Bringing in Adventures

I often think to myself, "Oh, I had a story for that", or "Shoot I should have mentioned...". You see, as a new teacher, I've gotten caught up in the lesson so many times that I forget that I'm an actual person.  A person that had and still has experiences beyond the classroom that very often relate to the 'thing at hand'.  I let them know about the big things in my life (most know my husband's name, my dog's name, tidbits about my past career, and that I love my Beavs).  I forget to mention my tendency for travel, my passion for photography, my admiration for adventures.  

To help me remember that 'I'm still me', I put pictures up around the room of my favorite adventures with my favorite people.  Below are a few of those pictures:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

 Stonehenge, England

Howth, Ireland

 Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany

Venice, Italy

Victoria, B.C.

Cannon Beach, Oregon, USA

Siena, Italy

Salem, Oregon, USA

South Sister Mountain, Bend, Oregon, USA

Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy

Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy

Venice, Italy

Chianti Region, Italy

Buckingham Palace, London, England

Brighton, England

Washington Monument, Washington D.C., USA

Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy

Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy

St. Mark's Square, Venice, Italy

Gondola, Venice, Italy

Leaning Tower, Pisa, Italy

Il Duomo, Florence, Italy

Stanmer Village, Brighton, England

Here's to more adventures inside AND outside of the classroom!

*E

In Physics we have FUN...

The best days are the days that the kids walk away from the lesson with their MINDS BLOWN.  The days where we challenge the norm and get creative (and sometimes dirty).  The days they get to experience science and not just learn about it.

Some of my favorite days in the classroom are below:

Fireproof balloon challenge
In the AP Physics thermodynamics unit, I challenged the students to make fireproof balloons using only water.  The goal was to have them utilize their understanding of the specific heat of water and the fact that the heat from the fire would transfer directly to the water to heat it up before it popped the balloon.  Some tried to coat the balloons in water.  Some tried to light the balloon on fire under water (uh...that doesn't prove the balloon was fireproof guys...).  Some tried a mixture of water and air.  They soon realized putting enough water in the balloon that it didn't stretch the latex too much was the best design.  They were able to hold the balloon over the Bunsen burner for a few minutes without it popping or draining.  Here's a pic of the balloon the instant it popped:

Walking on...nails?
There are a lot of pressure demonstrations...and a lot of fun ones at that.  There are collapsing cans, egg suction flasks, and airplane wings.  I brought in a bed of nails given to me by my mentor teacher as a demonstration.  We all took turns laying on the bed, taking naps, etc.  Then the kids decided we should walk on the bed...OF NAILS... WITH NO SHOES...IN THE SNOW...UPHILL...BOTH WAYS (uh...wait...I got a little carried away there).  Nothing gets the high schoolers going like a little danger and teamwork.  

Water Wheel
My students really like group projects.  I have basically zero dollars in my budget, so I try to find labs and projects that I can do with household items.  I found this water wheel project and adapted it for my AP class.  It was the second thing they did to kick off the year and it was hilarious, fun, captivating, and they learned a thing or two about Torque (a concept they'd heard of but never knew how to quantify before).  

Laser Shoot
Students used their knowledge of refraction and reflection to set up a laser shoot.  They had to calculate and trace out the line that the laser would create by setting up a series of flat and curved mirrors and lenses (both thick and thin).  Their goal was to hit the target first try based on their calculations.  They were allowed to test each lens/mirror reflection/refraction separately on previous days, but had to draw the laser path prior to laser testing.  

Food Calorimetry
My physical science students tested the amount calories in different types of food by burning the food and seeing how much heat was transferred to water in a can.  By measuring the rise in temperature of the water, they were able to calculate the heat transfer, and thus the calories in each food type.  

*E

Teaching Newb

I tried my best to go to sleep tonight, with no avail.  As I laid there listening to my husband toss and turn, I realized that I haven't written in a long time.  I have a lot of catching up to do...

First Things First:  I graduated with my Master's of Arts in Teaching this past summer and landed a job at one of the local high schools.  I can not claim any of the pats on the back or kudos that this crazy new life deserves.  All of the GLORY belongs to GOD...seriously...I mean every little bit.  There is no other explanation as to how in the world I got to where I am today, except to say that God was my trailblazer...cutting through all of the gigantic, pointy, dangerous, sharp branches and shrubs to show me the path.  He alone is who got me to and through my teaching program, allowed me to learn under the most respected and amazing science teachers in the area, built relationships with those that directed me toward teaching, and opened up the most amazing job opportunity in the entire world (well...for me anyway...not sure how many other people want to be high school physics teachers...)

Second Things Second: Teaching is unlike any other profession.  Being caught in between the state, district, administration, other teachers, students, and parents is like an ongoing game of hot potato....with your job...  The weird thing, though, is that I'd rather be a perpetual hot potato than do anything else.  I'm completely prepared for this (and by completely prepared, I mean mostly prepared with a lot of "I think I can" chanting).  While, yes, I have so much to improve upon, this is exactly where I'm meant to be.  Every single moment in my life leads me to this place.  I love the fact that my coworkers (and the students) consider me to have an unreasonable chipper attitude when it comes to teaching (yes...I've read the article in The Onion...).  The day I lose that 'silver lining' mentality is the day that I should no longer be a teacher (and you can hold me to that...).

Third Things Third: While I like to think that I'm like a happy face balloon floating around campus, I grieve everyday.  My kids are hurting.  And I mean really hurting.  Kids in deep depression.  Kids with chronic diseases.  Kids from broken families.  Kids with literally no families.  Kids with no friends.  Kids who are hungry.  Kids whose parents push them so hard they always feel like failures.  Kids who feel invisible.  And kids who need a nice slice of humble pie.  The cool thing? I get to be a light to them. I am so lucky that I get the chance to make a difference.  God has granted me this gift to serve Him by serving these kids.  

I can feel HIM making me IMMOVABLE

E