End of day update

As I get ready to leave work (and yes, it is closing in on 6pm), I thought I'd make a list of all I've done today. Try to make myself feel better about how long I was at work today.

• grades are posted
• textbook inventories are complete
• facilities request is turned in
• IEP summaries are submitted
• Economics & American government curriculum maps reflection are complete
• self-evaluation is complete
• faculty survey is submitted
• tomorrow's department meeting is prepped

Left to do Tuesday-Thursday:

• AP curriculum map reflection
• individual goals reflection with each department team member (5)
• budget proposal
• department goals reflection
• department philosophy/mission statement revised
• 2009-2010 initiatives frameworks compiled and distributed

Not so bad, I suppose. Happy Monday, all!

Teacher work week

Last Friday was the final day for our students. Saturday morning was graduation. For all intents and purposes, the 2008-2009 school year has ended. Except that I am at work. And have been since 8:15 this morning. And will be from 8:15am-3:30pm tomorrow, Wednesday, and Thursday. On tap? Today it was a lot of meetings, moving forward it is one to two meetings a day and time to complete this exit checklist (anything in blue is added on to my list because I run the Social Studies department and anything in green is because I co-run the 10th-12th grade team):

• input and post grades and grade comments (mandatory for any grade below an 80%)
• compile textbook inventories for each class
• compile and submit facilities request for classroom
• write performance summaries for any students with IEPs that you taught this year
• complete a curriculum map reflection for each course taught (I taught 3 this year)
• complete self evaluation
• complete individual goals reflection
• complete staff survey
• update department philosophy and mission statement
• compile and submit 2009-2010 department budget proposal
• complete department goal reflection
• create goal/rationale/implementation frameworks for 2009-2010 team initiatives (of which there are seven)
• provide feedback for proposed student presentations of learning

If I can finish by Thursday afternoon I can have Friday off. Which would be really nice since I will be teaching rising 6th grade girls at our new candidate orientation all of next week. If anyone mentions to me in the next few weeks that being a teacher must be nice because of all of the time off, I cannot be held responsible for my response.

Also...

Brian and I get married in 400 days. Because...you know...that's a useful bit of trivia.

Clearly, I have not made a lot of progress on my paper. But I promise to buckle down and write during the basketball game tonight. Honest.

This is random, but...

It really bothers me when teachers ask students to do work for them. I don't know why. I don't think the kids care. In fact, I'm sure that many of the students are glad to be helpers. Still, something about making students file papers, grade tests, assemble packets, etc doesn't sit right with me. Especially if it is a teacher who I know spends a good portion of the day on Gchat or some such thing.

Also, my friend Keith mentioned to me on FB yesterday that his "teacher tank" was running on empty. Mine too. I am so exhausted this week and so ready for the kids to go home. Everything seems a little louder, a little more offensive, a little less amusing than it did a week ago. And that makes me anxious because we are at work until the last Friday in June and then I have one week off (during which my parents are visiting) before I start summer school. ::sigh::

At least we have a fun trip to Philly planned for this weekend. That will be a nice break. Provided, of course, I finish this week's grad school paper before we leave. Which probably means I should stop wasting time here.

An update and more goals

Last Friday, I was pretty productive. While I did not get started on my paper, I did accomplish everything else on the list and I put together this year's summer assignment for AP Government (100 terms to define, a US Constitution scavenger hunt, and a guided reading of John Locke's 2nd Treatise (excerpted)). It made for a better weekend, although I was lazy Sunday morning and instead of writing my paper before we went to lunch with Brian's family, I waited until almost 8:30pm to start that work. Needless to say, it was a long night for me, but all my own doing.

Today, my to do is shorter, but still substantial. I need to:

• grade the five Economics assignments that I have been carrying around for 2 week
• update my Economics' gradebook
• review the final exams for the five Social Studies exams to be given next week
• teach my Economics class (day 1 of review)
• go to the academic leadership team meeting
• stop at Target
• bake 50-100 snickerdoodles for tomorrow's 8th grade cookout

I want to end today with a birthday shout out. My best friend Maggie is welcoming the start of another year today and she deserves all of the attention and love that she will hopefully receive. Happy birthday, Maggie! I hope today - and the year that follows - is everything you are hoping for and more!

Goal setting

Last Friday I managed to waste away most of my free time during the work day and that cannot happen again this week. I decided to make my to-do list semipublic (since I don't know who might actually read this today), so as to increase my sense of urgency. Plus,it gives me a better idea of what to do and in what order.

Today, (outside of teaching class) I would like to:

• write lesson plans for next week (my final set of plans for the school year!)
• meet with Bill to discuss his course schedule for next year
• file my lessons from this week
• respond to two posts on my grad class discussion board
• create the writing assignment on which this week's grad school paper is based

Here's hoping I can get this all done!

My new hobby

In the last year or so, I have gotten really into baking. It's a natural fit for me...I love food, I don't have the creativity needed to be a good cook, and I don't have the patience to futz with a meal for extended periods of time. Baking, then, is perfect for me. Sometimes I make more complicated things, and one day I'll have the time to dive into the great baking cookbooks I've been gifted, but usually it's something quick and easy for Brian and I to enjoy. Tonight, I made a really simple blackberry crostata with fresh whipped cream and thought I'd share.

Crostata is just a rustic tart and when you use frozen puff pastry from the store it is even easier than ever. I just tossed blackberries with flour and sugar, piled them onto the center of the puff pastry (which I had defrosted, rolled out, and placed on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper), folded the edges of pastry over the fruit, brushed the top of the pastry with milk, sprinkled it with sugar, and baked it for about 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven. After the crostata was done, I made the whipped cream (chill a mixing bowl and beaters, then beat whipping cream with a little vanilla and confectioner's sugar until desired consistency is met). The result is below.

And, this is a slice plated with the whipped cream.

Delicious! Give it a try with whatever fruit is fresh/on sale this weekend (that's how we ended up with blackberries).