Growing Frustration

So I like having a blog if nothing else than having a place where I can really just let go of my frustration. This week, while half-way over (yahoo!) has been extremely stressful and taxing. I have had to cover 4 chapters of AP material in 2 days with students are refusing to put in any effort. On top of this, I have a leadership that still has not clarified what they expect in a final assessment (although they have stated that we need to have one after the SOL), and now I have to begin encouraging students to study for a test they have not prepared for all year long. Does anyone ever hit those walls where you just want to quit on all of it? Not having the necessary support, feeling like you aren't being listened to, and just plain old frustrated with the job in general has just really wrecked me this school year. On Mondays I crave the weekends and on the weekends I crave a holiday. I know these are just rants, but it gets so aggravating sometimes. Serenity now!

Some Pondering

So, my friend and I are in the process of getting certified to scuba dive and the process really made me think. First, we sat through 2 nights of classroom instruction in which we were introduced to the proper way to scuba dive. These classroom lessons were approximately 3 1/2 hours each of the instructor talking at us and more or less repeating what was covered in the book that we read prior to class. After this, we spent two days in a pool doing a bunch of exercises that we covered in the classroom. This weekend, we covered the same exercises that we did in the pool, but now we are doing them at 30 feet. This really made me start thinking about the ITS program and the way in which we teach our students. For example, we put students in the classroom, give them technology to use as a way of learning historical information, but to what end? It is interesting to think about how we instruct students and we use the new technology and tools to help them situationalize the tool, but what about the information we are giving them. Will it help them or will they be able to actually use it? Oh well, these are probably just mad wonderings of an insane person. Hope you are enjoying your last few days of freedom!