It's all about the D

Today is day two of the school year, and I am ridiculously exhausted. Last night I truly felt like I was hit by a truck.  Part of that exhaustion stems from a steep increase in class size.  My room is tiny and packing 34 kids in my 3rd hour has already taken its toll. One of my goals this year is to improve my classroom management.  One of my colleagues came up with an ingenious idea: the D box. He has set up a red binder that has reflection slips for the students to fill out.  Archer points to the binder, the student fills out the sheet and then places it in the side panel.  At the end of the week he looks through the binder, makes parental contact, gives out his own punishment, or if a gross offense a referral.  The beauty in this strategy is that it basically eliminates any disruptions due to misbehavior.  Students are forced to reflect on their behavior and teachers have time to reflect on an appropriate consequence. I will be introducing the box Monday :)

Reflective Practice

I'm currently taking a course called Reflective Practice for teachers, and it is one of the best courses I've taken in a long time.  One of the requirements of the course is to take time to reflect on teaching practice...remember all those learning logs and reflections that went in our portfolio?  Turns out they had a purpose other than to make us sit at a computer for hours typing.  This year, I have committed to videotaping myself, having a structured observation with purpose, and reflecting on my lessons through this blog.  It will not be an easy journey, as I already know I have a million things I need to work on.  However, the only way I will get better is if I actually identify my challenges, seek help, and get better. Let the journey begin.