ALMOST DONE

The semester is almost over. The part of this week that was the most beneficial is that the semester is almost over. It has been a very long semester with planning, lesson plans, clinical studies assignments, but we all managed to get through all the stress and work and make it to the end. I think for me the realization and relief that I have felt this week has been the most beneficial. I am so happy that I did not quit and give up when that is all that I really wanted to do in week three and four. Looking back now, it went by very fast and really was not as bad as it seemed at the time. This has passed to and now we are all ready to move on and become teachers and have our own classroom.
It has been very nice working with all of you this semester and all of us sticking together. There is not anything that I would change about this past week. I had all my lesson plans completed before the week started and I gave tests to all my classes this week. My students keep talking about how they will miss me when I am gone and that some are not looking forward to getting their teachers back. I think that the coops are ready to take their classes back. We only have THREE more days left everyone. Good luck and have fun.

Week 14

The most valuable aspect of this past week was completing the student surveys again. Reviewing the surveys and comparing them to the midterm really made me realize that I have improved and become a better teacher since the beginning. I think that the ratings that I received from the questions on my survey were a lot better this time than they were for the midterm. I even had a comment from one of my students that I improved a lot and that they think I am a good teacher. It made me feel like I am doing what I am supposed to be doing.
I think for me it was hard to get motivated to go back to school on Wednesday after having five days off. The end is so near and I feel like I am starting to get like all the students with the senioritis.
If I could change anything about the past week I don't really know what it would be. The week was short with only three days and they all went very smooth in all my classes. So, there really would not be anything that I needed to change for this week.

Podcast

Week 13

The aspect of this past week that I found most valuable was I think that it is almost the end of our semester. I feel very comfortable with all my students now and I think that it shows in my instruction and lessons with them. I am actually the most comfortable with my accounting classes which is very funny and interesting to me. I hated accounting the most when I started and now I like that the most.
I think with the Easter break coming that the students were very lazy this week and anticipating having a few days off from school. The students seemed very anxious for the end of the week to approach. I had fun activities for the students on Thursday before the break because I knew that there would be a lot of students absent and that none of them would be motivated to complete any work.
I video taped my second lesson this week for the final. I did that on Monday and I felt that my lesson was great and that it turned out very well. Then on Tuesday morning, the tech person came to our room and told me that there was a problem. The tape was stuck in the camcorder and he could not close it or get the tape out. He needs to send the camcorder away to get fixed. He told me that it would take weeks to get the tape back if he was able to salvage the tape at all. So, then I re-recorded another lesson on Tuesday. I turned out well but I don't feel that it was as good as the first lesson that I recorded. So, if I could go back and change anything about this week it would be that, that would not have happened to the video. I know there was not anything that I could do after that happened but it still gets frustrating.

Week 12

The most valuable aspect of this past week I would have to say is going to the FBLA conference and getting a little break from the classroom. I felt that March was the longest month ever with not having any breaks. I learned a lot while at the conference. It made me realize how big the organization is and how important it is to the members. I never realized how many students were involved and that there were so many schools involved in the program. There were so many activities for the students to do and to compete in while at the conference. Being at the conference gave me some time to do some work for school also.
When I returned to school on Thursday, most students were happy to have us back. It was a little crazy getting back into things having five days off, but I did that easily. I have a ton of grading to complete now that I am back.
If I could change anything about this week I think it would be with my computer applications class. Lately they have done nothing but complain about anything and everything that is given to them. I just assigned them a project to create a web page. I gave them the option that they can create it on whatever they wish they just needed to get it approved first. Some students were excited but some just did nothing but complain. I am getting so sick of it. They would complain about doing the book work so I created different activities and they are still complaining. Some students were saying they would rather do the book work because it is easier. They would not have to apply and extra effort with the book work. It is so frustrating. I also feel like they are taking forever with the work that is assigned to them.