Queen of the Quadratic

Saturday, August 30, 2008

One Down, Thirty Five To Go

Survived the first week. My students this year have not shown any semblance of misbehavior (aside from caving in to their *needs* to text message all the time). I have four sections of Algebra 2 and two sections of Precalculus.

Over the past week, I've watched my Algebra 2 classes grow (even though they started large to begin with) and at the end, the admin started moving the kids around to try to keep the classes from bursting at the seams. They are now creating another section of the course that they will give to another teacher whose classes were rather small. They will combine her courses and give her a new one.

In Precalculus, several of the students have already decided that the course is too hard and wanted to drop. Considering we haven't done anything that isn't a review yet, it's likely a good decision. The ones that remain seem to have a pretty decent grasp on their backgrounds and a willingness to ask questions to help aide their success.

My Algebra 2 classes are eerily quiet. I'm not sure if they are scared of each other, me, or the math being flashed before their eyes. Perhaps they are frightened. Perhaps they are simply mesmerized. (HA)

My math team is also growing. Two of my students from last year (who are taking precal dual credit - not with me) have decided to join. They came to our meeting yesterday even though the boys that I've been training for 3 years couldn't make it due to other obligations (band, orchestra, tennis, etc.) I also invited a Russian foreign exchange student to join and she said that she is interested, but couldn't make it yesterday due to a transportation problem. It will be fun to work with her and learn about the differences in the math she learned in Russia. I can tell already that her background is very strong.

The first week was highly successful and I feel very good about the year to come. I believe it will be my best year yet.