Tales from the science classroom

Over break, I laid out the current unit for each class and tackled it. I made all the copies. I put everything in order. I typed up a rather simple agenda. And overall it was good. I had to add a couple things here and there, but in general, I had everything ready for the units and I was far less stressed then I had been previously. We are now taking tests in the various classes and I have to prepare the next units. I sat down to work on AP Biology and started to get all caught up in the nonsense again. I was putting things in Dropbox and OneNote and I just know that I'm going to lost things and get things lost. UGH!!!  I need to just go back and do what I did in the last unit. That worked, don't change it. Okay, just breath and relax. I got this, I really, really do.

Through a bunch of different avenues, I am finally finding a sense of peace in my teaching, and I'm really, really liking it. For the first 8 years of my teaching, I was a literal mess. I never knew exactly what I was doing when. I changed things minutes before class started. I planned things then forgot about them. I had massive amounts of resources that I did not use but insisted on keeping. It was crazy and nerve-wracking. I would get to break and be completely wiped out for 2 or 3 days while I recovered.  Then I would have to start getting ready for the next bout. It was miserable. I did not look forward to going to work because it was completely and totally draining. Every single day was a struggle. I hated it. Then, 2 years ago, I joined the teacher 40-hour workweek club and it was life-changing. Or at least work life-changing. Every month was a different topic and they delved deep into that topic with a focus on making life simpler and easier for the teacher.  Th...