oh man

Oh, man. I just realized people are still responding to “The first two weeks.” I’m very sorry for the long break I took from writing. Well, we’ve nearly completed the first marking period (6 weeks). Next week will be the last week of the period and students will face a different exam each day. I’m pleased to say that this year has much more productive than the last. I’m testing the majority of my students (grades 2, 4, and 5) on the first two units of the book. Last year I was just finishing the first unit and wondering how I could make a test for just one unit! In addition, I’m finding myself a little more comfortable with teaching and enjoying it more. I have heard from several people that I seem different this year–more open and free. Perhaps I mentioned that in the last blog, too. It’s true, I think. On the other hand, I don’t want to get too comfortable yet because the results from the first marking period are still undetermined. I hope I don’t find that a whole lot of students are lost! I trust my ability to judge, but only so much. That’s one area I have a ways to grow.

My most difficult class continues to be the high school class, although this week I think I met a turning point. I decided to make the class less about the book and more about understanding the basics the book might take for granted. I had Sidney (fellow English teacher) help me put together a lesson plan that would be more at the level of the students. The book we have, while an excellent book, might be slightly too advanced for the students and overwhelming for them at first look. I think if I can make the class a little more basic I can draw the students back into learning.

I got my car back a couple weeks ago, and it’s great to have my own wheels. The paint job looks great, and it also has tinted windows which make it much cooler in a double sense (I will include a funny story with pictures at a later time–remind me). There is still one problem, though. The frame is still bent such that the left side of the car is 2.5 inches lower than the right side. This I could live with, but they were unable to corrected the alignment completely. I’m looking for a way to straighten the frame, but I’m a little leery to do that here. I don’t want other problems. We’ll see.

My family is going to be moving in the next 30 days. The land lord has apparently told the familiy that he needs the house for someone in his family. This presents some unexpected complications in my life
as I need to be thinking about things like how long I want to live with the family and if I would be willing to increase my payments if we can’t find an inexpensive house to rent.

Alright. Time to head back to work. Have a great week!