For the last week I’ve been knee deep in preparing my portfolio entry for National Board Certification. This means working 12 to 14 hour days without much of a break.
This insane project includes:
- a 13 page paper that essentially describes and analyzes my teaching strategies, outlines a series of lesson plans geared towards the ultimate goal of developing critical thinking and reasoning, and addresses the standards of teaching laid out by National Board.
- three packages of lesson plans complete with full lesson description, instructional materials, and resources
- three packages of student work samples that align with lesson plan goals and show growth indicators
- full description of my classroom and school
Now you know why caffeine is my favorite thing this week. I need it in order stay in a good mood and power through my day. Sleep was never my friend, but remaining in a ridiculously good mood and having massive amounts of energy to work my way through a labyrinth of paperwork can only happen with the jolt of caffeine.
Whether it be chocolate (M&Ms, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Snickers bites, Milky Way bites, Kit Kat bites, Hershey drops, and Hershey kisses) or my favorite muse juice, a Cafe Mocha, I owe many thanks to the miracle that is caffeine!
I’m in the homestretch of this segment of the National Board Process. I’ll be uploading my entries over the weekend! May the caffeine gods be watching over me!
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What’s your favorite thing this week?
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c.b.w. 2015
C.B. Wentworth 
The Board deliberately sets the hoops high. The irony is that most of the people on the Board are not classroom teachers, have little imagination, and depend on their “educational” courses to complicate lesson plans. It’s a necessary evil to submit all your work. Good luck.
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I know – the entire process is quite convoluted, but I figure I have a scholarship so it’s really not costing me anything to give it a try. Even if i don’t get it, I can honestly say I learned a lot during the process. 🙂
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Hope everything goes well with the Board!
My favorite thing this week was lunch with a friend that I don’t get to spend much time with often. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since our last conversation. We just pick right back up where we left off. 🙂
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I loved friendships like that! That’s how you know you’ve found a kindred spirit. 🙂
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OH. MY. GOODNESS. You’re a power-house, C.B. I’m reeling with the descriptions of work you’re plowing through! Good job!
Oddly enough…my favorite thing today was trying out a new coffee flavor…it was Starbucks vanilla and it was REALLY good!!
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I’m exhausted, but everything was uploaded today. 🙂 I literally felt like I was in college again! Ha!
Mmmmm . . . that sounds tasty! I’ve heard the new Flat White is pretty great, too.
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So happy for you! I’ll have to look for that one…Flat White…interesting. :)!
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Hope it goes well.
May favourite thing this week: abstinence.
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I’ve honestly done the best I can and I’m proud of it. Whatever happens, they can’t take that away.
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That is a ton of work! You deserve a big back pat and a long uninterrupted sleep followed by a delicious breakfast of chocolate chip waffles. With a cup of coffee, of course.
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I got that long uninterrupted sleep last night – it was fantastic! 🙂
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