Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

The Regents Exams are over. My students did better than I expected and I (unfortunately) expect that some of them cheated. Some of my no-shows did suspiciously well. Not only is this a simple test to pass if you understood anything in middle school, it's also a simple test to cheat on because there are 30 students crowded into a tiny room with one proctor. That's a situation screaming for trouble. There's so much about this system that I would change if I were supreme commander. Sadly, I'm not. We did about average this year. The school had a 65% passing rate. My students' rate was about the same. I guess that means I'm no worse a teacher than anyone else. Should I find satisfaction in that? Because I don't.

I'm staying in NYC for another year. I'm staying at my school too because let's face it, the evil that you know is better than the evil that you don't know. At least I know what I can expect here. I'll be graduated in August and certified for September. That means more time to work on being a better teacher, and more money for doing it. It's all good news.

I can't believe it's been two years. It's kind of amazing to see how far I've come. I'm a little less idealistic, and a little more aware of my realm of influence. I'm also a little humbled to find that some of the things they told me turned out to be true. Who'd have thought? I'm excited to start again next year with all of this experiential knowledge. I'm going to be a beast at the beginning of the year. Beastin will be my middle name. Also, never underestimate the power of stickers, even in high school. I started a sticker chart for our review unit. The kids went crazy over the stickers. They would ask me every day to give them their deserved stickers. I'm totally starting out with that next year.

Look at me planning next year when I'm not even done with this one. I have all summer to look forward to it!