First Weekend

Friday night = Backer. It is possibly the grossest dive bar ever, but it's really fun, and the ACErs basically took it over Friday night.

Tonight I stayed in and played some board games with some people. Taboo is lots of fun, and one of my housemates owns it, so that's promising. I also went out and played some sand volleyball with a bunch of people I didn't really know too well (non-ACE people). All-in-all a fun day.

Didn't do too much work (oops!), but I did piece together and revise most of my classroom management plan. There are just a couple sections of that that I need to clean up and finish up tomorrow. I also have a paper due Monday that I am about to bang out right now. It's not really that long of an assignment, and it's mostly going to be regurgitation of a bunch of information that we were taught in class last week.

A lot of ACE 15 got here yesterday and today. The rest of them get here Sunday (ACE 15 is the group who just finished up their first year of teaching and are getting back for their second summer of classes). I was told by one of my friends in ACE 15 today that I need to prepare to hear some pretty cynical and jaded stories about ACE. They all say it's worth it and nobody really regrets it...it's just rough. I'm not really surprised about that - I won't pretend that I'm ready for my first year of teaching, but I do know it's going to be really hard.

Guess that's it for now. Week 2 is approaching...

Classroom Countdown: 73 days until my first day of school

Day 2

Finished up the second day of classes. Same class schedule as yesterday. In the morning we discussed what message we wanted to send in our classroom. I came up with "Strive to always see the good in others." After personal reflection on that, we split into groups to discuss how we would handle a range of difficult situations that ACE teachers have faced over the past 15 years. One was funny, difficult, and eye-opening: How to handle a student with a crush on you who drops a note on your desk declaring her love for you. Apparently that happened once.

This afternoon we turned in our class procedures (homework from last night) and discussed creating rules and consequences (positive and negative) for breaking the rules. I'm going to turn that in tomorrow and hopefully get the procedures back. I have no idea if I'm going about these things in the right way, but I guess that's what we're working on them now for!!! During my break today, I completed my rules and consequences along with my short response to a question about the most significant stressor that the Catholic School System in this country has faced over the past 200 years. Since I'm doing my work during the day (where was that for the past 17 years???), I was able to go for a little jog tonight. Little is the operative word. I'm planning to build from tonight though - the goal is to be in good enough shape to be taken seriously by my basketball team next year.

I'm off to finish moving in and then to bed!

Classroom Countdown: 76 days until my first day of school

First Day of Summer Classes

Was up at 7:15 this morning to get ready for class (including breakfast!) at 8:30. Was in class until lunchtime, and then was in class again in the afternoon from 1:30-4:45 and from 8-10. Luckily (somehow), I managed to force myself to do all of my homework (except the reading) during my dinner break. I just finished reviewing that homework assignment and doing my reading for tomorrow.

The classes were not too bad today, but the pace at which things are assigned is a bit startling at first. Since the classes this week are finishing on Friday, we have a short essay due tomorrow at midnight, another longer one due next Monday (based on all the classes this week), and my classroom management plan is also due next Monday. Even though it's a lot of work piling up, it is all constructive and useful. For example, today's assignment was to write up all the classroom procedures that I plan to have in my classroom. I turn in the (4-page single spaced) rough draft tomorrow, and will get feedback on it before I have to turn in my final draft on Monday (we are doing a rough draft version of each section of the management plan this week).

The work, while not the most stimulating or interesting, is engaging because (1) I will use what I am working on (not the theory or the practice making procedures, but the actual procedures) when I start teaching in less than two months, and (2) it is making me get into an "adult," "teacher," or "real person" mindset rather than the attitude of an undergrad who will be making this transition some time in the future.

Classroom Countdown: 77 days until my first day of school

First-Day-of-Classes Eve

I am now (mostly) moved in to my summer residence at Notre Dame. I arrived in South Bend Thursday, was able to move in on Friday, and was on retreat from Friday through this morning (Sunday). The purpose of the retreat was to meet my fellow ACErs and get to know them a bit before setting off on an intense and rigorous summer of classes. Classes start tomorrow, and we were assigned our first reading assignment today (for tomorrow's class).

The classes pile up lots of work on us in a short amount of time. We have a little over two months before we'll actually be in front of a class teaching our students, so there is a ton we have to learn this summer so that we can be effective teachers.

Classroom Countdown: 78 days until my first day of school