Oh, hey.
One quick “definition of terms” issue to clarify: I use separate (but similar) vocabulary when talking about my time at MHS and at Whitworth. So, when I talk about “class” or “being in class,” that usually means I’m talking about my MIT classes at Whitworth. When I talk about “school,” that usually means I’m talking about MHS. If you’re ever confused, leave a comment and I’ll clarify.
Here are my four 3-2-1 observations for the week:
- I spent Tuesday grading sophomore practice WASL papers with the district English faculty. I was surprised to find how much students were willing to disclose in those papers. We had several papers that were red-flagged because a student mentioned a pregnancy, feeling threatened by a specific student, etc.
- There are few things more fun than going out to eat with a bunch of English teachers who truly enjoy each other. We went out twice this week (after WASL scoring and during the inservice), and they were two of the most fun meals I can remember having recently.
- I never realized how cool turnitin.com is! MHS has a subscription this year, and we had a presentation about it during our inservice. I am definitely going to be taking advantage of that come spring.
- If a student has a negative attitude, sometimes all they need is to be called on it (tactfully, after building appropriate rapport). We had a student this week who missed the after-school layout night, and so she was grousing about how we changed the design of the newspaper. One quick attitude check later, she became one of the more productive students in the class for the rest of the week.
