Palms sweating, tears welling, nerves? excitement? fear? too much coffee? or is this an anxiety attack? That was my emotional state as I drove to school this morning. And of course, as soon as I walk in the door, someone asks me “How are you doing?” with that sympathetic tone. I, being a model Mastery…
read more »“‘Twas the night before The First Day of School, and all through the house, Miss S was sure stirring… Too nervous to rhyme. Her lunch was all packed, her bags all prepared, in hopes that the children… would not be there. She knew it was not the right thing to think, but really,…
read more »On Friday I received my first paycheck for my teaching “gig” (that is what it feels like right now… more on that later). After a week of filling out retirement forms and healthcare documents my parents warmly welcome me to the world of adulthood. I feel more stressed and less stressed in different ways. In…
read more »I know as teachers, we become very attached to the children we see each and every day. Therefore, we also become attached to the “stuff” that reminds us of them; the pictures they drew, cards they wrote us, and even work they did that we were so proud they accomplished. We also have this subconscious…
read more »Finally! We have moved from our current headquarters at the Mastery Charter central office/the Pickett Campus to our permanent home… Mann Elementary. http://www.masterycharter.org/schools/mann-campus/life-at-mann/photo-gallery-5.html Our “Mann”-ly welcome began with the principal. Let’s just say, this is a man on a mission. He expects big things, and above all that we “Teach our hearts out.” This sounds…
read more »My first experiences with my new school system have been nothing short of Excellent. How could they be anything less? It is, after all, Mastery Charter’s mantra; “Excellence. No Excuses.” As I dive head first, and whole-heartedly, into my new organization, I have begun to fall in love with the Mastery way of Life……
read more »pur·pose noun 1.the reason for which something exists or is done. I suppose I should begin this project like we begin each lesson for our students; Explain “Why.” Why have I decided to keep a written account of my experiences as a first year special education teacher? Why, when I will be stressed and exhausted from the…
read more »There are three reasons I love traveling: 1. I can escape my problems by physically removing myself from them for a short amount of time and come back re-energized to face them again. 2. I can learn real-life skills and practice problem-solving when I get into tricky situations. 3. I can come back and…
read more »Here at Greater Philly Institute, we have just completed our first week of teaching. Most of it is a blur right now because of the immense stress that I have felt the entire week. I would be the world’s biggest liar if I said this job was easy. I always knew it was not easy…
read more »It was a truly amazing experience to……… sleep in today! All Corps Members earned this after getting up at 5:30 or 6 am for the past week to learn anything and everything– from the context of the schools we will be teaching at this summer to watching the fancy fingers and videos of Lee Canter…
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