Today was my first day back in the classroom after being out of the country for a few days. The substitute teacher did an excellent job. I’m glad to be back, and missed seeing my students.
Students didn’t do so well on the first quiz that I left with the sub. I expected as much, however. The school is asking all departments to make common assessments and we put these things together at the last minute. Some of the questions on the test were on topics unfamiliar to my students. I told my students that the quiz will be a “practice quiz” and that we will take another quiz next week.
After talking with one of my colleagues, I’ve decided that the approach to take for my Math Lab class is to help students enjoy mathematics. I’m not going to try to make it my goal to help them learn any particular math content or to even get a good grade in their math class. I hope those things will happen, but I’m not going to make it my primary goal. We will do fun things, and I have decided that I need to enjoy the class too. I can’t be dreading this class for the whole year.
Adventures in Teaching 
First, I read “MathLab”, and my immediate reaction was, “WHAT?! ALREADY?! KIDS GROW UP SO FAST THESE DAYS.” Then, it clicked. I remembered we had a Math Lab kinda class back in elementary school. We played Math Blaster on the computer and other games. It was fun! And our competitive nature took hold and helped us learn some cool math skills. Maybe this class could be something you will really look forward to in your day. I’m sorry to hear that maybe this sabbatical thing doesn’t quite live up to your expectations at times, but you will gain lots of insights that’ll benefit future teachers! I like reading this blog. It helps me understand that teaching won’t be all sunshine and cupcakes day after day. But it’ll help me prepare for days when things are gloomy and gray. 🙂