Beginning #7

Students: You need to post your weekly reflective journal sometime between the end of your cadet teaching period on Friday and the end of the day on Monday. While the length and content will vary, ensure that you have some of what you did during the week (the what) and some reflection/thinking/speculating/etc. about the what (the so what). Also, be sure to label your post with the word Journal and the week number (this week is number 1). Further, ensure that you check the blog to read and comment on other people's entries. If you are having trouble creating a post, see my first post of the year.

Below is my journal for the week.

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So for the seventh year in a row have established myself in my second home (Room 203 of PHHS). It has been a rough start in many ways, but things are finally starting to turn around. Finally. I missed two of the three work days prior to school and was utterly not ready to start, but perhaps in a couple more days I'll actually know what is going on. Maybe. Anyway, I am really excited about my classes. For the most part I am teaching the same courses that I have the past couple years, but I hope (as always) that the groups of kids will impress and inspire me in diverse ways. One difference is going back to using a blog for cadet teaching journals. I am hoping that will enable me to better keep track of what's going on with the young pedagogues in the district.

I am interested in seeing if/how using the blog changes things with the cadet teaching program. While the assignments we do are mostly the same, having them available publicly and with the option to comment upon them will certainly affect things, right? My biggest goal is to promote a sense of community among cadet teachers. In past years CTs might become connected to each other if they happen to be in the same building at the same hour, but generally they were alone in their adventures (for better or worse). I know that contact online is not the same is contact in person, so I'm not sure how that affects community-ness (okay, so I'm making up words), but perhaps since the high school students are so used to technology it will be kinda the same. I don't know. Perhaps we will figure out together. Anyway, I hope you have something to say to each other (if not now, eventually) and become an active participant on this here blog.

I hope you've had a great first week! Let me know if you need anything.