Rebirth?

Today was tough. Incredibly tough. Surprisingly tough. But still, tough.

With it being my first day at a new school, a school in CPS at that, I expected things to be different. I knew that there would be some challenges, some rowdy students, some outright rudeness that would ebb in the face of my gentle heart and warm smile.

Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. Psh.

Let me not diminish the day into a mere "bad day," because it was not. There were actually several highlights. I still need to get re-accustomed to the 8 period school day and 50 minute classes. That's a definitely. Galesburg spoiled(?) me with the 85 minute blocks and only 3 teaching periods a day. Now I'm teaching 5 classes out of an 8 period day. I have 100-105 minutes of prep time, collectively, but I teach 250 minutes spread out over the day. The numbers make it sound sweeter but the adjustment is still pretty real. Work in progress, for sure. 

I also have a class full of personality and character. I like that. While a quiet class can be a challenge, a rambunctious one is too much of a handful. But when the wild demeanor can transform into productive, engaging, passionate conversation, then it is certain worth some of the strife. With a few of the classes, I can see that it'll be something special and with others, I can see that I may be pulling teeth for the whole year.

Oh shit. I have all of these kids for the whole year. O_O That's gonna be interesting. The only real concern that I have is the 8th period class. They were painfully disrespectful and rude. They were also incredibly childish. Childish like... I found dripping hand sanitizer on my desk after school from them, presumably, playing in it. Childish like... took the pins out of my poster while I was introducing the course and syllabus but refused to admit "who did it" of course, thus causing me to take the entire thing down. There was plenty more where that came from and it ultimately caused me to lose my cool in front of the class. Something I try not to ever do. They got the best of me and I feel really badly about it. I intend to make it right tomorrow and come to a different understanding but I can just see that they have the potential to be a pain in my side. It's just too early to already be feeling that way. 

Anyway, I can here to try and get out my general feelings and frustrations and it's working for the most part. I'm no longer at the point of tears, though I can admit that they may return at any point. But I also recognize that I still have a bit more work to do.

Tomorrow is a new day. Admittedly. And I hope to go into it with the attitude that reflects that mentality. But I already know that I may be dreading my 8th period class and that has the potential to make the entire day a bummer. We shall see. I'll keep the faith! 

Survived Year One

I really need to do a better job of updating this thing, huh?

Well, my first year of teaching officially ended this past Thursday, May 24th. Overall, I have to say this was a very trying year but I dove into it head first. I had plenty of moments for laughter, quite a few moments for tears (though I only shed one in front of the class once but... that's another story), and I really feel like I got a nice taste of what my future holds.

I received my schedule for next year and I have 2 loads of Eng 9 a semester and 1 of College Composition. I'm really excited about this because they are both classes that I've taught before. This will be my third round with Eng 9 as well. One point I know I need to work on, aside from the ever present "discipline" and class rules, is honing my transitions and elaboration with materials. On top of that, I'm in a new classroom next year! So, just when I get a hold on a few things, something else is ripped out from under me. Crazy, really.

After making it through my first year in one piece, one element that I realized truly needs to be a part of my daily ritual/routine is Reflection. Reflection played such a big part in my teaching year. Looking back on how different lessons played out as well as what didn't go as well as planned has helped me to be a better teacher. Staying attuned to what the students feel about different lessons and trying to understand WHY they felt that way helps a lot too. There's not much to be said for the students who sincerely don't care about anything you have to say. I've learned to take those moments in stride. But, when there are individuals who are normally at the top of the class and even THEY are giving you the look of "Uhm.... What?" it's evident that some change needs to come about... And when reflecting on this past year, I can truly say that I tried my hardest at all costs and it can only go up from here. Yes, I'm the youngest teacher in the school (interesting yet frightening), as well as the newest teacher in my department (blessing and a curse, trust me), but no one can say that I have not been earning my place in Galesburg High School.

So, with that said, here's to a new year, a good year, and an even better Me.

Ms. Jones is out for the summer.

The Update

This has been a long time coming but I'll try to keep it brief...

Since I last truly updated about my life in the teaching world, quite a few things have changed.

• I've failed about 7-10 kids over the last semester and it tore me up inside. Some of them truly deserved the grade because they gave no hint of effort or even attempted to care about the class. Some got their acts together but did so too late in the game, so to speak, so it just wasn't enough. 
• I had a kid who was failing my class by .3%, so I made some modifications to round up to the next grade so he'd pass because I'd had a conference (or three) with his dad and the man gave off the impression that if the kid failed my class, his consequences would be physical. I felt good about saving him that fate just to realize he forgot to turn in a major assignment for my class and it brought him back down 3%. That was a rough one. 
• I had another kid who was taking my class for the second time and had the general idea that, as long as he passed, he didn't care how well he performed. He did very well on vocabulary and different assignments. Didn't participate much but he didn't cause many problems in class. Then, toward the end of the term, he kind of stopped trying, sated with the idea that he'd get a passing grade, and, even on the final, opted out of doing the essay portion by writing on his paper "I'll just take the D." Once everything was calculated and averaged, he failed by 1%. I did not feel inclined to round him up because he truly earned that grade. His mother e-mailed me about it and we had some correspondence but it was evident that he deserved the grade he received.
• I've had the day/week/class from hell.
• One week in October, my coworker (who's also a good friend) had to return to Chicago because her grandmother passed away. During the time she was gone, because she and I essentially had the same curriculum, I volunteered to help her sub with her classes. So everyday, for a week, when I got to school, I would go to her room and double check that all of her copies were present and that her materials were laid out as needed. Then, right before the first bell rang for school to start, I would go Back to her room and explain everything to the sub. But, because her sub was an older woman who was set in the ways that she used to teach, she still didn't understand. So, over lunch, I would re-explain everything. This happened every day. So I was trying to manage her classes while still having classes of my own and trying to manage those. I felt like it was just the worst week ever. But since, I can count on at least three occasions where I've had the worst "day" ever. Yet, every time I say that, the next one is much much worse. Maybe I'll stop "claiming" that, yeah?
• With regard to the worst "class," every 4th block, I have a class of students who took the particular class because A) it was a requirement for graduation and/or B) It was the only class that would fir their schedule. Having students who are literally only in your class because they have to be is a special kind of rewarding (sarcasm). The kids are typically very chatty and rambunctious. The class itself is never too bad to teach but apparently they always give the new teacher(s), the classes no one else in the department wanted. So that's always fun. I've made it through and am currently still doing so but to say it hasn't been trying would be false.

Those are the main things that have transpired that are worth mentioning. I've also had a lot of good days though. Days that are rewarding and remind me of why I got into this profession. I've had more of those days this term, thus far, which is very promising.

I'm currently teaching one class of Freshman English, a College Composition class, and Contemporary Communications, which is a speech class. It's pretty interesting, though teaching a College Composition class when I'm just out of college myself is a pretty wild experience.

Overall I'm feeling pretty good. I need to go get some grading done though so I'll go and get to that. 

Have a great day!

MAJORLY slipping...

Wow. I haven't forgotten about this blog but I definitely don't have nearly as much time on my hands as I thought I would to keep it posted.

So, when time frees up a bit, I'm definitely gonna try to bullet point some of the things I've experienced and learned over the last... 4 months or so.

Stay tuned. :-)

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.