A great week for learning

This was a great week. I really enjoyed every class I taught.

The freshmen learned about how much sleep they need and how badly they are affected when they don't get enough sleep. For the next week they are keeping a sleep and food diary so we can track how they are treating their bodies with sleep and food.

The sophomores are learning about Coach John Wooden and his way of looking at success. We had some great discussions about whether success is determined by us or by other people and about the definition of success.

The juniors learned some strategies to help them with the ACT. The major one is "triage," which means to do all the easy ones first, then go back and do the ones that will take more time. Use the "letter of the day" as your answer for the ones you are guessing at.

The seniors had 2 classes on money management. We learned about checking and savings accounts and today learned about debit cards and credit cards. It's interesting how credit cards really punish you if you don't pay off the balance each month. But if you do pay off the balance, you can earn free rewards from the card.

It was a fun week and I feel like we are really getting into the "meat" of CLASS.

ACT Prep and Money Management

So here we go! Getting into the big stuff now.

The Juniors got a 500 page book on preparing for the ACT. It kind of scared them I think! lol. We looked through a test and learned some basic stuff. Will get into real strategy on Thursday.

The Seniors had their first Money Management class! It is being taught by a volunteer from Goodwill. The kids seemed engaged. We talked about checking accounts, how to choose a bank, etc. It was great!

Sleep and John Wooden

The freshmen will be spending some time thinking about sleep. Today they journaled about how much sleep they get and whether or not it is enough. Only one out of the five gets enough sleep. One has to get up early to take care of her other sisters. We read an article (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/09/AR2006010901561.html) about high school start times and teenagers unique sleep times which are largely dictated by when their melatonin rises which is usually between 10pm and 8am. (That's when they should be sleeping). But school here in Tacoma starts at 7:30! When I was teacher, I hated teaching first period because even though the kids were in their seats, they were not present mentally. 4 out of the 5 liked the idea of having a later start time for school.

The sophomores are about to start studying John Wooden's pyramid of success. Today they journaled about who had the biggest impact on their lives. Most of them named a family member. I am hopeful they will listen to Wooden's words of wisdom and incorporate them into their beings. We are working from the book "Wooden. A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off The Court."