That Old Familiar Feeling
Ah, the first day of school. It’s just not the same in college. Today was really a lot of fun. It’s nice to be on the other side of the first day for once. To not be the terrified freshman, or the senior who is just ready to graduate. It was pretty entertaining to just sit back and observe.
Here’s a breakdown of my schedule to give a little perspective for today’s post:
1st Period: Pre-AP Biology
2nd Period: Pre-AP Biology
3rd Period: Pre-AP Biology
4th Period: Biology I (We also have several students from Special Education integrated into this class)
5th Period: Biology I
6th Period: AP Biology
7th Period: Planning
Today was interesting to say the least. I think that this semester is going to be really great experience, in that I will have a very diverse group of students. I’ll get to teach students in Special Education, who have a wide range of exceptionalities. I’ll also get to work with a lot of Freshmen, but also get to have a class of Seniors. I’m really looking forward to this year!
That being said, I do think that this year is going to come with its own set of challenges. I have very little experience with students with exceptionalities in the classroom. I’m glad that there will be a Special Education teacher in there with us, not only to help keep the students calm, but to help me know how to differentiate instruction for them. That class is also my biggest class of the day by far, which presents its own challenges separate from what I’ve already addressed.
The other Bio I class, 5th Period, were definitely the best kids all day. There are only 9 of them in the class, which is going to be very refreshing after the 28 in 4th period. I think that I’m going to start leading their class tomorrow, which is much quicker than I thought, but still exciting. They’re not going too heavy on the content this week, so it won’t present too much of a planning challenge on my part, but will allow me to go ahead and jump right in to interacting with the students.
Today’s High Point: Just getting back into the swing of things, the whole day was pretty good!
Today’s Low Point: Lunch. I thought they were supposed to be starting some kind of healthier school lunch initiative. The only vegetables available today were mashed potatoes and french fries. I will definitely be bringing my lunch tomorrow.
Goal for Tomorrow: Keep trying to learn everyone’s names, including other teachers and students.
