3 Good Things About Wednesday

Today was my first full day back in the classroom after spring break. I have to say, I was a little bit nervous. We're so close to the end of the year, and the weather was pretty nice today... I was concerned that my students would be in full on summer mode and completely disengage from school.

Yeah, I'm happy to admit my fears were mostly unrealized. Today was a pretty good day, and I feel excited to come back tomorrow and continue the final push to summer break.

1. Given the choice, most of my students would rather be in school than working full time right now. When I posed this question last year, I received the opposite feedback. It was pretty heartwarming to hear that overall, my students feel positive about school, and that though it is a challenge, getting a high school diploma and going to college is an important goal for them.

2. We have an educational consultant work with us monthly to observe and critique our teaching. I always get a tad bit nervous when someone comes into my classroom to observe, but ultimately I always have confidence in my lessons. I work hard to try to challenge and engage my students in world and U.S. history. Today she watched my class and gave me some very good feedback! She thought my lesson was great, felt that I pushed my students to do higher level thinking (and own their learning!), and gave me some good ideas to help elevate future lessons. 

I have a feeling I'll learn a bit more about this man this summer!

3. I am going back to Washington D.C. this summer!! I found out this week that I was accepted to Ford's Theatre's Summer Institute for teachers, and am currently on Cloud Nine. I will get to spend a week in Washington D.C. learning about Lincoln's legacy, the Civil War Era, and Reconstruction. I am passionate about these topics, and can't wait to learn more from experts in the field, research primary and secondary sources to use in class instruction, and spend more time with teachers who love history like me!