What Worked Well
In my first weeks of school, I noticed that thoroughly explaining my classroom management plan and classroom rules really set the tone for the class. Due to events outside of my control, I have had to utilize substitutes more frequently than usual. Because my rules, procedures, and management plans were put in place and reviewed extensively in the first weeks, my students have been able to come into class, establish the routines, and run their program without me in a very smooth, efficient, and discipline free way. I have substitutes leaving positive comments about how everything is organized and well planned. Last year, substitutes left negative remarks on certain things. Now several have left their numbers wanting to sub for me on a regular basis. It’s a big compliment.
What Has Not Worked Well
Time management has not been on my side in the first few weeks. What has not worked well is getting a new principal with new expectations, new administrators making new demands, a Georgia Keys Review with greater demands in preparation, a new mandatory grading and attendance program that is littered with kinks and bugs, all new Standards and Pathways for my program which requires the creation of all new lesson plans and course work, NTI courses, teaching extended day, getting Dual Enrollment cancelled, and the announcement of the cancelation of block courses next year - all at the same time (not to mention personal life experiences outside of my control). I have been teaching for 3 years now and have never seen anything like this or heard of anything like this from other professionals.
I feel for you. Our school is focusing on Assessments this year, and it's driving me up a wall. We must align all assessments with the standards in EduSoft. Guess what... my standards aren't there. So instead of getting the students to take easy written tests where they bubble in the answers and I would have to scan all of their answer sheets and hope it works, I get to come up with more rubrics that would somehow match with bubble answer sheets. ??? According to the admin, there are ways to make it work for "weird" classes like mine. Yes... they said "weird." The kind of assessments the county wants isn't really very conducive to the performance-based classroom like my "weird" one.
ReplyDeleteThat's really something when the subs want to come back - good for you.
ReplyDeleteYou'll get through all the standard visits, etc. and then won't have them again until that rotation comes around again. I hate to say it, but I've been there and done that and been there and done that and been there and done that . . . Dr. J.