Updates...
Wow! It has been a long time since I've posted an update.
Work is fantastic this year. I have wonderful students, small classes, and a great curriculum. I am teaching a new class this year (out of the three that I teach), and am the only teacher with this class, so I get to form the curriculum. I am finally teaching English the way I want to--very rigorous and in-depth. The county is adding lots of pressure to content-area teachers and that has been a lot to deal with, but knowing that my students are learning has been worth it all. This FCAT monster needs to go away-it is destroying Florida education. Let me rephrase that: it's not the test that is destroying the education, it's the way the government is using the test. It's really sad. I refuse to teach to that test...EVER. I happen to be a good teacher, so I get away with a lot of things, but I feel bad for many students who don't have effective teachers and are only learning what's on the test.
School is going well. I just closed out my third semester with straight As; I currently have a 3.8 GPA. I wish I had done this well as an undergrad. I am learning a lot about how to teach reading to students, but I think my area of specialtise will be in professional development for teachers. County officials continue to jump on the latest and greatest trends to sweep through the nation, not visiting classrooms to check on relevance. I think I want to work with content-area teachers and equip them with strategies to help with literacy growth in their classrooms. I still have a few months to decide, so we'll see where I go with that.
My family is doing okay. We all spent Thanksgiving at Cheryl and Brian's house. We cooked together and had a lot of fun doing it! I could tell it was difficult for my mom not having my dad there, but he'll be home on January 5th. It sounds like he is doing well and is really looking forward to being back.
Wedding planning is fabulous! We are having a lot of fun with it. All of the big things have been taken care of such as DJ, venue, flowers, etc... Phil took care of the tuxes; I took care of the bridemaids dresses. I bought my dress a few months ago and am currently working on accessories. I have been trying to update the wedding website with as many details as possible, but we're at a standstill. When January rolls around, we are going to work on saving blocks of rooms at some of the nearby hotels. Then we'll work on the nitty-gritty: invitations, moving into a new apartment, honeymoon, etc...
I think that's it for now. We're off to Chicago for a few days, so I'll post another update and pictures when we get back. Also, if you're in town for Christmas Eve, CrossPointe is having three services this year: 10:30 am, 5:30 & 7:30 pm. Come on out and join us. I'll be singing so be sure to wave when you come in.
Ciao!
Work is fantastic this year. I have wonderful students, small classes, and a great curriculum. I am teaching a new class this year (out of the three that I teach), and am the only teacher with this class, so I get to form the curriculum. I am finally teaching English the way I want to--very rigorous and in-depth. The county is adding lots of pressure to content-area teachers and that has been a lot to deal with, but knowing that my students are learning has been worth it all. This FCAT monster needs to go away-it is destroying Florida education. Let me rephrase that: it's not the test that is destroying the education, it's the way the government is using the test. It's really sad. I refuse to teach to that test...EVER. I happen to be a good teacher, so I get away with a lot of things, but I feel bad for many students who don't have effective teachers and are only learning what's on the test.
School is going well. I just closed out my third semester with straight As; I currently have a 3.8 GPA. I wish I had done this well as an undergrad. I am learning a lot about how to teach reading to students, but I think my area of specialtise will be in professional development for teachers. County officials continue to jump on the latest and greatest trends to sweep through the nation, not visiting classrooms to check on relevance. I think I want to work with content-area teachers and equip them with strategies to help with literacy growth in their classrooms. I still have a few months to decide, so we'll see where I go with that.
My family is doing okay. We all spent Thanksgiving at Cheryl and Brian's house. We cooked together and had a lot of fun doing it! I could tell it was difficult for my mom not having my dad there, but he'll be home on January 5th. It sounds like he is doing well and is really looking forward to being back.
Wedding planning is fabulous! We are having a lot of fun with it. All of the big things have been taken care of such as DJ, venue, flowers, etc... Phil took care of the tuxes; I took care of the bridemaids dresses. I bought my dress a few months ago and am currently working on accessories. I have been trying to update the wedding website with as many details as possible, but we're at a standstill. When January rolls around, we are going to work on saving blocks of rooms at some of the nearby hotels. Then we'll work on the nitty-gritty: invitations, moving into a new apartment, honeymoon, etc...
I think that's it for now. We're off to Chicago for a few days, so I'll post another update and pictures when we get back. Also, if you're in town for Christmas Eve, CrossPointe is having three services this year: 10:30 am, 5:30 & 7:30 pm. Come on out and join us. I'll be singing so be sure to wave when you come in.
Ciao!
posted by Jessie @ 3:22 PM
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