Meetings, Committees and Students: The First Days of School

The first few days at Morgantown High School allowed me to see a side of teaching that is rarely witnessed as a student; the training and governmental side of teaching. During the first few days back for teachers we went through a series of workshops to help get us ready for the school year. We learned about the new Next Gen (common core) state standards and how they teacher reading and writing across the curriculum (and not just in English classes). Principals also expressed the importance in making our students feel welcome because due to a survey only 60% of students felt welcome or cared for by the teachers at the school last year, yet 90% of the teachers said that they showed care and welcomed their students in their classrooms. Many issues were debated such as whether or not a 2.5 is an A or a B, and how to deal with the student parking situation. 

I also got to see how the English department (and I assume the other educational departments) chose their department chair. The department chair is in charge of making sure the rest of the English teachers get the news about meetings, procedures, and petitions that are going around for teachers. we also got to sit down and break apart the new CSO's to see which ones match up with what old CSO's to help us when making (or converting) lesson plans for the new year. 

The first few days at a school are extremely different without the students and with the students. There is time to plan lessons and decorate the room so that everything is prepared for when the students come. This was a a great learning experience!