Math Stories

This is my (count on fingers) 5th year of teaching.

I'm certainly no expert - I still can screw up on a regular basis. But I came into this year feeling fairly confident that I could handle most of what the classroom could throw at me.

I forgot to take into account that most of my teaching, especially once I'd hit my stride, was on the standards for one particular grade level.

I'm good at math. I'm not going to flounder about in front of a classroom trying to figure out the answer to a question a kid just asked. And I've got what I think is a decent road map for the year ahead.

But, (to continue the road map analogy) I'd been used to driving the same racecourse over and over. I knew its quirks and foibles. I knew where the blind off camber curves where. I knew how to set up for the chicanes.

Now I've got the map, but every day is pretty much a surprise as far as understanding the students prior knowledge, and how what I'm trying to teach them will integrate with that.

Last year, I planned set up lessons that were like a jab (I know I'm mixing my sports analogies here) - they weren't great shakes in and of themselves, but the opened the door for a knockout shot right afterwards. This year, I've got no sense of that.

I'm spending about 3-4 hours a night on planning lessons. I have no spare slack. And it's only the second week.

Good news is, I've done this before. I know how much space I need to give myself, and how to get there. And when I'm done, I'll be ready to teach this again, and kick butt doing it.

The bad news is, I'd like to do more posts here on innovative lessons, and I don't feel like I'm going to get anything innovative done this year.