Well, I'm off to start a new adventure this week. I'll be moving to Las Vegas on Saturday, and starting my new job as a ninth grade biology teacher the next week. It's so crazy, but I am getting excited and especially nervous. I will be teaching at Desert Pines High School, which is located in central Vegas. It's a high risk school with 60% latino and 30% african american students. I'll be a part of the Freshman Academy, which is a new thing the school has started. A couple of years ago, the school was failing miserably. So the school district stepped in and put in all new administration and had a 50% turnover of their teachers. They have made great improvements and are continuing to make more. As for me, I won't be a part of the science department, but part of this fresman group. I will meet with the other ninth grade teachers in my group and we will collaborate with each other and plan lessons together that will help reinforce the concepts they are learning in each subject. For example, if the math teacher is teaching them to graph, I can do an activity in my class that will require the students to graph the data they have collected. That sort of thing. Also, the students will have all their classes together- I think they are calling them pods. So the teachers in my group will be teaching all the same kids. That will be great- then if Johnny is having trouble in English, the rest of us can be aware and help in whatever way we can. I'm really excited about it all- there are a few other things they are trying that are new and, for me, unknown. But I feel like this school is implementing all the things that I was taught to do in my education classes. They would always tell us "in an ideal situation, the school would do this or that" but not a lot of schools do it because it takes more work on the part of the administration and the teachers. But the rewards for the students are remarkable, and they succeed so much more than otherwise. Testing, learning, and assessment will all be different than what I am used to. They don't even do these things on the college level- all testing is multiple choice, and all teaching is lecturing. Not the best way to teach or learn. But like I said- it's easier for the teacher that way. Now I am rambling- but the point is that I am EXCITED for the challenge and the new learning experiences that I will have. Nervous to have my own class and be responsible for the students I will be teaching. It's a rather overwhelming feeling. But never has anything felt so RIGHT for me. Ever since I started studying to become a teacher, I new that this was what I was supposed to do with my life. I have loved the experiences I've had in the schools, and even enjoyed student teaching. It was hard and stressful, but little rewards made it worth the effort.
At any rate, the big move is coming up and I look forward to seeing what new things await me there. I'll be living in Henderson, in an area that is not so "high risk" as the high school. Dad went down with me a few weeks ago and we found a place after much searching... We put an extra 200 miles on the car just driving around Vegas in the two days we were there. FUN TIMES- what a nice daddy I have. I'll try to keep the blog updated with all the happenings... Thanks to everyone who has been supportive of my decision to do this. So, off we go! Yeehaw!
