First day of my second year

Chris and Rebecca's wedding (amazing!!!!!) officially marked the END of summer and the beginning of my second year of teaching in an urban South Bronx High School (if you're ever driving south on the Major Deegan Expy to Manhattan, look to your left right before the Madison Avenue bridge and you will sure enough see my classroom-- third floor, windows most likely covered with chart paper and posters. Honk.). The wedding was--without a doubt--the perfect way to end my summer. Cousins, partying, a beautiful ceremony, a beautiful new family. I couldn't have asked for a better Labor Day weekend.

Surprisingly, there were no outrageous surprises at the school-wide meetings today. I am still teaching four 10th grade classes and one self contained special ed. 11th grade class. My honors class, however, no longer exists, which is both frusterating and upsetting. I know so many of my students will be let down. I am working to implement some sort of honors curriculum where the students initially selected for honors can receive honors credit. We'll see.

Three of my rosters have 34 students, one has 29 (a collaborative team teaching class, which includes 10 students who were in a self contained 9th grade English class last year), and my s.c. class has 9 (with a paraprofessional, who is supposed to serve as my TA. Last year, my para sat at a desk, messed around on her Blackberry, ate food, brought the kids food, and often cursed in front of me and my students. She also refused to help/push the only student she was in charge of working with, who was in a wheelchair. More often than not I helped her pack her belongings and exit the classroom. Hopefully I will have a better experience this year).

I just trekked back to the UES from Lehman College, where I am enrolled in two grad. classes this fall. Studies in Shakespeare (Monday from 6-9) and an education class on media literacy (Tuesdays from 4:15-6). I never have high expectations for my grad classes, although it would be nice to actually LEARN something I could utilize and implement in my classroom. I suppose this is what a "free" masters gets me.

Now, I am off for a run to calm my nerves (7 weeks in to marathon training). I feel significantly better today than I did a year ago, so I can't complain.

I am excited for a new year, new students (with some old), and a fresh start. Wish me luck.