You mean besides the health issues?

I'm awesome. It's true. I know I can sometimes come across as an arrogant prick to some people, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm really good at my job and that I know how things ought to be done. Lemme just give y'all the run-down on my awesomeness so far this year, which I've managed to engage in between the endless friggin' doctors appointments and bouts of fatigue...
We are working on shifting our curriculum toward the IB (which stands for International Baccalureate) structure, as it really is a better standard than AP. What that means in a practical sense is that the organization of our curriculum needs to become more enmeshed, with less homework, more cross-curricular activities and assessment, and a driving base of social conscience at its heart. This is exactly the kind of work as a teacher that I love, and thanks to my circumstances being what they are this year, I've basically been given free reign to shape exactly what that means for our fifth grade. And I am really, really good at it. Here, in a nutshell, is the curriculum plan I've developed for this year:
Our theme for fifth grade is The Emerging American Identity. Or focus across all subjects is going to be on what it means to be an American, and how that meaning has changed over time as various minority groups have struggled against oppression. In history, we are beginning our study with the Civil War. We will be studying from then to present day, focusing on the political and social changes that have occurred, focusing on the struggle for equality of a variety of minority groups and the cause and effect relationships those struggles have had on one another. Beginning with the struggles of African-Americans immediately after the civil war, we will look at the meaning of American identity as it relates to the struggles of groups (focusing primarily on women, Indians, immigrants, and African-Americans) within our society to achieve greater equality, not just under the letter of the law but in the practice of daily living.
Paralleling our history studies are our reading texts. We have five core novels that we're reading as a class this year, each coinciding with the timeline we're following in History, and each dealing with the struggles of discrimination.
We started with The House of Dies Drear, which takes place in the 1960's but is set in a house famous for its role in the Underground Railroad.
Next is My Last Skirt, based on the true story of Albert Cashier (really Jennie Hodges) an Irish immigrant girl who lived her life pretending to be a man so she could earn her way fairly through life and so she could fight for her country during the Civil War.
Next is Hattie Big Sky, a story set at the turn of the 20th century, that exemplifies issues of both women and Indians at that time.
Following that is Dave at Night, a story of a Jewish immigrant in NY in the 1920's.
Finally, is A Year Down Yonder, set in the Depression era.

In addition, I created a book list of 35 or so books, all of which deal with American history and/or issues of the social ramifications of oppression and prejudice. I've read most the books on the list, and those I haven't read are all award winners and are on the list of best books for middle school put out by the American Library Association. And students are allowed to read any book not on the list, so long as they can compellingly justify why it fits our theme. They are required to read a minimum of three independent books each quarter in addition to our group books, and they must do a project on each.
I created a list of 30 projects which they may choose from. There are five categories of projects, which are Artistic, Written, Oratory, Technology, and Synthesis. Each category focuses on a different presentaion style, and students may choose any project for any book, so long as they complete one from each group by the end of the semester. From orally presented biographies, to written comics, to powerpoint presentations to presenting lessons to the class, my students have a wide range of assessments that they get to choose from, and which thoroughly cover multiple learning styles as well as basic literary elements.
So far the projects have been amazing. The students have chosen some interesting books not on the list, and I am enjoying the few on the list that I am reading for the first time. Of course, you can imagine my chagrin when I just tonight discovered that the currently most-popular book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, has several pages devoted to confessions of masturbation, and sports such phrases as "Hey chief, did you know indians were made when niggers fucked buffalo?"
I am seriously hoping that the kids will be too embarrassed to tell their parents, but if I get any flack, I'll just fall back on that old first amendment thingy, as well as the fact that the book has won so many awards and so much praise the the jacket can't contain it all. There is noe explicit sex, and really, the book is just so blatantly honest and good that it's easy to move past the things that are prone to make 5th grader shocked and giggly.
Moving on...
In English, we're spending 2 days a week doing grammar, and two focused on writing. On the fifth day we apply those communication skills to Touchpoints, which is the program I was sent to Mexico to help develop, right before school started.
Touchpoints is an ongoing collaboration via technology, which culminates in two live video conferencing sessions between partner classes. Our partner class is in Monterrey, Mexico, and our topic this year is poverty.
Our course of action this year in Touchpoints goes right along with our overarchingl theme, as poverty is an issue deeply connected to issues of inequity and prejudice. To start us out I created a wiki page, and both classes (mine and my partner in Mexico's) introduced themselves and their communities via powerpoint presentations that they created in the computer lab. Next, we did some reflexive writing on poverty, to determine our own views, and then we compared our views with our partner class's views, to look for similarities and differences.
We will be using the wiki as our primary contact point, and students will work in small groups to investigate different aspects of poverty from a top-down approach. Starting with world poverty, then moving to country, state and city, each group will focus on a different aspect of poverty at each level. The aspects will be demographics, the response of government to the impoverished, community based action, and enduring problems.
At the two big video conference meetings, the two groups with the same topic (one from each school) will present their findings for their peers in some type of interactive lesson or activity.
So, that's what I've been up to.