Musings from Mrs. Galvan

Here is the presentation from today's faculty meeting - feel free to reach out with any follow up questions.

It was so nice to meet my new students' parents and say hello to former students' parents on Saturday. Back to school day is always a joyful, energizing day, though rushed too as I attempt to fit a 20 minute presentations into 10 minute slots! In addition to introducing myself and discussing course content, I want parents to know why I teach the way I do. It is difficult to explain problem based learning, game based learning, digital portfolios, mindfulness, neuro-plasticity, cognitive science backed learning strategies, growth mindset and standards based grading in 10 minutes... From my experience the last few years, it is actually impossible! Hence, writing a blog post to sum it all up is on my to do list. For parents who missed my break-neck speed presentations, or for those who want to check out the information again, they are below. I am looking forward to a great year of learning with your kiddos!

How does a month go by without reflecting on what is and isn't happening in my classroom? Well this month's excuses include: getting sick, parenting (they still can't prepare their own food, come on, when I was 5...), teaching, prepping and grading for my UCLA class , getting sick again, general end of the year hullabaloo, grading finals, grading final projects ( like this one  and this one ) and spending quality time calculating grades. I did maintain a well used "to blog" sticky note, so there is that. Like last year, I had my students write a self-evaluation-ish reflection as their last blog post for the year. I made small changes to the prompt and gave them 25 minutes to start writing in class. Also, like last year, reading them made me tear up. I would like to share a few of them, but these posts feel a bit personal and I don't want to seem too self-aggrandizing by linking to posts that were complimentary. To sum it up, while not all of my 86 student...

My classes for most of the month of January have been kinda boring. Sure, students listened, took notes, stayed organized, practiced concepts and demonstrated understanding on assessments, but save a game day or two and a Socrative Space Race, things haven't been fun. We haven't even added to our digital portfolios! Excuses: 1. Grades and comments were due January 21 2. Polynomials 3. My husband, two kids and I got the flu for a week 4. I had to go to meetings 5. Not enough class time (yes, I always use this one) Effect: My geometry students took the biggest hit. They learned about the interior angles of polygons without doing much exploration or any application. Similar polygons was covered with a boring lecture in which I presented one example. Then they did a worksheet at their seats. I have made my peace with the fact that not everyday can be a trip to Disneyland, but I do think I take my students' motivation and good study habits for granted. Recovery : ...

One take away from reading Nate's post yesterday was that perhaps I need to blog more about my average (or merely passable) teaching moments. Perhaps I will receive some awesome feedback and I'll be able to upgrade these average days to awesome? Or perhaps I'll just be putting forth a more complete version of my teacher identity, demonstrating that I don't " operate in a  bloggable  state at all times." Honest, real blogging will surely bolster the mtbos , though it adds the whole surplus of blogs problem... Nonetheless, here goes: Recently I overheard kids chatting in the math department with their computers open. To my delight, they were sharing their math blogs with one another and discussing their favorite posts. Funny enough, several of them shared that their favorite was the concept summary poste r on the different forms of a linear equation. I created this particular assignment because I wanted them to clarify all three forms of a line. I also wan...

Our headmaster is retiring this year. He emailed us all the following quote as words to "teach" by. I love it and will read it often in the years to come. “ I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess the power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.”    Haim Ginott

So working at a prestigious school on the west side of LA means that I don't face some typical challenges faced by most middle school math teachers. For example, my students don't lack motivation. I have been sitting on this blog post for two months, meaning to post something about it or at least discuss it with colleagues and students, but working where I work, I have been busy organizing a staff musical number instead . Anyways, the research is a decade old, but the message is clear. When students aren't motivated they don't engage in school. When students don't engage in school, they are less likely to graduate, less likely to instantly become excellent, independent, happy contributors to society (yes I too became a teacher to "make a difference"). While we can't control all the socio-economic factors at play in students' lives, we can try to come up with ways to motivate students while they are at school. The Forbes article narrows the fo...

In the classroom and in life, I am continually frustrated by negative attitudes, so much so that I have the following rule in my syllabus: Never say "I hate math". I strive to encourage my students to see what is possible and not to get bogged down by what is challenging. For example, instead of saying, that they are bad at fractions, I make them repeat that they need practice  with fractions and remind them that saying is believing. I love reading this parenting blog - Short Fat Dictator . Not only is it is hilarious, but it describes my own home life as a mom of two small kids pretty accurately. I hope that this post about the writer's confident two year old will inspire my middle school students to start each day with this question: " I wonder how many good things are going to happen before bed today?"