First Week of School

Today is the start of our first full week of school. So far, everything has been going well, but then we are still going over a lot of review material. The thing that I enjoy most about the start of this year is that I understand that most of this material is already in the minds of my students, but that it is just review and extra practice before we really get into the new info. Last year, as my first year of teaching, I wasn't sure what the students knew and what to expect from them. I feel like I am better prepared to get them going at the right speed. I also remember what the students (since I have the same ones, but in new classes) had difficulty with and know to spend more time on this material and less on what they found easy.

It seemed last year that there was an overwhelming amount of information to process. I had around 100 new names to learn (mostly names I had never seen or heard pronounced before), I had to get to know the students (individual traits and as a class), I had new material that I had to keep up with and so on. This year, I know the names (I only have to learn 6th grade and the freshmen) since I had taught the sophomores and juniors last year. I also remember most of the material and the order in which it goes, therefore I feel as if I can spend more of my time fine tuning the things that didn't go well last year and to find better ways of explaining material that was difficult to learn.

So, as of now, I am eager about a few things. One, to get to know the newer students because so many of them are funny, caring, and just incredible people. The other is to get into the new material that is a bit more challenging. Lastly, I want to get a little more involved than I was last year since I feel a bit more efficient this year. I don't feel like I will be chasing my tail as much and therefore I think I along with Marc (a graduate of Sonlight) will meet with the 11th and 12th grade boys for a bible study. I don't know what days we will be meeting just yet but hopefully soon.