Back to Reality

Well the easy living of summer has come to an end.  I knew it was coming but the knowledge of it happening does not make the actual event happening any easier.  Now, if you are not a teacher and you are reading this I am sure you are mocking me and saying something sassy in your head like "oh poooor you.  You have the whole summer off and now you have to go back to work. Waaaah."  Okay fine, sass me all you want, but you don't know what it's like to be a teacher.  We earn those eight weeks off!  I cannot even express to you the level of exhausted I have been the last three weeks.  Summer made me forget just how tiring teaching is (summer also made me realize that I would be VERY good at being independently wealthy). 

Regardless of how tired it makes me, school is back in full swing.  My classes are great so far, and I cannot really foresee any big behavior issues.  One of the major perks of teaching Physics, a senior level elective, is that I generally teach students who are well behaved and somewhat motivated. 

I started the year off right with a picture of back to school minions on the board when my students walked into my classroom. I love and want my own minions. I also love the movie they come from--Despicable Me.  Not only is it entertaining, but there is also a lot of Physics to be found. I mean, there is a villain named Vector in it, that just screams PHYSICS!  Some students loved the reference, and some don't get it (because they haven't seen the movie, something I should send them to the Box of Shame for but I resist on day one) but I think overall they like the light moment on the first day of class.

In an attempt to incorporate more STEM activities into my classes (an initiative I am working on thanks to a workshop I went to put on by the Boston Museum of Science this summer) I had my students practice the scientific method by building paper towers, a classic activity and always a hit--particularly when there is a prize involved for the winner!

The winners this year were two girls pictured at the right (don't worry, their faces don't look like blurs in real life--I'm just protecting their identity!) They managed to build a tower that was 150 cm tall with only one sheet of paper and 30 centimeters (yup we use the metric system in my class even though we are in 'Merica!) of tape!  Incredible. 

Overall, even with the exhaustion (which has been getting in the way of my daily exercise but that's a conversation for another day) the year is off to a good start.  I feel more confident in what I am doing and that is a great feeling.  On tap for tomorrow, measuring speed and testing the accuracy of my newest classroom toy--a RADAR gun!!

Me? Teach Physics? Okay!

First of all, welcome and thanks for visiting my site! I am starting this blog because upon searching for teaching blogs I have found several things including, helpful classroom management tools for elementary education, A LOT of resources for high school English teachers, and even several "science in the real world" teaching blogs.  Unfortunately I have not found many blogs about Physics, especially not blogs about Physics teachers who are certified to teach Life Science (i.e. Biology) but were offered a job teaching Physics in a great school district and so jumped on the opportunity. And so, here is THAT blog.

Yes, I am certified to teach Life Science, although my true passion in science lies in the Environmental Science fields.  I have my undergraduate degree in Wildlife Ecology and I nearly have my masters in Teaching and Learning (it will happen someday!).  I am currently working towards earning my teaching certification in Physics in New Hampshire, not an easy feat if you ask me--and you should since I'm doing it.  They don't just give teaching certifications away these days (trust me, it used to happen and then No Child Left Behind came about, don't even get me started).

The 2013-2014 school year will be my third year teaching Physics and I would say I am starting to get a hang of the material I teach (which is limited in scope due to time constraints, any other high school subject area teacher out there knows what I am talking about).  That being said, I am the only Physic teacher at my school and so I have had to keep wade through the waters and make things up along the way on my own. I understand that all first year teachers do that, but it would have been nice to have someone to turn to with questions when (not if) I had them! And so, teaching Physics has been a challenge, but it wasn't one I was afraid to tackle. I mean, it's just Physics, how hard can it be?

The purpose of this blog is share moments with you all.  Whether those are moments of triumph (yay for student learning!), moments of struggle (boo to bad behaviors), or simply me sharing my enjoyment of being a person outside of the classroom (WHAT?!?! You mean to tell me teachers are people too?! I don't believe you) I hope you find something that interests you.  And if you don't, well it's like I tell my students, I can't please you all everyday.