My Background

After reading Brandy's first post, I realized that I haven't adequately introduced myself.

This is my ninth year in teaching, six of those in 7th and/or 8th grades, two in 3rd grade. I currently teach Grade 8 Pre-Algebra and Algebra I Pre-AP in College Station, TX. Home of the fighting Texas Aggies! Whoop!

Last year was my first year to use Carnegie. I mainly concentrated on the Cognitive Tutor software component. Melissa (my "partner in crime") and I dabbled with the textbook portion but found it challenging to fit it in with our previous practice and curriculum. More on that later.

My goal this year is to implement Carnegie's new Middle School curriculum with fidelity, blending both the software and text components with the pure intentions the founders had envisioned. My algebra classes will still only be exposed to Cognitive Tutor, for the most part. One baby step at a time.

I totally agree with Brandy. We definitely are not experts. We are like many of you out there. There are good days and there are not so good days. Sometimes what we do in the classroom is merely trial and error. Hopefully we learn from our mistakes and try not to repeat them. For clarification, the purpose of this blog is to house conversations amongst educators sharing ideas and classroom experiences. Brandy and I would enjoy hearing many of your stories.

I'm not sure why but I love this age group, otherwise known as the "misfits." No longer babies or children but not quite a full-pledge teenager or adult. Maybe it's because I can relate to them, myself a misfit of some sort. Last year was one of my favorite years teaching! My team had a FABULOUS group of students and I expect this year to be just as great, if not better. I am pumped and ready to get started with my students!