breznaks

This has been a great first year of teaching at Sparta Middle School.  I have found that the working atmosphere is good - it is a happy and friendly place to come to each day.  One of the best things has been the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers.  Others are always willing to share ideas, lessons and suggestions with me.  The students, while exhibiting typical middle school behavior, were respectful and welcoming.  They were great to work with this year. 

This was my second year of teaching - really my second "first year".  Although it was easier than my first "first year", I found that I didn't use as many lessons straight from last year as I thought I would.  But unlike last year, I was able to take pieces from last year and pieces from other teachers in the building and pieces from educational resources and put together some good lessons.  I also managed to plan up to 2 weeks ahead so that I was not scrambling the day before.

Based on the New Teacher Meetings I attended, I was able to try some new strategies that I would not have known about.  This gave me confidence to try new ways of doing things. It also encouraged me to critically review how I was executing lessons and try to improve the delivery.

Next year, I am looking forward to stepping back from the daily lesson plans and looking at the big picture.  What do I want to accomplish with these students over the course of the year?  I want to keep these big goals in mind as I plan the units and daily lesson plans.