Wake Me Up When September Ends

That was the thought going through my mind the last four or five days of September. When is this month going to be over? Well, I can honestly say that I am giddy that it is already October. I officially have to wear a North Face jacket when I leave the apartment in the morning and can effectively and comfortably wear jeans and a hoodie in the evenings. Thank God for October.

I have just recently set up all of my "trackers" for my classroom. Trackers are programs that are set up in Microsoft Excel that have formulas in them for me to track my students educational growth. For example, I have a Math tracker. On the top of the page it lists all of the important math state standards and on the left hand side it has my class roster. Every time I test one of those standards the students grades are entered into the tracker. This way, I can see their mastery over a particular standard. Sounds a little complicated but it's not. In other words, it's an organizational way for me to track my students progress and to see where they need help.

One concept I am trying to not only understand but wrap my head around is the idea of the Kingdom of God and how I can integrate it into my public school classroom. What happens in the Kingdom of God? Well, I think that if the Kingdom of God is fulfilled in my classroom then nobody will go hungry. So, to I keep granola bars in my desk just in case somebody forgets to eat breakfast or their parents/guardians didn't feed them breakfast. I also believe that there is justice in the Kingdom of God. So I try to seek justice in the classroom in whatever way possible. A lot of people define Justice as fair. A lot of people define fair as getting what you deserve. But in my classroom fair isn't what you deserve, it's what you need. Maybe there's a student that gets an teachers aid on a test. Other students may say, "Hey, that's not fair. I don't get someone to help me on my tests!" Well, what they don't realize is that the person that gets the aid because they need one. So, though it may not be fair for that person it's what the other person needs. The whole idea is mind boggling and I'm still thinking about it.

I'm letting things brew...I'm trying to increase my effectiveness as a teacher...Let's do it!