Math Moments with Mrs. Sheehan

Today is day two of virtual learning, and I am already feeling restless, a little skeptical, and a little claustrophobic. I have always struggled with anxiety and transitions. In this time of unknowns, my mind continuously races. Will I get sick? Will my family members get sick? Will my students continue learning? Will we ever go back to school? When will things go back to normal?? I am somewhat of a homebody, but being trapped in my house has me feeling claustrophobic. Thank God for my husband, my dog, and FaceTime! Clearly my dog, Theo, is excited to be home and snuggle with us for the foreseeable future :) But the thing I'm most thankful for during this time of chaos is twitter and my #mtbos community. Last year, I made a twitter looking for ideas about how to get my students to practice more, and I found SO much more than that. I can't describe the ways this twitter community has changed my teaching practices for the better. But even more than that,...

This past week I had the privilege to attend the Standards Institute in Orlando. I went in not knowing what to expect, but it ended up being one of the best conferences I have ever attended. It was five days spent immersed with other educators who have a desire to see equity in education, recognizing our biases, and learning how to make equity a reality in our own classrooms and schools. It was a lot. It was five 8 hour days, mostly spent with our little cohort of subject area teachers. My group of educators helped push me, encourage me, and challenge me throughout the week.  Our facilitators were knowledgeable, lovingly challenging, and extremely helpful. Working with them this week has been a great reminder of how I want my students to feel in my classroom! The Standards Institute is put on by UnboundEd. Our main focus for the week was equity. We had several amazing keynote speakers speak on this, and during the day, we talked about how to make our schools equitable. ...

This is my first blog post EVER as a teacher. It feels so wonderful not to be limited by the character counts of Twitter! I'll start by sharing a little bit about me. I am currently teaching Algebra 2 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is my 6th year teaching. Last year I joined the #mtbos community on Twitter, and it changed my teaching practices for good. I began to implement a #thinkingclassroom and am working towards fully implementing it in my classroom. We use standards based grading in our department, and I'm a huge fan. I'm starting a program to get my ESL License this semester, and I'm excited to see how it will improve my teaching. Outside of school, I like playing (and coaching) volleyball, doing puzzles with my husband, reading, and snuggling with my dog. My plan for this blog is to share what's working in my room and any of my favorite resources/activities I have come across this month. I am in awe of how much is out there, and I'd love to sha...