Sunday, September 7, 2008

school days...

This year is going great so far.  The school seems to have an overall mellow feel.  The kids, teachers, hallways, etc. are not as crazy as they've been in the past.  Sure it is still early in the year, but it is still bizarrely quiet.  

I love my schedule.  I have 2 math classes on A days and 1 dance then all dance on B days.  
I love my school.  I love the kids.  I love the administration.  I love the faculty.  I love all the staff. I don't love that we are never one in anything.  There has not been an schoolwide policy on anything since the school began.  Every teacher/administrator kind of rules their own area and it isn't unified in anyway.  

This year is different.  We had a great speaker at our first faculty mtg. that is preparing us to use vocabulary in every class.  We have promised to implement this in every classroom - by raise of hands and then later we signed a paper declaring our allegiance to vocabulary.  I have a word of the day in math (Friday's word: fraction)  and we did movement vocabulary in dance (walk, run, leap...with definitions) and choreographed movement with the words.  Almost every student has their planner in all of my classes (something we have been trying to accomplish for years) and with this unified faculty, it is happening.  I am amazed.

One set back to this school year is the 7th grade students do not understand the concept of homework.  In many of the elementary schools in our area, homework is no longer allowed.  Teachers may not assign students homework (what the....).  So, I am having to explain the concept of homework - where I write it on the board, what "page 4 1-10" means, and that it has to be done at home before the next class.  Weird.

7 comments:

Bridget said...

Last year my 3rd grader had a teacher that did not like to give homework. She only started giving one page a week because the parents requested it. It was a simple little worksheet that was the same concept, just different problems, week after week (so easy).

This year her teacher actually expects a minimum of 45 minutes a night. I don't mind because it lets me see how she is doing in the different areas before any of them become a problem.

I am glad you are liking this year of school...so far.

Sandra said...

I'm glad that things are going so well in school. I think being unified as faculty would make such a difference, I'm happy for you!!
No homework?!?!? What the *>*!~? That is odd...
Let's get together soon...

Amber Bailey Stevenson said...

Great, your school was in the news again. Did you know any of the girls who over dosed?

dastew said...

Homework is for studyhall.

Claudia said...

Hi Steph! I found you through Evonne's blog - sorry for the cyberstalking... Glad to see you and catch up!

QWIXOMS said...

I love that You are complaining about no homework... from someone who survived their college career without ever doing homework :)

Sarah said...

STEPHANIE!!! So glad you're doing well - I found you on Claudia's blog.
Yeah, I think homework is a good idea even in elementary school. Maybe it can help parents brush up and feel as though they can actually help before the kid hits calculus and all you can say is "yeah, I remember taking that..."