tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10612069376301848332012-02-16T17:50:43.472-05:00If you have teenagers, you know just how hard it is to raise them and try to impart some sort of wisdom to them. Now imagine that you have 125 teenagers, and not only is it your moral and legal obligation to raise them correctly, but it is also the source of your paycheck. This blog highlights the struggles that we go through as high school teachers, starting with my very first year.Amandanoreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-73114219528441356572009-05-18T19:32:00.001-04:002009-05-18T19:34:56.857-04:00

This is a quote from the article "White House seeks input on education law" about the No Child Left Behind Act:"Since the law's passage, students have made modest gains, at least in elementary and middle school, the grades that are the focus of NCLB. The biggest gains have come among low-achieving students, the kids who now are getting unprecedented attention. The story is different in high

Amandanoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-30625404656118952362009-05-16T10:56:00.010-04:002009-05-16T12:37:01.933-04:00

As teachers, we are held to several laws in our profession, especially dealing with equal educational opportunities for all. We deal with IEPs and 504s on a daily basis, but sometimes it becomes extremely difficult to stay afloat with over 125 students on a daily basis. Here are some of the strategies I have found to help me do more than tread the water. - I keep all copies of IEP and 504 plans,

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-63833939457881378312009-05-15T22:07:00.003-04:002009-05-15T22:10:28.245-04:00

Wow! I've noticed an overflow of visitors since having been placed on CentreLink's featured blog site. I promise to keep delivering great content and to begin pumping it out more often.So thank you again, Centre College, for providing me with yet another opportunity. Perhaps someone in the publishing business might stumble upon this site and give my nonfiction teaching book a shot???

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-27692397497905128252009-05-15T19:38:00.003-04:002009-05-15T19:44:23.840-04:00

We need your help!My current textbook is outdated and terrible (see post below) and we are transitioning to new textbooks that will actually help the students learn properly.Help fund our project! The donations are tax deductible, and all resources get shipped directly to us so you know who is receiving what you are supporting.Click on this link: http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?

Amandanoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-16751894512269800912009-05-15T19:34:00.003-04:002009-05-16T11:11:40.947-04:00

.... bear with me as I finish the last couple of weeks of school. I promise to have at least one post for each of the next three weeks. Then, I have a whole slew of posts just waiting to be uploaded!I definitely have a lot to talk about as I wrap up my first year of teaching! I can't believe it's almost over, but I am extremely excited for summer and the new beginnings that await me in August.

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-73683144517253517392009-05-04T18:29:00.002-04:002009-05-04T18:31:52.537-04:00

..... check out this link!http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/education/29class.html?_r=2&ref=global-homeIt's all about AP classes and how they are being opened up to too many students.I just heard today that 50% of the students in our high school are taking honors or AP classes. Is that too many? Are we pushing college too hard and not letting high school students be just that?

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-14346418971483631592009-04-25T22:05:00.000-04:002009-04-25T22:06:11.432-04:00

Sorry, folks. I had a few posts timed with the feed burner, but they didn't post properly (obviously). Working on this and I will try to have them up in the next few days.

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-23823433706283515052009-04-09T10:06:00.005-04:002009-04-09T10:41:59.867-04:00

We all have textbooks we have disdained, and textbooks we have adored. As a French teacher, most textbooks are in the former category, while very few ever reach the latter. However, this particular post details my struggles with my current textbook, Allez, Viens! by Holt Reinhart Winston, and my attempt to switch to another textbook, Bon Voyage by Glencoe McGraw-Hill.Let's examine the predicament

Amandanoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-1643445322006392009-04-08T21:58:00.004-04:002009-04-08T23:27:59.649-04:00

Yes, I know, and I'm sorry. I haven't posted for months. Months.**Holds hands out waiting for the ruler to fall upon them**I have so much to write about and yet I just haven't found the time. Why, you might ask? A dirty, nasty, four-letter anagram: KTIP.Kentucky Teacher Internship Program, or KTIP, is a giant set of hoops through which all first-year teachers must jump to continue to teach. If

Amandanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-55473373893005313662009-01-08T09:32:00.002-05:002009-01-08T09:41:14.622-05:00

This week has been hard, returning to school, resuming my sleep pattern, and getting students to focus and switch back into academic mode. But today, the clouds developed and the heavens rewarded us - SNOW DAY! Although some or most won't admit it, even teachers look forward to those blessed few days of relaxation filled with snow.If I lived farther north, I would be doing exactly what the above

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-26475615987794655642009-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:002009-01-01T00:00:01.295-05:00

We're all thinking about our personal resolutions at this time of year, trying to make this year better than any of the previous. We all want to be better, to feel better, to think better, and in this bleak economy, to spend better. But we often overlook a key portion of our lives - improving our job performance.Making resolutions for our job performance can bring many changes, including

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-71520266680669489692008-12-31T19:10:00.006-05:002008-12-31T22:51:02.789-05:00

Like so many other first-year teachers, I often have the best of intentions when I set out to complete projects or drum up a to-do list. I had made a particularly large list for this winter break, expecting to have a relaxing, restful two weeks filled with productivity both in home and work. Unfortunately (and rather predictably) I haven't done anything remotely productive, including posting to

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-59824022717555788032008-12-22T13:09:00.003-05:002008-12-31T22:54:33.435-05:00

Woo hoo! It's Christmas break!I don't think I have ever anticipated break so much in my entire life, even after horrible finals and painful homesickness. I'm so glad to sleep in every day and see my family. But my schedule is just as crazy; in fact, I have to go somewhere every single night this week. I also have some work to do these two weeks, including a day of grading and a day of planning.

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-79978061878430428282008-12-14T09:43:00.004-05:002008-12-31T22:56:32.999-05:00

I am going to digress from the main theme of this blog for a post and talk about an article that I have just read (which you can read by clicking the title of this post). It's entitled, "Obama's True Colors: Black, White, or Neither?". The author has no clear viewpoint on his or her opinion of Obama's skin color, however (s)he does present arguments for both sides. Here's my opinion: Why does it

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-16103607190485836692008-12-10T21:21:00.004-05:002008-12-31T22:58:53.368-05:00

My colleagues and I discuss graduate school all the time, and whether or not it is "worth" the trouble and money to go to graduate school. In our state, if you want to remain a teacher for more than ten years, you must obtain a master's degree. This leads to many local universities charging exorbitant prices for something required by the state, and in turn offering poor programs that don't

Amandanoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-41541685145456774782008-12-07T21:19:00.003-05:002008-12-31T23:00:33.755-05:00

A funny thing happens after Thanksgiving weekend. The students come back wired, impatient, and uninterested in anything that relates to school. Unlike elementary students, teenagers have lost the "mom" or "dad" complex for their teachers and the motivation and drive to be successful in school because it's fun. Even the best high school students tune out during the three weeks between Thanksgiving

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1061206937630184833.post-11923279122626642092008-12-04T14:33:00.002-05:002008-12-04T14:58:31.021-05:00

Bonjour! My name is Mrs. Howard, and I am a high school teacher. I am also a first-year teacher, which adds many more intricacies to teaching. I will blog about many of the problems I encounter as well as my little successes. Feel free to comment or offer suggestions; there may be a strategy I haven't tried yet. To protect the anonymity of my students, I will change all the names in this blog

Amandanoreply@blogger.com0