Week 7: ISE Day

This week has absolutely flown by. Granted, it's only Thursday, and this is technically only our second school day of the week. On Monday, there were no students because it was considered an ISE day. I had heard of these days before, and was typically excited in the past because it meant I didn't have to go to school that day. However, things change (such is life), and I had to go this year. I don't mean to be completely upset about it because we didn't actually have to be at school until 8:00 AM which is an entire hour later than normal. That extra hour of sleep in the morning really does make a difference!

We had two hours of planning in the morning which was awesome considering I had a lot to catch up on. I was able to completely catch up on lesson plans that I'd fallen a little behind on, and begin preparing for other activities in the future. After planning, we had a meeting in the auditorium to discuss classroom management and procedures. I was actually kind of glad they chose to do classroom management because although I'm learning how to manage my classes better, I could still use some tips. Unfortunately, they didn't actually discuss specific strategies for better classroom management. The assistant principal instead explained that he would email two articles to the staff to read on their own.

We continued the day with a PLC meeting. Although I get to see the English department staff every day at school, it's nice to actually have a time to sit down with all of the members to discuss issues within the department rather than saying "hi" in passing. While I haven't spent time in all of the different English classrooms at UHS, I have spent time with nearly all of the teachers. After being here for the third year, I feel like I really know the staff and feel like a part of the school. I look to all of them for help and encouragement/motivation/criticism, and really feel like part of something (even though I'm not actually employed here).

Finally, there was a faculty senate meeting. Throughout my entire schooling I had heard the words, "faculty senate," but I really had no idea what that meant. It was nice to finally be there and get to see what happens at a meeting. I mean, it's not like it was my favorite thing to do in the world, but I feel like I finally understand.

Overall, although it was fairly dry, my first ISE day was very informative and helpful! I'm glad I was able to experience it before I graduated.