Back-to-School Night. The chance to match up faces with the names on the emails. I am very fortunate to have very active parents this year. There was a tremendous turnout, and they were all engaging and eager to learn what 7th grade language arts is all about. The only problem we had was when it came to work load. A few parents were complaining that my colleagues and I are giving too many projects simultaneously. I think parents are shocked when they realize the huge difference between 6th and 7th grade expectations. As a team, we decided that we were going to continue to challenge our students by maintaining the necessary level of rigor in our curriculum, but maybe do a better job with collaborating on the days when projects are due.

This week was short in the number of school days, but tremendously impactful in regards to my professional development. Today I presented a workshop called, "A Defining Moment." It was a concept I learned from Susan Kovalik this summer at the TFI summer symposium. It is all about trying to present each student with a special or defining moment in their education, a moment they will remember for the rest of their lives. Teaching isn't all about EOG scores and data, it is also about personal development and teaching kids to be global citizens. Susan's presentation was so moving to me that I wanted to share it with my colleagues. I could tell from the eye contact, engagement and feedback that my presentation really made a difference. It felt so good to share my knowledge and experience with my colleagues. Hopefully many more students at my school will have "defining moments" this year because of my workshop.

First Full Week of School

I have run into my first road block of the year. It is really more mental than anything else. One of my goals for the year was to try to be more collaborative and less "conceited" about my lessons and teaching methods. I am slowly becoming frustrated by not being able to do things my way (you know, the way I always have for 13 years). When reflecting on my frustration, I realize that in order to reach a higher level as a teacher I must be willing to try new things. Sometimes being comfortable is not such a good thing. Times change and people change. Just like when a student tells me that they know best and they don't want to try things my way, I have to be willing to open up and be accepting of other people's ideas. It's just a lot harder than I thought it was going to be!

Whew! What a week. It's always way more stressful preparing for the kids than it is when they arrive. Luckily for me I work with an extremely strong team on my grade level. We have been keeping each other in check and sharing ideas. One of my goals for this school year is to be less "conceited." What I mean by that is I want to be more open to my colleagues' ideas. So far I have found that it is less stressful to be more collaborative. It's good for team chemistry, and definitely helps get the work done more efficiently.

Our Open House was a huge success. I saw about 80% of my parents and have already created email distribution lists for my classes. I believe that in the 7th grade it is crucial for parents and teachers to communicate as much as possible. Some people believe 12 and 13 year-olds need to be more independent. I believe the exact opposite. This is the time when they are going through a lot of changes (physically, mentally and socially). They need caring adults in their lives more than ever. For this reason I make an asserted effort to establish a strong line of communication between the classroom and home as soon as possible. So far things are going great (then again, it is only the first week).

I am now "back in the swing of things" at school. We had our big faculty meeting where we laid out our goals for the year. Throughout the meeting I found myself thinking about something I learned this summer at the TFI Symposium from Mike Whitehead. It was the concept of "default v. intentional." I want to be "intentional" with everything I do this year to help with student achievement. I will not be in "default" mode, which will make me feel powerless and burnt out. Already I see myself being more vocal, open and collaborative with my colleagues. A supervisor and co-worker have already pointed out how my summer professional development has seemed to rejuvenate me. Now my next step is to follow through with my plans. We'll see how that goes starting next Wednesday when my new charges arrive!

Now I know this is very much against the norm, but I LOVE this time of year (a couple of weeks before the new school year begins)! While setting up my classroom, I visualize what the new school year may have in store for me. I reflect on the good points from the previous year, while brainstorm ways to improve in the areas that weren't so good. This time of year brings boundless possibilities of student achievement and growth as well as the possibility of taking my teaching to a higher level. As head coach of my school's back-to-back, undefeated football and girls' basketball teams, I think about what my responsibilities are to help carry on Piedmont's winning tradition. As one of the veteran teachers in the building, I think about ways I can help the new teachers adjust to what will probably be the toughest year of their lives.

More than anything I think about my 9-year-old son who helps me set up my classroom every year. We do this as a way to spend some quality time together before my "other 90-plus kids" monopolize a great deal of my time. One year as we were working on my classroom library my son said to me, "Dad, it's cool that you're a teacher because teachers love kids." I made a promise a long time ago always to teach and interact with my students in the way I expect my son's teachers to teach and interact with him. This helps me stay focused. SOME PEOPLE dread coming back to work after an extended vacation. Well, I guess my mom was right when she once said to me, "Boy, you're name is David Milligan, not SOME PEOPLE!"

Introducing our newest Blogger

Greetings readers. I am so pleased to have you joining us for our second year of blogging. TFI graduated its fifth class of teachers last week, and our alumni group is now 128 teachers strong. This year's group of teachers covered every age group, subject and demographic imaginable. The bonds formed during their week of learning and rejuvenation are likely the strongest yet, and I look forward to introducing the newest batch of alumni to the most experienced.

David Milligan, seventh grade Language Arts teacher from Piedmont IB Middle School, will be blogging for us this year. Now beginning his thirteenth year of teaching, David is a passionate educator who brings his lessons to life for his students.