My Teaching "To-Do" List

Wow, some days it is really hard not to get caught up in my never-ending teacher to-do list. As soon as I get close to the end, new things have been added. It can be hard to keep a positive outlook.

That's why this post by Dave Stuart Jr. really hit home to me. It's called "The Shift," and in it, he talks about how when he gets caught up in the never-ending to-do list, he writes himself a new list with just one item on it: Promote the long-term flourishing on young people.

Obviously, that's a huge job itself, but just simplifying everything I'm doing down into a simple sentence that reminds me of WHY I am doing it really helps me keep perspective and my sanity.

Thanks, Dave! I needed that today! (And I'll probably need it tomorrow, too!)

Teaching is a Journey

It's been a few years since I added to this blog. The last post talks about how I was moving from my online classroom back to a brick-and-mortar classroom.

In August of 2014, I was hired to teach 6th and 7th grade language arts at my local intermediate school. I have been there ever since. It has been amazing and rewarding! Whew! I sure have been working hard to get my head wrapped around the new common core, learning targets, common formative assessments, grading batches of over 100 essays at a time, and so on. Now I feel that I am ready to share some of the things I have learned, as well as hopefully getting some feedback from all of you master teachers as well!

My teaching experience has spanned many grades and subjects. My first year of teaching, I taught a 4th/5th grades split. That was a circus, but so much fun. I spent the next four years teaching second grade. That is where I really felt that I learned how to teach reading. After that, I subbed for a few years--anywhere from kindergarten to seniors in high school in any subject. Then I went into the virtual world. Over the next few years there, I was able to teach 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade writing, 6th grade science, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade language arts, and 7th grade pre-algebra. While teaching online, I also had the chance to be a learning coach for the other teachers in the school and a data specialist.

All of the different ages and subjects that I have taught definitely influence me in the classroom today. It's been a journey with many highs and lows, and I'd love to share the journey forward with others. I know that many of you are taking a similar journey, and I know we can grow from each other's experiences.

I'd love to hear something positive that happened in your classroom this week!