senoracmt

School Is In Session

Last Wednesday, teachers reported for our inservice. It was a big day for my family. It was my first day of my THIRTIETH year in the classroom. THREE DECADES of students!!! Plus, it was the day we moved our son, the baby of the family, into his dorm at college. I attended the morning meetings at school and then transitioned to “mom mode” for the afternoon.

On Thursday, our students returned for the 23-24 school year. I am trying out a new beginning of the year activity to get to know them and build community. It is a twist on Card Talk. I wasn’t sure how it would go, but I am loving it so far. That is not to say that it is problem free, but it has been a lot easier for me than Card Talk can be sometimes!

My first two classes of the day are pretty quiet. They’ve been a little harder to loop into the fun of guessing who each statement describes. They do what they’re supposed to, but they don’t seem to be enjoying it very much most of the time. They assure me that at 8 am, they are unlikely to enjoy anything. LOL

After lunch, I have 4 classes back to back. They are all REALLY into it. One group is way TOO into it, if you know what I mean. 🙂 A little blurting, a little too much side talk about each statement… but they’re so sweet that I’m just reminding them to stay focused and keeping as much input flowing as possible.

My Spanish 3 class of 29 is going to take a day longer than the class of 24, so there are bumps in the road… but we’re getting by!

I have been RUSHING toward this year. I wanted to be able to do my countdown to retirement on one hand. Now that it’s here… I am feeling nostalgic. I really only have 5 more years in this room. It’s so crazy. I’m graduating with this year’s 8th graders. It feels so… unreal! My whole life has revolved around teaching for three decades. I am sure these last 5 years will be filled with a lot of highs and lows… and great memories to take away in 2028 when I close the door the last time!

Hope your year is off to a great start or that you’re getting into “Back to School Mode”. Can’t wait to share another year with you!

Published by senoracmt

I began teaching Spanish in Illinois in 1994. I have taught levels 1-4 in a small rural high school, 8th grade introductory Spanish, Biology 1, and 101 and 102 at the community college level. My Spanish classes are partnered with the community college to offer students 8 semester hours of dual credit on completion of Spanish 4. In 2011 I met Carol Gaab and Kristy Placido and have since co-authored the book "La hija del sastre" with Carol Gaab and authored the novels "La Calaca Alegre", "Bianca Nieves y los 7 toritos." "Vector," "48 horas","Bananas", "Sostenible", and "Papálotl" through Fluency Matters. In 2006 I became National Board certified and I have been serving as a mentor both for candidates seeking certification in world languages other than English and a virtual mentor for candidates in all certificate areas. I completed my Masters degree in Spanish education in 2011 and did my research on the use of Understanding by Design to create meaningful cultural units for the language classroom. I am a frequent presenter on this topic, please consider me if you are interested in a workshop on backward design. In 2013 I was named the ICTFL Foreign Language teacher of the year and in 2014 I was selected as CSCTFL's teacher of the year. In November of 2014 I was lucky enough to be one of the five finalists for the ACTFL National Teacher of the Year in San Antonio, TX. What a "Cinderella" experience! You can reach me via email at carrie at somewheretoshare dot com.

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