Have you seen a cartoon lately that shows the tired old trope about teachers dreading going back to school?

Sure you have.

 

Let me tell you a little secret.

It’s not true.

Sure, there may be a few crankers out there that are counting down the minutes until they retire, but for the most part, your teachers are excited about the new school year and are ready to meet you! Seriously. I don’t know one teacher who plans on making their class boring. I don’t know anyone who rehearses scenes designed to embarrass anyone.

Instead, we are pumped! I know everyone in my hallway spent HOURS (including Saturdays) getting their rooms clean and ready for you. I know that my English IV teachers spent time talking about how we can get our students to learn the content without being boring. We talk about how we can be fair and respectful and fun – all while teaching what the state of Texas tells us we have to teach. We are ready to implement the training and new strategies that we tried out over the summer.

So what did I do this summer? Here are some highlights:

• I went to a training over how to better manage my classroom and how you use technology. To be honest, I think this was meant for middle school teachers who were just now getting Chromebooks rather than a old fart like me who’s been on a 1:1 campus since 2006.
• I attended a training on poverty.
• I spent an afternoon discussing the power of short stories (as opposed to long, full length novels).
• I spent a week in San Antonio at the International Society for Technology Education.
• I spent a day refreshing myself with brain theory and how to engage brains: engaged brains learn better!
• I learned about Google Choice boards.
• I was trained how to be a coach for other teachers.
• I went to a session about grit, mental fortitude, and growth mindset.
• I learned about Schoology.

My room isn’t completely ready. I don’t have all of my plans and materials ready for the entire week. My Schoology class(es) have nothing in them yet, but I’m ready for the class of 2018!

Sure, I’m counting down the days until June 2nd, but that’s because of graduation! The big payoff!

I hope you guys are excited as I am!