2nd sememster

started second semester today. Nice to see some students trying their best again. I rarely get transfer students at break, but I got a handful throughout the day. Nice to see new faces. I have gone back to trying to wear a shirt and tie everyday again. I started off the year like that, but it was sooo hot like 110's for like 2 weeks. So I went to polo shirts for the first part of the year. I remember writing about a dress code for my credential program. I always said I would wear a shirt and tie until I got bored of it and I did. Add in the fact putting on jeans and a polo is a lot easier to do then tie a tie and tuck in everywhere...and when you have a 16 month old you like things to be easy. So I will see how long this goes.

I am trying to change up some things in the classroom as well. I have never changed mid-year, but I felt it necessary this time. I have put the daily quizzes on a 9 point scale for the weekly average, instead of the 16 points a week. I found out that the DQ's were worth too many points at the end of the semester. And when there is no partial credit that can weigh on their self-esteem...weak I know, but I don't want to lose any students before state testing.

The other thing I noticed was that I had only 14 F's...not bad considering 6 of them knew before 1st semester ended that they were dropping the class or moving back a level. Hopefully, I can say something similar when state testing comes around this year. It can't get worse than last years Algebra 2 class results. My hope is that it is like Algebra B with a high proficient rate.

Music this week...a little metalcore. Mainly As I Lay Dying, I am hooked on their videos as of late. More on them later.