Routines are awesome!

One of the things I look forward to about the start of a new school year is routine. It takes a while, but once we start to feel like we are in a routine, its amazing how comforting that feels to me! As this last week finished, i was starting to feel like a routine was developing.

This is my first year teaching AP Psychology and I have really enjoyed, though it has caused me some stress and a few late nights. I really want the class to be enjoyable and engaging, and I also feel a lot of pressure to adhere to the AP curriculum. My students have the added bonus of receiving College credit from Thomas College, and so I feel that as well. Lucky for me I have joined the AP Psychology online community and it has really helped. Not only have I found countless units and activities that align with the AP curriculum, but I have heard what teaching is like in other parts of the country. I find teaching is busier than ever, but I think I would quit if I worked in another part of the country. I consistently hear in this online community about classes of 35-40 students, class loads of 200-250 students, and pay being docked for students who didn't get a 3 or higher on the AP exam. To me, all of those are just unreasonable and I wouldn't do it. I have a great deal of respect for those who are enduring these conditions. I tried to keep this in mind as I stared out at my 17 Seniors and Juniors in this class and confessed my math skills were poor but I was going to attempt to learn about Standard Deviation with them anyway. No surprise, considering how bright they are, that I think they got it despite my shortcomings in the area of math. Their first quiz is coming up on vocabulary and I hope they are up to the challenge! I'm looking forward to the statistical analysis of chocolate chip cookie brands myself!

My AP US History students have been applying the 9 Historical Thinking Skills to their analysis of the events that led to the American Revolution. We have had a good time questioning the Boston Massacre painting by Paul Revere, among other iconic images from the period. We also watched my favorite music video of all time, Too Late to Apologize, that depicts the anger from the rebels toward the British Government. What a great video!

The students I teach in Honors U.S. History have put Columbus on Trial, analyzed how Democratic the Puritans were, and are just about to try and figure out who fired the first shot at Lexington Green. All fun stuff with great conversations and essays from the students!

(Historic House located near Lexington Green)

I also teach History v. Hollywood and Ethics and both classes are also going very well. The only complaint I have at this point is the heat. I love the weather we have had in general, but my classroom gets killed by direct sunlight all day long and we have no air conditioning. Each day my class hits about 86-88 by lunch time. I have a small fan that provides little relief.  If not for this, I think it would have been a truly fabulous start to the school year! My personal focus this year is to get my dual enrollment classes aligned with the Thomas College curricula and assessments. In addition, we need to participate in the Robert Marzano version of Teacher evaluation. This is a whole new process that requires much from each of us. We all are also working on moving toward a proficiency-based diploma, which also means we are adjusting our curriculum. Related to this is a greater emphasis on student test scores in general and adherence to the Response to Intervention procedure required by law. There are more things we must do, but I'm starting to feel a little negative so I will refrain from rehashing it all. I try to approach each day focused on my students and our learning and make progress on the things I have to do. To try and think more gets overwhelming.

Looking ahead, I am looking forward to two conferences. I am now Vice- President of the Maine Council for the Social Studies and we are hosting a Conference on October 30th in Hermon, ME. Our keynote speaker is a woman named Jenny Buccos who has created Geography videos for educational purposes and given TED Talks around the country. We feel very lucky to have her. We also have some snazzy sessions throughout the day. It should be a wonderful learning experience for all! In my new role as VP, I will also be helping to represent Maine at the National Conference in New Orleans in November. This means participating in the House of Delegates along with our President. I am excited about seeing some of the French Quarter for the first time as well as attending a session on World War Two at the National World War Two Museum, as well as other sessions. I look forward to learning and seeing New Orleans for the first time. In the meantime, studying the Constitution and keeping up with AP Psychology are at the top of my agenda!