Second year is slightly more contained madness now that I’ve survived the hazing of 1st year. In short, our school is moving into Columbia University’s Teachers College reading/writing workshop model and it’s a bit crazy. If I had to make a comparison: it’s like someone showing you a portion of what looks to be a…

My second 1st day of teaching starts tomorrow. Second year. Second chance. I’m ready. I think. Will post pictures of my awesome room soon! Good luck to all those embarking and those who are starting their second years!

My fractured summer is winding down and the calendar boxes separating me from the first day of school are shrinking in number. I think summer school is what did it. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the small groups and the pay and the structure and the yadda yadda, but it’s lopped off a good…

The last day of school was the 26th, and since then I’ve been trying to relax, but have been so busy. I was lucky enough to get summer school and am really enjoying the freedom that comes from having small groups of kids. So much more can happen when you have a group of 9…

I want a lot of things and it’s all a jumble. I want this year to be over, but I’m two weeks away from that happening. I obsess about why my kids do XYZ behavior and think about how I can actually have conversations that solve something. I’m not even sure of what that ideal…

So, I’m hitting the snooze button and getting on the train later. May is such a hard month. I’m realizing now that I am checking out mentally! I find myself so easily distracted by the beautiful weather, and the street sales and all that is happening outside of the classroom. It’s like I’ve been living…

It can be a small thing, but it’s big enough to make my kids go crazy. Today, an excellent example. I was reading my students’ poems aloud and read some Spanish words. I could recognize some of the words as food etc, but not all of them. I trusted one student who has had a…

A quick post before I start to unwind from the day. Just got done with a marathon grading session that went better than expected. Counting out syllables for their haikus proved calming and reading some of their lyric and narrative poems filled with end rhymes was, for the most part, fun. I’ll post some of…

Stayed after and helped my kids with their book club projects. Put on a student’s iPod and got hip with the newest in hip hop and was tempted to ask what the girls thought of Chris Brown (because it’s one of the few things I know that relates to what they care about) but thought…