Longer days...
Since the strike is over, the issue now being debated is how to make up the lost school days. At first, we were told we would lose our Easter break, which no one was really happy about. Administration has since changed their mind, and decided instead to add 5 minutes on to each class period, bringing it up to 70 minute periods. Yikes! Keeping 35 15-year-old boys attentive and quiet for 5 minutes total is a big enough deal. Keeping them interested for an entire period is another thing entirely. The other day, one of the boys in my class fell asleep and fell off his lab stool in the middle of class. In my defense, he came into my class looking very tired...he definitely woke up after that, though! 30 minutes of note taking is about all the boys can tolerate, and I don't blame them! So I've decided to treat the class more as two periods of 35 minutes each. This way, I plan the lesson differently,and break up the monotony of notes. We've been on the new schedule for a couple of days, and that approach seems to be working well.
My parents are coming in this weekend, and the weather is beautiful, so all is well!