The First Day of School...

My first experience teaching was as a substitute.  I was 23, college-educated and looking for anything to make ends meet.  I didn't substitute for long.  Few do, I suppose.  I started working in January, 2006 and worked every day till the school year ended in June. 

I experienced a lot in those five months.  I conducted Beethoven’s 9^th symphony for an orchestra of 5^th graders.  I played a lot of dodge ball in gym class. I taught a two-week unit on the Pythagorean Theorem.  I broke up a fight.  I monitored a whole lot of study halls.  I led improv with high school seniors.  And I wore out the rewind button on at least two VCRs.  That’s right VCRs…it was public school in Maine in 2006, what did you expect?

I’m sure I learned a lot during this time…maybe…but I never recorded any of the stories or kept track of all those potential lessons learned. 

I left substituting behind, but continued to teach.  In graduate school, I served as a teaching assistant and now I teach my own classes at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst …I have now for almost three years.  

I’ve received a lot of excellent feedback over that time.  I’ve also invested time analyzing outcomes and refining my teaching style and strategies.

I occasionally write about pedagogy, but not nearly enough.  Despite good intentions, I’ve failed to keep track of stories, classroom experiments and all those wonderful moments that make me chuckle -- and also, teach about teaching. 

So, I am starting a blog.  And maybe, with a little luck and dedication, I’ll be able to capture some of those past moments before they slip into the beyond.  And, maybe, I’ll create a space to record all those experiments and anecdotes that lie waiting, like a corky booby-trap that you set for scavenging raccoons, but stumble upon yourself.   

~ EE