#apusgov and the nh primary

[187days]

Day Ninety-One

Today was the last day of the semester, which means it was the last day of APGOV. A few of my students brought me gifts and thank you cards, as well as college banners to add to my classroom collection (I pin them below my whiteboard). That was really sweet.

They'd had all semester to find a way to participate in the political process, so today they shared what they'd done and what they learned from it. Some had gone to local board meetings, others to presidential candidates' campaign events, others to issue forums. It was really neat to hear all about their experiences and what they'd learned, and it's a good way to end class because it celebrates the fact that they got out there and got involved- and hopefully will continue to do so! The best thing the eighteen-year-olds said to me was that they were carpooling to their local polling places with their friends to vote for the first time as soon as their classes were over.

It's pretty cool that their last day in my class was the day of the NH primary.

It's a tradition of mine to write a letter to deliver one last lesson and say goodbye to my GOV students, which, somehow, none of them had heard about, so I got to surprise them with them with that. A few read what I'd written right away, a few said they'd cry if they did that, and that probably would have made me cry, too! It's not really goodbye, though, because one of the congressmen who's a longtime friend of the class is coming to visit tomorrow, so these students are going to stick around one more day (with permission from their second semester teachers), along with my new students, to talk to him.

So that'll be fun.

Meantime, in Global Studies, I attempted to teach the same thing I'd taught yesterday, just to the other two sections. I say "attempted" because, while it went totally well in the first section, the fire alarm went off during the second.

Obviously, that was not planned, and now they're a bit behind. I'll get them caught up, though!

[187days]

Day Seventy-One

There was a US Senator in my classroom today.

Michael Bennet of Colorado paid a visit to my APUSGOV students (plus a few other politically inclined kids who asked to join us) to discuss his bid for the presidency. It’s not something that happens at every school, and students definitely realize what an extraordinary opportunity they have, so they always take advantage of it. They asked him about government corruption, gridlock in the senate, money in politics, health care, mental health, climate change, education, minimum wage, marijuana legalization, impeachment, etc... One of the senator’s staffers told me they were some of the best questions he’d heard. 

So it was awesome, and I knew it was going to be awesome, but here’s the thing: this is ALWAYS going to be nerve-wracking. 

I mean, it’s a big deal to have candidates and elected officials in my classroom. These are important people, and they’re making time to come see us, and- as I said before- I know this doesn’t happen everywhere... Also, this was the first time I really had to disrupt the school schedule to accommodate someone; students who attended the Q&A had to miss the last half hour of their Block 4 classes, and the first half hour of their Block 5 classes (The Principal okayed it, as long as they got their teachers’ permission in advance), so I had this irrational fear that there’d be a miscommunication, or something would happen, and no one would show up on time. Obviously, it was fine, though.

And figuring out my own schedule was easy because Block 5 is my prep time, and during Block 4 Mrs. T and I are team teaching. All we had to do was close the collapsible wall, and gather all the World/English students went in her room (we have small classes during that block, so they weren’t squished). They did have jokes about me abandoning them, and liking my seniors more... But then, in all seriousness, they wished me luck, and assured me that I was hiding my nervousness well, which was sweet. Also, their research projects look really cool and I can’t wait to see them when they’re finished. 

So the day was pretty great until about five minutes before the afternoon bell. There was an announcement that all after school activities were canceled, which, at first, I thought was due to crappy weather (freezing rain). But then there was an announcement that the whole staff had to report to the library, so I knew- and everyone else knew- that something had happened. I just hoped someone hadn’t died because the first five emergency staff meetings in my career occured for that reason, so that’s my default fear. 

No one died, but there was an Incident, and there will be police in the school all week as a result... It’s going to be kind of rough.

[187days]

Day Forty-Four

I got the second round of the pneumonia vaccine yesterday, and IT HURTS. It made teaching slightly more difficult because I couldn’t really lift my arm to write on my board, or collect papers, or do pretty much anything without causing myself pain. My cold was better, though, so that’s something.

There were two staffers from Amy Klobuchar’s campaign in to talk to my APUSGOV students first thing. It’s a spirit day, so the whole class was decked out in school colors, and the athletes- many of whom will play their last games this weekend- were so loud about hyping each other up that we almost missed The Principal coming on the PA to do the Pledge of Allegiance! But then they settled down and did a half hour of really good Q&A with the staffers. At this point, every campaign with field staff in our county has sent someone to class, so my students have gotten to hear lots of different views on the upcoming election. Next class, they’ll present their projects on the different candidates, so everyone who’s voting for the first time this winter will have a lot of knowledge. 

In World, students had to write current events essays, so it was pretty quiet. I answered questions, as needed, but they’re getting the hang of this type of informational essay writing at this point. A few students struggle to do it in the time frame they’re given (one class block), so I’m trying to teach them some ways to improve their efficiency. Their biggest issue seems to be that they’re not preparing in advance, which they’re supposed to do (find an article, cite it, outline), so I’m trying to get them into that habit. 

I spent a chunk of my prep time catching up on my union responsibilities- namely, recruiting new members- then updating Mr. B on my progress. We ended up talking about other things (our classes, politics, etc...) for a bit, too, before heading out. We were both back at the school this evening, though, for football: him as a coach, me as a ticket seller. It was a cold, rainy game, and we lost, but oh well. Sometimes, that’s how it goes.

[187days]

Day Eight

My school has had PLC meetings on Thursday mornings as long as I’ve been a teacher, but there’s been a lot of turnover in that time, so today we had a whole faculty meeting to discuss ways in which we can revitalize our PLCs and make them more useful. But first, The Principal had to address two Very Serious Incidents involving our students, so... that wasn’t fun.  

But then I had APUSGOV, and that’s always a joy. A campaign staffer from Elizabeth Warren’s campaign paid us a visit to talk about campaigning, and make her pitch for volunteers and votes; I’ve opened the doors to all the presidential campaigns, so we’ll have a lot of visitors this fall. Aftewards, I lectured on the failure of the Articles of Confederation and establishment of the Constitution, and asked students to identify the elements of the Constitution which are elitist, pragmatic, and revolutionary. We’ll discuss their findings next class.

In World, I did have to do my first discipline referral, but that is not gonna rain on my parade. Everything else was too good. Students shared their first homework assignment (finding something about another culture, citing the source) in small groups and then with the whole class. Because the assignment parameters were so broad, it was fascinating to hear what students had chosen to research. After that, I asked them to focus on history and current events, and brainstorm major events that had happened in their lifetime; in both classes, the majority of events they could remember dealt with either violence or natural disasters: the Iraq War, the war in Syria, terrorist attacks in France, various mass shootings, Hurricane Katrina, the fires in the Amazon, etc... That led perfectly (like I planned it) into the next part of my lesson: an article about modern violence and its causes (there’s one we’ll do next class that is about climate change). I wanted students to read it and think about how violence impacts cultures, but I also used it to teach them how to do annotation (define terms, ask questions, summarize main points in the margins). 

I annotated the first section of the article with them, then tasked them with doing the rest independently. I have to say, it went really well; I was grading this afternoon, and some of the questions I read blew me away. Also, all of my students finished well before class ended, so tomorrow I’m going to add a vocab review game to the end of the lesson. 

[187days]

Day Eighty-Eight

One of my APUSGOV students was interning on Cory Booker’s campaign, so today was a bit heartbreaking for her. But she just Remind texted me to say that she’s proud of the campaign he ran, proud of her own work, and grateful for everything she learned. That’s a pretty mature response, and it reminded me that this is actually her second campaign; she worked on a congressional race as a sophomore... 

How lucky am I that I get to teach her, right? And all the others, too.

I wish I could say this was one of my best days of teaching, but, alas, I still have a cold, so I wasn’t on my game. It wasn’t bad, though. APUSGOV was fine. The Warren campaign has a new field organizer in town, so I let her come in and give her pitch. After that, I passed back the tests students took last week, and encouraged anyone with a low score to come and see me. Most students’ test scores are consistently high, or they’re improving, but there are a few who are just stuck, and I want to work with them to figure out what needs doing. Hopefully, they’ll take me up on it... Lastly, it was judicial branch time; students had to read Article III of the Constitution and Federalist 78. One of the boys asked me if I thought lifetime appointments would remain in place if people started living longer lives. He mentioned that some scientists think that a person who will live to be a thousand has already been born. I have no idea if any scientists actually think this, but I didn’t miss a beat before answering, “Well, yeah, it’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” 

That got a laugh.

In World, students had to present the mini-projects they worked on last week. The results were... inconsistent. Some students were not done at all (I gave a quick but stern lecture about time management), some were done but their work could have been more detailed, and some presented amazing stuff. I think next year I’ll give them one more day to work before they have to present. I also think, though, that the students I have tomorrow will do better- they tend to with this kind of assignment- but we’ll see. 

[187days]

Day One Hundred Five

Today was SUCH a Monday. Students were coming off an unexpectedly long weekend because of the snow day last Friday, and just enough snow was falling this morning to be annoying (but not enough to warrant a delay, which they were grumbly about). There’s a teacher workshop day tomorrow (because it’s election day and there are schools in the district that are polling places). Aaaand it’s one week before February vacation. 

If that’s not a recipe for chaos, I don’t know what is. 

Students were wild in the halls, and hyper in class, and some were just not in the mood for my smiley-but-strict classroom style. I got the Outraged Glare of Doom from a couple few of them over the simplest requests (ie- stop playing games on your cell phone, take your feet off the desk...) One student who never talks back actually snapped at me, at which point I suggested heading to the office- not to be disciplined, but to take a breather, because that’s how we roll- and got The Glare again. I get it, though; all the disruptions to the routine can be stressful and leave lots of kids feeling out of sorts. 

Luckily, we were just doing current events essays in World, which was probably the best thing for this kind of a day. It’s something students already know how to do, they don’t have to listen to me explain anything but the instructions (which, again, they know- it’s just reiteration), they can work independently, they can even put their headphones in and block out everyone else... So, in both sections of the class, things improved as the block went on. Towards the end of Block 4, after everyone had finished their essays, some students started eying my Court Madness brackets and asking about the cases. Then the rest started listening in, which was fine. They’re a curious group, and I go on the most tangents with them, but learning is learning. It’s all good. 

I’ve had this nasty cold off-and-on for two weeks, and it decided to reappear in the form of a splitting sinus headache during my prep time. I struggle to grade papers with a headache, but lesson planning with one doesn’t bother me, so that’s what I did. I mapped out my next APUSGOV unit, tinkered with a test, made all the photocopies I’ll need for the rest of this week in World. It was productive, and I’ll still have time to grade the current events essays students wrote today before their next class.

This evening I’m sending thank yous to all the campaign staffers who came to see my APUSGOV students, and asking them not to forget the incredible young people they met here on the trail. 

[187days]

Day One Hundred One

Oh man. My day was SUCH a whirlwind. It started with the opening rounds of Court Madness in APUSGOV: Roe v. Wade against New York Times Company v. United States (Roe, by one vote), Gideon v. Wainwright against Schenck v. United States (Schenck, by three votes). These debates over the cases’ significance were EPIC; I was so impressed with the work all the groups put in. They’re so fierce when they speak. 

I got to see that on display again, about two hours later, when they sat down with Deval Patrick for a Q&A. So, here’s the thing: I know candidates have tight schedules, so when their staffers ask me if such and such a time is all right for a visit, I just say yes and make it happen. In this case, it wasn’t difficult because Governor Patrick arrived at 10:00. Block 2 ends at 10:10, and then it’s flex time, so my APUSGOV students just had to leave their classes a smidge early and come to my classroom for flex. Of course, I have my own Block 2 students, but Mrs. T and Mr. F each took half of them once Governor Patrick’s advance staffer arrived (funny thing: I had the ninth graders tell this staffer, who’s probably thirty or so, what year they were born in because it’s so painful to folks who aren’t around the teenagers everyday, heh) so that I could straighten up the room and make sure everything was ready. 

The governor was really nice, and made a point to say hello to The Principal and all the office staff on the way into the school. Once he got to my classroom, he gave a quick speech about himself and then took questions about climate change, cap and trade, education, gun safety, prescription drug costs, partisan gridlock, and more... I’d told his staffers that I teach impressive kids, but they were still kind of blown away by the questions. So that was fun and awesome.

My Block 4 World class was so low-key by comparison. I defined vocab words- student choice words, this time- and the boys in class decided these were excellent words. They told me so after I’d defined them. The words:

Ardent

Fastidious

Capricious

Amenable

Misnomer

Ubiquitous

Frivolous

Zeal

Divergent

Malleable

Indigenous

Precarious

Obfuscate

Scintilla

Divulge

Capitulate

Insouciant

Equanimity

Diaspora

Cognizant

After that, students finished watching Promises. We’ll discuss that next time!

[187days]

Day Forty

“I went to the grocery store last night to get salad, and came home with donuts. Hashtag ‘my life.’“ -me to my APUSGOV class

Sometimes, it’s good to start a Monday with some donuts. We took a few minutes to eat and chat about some upcoming events (candidate visits to the area, staffer visits to my classroom, etc...) Afterwards, a few students did current events presentations, and then I gave everyone the remainder of the block to work on their presidential campaign projects. They’re researching candidates’ biographies, policy positions, polling stats, and major donors. But, since these are seniors in an AP class, and they’re pretty proficient at this sort of research, they were also finding excellent GIFs and memes to add to their presentations (or, in the case of the pair researching Beto O’rourke, finding his old band’s music). 

I’m totally okay with this. 

In World, I wrapped up the unit on Latin America with a content quiz, which I’ll grade during my prep time tomorrow, and started the new unit on Africa. I always start units the same way: go over the unit guide, discuss what they already know or want to know about the region, pre-teach some vocab, hand out a map for them to label (which we’ll refer back to throughout the unit because it’s good to know where the places we’re discussing are, specifically). Perhaps predictably, given that I teach in a school where 96% of the students are white and a good number of them have never been outside of New England, the discussion we had involved comments like “they have cities in Africa?!” and “Isn’t everyone there poor?” Thankfully, they were receptive when I corrected their misconceptions, and seemed excited to learn more when they realized how much they didn’t know. Sometimes, that’s not the case because it’s a stressor to have one’s assumptions about the world challenged, so I think they’re showing something promising. 

The other cool thing that happened today happened during advisory. Our advisories meet during Block 3 every Monday. During the rest of the week, Block 3 is flex time, so one thing advisers do is talk to students about where they plan to go each day. There’s a computer program we use to schedule them into other teachers’ rooms, and teachers can also use the program to request that students come see them (so then it’s mandatory). Usually, I do that in about ten minutes and then just let my students chill, do their homework see other teachers, etc... But, the last time my advisory met- which was a couple weeks ago because of Columbus Day- we got to talking about a subject we often talk about: the fact that no one uses lockers anymore. The students and I came up with this crazy idea that we should remove the lockers and replace them with benches so that kids working in the halls have a place to sit. 

Turns out, it’s not so crazy. As I told my advisory today, I learned recently that a couple of other schools in the state or doing exactly that. I asked the students if they wanted to put their thoughts on this into a formal presentation and invite The Principal up one Monday to hear them out. The answer was an enthusiastic and resounding yes, so that’s what we’re going to do. I’m pretty excited for it.

[187days]

Day One Hundred Two

I didn’t have APUSGOV today, but I saw a good number of my students because they either wanted to tell me that there was a story about yesterday’s candidate visit in the paper, or say something along the lines of “What the heck happened in Iowa?!” I also saw a bunch students I don’t have in any of my classes- students I didn’t even know before today, in some cases- asking if any more people were going to come do Q&A’s in APUSGOV, and, if so, could they come sit in on my class? There have been 5-10 students doing that already- and most of the students who are in the APUSGOV class now sat in at least once in past years- so, of course, I said yes. We probably won’t get anymore presidential candidates since the primary’s next week, but my next goal is to get the governor and his opponents in (not all at once, obvs). Or Senator Shaheen and her opponents. Whoever says yes first. 

I’m aware that this is wildly ambitious, but- and I’ve said this before- the lesson I’ve learned is to go for it. 

But, on to the classes I actually did teach today: my B day sections of World. I think they both went pretty well. Students finished watching Promises, and a lot of them started talking to their friends about different parts of it- especially the ending. We’ll talk as a whole class the next time I see them. I also had a moment of triumph during flex time, helping a student who owed a project from last semester (due to significant absences). She was really frustrated that she had things to revise. She’d tell me she was giving up,and didn’t care anymore, and I’d say I wasn’t giving up on her and I cared about her success. Then I’d help her do one thing at a time. She finished it all up just before the bell. Phew!

My team had a meeting during Block 5, but The Assistant Superintendent needed my classroom (and Mrs. T’s- she collapsed the wall between them) for a meeting of her own, so we met in Mr. F’s room instead. The Assistant Superintendent’s meeting was scheduled to go until 4:30, so I just went home after the afternoon bell, but then I realized I needed to revise and print out some materials for my next World lesson. I thought about going in early tomorrow to do it, but I’m totally not a morning person, so I ended up going back to the school around 4:45. I’m glad I did because it gave me a chance to get my classroom in order, too: close the wall between my room and Mrs. T’s, arrange my desks for tomorrow’s rounds of Court Madness, etc... Now I don’t have anything to worry about in the morning!

[187days]

Day Fifty-Four

If it hasn’t been apparent to longtime readers yet, my APUSGOV students are friggin’ fierce. They’re polite and charming, too, but they’re fierce.

They came in, crushed a vocab quiz, and did some FRQ practice during class this morning, but the real highlight was that a presidential candidate came to do Q&A with them (and a bunch of politically inclined underclassmen) during the flex block. Governor Mark Sanford’s staff contacted me last week to set this up- I assume they saw the press coverage the class got when their congressman was here- and, of course, I made it happen. Governor Sanford was quite candid about the odds of defeating an incumbent president, but told my students he was running because he wants voters to be paying attention to fiscal policy, and thinks someone needs to be talking about it. He fielded questions about that, and about immigration, prayer in schools, Syria, and more... Students had definitely done their research, and a bunch of them even came in with notes! And, boy, did they press him to be specific in his answers; they would not let him dodge anything! Afterwards, he commended them for being so knowledgeable and engaged, and told me privately how impressed he was. He said not every group of high schoolers is like that... I think maybe these kids caught him off guard a little, but they are not to be trifled with!

I always say this, but I’m wicked proud of them. 

My colleagues kept dropping by afterwards to ask how it went, which was cool. They also teased me for being all dressed up on a casual Friday yet again; it was the same situation when Congressman Pappas was here. Folks gotta schedule their visits on other days, I’m saying... 

Anyways. 

World was pretty low-key by comparison. Students spent the block writing current events essays. The last time these were assigned (they’re biweekly), a lot of students struggled to finish before the block ended, so I really encouraged them to prepare more thoroughly in advance this time (doing their citations, completing an outline or graphic organizing, that sort of thing). A lot of them took my advice, and they were able to see how much easier it was to write in class today- and their writing is better- so I’m calling that a win. 

My Block 4 students had a tough time focusing, at first, because it’s Friday before a long weekend and they’re feeling a bit fried, but they dealt with it pretty admirably. Like, one student got up and walked around the perimeter of my room three times in between each paragraph he wrote; another borrowed the stress ball on my desk to keep her hands busy whenever she paused to think about what to write next; a couple turned their chairs away from their peers and put headphones in. I was pretty impressed that they figured out all those strategies.

Then it started snowing, and there was no staying on task after that. 

Thankfully, that was only about ten minutes before the end of class, and they’d all finished their essays- they were working on their homework- so I didn’t really mind. They’d done so well up until that point. And, I mean, I felt the same way they did. 

SNOW!!!!!!!

[187days]

Day Fifty-Three

I’m writing my entry late today because I just got home from the county Democrats’ annual dinner; they and the county Republicans generously invite my students to attend free of charge (the Republicans’ dinner is in the spring, though), and I attend to take pictures of the kids with candidates and elected officials, and network for APUSGOV. Plus, it’s a better meal than I could make at home! 

The major speakers at tonight’s dinner were the candidates running for governor. One of them, Senate Majority Leader Dan Feltes, had met some of my students at the NH Dems dinner in Manchester a few weeks ago (I wasn’t able to join them because I had a family thing, so they Remind texted me their selfies with Leader Feltes throughout the evening). He was so nice when he met me tonight, and complimented me for teaching them, but- and I’ve said this before- really, I’m lucky that I get to do it. It’s so exciting to see them at events like this dinner, too, because they just shine. So many people came up and told me how impressed they were with the students’ intelligence and engagement. I’m so proud of them.

I’m proud of my ninth graders, too, because World was amazing today, especially Block 4. We had such a deep discussion after finishing Shake Hands With the Devil. Two students really took the lead in analyzing the US’ decision not to intervene in Rwanda; that led to a broader conversation about the ethics of military interventions, the role of the US in foreign affairs, and more. They also talked about how important it was to learn about events like the genocide because it gave them perspective. As one said, “I know we go through things that are bad, but nothing is happening here like what happened there, and, if you think about it, we’re so lucky just based on where we were born.”

It was a thoughtful, candid conversation, which I joined when they started discussing the risks of military interventions. One girl said that soldiers signed up knowing those risks, whereas the civilians being killed in conflict had no choice, and other added that powerful countries had certain responsibilities in the world. One of the boys agreed, but pointed out that it’s still hard to ask families to give up the people they love, even knowing it’ll help save civilian lives. I  told them that I could remember my parents having that exact conversation when my dad was in the arm. I talked, too, about my brother going to war, and what that was like for us. 

So it was a good day of teaching. I think I’ll have another good one tomorrow, too, so stay tuned!

[187days]

Day Forty-Two

If you’ve been following along at home, you know I’ve invited the campaign staffers who’re here for the Primary to come and talk to my APUSGOV students. They get to share their experiences and their candidates’ views, my students get to ask questions (and, boy, do they!) and get connected with internship opportunities if they’re interested, it’s all good stuff. Today one of Bernie Sanders’ staffers came in, and was markedly different than his counterparts on other campaigns. He’s closer to my age than theirs, for one, and as a result took a different tone with them. Also, he swore, which... Yeah. I gently reminded him that he’s in a school, and we moved on. 

So that happened.

I know it’s nothing they haven’t heard, but still. 

Anyways, after the staffer left, students returned to work on the projects they’re doing. While they were working, I realized I hadn’t set up for the lesson I was doing in World, so I quickly got my materials together, set up my projector, and put some instructions on the board. It’s a fairly simple lesson, but having the set-up done in advance made it go more smoothly. I had the students group up, study an aspect of culture (by reading an article and watching a video), and jot down a few things they learned. Then I had them find classmates who hadn’t studied the same aspect of culture they had, make new groups, and share their knowledge with one another. I was happy with how that went. 

Then, during Block 5, I had to be in two places at the same time! 

Don’t I wish I had a time turner sometimes... I had to help one of my students with a test and be at an IEP meeting. Luckily, I was able to do the former quickly, so I was only a smidge late for that latter. So that was all right. 

After the meeting, I did a bit of grading, then went home for a couple hours. I went back out this evening to see Andrew Yang with some of the APUSGOV kids. It’s cool to talk to them about the presidential race outside of class, in a bit of a more casual, candid setting, and hear what they think about the candidates once they’ve heard what they have to say in person. 

[187days]

Day Twelve

This morning I watched my APUSGOV students observe the moment of silence that followed the Pledge. It’s interesting because none of them were born when it happened, and one of them’s an exchange student- a first for me- so it’s a lot of perspectives on the day that are different from mine. I think they were a bit surprised that after the moment was over, I crossed myself and did what I do everyday: greet them with a jubilant, “Good morning, class!” As longtime readers know, I don’t change my lessons on 9/11 because I think the best thing I can do is carry on as usual; that’s always been my point of view.

So that’s what I did. I went over upcoming assignments and assessments, then I actually turned the floor over to a guest speaker: one of the staffers from Cory Booker’s campaign. I let him talk about his candidate, and take questions on various issues (climate change, prison reform, immigration, college affordability), and play “presidential trivia.” He brought campaign stickers to give as trivia prizes, which was clever; everyone likes stickers. 

After I walked him out (because my school is a maze if you’re not used to it), I picked up where I’d left off last class: discussing the revolutionary aspects of the Constitution. The last thing I did was hand out some practice multiple choice questions so students could check their knowledge, and get a glimpse at what questions on my tests and the AP exam might be like. We went over the answers to those, and that was that. 

World started with a vocab quiz, which went really well. I had a feeling, based on the review games I’d done in previous classes and the way the students were taking about their preparation, that it was going to. It's a 10-question quiz, so it didn’t take much time. I used the bulk of class to teach students who to write current events essays. First, I went over the instructions and the rules for formal, academic writing. Then we read and discussed an essay written by a student who was in my class last year. I managed to find one that related to the topics we’d been covering (violence, refugee migration, and climate change); it was about the civil war in South Sudan. After that, I gave them an article (about bakers working to end the famine in CAR- again, sticking to some familiar topics from previous classes), which we read aloud. We created an essay outline together; I cued them for information, and put it on the board so they could copy it down. Next class, they’ll use that outline to write their first essays.

What else? Yesterday was the first day of flex time, but I didn’t write much about it because my group was small and quiet. Today, it was not (but it was good). How it works: every Monday, students go to advisory during Block Three and build their schedule for that block for the rest of the week. Teachers can request students go see them; otherwise, they can choose where they want to go- to any teacher, or to the library which is open for quiet study. We started doing it last year, and I think it’s awesome. So, today I had a few freshmen come in to study for that vocab quiz or do other work they owed, and a few APUSGOV students came in to ask questions. Plus, our MfoL chapter- which I advise- held its first meeting of the year. But for the last ten minutes or so, everyone in the room just started chatting. One of the boys introduced himself to a girl he didn’t know- a lot of them didn’t know each other because they’re in different grades and all- and then, one by one, the rest of the kids joined their conversation. It was kind of adorable. 

Yay, making friends!

[187days]

Day Forty-Six

My eyes were bright red this morning because I am allergic to ALL THE THINGS, and, of course, my APUSGOV students and I joked about how any outside observer would think that they’d driven me to tears. So there were lots of smothered giggles when The Superintendent dropped by to observe about thirty minutes later. 

Thankfully, by then, my allergy meds had kicked in, and my students were in the midst of project presentations. For those of you who have not been following along at home, last week they paired up and were assigned (by drawing names from a hat) a presidential candidate to research; one pair researched President Trump, and the other pairs researched one of the top ten Democratic candidates. Their presentations include information about that candidate’s background, qualifications, major donors, current standing in the polls, and policy positions (on gun control, immigration, climate change, and any other issue the pair chose). So we’re hitting on a lot of course concepts, and sharing information that will be relevant as they decide who vote for. It’s good stuff.

The pair that was presenting when The Superintendent walked in had researched Cory Booker. Their presentation was particularly impressive because one of them is an exchange student who requested to be in the class, even though it’s not one that’s typically recommended. English is her third language, and she was speaking about really complex things (ie- reproductive policy: Roe v. Wade, the Hyde Amendment, and the global gag rule), and I was wicked impressed. Hopefully, so was The Superintendent!

My World students will have presentations in the not-so-distant future, so, in preparation, we did a bit of citation practice using the assignment they’d done for homework. They’d each had to answer questions about one Africa’s most successful countries. I had a few volunteers tell me what they’d learned about these countries’ natural resources so I could construct a paragraph with in-text citations on the board. Then I had them get into groups of four, and create paragraphs about the customs and traditions in the countries they’d researched. I went around and checked their citations, and helped them correct them as needed. Afterwards, I showed a slideshow of images from those countries, followed by images of Africa’s least successful countries because the contrast is really striking. That set up a question: why have some countries succeeded while others have failed?  

In my Block 4 class, the students volunteered some answers, which was cool because I wasn’t expecting it; I was just setting up my future lessons, but we ended up having a discussion, and they were all on the right track with their thinking. I told them it was awesome that they’d pieced some things together already, and that they’re going to learn more in the coming days, and I love that they’re enthusiastic about it. For homework, they’re reading about the scramble for Africa, and we’ll walk up through history from there. 

[187days]

Day Eighteen

My new principal is awesome. Since last night was Open House and we were all at work until 8:30 or later, he postponed this morning’s PLC meetings, which none of his predecessors ever thought to do. It just took a bit of stress out of the day, you know? Plus, the admin team bought the faculty donuts, which was a nice surprise. Little things like that make me happy. They’re morale-boosting. 

Know what else is morale boosting? Teaching APUSGOV. We had another campaign staffer guest this morning- from Pete Buttigieg’s campaign- who came armed with stickers and discussion questions, both of which went over well. After he left, I gave a vocab quiz, which students were nervous about because it’s the first one. It’s not a painful quiz, though- twenty multiple choice questions- and they kicked the crap out of it. I’m quite pleased. The final thing I did was a bit of FRQ practice, which we will do more of next week. 

In World, I did an entirely new lesson, so I had no idea what was going to happen. We just started studying Latin America, so the first thing I did was go over the maps they’d labeled last class. Then I had students get into groups, and asked them to create a slideshow identifying three things to do in a particular country and cite their sources (I did an example for them of three things to do in Peru). They had about forty minutes to work, and then I projected their slideshows so they could share them with their classmates. It’s definitely a keeper lesson. I loved seeing how different groups worked together (there is some room for improvement, of course), and what they came up with. It was also fascinating to note the differences in my classes. During Block 2, I had to walk around the whole time, and answer questions, and check the slides to confirm that they were done well; during Block 4, I just had to let them work and not peer over their shoulders because it made them nervous. 

I spent most of my prep time writing college recs because ‘tis the season. I told all my seniors I’d be happy to do them; I can write fairly quickly, and I like to think I write well, so it’s no hardship. It is good to do something that doesn’t require a ton of mental focus afterwards, though, so I spent the last twenty minutes or so of the school day helping Mrs. T put up new posters (because I’m tall). Her room looks super cute now.

[187days]

Day Twenty-Nine

Today was an early release day. Classes were only fifty minutes long, so everything felt FAST, but we had to keep calm about it.

In APUSGOV, I had another campaign staffer in as guest speaker- Beto O’Rourke’s deputy state director-and that was very cool. For one thing, he’s a friend of mine, so I was happy to get to see him, but also, he’s got a lot of campaign experience, so the students who want to be just like him when they grow up benefited from hearing about that. There was also some good policy talk: climate change, renewable energy, guns... He ended by encouraging them to be bold and take action, which is a great way to end a chat with high school seniors. After that, I did about twenty minutes of teaching on political parties, realignment, dealignment... Their homework is to read Pew Research’s report on current demographic trends regarding party affiliation. 

Mrs. T and I opened the wall for our first day of interdisciplinary fabulousness in World/English. Students started with silent reading, followed by a bit of grammar practice, and then they had a series of assignments from me about current issues: watching a quick film about the favelas in Rio (with headphones, on a laptop), doing an info hunt about the Northern Triangle, watching a news clip and then doing an annotation on the crisis Venezuela. These assignments get at two things: why people are seeking asylum in the US, and what is being done/who is doing something to help. I thought, even with the short blocks, that it went really well. When students finished one assignment, I gave them the next, and anything they didn’t finish by the end of the double block became homework (which they knew from the start, so they were really good about using their time). All of it’s going to give them ideas they can use for fact-based fictional narratives, which is the next thing we’ll be doing with them.

It’s a lot of moving parts because students do work at different speeds, and have lots of questions, and sometimes don’t read instructions... Mrs. T and I are used to all that, it’s no biggie, but it was still really nice to sit down afterwards and have a long lunch break! Mrs. W joined us, which was great, because she’s hilarious and we all get along super well. 

For the afternoon’s teacher workshop, we heard a presentation from the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, which was incredibly powerful. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s an organization founded by the mother of one of the children killed at Sandy Hook. It’s all about bringing social-emotional learning into schools, and my school’s faculty is very much in agreement about doing that, so this provides us with some specific resources. Expect to hear more about this in my future entries.

After the presentation, the teachers who’d been the co-chairs of our reaccreditation process, got up to thank us one last time (and give a joking speech about how they were now breaking up). They surprised us with coffee mugs with the school’s logo, which were a great gift since the administration then surprised us with coffee, cookies, and time to sit together and process what we’d learned during the presentation. I think that idea came from The Principal because he really wants to encourage collegiality, conversation, and positivity, and knows how much little things can help with that.

Have I mentioned yet that I really like working for him? Because I do.

I had a bit of grading to do, so even though we could leave at 3:00, I went back up to my classroom to get it done. Then I decided to rewrite some APUSGOV stuff, and got on a roll doing that, so I didn’t actually leave until 4:15 or so. I’m glad I got the work done, though. Tomorrow’s a full day of teacher workshop stuff, so it’s nice to have cleared my to-do list prior to that.