Entry #2 - Sept. 14, 1998
''It's good to be back. Like my student, I choose the
river with all its twists, turns and new adventures....''
Has it really only been 4 days? Seems impossible. After one day back it
felt as though I'd never left.
My classes went pretty smoothly, with the usual differences before and after
lunch. It was a relief to know three classes from last year. I only have
to learn two sections of names and faces. I wonder if it's a relief for
the kids too? I'll have to ask them. A few graduates came back after school
yesterday, and I got one letter from a girl I had three years ago. I doubt
they know how much it means to me to see and hear from them.
I introduced a focus on learning and leadership styles by using a modified
"rock & feather" activity. We had great discussions in each
of my eighth grade groups. One boy said he was a river and not a pond because
he likes change, likes to learn new things, likes adventure. A girl said
she was a rock and not a feather because she's stubborn and difficult to
move.
Everyone said they were leaders and we talked about the idea of everyone
leading and getting nowhere. Next week we'll do an activity called, "What's
Your Metacognition MO?" and kids will start to keep lists of thinking
strategies or skills that work for them.
We'll also start our journals and I'll get to see how the kids feel about
this beefed-up approach toward introspection. It feels right to me, but
I need to hear more from them.
This week was pretty uneventful in terms of other projects. We all spent
all our energy and quite a bit of anxiety just getting started. I came home
and crashed the first two days -- and I'm not a nap person.
A colleague and I went to one meeting this week. Each year we take kids
to a dress rehersal of an opera. We had to go to the orientation for La
Boheme. The opera is on Sat., Oct 10th. I'll take 10 kids from each of my
three eighth grades. The kids will volunteer to attend, knowing that they
have to come in early three or four days to learn about the opera and complete
the preliminary assignments. The trip is part of a project called the "Sounds
of Learning". I began participating as a reading teacher, but the kids
and I enjoyed it so much that we've continued even though I can't fit it
into my regular science class time.
One bit of good news that came through was
the acceptance of our "Arts in Education" grant proposal. We were
supposed to hear last May, but better late than never. I wrote a proposal
for a tile mosaic of the layers of the sea to be developed up around our
atrium's staircase. In the past I've done large paper murals with my seventh
graders so this will be an extension of that work. We'll also develop supplemental
materials like brochures and activity booklets for younger students. The
plan is to invite our feeder elementary schools over for mini-lessons, taught
by seventh graders. The kids are excited about the opportunity and my eighth
graders want to know if they can get in on it too.
Time as always is my enemy. The artist is scheduled to begin on Oct. 6th
so we'll start our oceanography unit next week, but we must also continue
giving the science fair our attention. The Fair is a schoolwide requirement
and projects must be completed by Dec. 1st. Figuring out how to integrate
both strands so the kids stay focused rather than fragmented is my goal.
It's good to be back. Like my student, I choose the river with all its twists,
turns and new adventures. I think it's going to be a good year!
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