Tuesday is my second craziest day of the week. Out of the 8 periods of the day, I get 1 off (45 minutes). It's interesting, then, that Tuesday never seems particularly crazy or hectic as it is unfolding. At the end of the day though, there I am again, falling asleep before accomplishing anything at home.
Tuesday is Middle School day. Each grade (6,7,8) is split in half, so I only teach 12-14 students each period, and since periods are only 45 minutes long, it feels like I blink and a new group comes into the lab. I don't know if I have EVER gotten a class to leave on time on Tuesday. We just keep working until the next class arrives, and then I look at the clock and say "Oh, sorry guys, you are about 30 seconds from being late to your next class!"
So, we start the day with Grade 8, half of them during Period 1 and then the others Period 2. Grade 8 has really impressed me with their skill level on computers and their overall learning abilities as students. I don't know yet if this class is particularly good, or 8th graders in general are just awesome. Overall, all my middle school classes are much better behaved than I feared. I think dealing with only 1/2 a class comes in at a time.
Grade 7 is Period 3. Half of grade 7 comes on Thursdays, just because there wasn't enough time for all these classes in one day. Period 4 is Grade 6, part 1. After break, the other half of Grade 6 comes in. Of course, my break on Tuesday is usually filled with Grade 6 students either staying late to work extra, or coming in early. But since Grade 6 is Emily's class, this is a nice treat! My biggest problem is that I have to tell each person individually what we are doing that day, since they all come in at different times during break and want to get started right away.
Period 6 is my break time, and honestly I usually zone out for about half the time, and then try to get ready for the end of the day. Periods 7-8 is my Applied ICT class -- the "advanced class." Applied ICT has class on Fridays, Mondays and Tuesdays, so I usually try to plan my lessons so that Tuesday is a culmination of sorts...Test day, or a project deadline day.
Back to Middle School. Overall, the curricula for these classes is up to me to determine. Typing speed and accuracy are the first priority, though our lack of working software this year has meant that I spend less time on that than I want to. Secondly, we want to prepare them for the IGCSE curriculum, so introducing the Microsoft Office suite comes next. At the beginning of the year, we spent some time making presentations about Internet Safety topics.
My old NYC employer, Classroom, Inc., makes really good software for middle school students. They create "workplace simulations," giving students an idea about what types of problems people might face daily in different professions. Also, the software is integrated heavily with age-appropriate math problems and language art skills. Classroom, Inc. was kind enough to let me download their programs for free! So for the fall, Grade 6 got to explore being an editor of a magazine, Grade 7 was in charge of a performing arts center, and Grade 8 made decisions about a cable TV sports channel. Students enjoyed the simulations -- when they finish a project, they often want to go back and finish more episodes.
This "winter," I decided to teach Photoshop. Image editing and graphic design skills aren't covered in any of our high school classes, so I thought it was a good chance to teach (1) something I love (2) a useful skill and (3) an issue with moral consequences. Now that they can edit an image, when should they edit an image? And what has Photoshop done to our ideas about beauty and body shape? We are finishing our projects now: movie posters, magazine covers, and product advertisements.
After school on Tuesdays, Steph and I started a Board Game Club. We have about 12 students in grades 2 - 6 coming right now. Of course, any excuse to play board games is a good excuse, and it is fun to have our own kids have a chance to play with their friends. The older boys are playing Settlers, Small World, and Shadows Over Camelot, and loving it. I like this group, but I also hope it grows to even more students to play with!
So that's Tuesday.Wednesday really is "get over the hump" day as the end of my week is much easier than the beginning!
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