It’s my last week of the school year! As I write this, my students only have two more days left. Grades are turned in, and we are closing out the year. It’s been an interesting year, full of both good things and bad.

This was my largest group of students I’ve ever had. That came with both positives and negatives. Many of my classes first semester were a mix of students of different abilities and backgrounds. It brought on some fascinating conversations and interactions. As students came and left the school, my class size greatly fluctuated. I’ll talk more about that in a bit.

This was also my first year having a textbook. The past three years, my department was often left to our own devices to find resources and activities. I joined the textbook committee last year to help my district decide what textbooks would be good for Social Studies. I teach 7th grade, which is Africa and Asia history. I wanted to make sure that my history wasn’t whitewashed. I enjoy bringing different cultures into my classroom. One of my favorite lessons is South Africa. We talk about apartheid, Nelson Mandela, and some other sensitive topics. But I usually have my students listen to South African music written at the time. I wanted those kinds of opportunities to continue. After lots of meetings, we decided on the textbook we would use. It wasn’t perfect, but I definitely felt that it allowed for those voices in my classroom. We had workbooks as well as online resources. The textbook itself was great for notes. I also really liked the primary sources the online textbook offered. My students became familiar with using the workbooks. I made labels for all of my students with their names on it so that they could find them easily. I also kept crates separated by each class. The textbook made a lot of planning easier. It was also nice that we didn’t have to use it for everything. I could still use my resources that I’ve accumulated over the years.

I also started a History Club this year for my students. I was Vice President of my college’s History Club one year, and I have a lot that I learned from that experience. The largest reason for my History Club was because of We the People. I mentioned that I went to Philadelphia last July, but I never fully mentioned why I traveled all that way. I signed up to be involved in a program called Civics that Empowers All Students (CEAS). This program required that I learn about the history of the Constitution and teach it to my students. Students would then showcase their knowledge by conducting a hearing centered around one question. I’ve already mentioned that I teach Africa and Asia history. The US Constitution doesn’t always fit into those subjects. I figured a History Club was the best course of action. To help my students prepare, I had them give small presentations. We also got to talk about different subjects than what we cover in class. Some of those subjects actually became blog topics as well! We got through a good portion of We the People, and I’ll come back to the hearing in a moment.

I’ve talked about my textbook and my History Club, but I haven’t spent much time talking about my students themselves. This might have been some of the best students I have had academically. They were able to rise to many of the challenges I had for them. We did lots of writing that they were ready for. Of course, not every student wanted to do work. But the ones that did, did well.

I also had a lot less serious behavior problems. Last year, I had a number of fights in my room. I think I only had one this year. I’m not going to pretend that my classroom management is perfect, but I can definitely see that I have made improvements.

One of my favorite improvements this year was my rewards system. Students would earn tickets by doing what they were supposed to do in class. At the end of the month, they could turn in tickets for prizes. These prizes included gum, candy, mechanical pencils, stickers, croc charms, fidget toys, and other things. My students loved the system, and it worked really well. My biggest complaint is that I had students that would steal tickets from other classes. I’m working on ways to streamline my system for next year so that it’s even better.

The biggest issue I encountered this year kind of goes into everything else I’ve already talked about. After the end of the first semester, the counselors and admin team decided to switch the entire schedule. My prep period stayed the same, but all of my classes changed. Students were put into new classes, I gained new students, and I lost new students. My school operates on block schedules, so I don’t see the same students every day. My B Day students were in much larger class sizes, with my largest at one point being 28. My A Day students were in classes of 10-15. Sizing alone was a huge difference. I also had to reorganize my workbooks, which took a while. I decided not to make new labels, so many of the labels had the wrong class with them. After second semester, my History Club attendance dropped to the point that it was only one student coming in. I can’t conduct a hearing with just one student, so I had to change that idea too.

I decided, after talking to my one History Club student, to continue teaching her the We the People curriculum I was supposed to teach. She was in a class with a number of other good students, and we decided to give this assignment to her and her classmates. They had all my materials at their disposal. Together, they wrote an excellent statement, and their hearing went so well! Someone came in to judge the hearing. He asked great questions, and my students rose up to the challenge. Even the judge praised them, both to their faces and in my group meeting the next week.

It was a year of ups and downs. Good things happened, and bad things happened. We got a new principal, and there were definitely a lot of changes made. I’ll keep those off my blog for now. There’s even more changes coming next year as well. My district is starting later and going later. I’m staying in the same building, but I am changing jobs. For the past four years, I have taught 7th grade. This coming year, I will be teaching 6th grade Social Studies.

I have a lot I am working on when it comes to teaching. This year has given me a lot of good insight into the kind of teacher I want to be. I need to work on implementing policies and procedures that will help me be that teacher all year long. I am thankful for this year and all that it taught me. Let’s hope next year helps me become even better!