"I found her!"

2:56 Arrive at E. Middle School

2:58 Arrive at Ms. Mobius' door*

...realizes school is still in session.

Waits.

3:00 School gets out

3:00.2 "I found her. I found her! That's the girl that is going to be in our class next semester!" True quote from a 7th grade boy bursting from her classroom. 

3:00.3 I think I'm going to like it here.

If you cannot tell from the time frame above, today I met my first placement cooperating teacher, Ms. Mobius. She teaches 7th grade math and Pre-Algebra at Evans Middle School. From the first 2 seconds to the last minute, my excitement rose to be a part of this school's staff. Ms. Mobius is loud and rambunctious and it appears all the teachers respect her and laugh with her big laugh. We spent most of our time walking the halls of the middle school while she gave me the tour, introduced me to just about everyone, and told me the inside scoop. The best parts were either when I said something funny that she would laugh at or when all the teachers were pumped about the snow storm coming in and telling everyone "You better be ready for a 5am phone call tomorrow morning!". Lastly, I wrapped up the time getting the books I'll be teaching from and then taking pictures of her classroom. I can tell I'll learn a lot from her. And from the kids it sounds like it--she said they are a show for her everyday. Gotta love middle schoolers. Plus! Not all of them will be taller than me...

Goals

1) Don't get lost.

2) Learn all 90 kids names in one week.

Is it January 14 yet?

*Names have been, and will continually be changed to keep confidentiality. Just for kicks, all names will regard math topics. For example, Ms. Mobius comes from the infamous Mobius strip. Check out this ViHart video if you want to figure out what a Mobius Strip is!

Let's Begin

“To parents who aren't educators, this may be hard to understand. Five days a week, we teach your kids. Joke with your kids. Console your kids. Praise your kids. Question your kids. Beat our heads up against a wall about your kids. Gush over your kids. Laugh with your kids. Worry about your kids. Keep an eye on your kids. Learn about your kids. Invest in your kids. Protect your kids. Love your kids.

We would all take a bullet for your kids. It’s nowhere in our job description. It isn’t covered in the employee handbook. It isn't cited on our contracts. But we would all do it. So, yes—please hug your kids tonight—really, really tight. But on Monday, if you see your kids’ teacher, hug them too."

This quote was said in regards to the Newtown Elementary School shooting on December 15, 2012. Not only has it reminded me how fragile life is, but what I am about to enter into. For those who don't know me, my name is Nancy and I'm about to enter into my last semester of college and my first semester of student teaching. This blog is created for you to follow all of my adventures as I learn the ways of the middle school and high school math classrooms and students. I hope to mainly use this blog as a way to remember and track my growth--to remember the good times and all the crazy things kids say and do while pushing through the hard, annoying times. That's where this quote comes back into play. It speaks the words of my heart--that I truly love kids and will do my best to be there for them always. A classroom is not only for informational and academic learning, but it is for learning how to live in this world, relationally, emotionally, psychically, academically, financially, and most importantly, individually.