This time last year I was anxiously awaiting for the beginning of my first year teaching middle school math. I was excited to finally get to teach but terrified at the same time because I knew there would be such a steep learning curve and I didn't know how to cope or prepare for its arrival. I worked at the same school the previous year as a math tutor, but I didn't realize how woefully unprepared and inadequate I would be as a first year teacher. I had many areas of success, as many or more failures. But I loved it, and that meant a lot to me. I'm not satisfied with where I'm at, I'm constantly looking for ways to change,, do better and grow. Before summer break I attended a summer splash session with Cms and it featured Todd Nesloney, @techninjatodd . His talk got me so pumped for this coming year. Since then I have connected with him and numerous other educators around our nation that encourage and inspire me with their work and their willingness to share. Sometimes you can't even find that in your own building. And it's shameful, because we all are working to serve those kids. It's early July, I took all of June off, so I have begun preparing my plans, projects and management ideas. This year I am pumped and excited without the anxiety, and blessed to have the privilege of teaching these kids! They deserve it! I don't know about you but I'm always wondering about strange things. Like how much distance could an inch worm cover in a years time? One I have always wondered about is how fast does facial hair actually grow? Sometimes I think I shave one day and have a full beard the next morning! So I decided to do a little google research and this is what I found. According to www.hairfinder.com... "The rate of growth for all the hair on the body is approximately one-half inch per month. Some people think that facial hair grows faster, but that's an illusion created by the fact that facial hair (for men) is usually shaved to the skin and the growth of it is really noticeable. Some people's hair grows faster, and some slower, but one-half inch per month is the average. This shouldn't lead you to believe that left unchecked the hair of your face will grow to unlimited lengths. If this were the case, we might see trends where eyebrows are grown to dramatic lengths and styled in astonishing configurations. However, the hair on the face, head and body are all governed by genetic factors that determine maximum lengths, textures, wave patterns and growth patterns. So for a general idea of what you can expect from your own facial hair, look no further than your family tree. Good, bad or ugly, it's all there." Interesting huh? Well I thought so anyway! Happy Sunday! Mr. Owens Greetings from Blogger's-ville! I just wanted to make sure my class was reminded about a few things happening this week and throughout the year! First you all have a test on Monday 9/15/14. The test will cover Integers, absolute value, and the coordinate plane! Remember to review your notes, our classwork, and the slides available on the home page! Next, please remember that when you submit homework, quizzes, exit tickets, or any other type of classwork or project you must write your first and last name and the block number on the paper! I graded numerous homeworks this week with no name on them, which means I don't know who to assign the grade to! I hope you all have a great weekend and can't wait to see you Monday! Mr. Owens Today I am posting a new post...obviously, mostly because I got new specs for the new school year! What do you think?! Also I uploaded a downloadable copy of the course syllabus. I also finished two Sherlock Holmes mysteries, "Sherlock Holmes: A Bohemia Scandal" and "Sherlock Holmes: The Red Headed League" Both excellent reads and I highly recommend them! Also don't forget to follow the course twitter account to get reminders about blog updates and homework & test reminders etc. Until next time, Cheers! Mr. Owens I finished reading "Hollow City" written by Ransom Riggs and it was AWESOME! I highly recommend it. It is the second novel in the Peculiar Children Series and you could say it is Act II or the "Empire Strikes Back" of this wonderful series. If you are not familiar with the Peculiar Children series, it is about a group of middle school aged children, misfits, who all have different special powers. They are sort of like a kid version of the X-Men. Some of the peculiars are time travelers and the group is being chased by a group of power hungry monsters who destroy these peculiars to absorb their powers. They are stuck now in London in the early 1940's in the middle of World War II. These books are full of mystery, history, humor, adventure excitement and even a love story. Check it out, it is a great read! Next of my reading list is another Sherlock Holmes Mystery "A Scandal in Bohemia", then I plan to check out "The Giver" which is being turned into a movie now! Mr. Owens Did you know you can create a map in Google to save all the places you have visited in your life! Pretty cool to see all the places you have traveled too and experienced! You can even map out how many miles you have traveled throughout your life...hmmm, sounds like a class project! Check it out, where have you traveled to? View My Saved Places in a larger map I love to read! Anything from nerdy math books, to novels, newspapers, comics and everything else in-between. Below is a list of books I have read this year alone and I recommend them all!
All the books listed above are suitable for middle school aged kids or adults. I highly recommend that parents and or teachers read what their children/students read. It makes for a fun adventure for everyone involved to enjoy and discuss.
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Mr. OwensI teach 6th grade math at Northeast Middle School. I love to read, Doctor Who, and Sherlock Holmes. Archives
July 2015
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