A Day in the Life

5:30 Wake up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, read a bit of the paper, make lunch.
6:30 Leave for work.
6:45-7:15 Set up classroom for the day, answer early arriving students' questions, update classroom website on Blackboard.
7:15-7:20 Stand in my doorway as mandated by the principal to greet students.
7:20-8:54 Teach intermediate ESOL class: introductory lesson on plagiarism, half the class researches pros of animal research, the other researches the cons. Both paraphrase information and cite sources.
8:54-9:29 Student Assistance Period (flex time): 3 students come in to finish Powerpoint projects using classroom laptops. One student wants help editing his homework for Drivers' Education. Another has questions about an upcoming test.
9:30-10:05 Meeting with Special Education department chair and a student's mother regarding the student's progress in school and plans for the future.
10:10-10:52 Finish planning Science lesson, make copies, shovel lunch.
10:52-10:57 Stand in the door as mandated by the principal.
10:57-12:31 Teach Beginning ESOL Science class: 3 remaining groups present their Biomes projects. Teach vocabulary and concepts for "predator/prey; mutualism, commensalism, parasitism". Students complete graphs showing the relationship between wolf and deer populations and answer questions about how the increase/decrease of one population affects the other.
12:45-2:15 Sit through an instructional council meeting to discuss the "homework" reading about Professional Learning Communities, hear how Social Studies and World Languages departments are planning curriculum for upcoming years, chat about principal's priorities, and discuss procedures for long-term substitutes.
2:15-2:30 Discuss ESOL with P.E. department chair and the Assistant Principal.
2:30-3:00 Meet with a colleague to discuss a referral for special education for an ESOL student.
3:00-6:30 Create detailed sub plans with instructions on how to assist two brand new students who speak no English and have limited literacy in Spanish during class while I am out.
6:40--Heading home!