Hello!  I am very new to this Obesity help website.  Loving it so far!  I am a first grade teacher in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia area.  I am getting the lapband next week and am really nervous to leave my kids for a week.  This is my first full year teaching and I'm not sure about writing a whole week of plans and leaving someone else with my students. UGH!  I'm sure life will go on. :)

Hi, never saw this board before and am not sure I will find it again. I am also a special ed teacher for 3,4,5. pull out program. mild moderate and severe profound. I am located in Frederick Ok. Near the Red River. Right now my case load is down I have about 18 kids, but at one time I had 47 but could only claim 40. Lea Ann

I'm a Resource Specialist in A****er California. I teach K-6. I'm 6 years from retirement....YES! I find things get more and more stressful every year so retirement and perhaps starting something new is something I look forward to. I'm 5 years out from WLS and I've maintained my current weight for almost two years. Anyway...just thought I'd chime in and let you know I'm here too. I check this board time to time and there rarely is anything new. Christy

I'm also one of those that teach the hormoneily insane (however you spell it!) I teach math at our 6-8th grade middle school. But I get to teach in beautiful southwest Washington state. I am also the math department chair and building rep for our union. I am responding to your post mostly because my first year teaching was on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. That was 15 years ago though. The school was about a mile down Wolf Creek Road on the right hand side. I don't think it is a school anymore. I love math, and this is the first year of my 15 that I will get a full plate of all math classes. I have always had to pick up the overflow of other classes. I have taught just about everything in just about any setting. After Pine Ridge, where I taught all subjects to a class of 5th-11th graders, I went back to where I had student taught, the tropical island of Puetro Rico. I taught 6th grade there for two years, then up to their middle school for math plus yearbook. From there I went to an Oregon grade school and taught a 4th/5th split class. Then to their middle school. Then I spent 3 years teaching in a youth correctional facility in Oregon. I taught in the resource room there. Finally this is my 5th year in Washington state. Summer's off - that's a joke. I have done so many conferences, classes, and clock hours in the summer I can't even tell how many. I earned a Master's in Special Education, and last summer I started the National Board Certification process. Although I sent everything in back in March, I still await my results, which are supposed to be posted in November. Talk about timely feedback! Well, I'm taking this summer off--oh that's right, I'm having surgery on Friday. I have spent June and July researching surgeon's, fighting my insane insurance company, and asking question to anyone who would listen and respond. Foever the learner, Denise

I have three questions for everyone to answer if your game. 1. What was your most memorable teaching moment (good or bad your choice)? 2. What are you doing to keep yourself learning? 3. What do you see for yourself in five years (teaching or something else your choice)? 1. What was your most memorable teaching moment (good or bad your choice)? I teach SPED and will never forget the day that my 6th grade student finally understand multiplcation after working on it for three months. He didn't want to move on for a long time, he was having to much fun. 2. What are you doing to keep yourself learning? I am going to start to work on my masters in SPED starting in the spring. My school is offering to pay for it. 3. What do you see for yourself in five years (teaching or something else your choice)? Having my masters completed and working as a SPED coordinator. So who is game?