And now for something completely different...

Like lots of other teachers, I'm trying to finalize what I'm keeping, shortening, or just plain throwing out for this year. Judging by the spring, everything takes so much longer online and facing an entire year online, adjustments are going to have to be made and curriculum will have to be sliced and diced. You know how us math folks do, identify the context of the problem and the constraints. So, here's my schedule dilemma. 

Let me first off say straight up front, I know I'm lucky to be teaching where I am. Period. The kids are great, my colleagues are great, and my schedule is way less ulcer inducing than I'm used to. In a normal year, I teach three 60 min classes a day (an Algebra 2, and two AP Stats) plus run an hour long drop-in math help center. We run on a loose college schedule so last year first semester ran from August 19th until December 6th and second semester was from January 13th until May 15th (ish, I went a week longer with my AP kids so they could get through to their exam). Based on that schedule, we're already 4-5 weeks shorter than the public schools in our area. The other big difference is that we're an arts conservatory and as such, on Wednesdays they are in their arts classes all day instead of academics. So subtract all of those missing Wednesdays and we're really short on days for an AP class. 

One more giant caveat: last year was my first year teaching Stats so I have no real feel for pacing yet. Last spring blew everything up!

This year is way different. Instead of having three day weekends and fall and spring breaks mixed in, we're going straight through from August 17th until Thanksgiving. The kids will go home at Thanksgiving for good (assuming we make it that far) and will take their exams at home. They won't be back for classes until February 7th and will go straight through again until the middle of May. We are still continuing their arts classes on Wednesdays except for a handful of days where they get a mental health day - I'm sure we're all going to need it.

So, that's where we stand. Slightly panicked about that two month gap in the middle, I'm not going to lie. 

I feel good about Algebra 2. I know I went slower than I needed to in the fall last year and had already been planning on picking up the pace a little bit. I obviously need to wait until I get the kids in the room (or more accurately, get them in the Zoom) to see if my pacing makes sense but I'm not stressed there.

Stats on the other hand, yeah... a little stressed. I know I want to continue to start with Experimental Design (Collecting Data) and follow that up with One-Variable Data. After that, who knows? I'm leaning toward Bi-variate Data as a stand alone module over winter break. They'll have seen most of it before in an Algebra 1 or 2 class so that would probably be the easiest to do completely asynchronously with a couple of quick wrap-up lessons when we're back together.

Related to having seen things before, I have rattling around in my head something Roxy Peck said in one of the ASA AP Stats Zoom calls after the AP reading. Someone asked her what she would recommend to save time - paraphrased, she said to stop teaching middle school stats. They already know how to draw box plots, don't waste time on it. They already know correlation in scatter plots, don't waste time on it. My thinking now is that I'm going to set up some mini-lessons on those things and post them in Canvas as resources so they can access them as needed. 

So as of 11:43pm, my plan is CED Units 3, 1, 4, and hopefully 5 before winter break. Unit 2 over break with 7-9 plus review in the spring. Maybe? I'm sure I'm going to change my mind about four more times. 

Stats folks, got any suggestions for this semi-newbie?

Have a Balcony Cat as a reward for reading this far!

How is it August already?

Every teacher in the US is having that same thought right now. It is really hard to process that we've been home for almost 5 months now. All summer I've been focused on be able to teach from home - doing all the PD I can find (and handle) as well as actually securing permission to teach online. Now that all of that is done, I'm looking at the reality of teaching from home until May. And that is daunting.

So, that's where Shelli's Blaugust challenge comes in.

Hey #MTBoS! It's August again, so I would love for you to join me in the #MTBoSBlaugust blogging challenge!

It's pretty simple - blog during August and share your post here with the hashtag #MTBoSBlaugust so we can read your posts and encourage you! #IteachMath

— Druin (@druinok) August 1, 2020

I am notoriously bad at sticking to something like this on a daily basis but I'm going to try. This will probably end up as mix of process journal and therapy session combined with "how the heck are we going to do this?" but that's what will help keep me accountable in the next few weeks. Because August 17th is getting closer and closer. 

See you tomorrow.

The view from my new classroom

Start as you mean to go on...

New school. New classroom. New office(!!!). New preps. New kids.

That's a heck of a lot of new. Year 17 of my teaching career is going to be in a completely new type of teaching environment for me. I'm switching from a traditional public high school with 1700 students to a small arts conservatory which has about 250 kids in a mostly residential setting. That's a big difference.

I'm over the moon about the kids, the classes I get to teach, the small class sizes, the kids, working with friends, the kids, working with my husband, and the kids. I knew all that going in but the unexpectedly nice thing about this transition is a complete blank slate, the chance to start over from ground zero. Completely empty email inbox. No preconceptions. Completely new spaces to shape however I'd like. I'm moving to much smaller space(s) so I ended up downsizing a ton. I got to play Santa Claus back in June and give away a ton of stuff.

I don't officially start until Tuesday but I've been moving things in this week and starting to get things set up as much as possible before the crazy starts. If you've met me or seen my classroom in person you know that I am not the most organized human in the world. I subscribe to the organizing by piles system. My desk generally looks like a school supply tornado passed through. I eventually reach the point where I have to exert some control over my life and I go on a cleaning spree to beat back the chaos for awhile. But it all comes creeping back.

But I've got this clean slate... so I'm going to try and hang on to it for awhile.

I read a great book this summer, Adam Savage's "Every Tool's a Hammer". I had picked it up when it came out and saved it for my end of the school year fun read. I loved Mythbusters and I was expecting to just enjoy it as a light book - I certainly wasn't expecting it to turn into PD. But it kinda did.

In the book, Adam talks about the self-organizing techniques that he uses when working on projects in his shop. None of them are earth shattering but they made an impression on me and I instantly saw how they could be applied to a teacher's life.

The big one for me was from the chapter, "Checkboxes", where he talks about his list making and how he adapted and developed it from his boss at Industrial Light and Magic.(As a Star Wars fan, that's a good enough endorsement for me!) It starts with a brain dump of everything that you need to complete for a project and then breaks each of those down into the small steps you need for each component. He also uses colored in boxes to show progress: empty- nothing's done yet, halfway colored in - progress has been made, completely colored in - it's done. You get two benefits: instantly seeing where you are on a project and not obliterating what those steps were by crossing them out on a list. Super helpful if you're going to have to repeat the process down the road, like at the beginning of a new school year. I've flirted with bullet journaling so this wasn't that big a jump for me but it definitely helped. Instead of having 3 or 4 separate lists I turned mine into one big massive to-do list of doom. It's daunting but since each checkbox's task is relatively small, it will hopefully snowball as I go. 

With two new preps (well, one is new and it's been a hot minute since I taught the other) and onboarding at a new school to complete, I'm juggling a lot. This is what it looks like for me right now. Once I got it all down on paper I felt relieved. I can't forget something - it's all written down. It's excessively big but I wanted to be able to see it from my desk and this works for me.

I decided to be realistic and add this one to the end:

At least I know I'll be able to check those off. :)

Graduation '19

My school has a tradition where the Teacher of the Year is the commencement speaker. So, this year that was me. I had the opportunity to do this back in 2014 at my first school which was great because it meant this time was slightly less terrifying. It was also quite a bit harder since I already used up my one good idea¹.  

I ended up asking the #MTBoS for advice that they wished they'd gotten when they were 18.

Alright, #mtbos and #edutwitter, I need your help. I’m the graduation speaker this year for my school and I’m looking for ideas. Hit me up with your best “I wish someone had told me this when I was 18...” ideas.

Here’s what I’ve got so far:

— Mrs. Alli George (@BlizzardofMath) May 25, 2019

Now that the crazy has died down a bit, I wanted to go ahead and post this for all the folks that helped me write it. Thanks to my husband for recording the video!

Good evening faculty, staff, family, parents, and most importantly seniors. We’re so proud of you and all of your hard work to get here. Bienvenidos a maestros, familias, padres, y más importante, Seniors. Lo siento no puedo dar todo mi discurso en español, pero solo hablo un poquito. Quería asegurarme de que supiera lo orgullosos que sentimos de sus estudiantes y lo felices que estamos de tenerlos a ustedes como parte de nuestra familia Bobcat.

When I was trying to figure out what to talk to you about tonight, I got a little bit of writer’s block. The last time I did one of these I talked about why it was important to be a nerd. However, I think anyone who walks through our little corner of the 400 building has already picked that up. So instead, I did what I always do when I get stuck on something - I asked for help. In this case, I asked my corner of the internet - my friends and the math teachers on Twitter what they wished someone had told them when they were 18. It mostly came down to two basic things - Math (shocking, I know) and Being Kind.

So, here we go. This is what we all wished someone had told us at your age.

The first two involve money.

-       Start saving now. $10 a month, put it in a savings account. Start an IRA as soon as you get a job with benefits. Remember the compound interest formula from Math 3? Let time help you out!

-       For the flip side of that, Credit. Be careful! For those of you going on to college - either a 4 year or 2 year, watch out. Those first few days there are usually tables outside the bookstore or student union with credit card applications. If you fill one out you get a t-shirt or have a chance to win a tv or something. It’s so easy to all of a sudden have 5 credit cards. If you have strong willpower, get one and pay it off every month. If not, stay away.

Now, money is important but, believe it or not, the vast majority of things people wanted me to tell you were about being kind. Being kind to other people and being kind to yourself.

-       Always tip. If you can’t afford to tip at that restaurant, you can’t afford to eat there. Pick somewhere else.

-       Tied to that, people who work in a service industry deserve your respect. Don’t take your frustrations out on someone who is just trying to do their job. Clean up after yourself. Throw your trash out. Return your shopping cart.

-       I think this next one counts as both being kind to others and yourself - If you’re eligible, please register to vote before you leave home. And if you are registered, please do your research and vote. In every election.  Don’t let folks my age and older make the decisions to run our country. Use your voice.

Being kind to yourself is harder than it sounds and can take many forms. And a lot of times? It sounds like things your Momma told you.

-       Be kind to your future self. Make your lunch the night before, set your clothes out, put your keys in the same spot every day, start that paper earlier in the week rather than that night it’s due.

-       Give yourself some grace. You will mess up. I know that sometimes adults look like we have it together but we really don’t. Give yourself a break BUT learn from those mistakes.

-       Find friends that make you want to be better. Hang out with people who make you feel good about yourself and make you want to achieve more. Gas them up and let them gas you up in return.

-       Invest in your passions while you’re still young enough to have the energy and freedom to advocate for them.

-       And if you don’t know what those passions are yet, now is the time when you can try a bunch of new things - but maybe don’t document them all on your Instagram...  If your social media accounts aren’t private yet, change those settings. If you think your first boss isn’t going to google you before they hire you, you’re crazy.

-       Speaking of work, show up on time, work hard, and try to get better - even if it’s not the field that you ultimately want to go into. That first boss will be your reference for the next job you want.

-       You can always change your mind. Listen to your gut. If your career path or major doesn’t feel right anymore, you can change it. I did. 18 years ago I was in a graduate program that had nothing to do with education. I wasn’t happy and it didn’t feel right and so I got out. It was scary and hard but it was the right call. I’m definitely doing what I was meant to do.

-       If you’re going to college, go by the Health Center and see if they offer mental health services. If so, go. Learn coping strategies and have a safety valve that first semester. Everyone has issues and baggage they have to work through. Go do it now while it’s free. If you’re not going to school right away, look into resources that can help. Speak up if you need help. We all struggle.

All of that came from friends and from Twitter. This last one is my one thing for you. Those of you who have been in my room know I’m a proud Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs are loyal and always have their family and friends’ backs. But I want you to take that a step further. Make sure your family and friends know how you feel about them. Tell them you love them. You never know what’s about to happen and you don’t want to live with that particular regret, trust me.

So Seniors, go out there and make mistakes. Find your passions. Give yourself the grace to learn and figure yourself out. Be kind to each other. And don’t forget the math!

Good luck and congratulations! I love you. Felicidades y buena suerte! Lo amo a todos.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for the help, #MTBoS!

1  In case you're interested, here's my old one from 2014. It's about being a nerd. :) I'm rather fond of it.

I made a thing! aka Procrasticrafting

I've been having a hard time finding my mojo for this upcoming school year. I'm blaming it on the fact that I was on the road for basically all of July - I spent 6 nights at home between July 8th and August 3rd. All of it was great and I'm really glad I went but in the week since I've been home, getting ready for school has been at the bottom of my list. My son was extremely patient with my absence and I've tried to make it up to him by squeezing all of our usual summer field trips into these two weeks before I go back. On Tuesday we went to a local science museum and had a ball.

On the way home, we stopped by a Habitat ReStore to see what we could find. I was thinking about flexible seating in my classroom and hoped we'd find something I could repurpose. Unfortunately, the seating they had wasn't what I needed. A late afternoon thunderstorm hit as we were in the store so we decided to wait it out. As we were wandering, I found a tall red dresser that was about podium height. As I was leaning on it waiting for the storm to stop, I realized that it would be a perfect projector stand in my classroom - a good height and extra storage. Bonus! The price was right ($25) and it came home with us.

I skipped the sanding and stripping steps (Bad crafter!) and just covered it with two coats of a black semi-gloss. It did a great job of covering up the red and gave me a nice blank canvas.

When I was standing in the ReStore, I imagined covering the dresser with all kinds of vocab and graphs from my courses. I had picked up a 12 pack of acrylic paints from Michael's and went to town.The majority of my Math 1 course covers three function families: Linear, Exponential, and Quadratics and so I made each of the three sides correspond with a function family. The other major topic is a small Statistics unit.  I had a hard time deciding what to do with Stats and I decided to go with comparing to box and whisker plots.

The drawers were examples of sequences as well as the rate of change formula. That one is so central to the course that I knew it needed it's own drawer.








I had to add in a couple of TMC18 shoutouts with a Desmos logo and my attempt at an Islamic Geometry design on top. Trying to use a compass on top of a dresser was an experience that I don't recommend! :)

I put one thing on there that doesn't tie into my course as a reminder for myself - the absolute value function. A reminder to stay positive.

I'm heading in on Tuesday to get my room set up. This was definitely an example of Procrasticrafting - probably should have been planning instead - but I think this will end up helping my find my mojo more than planning would have.

Twitter Math Camp Round 2: Electric Boogaloo

I've been putting off writing this summary post because I feel like I am still processing TMC18. This year just felt like a lot.

Seriously. https://t.co/tyOvqiu5p7

— Mrs. Allison George (@BlizzardofMath) July 20, 2018

The thought that keeps circling around my brain is this: TMC17 made me a better math teacher. TMC18 is going to make me a better teacher. And human, I think.

I didn't stay in the hotel last year and so I didn't participate in any of the social activities. It stands to reason then that the workshops would have been my focus. I revamped my planning and teaching methods because of going to Anna's sessions last year.

My notes from @TypeAMathLand's Factoring session. Links on the wiki with all the notes, activities, and other random awesomeness! #tmc17 pic.twitter.com/ySBpjmjkL8

— Mrs. Allison George (@BlizzardofMath) July 27, 2017

This year I did stay at the hotel and got to experience the crazy. :) Coincidentally or not, this year was personal. Full of hard questions and reckoning with what my answers had to say about me.

Eli's talk at the Desmos Preconference got me started thinking about the politics of math education.

❤️ #descon18 #TMC18 pic.twitter.com/Ipjlto96M8

— Mrs. Allison George (@BlizzardofMath) July 18, 2018

 Marion's keynote the following day continued that theme and hit me hard. I was still struggling to find my composure 20 minutes later. If you haven't gotten a chance to watch it, you should.




That night, I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to Hamilton.

In case you've been living under a rock (or just don't like it), Lin-Manuel Miranda describes Hamilton as "...a story about America then, told by America now." How Lin-Manuel Miranda Shapes History It's amazing but heavy, especially when you're primed to see the themes of race and immigration woven throughout the musical. I'm still working through my thoughts on this but I'm so grateful I finally got a chance to see it, and especially in the context of TMC.

The next day, Julie had us all crying for a different reason.

(The actual talk kicks in at about the 4 minute mark). You may have seen the #TeacherLeader hashtag come across your twitter feed on Friday. Julie gave us three prompts to answer embedded throughout her talk.

I am a great teacher because I get the kids who never like math to stop dreading coming to class. #TeacherLeader #TMC18

Thanks, @jreulbach. ❤️

— Mrs. Allison George (@BlizzardofMath) July 20, 2018

I am a teacher leader because I love working with other teachers. #teacherleader #TMC18

— Mrs. Allison George (@BlizzardofMath) July 20, 2018

This year, I would like to grow as a teacher leader by sharing more online instead of feeling my stuff isn’t good enough to post. #teacherleader #TMC18

— Mrs. Allison George (@BlizzardofMath) July 20, 2018

I cannot even begin to tell you how hard it was to push send on that first tweet. Seriously. Julie discussed her fights with Impostor Syndrome and you could see the nods of recognition going around the room. We all fight these battles and she wanted to remind us that we are enough and our work is valid and should be shared. It was cathartic for many people, myself included.

Julie gave us all stickers as a reminder. Mine now lives on my planning/ideas book where I'll see it almost every day. Thanks, Julie!

Sessions on coaching adults and changing school culture raised more hard questions and ideas that I'm still sorting through. More thoughts on those to come, I think. Which brings me to my #1TMCthing that totally ended up being three things, because I'm me.

My #1TMCthing is to get off of Twitter more and check out the Blogosphere - both reading and writing.

And play more with the Islamic Geometry.

And be able to talk about #tmc18 without crying because so far, that’s not happening. :)

— Mrs. Allison George (@BlizzardofMath) July 23, 2018

 So this is my attempt at my first thing and really also an attempt at the third. Baby steps.

Thanks to Julie, Taylor, and Joel for giving me the push to write this, whether you knew it or not.

I'm so grateful to my #MTBoS and #TMC families for giving me space to learn and grow along side of you. Thanks for making me a better human.

See you in 357 days.