It Begins!

As an educator, I have come to the conclusion about two specific things in teaching. 1.) Teaching is truly an art-form that takes years to craft; and 2.) there is no possible way to be a "good" teacher alone. So many good ideas are created in the classroom, but are left behind the closed door at the end of the day. It is my goal to put an end to the closed door and do my part to join those who share ideas, pedagogy, and tricks-of-the-trade online.

So, I call myself "The New Kid". I must make two confessions to make before we begin this journey:

One is that I am new to this whole gig as a teacher. What do I, a fresh out of college kid, have to offer the world of education (apart from my amazing skills in teaching kiddos "the facts")? Sure, I know that I have been given all the tools to make a successful year, but how can I take this a step further? Besides all that jazz, I am working as a student teacher for the semester. I am not even being paid for this craziness!

Second, the world of blogging has always mystified me and I am not sure what goes into a "stellar blog". In my mind The Scientific Teacher has a great blog. He has been a great model in how to get started in this journey. The road may be rough, but I have faith that the end will be worth all the hard work.

What is the point of all this nonsense and blogging? My answer is simple. I plan on using this blog to reflect on my teaching. Any ideas I am struck with during the week, lesson plans that went well (or not so well), funny incidents that happened in the classroom, or a time when I am enlightened by something that happened during class, all will be shared in this blog.