Wow! My last post was a long time ago!
I’m into my third week of summer vacation so hopefully I will be able to make more time for this blog. But for first, let’s talk about school.
School (As a Teacher)
Although part of me misses teaching Health class full time, I’m really enjoying teaching Science. April was my favorite month teaching because I finally got to use my undergraduate degree of Environmental Studies when I taught Ecology to my 7th graders. I even incorporated the Key Issues Curriculum that I acquired when I was in Colorado back in 2013.
Just as I was settling into a groove teaching Science this year, I was told that I would have to make time in the Science curriculum to teach Sex Ed in May for about two weeks. Although I’d been teaching Sex Ed for years, our district was piloting a new curriculum for this topic. Personally, I liked the new curriculum and thought it was very comprehensive–it actually wasn’t too different from what I used to teach in Health class.
It was a little stressful during the first few days leading up to those two weeks, however. I think teaching Sex Ed outside of the context of Health class was difficult for some parents because it seems to have come out of nowhere. When I taught Health, Sex Ed was the culminating topic after discussing healthy decisions, body systems, etc. all semester. That wasn’t the case this year. In the end it all worked out. Some parents decided to opt their children out of the curriculum (which is totally fine by me) and some families were super appreciative.
School (As a Student)
If you’ve been following me for the last couple of years, you’d know that I was attending UC Riverside Extension to earn my Science Authorization. I have been teaching on a temporary authorization for the last two years. It had been going well until this school year when the class offerings dried up. The classes I needed to finish my program were either not offered or cancelled due to low enrollment or the unavailability of instructors. It was frustrating to say the least.
I decided to switch from the Course Option to the Exam option to add the authorization to my credential. I took the two CSETs I needed in the spring and I recently found out that I passed them! Now, all I need is to take one methods/pedagogy class in the Fall and I’ll be set. Hopefully that class won’t be cancelled.
Summer!
My classroom has been cleaned up and things have been put away until the fall. That’s enough talk about school until August! It’s summer!!!
