Long Time no Post

Well, I must say that I am not having a lot of success at this blog thing so far. I started last year with the hope of documenting some of my learning and experiences as a young educator. I didn't expect myself to be so busy that I completely forgot about it.

Last school year, I had a little more on my plate then I was use to. It was the first year I was teaching Computer Science, my prep time was reduced, and Robotics Club was very time consuming. It was a hard year, and let me apologize for being a bit of a grump. However, I came through. Now I am a little wiser as an educator.

One of the things I learned last year was that extracurricular activities can really help out many students. Being one of the teacher sponsors for the Robotics Club let me learn that first hand. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical at first about the whole club, because it was very time consuming for the teachers and students. For a while there, I was considering not doing it again this year. However, near the end of the year I was able to see what a positive impact it made on several of the students. For FRC, we won our regional competition in Houston and went on to the world championships. Unfortunately, the students did not place at championships, but that was not the important thing. Just seeing the students grow in character and knowledge over the year was a pleasure. A couple of the graduating seniors even became interns at NASA because of their work in the club. See these benefits happening outside the classroom changed my perspective on extracurricular activities, and I look forward to sponsoring the Robotics Club again this year.

During the summer I even did some work for the Robotics Club. I helped run the Lego League camp for the elementary aged students. Working with younger students helped me to moderate my attitude and to be a little more understanding. I hope that I can apply these same principles to my high school students this school year.

Speaking of this school year, I only have four classes. Two of my periods have been allocated to help with administrative duties. I am a bit bothered that I am loosing class time with students, but these extra duties are helping me to see how other aspects of public education function. So, I am hopeful that I will gain a better perspective by the time this school year is over.