Education: Saturday Before School Starts

Today we took the baby in to the school to get a few last minute touch ups done before school. He had a pretty good time. We had brought in a dvd of spongebob for him to watch on our dvds on the big screens in the room, but he was having none of that. The school just gets him fired up. He runs, gets into things, and generally goes nutz.

It was so cute though. When you walk in through the cafeteria, there is a big A with an Eagle on it. Aidan always stands there and points like, "Hey! Look at that birdie!" He won't move either. Which is a problem. Our rooms are like a mile away from there and getting him going is like dragging a mule. But, I promised him there are more pictures of birdies down the hall. That got him going.

The school doesn't look like your typical school. Example:
AHS is very cozy for students. The "flex" areas are places just outside of the classrooms that students can sit and collaborate on projects in groups. The sofa chairs and (I call them) cocktail lounge-style table and chairs are pretty nice for them. There is also a computer kiosk with 8 workstations and a printer.

The school is grouped into "houses" or smaller schools within the school. Norma is in the Red 1 house. I am directly above her on the 2nd floor in White 1. We are going to have a contest later to rename the houses from their Red/White/Blue current naming scheme. I am in favor of ex-President names, but we'll see how that turns out later.

[Here is a picture of Norma's room.] A house consists of about 400 students. They will all share the same core teachers on that hallway or pod. For example, I teach World History Pre-AP in the White House. Any sophomore taking World History Pre-AP in the white house will have me. So I could be pretty sure that if they are also taking advanced English that they would have the same teacher. It will give me an opportunity to collaborate with her. We could decide that the kids will do a project and use the same style of writing that she uses in her class. Or they could do a history research paper that may count as a grade in different ways depending on the class. We could also take kids to the teaching theatre or LGI (Large Group Instruction) room at the end of the pod. You can fit about 100 kids in there and it is theatre style seating.

Anyway, our rooms are really coming along. Norma is much further than I am. I like to take my time with hanging up posters. Plus, I will have a project right off the bat that I will be putting on the walls. I really like posting student work on the walls. It brings the room alive.

[Here is a picture of my room.] Monday morning is going to be crazy. But, I can't wait. Seeing my new students and starting this grand adventure is going to be something new for everyone. The beginning of the school year is always great, but this year it is something special at this beautiful new school.

I'll be wearing my new red, white and blue striped tie and trying to look sharp on the first day. I wear a tie Mon-Thu and wear a school spirit shirt and jeans on Friday. There is something about a tie that commands a little more attention and respect. I can't really tell you what it is, but the kids respond to it.

If you are interested in seeing all the pictures we took today of our rooms, check them out here at this gallery:

AHS_Aug_2006

Aug 12, 2006 - 47 Photos

There are more pictures there of our rooms and of AHS.

Check out my classroom website here: World History @ AHS by Mr. D.
Also, check back often at my blog for updates. It is going to be a fun adventure.
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Education: AHS What a Beautiful Place

Click on the images to view a bigger version of them. More images coming of our classrooms. Time now to grab a workout and watch the end of the Texans-Chiefs game. Texans up 14-7 and looking good (for a change!).
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Education: There is so much right with schools today!

Just as I was saying to my wife how tired I was at 7pm tonight... beat, whipped from a long week of moving our stuff into a new school. I check my school email from home. Administrators and our lead counselors are streaming out emails. I check the send time... 7:17pm. They are still at school working!

Amazing. And people in the general public (especially down here in the south) bitch and moan and whine about schools. If they only knew how hard people actually work. Hope much pride they take in a job well done.

It is really great to work with a bunch of people that are so selfless and so concerned with everything coming off smoothly for the first day. Sure we have had huge setbacks and things haven't gone as planned. I do not believe it is because of lack of effort from anyone's part though. Furniture can't be in rooms if it has not been delivered.

Sure it will be a shame for students to be sitting on folding chairs in my room at 7:30 am on Monday morning. Sure they will probably say, "Mr. Duez... this school has all this great stuff and they don't even have enough desks for us?" All you can say is, be thankful for what we have and the fact that more is coming.

At the beginning of last week (and through most of the middle of this week) I stressed about not having a teacher's desk and some of the more important stuff just to do my job. Those things have come through and I really feel confident that Monday is going to be a great day.

We are going to go in for about 2 or 3 hours tomorrow morning. We'll take Aidan in and let him run around some. I will probably even bring a SpongeBob DVD along so he can watch it on the projection monitor and relax. I'll take some pictures and pop them on here tomorrow night. The school looks amazing.

Speaking of SpongeBob. Norma remembered an episode that she saw this summer about "Imagination." One of our 7 Habits of Mind and Heart that we want to teach, model and focus on at AHS is "Imagination." So I am going to make a dvd of that episode so that we can show it in class during 2nd period on Tuesday. That day we will be focusing on one of the 7 Habits in each period (there are 7 periods/7habits... works great). The Imagination episode works great because the activity we are doing with the kids is what SpongeBob and Patrick do. They have a box and they imagine what is inside and what they can do with it. Of course, their neighbor Squidward doesn't believe and lacks the imagination to understand. So there is a good lesson for the kids that you have to believe and open your mind to be able to Imagine.

I am interested to see how the kids react to it. If it goes over well I will play it for my Advisory period this week also. Advisory is a class of 15 kids that will meet with me ever day for 30 minutes. We focus on Academic, Social and Emotional development of the student. The teacher acts as an "advisor" and does everything from helping with counseling problems to being an advocate for the student throughout his or her 4 years. It will be very interesting to see how the program works as we do it daily for the first time ever.

Can you tell I am a bit excited? Can't wait to meet my students.

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My Life: Monday will be here before we know it!

Houston Chronicle: AHS To Open It's Doors on Monday

This time of year is so crazy! Opening a new school year is always hectic, but this year has been the most hectic I have experienced. Everything will be worth it though on Monday when 2,200+ young people descend on our high school. It is a wild number: 2,200+. They expected 1,900 when they designed the school and hired the faculty. So that means we are OVER CROWDED. I should feel right at home after 2 years at the most crowded school in Texas! :)

My class sizes have come down through the week and they are much more manageable now. The counselors have just done an amazing job of getting it all ready. They are working crazy hours and doing everything they can to give the teachers some relief. Earlier in the week Norma had some classes with 35 and one with 38 kids. Luckily that has come down a few. My biggest class right now is 33 and my two level World History classes are around 25. Very manageable.

Of course, I need about 4 more desks... and I am crossing my fingers I get them. But, we will make due with whatever we have to on Monday.

Tomorrow morning is the faculty breakfast. It is supposed to be the start of a new tradition. Friday before school starts we have coffee and bagels together in the cafeteria. The PTSA (Parent, Teacher, Student Assoc) is putting it together. Then they are going to feed us lunch. It will be a festive atmosphere tomorrow. I am starting to get butterflies a little bit, but I finished my "Learning Plans" (previously denoted as "Lesson Plans") for the first two weeks and submitted them. So I feel pretty good about my progress.

As for my classroom, I still do not have many posters up on the walls. I will finish them tomorrow. I hope to be able to not go into the school on Saturday and just take Sat/Sun to relax and get mentally & physically rested. Both Norma and I got all of our copying done for the first week today. We got very lucky to hit the LONE copier in the school when no one was on it. That will be a mad house tomorrow. They have like 4 copiers on order, but just like a lot of our furniture - it has yet to arrive! (No worries, school just starts in 3 days!)

I had a student come by my room this afternoon with a vase of mini white and red roses. She said, "Are you Mr. Duez? These are for you." She also handed me a typed out note on nice flowery paper that said:

The white rose symbolizes loyalty and sincerity and is sometimes called "flower of light."

The red rose represents courage and respect.

But the red and white rose together signifies unity and togetherness.

They are given to celebrate a strengthening relationship.

I am looking forward to all the opportunity to learn, share and grow at AHS

I was stunned. School hasn't even started yet and I am already off to a great start. I must be the luckiest guy in the world. Every year I end up with the best students in the school!

It's going to be a great year.
Eagle Pride is born.
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Aidan: A Hug on the Beach

A Hug on the Beach on Vimeo

This was a great little moment on the beach at Galveston last week. I took a bunch of photos of this beautiful hug. It was right before we went back to the hotel and Aidan was getting tired. But, he hugged his Mom as if to say, "Thanks for bringing me to the beach!" It was his first time to see the sand and surf and he had a ball.


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My Life: Life beginning at a brand new school

Things have been super busy here in our lives. Both Norma and I are teaching at a brand new school and there is just a million and a 1/2 things to get done before Monday, when kids show up. In actuality we are never going to get everything done on time. But, you want to get as many things accomplished as you can.

Part of the reason that everything isn't going to get done is because a LOT hasn't been done that you would expect. No teacher's desks have arrived yet. No pencil sharpeners. Not enough classroom desks (Norma's biggest class right now is 30freaking8!). And one of the things that is really bugging me... my new beautiful ceiling mounted projector is not hooked up to the computer/dvd player. Everything is in place, but I am missing 3 cables that IT needs to come by and just plug in. So frustrating.

But, hopefully everything will be ready by Friday. We did see them rolling in teacher's desks at the very end of the day today and they are awesome looking. Also, I did get my teacher's chair. It took some adjusting but I think I will like it very much. It should be great for my posture, which sometimes sucks.

We have had tons of meetings this week. Obviously we need to have the meetings. Since we are starting a brand new school, with a brand new method of teaching kids (that really hasn't been tried much in this country), and we are piloting so many programs it has our heads spinning and our vision a bit blurry. For example, we used to have team leaders (say in World History or World Geography) and Norma and I have both done that in the past. We would actually get paid a little stipend for doing the work. Which was nice. This year they have instituted "Instructional Coaches" --> which amounts to a person that will teach a couple of classes and then be there to "support" the entire social studies department (and they threw in PE today for her load). The old subject area leaders are now called "liasons", i.e. non-paid subject area leads. We'll basically do the same job, just no stipend.

In truth, I think it is better in the long run. I got a ton dumped on me with the TAKS test prep last year. Norma got a TRUCK load dumped on her all the time at her 9th grade campus. That won't happen now. They couldn't really justify it. So we will spread the work out amoung all of us. Which is probably better. BUT, you know that we'll still be doing a lot. We just won't get a few extra bucks in the pocket for it.

Regardless, I could complain and complain, but everything is actually awesome in the big picture. Sure, we can't for the life of us understand how a school can open without pencil sharpeners. (isn't that whack?) And it would have been nice if someone would have thought to purchase supplies (like scissors, tape, staplers, dry/erase markers, etc). BUT... our school is GORGEOUS. The kids are going to be excited to walk through the halls and see it.

Actually the kids have it better than anyone. All of their furniture is in! We have couches, cushy chairs and these bar stool looking chairs that surround tall circular tables in the hallways. These are "student areas" and they will be allowed computer access in the kiosks that are in that same area. It's all out in the open and a few of us are worried about damage and missing stuff. It is supposed to work that the students in these halls will be there for most of their core classes and they should then take better care of their "stuff" -- but these are 14, 15, and 16 year-olds we are talking about. Hopefully the huge effort we are all putting place on our 7 Habits will take root and actually make a difference for these kids. I know it will in the long run, but I wonder if there won't be some "adjustments" to our arrangements over time.

We are loving the school. But, sometimes it's hard to see the forest through the trees when you are less than a week from the opening bell. I actually can't wait. I just hope I'm ready when I hear the bell ring!
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Aidan: Summer 2006 - What a Great Time!

A summer of SpongeBob comes to an end. Tomorrow is the final day of our summer. Aidan has had a ball. [click on the links below to remember our summer moments]

Aidan showed everyone how to eat an apple!;
We've had a ton of fun at the pool!;
We've gone to Old MacDonald's Farm;
Went to the 4th of July Parade in Kingwood;
Celebrated a very nice (but sad) Father's Day;
Took a tour of our new High School;
Laughed like crazy at cartoons on tv;
Colored a lot!;
Gone to the lake out in Bandera, Texas;
Had fun with Katie on her trip to Texas;
Had fun at bath time (like always).

You can not replace days like we had this summer with anything else and call it equal value. Aidan has brought so much joy to our lives and so much fun. We are so totally lucky that it's not even funny.

Now I am looking forward to next summer when he will be learning to talk (I didn't talk until I was 3), walking down the isle at his Aunt Aimee's wedding, and enjoying time with all his relatives in PA.

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My Life: Galveston, TX 2006 - Aidan's first trip to the beach

We had a great, great time at Galveston over the past couple of days. It was the first time for Aidan to see the beach. We stayed at the Hilton on the seawall. The hotel was perfect and it was just acrossed the street from the beach.

Galveston Island is a nice hop, skip and a jump from Kingwood where we live. It is a perfect distance to drive down and spend a couple of days. The drive takes around an hour and a 1/2 depending on traffic. There is a lot do do on the island, but with Aidan we wanted to keep it simple... stick near the beach.

Aidan loved the water and picking up shells. We went back out this morning for a brief hour to say goodbye to the beach. Aidan was pretty tired this morning because we wore him out pretty well last night. Last night after dark we went outside and the Volcano at the Rainforest Cafe was going off. Big old flames that were impressive. But, Aidan was most impressed by the street dancers and music that was being done out front of the Rainforest Cafe. They had a DJ and probably a couple of hundred people gathered around to watch kids dance. Aidan was shaking it and smiling the whole time.

If you'd like to see all of our pictures from the beach, Click Here to see our Google Web Album: Galveston Beach 2006

Galveston Beach 2006

Aug 1, 2006 - 77 Photos

We shot a ton of video and we'll upload some of those this weekend. :)
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Education: The Hiro is a Hero for Presentations!

Norma and I both ordered remote mice for our classrooms. They came in this week. We tried them tonight and they work great! It will be awesome to use them during Power Point lectures/discussions.

They are completely plug and play. Plug in a USB device into the USB jack and hit the Function key and the laser light key and it comes on. Very simple. We tested it out here in the house and it worked from a room away.

The device is called a Hiro. But, I think it is more like a HERO. Awesome stuff. And it was under $50 bucks.

I can't wait to put it to work!

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My Life: Why I Came Back to Teaching

I have been emailing back and forth with a prospective teacher in Ohio that is deciding to leave the IT field and go into teaching. Well, he has decided and is working through a master's program that will start soon. His blog is called: The Back of the Class. He asked me a question today in an email: "Why did you decide to leave IT and go back to teaching?" It is a great question. I decided to post my answer here as well as reply to him.

Very interesting question and one that I bring up with my new students during the first week of school. I do a quiz called the "Who are you quiz?" I play the theme song to CSI (The Who) "Who are you?" (ya know... ) "Who, Who, Who, Whooo?" as I run through a powerpoint with 10 questions. They are all true/false about me. One of the statements says, "Managed an Information Technology Group at a company called Dynegy." That one is true. The kids have to basically guess if I am a nerd or not. It's fun.

After answering this question for them when we review the quiz (it doesn't count for them, it's just for fun) I explain that I got back into education because, "I got tired of making so much money$!" That's my typical reply to the question. But the truth is that I missed being with people, especially young people. My last job in IT was as a security specialist. I was working on securing a network and it was a (at times) a 24/7 job and when I was at work I was sitting at a computer for 8 hours a day. I LOVE computers, but this wasn't what I consider stimulating.

Teaching is a wonderful place to be. I know for sure each day that I am making a HUGE difference. Just this week I went into our school to help with registration and so many of my kids from last year came running up to give me a hug, handshake or smile. It was just awesome to see the kids. And it was great to see that they missed me. Can you really put a dollar figure on how much that is worth?

During my first year back to teaching I was working out of a portable building (IE a trailer). 1/2 way through the year another teacher that I shared planning period with decided he was going to retire due to health reasons. I only knew him for a couple of months, but he recommended me to take over his position. He was the honors teacher. He left at mid-year and I was to come in and take over for him in January and get all of his classes. In late December he passed away from a massive heart attack and stroke. It was awful.

I learned something really important during his funeral and memorial services... the impact that his life had on kids was just incredible. To see the number of kids there and see how they felt about him.... it was awe inspiring. That's when it hit me that I had made the right decision for sure. One day when it is my turn to go, I want to be able to look down upon this earth and see kids becoming adults and making good choices and being proud of the work I have done.

It's really that simple.

I am just lucky that I can teach (i.e. make less than $40 grand a year) in the best school in the nation, with incredible kids, with my wife in the same school and close to where we choose to call home. If you are going to make the commitment to teaching and suffer the crunch in the pocket book, having those things on your side makes it so much better. I am just lucky.

I saw one of my students this week at the registration and it reminded me of the great card he put in my box at school on the last day. It really picked me up when I was feeling a little down after dealing with a difficult parent. Here's what he said:

Mr. D, your class has been by far the most cool and pleasurable class I had all year. I enjoyed your funny humor that you threw at us. It was early in the morning, but I still laughed. You are meant for teaching. Some teachers, like you, posses that certain trait that help the kids have fun and learn at the same time. History is my favorite subject. Every 6 weeks I would await a new project. I usually don't, but the projects we were assigned were so much fun. I hope that next year you keep your outlook the same and enjoy teaching because you are good at it! Have a wonderful summer and go to the park and play with Aidan! ~KM

It really makes me feel good to read it. And it makes me look forward to meeting new students like KM this year. Next Monday is our first official day back on campus. August 14th will start the whole thing off. It is so exciting to open a new school. I can't wait.

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CNN.com - Eastern U.S. swelters - Aug 2, 2006

It always amazes me to see these stories about heat this time of the summer. The East Coast especially gets so much attention for the weather. A heat index of 100 is not really anything new or news worthy in Texas. It is 'normal'. Actually the normal high temp for this day of the year in Houston is 94. The normal low temp is 74.

The thing is, everything is air conditioned here. We wouldn't have a city without A/C. So we feel the heat from the car to the store. Then we are in A/C and we are fine until we walk back out to the car and until the A/C in the car kicks in.

But, I do understand that most people on the East Coast don't have air conditioning and just aren't used to the heat. I feel awful for the people that just can't afford it. In Houston though, there is no "not affording it" - that just doesn't happen.

CNN.com - Eastern U.S. swelters - Aug 2, 2006: "Commuters along the East Coast sweated on their way to work Wednesday, while others stayed close to fans and swimming pools as the heat wave levels returned after a night of little relief.

In the stifling subway tunnels, there was no air conditioning on three cars of the train Sayed Bukhari rode into Manhattan.

'People were crying,' Bukhari said."

What makes the headlines down here? Rain. Which always makes me laugh. In Pittsburgh where I am from, a day of rain doesn't get much attention. Here in Houston it is front page and lead story material. Of course, it does flood quite a bit here. Roads swell with water quickly. And it snows once every 10 years or so. Rain is a big deal I guess.

Weather. Isn't it wierd how people react to it?

ESPN.com - NFL/TRAININGCAMP06 - Clayton: James having fun in Arizona

Football is right around the corner. My sleeper team and one I will be rooting for in the NFC is Arizona. I met a guy that is moving to Kingwood from Phoenix that I will be teaching with and he is a huge Cardinals fan. I feel badly for him that he is moving just when they might turn the corner and actually be good.

I'll still try to convert him to be a Texans fan, but it will be neat following the Cards with him and asking his opinion on them.

John Clayton from ESPN has a real interesting read today on the "sleeper" Cards:

ESPN.com - NFL/TRAININGCAMP06 - Clayton: James having fun in Arizona: "FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- For an organization that usually plays it safe, it's strange but pleasing to see the Arizona Cardinals living on 'the Edge.' The Bidwill family, which has owned the Cardinals since 1932, always has been deliberate and conservative when it comes to spending money on players.


But the Bidwills showed their wild side with the signing of Edgerrin James, handing the former Colts running back a four-year, $30 million contract, including a $7 million signing bonus and a $4.5 million roster bonus. The wildness hasn't stopped. Edge's fun personality has infiltrated the locker room. James installed a TV set by his locker for his teammates. He persuaded the Bidwills to switch to black shoes, a campaign players had lost the past few years.

Although Arizona might have been a 2005 'sleeper' team that never woke up, the 2006 Cardinals have a buzz to them. Gone are the days of empty seats. A new stadium has produced a sellout of season tickets. The team not only grabbed headlines by signing James but also hit the lottery by getting Matt Leinart in the first round of the draft."

This team has a serious set of receivers. I doubt that 2006 will be their year. It will take a year or two for Leinart to work his way into the lineup and to jell with those guys. But, when he does... look out.