What I Want to Accomplish

This semester started off with a tragedy for my students, players, and me. A junior, football player, Shalabrin Forest died on January 6, 2012. This has been particularly difficult for those of us tied to the football program because he was our captain and leader.

Coming into the new year, I had an idea of how I was going to approach this semester, but that has been tremendously altered. I know that we have some tangible goals that must be attained, but I now have a focus on some of the intangible things that will also go a long way with my students.

For my juniors, who have been deeply affected by the tragedy, I want to have them read more challenging literature, mature in their writing, and make themselves viable candidates for scholarship consideration going into their senior year. Intangibly, I want them to feel like they can trust me, and that I have their best interest at heart. Because of the current situation, they are extremely emotional and I must always be cognizant of their feelings. Supporting them emotionally is something that is of utmost priority.

For my freshmen, I want them to be as prepared for the state test as possible...already. I've basically been teaching them the same thing as my 10th graders. Moreover, I want them to be so well-trained for next year's rigor. I'll have them next year as well, and I want to be able to cover difficult literature, write papers, and be almost guaranteed proficient and advanced levels for next year's state test. Intangibly, I want to help them mature and understand how to deal with the current situation, and growing up in general.

For my sophomores, we have so much work to do. I setup a "SATP Projection" bulletin board that changes daily. Along with that board, I have a QDI goal posted (school required) and a projection for our QDI based on where the names are placed on the board. This is a daily reminder of how their efforts affect where they'll be in May. Moreover, it makes them accountable for everything they do. I also have a countdown to the Writing Assessment and MCT2. This is consistent with my action research from last semester where I studied how the concept of time plays a big part in my students' academic success. Intangibly, I really want my 10th graders to gain an appreciation of reading, understand how close they are to college, and increase their trust in me. I stay on them so much...I really am hard on them. But it's not without love. If anything, it's because I know how smart they are, and how much potential they have. I also want to try to make up for all of the things they didn't learn in 9th grade.

I have a lot ahead of me this semester. It's going to take a lot of time and effort, but I feel confident that all of these things can be accomplished.