Well, that went fast.
Spring flew by last year; 4th quarter busy with all manner of writing, speaking, literature studies, and general end-of-year craziness. Then, summer shot past, already a blur in the rear-view mirror. Endless days mixed with playing, gardening, cabin, tutoring, lousy Twins games, concerts, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
Alas.
Here I am. Here we are. The first day of school, already in the books.
I've taken a bit of a leap of faith this year, and the expectations I've put on myself are higher than they've even been as a teacher. I'd like to accomplish things this year and push my students to places this year that are completely new. Opportunities are there: new LA standards, new LA curriculum, a very supportive Admin team - Principal Specific - guiding through the process of content standard PLC work, a new way of teaching my subject.
Here's where the leap comes in...
I gave up "my" room this year - an agreed-upon eviction, if you will - and in turn am receiving 30 brand new Chrome Books and a fantastic new cart to wheel them around to the various rooms in which I will be instructing this year. Additionally, my cart will have a projector, complete with Apple TV to beam straight from my iPad to help direct my instruction and engage students along the way.
One minor glitch: no cart or Chrome Books yet.
I try not to get too frustrated about such things...for one, I know very dedicated people are helping insure this stuff actually arrives, and two, there's plenty to do with my new 6th graders the first few days of school.
On a very positive note, the first day went very well, and I'm already proud of how my new students found their way to all of my different rooms and showed themselves to be very capable. What I'm excited about is the opportunity to engage and excite so many more readers and writers this year; to enhance the digital literacy skills of so many kids; to experience a new kind of classroom setting throughout the year - atrium, unused hallways, media center space, etc. My hope is for every conception of a what a classroom is, and for every wall knocked down along the way, my students (and I) will see teaching and learning in many new ways.
