week 5-6: only 10 minutes left of lunch! QUICK!

I have mere minutes to correct my error of not blogging about last week, here goes! (P.S., how did we ever handle 4 years of 25 minute lunches in high school?!)

Let's see, in week 5, my dreams of becoming a proper lesson planner (i.e. being AT LEAST 2 weeks ahead of the current week) fell apart in a miserable heap. I spent last week (and this week, unfortunately) planning for the next day - the night before. horrendous. One of my teachers has noticed this and cared enough to give me feedback about getting it together. I am proud to report that, although I felt the beginnings of a mini-meltdown gathering in my chest at her words, I quickly shoved the despair aside and instead got to work on catching up. This semester is proving each week to be a catalyst in improving my self-health and coping skills.

In other news, I had not set up a system for TARDIES, ABSENCES or LATE WORK this semester. This is proving to be a beast to deal with - a three-headed beast of a size that almost feels like Biblical proportions. I will have my very first detention next week (awww, precious...?) for tardies/skipping class, and no doubt I will be spending the rest of my free time at school this quarter prepping a late work binder and hounding kids till they give me assignments so I can get rid of their many zeros. Funny how often kids just Won't Turn Something In. Even when I'm standing right there, asking for it. Even when I am gathering everyone's papers. And they think we have NO IDEA if they skip class after lunch (when their stuff is STILL at their desk). Amazing. If I ever doubted the science behind the adolescent brain not being fully connected, I repent wholeheartedly. It's true.

Finally became the lead teacher in 10th grade this week! Julius Caesar is off to a good start. One sour moment today during 6th block...a few students were asking me when Mrs. B will return. When I explained that I'll be their main teacher through December, I got less-than-thrilled looks. Oh well. What can you do? They're stuck with me - and I with them. These lunch block classes can be the most difficult at times. Especially this one. Quite a few sassy kids here.

In 9th grade this week, I had my 1st experience of a total class failure to communicate. They literally Did Not Get what I was trying to teach about a narrator's voice.

More later, bell has rung! Tonight and tomorrow: Parent-teacher conferences and phone calls to parents! yay?

"Men at some times must be masters of their fates; the fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings." Cassius, Shakespeare's Julius Caesar