Best Week Yet

This past week was my favorite week of teaching. It was very eventful and very exciting. It was spirit week, so all of the students were dressed up each day based on a daily "theme." Monday was pajama day (and the students proceeded to think they could sleep through each class), Tuesday was "twin day" (my co-planner and I wore a white shirt and black tie), Wednesday was "small learning community" color day (my small learning community wore purple, and Friday was sports day. It was fun to see the students out of their typical uniforms and in their street clothes--I got a better sense of their unique personalities.

Wednesday was also the pep rally. All of the high school students filled the gym and participated in chants and games and such. The sports teams' rosters were announced and school spirit was everywhere. It was great to see. At the end of the pep rally, I played in the senior vs. faculty basketball game. It was only 5 minutes, but it was intense! The students really thought they could beat us. They were wrong. We won 7-6. I had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 10 seconds of dribbling around a student at half court. The place was nuts. They booed us...

Then on Friday was the homecoming dance. I volunteered to chaperon, so I got to monitor the dancing and see all of my students having a good time outside of the classroom. It was fun. I thought I knew what crazy, young dancing was like, but, let me tell you--I don't. Yikes.

In other news, I'm going to be the ski club advisor. One Saturday a month I'll be taking some students skiing. I've been skiing twice...

Hope all is well!

Spirit Week

This past week had an interesting assembly in which the seniors went up to the auditorium stage one by one and communicated their plans after high school. It was very intriguing to hear all of the high aspirations many of these seniors have. Several students mentioned their desires to go to Georgetown, George Washington University, Harvard, Penn, and several other high profile universities. I smiled as I heard these plans, but knew that the students that mentioned these plans have a long way to go to get there. Their grades need to improve, their SAT scores need to improve, and their attitudes need to improve. I need to push them harder--now I have something as leverage: "you said you wanted to double major in economics and biochemical engineering...get to work."

This week should be fun. It is spirit week in which the students get to wear pajamas on Monday, wear clashing clothes Tuesday, have a pep rally on Friday (where I will be playing on the faculty team in the basketball showcase), no school of Thursday (Veterans Day), and college day on Friday where they get to wear college gear. I'm looking forward to a different kind of week...

Hope all is well.