Entry #17 - My Reflection on the First Quarter

Although this isn't my first quarter of high school ever, it is my first quarter of high school in this role.  I'm trying to decide whether or not it is more or less than I expected, and what sorts of ideas I have had to put behind me.  It has been interesting for me - but more importantly, it has gone extremely fast.  I am shocked that the first quarter is already done, and that means that after this next quarter, these classes will be my classes.  That is almost as exciting as it is terribly frightening, because I will have sole responsibility over the minds of about 100 students.  I have the opportunity to make a huge impact or to do nothing at all - and it is not all up to me, because the students have so much to do with what happens in the classroom.

I am also coming to a close on my first semester of classes in the credential program.  Those classes have been far less stressful than I would have originally imagined, and I am overall pretty happy with what happened... except I somehow feel that they left me under prepared.  But I always have a looming fear of being under-prepared.  I suppose, come February, we shall see.

As far as a reflection on my students from this first quarter, I am overall pretty pleased with the amount of diversity that I have and the very different personalities represented in my classes.  Although I wish I had more students that fell into the exceptional category, I do have to remember that most of them are doing their best, and as long as I know that, that is all that matters.  They are far more complex than they let on, which I only know because of things like their writer's notebooks and, for my juniors, their journal entries.  

I look forward to the next quarter, and seeing what I can do.