Sunday, October 25, 2009
Third Place in the State!
Yesterday was a long day of State Marching Band Finals....and we came in third. The kids put on a fantastic show last night and made everyone really proud. The color guard finished second, and the drum line finished first! I think we should have come in second, based on how the other two bands finished in the different categories, but anyway.............here are some shots of my two fabulous color guard girls!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Musings about Teaching
Well, I will start by saying that I realize I have neglected my blog. I apologize to all of my eight followers! LOL
I fully intended my blog to have posts about teaching: my thoughts on teaching, philosophies of teaching, favorite activities, amusing stories from my classroom, etc. I haven't done much of that, because I find it so much easier to post pictures and scrapbook pages and talk about my latest creation or scrappy activity.
Allow me to ponder, a moment, on a comment a dear friend and former school superintendent made to me one time. He said, "Wanda, you know, I have found over the years that the best thing you can do for a good teacher is get out of her way." I believe this to be true. I am a good teacher. My students perform well on their state tests; I have only about a 10-15% failure rate in my class; my students and parents like me and are comfortable talking to me (generally speaking); I work hard in my classroom, I put my students' learning FIRST when I am at work, I am constantly rethinking and refining what I do in order to improve my students' achievement.
I do what's best for each class, even if that means extra work; I spend hours grading papers in order to know what things my students still don't understand. I actually change my plans based on those papers I grade.
I wish that my dear friend's philosophy were embraced by those who are constantly throwing obstacles in my path. Just get out of the way and let me teach.
I fully intended my blog to have posts about teaching: my thoughts on teaching, philosophies of teaching, favorite activities, amusing stories from my classroom, etc. I haven't done much of that, because I find it so much easier to post pictures and scrapbook pages and talk about my latest creation or scrappy activity.
Allow me to ponder, a moment, on a comment a dear friend and former school superintendent made to me one time. He said, "Wanda, you know, I have found over the years that the best thing you can do for a good teacher is get out of her way." I believe this to be true. I am a good teacher. My students perform well on their state tests; I have only about a 10-15% failure rate in my class; my students and parents like me and are comfortable talking to me (generally speaking); I work hard in my classroom, I put my students' learning FIRST when I am at work, I am constantly rethinking and refining what I do in order to improve my students' achievement.
I do what's best for each class, even if that means extra work; I spend hours grading papers in order to know what things my students still don't understand. I actually change my plans based on those papers I grade.
I wish that my dear friend's philosophy were embraced by those who are constantly throwing obstacles in my path. Just get out of the way and let me teach.
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