Something is wrong this year

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Seriously. Something is and I'm not sure exactly what. I'm behind in my curriculum. I'm not getting the information across well. Students are not getting what I'm teaching and they are failing tests left and right. And I don't know what's wrong. It's my 9th year teaching and I'm not sure if it's me or the kids. Or some combination of both. At this point, I'm just holding on to get through the year. Thankfully, next week is spring break. I need it. I plan on getting things laid out until the end of the year and just going for it. I have AP students taking the test and no way will they be ready. I can't get some of the students to do homework. They won't study. Nothing. I just don't know what to do. I do plan on getting everything laid out and if they don't do it, they will fail. I'm really and truly over this.

The good news is spring break is next week. I am so looking forward to the break. I have a lot I want to do, but I will also be getting some fun and relaxation in. I can't wait. I have plans to go hiking at least 4 times, maybe more. I bought tickets to a spring training game. I'm looking forward to that. I've never been to a baseball game. I'm going to get free passes to the zoo, maybe the botanical gardens, and maybe some other places. I plan on being active and not sitting on my butt all week. I need to have some fun and relax. Can. Not. Wait.

I have also started a class online. It's a free class offered by Stanford. It's called Reading to Learn in Science. It focuses on teaching students how to read science textbooks. I really hope it will help me help my students learn science better. I have always struggled with this, but this year it is exceptionally bad. The students can't even read directions or simple questions. It doesn't matter if the question is science related, they just can't seem to comprehend what is being asked/said. It is so frustrating and I find myself just giving them the answer because it's easier.

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