So busy

This has been by far the busiest Fall I can remember since my first year of teaching! Why so busy? I think its helpful for me and maybe for others as well, if I outline a recent day I experienced. Some aspects of this day are typical and some are not. Some days are just insane and there is way more. Some days are very reasonable compared to this day. But I think this day is a fair representation of my job.

5:10am... I awake without an alarm as usual. My wife is just getting out of the bathroom in time for me to get in. I get ready for the day, pack my lunch, say hello to my dog and interact with my son while he prepares for school. Fortunately my wife and I can ride together today as we can leave at the same time to see our son's soccer game at 5pm.

6:20... We are on the 32 mile drive to Readfield. Our son gets on the bus at 6:50 and is pretty self sufficient at this point. I drop my wife off at her school and arrive at my school around 7:05.

7:10... after collecting some things from my mailbox and using the restroom, I have a meeting at 7:15. I am mentoring a new teacher and we meet from 7:15-7:50.

7:50... as I attempt to check email, a student comes in early to ask me some questions.

8:00... homeroom begins. During the next 10 minutes I have to check to see who is tagged and who isn't. I have 11 advisees and 2 attend the technical center, so I have to check for 9 of my advisees. It takes approximately 25 seconds to check each one. I also have the Pledge of Allegiance, announcements to read, and general checking in with kids. Also, if any kids aren't tagged for focus time I need to tag them. Inexplicably only 1-2 of my advisees are tagged on most days. I still can't figure out why this is, but I end up with at least 5 of my advisees on top of the 12-14 students I tagged every day. Sometimes it makes Focus time difficult.

8:14... AP U.S. History. On this day my students are debating Hamilton vs. Jefferson. Each was assigned a different person and the topic was chosen at random. We then use what we learn to answer some analaytical questions about how political parties were formed in the U.S.

9:34... History v. Hollywood. Students talk in small groups using an analysis guide to dicuss the film we just watched. They create an outline and begin to compose a film review. I help groups and individuals as they work.

10:50... Focus time. We only have 28 minutes and some of the students I tagged need every minute so I get those students going on makeup quizzes, test corrections, and questions answered by me.

11:05... I have students off and running so I can take attendance on EDYouSched. I call the office to report a missing student from Focus time. I continue to help students as needed.

11:22... Lunch! I check my email looking for timely emails. I then walk to the Staff room and get my lunch box from the fridge. I chat casually with other teachers in the room for about 10 minutes while I eat quickly. I use the restroom on the way back to my room. I arrive in time to do a little set up before class and check email again.

11:50... AP Psychology. The Brain! We build models of neurons using candy. The students then eat the candy. We follow it up with a partner quiz on the parts of the Brain based on what they had read for homework. We review the vocabulary terms for this unit using quizlet. Then we watch a video about The Birdman Jeb Corliss and discuss what is going on in his brain when he engages in thrill-seeking behavior.

1:14... AP U.S. History. Different students, but a repeat of what we did first thing in the morning.

2:30... Students leave and I check email. Over the next 10 minutes 2 students stop by for a quick question and help.

2:45... Meeting. I meet with another teacher, a Guidance Counselor and the ELL teacher in our district to discuss a student.

3:15... Back in my room to get my room ready for the next day and grade a few papers.

4:00... Leave to pick up my wife and head to my son's soccer game.

6:15... arrive home, and eat dinner. We picked up sandwiches at the store and eat when we get home. I check in with my son and how his day was at school.

7:15... I check homework and grade some papers while watching TV.

9:00... say goodnight to my son and read. While I enjoy this reading, its not just for fun. Its part of the class I am doing called Understanding Sacrifice. I read untl I get sleepy.

To be fair I should mention that this was a busy day for me in my class schedule. Every other day I teach 4 class, but on the other days I teach only 2. On those days instead of class I run around trying to make plans in the short amount of time that is increasingly taken up by meetings or "common planning time" (which is ironic in some ways as we have things to do as a Department during this time and have not yet done any actual planning together during this time). I also try to find time in the evening or whenever to look for new and innovative ways of teaching what I teach. This includes using social media like Twitter and help form colleagues around the country, or sometimes just surfing the web. This is how I have operated for a while. But this year, in addition to these things, we have a new evaluation system to worry about. This means I have to think about Learning targets, scales, SLO's and other things related to the Marzano model for teacher evaluations. We also have to analyze student data in order to do this work. We must also take a College Class and document it somehow at some point every 5 years to stay certified. We must find time to email or call parents of students who are struggling. In addition, we are changing our curriculum to incorporate the Common Core standards, and new content standards. I also can't forget my duties as an advisor. Planning for the next Advisor/Advisee event also takes up my time along with updating Google Classroom and tagging students for the next Focus time. Emails continue to pile up as well! It is the added pressure of the Marzano evaluation stuff that sometimes feels like too much. I enjoy being with my students, but the changes I have seen in the last year or two have got me seriously considering a change. Either something drastic, or even something less drastic. Perhaps things will calm down a bit, but its been a rough Fall!

I really do enjoy those 72 minutes when we we are in the classroom! I also have my participation in the Understanding Sacrifice program to look forward to. I will be heading to Washington DC in November to start the project.

If things weren't crazy enough, I also helped host a webinar on writing in the Social Studies classroom this week. And one more thing! I am helping (though not as much as some others are) to organize and host a Conference through the Maine Council for the Social Studies on October 30. Next week we have Parent/Teacher Conferences to add on top of everything else we are doing. Maybe in two weeks I will be a little more upbeat! For now, I try to focus on one day at a time and keeping student learning at the forefront of where my focus is.