Teaching, formal evals and such

Well today was the first day back to school, and of course it was also my formal evaluation day. In public school speak it's called a STULL but in private school, where administrators are normal, we just call it what it is--an evaluation. ;-)

Of course, coming back to work and having my formal eval (we have informal ones all the time) is a little nerve-wracking, because I have to think to myself--do I have all the copies I need for everything, am I organized, will I have my flow even though I've been off for a week? Luckily, I have amazing students and I suppose I'm an alright teacher, so it worked out great!

My kids analyzed one of Juliet's monologues...first I taught them my 5 steps for analyzing any Shakespeare passage; then I had a student perform the role of Juliet. The kids then had 7 minutes of quiet reflection and time for annotation, followed up by a discussion I like to call, "What the heck does that mean?" They then had to identify diction, imagery, and allusions used by Juliet which helped her convey her meaning. I was astonished at how "on point" my kids were today. Maybe the break healed their brains a little too!

I actually had an 8th grade student realize that Juliet's use of iambic pentameter could convey her emotions depending on how fast or slow she spoke the lines. One student even realized how Shakespeare's use of the comma revealed a slower pattern, suggesting a more thoughtful, delayed response by Juliet! And of course a teacher can't help but smile when a student makes a text to text connection. The "mask of night" covering Juliet's face is like the mask that Romeo wears to the party hours earlier...LOVE IT! I am so blessed to work with such bright, enthusiastic young minds.

We ended the lesson with a little review game for their test coming up on Thursday. Kids were a tad rusty on their Shakespeare trivia but I'd rather that than rusty on their critical thinking skills.

All in all, 'twas a good day!