It's that time of year again where I wish my summer farewell. So long are the days spent at the beach, laying leisurely about the house, and staying up into the wee hours of the night. Summer is great and a welcome vacation after a long school year, but the truth is that I'm excited to be going back to school.
I've always loved school because I love learning. I believe someone is never done learning, even after he or she graduates and earns that coveted degree. Pardon the buzz word, but I truly believe that people are lifelong learners. Even after teaching for several years, there are still things I can learn from other teachers and even from my students.
My love of learning extends beyond the middle school classroom. I am currently taking online courses in pursuit of a master's degree. I just finished my first class last week. It was called Developing Character Through the Curriculum. It couldn't have come at a better time for me. Many teachers tend to get burnt out after four or five years in the classroom, and I feel like I was in serious danger of going down that dark road. This course reminded me of why I wanted to become a teacher in the first place and revived my passion for teaching. If you have time, I'll talk your ear off about all the great things I've learned. I'm really excited to bring these new ideas and strategies into my classroom this year.
In addition to graduate courses, I'm also in the process of finishing my Academically and Intellectually Gifted (AIG) licensure. I've been working with a cohort program through East Carolina University for the past two years. In order to complete my certification I have to teach at an AIG summer camp in Greenville. The bad news is that it is forcing me to miss my first day of school with students at WPA, but I left the substitute (what I hope to be) some fun activities to do with them in my absence. I hate missing the first day of school and parent orientation, but AIG camp is a great experience. I'm teaching a unit on Robotics to rising 7th-9th grade students. It has been a blast so far! I love watching them problem solve because they can be so creative. And everyone is so engaged! I'm glad I picked such a popular topic. I'm hoping to start an FLL Robotics team at WPA if I can find the funding. Talk about STEM! What better way to promote math, technology, engineering, and science than by building and programming a robot? Take a look at the website my campers and I put together at http://www.msknapp.weebly.com
All in all, I've done a lot of great things with my summer. But I am ready to get back in the classroom! I have a feeling that this is going to be a great year :)
I've always loved school because I love learning. I believe someone is never done learning, even after he or she graduates and earns that coveted degree. Pardon the buzz word, but I truly believe that people are lifelong learners. Even after teaching for several years, there are still things I can learn from other teachers and even from my students.
My love of learning extends beyond the middle school classroom. I am currently taking online courses in pursuit of a master's degree. I just finished my first class last week. It was called Developing Character Through the Curriculum. It couldn't have come at a better time for me. Many teachers tend to get burnt out after four or five years in the classroom, and I feel like I was in serious danger of going down that dark road. This course reminded me of why I wanted to become a teacher in the first place and revived my passion for teaching. If you have time, I'll talk your ear off about all the great things I've learned. I'm really excited to bring these new ideas and strategies into my classroom this year.
In addition to graduate courses, I'm also in the process of finishing my Academically and Intellectually Gifted (AIG) licensure. I've been working with a cohort program through East Carolina University for the past two years. In order to complete my certification I have to teach at an AIG summer camp in Greenville. The bad news is that it is forcing me to miss my first day of school with students at WPA, but I left the substitute (what I hope to be) some fun activities to do with them in my absence. I hate missing the first day of school and parent orientation, but AIG camp is a great experience. I'm teaching a unit on Robotics to rising 7th-9th grade students. It has been a blast so far! I love watching them problem solve because they can be so creative. And everyone is so engaged! I'm glad I picked such a popular topic. I'm hoping to start an FLL Robotics team at WPA if I can find the funding. Talk about STEM! What better way to promote math, technology, engineering, and science than by building and programming a robot? Take a look at the website my campers and I put together at http://www.msknapp.weebly.com
All in all, I've done a lot of great things with my summer. But I am ready to get back in the classroom! I have a feeling that this is going to be a great year :)