Busy!

I really do plan on blogging here. This week has just been insanely busy, trying to figure out what I'm doing, and coming up with all the procedures to run my class and a structure/format for how my classes will run, so that I can explain it to the kids on the first day.

Tonight I sat down and hammered out the overview of what I will do each day for the first two weeks in my language arts class, basically creating the structure of the reading and writing workshop. It's a departure from what the other two 8th grade teachers do (I think), but the principal hired me in part because she liked my ideas for reading/writing workshop, so I'm going with it.

Now I need to tackle the structure of my science class. I think it will be a bit easier to organize, since it doesn't have to be quite so structured.

My back hurts from leaning over my laptop for the last 4 hours. But I'm very excited!

I got a job!

Wow, after 2 years, I actually got a teaching job. Unbelievable. I abandoned this blog until I found a job, but now that I have one, we can start up again!

I am working at a school on the Northside of Chicago, not to be named for privacy reasons. It's low-income, very diverse. And I am teaching 8th grade science, and a little language arts.

Yes, 8th grade science. I am just now getting endorsed to teach science. I completed the requirements, and I am waiting for the State to send me confirmation. I decided to go for it early this summer, figuring it might help me get a job, but not really counting on it. So here's to planning ahead.

Tomorrow is the first official teacher workday. I will officially meet all my colleagues, get my schedule and rosters and figure out the basic curriculum. I've already worked a bit on setting up my classroom, and have it neat and basic. I have quite a few things to buy, primarily for my classroom library (books published in the past 10 years, a rug, and floor cushions). I have to figure out procedures and class rules. I have to figure out how to teach those in the first week, while getting to know my students. I have to figure out what I'm going to teach, and in roughly what order, so I can create a welcome letter for my students' parents.

I have a butt-load of challenges ahead of me, and I'll be tracking them here if you'd like to tag along.

the fair

I tried attending the CPS career fair today. The CPS career fairs are huge - about 2000-3000 teachers attend, and 100+ schools have small tables set up, where they "interview" candidates on the spot for job openings. Some schools have lines of 30 or 40 people, who wait an hour or so for a 5-minute interview. It's crowded and huge and overwhelming.

I suppose it works for some people, especially those who have more "special" skills, such as Special Ed, Bilingual, etc. But it is not a situation where I can really shine. With so many people, I become so overwhelmed and full of self-doubt. My first thought on walking into that room was "why would anyone hire me?"

Honestly, I'd really rather be a sub next year, than go through a career fair again. I suppose it is partially my own fault, that due to the fact that I'm limited to public transit, there are quite a few schools I can't apply to. The schools that I can get to are, of course, among the ones everyone wants to work at. And most of those schools that I can get to, were not even at the fair at all.

I think I'm going to try to visit a lot of schools in the next few weeks, and see if I can get the opportunity to meet a few principals that way.

can I just clone myself?

One of the biggest stresses in teaching kindergarten has been how difficult it is to provide individualized attention. To teach writing, my cooperating teacher and I have split up the class. Those who are ready to move are working with her, while I am focusing on the students who need to continue to work on the fundamentals. (Spaces between words, writing in a straight line, hearing and writing all the sounds in a word, writing neatly enough to read).

Even within a group of about 13, these students are at a variety of levels, and need a variety of different strategies. Several students really want to learn to write, but are very behind on their letter-sound understanding, and so cannot write without an adult to help them sound out every word and find the matching letters. Other students can write and spell, but are very lazy and/or messy. Some can write, but require a great deal of coaching and encouragement in order to feel confident enough to put letters down on paper. With some of these students, if I help for a moment and then move on, they stop working and wait for my help again, or without support, they revert back to their old habits.

I feel like there are quite a few in this group who are falling through the cracks, and will not go to first grade with the expected level of skills. However, kindergarteners are almost unable to work independently, and so it is extremely difficult to provide individualized attention and help bring the students who are falling behind up to level. It's extremely frustrating to see students who want to learn, but who need extra help that I just do not have the time to provide.

Field Trip!

Today was a momentous day - my first field trip as a teacher. We walked a group of 26 kindergarteners 7 blocks to a fire station, spent 45 minutes, and then walked back. Sounds simple enough, right? When we got back to school, I was as exhausted as if I had spent all day at Disney World.

Walking with 26 kids is tiring. You always have lollygaggers that you have to prod along. In every intersection and alley, a meth-crazed drunk driver (or a cougar!) could suddenly appear and wipe out three shorties holding hands and walking along. Kids pick up trash off the ground, wander into people's yards, sing nonsense songs at the top of their lungs, and all try to tell
you stories at the same time.

The firehouse is another story. The kids had a blast, but many of them forgot how to "look with your eyes, not your hands" and how to "be respectful of other peoples' things" and how to "be a good listener." So I was constantly on the alert for kids jumping on a fireman's bed, or trying to wear an air tank or hiding behind a fire engine, or just generally disappearing into the ether.

But, we managed to get there, and back, with no major catastrophes.

This week, I am basically taking over the class for the next four weeks. Wish me luck!

Things They Said This Week

"Then the dog made a dance."

"My mom and dad are going to the gallop."

"I! HAVE! PINEAPPLE!"

"And then the cougar jumped over the fence and tried to get me, but then the cougar hit his head on the swingset and then the cougar fell down and I ran in the house, and then the cougar came on my porch and scratched at the door."

the learning curve

I'm still having some difficulty with classroom management. I suppose it's a tangle of problems. Spring arriving. Overly high expectations of 5 year-olds. Inheriting another teacher's management plan. The cooperating teacher and I bouncing back and forth between who is "in charge."

My cooperating teacher told me today that I'm using a sharp voice too often. I'm not necessarily "yelling" at kids, but I'm not using a soft, reasonable voice often enough when correcting behavior.

I'm in a difficult spot. Often times, when I try to get order, the kids simply do not listen. I haven't gained the respect of many of them. They respond to their regular teacher, but not as much to me. I'm overwhelmed by everything I'm trying to learn, trying to figure out how to manage time and personalities and expectations, and trying to figure out how to teach. It seems like, in my bewilderment and/or frustration, I'm resorting to being "sharp" sometimes, in an effort to gain control and/or respect.

That's definitely NOT the method I want to be using. I don't want to yell at kids. But I also don't feel like they yet see me as their teacher. As the person they should be listening to. And I'm not sure how to get there, at this late point in the year.

Usually, when I try to get order and they ignore me, the teacher steps in. As a result, I think they might have developed the response that they only really need to respond when SHE talks. Or, I have the theory that their brains are "trained" to respond to the sound of her voice, but not yet to mine. When it is noisy, and I talk, they don't hear me - they aren't trained to respond to my voice. But they are trained to tune in to her voice, so they hear her, even if we speak at the same volume.

I'm going to focus on this even more, and see what kind of changes I can make.

Oh, and I still need to work on SLOWING DOWN.