Ms. Terry's Blog

School is over for the semester, which means I consider the calendar year over. Do I know that there are still two more weeks of 2023? Yes. Do I care? No. My life has pretty much always run on the traditional American school calendar, and I ain't changing that anytime soon.  So yes, for me, 2023 is over.  And I thoroughly enjoyed the year.  There were some low points. For example, my ceiling collapsed in February and I sprained my ankle in September. However, both of these things were resolved well so I really can't complain.  And man, the high points of this year were pretty dang good. Let's review the top three (in chronological order). 1. Taylor Duh. Easily the best concert I have ever been to, and I will gladly go again if I can get tickets to one of her 2024 North America shows. It was a transcendental experience and I am full Swiftie. 2. Alaska. Alaska was a majestic adventure. I traveled with my grandmother, so my adventures were somewhat tamer than other trip...

 So, I spent a month in Asia. As predicted, it was incredible. Here's a quick breakdown: Korea with my brother Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia with the first main tour group Vietnam with the second second main tour group Korea was all self-planned, and I did make my brother follow me and take pictures as I searched for anything related to BTS. but I traveled the other countries through Contiki, a travel company for 18-35 year olds ( https://www.contiki.com/en-us ). I went as a part of their Big Indochina Adventure, which is a combination of other, smaller tours. There were seven of us who did the whole 27 day trip. And the first thing I will say was that our trip manager, Zoe, was the best trip manager I have ever had. She was with us all 27 days, and her organization, enthusiasm, and knowledge really were a highlight in and of themselves. She had restaurant and free time suggestions at every stop, and went above and beyond to organize meals, transportation, nights out, and so much mo...

Did you know that Alaska is cold? Even in the summer? Yes, Memaw was not happy about the temperatures, but overall our Alaskan adventure was excellent. First and foremost, this state has so much natural beauty. The mountains, the glaciers, the forests, the animals. Everything. It also has a very small population, so traffic is never bad (as far as I can tell). Here's what we did: Anchorage Museum- A top museum. I really enjoyed the combination of art and history. Alaska Native Heritage Museum- Very informative. Also home to a family of overprotective geese.  Train to Spencer Glacier- Scenic and glacial Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center- MOOSE. BEARS. PORCUPINE. REINDEER. ALL THE ANIMALS. Denali- We drove until we could see Denali (through clouds), then turned around. I feel like outdoorsy people would get more out of Alaska than we did, but we still learned about the state and its history and culture. And we saw our big three: glacier, bear, and moose. Check. Now, it's on to ...

 If you haven't gotten the memo, it's summer vacation time for most students and educators. Finally! Yay! Time to go to the bathroom whenever we want! But anyway, yes, the school year is over. I have finished my first full year at Houston Middle, my fifth year as a solo classroom teacher, my sixth year in an American classroom, and my eighth year in education as a whole. Those numbers mean I have made it longer than most beginner teachers in America, which is both unfortunate and not surprising. The school year ended well, with the usual amounts of shenanigans. We usually have about a month after testing, and it's hard. We have fun events like LipSync and Field Day, but we've officially made it through our content so it's more difficult to keep student attention. Possible solutions include changing the timing of state testing or just getting rid of high stakes testing as a whole (that's the dream). The 3rd grade retention law based on testing has clearly shown t...

 I can't believe it's Spring Break already. We've made it to the last quarter, which means there's only 9 weeks left of 7th grade shenanigans. Well, before we get a new bunch in August. So, my kitchen fell in at the end of February. It sucked, particularly since I had been warning my apartment complex of the worsening leak and imminent collapse for weeks. What have we learned from this? For us normal people: do what you can to protect yourself and your stuff. I moved everything out of the kitchen and put a tarp down, since apparently people in charge won't listen. For people with more power: listen. This also applies to the education and politicians. In other news, I've been reading a bunch of books and listening to a lot of Taylor Swift. You know, the usual.  Also, I'm going to Anchorage in June with my grandmother in June before I head off to Asia. If anyone has recommendations for either, please let me know! Here's my socials: Pinterest- https://pin.i...

 The only reason I have time to sit and and write this is because of the ice storm and the consequent cancelling of school. Yep, that's how January has been. School Monday through Friday, with side gigs after school and on the weekends. At least I'm earning money for that Asia trip, right? But anyway, aside from the perpetual business, I have decided to use 2023 to expand and try to tackle TikTok (again), YouTube, Twitch, and TeachersPayTeachers. My primary motivation is that I get tons of tutoring requests, for both in person and online tutoring. However, I am just one person and simply do not have time to accept every request. So, my goal is to take what I know and have it available digitally so that more people have access to it. School and standardized tests are hard, and tutoring is expensive. Maybe these ideas will all crash, but I'm going to try. So far, my videos have focused on fractions and the ACT. Because fractions and the ACT are scary. Here are my links: TikTo...