Whew! What a day. Today was THE FIRST DAY. That is in capital letters because not only was it the first day of school, but it was my first day of teaching as an official teacher. Today was exhausting, but it was a great start to the year! (save 5th period). I taught my fifth hour a Kagan Structure, which ended up being an expedition in itself, but they seemed to enjoy it. I even heard some math being talked about. Above are some pictures of the setup of my room. Overall, I am happy with it! I wish I had more "inspiring posters," but I guess these will have to accumulate over time. Some highlights from the first day:

AP Calc - These students are awesome! They all worked diligently on their review packets and I had a successful lecture about ln and log.
Algebra II - My two classes are polar opposites! First hour is half asleep, while fifth hour is bouncing about. Definitely have to work on some classroom management here! But ALL fabulous kids. I love teaching!!!

Orientation/PD

I am always amazed at how many useful ideas I pick up through reading text, watching videos, and just discussing classroom management strategies with other teachers and experts in the field. Over the course of the past two days, I have learned a ton! It is difficult to remember all of the strategies that I hope to implement in my classroom. Here are a few of the most important ideas:

1.) Classroom management is just as much about prevention as it is about intervention.
2.) Setting up procedures is a key part of classroom management. Procedures can actually boost student confidence if they are straightforward and clearly communicated.
3.) It is not always necessary to explain "why" to students when you say no. Instead, delay an explanation and the issue will often solve itself.

While I am a little nervous about the first week of school, I am confident that my bag of tricks is growing fast. There is no need to reinvent the wheel - it is merely a matter of finding the resources that offer the best practices in classroom management.

The New School Year

The new year awaits! I am so excited to get into the classroom and start teaching.