to answer the question, I think everything I've done in the last week I would do differently if I had the chance to do it again because I am always trying to learn something to make each lesson better.  I am not at the point where I am happy with my lessons... I may not ever be happy with them, at least in my mind.  But, I am doing a lot better today in my class than I was this time a year ago.

Then again, I really hope that I can say that every October 20th, for the rest of my teaching career.

Open Mic

What like about my position as a CTE teacher is the ability to interact with and realize just how intelligent a lot of the students are.  I'm realizing I can challenge them more and put more on their plate, even the intro students.  It's great satisfaction to see the response emails from my administrators and fellow educators about quality of work my students are putting together.  I'm really starting to have lots of pride in what I teach and pride being a teacher at South Cobb High School.

This week we will have what I like to call "open mic." This means you can post about anything you like related to your position as a career tech teacher. Last week I would have to say I was "most proud" of the way you are all using our NTI blog!

The thing I am most proud of this week is how my students battled and kept their composure at the Perry State Fair during the Culinary Arts Competitions. We placed 2nd in the Chili Competition and the Knowledge Bowl, 3rd in the Culinary Competition and 4th in the Georgia Peanut Competition. We placed in every competition we competed in and it was all of their first times competing. The conducted themselves very professionally and never lost their composure, they studied hard for weeks and at the end they got together and thanked "Me" for being their role model. I enjoy the feeling of helping but to influence a child to achieve a goal is the best feeling. Great Question for this week.

"Open Mic"
The past two weeks have been nothing short of fulfillment. I enjoyed an entire week on Fall Break. I'm elated to report I stuck to my guns and created several unit assessments and 15 days worth of lesson plans. I took care of many things I needed to and was delighted to have the time to do so.

Today, a dear friend, whom our paths have crossed over the past two years, and her daughter paid my class a visit. The two of them educated 100+ students on Apert's Syndrome. Her daughter was born with this rare condition in addition to a "cloverleaf skull". She is 1 of 130 ever documented cases with this skull pattern and has been a guest on the "Doctor's" show twice over the course of the past two years. I feel BLESSED to have been an instrument in His works, sharing/enriching our students young lives. I was so PROUD of our students and how they accepted them with open arms and interacted with my friends 3-year-old daughter. She has so many "special needs" and is so different yet her heart desires many wants, needs, and feelings the same as ours. All in all, my cup overflows and I look forward to hearing my students reactions to today on Monday.

Monday our local fire department will be visiting my class as I wrap-up my "Safety Practices" unit. I'm a hands-on learner and am excited to offer a FUN learning environment to my students. I am anxious to see what the future holds yet extremely content in the present!

Open Mic!

I am really enjoying being a CTE teacher because I truly love what I do in the field of cosmetology and honestly believe doing what you love is freedom, loving what you do is happiness.

In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud about my teaching strategies and how I have really grown from last year until now and I owe that all to the NTI program and Dr. Burns I am truly grateful so this week I can say when being evaluated I felt very confident in using my lesson plans I creating and how I was able to form my groups and have you good classroom management.So I am very proud of myself.

Open Mic

I am glad we are at the mid-semester point. I see some students really changing in a positive way. I had my walkthrough, my frame and bulletin board check, my lesson plan check, and all have been good, so here we go.

I feel great about doing this job!! I love the impact that I have on the students. I do enjoy the breaks... I am ready for the Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks!! Enjoy!!

Open Mic

Well, well, well. I must say that I enjoy my new career as a CTE teacher. I never imagined being a this type of role during my career. Coming from the industry to the classroom has been a difficult, but rewarding transition. All the acronyms, as well as lesson planning, is definitely new to me. I thought investigating a homicide was challenging at times, but this teaching is a daily challenge. In saying all of that, I must also say that I am extremely happy about my decision to change careers. Nothing excites me more than hearing how much the students enjoy my class. This has been very rewarding and NTI has help my transition become a lot easier.

Open Mic

Hello All!

I just want to say that I am excited to be a part of this group and have already learned a lot! Each one of you is an inspiration to me and drive me everyday to be the best that I can be!
I dont have anything really specific to talk about right now. Just kind of generalized comments about how I am enjoying this job very much and that each time I come to class I am learning and applying new things. I am on a constant drive to get better and better at this. And I can't lie...I have had SEVERAL instances where I have slapped myself in the forehead and gone "DOH!" and its just because of experience and learning all the ins and outs of this career. But I believe it will come. I am keeping a good record and journals, making note of things that work and a bigger note about things that don't and always remembering that no matter what, no matter the struggles, I will succeed and overcome all of the speed bumps in my road. I WILL get better at this and I will continue to grow and already feel more like a teacher than I did at the beginning!
So that being said, Thank you everyone for your help and patience, and for all of the tips and advice! Please keep them coming because I am absolutely listening!

Open Mic

Fall break was Friday and Monday. I am happy that we were able to rest for a couple days. Now it's back to the wire. Half down, half to go.
I am looking forward to a great second half. My students are progressing and I am happy with that.
Have a great week colleagues.

Whew...

The last few weeks I have felt a little overwhelmed.

I guess the reason for that is that I have pretty much ran out of lesson plans that I created over the summer and then the ones that I was able to create as the year was moving along, so there is the added work of creating more lesson plans, coming up with assignments, and the like.

I guess, though, that's part of the deal.  I have a solid idea of what I am going to be teaching from week to week, but creating the daily plans can be a bit of a hassle.  The thing is, though, I can't imagine not having those lesson plans now, so it is well worth the effort of creating them, if only I could find an extra hour or two each week to use for making them.

And once I have them, the hope is that I can adapt them, altering things that worked, adding new things, or whatever.  Most of the time consuming work will be done, so I can then focus on making them the best they can be.

I know we are all busy.  But I think it's a really nice kind of feeling to lay down at night knowing that I have really exhausted myself for my students.  I really try to be the best possible teacher I can be for them.  I am nowhere near where I want to be, but I am so much better than I was this time last year.

And I have another success story to tell.

Last year a young lady took my class.  She was a senior and she fell in love with making videos.  She was easily one of my best students.

A while back she asked me to write a recommendation letter for her to use as she sought out opportunities at various colleges.  She wrote me last weekend to let me know that she had been accepted to the Savannah College of Art and Design for film and television broadcasting.

She thanked me for my class and for me turning her on to video and film.

What a great opportunity we have, to touch the lives of our students, to give them hope, a chance at a great career, a chance for a better life than they may have had otherwise.

So sure, I am overwhelmed.  I am tired.  I am spent.  But I am those things because there are students out there that are apparently hungry for what I (and all of you) can offer.  That's a great feeling.

Week 6

Open mic...

Wow, I can not believe this semester marks the half-way point of this year. I am so ready for the semester to be over. I am excited to utilize the information that we have been learning next semester. Since I was not in the Summer NTI portion I really started the year off on the wrong foot. I had students doing group work the very first week of class. I see some of the mistakes that I have made and will fix them next semester. I have tried to implement some of the lessons I have learned into this semester but I feel like I am fighting a battle. I know next semester I will focus on classroom procedures and rules for the first two weeks. I hope building a strong foundation on procedures will really help my classroom run smoother. It has been so tiring still trying to gain control of the classroom. I am so excited for 2016 NTI session so I can learn even more!

Open-Mic Week

Such a Good Week!

This week started out so AWESOME!  Took my second year students on a field trip to see Dennis Stokely, he was Paula Abdul’s hairdresser for the last three years that she was on American Idol. They all dressed appropriately and followed all of my instructions.  One of my students was chosen to be a model for him and got to go on stage.  I was so happy that she was chosen.   Afterwards, we took them to eat lunch at Golden Corral.   They were so well behaved.  Was a good day.

The next day I played a Kahoot game with all my classes as a review for their end of Unit test.  They really had a GREAT time and so did I.  The following days the students were given their first BIG test in my class.  They all did really, really well.  Everyone Passed!

I am also glad I am finally to a place where I have taught them a practical application that they can do in the salon and we will start another new practical application by the end of the month.  It really is neat teaching them some of the basic skills of my profession and seeing them enjoy it.

Hope everyone had a good week as well!

This week I worked really hard on differentiation for my Intro class. I made several different games and taught throughout the week with a different method each day. I was really proud that I did not repeat a teaching method for five days straight. My students seemed very engaged all week. I asked them today how this week compared to the previous weeks and they told me that they enjoyed this week more than they enjoyed the past weeks. I hope to continue to differentiate every week so my students will learn how to learn with different methods of instruction.

"In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?

"In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?

I feel most proud that my students are engaged and have shown improvement over the last few weeks. I feel proud that I am a positive reflection in my students' life. I feel proud when my students succeed and we high five or "nay-nay" (trendy dance) to their success. Why? My students work hard to succeed. Success of one student breeds success of more. 

"In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

I was off this week due to Fall Break and I attended the NEW teacher conference.

Based on the week before:

I would have to say that I am trying very hard to do the activities/lesson plans that were taught to me this summer.

They are working out quite well.  There have been days though when we are rushing to clean up and I don’t always get my 3 questions or my transition in. I am really struggling with timing.    The students are really engaging in the process and I am enjoying that and them very much.  I had to have my advisory meeting on Monday of that week and I hated being out of the classroom.  My greatest concern is making sure I will be able to cover all of the standards and lessons in the time frame given to me.  I want to do the FUN things but make sure that I am covering the subject content so they are prepared for their tests and the SLO at the end of the year. 

"In thinking about my teaching activities this past week, of what do I feel most proud? Why?"

This week we reviewed knife skills and I watched as my classes all set up and cleaned up with very little horseplay and minimal talking. We stress safety in the kitchen as well as sanitation, and as I walked around I noticed small acts that let me know that the students are taking pride in the kitchen and really are attempting to clean with some passion and enthusiasm. It really makes the job so much easier and lowers my stress level considerably.