So! Was my brilliant reflecting on a first year of teaching helpful? Did we share the trials and tribulations together? Like that one time when the biodiesel experiment blew up in the fume hood and only the sheer brilliance of my student, who had the presence of mind to keep the sash shut, prevented the entire table of girls sitting in front of the fume hood from being permanently scarred with boiling oil? I was so proud!

What? You say I didn’t post at all? But.. I didn’t have a moment where I wasn’t working! I must have posted! I mean, keeping forty-five 15 year old’s busy for a year can’t be that much work!

Oh wait.

Yes it can.

The truth is, I worked harder for my humble teacher salary this year than my husband who runs a biotech company. His cooing noises and “It’s so cute!” comments when my direct deposit hits our account every month are a little disconcerting.

I totally apologize to any first year teacher out there who was hoping that we could go through this together – and to those who are not first year teachers, but just wanted a laugh at my expense. The irony of the situation is that I think there is no other way to get through the first year except to just hang on. If you make it through the year still breathing, still smiling inwardly at the crazy things that come out of teenagers brains, and still amazed at what they can achieve, then I think you may just have the strength, the stamina, nay, the SUPERPOWERS to be a teacher.

And no one can go through it but you.

I’ve also had a revelation about the content of this site. While the past year was full of people, personalities and drama of every kind, I can’t in good conscience write about it because the best stories are also about real people. People I care about, and who I would have to get signed releases from, which would be a hassle. Which leaves me with the option of writing about lesson plans, projects and teaching philosophies which, while stimulating to many, are not what I want to spend my nanosecond of spare time on. So this site will be for my photography, my travels, clean publicly-acceptable job-sustaining musings, and occasionally a really great teaching story if there is something to celebrate (like girls not being horridly scarred for life).

And there are a few things I want to celebrate right now;  the kid’s Sangaku puzzles, their gas law projects, their first and their final chemistry projects.

For the Sangaku project, students selected an image from an old black and white photograph from the 1930’s – 1960 and then altered it in Photoshop. Next they had to use three or more geometric principles to construct a puzzle and superimpose it on their image. Here are a few of the finished products:

Carolyn's Sangaku

Kristin's Sangaku

Henry's Sangaku

Cameron's Sangaku

For the gas law project, the kids researched a particular law then set up a station for the rest of the class to try. They created posters with explanations and the experimental procedure.

Collapsing Can Demonstration

Collapsing Can Demonstration

For their final chemistry project, students were required to research a real life chemistry example, such as ocean acidification, adhesives, bioluminescence etc.. contact a professional and produce an experiment or demonstration. The kids did an amazing job, creating videos, experiments, attending university lectures and talking to university or industry professionals. I’ll post more details on my project portfolio page in a few days.

And finally, just for fun, we did our own demonstrations of all the chemistry teacher’s favorite class demos and posted them on YouTube. It was our (my) first activity and some know their chemistry better than others. The first one up is gunpowder. It produced SO MUCH smoke that I almost contacted our school director because the sprinklers DIDN’T go off.  I was worried that there must be something wrong with the sprinkler system and in a real fire we’d all die. Since our walls are glass, passing students watched as lightning fast, I leaped tall desks and vast swaths of students to pry open the outside windows. Don’t worry,  I learned from my mistake. We did the thermite demonstration outside.

(I’m joking. We were always going to do the thermite outside. Parents of my prospective students, please believe the safety of your children is my number one priority. No, really.)

And one last accomplishment. I wrote the first draft of a screenplay for my brother. I know right? Teaching gives you SUPERPOWERS!

It needs some major work however,… good thing it’s summer.

Yes, as of week three I have come to my senses and decided I was INSANE to choose teaching as a profession.

I.N.S.A.N.E.

The work load is I.N.S.A.N.I.T.Y.

However, on the upside I have a fantastic bunch of kids, and I mean really, really fantastic kids, and I can see how next summer I might, just maybe, look back and think ‘Hey, y’know? I think I actually DID have some fun! Maybe that one day – that first Saturday of Christmas break – that day was not so work-like, and if I squint and think back real hard I think it might have been kinda fun. At the time.’

Anyway, my advisory (a group of students that I am supposed to get to know really well)  has chosen to represent Sealand during the upcoming Advisory Olympics.

What is the Advisory Olympics you ask? Well, this year we banned the ‘Cucumber Pass’ event. Last year’s participants had to put a cucumber between their legs and then pass it to a team member, who, you guessed it, had to accept it with their thighs.

Despite the raging popularity of this event, Olympic Officials have deemed it unwise given the impending Swine Flu epidemic.

Anyway, you get the general idea.

Here are our T-shirt designs:

My Advisory's chosen Olympic Nation

For those of you who were familiar with the old sharrock.net site, this will be a departure of sorts. I’ve recently been hired to teach math and chemistry to high school students and this site will be used as a place of reflection on, and refuge from, the challenges I’m sure to face. I’ll be working in a problem based learning environment that accepts kids through a lottery system. There is no special selection methods and the cost to attend is free. The only aspect of self-selection is that kids (or their parents) have to fill out an application form. Due to this fact, our student population has diverse skill sets as well as a multiethnic composition. Combine this with plenty of group work and full integration (there is no ’smart’ stream or ‘dumb’ stream) and as a teacher you have a fascinating year ahead.

I have spent a year in the classrooms as a tutor and the experience has been invaluable. To have the luxury of experiencing a multitude of different teaching styles within this complex framework has provided a rich toolbox from which I can draw over the coming year. I only hope that the tools work the same for me as they have for other teachers.

As I explore and develop techniques and insight, I will post my ideas here. Hopefully in a few years time, this site will serve as a resource for others who feel compelled to follow this path.