It has been awhile since my last post....I had two weeks off for holiday break and it was incredible! It was SO nice to be away from Oakland and my students-made me excited and appreciative of them. The semester ends next Friday-can you believe that I will be 1/2 way through the year?
My classroom experience has gotten exponentially better! The number of severe behavior issues has gone down A LOT which makes teaching more fun and we get to learn more. My aid is fantastic and is able to connect with a couple of the boys that I am not able to build a relationship with. I am not getting as anxious or nervous in the morning when thinking about what may or may not happen that day.
I finally feel like I can wholeheartedly focus on curriculum and my teaching....and improve! I am starting to reflect on my practices to see what I can improve before the next semester begins and making a lot of notes for the future. I want to become a better teacher, with better strategies and methods and I finally feel that now is the time to commit to that.
Oakland is still Oakland-same ol issues (teachers are voting on a strike tomorrow!), attendance is terrible so I am working on different methods to get my students to school and on time, and an abundance of other things. But, I finally feel like I can focus on teaching my students to read, write, calculate math, and so on. Some of my students are making improvements in their reading and writing...we started journal writing where I respond to what they wrote and ask questions and then they respond back to me. I love it and I really think they like it. I have gotten to know my students in a whole different light....
Anyway, Happy New Year! Here is to a fantastic 4 1/2 months left in the school year!
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