Mr. Puff

Hey gang,

Middle school is an interesting place. The grade 7's are an interesting bunch to say the least. They seem a bit awkward and quite reluctant to abandon their grade 6 mindset of staying in one classroom all day long. Regardless of that observation, most of the students are amazing, and I can't wait to get to know them all better. We have 4 classes of kids come through our room for math and two of those for both math and science. I've been able to memorize about half of the 130 kids names already as I've made it a bit of a focal point in the first few days. I often get the "How did you know my name?" question when I call on them. It confirms that I'm doing something right, because I think it makes them feel important, and worthwhile.

My CT has 10 years experience, and is wonderful. She's gradually handing over responsibilities in the classroom beyond merely helping students who are working on assignments. I've introduced a couple of activities to various classes and been completely responsible for the classroom on several occasions. Actually, my CT was away for part of the morning and a substitute was brought in. After a brief conversation with her (a retired high school teacher), she asked me to teach the lesson instead. Of course, I was super excited, but hadn't prepared the lesson myself. I was worried about classroom management with a sub and a "student teacher" in the room. As it turns out, the students were excellent. I taught the 2nd and 3rd math classes and loved every minute of it. I think the kids might actually have learned something as well. Very cool experience.

I'm slated to teach the second unit of science (The Particle Theory of Matter), starting next week. I'll have my work cut out for me since they've never done any type of experimentation or scientific investigation. I'll also be coaching the grade 8 boys basketball team, starting in December. I'm obviously stoked about all of this. It's all happening so quickly, and I'm just trying to enjoy every minute of it.

It's great to read all of the blogs, so keep 'em coming everyone!