Sixth Week

The sixth week was quiet for the first-years (until Thursday afternoon anyway) and busy for the staff. Tuesday was packed with meetings as I had: a meeting with the Team to finalize everything for the next day; a Reunion planning meeting; a presentation by Ginny to Dr. Mullins, Dr. Burnham, and Germain; a presentation by me to the same people; and a model lesson to teach to the first-year English teachers. I'll write about each:

The Team:

The Team teachers are settling in. The first day (Wednesday) was difficult because the first-years are so gun-shy about the evaluation form we use. This really stems from the misalignment between 500 and 502 from last month. We've fixed the problem for next year but the Team wasn't expecting so much (justifiable) concern and stress with the form.

The Team works with the first-years for two days and then for the next 8 days the first-years teach a 40 minute lesson every day in front of some of their peers and a Team teacher. That started on Friday so Thursday night I'm sure the first-years were up late designing and practicing lessons for the next day.

Reunion:

Reunion planning is still going well. Ginny, Whitney and I walked through Johnson Commons Ballroom, where the Reunion will be held, and the classrooms in Bondurant Hall, where the older kids will be. Whitney keeps saying that she is going to get an ulcer. I guess there are few things more nerve-wracking than being responsible for other people's children.

We've got about 50 alumni, 20 special guests, and 20 spouses or significant others confirmed to attend. Five days...

Ginny's Presentation:

One of Ginny's projects this summer was to interview school administrators and see how MTC compares to other first-year teachers. Ginny presented the findings to the bosses. It went very well and Ginny did a great job. You can view her powerpoint presentation for yourself by clicking here.

My Presentation:

I have been Program Coordinator for exactly two years (I started on July 1st, 2003). I put together a presentation to look at the growth MTC has made in those two years. You can view it as a self-navigating QuickTime film here or as a PDF document here.

My English Lesson:

Because we have no English teacher as part of the Team I taught a model English lesson for the first-year English teachers. It was neat to dust off an old lesson plan and my "teacher persona" for a minute. As always, the key to an effective lesson is organization.