Sunday, July 26, 2009

Busy trying to finish up the work for my Summer Institute and other "stuff" . . .

I know it's been a while since I've posted. Believe it or not, I guess I can remain busy even when I'm not at school. :+)

I was accepted into a Summer Institute through the Using Essex History grant. For followers of this blog, this is the same Institute that I did last summer. It's a wonderful professional development opportunity. When completed, I will get a $1,000 stipend, three graduate credits, 45 PDP's, and the textbooks for free.

Prior to the Institute, I had to read three books and a huge packet of readings. During the week of the seminar, each day you turn in work. I had to complete one book review paper and three "note papers" on the books. I completed all this work a few days prior to the start of the Seminar. I knew that everyday when I would come home that my brain would be fried! :=)

To finish up the Institute, I have to write a 10 page thematic essay and a five day lesson plan on the topics discussed during the Institute. This work is due on August 1st. I need to get the work completed earlier since my sister is coming out for a long weekend visit. The good news is that I email all my work to my professor.

And, I was accepted into a five day workshop at Harvard on Oil and the Contemporary World in August so I have work to do for that workshop as well.

So, this is what I've been working on since I got out of school.

On top of it, I've also been preparing and getting ready for the next school year. Sometimes I laugh when people tell me how great it is to be teacher since we "have our summers off." Yeah, right. Not this teacher.

This is what I've been working on for next school year:
1) I'm part of a transitional program in the Freshman House so the English teacher and I are working on doing interdisciplinary units with various themes. One unit we are working on is related to the Holocaust and the graphic novels Maus I and Maus II. I wrote a grant that enabled us to purchase the books for the students.
2) Since I'm on the transitional team, our team wants to incorporate a new grading policy called Success Orientated Classroom. Basically students will contract for their grade. It's a new way of thinking and planning so there is a lot to learn. Our team wants to be consistent with our students regarding grades and discipline as well.
3) There are three World History teachers in the Freshman House. We've made an executive decision to start our curriculum at the Renaissance this year. We can't continue to barely make it to World War II by the end of the school year. We need to get to the present day as much as possible. Since our state doesn't test on World History knowledge (I guess US History is more important), we can pretty much do what we want to some degree.
4) I'm always working on expanding and improving the local history class curriculum (which is where the Summer Institute comes in). The Summer Institute incorporates primary documents into local history so it's a win-win situation. I've also been working on "tweaking" the Honors credit option contract for next year. I felt that the Honors credit this school year so TOO easy for the kids.
5) One of my goals is to have most of the 1st quarter planned out by the end of August. We don't go back to school until September 8th.
6) I'm working on trying to get AP European History approved at my school for next school year. So, I need to submit a curriculum for approval. What does this mean? That hopefully my school will not only approve it but will pay for me next summer to get trained!

Why do I need to get all this stuff done? Volleyball season officially starts on August 27th so I need to have all my ducks in a row to be organized for the new school year. I hate being unorganized for a new school year. :=)

I have allowed myself some down time as well. I've been watching a lot of movies thanks to Netflix. I'm currently watching The Tudors - season 2. Highly recommend it!

So, that has been my summer thus far. Luckily the weather here hasn't been that great so it's allowed me to be more productive than in past summers. When it's raining outside, I get more work done.

How's your summer????

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Higgins Armory in Worcester, MA

I had a few visitors staying with me the beginning of June. So, one day we were looking for a place to go (the weather was rainy and cold so that limited our activities).
I had always wanted to visit the Higgins Armory in Worcester, MA. So, off we went!
We had a lovely visit! The Armory contains one of the largest collections of armor in North America! There are 5,000 objects to view from various time periods (Ancient Greek to Medieval and the Renaissance). The Museum has a rare Roman gladiator's helmet and a great exhibit on the development of hunting weapons. They even had a chastity belt! I would highly recommend this museum. They had a great introduction video that included the history of the founder of the Museum, John Woodman Higgins and how he established the Museum. The exhibits are fascinating . . .from the weapons to the actual armor for men (and a few for women) and even horses.
The museum is VERY kid friendly! They had a room with interactive stuff like trying on helmets and clothing (see photos below) and even a massive chess set on the floor to play with. On Saturdays, they even have demonstrations like jousting.
Here are a few pictures that I took of the visit.

Look . . . it's my knight and shining armor! :=)



I'm wearing a medieval helmet!

Trying to be a princess!
If you are in the Worcester area, check it out.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy 4th of July!


Wishing everyone a happy 4th of July!

Enjoy your cookouts but remember the real reason why we celebrate this day.

Read here. Here. And, if you want to check out this event in person . . . go for it!