question

Tonight, a friend asked me, "Are you already burned out before the students come?" My honest answer is "almost". Too many meetings. Ridiculous, unecessary meetings.

I know what club I want: Bible Club.

I'm a little nervous on how to hook the kids on learning.

Working at a school will be an exercise in professionalism and civility. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what other people do or think. I need to be myself and do my best everyday.

impression: first day w/o students

We were scheduled to have a meeting all day. Well, lots of little meetings back to back with all the faculty. I was nervous because I only arrived 10 minutes early. I also felt some anxiety as to what to wear. Both fears were abated as soon as I walked into the meeting room. The meeting started at a soft 8 am. In my skirt and t-shirt, I was the most dressed up person next to the principals. A lot of people were in shorts and t-shirts. It threw me off guard because we slated to have meetings not work in our rooms. I have much to learn.

For the surprise lunch, we got on an activity bus and drove to Olive Garden. It was good and fun. Everybody was in a better mood.

I scrounged a book for my grammar lessons/ warm-ups, but I need to land a vocab list that's the appropriate level. I went to the Public Library today to get book jackets for my "book nook" bulletin board; instead, I received some YA genre-specific reading lists. In the long run, the reading lists far surpass the the book jackets. Crappy books that fail to stimulate a kid's imagination perpetuates a child's loathing to read. All books are not equal; just because a book was published doesn't mean it's worth reading. I know good books in some genres, but there's a gaping hole in my knowledge of sci-fi, mystery and fantasy.

I have so much to learn. I want my kids to learn and like learning. I think faculty politics is going to be one of my least favorite aspects of the job. A transaction of small-talk is required for just about everything. And, my mentor is fabulous.

I ended up leaving school at 4:30 because the login and password I was given does not work. So, I was limited in what I could do. And, we weren't given our schedules or class lists. Yowsers. I'm bringing in my computer tomorrow.

curriculum specialists

On day 3 of the orientation, I met the county's Social Studies and Language Arts specialists. Wow, it made me excited. They fly to all the workshops and are on top of the new pedagogical tools. They'll come in and team teach or help design lesson plans, critique ideas and give me materials. Meeting these people was most encouraging. I'm definitely going to pick the LA about teaching writing without teaching a formula.

1st day of orientation

Overall, I'm impressed with the orientation. The presenters are well-prepared and organized. But, I think I'm a bit suspicious. For instance, why do they find it necessary to differentiate public education from education. Is public education that different? And, all the stuff they gave me, which is good but sketchy. I told my table, "We're going to be their trained pet monkeys when this is over." Only one person smiled.

The content is hohum, but what I thoroughly enjoy is the presentation. They're making us do things that we can use in class. In short, we're learning how to faciliate flexible grouping (or some such jargon). It's nifty.

Most of my fellow NTs leave me nonplussed, but there is some potential friend material.

Room update: my sister and mom worked on my room today while I was getting oriented. Apparently, several people stopped in and said it was the cleanest that they'd seen it. My sister made the same amount for her summer internship for her MBA program that I'll be making this year. She does good work.

tedious prep

Yesterday morning, I spent the morning in New Employee Orientation. I'm not sure what we were being oriented to, but we sure did fill out a pile of papers. A person cannot have more life insurance on their spouse than they have on themselves. Never be more valuable dead than alive. I signed up my medical insurance and found out more about lateral entry. I didn't have all the papers, so the county is postponing mailing my file to the State DPI. The DPI charges me $85 to process my file and if I were to send any items in later an additional $55. I'm guessing the $55 is punitive in order to encourage sending a complete packet. But, getting forms from Vancouver, Japan, DC, Boone and etc. is proving an additional challenge to my already challenging circumstances. Yippee. Yay, stress!

And, today irked me. I went into my classroom that the other teacher had finally vacated (8 work days before the students come. Five of which I'm in all day meetings). It was disgusting and he had left a ton of crap "in case I might be able to use it." Nobody's going to use this crap. I felt used and patronized in the whole fiasco. But, I chatted with my mom and she encouraged me to let it go because I work for the kids-- let the bastards be bastards. She said if I worked myself up, I'd take away from what I had to offer them. She's right. My options are: I could confront the teacher, but I'm going to have to work with him for at least a year. What bothers me is that he's aware of what he did; he keeps making excuses and saying things like "it's part of the job" in reference to me throwing away the crap and cleaning things that don't look like they've been cleaned in years. I could say something to the principal but that would be perceived as whining. Or, I could move on, be a big girl and quote my sister, "it is what it is."

At least, I'm not teamed with this guy. At least, I'm not in a trailer. At least, I have some materials with which to work. And, I worked hard and have little to show, but I did meet my mentor who is helpful. I've spent time with the three janitors and know their names.

I met three potential students! They were riding their bikes through the parking lot as I walked to the entrance.
I waved and said, "Hello."
They asked in unison, "Are you a new teacher?"
I answered, "What do you think?"
They smiled and said, "Yes. What grade do you teach?"
"Seventh. What grade are you in?"

Then we chatted sports and Olympics. They were none to impressed with what the male gymnasts wore. I pointed out if they wore more loose clothes that would be problematic. They were pleasantly punkish. Irreverant and chatty. So, these boys are who I'm working with and who I'm working for when all is said and done. The tedious annoyances are worth it.

And, it looks as though I'm going to get the novel set I want: Tale of Despereaux.

observation

As I taught Sunday School today, I noticed evidence that I've processed the reading about classroom management. And, I'm glad I get a classroom to myself. Team teaching is tricky, tricky.

team teacher lunch

Yesterday, I met my team teacher for lunch. When I met her, we didn't shake hands. Instead, we hugged. The hug set the tone of the lunch. We chatted about the school-- she's been teaching in this school district for over fifteen years so she knows a lot of people and about how things run. We discussed ideas for field trips, which we'll have to submit for review on the first week. We talked about the level of classes we'll have and various strategies. She gave me hints about low-budget classroom decorating. My room is going to be minimalist.

She's an official mentor for the school system, and she said that she'd be glad to be mine. She thanked me for calling and initiating.

The only problem is that she might switch teams if the other Math-Science teacher doesn't get AIG certification. That would make sad.

The Essential 55 by Ron Clark

I just finished reading The Essential 55. It's an annotated set of fifty-five rules, which is no surprise. The notations give the rationale and stories connected to each rule. It's uber upbeat, annoyingly so, but, an engaging, enjoyable read nonetheless. A little sarcasm would have been much appreciated by this reader.

The things I took away:

It's sometimes hard to follow through with consequences but essential. The lesson of responsibility, unselfishness, etc. is more important than the lost rice krispy treat. Teaching is about the big picture, which requires the details to support the big picture. There's a necessary integrity between the big picture and the classroom procedures. Procedures aren't auxilliary but foundational. They teach responsibility and create routine and safety. Students appreciate boundaries and thrive under them.

Carpe Diem. I need to model the joie de vivre and savoir faire I desire my students to have. Life full of zest and pluck is far more enjoyable because it's life as it should be.


Flexibility and problem-solving. A teacher needs to avert disaster when possible, otherwise, hit it head on.

Acknowledge mistakes and learn from them.

Have high expectations and communicate them. Be very concrete in communicating expectations. I need to teach, model and then role play my expectations. I need to be as good as my word.

Love your kids in an effective and efficacious manner. Believe in them. Give them every opportunity to grow and learn. Hold them to high standards.

Empower your students. Teach them how to interact well with each other. Clark talks about a class functioning as a school family. I like that analogy. The students should encourage and celebrate each other's successes. The classroom should be a happy, safe place where learning is the cool thing to do.

Manners are important because people are important. Manners are necessary in every aspect of my and my student's life. Teaching them to respect and honor others is to help them become successful in life.

The First Days of School by Harry Wong

Today I finished reading Harry Wong's The First Days of School. I found myself taking notes and slowing down to ingest his ideas. I foresee myself returning to some chapters of this book again and again until memorized.

His writing style is clear and thorough with a tinge of humor. He presents a common problem then provides a solution: a practice broken down into steps, the foundational theory and research and an example. I found it informative. I found his sections on classroom management helpful and how to craft assignments (always around an objective) valuable. Having read this book, I feel I have a better grasp of the mechanics of teaching-- the teacher is responsible for more than subject mastery. There's substance to this book.

I highly recommend this book as a manual and introduction. I have yet to practice his practices, but I'll comment once I do.