I’ve been meaning to post about the beginning of year two for some time now, but, in usual form, I’m too busy to type! In the first two weeks of school I’ve been putting together my classroom, getting to know my new students, continuing my own education at Cardinal Stritch University, and following the teachers…

Doesn’t make me a communist, a proponent of class warfare, or a hippie.  I don’t even think it makes me a “liberal”.  I think it makes me a fighter for my fellow man and woman.  Doesn’t that sound much better?   Got it?   Instead of writing in my own journal, I want this to…

Back when my friend (and soon-to-be roommate) and I moved to Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood, we didn’t have the best impression of it. She took the high volume of shirtless men as a sign of it being a dirty place and I took the noise level of my neighbor and banjo enthusiast as a sign of…

Induction is a little less than two weeks away.  I feel like I’ve been waiting for this forever!  However, there’s been plenty to keep busy with.  I’ll be in Cherry Hill, NJ tomorrow through Sunday with my STEM education friends discussing “Teaching as Inquiry.”  And there’s always TFA pre-work to do!  I’ll admit, I haven’t…

So, it’s all starting to feel real now. I was awarded a fellowship from KSTF, which is AMAZING.  Their support (both  financially and in PD) makes me feel a lot more comfortable.  Plus, their fellowship is a five year commitment, so I know I’ll be in the classroom for five years.  I knew that before,…

Dear Milwaukee, Or the state of Wisconsin.  Part of me applauds you for your dedication to ensuring highly qualified teachers are in classrooms.  The $170 I just spent on the Praxis I (in other states, acceptable ACT scores suffice), and the idea that I may have to take out student loans for the first time…

I need to get this off of my chest… If I ruled the world, teachers would be compensated fairly for the work they do. Teachers would be treated as the professionals they are. But…it would be easier to get rid of the bad apples that give the profession a bad name. School funding wouldn’t be…

Got back to school for my final semester last week–taking some AWESOME classes, including graph theory and introductory physics (which each have elements that I can use for teaching math).  Additionally, I’m taking Middle East Politics, doing a capstone on voting theory, and studying NGO activity in Central America after a recent trip to Nicaragua.…

So I learned that as a secondary math teacher, I’m most likely going to be placed in a charter or choice school.  Interesting.  While I’m hoping this will be a more supportive environment for a new teacher, and I know of many outstanding charter schools, part of me feels dis-loyal to the majority of students…

So its been about a month since I learned my life would be uprooted to Milwaukee from Ohio for the next two years. I’ve gone from jumping up-and-down excitement, to a fear so severe I wanted to curl up with a teddy bear, to my current state of anxious anticipation. While Milwaukee was not my…