Yesterday, I started the big "PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT" week (called DID and LID, acronyms) at school. It was insane. We started out in small schools, but then eventually got to a educational service area meeting, with all of my high school's feeder schools. Basically, all the elementary and middle schools in the area. It was a bit overwhelming, since we weren't provided places to sit, nametags, or dignity, like the "real" teachers. Oh, well.
I left yesterday feeling overwhelmed and discouraged about the school I was at, but I'm not going to dwell on that because today was SO MUCH BETTER!
Today we met as a small school, and spent the morning discussing logistics of the school year. We also analyzed data from last year as a group. This included WASL scores and MAP test scores. This school has had some incredible boosts in WASL scores in areas like science, reading, and math, likely due to the SIP (School Improvement Plan) they implemented last year surrounding increasing literacy....incredible! These are the "trouble" areas, so it was really exciting to watch people discover that the work they are doing is having awesome effects!
THEN, on top of that, I got a DESK today! Of my very own! It's an old wooden desk with three drawers, and is set up in the front of the room, just like a real teacher's desk. HA! I could barely contain my excitement in front of all the master teachers at my school today. I thought, "Don't let them see how excited you are! They'll think it's SO newbie of you!" Luckily I managed to not pee my pants in excitement....
Another exciting thing is that I am beginning to build a great relationship with my cooperating teacher (CT), and I have a really great feeling about being matched with her. She has been so supportive already (you should see the DESK she got me!), and I'm getting really little-kid-on-Christmas-Eve-excited for this entire roller coaster to leave the platform.
And I can't believe how many acronyms exist in the world of public education......OMG. :)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey Anna- I am your first follower! I can't wait to hear about your experiences. Teaching is such a joy, and it is always interesting! Have a great time, you'll learn so much! (And I understand about the acronyms- there are a lot in spec. ed too!)
ReplyDelete