I've fallen off the blogging bandwagon! It's because I've been busy.
Here has what we've been up to in my classes:
1) Laughing so much more than last year!
The secret? New administration that listens to me when I recommend that students shouldn't be forced to take Spanish. I couldn't be happier that about 90% of my students actually asked to take Spanish and that 90% of them chose to be part of my class. In years previous, my class has been filled with students that needed to simply fill a hole in their schedule.
2) PQA'ing it up!
I am finally getting better at this! The secret? Being so over-the-top dramatic and making my questions as personalized as possible.
3) Running like a well-oiled machine!
How is this happening?! A couple reasons. I have an amazing, lovely, and Spanish-speaking teacher's aide this semester. She grades for me, organizes for me, and just generally makes me happy with her sweet smile and helpful attitude. Also, I am following Martina Bex's curriculum plan from www.martinabex.com. It is transforming the way I plan and teach. For now I am sticking to her curriculum, but it is giving me all sorts of ideas and inspiration for eventually creating my own lessons.
4) I'm treating teaching as a job rather than my life. Instead of saying to my husband, "I'm still at school," I've made a conscious effort to say, "I'm still at work." This is my day job. This is where I go each day to provide for myself and family. It's upped my sense of responsibility and lowered my expectation that teaching is some sort of "experience." It's a job, just like any other - sometimes pleasant, sometimes not.
