Just Another Bike Ride!

Went Biking on Saturday at 9:00 am as we prepared for the Hike/Bike Ride for Breast Cancer. Since, October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, we have been trying to raise money all month for a Cure. So, on Friday night, we had a tie die party and on Saturday we wore them on our Bike Ride for Breast Cancer. Throughout the month, they have been selling pink passes (which allows students to wear pink and jeans to school). Our school has a uniform that allows students only to wear three colors.

I don't know how elaborate I will go on my thoughts from my first 8-weeks in Math, but I will try. Well, one thing I will say, the students are awesome. I have really enjoyed getting to know all of my students. I know a lot of people are worried about where our society is heading, but the youth that I have had the opportunity to work with are very bright. I know that most of my time has been spent in Pre-AP classes, but even in the regular ed classes have I have seen a lot of bright students in those classes. I feel very privilege to be working in this school right now, and I thank the lord for the opportunity that I have been given. It has been a very good experience so far.

Now, I learned a lot from both my cooperating teacher and the math specialist. They were great and very welcoming. I hope that someday, if I ever have a student teacher, that I can be as helpful to my student teacher. I received a ton of materials, and she gave me a bunch of math videos. It was an awesome experience, and I think I could handle my own classroom right now. Well, maybe I could still work on classroom management.

I was allowed to teach on Thursday and Friday in Texas History. Pretty exciting to get my first opportunity to teach in this classroom. I taught about the Americans emigrating to Texas. We tried to talk about the reasons why this would have happened. Soon, we will talk about the Texas Revolution, which includes the Battle of the Alamo!

Just switched classes!

Ok....so starting Monday, October 12...I have officially switched from Math to Texas History. I have a brand new schedule. The schedule is as follows:

8:10: Arrive at School.
8:15-8:40: Work in classroom
Period 1: Pre-AP TX Hist (7th) (59 min)
Period 2: TX Hist (7th) (50 min)
Period 3: Planning (50 min)
Period 4: Pre-AP TX Hist (7th) (1 hr and 34 min w/ 30 min lunch break)
Period 5: TX Hist (7th) (50 min)
Period 6: TX Hist (7th) (50 min)
Period 7: TX Hist (7th) (53 min)
4:00-6:30: Football Practice

Ok, so today, I was called a traitor (jokingly) by a bunch of my prior students, who no longer have me. I would say that I have about 65% of my old students in the History classes. Sorry for the lack of posts. I will work on reflecting on my first 8-weeks with Mathematics and my first co-teacher this weeked.

PS....GO HUSKERS!! (I feel that if the Huskers win occurs this weekend, the Huskers have the Big XII North Locked up!)

One more Note, Nebraska is 5-0 against the spread this year, and they are 10.5 point favorites this weekend against Texas Tech.

Also, check this website, I just get chills when I watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDED6eUlbMk and vote for Ndomokong Suh for Heisman, by going to this site http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/theheismanvote/2009/ (check the leaderboard, he is winning!!!)

Labor Day Weekend

First of all, would like to say Happy Anniversary to Mark and Julie. I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day and Anniversary on the same day!

This weekend I went to SRO's, which is a bar in Houston, Texas. It has nine sections that are designated for fans of specific teams to watch the game. Nebraska fans took up three sections, and they look very much the set of TV's in the picture above. I had a lot of fun, watching the game with a bunch of Husker Fans. I tried taking a picture of the three sections, but it didn't turn out well. On Sunday, Kasey Kahne won his second race this season!! I was so happy, and Colorado lost to Colorado State, also a positive. I felt sorry for all the Oklahoma fans, because of their loss and the injury to Sam Bradford. I hope he comes back soon!

Now, some things you may be interested in. I came around the corner Thursday morning, and there were two girls rolling on the floor fighting, throwing punches and scratching each other. This came one day after my cooperating teacher told me, "You probably won't see a fight in our hallway." Well, i guess she was wrong. Come Friday morning, I had to break up a near fight, when I come down the hall and there are two students egging each other on. The classes were normal, and I am still enjoying everything here in Texas!

Thanks for reading...

My Daily Schedule...some of you may be interested...

8:00: Get to the School
8:15-8:40: Gym Duty
Period 1: Pre-AP Math (7th) (59 min)
Period 2: Pre-AP Math (7th) (50 min)
Period 3: Pre-AP Math (7th) (50 min)
Period 4: Pre-AP Math (7th) (1 hr and 34 min w/ 30 min lunch break)
Period 5: Math 7 (50 min)
Period 6: Math 7 (50 min)
Period 7: Planning (53 min)
4:00-6:30: Football Practice

This is a normal day, except for Wednesday's because they are shorter, for Teacher Meetings in the afternoon. Soon, Football games will start and those days will be longer also. It is nice having planning at the end of the day, but 6 straight classes is kind of crazy...

I looked through my journal of my thoughts so far...i only found one statement to be interesting:
"Thoughts: Lunch break is too short."
I think I have gotten use to the 30 min lunch break...if i think anything else I write is interesting, I will post it here...

Whoops!!

Ok, so i never thought it would take me so long to post a second blog, but is there anyone really counting? I guess this site is...

So, I started on Aug. 18th, which was four week days before students started. I was a little nervous as I pulled into the parking lot, but there was nothing to be nervous about. The staff was really nice, and I enjoyed the 4 days before students got there, because they were slightly laid back, and I got to meet the teachers, before they started teaching. The classroom prep went relatively slow, until Friday, we (my cooperating teacher and I) did a ton of decorating and bulletin board making (being an RA, may have helped with this).

Finally, Monday the 24th came and students showed up for class!! This day went well, especially since I was thinking I may be bored sitting through 6 of the exact same classes. I was not and I was actually entertained. The students are awesome, and I think I have all of their names down now...On Tuesday, I was allowed to teach...no wait talk about myself. I gave a PowerPoint presentation about my self and Nebraska, since that is where I am from. I think the students enjoyed learning a little bit about Nebraska...

Overall, I have enjoyed my experience in the classroom, the students have all been really good and they are a very diverse group. I think it is pretty cool to see so many different Ethnicities in one classroom, that is some thing that I never experienced in Nebraska.

Now, coaching is a different story....I enjoy coaching, but I can't believe how many players whine on the field. I would have been running even more, if I ever complained about anything to my coaches in High School and Middle School. To be honest, I am tired of the players that continue to complain about everything on the field. Other than that, I hope we can be focused with our first scrimmage coming up, and I will let you know how that goes.

And.....my explorations of Texas continue, but I haven't left Houston. I went to the Galleria on Saturday morning/afternoon, one of the most extravagant malls I have ever seen. Ice Rink in the center and like 30 restaurants in the Food Court...just amazing...maybe too amazing for my liking. Last Friday, I went to the Astros/Diamondbacks game at Minute Maid Park, and then explored downtown Houston. It was a lot of fun, and there are pictures, but I don't have them on my computer yet, so I will post them when I get a chance.

Okay, now I will stop this long post. Next time, I will try to post once a week if I get the time.

Once again.....Enjoy!!

Ok, so I have been in the state of Texas for over a week now, and people have been pressuring me to start writing a blog during my time here in Texas. I really don't know how insightful or interesting my posts will be, but I will try. So, I left Lincoln, NE on August 7th and stopped in Moore, OK on the first night. Strangely enough, that was the hometown of Toby Keith. We then moved through Dallas, TX and got to Houston late on the 9th. I made it through Houston fine, but my Mom and Dad both got lost.

While both my Mom and Dad were here, we went to Galveston to the Beach. On Monday, Dad left and Mom stayed. We went to the Space Center in Houston and then traveled to San Antonio. We visited the Alamo, Sea World and the Riverwalk. I love the riverwalk so much that I walked to it and around it three times!!

Above I have included photos from: Sea World, Houston Space Center, NASA, Moore, OK Water Tower, Pool at my Apartment and the outside of my apartment, the beach and Killough Middle School (where I will be working for the first 8-weeks). In no particular order...

Enjoy! Only one day until I start...