strive time and doughnuts

New York and Company chambray shirt, thrifted

DKNY "Soho" jeans, Macy's

Cejon scarf, Ross

     I got a couple of nice compliments about the scarf - it was a fun alternative to a necklace and gave a casual Friday look a pop of color and pattern.
   

     I'm counting down the days until fall intersession! It feels like September flew by - I can't believe that I've been back in the classroom for almost two months. There are a lot of challenges and lofty goals being set, but when I get dispirited about what's required, I remind myself that all these challenges will help me grow as an educator.
     One thing I'm excited about is that for the first time ever, I enjoy teaching math. I haven't fully implemented all the components of math workshop yet, but I have been using "strive time." It's a short period of time when students are required to tackle the math on their own - they can't ask peers or the teacher for help. I was first introduced to this as "struggle time," but I decided "strive" sounded more positive, and it also tied in beautifully with this Hawaiian saying: "Kūlia i ka nu‘u" (strive to reach the summit.) I was thrilled the other day when I had the kids take an assessment, and one student pointed out that taking the assessment was just like working during strive time.
     I've also been focused on giving daily feedback to students on their math work, and it's thrilling to  see that the kids who benefit from this the most are those who are struggling or average. It takes me a good 30 to 45 minutes each night to go through their work on a word problem and thoughtfully respond, but I have seen definite growth. To celebrate, we had doughnut bites on Friday. Because at the top of every summit, there should be doughnuts ... ;)

    * I am really trying to not let this morph into a teacher blog, but at the same time, I find posting an easy way to document some of my thoughts about my (very engrossing) job. Also, I figure baked goods and pretty scarves have universal appeal.*