Changes

Well, the new math teacher starts on Monday. Which is really good for her and the kids, and in many ways it's good for me as well. I get to really start teaching English and the Mrs. W., who I will be working with has 30 years of knowledge and experience that I can learn from. Plus, we compliment each other well. She knows the content inside and out, not to mention the pedagogy etc., but she admits that she does not take risks with her lessons very often. I am pretty much the opposite. I know that my content knowledge does not match hers, nor can I match her time in the classroom. However, my lessons are nothing if not ambitious and I take huge risks with them knowing the potential payoff is worth the chance that the lesson crashes and burns. Finally, for whatever reason, the female students don't try to play me like they do with Mrs. W., in the classroom and I already have a reputation of being a real hard ass with the students. Boy are her 8th graders in for a shock!

But (you knew that was coming) there are a couple of negatives. First, I won't be teaching any of my old students. Even though I will still teach a section of math, it will be course I (6th grade) and not course II (7th grade) and the class I am picking up is seventh graders who are behind in math and some of them and I don't see eye to eye. Secondly, I am going to lose my laptop computer. The IT department does not have any spares and thus, the intern makes the sacrifice. So this weekend, I'll be removing all the personal things from the laptop and then next week I can give it to IT so that they can re image it for the new teacher. Hopefully I can access my grade book from the computer lab so I can enter grades, if not then I'll have to do that by hand as well.

I realize that as the person who's not even on the totem pole that this may happen, it's still gonna suck not have a laptop computer.