It's Not Magic, It's Science!

When I started this blog, I wanted it to be a about science and pedagogy. When I look at what I've written so far, it's all pedagogy. So, now it's time to bring on the  SCIENCE ! This is the science of making  mozzarella cheese . Or, at the very least, the science of the ingredients. Here's what I needed to make the cheese: Milk Salt Rennet Citric Acid Water Here's what I learned about the science behind the ingredients.  Milk : Any milk will do as long as it isn't ultra high temperature pasteurized (UHT). Apparently, if the milk is ultra high temperature pasteurized, the heat may cause the proteins to denature, or lose their shape. When proteins denature they are not able to function appropriately. If this happens they will not be able to come together to form curds. When milk is UHT pasteurized it is heated to 280 degrees. That't pretty hot for the proteins in milk. And while I would want the proteins to denature if I was making yogurt, I d...

No matter how hard I work, I am never going to get a promotion. I will never get a bonus. If I want a promotion I have to go back to school (even though I am already 30 credits beyond my master's) and take a job that is no longer in a classroom. Working directly with students is why I got into teaching and I'm not ready to leave that behind. So, according to the definition, I am in a dead end job. I can work my butt off, create fantabulous lessons, give all I have to my students and next year be in the same position making essentially the same money. Every four or five years I have a teaching crisis of faith. I question what I am doing and why. I think about the other things I could be doing with my life (though as I get older some of those other options are becoming much less likely - I don't think NASA wants to send me to space or that my career as a rock star is going to take off). This most recent crisis was the "I will never get promoted" crisis. Right now,...

Every year on the first day, just like so many other teachers, I lay down the law.  The rules, the expectations.  Pretty standard stuff.  But then I tell the students two rules and one fact that are the three most important things to remember in my class (and in life). Rule 1: No Glitter . Now, don't get me wrong.  I love glitter.  Sparkly things are pretty! But, sometimes I really hate glitter.  When  kids cover a project in glitter it is inevitable that the glitter is going to end up everywhere.  For months afterwards, I go home with pieces of glitter stuck to my face and and I find it all over the classroom. Also, I run a science classroom where students learn to think like scientists and act like scientists. As far as I can tell, scientists don't often (or ever) put glitter on, well, anything.  It's hard to take someone's life's work seriously when it sparkles.  After I present this rule, there are the inevitable "What about...." q...

Oops I did it again. Last year I was observed four times by my principal and assistant principal.   In NYC we get to choose from a small menu of options outlining when and how we can be officially observed.   My administration suggested that we choose three informal and one formal observation.   For the informals they can come in at any time and stay for about 15 minutes.   For the formal, you know when they’re coming and you meet with them before the observation to review the lesson you are going to teach. Observations have always been a thing but, before Charlotte Danielson came into our lives, months and months (and sometimes an entire school year) could go by without an admin stepping foot in your room.   Those days are over.   And that’s OK.   We all want to get better at what we do, right? If used properly, these observations to be a really powerful tool to improve practice. At least that’s what I tell myself every time they walk in the room...

This is about sharing the awesome. We've all got some awesome to share. This year I start my thirteenth year of teaching.  Three schools and over a thousand students later I think that I have learned a thing or two about how to teach. And I am always happy to share what I have learned.  This year (as I may have mentioned a time or two before in earlier posts) I started at school number three.  In one year I think I grew more as an educator than I did in the previous 5 years.  So, I have to share all this new found knowledge.  Right? Sharing step one : Start a blog.  All the cool kids are doing it.  Helps to reflect on my practice and share a little bit of my awesome with the world. Sharing step one accomplished (or at least in the process of being accomplished). I've actually enjoyed blogging.  And, even though I say I don't care how many people read it because it's only for me (blah, blah blah), I get all giddy every time the number of view...

In the beginning of my career I spent 3 years looping with the same students in the South Bronx.  I started with them in the 6th grade.  They were new and so was I.  I followed them into 7th and 8th grade science.  The term for this is looping.  Every mistake I made as a first year teacher looped with me.  Those were definitely the hardest years of my career.  But, by the end of those three years, I felt really invested in those kids and in their lives and futures. At the beginning of my fourth year I started at a new school in Queens.  This time I was teaching 10th grade science.  We were a new school with few science teachers and I ended up looping with those kids too.  I had many of them through 11th grade chemistry and 12th grade environmental science. I planned their prom and senior trip and cried when they graduated.  I've stayed in touch with some of them and hear about many of them through the grapevine. These students f...

This is a tale of a project that didn't work quite the way I wanted.  For the last weeks of school I turned my classroom over to the students and allowed them to plan and teach the lessons.  It was kind of a mess.  So, I guess they did teach me something and maybe next year I can turn this failure of a project into a success. The beginning of June came (as it thankfully always does). I had one unit left to teach and 140 7th graders to keep focused until June 28. I had a great idea.  Assign standards to the students, teach them about planning a class and let them teach the classes until the end of the year.  Perfect! They would learn the new material and practice talking in front of the class. I would sit with the class and participate in the lessons like any other student.  I gave them 3 days to plan in class and then we were off (well, sort of - June is full of PD days, meetings, days when the kids are not in school and a 3 day trip I planned). As yo...