Putting 7th Grade on the MAP...

It's been a while. I know. And really, there aren't any good excuses. My work-life balance is healthier than ever (more in a later post), so it's not even like I can blame that. Each day that passes that I don't write, I have more to say, which makes it harder to write. Does that make sense?

For now, I'll leave you with these two pictures. The first is of me and the social studies teacher from the 7th grade team. It's funny, we so often laugh about how different we are, and she refers to us as "night and day, literally". Yet one day last week, we showed up to work wearing almost the exact same outfit, with even the smallest touches the same (buttons along our sleeves, gray pants, and the exact same shoes). I love this woman (and the other women on my team) and have already learned so much from her this year.




The second is from our week of benchmark testing, known as Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) testing. Last year, I made a poster that said "MAPping Our Way to Success" (we all know I love a good pun) and had students who reached their personal growth goal or the seventh grade goal sign the poster. It really helped get the kids invested--they wanted to be able to sign their name with their friends--and also was a fun way to celebrate success. This year, I added another touch--kids who reached/passed their goals held signs that said "I passed my goal!" while I took their pictures, which I then taped up around the poster on my door. The kids claimed to hate it, but I still catch them looking for their faces as they walk in and out of my door.




And how did the kids do on the benchmark test? There was some significant growth in a lot of kids, there was also some backsliding, and there were some kids that showed no growth or just a point or two. Nothing tremendous right now, but we've still got a few months to go until EOG testing. And really, it's not all about the test. I have kids who came to me hating math who are excited about doing HARD math this year (algebra, anyone?). I have students who know it's okay to make mistakes, because it's part of the process of learning. Sure, I also have plenty of students who still don't care, or who aren't living up to their potential. But overall, I know there are kids who will leave my classroom this year better off.

Last year, I was so quick to see my failures. I could point out tons of kids who weren't learning anything, who didn't care, who would probably move on to the 8th grade without anymore knowledge than they began with. This year, I don't want to overlook the successes. Every student may not leave me more prepared, more respectful, more persistent, and more enthusiastic about math, but I refuse to let the successes go unnoticed. After all, you win some, you lose some.

More soon,

Miss H