Well hello there. Has it been that long? I suppose it has.
Christmas Break officially started today. Hurray! And even though I fended every possible cold that first year teachers catch during school...I am now sick. Ah well.
November and December were busy. Progress Reports were written, parents (some) came in for Celebration of Learning, Christmas concerts, pajama days, trying to keep the students busy without teaching them something new that they'll promptly forget on their break. It was lovely (/end sarcasm).
November and December were also rough. I met with a mentor during the last week before the break, and she showed me a picture of the yearly cycle of a teacher's emotions. It was spot on. She said "Right now, you're probably feeling Disillusionment." And I was! I was certain that I had screwed this year up fantastically and there was no way that I was going to get a probationary contract out of it. And she said "You're probably questioning your career choice." And I was! That morning I drove by McDonald's and saw their "Hiring" sign, and thought....Yeah I could do that again...for the rest of my life...
It was comforting to know that this is something that most teachers go through during the year, and that as I gain more experience, my disillusionment valley won't be so deep.
So what stage is next? Well, that's Rejuvenation. So I will take some time and rest, and come back refocused and re-energized. I type this as I sit in my classroom trying to plan for January. You can't win them all I suppose.
Monday, December 23, 2013
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Rules to Live By
Be kind to your custodian, so that when one of your students pukes in the garbage can, they'll clean it up right away.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Bye Bye September
Oh hello there. It's been a while. Probably for good reason.
The rest of September was pretty rough. There was a moment I almost cried in front of my class (Teacher Rule #1: Never show them weakness!) as I tried to convince them that I'm not a mean teacher, I just need them to stop fooling around and get with the class. The next day I did cry in front of my principal, as she said that she could tell I was starting to get stressed out. Strangely enough after those 2 days I felt a lot better and haven't had a breakdown since.
We're now into the second month of school, and my EA and I are working hard to believe that our students are starting to get it. That things are starting to settle down. That the kids are learning the routine and remembering how to behave in school. And to be fair, they are. The final lesson of the week was Art, and I didn't have to give them constant reminders that they were too loud and getting too silly. My reward system has been implemented, I've started building a book bug around the classroom with them (everyone who reads 15 minutes a night gets a body part to add to the bug), I'm wrapping up my first math unit and getting ready to assess.
Curriculum wise I'm feeling more confident and prepared. Science I just picked units from each grade that I thought would pair along with each other, or that I found interesting. For Social, I am planning on teaching the Grade 3 curriculum but incorporating the Grade 4 curriculum alongside. Math I was having a bit of a panic attack with, but then I was given a great resource from Math Makes Sense (which, unfortunately, many teachers refer to as Math Doesn't Make Sense, but I found that out after the fact and I'm just going to roll with it) that basically laid out exactly how to teach what to each grade. In our PD yesterday the words IPPs and Progress Reports were already mentioned so it's time to start looking at those fun things already.
Even with those looming, October is going to be a fun month. It's Read-In Week next week, and my class has 5 or 6 people coming to read to them for half an hour. The school is also hosting an Artist in Residency which will be fun, and my class is starting a mentor program which means we essentially get a 2 hour field trip every week. For the whole year! Right now I'm guaranteed to be there til the end of October, but that's just unnecessary stress right now.
The rest of September was pretty rough. There was a moment I almost cried in front of my class (Teacher Rule #1: Never show them weakness!) as I tried to convince them that I'm not a mean teacher, I just need them to stop fooling around and get with the class. The next day I did cry in front of my principal, as she said that she could tell I was starting to get stressed out. Strangely enough after those 2 days I felt a lot better and haven't had a breakdown since.
We're now into the second month of school, and my EA and I are working hard to believe that our students are starting to get it. That things are starting to settle down. That the kids are learning the routine and remembering how to behave in school. And to be fair, they are. The final lesson of the week was Art, and I didn't have to give them constant reminders that they were too loud and getting too silly. My reward system has been implemented, I've started building a book bug around the classroom with them (everyone who reads 15 minutes a night gets a body part to add to the bug), I'm wrapping up my first math unit and getting ready to assess.
Curriculum wise I'm feeling more confident and prepared. Science I just picked units from each grade that I thought would pair along with each other, or that I found interesting. For Social, I am planning on teaching the Grade 3 curriculum but incorporating the Grade 4 curriculum alongside. Math I was having a bit of a panic attack with, but then I was given a great resource from Math Makes Sense (which, unfortunately, many teachers refer to as Math Doesn't Make Sense, but I found that out after the fact and I'm just going to roll with it) that basically laid out exactly how to teach what to each grade. In our PD yesterday the words IPPs and Progress Reports were already mentioned so it's time to start looking at those fun things already.
Even with those looming, October is going to be a fun month. It's Read-In Week next week, and my class has 5 or 6 people coming to read to them for half an hour. The school is also hosting an Artist in Residency which will be fun, and my class is starting a mentor program which means we essentially get a 2 hour field trip every week. For the whole year! Right now I'm guaranteed to be there til the end of October, but that's just unnecessary stress right now.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Dub tee eff.
Pretty certain I just did a reading session with that girl you don't want to talk to at a party. For reference.
Grade 3. Yeah.
Grade 3. Yeah.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Saturday, September 7, 2013
1 week down, 39 to go.
Friday was a gong show, to put it mildly. Kids crawling around on the floor, kids being unsafe in the gym, ridiculous girl drama that makes my head throb. I settled them back down in the afternoon with an art project many of them seemed to enjoy. But yeah, I was definitely ready for the day to be over.
Some school background: I'm working at an inner city school with quite a small population. Due to the nature of the neighborhood, we have a pretty transient population, with families just up and leaving with no warning, and new ones coming in. School isn't given a high priority, so attendance isn't the greatest. Last year, during my 9 week practicum, I saw one student maybe 8 days.
I know that, despite the challenges of the neighborhood, I am in an extremely good situation for my first long-term (fingers crossed) teaching job. I did my placement at this school, I did some private EA work at the school, so the kids have seen me around, and I know quite a bit of names and some background on some of them. I know what to expect, for some part, regarding behaviors and expectations and why they are the way they are. One of my students didn't go home this week, at all. They couldn't - they didn't have bus tickets to get there. That's probably why they weren't a joy to have in class. Another of my students is a selective mute (info here: Selective Mutism). Having a new teacher is probably super stressful for this student, but because I know the history, and they've seen me around the school before, I'm not pushing them to talk, and I have heard this student talk in class. Just not to me, but that's still huge!
Anyway. I'm heading back to the school to get things organized, and things planned. I'm hoping that with more structure, with less idle time, the days will start to get smoother, and I won't want to bang my head against my desk by the end of the week.
Some school background: I'm working at an inner city school with quite a small population. Due to the nature of the neighborhood, we have a pretty transient population, with families just up and leaving with no warning, and new ones coming in. School isn't given a high priority, so attendance isn't the greatest. Last year, during my 9 week practicum, I saw one student maybe 8 days.
I know that, despite the challenges of the neighborhood, I am in an extremely good situation for my first long-term (fingers crossed) teaching job. I did my placement at this school, I did some private EA work at the school, so the kids have seen me around, and I know quite a bit of names and some background on some of them. I know what to expect, for some part, regarding behaviors and expectations and why they are the way they are. One of my students didn't go home this week, at all. They couldn't - they didn't have bus tickets to get there. That's probably why they weren't a joy to have in class. Another of my students is a selective mute (info here: Selective Mutism). Having a new teacher is probably super stressful for this student, but because I know the history, and they've seen me around the school before, I'm not pushing them to talk, and I have heard this student talk in class. Just not to me, but that's still huge!
Anyway. I'm heading back to the school to get things organized, and things planned. I'm hoping that with more structure, with less idle time, the days will start to get smoother, and I won't want to bang my head against my desk by the end of the week.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
A Representation of my day
Today I sent a student to Grade 1 to learn how to sit in a desk properly.
True story.
True story.
First Day Down
I made it through the first 2 days! They were a little rocky at times, but today was definitely better than yesterday, so upwards from here! (Hopefully).
I'm fortunate enough to have an Educational Assistant (EA) in my classroom. Today we talked about how I am keeping in the back of my mind that it has only been 2 days, and they will learn my expectations, and things will settle down. But on the flip side are the students who we flagged coming into the school year, who are doing amazingly right now, but it has only been 2 days, and they are going to get fired up.
With the first 2 days down, I now find myself scrambling to plan things to fill up Thursday and Friday before the weekend. Tomorrow luckily I catch a bit of a break, as my class has their first music class, and there's also a school wide assembly, AND it's early dismissal. Friday is looming large in the back of my mind though.
It goes back to what I said earlier - teaching is not necessarily hard work, but it is a lot of work. (A lot is one of the Word Wall words I gave today. Oooh, connection!) I have heard many teachers say that it takes 2 - 3 years before you get a curriculum down and know what you want to teach and how you want to teach. So coming in, sorting through 2 curriculums I'm not familiar with, in a class that, so far, has shown little patience, is going to be a bumpy ride. I'm planning on spending most of my weekend organizing and planning.
Some things I need to plan:
I'm fortunate enough to have an Educational Assistant (EA) in my classroom. Today we talked about how I am keeping in the back of my mind that it has only been 2 days, and they will learn my expectations, and things will settle down. But on the flip side are the students who we flagged coming into the school year, who are doing amazingly right now, but it has only been 2 days, and they are going to get fired up.
With the first 2 days down, I now find myself scrambling to plan things to fill up Thursday and Friday before the weekend. Tomorrow luckily I catch a bit of a break, as my class has their first music class, and there's also a school wide assembly, AND it's early dismissal. Friday is looming large in the back of my mind though.
It goes back to what I said earlier - teaching is not necessarily hard work, but it is a lot of work. (A lot is one of the Word Wall words I gave today. Oooh, connection!) I have heard many teachers say that it takes 2 - 3 years before you get a curriculum down and know what you want to teach and how you want to teach. So coming in, sorting through 2 curriculums I'm not familiar with, in a class that, so far, has shown little patience, is going to be a bumpy ride. I'm planning on spending most of my weekend organizing and planning.
Some things I need to plan:
- my reward system. Right now my students need a lot of reminding about proper behavior in the classroom, and I'm going to dole out mad rewards and then scale back. I'm planning on using a ticket system my mentor teacher used, which will end in a weekly draw.
- Early finisher work. There is a wide discrepancy in my class of knowledge and skill level. I have a few 'keeners' that I need to keep busy, or they will get bored and start acting up. I'm planning on giving each student a binder that is divided into the different subjects, and when they finish early they go to that binder and work on something that I've placed there for them.
- Grid - another reward system. They have a chance to earn stickers daily, for bringing their agenda back signed, doing daily reading, and showing up on time....or maybe for having their homework done, I haven't quite decided yet.
- I need to talk to my principal and find out how to best assess a split class. I'm assuming I'm teaching the Grade 3 students French....but do I put it on their report card? That sort of thing.
- And....pretty much everything I'm planning on teaching for the next couple of weeks.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Some background
Here's the deal-io. All about me!
I'm fairly certain only my mum is reading at this point but I like talking about myself.
Alternatively entitled, My Dad Thinks I Could Have Been A Doctor By Now.
I've been in and out of post-secondary education for the last 12 years. Started off in Sciences, decided that being a dentist probably wasn't going to happen because of my extreme aversion to studying of any kind. After 3 years of that mess, I took some time and made some money to squirrel away for the future. (Note: I am a terrible saver, and obviously that money is gone. I would like to think to self-betterment and enlightenment.) (Clothes. It went to clothes.)
After my year off I switched to a diploma program which became the bane of my existence. This was a program designed for people straight out of high school, not people who had 3 years of University experience. I breezed through the SLP-Assistant program cutting possible future reference letter ties (I lack the necessary professional and personal skills to be successful) but making some pretty good life long friends. Also no job prospects, because the day of my convocation I received my acceptance back into the U of A.
Back at the U of A, I switched into an Arts Degree, which, let's be real, I was doing already when I was in Sciences. Who majors in Psych and minors in English in Science?!? Needless to say English was over though, and I minored in Linguistics, my new dream being Speech Therapy.
Ha! That went about as well as the dentist thing. More time was taken after I finished my Arts degree. A friend I met while working discussed taking the Education After-Degree program, if anything to get my GPA up while I desperately clung to the speech dream, but also to have a shot at having an actual job with my many years of education.
The Ed program at times made me want to stab my eyes out. There were a lot of touchy-feely classes, and, even more horrifying, a lot of group projects. My science teacher put the nice "PREFERS WORKING ALONE" stamp beside my name on the class list, so that's pretty much all you need to know.
Anyway, owing to the fact that Education is a lot of work, but not necessarily hard work, I finished my after-degree in just under 16 months, instead of 20. I did this because I wanted to get a jump on finding a job, and those 4 months were to my advantage. I think.
There's still a very good chance that when school starts on Tuesday, I won't have a job, but more about that later. Also, I'm extremely anemic, so I'm always open to napping in the middle of the day. Or at anytime, for that matter.
I'm fairly certain only my mum is reading at this point but I like talking about myself.
Alternatively entitled, My Dad Thinks I Could Have Been A Doctor By Now.
I've been in and out of post-secondary education for the last 12 years. Started off in Sciences, decided that being a dentist probably wasn't going to happen because of my extreme aversion to studying of any kind. After 3 years of that mess, I took some time and made some money to squirrel away for the future. (Note: I am a terrible saver, and obviously that money is gone. I would like to think to self-betterment and enlightenment.) (Clothes. It went to clothes.)
After my year off I switched to a diploma program which became the bane of my existence. This was a program designed for people straight out of high school, not people who had 3 years of University experience. I breezed through the SLP-Assistant program cutting possible future reference letter ties (I lack the necessary professional and personal skills to be successful) but making some pretty good life long friends. Also no job prospects, because the day of my convocation I received my acceptance back into the U of A.
Back at the U of A, I switched into an Arts Degree, which, let's be real, I was doing already when I was in Sciences. Who majors in Psych and minors in English in Science?!? Needless to say English was over though, and I minored in Linguistics, my new dream being Speech Therapy.
Ha! That went about as well as the dentist thing. More time was taken after I finished my Arts degree. A friend I met while working discussed taking the Education After-Degree program, if anything to get my GPA up while I desperately clung to the speech dream, but also to have a shot at having an actual job with my many years of education.
The Ed program at times made me want to stab my eyes out. There were a lot of touchy-feely classes, and, even more horrifying, a lot of group projects. My science teacher put the nice "PREFERS WORKING ALONE" stamp beside my name on the class list, so that's pretty much all you need to know.
Anyway, owing to the fact that Education is a lot of work, but not necessarily hard work, I finished my after-degree in just under 16 months, instead of 20. I did this because I wanted to get a jump on finding a job, and those 4 months were to my advantage. I think.
There's still a very good chance that when school starts on Tuesday, I won't have a job, but more about that later. Also, I'm extremely anemic, so I'm always open to napping in the middle of the day. Or at anytime, for that matter.
Friday, August 30, 2013
First comes the call
I got a job! School starts in 4 days and the call just came in. This results in initial excitement (yay money!) followed by panic and stress (I don't have anything to fill a classroom; I have to plan a curriculum; what am I going to do with them on the first day?!? Here kids, just color for 7 hours.)
I'm taking a Grade 3/4 split which adds more panic. How do I teach 2 curriculums?! I'm trying to keep in mind what my vice-principal last year said: "It doesn't matter what you teach them, it matters what skills they learn." The skills they learn can be applied to any thing they learn.
Also...after many years of working retail and mindless jobs, I find it more than a little bizarre that you are just plunked into a classroom and told "Go." People tell me "Oh Rochelle, you had practicums, that was your training." But that was in December! I've just been sitting around watching old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer since then!
Today is Day 1. One day at a time!
I'm taking a Grade 3/4 split which adds more panic. How do I teach 2 curriculums?! I'm trying to keep in mind what my vice-principal last year said: "It doesn't matter what you teach them, it matters what skills they learn." The skills they learn can be applied to any thing they learn.
Also...after many years of working retail and mindless jobs, I find it more than a little bizarre that you are just plunked into a classroom and told "Go." People tell me "Oh Rochelle, you had practicums, that was your training." But that was in December! I've just been sitting around watching old episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer since then!
Today is Day 1. One day at a time!
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