Tales from the science classroom

 We have 5 weeks of school left and I know from previous experience that those 5 weeks will fly by. I have already reached the point where I'm trying to figure what I can squeeze in during the remaining time and the answer is not much.  But more important is that it is graduation season. I am in charge of putting the program together and another teacher and I are in charge of the whole ceremony. I don't mind doing it, I actually kind of like doing it, but there can be stressful moments. Like getting the program together. There is information I need to gather from other people and I literally didn't get that information until yesterday. The program was due on the 11th. UGH!!!! But that's okay, it all worked out.  Just now, during my meditation, all I could think about was how the graduates will move. How they will enter the stage, how they will get to their seats, how they will get their diplomas, etc. I'm trying to meditate and that stuff is all running through my h...

 We are nearing that point where there is a real crunch at the end of the year. I still have so much I want to cover and there just is not enough time. So I need to figure out what to cover and what to ignore and what is the best way to do that. I did this to myself, I do every year. You would think after 13 years I would learn, but I haven't. So this weekend, which is an extra day, I will spend it mapping out the end of the year. What do I need to cover. What do I want to cover. And what can I realistically cover in the remaining time. Yeah, that will be a fun planning session. Next year is definitely going to be different. I feel like I finally have a handle on this planning thing, though I'm still not great at it, but I have a bit of a handle. I also don't feel like I have to follow the curriculum so closely anymore. I can make it my own. Plus, next year I have AP chemistry again. That will be interesting and challenging. But I need to focus on this year and get throug...

 This happens every single year around this time. I begin to think about next year and I mentally move on from this year. That is a bit of a problem because this year is not over and I have about 5 weeks left. So I can't move on yet. But I'm already doing it. Of course, this year has been a giant dumpster fire and that may have something to do with it. We had kids face to face this year who spent the last 2 years online. Teaching them how to be in school again has been the biggest hurdle all year. Okay, enough of that.  This is the first year I've gotten to teach the modeling curriculum all the way through. The first year we shut down in March. The second year it was in person and virtual back and forth. So this year we have made it all the way through in person and it's the first year I've gotten to follow the curriculum. I'm not loving it. Now this might be due to the fact that I have an AP chemistry class next year and I know what I want them to know before t...

 I had an incident of cheating on a test I gave and it's really bugging me. I always make 2 versions of the test or quiz because I have tables and not desks. My tables are set up so they face each other and form a group of 4 seats. I give the two students that are on the same side of the group different tests and the two across from them the opposite tests. So no one has the same test as the person next to or across from them. It has worked out well for 13 years. Well last test two students who sat next to each other ended up with the same tests. Now while I fully realize I could have made an error, I am positive I didn't because one of the students I know is a cheater. So I know for a fact that I was really careful at that table to make sure that everyone got the right tests. Well the cheater and the guy sitting next to him ended up with the same tests. Not only that, their answers were almost identical. I was pissed. My initial reaction was to blast all three involved (becaus...

 I am not a fan of tests in any form and this standardized testing is most definitely ridiculous. We test them every morning from 7:30 to 11:00, let them eat lunch, and then expect them to sit in a classroom and learn things. Oh, and the classes are less than half the normal length. Yeah, it's a fun, fun week.  So I'm not liking the chemistry modeling curriculum this year. This is the first year that I've actually got to teach it all the way through and I don't think I'm a fan. Honestly. So much is left out. I'm going rogue now because there are some things I want the folks who are taking AP chemistry to know, so I'm going to cover that. But over the summer I'm going to take a long hard look at the curriculum and decide if I keep it or what. I'm also going to take a real hard look at the notebooks and figure those all out.  Okay, I've written in two blogs this morning so it's a short post. I'm off.