Wow... So this has been quite a while since I have posted. Most change has been centered around my role at my school. At the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year, we scrambled to fill a math position and this left us in a screeching halt looking for a math teacher... A few came and went with trial and error and at the end of the first term of the school year, we finally found a HQ Advanced Math Teacher. She works wonders with the kids but due to her limited teaching schedule, she is only a Part Time teacher. This left us with a wonder of where we were going to put all of the rest of the kids who weren't in Geometry or Algbera II.
At the end of the second trimester, I was sat in my bosses office, said that I may be putting my foot in my mouth and offered to take on the Pre-Algebra and Algebra I courses fulltime. We talked it over and within a few days, we were looking at scheduling classes for the third term.
Boy was this an undertaking!
Not only did I take on the Pre-Algebra and Algebra I courses, but I also tested out a course in Technical Mathematics, a STEM based math class with the hopes of this being a Dual Credit course with our local community college in the future.
Last year turned out to be quite a success. Kids worked in math through proficiency since I had SO many students on SO many different levels of skills and understanding. It was chaos and most people would have run scared, but the chaos worked for me. As the kids and I progressed through the term, the chaos became a little less and soon it was a structured and we both succeeded.
This year I am teaching math full time and it has been great for me to move from Social Studies to Math. As I watch the State of the Union address tonight, I definitely miss teaching Government as one of the big things we would do in class afterwards, was to watch and analyze it.
As I write this, I look forward to the first major project of Technical Math (my Dual Credit college class) of the term that my students begin tomorrow. They are getting the feel for the speed and the demands that a college class has. We are working on creating raised garden beds with students focusing on drafting, 3D drawing and basic carpentry skills. Skills that will be useful in the future. Skills that apply math in an engaging way. Skills that students are able to demonstrate in math without a regular test.
Photos of their projects will be coming soon and I am excited to share their experiences with you.
Talk to you soon!
Chelsea
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