This past week was rather different because we had 1 snow day and two 2 hour delays! This has positives and negatives, of course. The positives are obvious: I got to sleep in, catch up on some planning, and relax and get energized for this next week. The negatives are obvious for me: this was the first week of classes for the semester, so there will be a struggle to "wrangle" in the students and sell them my procedures and routines after a crazy week; and students lose out on already short learning time. I teach a DCCAS test prep class and I don't have many days with them. The real test takes place in the first few weeks in April--a month that is quickly approaching. The urgency is there and a few missed days is huge. We'll push on....
We have the threat of a huge winter storm again on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is up in the air whether it will formulate or not. For my students' sakes, I hope we don't get it. So much to do, so little time.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
New Semester, New Classes, New Faces
Today was the last day of the semester, so that means starting Monday I will have 3 new classes filled with 150 new students. This will be a challenging semester logistically. I have two periods of "DC CAS Prep" (DC CAS is the formal standardized assessment all 10th graders must take in April to show how the school is doing) and one period of "SAT Prep." Each one of those classes contains about 50 students. Obviously, 50 students cannot fit in one classroom at a time, so they have broken each class into 2 sections: a reading/writing section and a math section. I will obviously be teaching the math section and an English teacher will teach the reading/writing section. The students are split into two cohorts and then alternate days between my classroom and the English classroom. If this sounds confusing, just think how the students will take the news...
The "CHILL" snowboarding club has been quite fun so far. I have been twice and am not that sore! We take a charter bus to Liberty Mountain in Maryland and get a lesson with one of the pros. Six students and myself go, so it is a nice, small group. I have had some great conversations with them and have connected with them in a way that you just can't in a big classroom. The first night we went everyone was very timid, so I decided to break the ice by falling really hard and smiling, laughing, and shouting about it. They all laughed and saw that it was absolutely okay to fall...and be bad at snowboarding. With that said, we are all improving greatly which makes for a fun few hours. I have my "toe side" turns down and now am working to improve my "heel side" turns. The instructor jokes that I have a VERY small margin for error when I turn because my center of gravity is so high. I guess that is why I fall regularly...
Overall the first semester was a success. I have grown a lot as an educator and have seen my fair share of peaks and troughs. I can honestly say that every single one of my students saw at least some success this semester. I gave out course evaluations today and I was taken aback by their honesty and thoughtfulness. I'll leave you with some (grammar intact!).
"I have learned to not give up because Mr. Athmer is all ways putching you to succed."
"He is the best teacher from Bell Multicultural Height School."
"Your are a very good teacher Mr. Athmer. You inspire me to do better and push harder. You are my favorite teacher in this school. Remember: DO WORK KID!"
"You could sit down once in a while and relax."
"I think you class was my best period because everything we did we had energy. I learned that making every attempt in this class bettered one and that one of my attempts was noticed so I should do that everywhere in life. Mr. Athmer, I appreciate your motivation and your readyness. I'm grateful for your work methods."
God bless.
The "CHILL" snowboarding club has been quite fun so far. I have been twice and am not that sore! We take a charter bus to Liberty Mountain in Maryland and get a lesson with one of the pros. Six students and myself go, so it is a nice, small group. I have had some great conversations with them and have connected with them in a way that you just can't in a big classroom. The first night we went everyone was very timid, so I decided to break the ice by falling really hard and smiling, laughing, and shouting about it. They all laughed and saw that it was absolutely okay to fall...and be bad at snowboarding. With that said, we are all improving greatly which makes for a fun few hours. I have my "toe side" turns down and now am working to improve my "heel side" turns. The instructor jokes that I have a VERY small margin for error when I turn because my center of gravity is so high. I guess that is why I fall regularly...
Overall the first semester was a success. I have grown a lot as an educator and have seen my fair share of peaks and troughs. I can honestly say that every single one of my students saw at least some success this semester. I gave out course evaluations today and I was taken aback by their honesty and thoughtfulness. I'll leave you with some (grammar intact!).
"I have learned to not give up because Mr. Athmer is all ways putching you to succed."
"He is the best teacher from Bell Multicultural Height School."
"Your are a very good teacher Mr. Athmer. You inspire me to do better and push harder. You are my favorite teacher in this school. Remember: DO WORK KID!"
"You could sit down once in a while and relax."
"I think you class was my best period because everything we did we had energy. I learned that making every attempt in this class bettered one and that one of my attempts was noticed so I should do that everywhere in life. Mr. Athmer, I appreciate your motivation and your readyness. I'm grateful for your work methods."
God bless.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Santa Came to Room 149
I'm finally back in the groove after a wonderful Christmas break. The break was full of friends, family, and minimal lesson planning, so that means it was a great break. I ate, slept, and repeated.
Christmas was extended come Monday morning when I walked into my classroom and saw a Promethean Board installed in the front of my room. I could not believe it! A Promethean Board looks like a white dry erase board with a projector attached to the ceiling. They have "magical" pens in which you can write on the board, but nothing shows up physically--it is all computer generated. So, I can now write notes and display figures, and surf the internet, and play videos all via this amazing piece of equipment. It makes teaching easier--I can erase problems in an instant and "write" all over my powerpoint presentations and other class materials. I can record lessons, save my notes, etc....the possibilities are limitless. Also, the school has class sets of "activotes" which are little handheld voting machines in which each student in my class can push an answer to a problem I give them on the Promethean Board and instant results come up. I can see which student got which problem wrong without calling them out. It will make classes very engaging and entertaining for my students. I'm looking forward to learning more about everything.
Here is a link to the Promethean website: http://www.prometheanworld.com/
Wednesday is the first day of snowboarding club (CHILL). We leave at 3 and will get back at around 10. I'm excited to spend some time outside of school with some of the students. It will be a great opportunity to find out about their lives, interests, and aspirations.
Hope all is well!
Christmas was extended come Monday morning when I walked into my classroom and saw a Promethean Board installed in the front of my room. I could not believe it! A Promethean Board looks like a white dry erase board with a projector attached to the ceiling. They have "magical" pens in which you can write on the board, but nothing shows up physically--it is all computer generated. So, I can now write notes and display figures, and surf the internet, and play videos all via this amazing piece of equipment. It makes teaching easier--I can erase problems in an instant and "write" all over my powerpoint presentations and other class materials. I can record lessons, save my notes, etc....the possibilities are limitless. Also, the school has class sets of "activotes" which are little handheld voting machines in which each student in my class can push an answer to a problem I give them on the Promethean Board and instant results come up. I can see which student got which problem wrong without calling them out. It will make classes very engaging and entertaining for my students. I'm looking forward to learning more about everything.
Here is a link to the Promethean website: http://www.prometheanworld.com/
Wednesday is the first day of snowboarding club (CHILL). We leave at 3 and will get back at around 10. I'm excited to spend some time outside of school with some of the students. It will be a great opportunity to find out about their lives, interests, and aspirations.
Hope all is well!
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