A Third of the Way through First Term...

I've planned to update this blog a lot more but man, teaching takes a lot out of you!

With that said... how about I update on how life has gone so far...

I'm going into my 4th week of teaching and I've already learned quite a bit. I've had to deal with student discipline, had my first breakdown (outside of class, thank goodness), and seen the bitterness of teachers that are unsatisfied with administration. But I've also seen the smile on a kid's face when he finally gets how to use a vocab word like "amalgamate" in context, the excitement on a teacher's face when her kid goes from an F to a C in the matter of a week, and felt the accomplishment of staying at the school after hours just to prep the room for having a sub the next day and get student grades in for "athletic eligibility."

Teaching has definitely has its ups and downs so far. I mean, it's been incredibly taxing, emotionally, and I feel like my classroom and my kids are all I ever talk about. But I also have gained such fulfillment and satisfaction from making a difference. I KNOW I'm doing the right thing. I know I'm in the right profession. This is what I've been working towards my WHOLE life... and now that I have it, I really couldn't imagine doing anything else.

I love my job... no... my career.

My life.

Back to School... Supplies.

Hey everybody!

Right now I'm sitting in my room anxiously awaiting my new friend's arrival so we can go School Supply shopping. We're both pretty stoked. (Ah new teachers, so full of joy, haha) She's only 15min away so I won't be here for too long but I just wanted to come in and comment on what's been happening!

I know I posted a few days ago about meetings and the like and mentioned the new teacher orientation. Well I've completed it now and I feel a bit more prepared about going into the classroom. I know that the first day is the most important of the whole year (though that always makes it the most frightening for me as a new teacher) and have been trying to plan for it accordingly. My main issue is that, knowing it's such an important day is making me dread doing anything for it! Everytime I think I know what I want to do I feel like I should do something different. I know that there's a lot on the line so I just want to be the best I can be. I want to give my students the best opportunity/learning experience I can.

I have 79 students for first term. Isn't that madness? 55 of them stay with me for the whole year because they're my precious little freshies. But I have at least two classes that continually rotate because I teach a different class every term (quarter). This term it's "Contemporary Fiction." It's a junior/senior elective so I was definitely expecting a small amount, say 13-15. Imagine my shock and awe when I looked at the roster to see there are 24! And there's a substantial number of boys in it too! I guess I assumed with it being a heavily reading intensive class I just would not see much of the male population. Hmph. Guess that's my fault for making assumptions early, huh?

These kids are teaching me something new and I haven't even met them yet. Ha.

Yeah, this is gonna be an interesting year.

It's been awhile...

I meant to submit this post last week sometime. July 26th actually. But, having issues with internet and being all tied up with the new apartment and such has made that challenging. So, here's what's up so far. :-)

Well, it’s been awhile since I wrote here, but so much has changed since my last entry.

Since then I’ve moved into my new apartment in Galesburg. It’s been a whole week! It’s interesting being on my own. Being so accustomed to having someone to answer to or someone to notify of my every move makes it quite an adjustment to only be accountable to/for myself. I’m still missing a few things that would make the place complete. Bed will be delivered next week. Still need a desk and a dresser. But still, I’m getting by.

All of this time to myself makes it really convenient to catch up on the reading and planning that I need to do for the year. I have a few things from my Freshman English class that I can begin putting together but I still need some fundamental things. (A textbook for example…) I’m about halfway through the book I need/want to read for the term so I can get an idea of what I want to teach and how. I know there are at least two books so far that have accompanying movies. So that’s cool. I need to come up with a few projects and assignments to go along with then. I want to discuss the issues but still keep everything interesting and engaging. (Any ideas welcome!)

I had another meeting last Friday too. It involved planning for a class I’m not teaching so I didn’t really have much to add. I also got my first glimpse of how things can so easily go awry when trying to have some type of order or agenda in a department meeting. Teachers all have their own ideas about how things should go so it’s often hard to make a decision on what the best solution would be. I ended up having to leave before it was over but I’m still glad I was there. Our next one is August 2^nd. I hope more gets accomplished.

The last thing to consider is that I have my new teacher orientation next week. NEXT week. That’s a beautifully frightening thing. I’ve done the meetings, I’ve talked to payroll, I’m even looking into getting a new bank account down here. But for some reason, having that orientation just makes everything so real to me. I’ll get to meet the new teachers and go through the rigmarole of being properly put into the system. It’s scary yet exciting. Hopefully my next entry will be reporting good news!

Now I’m off to do more reading and watch some Law and Order SVU. Oh the joys of a teacher’s summer. *smile*

P.S.- Stay tuned for a new post about New Teacher Orientation coming soon! Tomorrow's the last day. I'm pretty excited.

First Two Department Meetings Down... One to Go.

Well, I just finished my first couple days of meetings at GHS. They were interesting to say the least. I had to meet with other members of my department to converse about curriculum and the implementation of standards throughout the course so that we were still meeting national requirements.

It's strange because, while student teaching, and taking most Education classes for that matter, I simply DETESTED anything having to do with standards. They were annoying and so specific that it felt there was no way to implement them fully. But these last few days, being with actual teachers in the field and coming up with collaborative ideas to execute the standards while still meeting the personal preferences for what WE wanted to teach was actually... well..

Fun.

Who would've thought that would ever be the case?

So, after the meetings and all I was able to get my finalized schedule of what I will be teaching as well as the books for one of the classes I will have first term-- That's also something I'll need to get accustomed to. This school's schedule is divided into terms and blocks as opposed to quarters and periods. So, instead of having 4 quarters I have 4 terms. And instead of having 50min periods, I have 85min blocks. This means I only teach 3 periods of the day, which is nice. And my plan period is in the middle so that leaves me fairly open. But I'm a little worried about having to adjust to teaching for 85min. I felt like at times I was struggling to span things over the 50min periods I'm accustomed to.

I suppose this to will be a learning experience.

To end the day I had to go to the Board of Ed office in order to set up an appointment for payroll, sign my contract, and get started on a few things I can do in the near future. All I have to do is:

• Get a TB test/shot
• Complete my background test/get fingerprinted (standard)
• Send my credential file
• Send a copy of my teaching certificate

That's not too bad, right? Maybe I really am getting the hang of this whole thing. At least, the technical part of it anyway. The actual teaching will be a completely new ballpark. Time to get suited up!

So It Begins...

Well, this is my first post. I feel like it should be something special and introduce me in the most profound way...

However, I don't exactly think I'm spectacular enough for something like that so, here goes nothing.

My name is Fannetta and I'm 22 years old. I'll be starting my first year of teaching in the Fall at Galesburg High School. I'm pretty excited about it. With the excitement comes a ridiculous amount of nerves as well. Starting this job means starting a whole new life. Moving away from my family, most of my friends and loved ones, and basically my whole life. I hope I'm ready to embark on such a journey.

Everyday I pump myself up a little more to believe that I am.

I was sitting and thinking today that it may be a good idea to start a blog about my experience. My goal is to do this daily once the year begins but I realize that probably won't happen. I figure at least 3 posts a week should be good. Obviously I haven't really begun anything just yet since it's only June. I have my first "faculty meetings" this Wednesday and Thursday so that should be fun to report on. I find out more about what I'll be teaching and get some of the books I'll be working with so I can start planning my curriculum.

Ha. My curriculum.

It feels weird to type, let alone even think and say.

So, this blog is about my journey towards becoming "Ms. Jones." I know that I am her, by nature, but the full teacher persona takes a lot of work as well as trial and error. I've already begun the slight transformation but it will clearly be a work in progress. I'm hoping to use this blog as a way to document my journey. The highs, the lows, and all the speed bumps a long the way. I know this is going to be an interesting ride.

I hope you'll join me along the way. *smile*