New Adventures... and Challenges

Since the school year ended in May, I have accepted a teaching position in a different district.  I loved my old school, but the chance arose to move to a school where I would have more room for professional growth.  I couldn't turn down the opportunity.  Although I'm not going to lie, in this first administrative week before classes, I have had moments where I have seriously questioned my decision!  I increase my stress-level by about ten thousand!

My new school has many absolutely amazing attributes.  There is a strong history of academic excellence here.  My colleagues and I truly work as a collaborative team.  While I have yet to meet the students, I hear terrific things about them, specifically their academic motivation.  I'll have the opportunity to teach a lot more upper level students, and possibly upper level electives (which were almost non-existent at my old school).  And have I mentioned that I finally have a classroom of my own again?

The main challenge is that I have something I've never had before:  a pacing guide.  It is giving me heart palpitations.  Not only does it not jive with the modeling curriculum, but it does not jive with my overall style of teaching.  The more I try to lesson plan using the dang thing, the more hostile I become towards it.

What the pacing guide feels like to me

On the pacing guide, things I've never covered in depth are given numerous days.  Things I've spent a good bit of time on are barely touched upon.  The guide has us flying through the curriculum, then spending what I feel is an excessive amount of time on review.  My students have always done exceptionally well on the Chemistry EOC, so in my opinion, I was giving them the knowledge that they needed.  While there's always room for improvement, such a dramatic and forced change to my own pedagogy style scares me.  Am I still going to be an effective teacher?

The fast pace also leaves little time for labs and activities.  I hate that.  Students don't learn science by reading and hearing about it.  I refuse to give up labs and hands-on activities.  I also refuse to give up inquiry and critical thinking, although with this pace, I don't see how I'm going to have time to think, let alone my students!

I may just keep this blog going as I experiment with trying to adapt MI pedagogy to a district-implemented pacing guide.  We'll see what happens...