The Tumultuous Ten

At this point, teaching has been a part of my life for more than a decade.  I've opened 13 classes and even spent a treacherous week in middle school.  I love my job so much and can't imagine a life outside of the field of education.  But let's face it, teaching is hard!

I know of very few jobs that ask for so much and give so little.  I mean this literally and figuratively.  Yes, we teachers do embrace the feeling of accomplishment when we know we've made a difference in the lives of children.  And yes, we get a ton of time off but that doesn't make our job any easier.  I get paid for 6 hours a day and put in 10-12 hours a day on average.  Often times I arrive at work at 6:45am, work through my recess and lunch breaks, and I don't leave until 7:30.  Many people believe that teaching is a job for those who can't.  To those very people, I offer you this invitation...walk a day in my shoes.  Actually, to get the full effect, walk a week.

There is no tired like beginning of school year teacher tired.  The first 40 days are devoted to routine teaching and testing the boundaries on both ends.  My parents wonder why I come home a little later or don't have so much work to do at home.  The answer is, I'm teacher tired!  I'm physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted.  As a matter of fact, the teaching Gods have blessed me with my most challenging group yet for my 10 year anniversary.  Yeah, yeah, I already know, you're not given more than you can handle.  I may beg to differ this year!

This group gets an "A" for their creative storytelling.  In fact, one of these stories actually sparked an investigation on my behalf.  As you can imagine, that was a lot of fun (Takes sip of beverage).  I work in a district that will pull a teacher first and ask questions later, much later! Character education is vital to the education of a child that is often neglected due to the overwhelming directives to test the children.

My class presents a wide range of academic abilities and interests.  The range is very wide, wider than I've seen before, this is one of the perks of being at a small school.  I know I'm a teacher but many people don't understand I'm also a mom, friend, psychologist, counselor, mentor, nurse and referee to my kids.  I spend more waking hours with my kids than most adults in their lives.  I am happy to take on all of these roles but can I get a little respect!

Going back to my original point, teaching is hard!  I toyed with the idea of possibly leaving the classroom this summer.  I figure the best use of my impending doctoral degree would be to obtain a position of leadership and effect greater change on the educational process as a whole.  A couple positions came up that caught my eye, but nothing panned out for me.  I suppose that means it's not my time to leave the classroom and my current group of kids need me.  Being in the classroom is always fun and each year is very different.

Even with all of the challenging situations, I have been very fortunate in my teaching.  There is no greater joy than hearing from past students and being reminding you that you did a good job.  I am very fortunate to be in somewhat regular contact with Andi (circa year 2 teaching) and Britney (circa years 4-5).  Social media has been a great platform to be found by former students.  At last check, both are doing great and ironically both are living out of state.

At the end of this school year, I will look back and be extremely proud of all of the hard work that both the students and myself have accomplished.  We have a long ways to go, but we'll get there.  Teaching is hard, but it's worth it!

Farewell Class of 2015

I know it's been a while since I last blogged.  Going to school full time and teaching full time make it difficult to share.  I had so many fond memories of my kiddos.  I suppose you could say that I took the time to live in the moment and not jump to social media.

Updates, my class originally started off with 43 kids.  It was an adventure.  There was no place for my TA to seat and I didn't even have a chair.  A large portion of the kids were my fourth graders from the previous year.  After 6 weeks with them all, it was very difficult to have half of the kids transition to another class.  At least I was able to enjoy them in the hallways and watch them continue to grow.

For the remainder of the year I only had 21 students.  I must admit it was a lot easier to visit the computer with less kids.  Parent conferences were also a lot quicker to hold.

After 9 years of teaching down, I can honestly say I had the most exceptional group of students this past year.  My students were intellectuals and very caring human beings.  Many of them have been in the same class for several years.  Culmination was difficult to hold back my emotions as my students gave amazing speeches and sang their little hearts out.

Here I am, the night before I officially begin the 2015-2016 school year.  I miss my old kiddos but I'm looking forward to creating new memories with the upcoming batch.  The current class I'll be receiving has scared off numerous substitutes teachers and gave their previous teacher a run for her money.  I have my work cut out for me and there should be tons of stories to share!

Flashback #3 You Know You Have A Lot of Students When...

A look back at my first 6 weeks of school.
You Know You Have A Lot of Students When...

...you need to request 8 more desks and chairs during the first morning of school.

...one kid has to sit at the kidney table because there is no more room for another desk.

....the kidney table is back up against the wall so you have to climb under the table to get to the center. All this to get a few extra inches of walking space.

....you have to suck in your stomach every time you try to maneuver around the room.

....there is no space to set up a projector and document camera.

.....the only space for your teacher's assistant can sit it at the sink.

...name tags come in packs of 36 and you must buy 2 packs to have enough for every student.

....when people ask if I am watching two classes.

...you have a whole bunch of apples on your tree.

Flasback #2: Swag

One day my class was reading a story about how dictionaries are updated.  This concept was very interesting.  According to this story, thousands of new words are added to the dictionary every year.  Language is living and constantly changing.  Editors of the dictionary write down new words on index cards along with the context that the word appeared in.  Words that appear the most often are added to the dictionary.  Every 10 years, the dictionary gets a total makeover.  When discussing this story, I asked the students to think of new words that have recently been integrated into a dictionary or words that may appear soon.  One of my students said we use the word "Swag" a lot.  This is a great example of a word that has recently been brought into existence.  Naturally, I ask my kids if I have swag.  They didn't even know how to break it to me.  They sat there for a moment, speechless probably trying to think of a way to put things nicely.  One student started to speak, "Well....for a teacher..."  I already knew what was coming, and it wasn't very good.  The student continued on, "kind of."  The proceeded to tell me that my swag could be increased if I changed they way I dressed.

A couple weeks later we had parent conferences.  One of my parents brought up this very discussion.  She said that her family was laughing so hard at the possibility of me having swag.  You know you've made it as a teacher when you are the topic of discussion at the dinner table.

Flashback #1 to Turnip

I've been teaching youngsters for nearly a decade now.  In most instances my class is full or English Language Learners (That's just a term that means students speak a language other than English at home).  For the last few years I have been able to work with more Standard English Learners (These kids speak English at home and learn Academic English at school).  Both of these groups of kids have been a pleasure to work with.
This is the first year that I will be working with a population where the vast majority of students are Standard English Language Learners.  Most of these students have a lot of language and they love to use it!  They are so much fun.  Just last week Kaiser came to our school and performed an awesome assembly entitled "The Amazing Food Detective."  The students were captivated by the actors and the storyline.  Kaiser included lots of dancing and songs that the kids really enjoyed.
The kids left the auditorium so happy!  I heard them say, "The turnup was real!"  Being the educator I am, I inquired about these "turnips" when we returned to the class.  I said, "I'm glad you like turnips.  They are very healthy for you.  I can tell you learned a lot during the assembly."  It was so funny to see their confused faces.  (In all honestly I am not well versed in the term turn up or turnt up.  I consulted my Urban Dictionary for advice).  I could see them trying to figure out a way to explain this phrase to me.  One girl described the term as slang, this was a new term that is being used.  I quickly corrected her and said that turnips have been around for a very long time.  More frustration sets in.
My goal is for my students to understand their audience.  You may talk to your friends and family in one way, and your teacher another. :)  They are getting it.  They realize they must expand their thinking and explain their ways to us "old people."