Thursday, September 30, 2010

SEPTEMBER 2010: A NEW CLASS

11 years and 33 students...




FREE EVERY MONDAY-FRIDAY: KNOWLEDGE. BRING YOUR OWN CONTAINER. anonymous


You would think I'd have everything figured out after ten years of teaching...


You'd be wrong!



That's one of the things I love about my job. It can't be described as boring! Every year is different, every class is different.



This year is no exception. In fact, this year brings more changes than I've had in a while. This is my first year with a class over thirty students, 33 to be exact. The most I've ever had before is 29, and that was several years ago. Last year I had 26. You wouldn't think that 7 students is a lot, but let me tell you, 7 more than 26 IS a lot!



It's amazing how much is affected by those seven: the number of papers to grade, the number of parents at Back to School Night, the number of desks in my classroom, the number of voices trying to be heard, the number of planners to sign at the end of the day, the number of bodies to count during a fire drill, the number of backpacks shoved around the coat rack, the number of volunteers needed keep my classroom running, the number of seconds I have to wait for the class to be quiet, the number of pencils and glue sticks that are consumed, the number of spare minutes in my day. Seven changes everything!


Take a deep breath...this will only last 180 days!



Maybe when I reach 33 years of teaching I will only have 11 students!! One can dream...