As I ponder the remainder of the school year, with the end of the first semester pressing quickly into view, I am terrified. How will I ever get through everything? Really.. seriously.. someone.. anyone... HOW DO YOU EVER GET THROUGH IT ALL??

I think it is just the change in mindset I have this year, the feeling I must teach to mastery, the I cannot move on until a majority of my students "get it", a knowing that if they do not understand the basics, the order of operations, the adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing of integers, balancing simple one-step algebraic equations.. if they don't really GET all of that, the other things I will expect of them will be impossible. To me them understanding these concepts is so much more important than moving on. However, I also know that the MEAP next fall will expect them to have learned it all.

Am I an incompetent teacher, are my students slower than the average Michigan students, is it the fact they come to me underprepared for grade level work? Is it a combination of all of the above? I only have control over my teaching - I must deal with the students I have, with the skills sets they arrive with. So therefore the solution to the dilemna lies solely within me, my teaching, my ability to impart my knowledge into their minds. How do I do it? How can I improve? I need time to reflect, to really look objectively at the things I am doing, how I am doing them, and why... and ultimately, what do I need to change?