January and February seem to be the months when many schools go on staff retreats for professional development. This weekend, I went with my colleagues to a fancy hotel on Long Island to celebrate the end of a successful semester and plan for the upcoming one.
Honestly, I was not really looking forward to it. It seemed to me it was going to be just another drowsy day of useless talk that could never be implemented in real life. Plus, not every one was going, and by that I mean only the newer teachers had signed up. To me, that seemed like a bad omen. But at least I was getting paid and there would be free food, right?
In fact, the retreat turned out to be a blast. I got to have fun with members of the teaching staff, staying up late playing pool and foosball in the hotel bar and showing off my skills on the racquetball court. In addition to the relaxing parts, the actual conference was decidedly interesting and gave me great ideas for the upcoming semester. Each participant had to present an hour-long lesson on something that was working in their classroom, so I got to hear from many of the other teachers and learn what was happening inside their rooms. For example, I got some great tips on how to use drama activities to help students memorize vocab words.
In addition, I had to present myself, and although I was very nervous, it was good for me to tell my colleagues about something I felt was going well in my teaching. Initially, I had a hard time thinking of something, but in the end, my lesson on whole class discussions got my co-workers talking. Many of them came up with new, related ideas that I may even try out myself. It definitely built my confidence even more.
Today was more PD, but I got to make up a lot of organizational work around my classroom that needed to be done before the start of the new semester. Tomorrow, the kids arrive and my second semester as a teacher officially begins. There are certainly fewer butterflies in my stomach than there were in September, but now I feel that more is at stake. This is the semester when I can really experiment and get my stride as a teacher, while also being tested in June when my students take the Regents.
With so much to look forward to and plan for, I better get some rest!
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