As I was driving between, no joke, school and basketball practice, a dinner with several legislators, and my volleyball game, (Yes, I am amazing: I accomplished all of that plus laundry this evening! LOL!) I was thinking about how I hope to be the teacher that the kids remember fondly. With all of the push for assessments and rigor in the classroom, I don't truly get to know my students as well as in previous years. It is a really depressing observation, but they are the reason I teach. Not assessments. While I try to attend games, concerts, etc if my kiddos ask, I would really like a chance to get to know them and their families. So what I am proposing is a monthly dinner night. Wish I could pay, but well, I'm a teacher not a doctor. I'm thinking Pizza Hut this month. I will be calling everyone tomorrow to send out the invite. Hope to see whole families there and I can't wait to "Get To Know You Better!"
Here is a teacher idea; you be the judge if it falls under "great." How many teachers have their "pensives" or thick 3 ring binders filled with classroom observations, student data, and conferring notes? I did, but found myself cramming things in, losing it, and finally started dreading using it. This year I created a clip board with small pieces of paper taped to it, like a file-o-dex. Student names are in the corner so that I can flip quickly to their sheet. Writing small, I can get several weeks notes of conferring on the paper. It makes it easy to visit with the students regarding previous conferring sessions. When the paper is full, I add it to their file folder and start fresh. I am adding a picture of my clipboard. (I covered up their names however, for privacy.)
My Clip Board Conferring Sheets, aka "Life is sure a lot easier without that big bulky notebook,clip board" |
No comments:
Post a Comment