He wouldn't want me to write this, but I can't help it.
My husband had a super-busy work day,
rushed home so he could run errands for his Memorial Day weekend camping trip with a friend,
has dinner plans with myself and another couple,
but still found time to dig out an old window unit from our attic and lug it next door for our neighbors, who told us over the fence on this 90 degree day that their home feels like an oven because their air conditioners died at the end of the season last year and they can't currently afford to buy new ones.
What a guy.
He is my inspiration to reach out to our neighborhood!
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
team teaching
Every year, teachers at my school are professionally evaluated in one of three ways -- formal evaluation by our principal, self-evaluation, or parent-evaluation. This year, I was up for evaluating myself. Overall, this was a difficult task, though it was easy to answer question #1, which was "What do you love most about your job?"
There are many things I love about being a teacher -- seeing how students grow throughout the school year, the ability to be creative, having fun while learning, etc. -- but I also love teaching at my school because of WHO I work with.
I have been SO blessed to have K as my grade-level partner. Second grade would definitely NOT be the same without her, and I have learned so much from her. Though our gifts and teaching styles may be different, we make such a great team! K is one to see the "big picture." While I can be creative, her ideas are "out of the box." She is a visionary, eager to try new things and take risks. She is a positive thinker, always assuming the best.
I, on the other hand, can be fearful of change, and worry how change will affect the routines and procedures I've worked hard to establish in my classroom. I thrive on structure, am very organized, and good at thinking through the details of how to accomplish something in an orderly way.
You might think our two personalities would clash, but just the opposite is true! When K comes up with an ingenius idea, she tells me (before she forgets!). Then the two of us brainstorm together about how to turn the idea into a plan. She pushes me toward new and exciting challenges, and I help her to accomplish these goals step-by-step.
One of K's more recent "out-of-the-box" ideas was team teaching, meaning that each of us should teach the subject areas that we are most gifted in and passionate about to ALL second grade students. K is definitely a math-mind, while I've always preferred the language arts (can you tell? I write novels on this blog!). Team-teaching would mean that we could each focus on teaching fewer subject areas, and teach them really well. It would also mean that our classes would switch rooms for 90 minutes each day so that I could teach reading and writing to her students, and she could teach math and Bible to mine. K proposed that we try it out for a few weeks from now to the end of the school year. We sat down with our principal to talk through all the details and get her permission, wrote a letter home to parents to explain this new adventure, and now ... we've been team teaching for 2 days and everyone involved seems to be enjoying it! It is exciting to change things up at this point in the school year and keep school "fresh" and fun. Though the concept of team-teaching may simply be a 6 week trial, we will enjoy it while it lasts!
I must admit that the first time K mentioned team-teaching to me, it caught me by surprise. It seemed overwhelming to completely change our schedules and "mix things up." But now I am so glad that we did! I'm so thankful to work with K, who challenges me on a daily basis to be spontaneous and try new things. I have become more laid-back and flexible as a teacher, I think in large part due to working with K. Though we probably won't teach second grade side-by-side forever, it's been a great way to start my career. I can't imagine teaching with anyone else!
There are many things I love about being a teacher -- seeing how students grow throughout the school year, the ability to be creative, having fun while learning, etc. -- but I also love teaching at my school because of WHO I work with.
I have been SO blessed to have K as my grade-level partner. Second grade would definitely NOT be the same without her, and I have learned so much from her. Though our gifts and teaching styles may be different, we make such a great team! K is one to see the "big picture." While I can be creative, her ideas are "out of the box." She is a visionary, eager to try new things and take risks. She is a positive thinker, always assuming the best.
I, on the other hand, can be fearful of change, and worry how change will affect the routines and procedures I've worked hard to establish in my classroom. I thrive on structure, am very organized, and good at thinking through the details of how to accomplish something in an orderly way.
You might think our two personalities would clash, but just the opposite is true! When K comes up with an ingenius idea, she tells me (before she forgets!). Then the two of us brainstorm together about how to turn the idea into a plan. She pushes me toward new and exciting challenges, and I help her to accomplish these goals step-by-step.
One of K's more recent "out-of-the-box" ideas was team teaching, meaning that each of us should teach the subject areas that we are most gifted in and passionate about to ALL second grade students. K is definitely a math-mind, while I've always preferred the language arts (can you tell? I write novels on this blog!). Team-teaching would mean that we could each focus on teaching fewer subject areas, and teach them really well. It would also mean that our classes would switch rooms for 90 minutes each day so that I could teach reading and writing to her students, and she could teach math and Bible to mine. K proposed that we try it out for a few weeks from now to the end of the school year. We sat down with our principal to talk through all the details and get her permission, wrote a letter home to parents to explain this new adventure, and now ... we've been team teaching for 2 days and everyone involved seems to be enjoying it! It is exciting to change things up at this point in the school year and keep school "fresh" and fun. Though the concept of team-teaching may simply be a 6 week trial, we will enjoy it while it lasts!
I must admit that the first time K mentioned team-teaching to me, it caught me by surprise. It seemed overwhelming to completely change our schedules and "mix things up." But now I am so glad that we did! I'm so thankful to work with K, who challenges me on a daily basis to be spontaneous and try new things. I have become more laid-back and flexible as a teacher, I think in large part due to working with K. Though we probably won't teach second grade side-by-side forever, it's been a great way to start my career. I can't imagine teaching with anyone else!
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