Becoming a Better Teacher

I recently went to the AVID Summer Institute in Dallas.  AVID is (as most things I've encountered since moving to Texas) an acronym, and it stands for "Advancement Via Individual Determination."  It's a great program for those middle-of-the road students who, with adequate support, could be A or B students.  This year marks the 30th year of the program, and it is an achievement worth celebrating.

I must say, in learning more about AVID, I wasn't surprised by any of the activities, really.  I even knew of the research they stemmed from and could see that in how they were structured.  I do, however, think AVID is one of the best systems I've seen for disseminating effective, research-based activities and systems to the population of practicing teachers.  One issue I've noticed, specifically in the field of foreign language education, is the gulf between the body of researchers and those who are actually doing the teaching in our schools.  AVID has expanded to have specific "strands" for subject areas; you learn with other teachers of your subject how to implement AVID strategies in your classroom (i.e., teaching note-taking, levels of questioning, and utilizing graphic organizers, etc.).  Essentially, I spent 4 hours a day for a week with other foreign language teachers learning about these activities and even practicing them as a group.  And what an experience it was to network and discuss with other educators.

I'll be teaching Spanish I again next year, but adding Spanish II to the mix.  I look forward to the coming school year, but I must say I'm getting a little tense about having activities and such ready for the start of term.  As of about July 20, I'm going to be spending a lot of time in my classroom preparing things.  I just have to move and pass a certification test between now and then.  Wonderful.

on completing a year of marriage

Jeff and I recently celebrated our first wedding anniversary, and it was a wonderful day. We took a long hike with our dog,

...spent the afternoon watching a movie and napping, made dinner together (spicy crawfish alfredo with asparagus; also, the top layer of our cake froze well and was delicious!),

...and then got out paper and glue sticks and made each other cards for our paper anniversary. It was delightful, and I wouldn't change a thing about it!

Despite all the horror stories about the first year of marriage, we have both thoroughly enjoyed this year. In many senses we realize that it has been the hardest for us--I've been in my first year of teaching (whew!) and Jeff has been finishing up a second degree, so our income hasn't been stellar, but we've really pulled together and found ways to enjoy life on the cheap. Having a dog has actually helped us in that regard, oddly enough.  Here's a picture from a recent camping trip...

We look forward to our second year of marriage, which we also know will have its own joys and challenges.  Jeff will begin his PhD in Physics at UT in the fall, and I will be teaching both Spanish I and Spanish II.  We're hoping to save enough money in just one year to be able to buy a house and stop throwing away money on rent; between Jeff's income from being a student (science is where the money's at) and me not having to pay my Alternate Certification Program obscene monthly payments, our budget will be just right to save to buy a nice place, hopefully.  Keep your fingers crossed ;)

School Fun

Teaching has some pretty awesome perks, a few of which you'll never find a match for in other fields. My favorite of these is most certainly student doodles. I recall spending an entire class period doodling at times, simply because it actually helped me focus. I even told some of my teachers that because I was afraid they would think I was rude. I have started taking pictures of my students' doodles, and at this point I have accumulated quite a collection...

The Mutant looking octopus :[

The elaborate...anime warrior-ess?

A collection of lyrics:

An elaborate athlete:

A reference to the mustache I sometimes wear while I greet students in the hallway between classes:

And my personal favorite that I would love to have made into a T-shirt, the I ♥ Spanish Octopus:

Awesome.

Saturday Project - New Deluxe Doggie Bed

My dog has a terrible habit of chewing his bedding, which Jeff and I have found impossible to break--mainly because he never does it at night, but rather only when we are gone during the day. We typically leave him a treat-and-peanut-butter-filled Kong and several toys in his crate when we leave, but his go-to is his bedding, for some reason.

We started by buying him reasonably-priced ($30-$40) doggie beds, and it became a trend that we would come home (sometime after a short trip to the grocery store) to find Tanner nestled in a pile of fluff, a deflated fabric shell shoved to the side. After he chewed through 4 beds, we decided to get him a couple of pillows and a comforter from the thrift store--all for the low price of $10. ...And of these three items, one died for each of the three consecutive days following their arrival to maison du Tanner. We finally bought one last bed and were only putting it in his crate during the night, which we decided was our best solution to the problem. We continued that way for a few weeks successfully...until Jeff forgot to take the bed out one day. Without fail, it was destroyed when we returned.

Because I am my mother's child, I saved the batting from each of Tanner's casualties, and we've had about 6 garbage bags of batting stuffed into our guest room closet for quite a while. For my Saturday Project, yesterday I broke down and made a bed for Tanner out of some scrap fabric and 3 bags of the old batting:

He wasn't sure about it at first because it is extremely thick and fluffy; I think he was afraid he would fall off :) But he got settled in before long...
And it fits perfectly in his crate! Problem solved! Hurray for Saturday projects!

So far Tanner has slept happily on it for one night...although there was a button missing this morning...who knows where we'll find it. And hopefully I won't have to replace all of them. We'll see how this goes.

Minor update

I never have time to do anything but teach/grade/plan anymore (I find myself frequently asking, "Is it thanksgiving yet?"), so I will offer an enumerated list as my update.

1. Teaching is still awesome. Went to the Texas Foreign Language Association fall conference last week and got a nice break from being in the classroom, as well as some great ideas for when I got back. I have already used some of them.

2. I want an iPhone. My Verizon contract isn't up for another 6 months. *frown*

3. Jeff's grad school applications are coming along. He took the GRE and made an obscenely high score. Yes, I am a linguist and he outdid my score on the verbal section, and yes, I am completely okay with that. He finds out his Physics GRE scores this weekend. Our collective fingers are crossed.

Christmas crafty projects to come later. Being a teacher in a lean economy means extra creativity at holiday time.

Okay. There's probably more. But that's the end. Deal with it.

Hello hello

It has been a while since I posted anything on here, mostly because I've been going at a breakneck pace since school started. Even though I've worked 12 hours in one day on more than one occasion, I must say...

I love teaching high school.

High schoolers are nuts. Think about it, they have exponentially more hormones and energy than they know what to do with, and we're asking them to sit in a classroom for 90 minutes with 25--28 of their peers (who are also nuts) and chill out while they learn. Ha! Right. I teach Spanish I, so in addition to having the normal craziness of high schoolers, I have a lot of students who are there only to fulfill their language requirement, not necessarily because they are dying to learn Spanish. And I have a lot of freshmen/sophomores. Essentially, calling the range of maturity and motivation in my classes broad is an understatement.

But finding a way to make it work is challenging, and I'm always up for a good challenge. My goal for this year is that the ~180 students I teach leave my class prepared for Spanish II--and that their education will not reflect that I am a first year teacher. So far, I have learned quickly and constantly, things like having "sponge" activities ready for when 2nd period inevitably finishes the lesson 15 minutes before all my other classes. Or how much note-taking the kids can take before they zone out. And how much they don't enjoy note-taking in general.

I would have to say the most important lesson I have learned in the classroom is to keep it fun. Especially with the variation of motivation among my students, this is vital. But not only for the sake of their learning, but for the sake of my sanity. When my students have fun, I have fun and giggle with them. When I have more fun, I love my job even more. Friday we played a game with vocabulary, and I actually overheard a student say, "This is the most fun game I have ever played in a class before." My day was made by that comment, and I left school Friday energized, despite my lack of rest. Note-taking and grammar are inevitable parts of learning a language, but there has to be something to keep the kids interested. And it will work for some of them more than others, but it will give them a positive view of your class for the effort. And it will let you have fun with them, which is a great way to build a relationship with students.

I'm a rookie, but learning. I love being a teacher. Just watch out when I have on my sombrero...

Wow

I had forgotten what real life was like. --And I don't just quite yet know it either, but I have lately started to feel the relief that it is about to start again. I have had a love/hate relationship with grad school for the past two years, mostly because I have tried to squeeze far too much into too little time. But today I received the email that my graduation application had been approved. And I'm writing the conclusion to the thesis I've been working on all summer. As of August 17, I will officially be a Master of the Arts, as awarded by one of the top-10 graduate programs in education in the country. Thank you, Texas, for a rigorous education.

On top of the relief of finishing a demanding chapter of my academic career, I was offered (and accepted) my first teaching job last week. I am a high school Spanish teacher, and I am flooded with all the excitement and terror that go along with that. I am thrilled by the opportunity to teach. And from what I hear, Cedar Park High School is a great place to work. Jeff bought me roses and we went to The Alamo Drafthouse (our favorite date spot) to watch a movie to celebrate the occasion. We met up with our good friends Christina and Geoff for additional merry-making.

Oh, and I finally legally changed my name today (added my new last name, moved my old one to the middle, effectively giving me four names and the longest name in history), and I will be getting my first out-of-home-state license made tomorrow.

Aaaaand Tanner graduated from puppy school last week.

Isn't he great?

So there. Life is grand.