Starting a new prep always gives me a certain level of anxiety because of the unknowns. I’m unsure how the delivery of different activities will go and what not. Documenting this round so that I remember for next time.
Classroom Bingo
I found a template on Canva and changed some of the descriptions. I added things like “knows where to get the best tacos in SF” and “lives in the East Bay.” Usually, I’d get 2-4 kids who commute in from the East Bay. I had at least one block of students for which this was not true. Note to self: make sure students can find a friend that fits the description.
Expectations and Norms
After giving students my expectations, they came up with their own class norms. A common theme was respect.
I wonder if Respect has been a huge issue or if it’s one of the norms that they’re used to hearing. I was hoping that this exercise would allow them to be intentional with the norms they choose instead of knee-jerk responses. We’ll see with how the year goes. Some of the additions like “Be uplifting” is so beautiful. as much as I hear this generation of students described as “soft,” their softness can be a real strength as well.
Save Fred
I seriously thought the students needed 20 minutes to complete this activity. By the time Block 3 hit, they were finishing in 5 minutes. When discussing how they completed the activity using the norms, it’s pretty cool to see how evolved the students are with emotional intelligence.
Syllabus Review
We went over the syllabus. Not completely my style to do this, but the team decided to go over some important parts of the syllabus. Definitely needed to discuss the new grading system—which I’m a big fan of. After explaining it to the students, sounds like they’re also fans of the new grading system.
The big controversy was the bathroom. When I left the school, there was a huge influx of students taking advantage of the bathroom policies. After diving into the issue to find solutions, it seems as though it was a problem nationwide…dare I say worldwide. Students’ days are overly structured—and they’re finding unstructured social time in the bathroom…during class time.
Students asked really great questions. I’m hopeful that this year will be a positive one!
Learning with Ms. Medrano 