my first week with a substitute

So this week has been a little wild because I've had a substitute the whole week. It's been really interesting to see how the students behave when their main teacher isn't present. For the most part the students behave just the same, but of course there are a few kids that try to take advantage of the fact that it's only me and a substitute watching them. I've been very fortunate to have my school's principal check up on me frequently throughout my day to make sure that things are going to plan.
Luckily we had Tuesday off due to snow so that was a great chance to catch up on all of my UPenn work due for the end of the semester. For the first few days of the week we continued working on our projects, but starting today we had a review session and set goals that we'd like to achieve by the end of the week. I've noticed that every so often having a day where students set goals is extremely beneficial. At the beginning of class I have the students think of a personal and professional (school-related) goal they'd like to accomplish by the end of the week then I have them share it with a buddy sitting next to them. Finally we all come back together as a class and I normally share mine first. It seems to be a more productive day if I am able to model my goal-sharing first and encourage student participation. For about the first 10 minutes of class we do this and then get into working to actually achieve our goals. With approx. 10 minutes left in class we come back as a group and I ask students to share if they were able to succeed in completing their goal, or need to take extra steps tomorrow. Unbeknownst to the students, by setting goals they're essentially outlining an agenda to complete in order to finish their work. This strategy has worked well in the past for me and I plan to continue using it in the future...I'd also encourage all future teachers to give it a shot someday. Hopefully tomorrow goes just as smoothly as the past few days! Ta-ta for now!!

coming back from thanksgiving

So this is been the first week back from Thanksgiving and boy am I tired. It was great to get back home for break and enjoy seeing the family and all, but it's been tough to get back into the jive of things. On a positive note the Philly School District has parent teacher conferences this week so they've included two half days for the students. The students have been a bit riled up but all and all it's a pleasure to be back.
 
Anyway, check this out!

We are planning to have Holiday Reception/Meet the Dean events in both Chicago and NYC.  It will be a great opportunity to meet leaders from GSE, find out more about our degrees and programs, network, and enjoy some delicious food. You can register/RSVP for these events by visiting our events page: 

http://www.gse.upenn.edu/admissions_financial/events#off_campus

Also this Saturday we have an open house for the Teacher Education Program. This is especially meaningful for me because it's the program that I am a part of!! If you come be sure to say hello and I'd be glad to answer any and all of your questions.

There's only 3 more weeks until Christmas break so I'm hoping we can end this month strongly and then get a nice extended break to again relax with our families. Teachers will have off from the 23rd until the 2nd of January, but on a super positive note Penn doesn't start classes until the 13th....wohoooo! Okay take care for now, talk to you all again soon.