Writer-in-Residence

School started up on the 8th of October, and luckily this start was much smoother! There was less of reinventing the wheel, and more confidence. We also were lucky to have a writer-in-residence for all 10th grade classes! Mimi Herman came to the school and lead a week-long workshop on poetry. The focus was on describing the experience of an immigrant in 1901. All tenth graders participated, and even us teachers were involved! I've always enjoyed writing poetry, so it was great to be able to write poetry and not be the one leading. It was amazing to see all the students get into their characters and become this immigrant (some students were even cross-gender!). Families were formed, and it was an interesting experience for me to be the child of some of my students. I think it really engaged my students on a whole new level. Students who normally wouldn't write at all were writing three poems in four days! It was a nice way to ease in the new quarter, and I wish we had more opportunities like this. I'm really glad that I work in a school that helps students attain experiences like the one they had that week; it changes the face of education!

End of Volleyball Season

The volleyball season ended about two weeks ago. We had a 8-12 season (sadly it was losing), but I'm still proud of the girls. They worked very hard and fought some tough matches. The girls have a lot of heart, but sometimes they give up easily. They got easily intimidated by other students already signed to colleges, and could not get over that fact. However, many girls improved greatly throughout the season. All of our middle hitters had never played that postion before, and by the end of the season, they were getting kills and solo blocks on hits. Our sophomores stepped up and became a dynamic group. With only three upper classmen on the team (all seniors), our freshmen and sophomores really had to step up their game to play at a varsity level. I am really excited to see where this team grows as the girls grow and mature. The team already wants to have open gym practices so we can all play together again. Sadly, one of our players left school the day after our last game. Her family is moving across the Atlantic for the father's job. Luckily, we won that last game so we gave her a great memory of the season. Hopefully she finds somewhere to continue to play volleyball. She has a skill that shouldn't be wasted.

Coaching was a new experience for me. The jury is still out, but I think it was a great experience. As a first year teacher, there were times when I was unsure if I was being wise to help out. In the end, I'm glad that I was able to help. I got to be involved with my school (something I really wanted), and I got to know students better. I think that if I had not chosen to help coach, I would not feel as at home in the school just yet. I am really excited for the years to come to see how this team grows, and to get more involved with this school.

End of First Quarter & Track-out

Well, I did it! I made it through my first quarter teaching!! :D The nine weeks ended on September 14th. That seems crazy early, but seeing as we started July 16th, it's so exciting! I loved every minute of my quarter - okay, maybe not *every* minute. There were some downs, but mainly this first quarter was great. I definitely have some growing to do as a teacher, but I am confident I will get there. I continue to have great support from all of my colleagues and I am going to visit a former teacher soon to get some sage advice from her. :)

The end of the quarter was relatively easy for me. I made sure to make all my papers due BEFORE then; otherwise I would have died under that grading! I gave two tests that week (one to 9th grade and one to 10th) and was able to have them graded in 24 hours. I updated RenWeb and had final grades in Thursday before the track-out date. I also was able to contact some parents to warn them about student grades. I will admit that was awkward for me; I didn't really know what to say and it felt weird calling home to tell them. However, that's part of the job. My test for ninth grade was easy. Or so I thought. Most of my students didn't study so out of 37 students, about 15-19 of them failed. That's almost one whole class. I was really upset that last Thursday. I wasn't mad at the students, just saddened that students cared that little. I talked with them about it Friday. A lot of them begged to do test corrections. I said no. I had to have grades in that afternoon (I would be out of town all weekend and the deadline was Sunday night), and if they had studied they would have done better. Then, track out began!!

Last week was great. I am definitely recharging from quarter one and am ready for quarter two!! I have already gotten the majority of my planning done for ninth grade. We will be starting some fiction and then reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I really want to look at stereotypes/bullying with this book. I'm hoping that works out. With the last book we read (Anthem), I could barely get the students past plot. Even then, most of them didn't know that either. Tenth grade is still a struggle for me (which is still strange because that's what I student taught!). However, we are having a writer-in-residence for the first week! It'll be very exciting. I even get to participate! I will definitely be blogging about that adventure. I got to meet the writer, and she was very nice. The whole program sounds very exciting!

Overall, I think year-round is the best way to go as a beginning teacher. Having this break is really good for me. I can relax and dedicate myself to planning. I can't imagine how I would get anything done if I didn't have this break. Of course, I may have said no to volleyball if I didn't have this break. Maybe. But I think that all first year teachers should try to get a job at a year-round school. It is a HUGE advantage to go straight into teaching (all fresh in your mind), and this break is really good. It'll help keep new teachers from burning out their first year...and maybe even help the retention rate! :D

Self - Doubt and Questioning

Despite the title of this post, I am not questioning my career choice. I love teaching and I love seeing my students every day. A student told me that they have never had a teacher care or take an interest in their well-being before like I do, and that just made me feel great. I am doing my best to show every student I care about them and that their success is my top priority.

This being said, I still struggle with feeling like I'm teaching anything. We have two weeks left of school before our three week break, and I'm wondering if I'm teaching my students anything. I feel like my ninth graders are learning something, mainly the parts of speech. I've also seen that they are starting to understand our weekly poems better. I have more participation in those discussions. They also all seemed to enjoy the nonfiction unit (though next time it will be much shorter!) and liked what I chose for them to read. Now we're looking at Anthem and I'm going to be able to talk about literary terms with them. My ninth graders have me feeling okay about what I'm doing. Then I look at my tenth graders.

We have had three test grades so far, and I'm wondering if I'm really teaching them. We've read a Greek play and talked about the origins of tragedy. But I feel like there is no growth going on. And maybe I'm just being crazy, but I do feel like I'm not teaching them anything. Right now we're looking at Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, and I've mainly been going over the plot with them. However, they have been struggling to understand Shakespeare, so I have to. But I don't want them to leave my class and have learned nothing. I hear about and see all these amazing lessons that others are doing, and I feel like mine are lacking. I am hoping that this upcoming break will give me time to sit down and really pound out some amazing lessons. I don't want to look back and be like "yea, my first year of teaching I really didn't make a big impact on my students' learning. But that's ok, I was still learning." I want to look back and be like "I made some mistakes, but in the end my students learned and grew."

It's only been seven weeks in the classroom, but already I'm wondering if I'm really doing enough.

Weeks 3-5

Hello all!

I know it's been a long time, but the life of a teacher is kind of crazy! I'm going to run through a couple weeks at a time to try to keep this concise. So, here we go!

I still had some students going to other teachers, but I've come to accept that students will always go to other teachers. I also have been participating as the assistant volleyball coach! I've really enjoyed it. :) If I was the head coach, I have a feeling I'd feel a little more stressed, but as the assistant I get to help out but not be as stressed. The girls on my team are great, and we have fun as much as possible. One of our girls had some problems with academics; however, she transferred here from another school that is not known for its academics. Hopefully she is going to be on the team soon, but academics do come first!

I also had my first parent confrontation. That was really intense for me, which was kind of surprising. I normally don't mind conversing with parents, but a face-to-face confrontation was new to me. I don't think I handled it as well as I should have, but I learned from it. That is what is most important. And next time I'll be ready to handle the situation even better.

The girls also had their first game. It was a great experience. I got to watch girls go, but also coach and lead them. I am truly loving my job, and it is had to believe that I'm already half way through my first quarter as a teacher! I can't wait for more. I really do have the best school and the best support. I'm so grateful for the blessings God has given me.

However, with all the good things that have been going on, there also has been a tragedy. A middle schooler took her life this weekend, and our students are feeling the impact. I teach freshmen, so some of them knew the girl and were not all together today. This is something I would never want to experience, but I am glad to have veteran teachers who have had some experience in this horrible situation. They can give guidance and help with students who are grieving. I only hope that my students can heal quickly.

Second Week

Week Two is done! I know this is a couple days late, but I spent all weekend doing nothing but grading. Okay, maybe I exaggerated some there, but I'll come back to that. :)

Week two was much more hectic for me than my first week. I no longer had the adrenalin of starting fresh and new, and it was time to get into the the nitty gritty. Already, students were begging me to have grades back to them. I explained I was waiting until the schedule changes finished so that everything was straight. I also had some students worrying about the work load, which I can understand, but I explained to them that the course was designed to prep them for AP (and then college). It made me wonder if I was going to push them to hard, but then I talked with some colleagues and decided that it was okay. This week I stayed till six two nights of five, and two other nights I was at school till 5/5:30. (I ducked out as close to four on Friday so  I could have a full weekend to spend relaxing.) I did get all my pacing guides finished and started on my professional goals. I'm excited for the goals I chose because I think they really help me grow as a first year teacher. One of them was about keeping a healthy mind, body, and soul. I'm  hoping to use this as motivation to try and keep my body healthy. I have a lot of grading to do, especially with my honors classes turning in their complete summer assignment this week. I thought I was going to spend all day Saturday working, but I ended up watching the Olympics at the same time. I didn't get as much accomplished as I wanted, but it was nice to relax some and cheer my team on to gold! :) Now I'm excited for week three, especially because I feel that as I establish more of a pattern that I will have an easier time.

First Week

I have survived my first week! :D It was a fun week, but also exhausting at the same time. I came home every day and felt like passing out for the next five days. As a new teacher, there is a lot of things to be constantly be processing and learning, so my brain was exhausted by the end of the day and the week. There were some hiccups in my week, but none so bad that I panicked. I ran out of copies in the middle of class one day, dealt with a missing poster another day, had to crack down on students multiple days, and I still love my job! I was expecting everything to go crazy, and luckily it didn't. I still don't know all my students' names, especially when I see them outside of the classroom! But it's only been one week, and I know I still have more time. I'm nervous that I won't really be teaching them much this year, but I know that is just fear trying to undermine me. I've been blessed with a great support system and I'm so excited to keep going! My students are great, and I know that this is going to be a wonderful year! :) I've already had one student tell me that she loved my class, so I'm really excited to see what happens next. :)

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school! I was so excited, but also a little nervous for a couple reasons. I had gone to a country concert the night before, and I wasn't sure how much energy I would have. It was also my first time having a class to myself, so I wasn't sure how it'd go. Overall, it was a great day! I loved meeting my students, and I'm really excited for the rest of the year. As always, there were a few hiccups, but nothing too bad. My two tenth grade classes went really well, and the students seem like they're up for the challenge. (At least I hope the class is a challenge!!) All of them were polite, and even seemed to genuinely laugh at my silly jokes and slight sarcasm. One of my classes is *huge* by school standards it seems, but hopefully they won't add anyone else to it. If they do...well, I'll figure it out. We may have to stack students on top of each other in order to fit!! Haha. My Public Speaking class was also pretty smooth. The students looked like they were working well together, and I'm excited to start listening to their speeches. My ninth grade classes were where I had the hiccups. The first ninth grade class decided to push against me at the end of class to see what would happen. I did my best to hold on, but tomorrow they aren't even going to know what hit them I'm going to come in so strong. I tried to be inviting and warm so they'd feel welcome to the new school, but I think they took my jovial personality to mean I'm an easy teacher. [Obviously, they've never met me before today.] So tomorrow, they're going to get the lay of the law and wonder if I'm the same teacher. My other ninth grade class wasn't too hiccup-ey, but I unwittingly put four talkative students all near each other. So I had to reprimand them in class, and will be moving everyone's seats soon.

Funny story of the day: I called someone by the wrong name, and horribly mispronounced it. And, with my nerves and adrenaline high, my speech impediment kicked in. I went to say "My fault," and continue on. Instead, my "l"s and "r"s mixed themselves up as they tend to do, and I said "My fart." Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. I was so embarrassed. And when I told my sister (who is a third year teacher) this, she just laughed so hard and said "Welcome to teaching!!"

Lessons learned for today? See the following:

• If you're not used to a 50 minute class, they go by crazy fast! Make sure you have things planned for the first couple days that are short segments so that if time ends earlier, it's not interrupting an activity.
• Have your welcome speech outlined. Otherwise you may be like me and either read the syllabus aloud to students or be a little flustered and all over the place. 
• If you're going to wear heels today - be prepared for sore feet. You won't be used to being on your feet all day yet, so I can guarantee you will be feeling it at the end. Sneak a pair of Toms or flip flops into your car or under your desk to change into at the end of the day - your feet will love you.

I'm looking forward to the next couple days! Let's go teaching!!

Orientation Week

Alright, so now I am almost done with my first week of work. My feelings: excited, nervous, exhausted, unsure, and so much  more. This first week, oh dear readers, will be slightly challenging for you. Every day you will have meetings out of the wazoo. Which is good! It means your administration is trying to get you set up. However, it also means you're going to have to process a lot of information which will drain you. (Trust me, I know this.) So here are some tips:

• Take notes. All the time. Keep it in the same notebook so you can reference it. Then use that notebook throughout the year to update notes/add new information.
• Ask questions. I mean, you're a teacher! We encourage questions, so don't be afraid to ask them. In fact, I have probably driven my Administrator and Assistant Administrator crazy. I ask so many questions, and I have a tendency to hound them until I've gotten my answer. Maybe a little risky so early, but because my school is so proud of their high standards, I've taken the risk. They know that I just want to give them the best, so they've helped me a lot.
• Try to get out of your room as much as possible. I know, it's scary this first week because you have so much to do. But if you followed the advice in my first post (aka: plan during the summer) you will be covered in that area. Getting to know your colleagues is really important, especially because you will need their help. Now I'm a little challenged in that area because I get pretty shy/anxious about meeting new people. However, I've started to establish a budding friendship (I think...) with some of my fellow teachers. PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE! Don't be the loner in your room locked up and alone.
• Sleep. You are processing so much information that your brain is on overload. Not only are you learning a ton of new information, but you also are stressed and a roller coaster of emotions trying to get ready. Do yourself (and your classroom) a favor and go to bed early. 
• DON'T STAY ALL NIGHT!!! This is your first week, and you don't want to set that precedent. It'll only burn you out and cause you to be even more tired. Staying late is okay, but don't be like me and stay from 7:30am - 7:10pm and try to get things done. You will leave feeling dead and the next day will be hard - you'll be zombie like from such a long day. During the year you will have days where you need to escape and relax. If you set the habit/expectation of staying late every day now...you won't be able to escape it.

This week has been exciting for me, so don't worry! You'll be finding out about your students and putting all your dreams into reality. Trust me, you will love it, so don't worry! It can be a little crazy at times, but this whole week I have repeatedly stated "I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so excited." Even though I'm still working right now (reading the student's summer reading assignment) I can still say with confidence: I'm so excited!!!

Before The Year Starts

Hello to whomever is reading this. 

I am a first year teacher, starting out in a small charter school in North Carolina. While schools differ state to state, even county to county, I am hoping that by blogging my experience I can share helpful tips with future teachers. And I just want a place to capture the experience of my first year.

But the school year hasn't started yet! (I know that's what you're thinking.) Well, I start school in about two weeks [year-round], so here I am. Already, I have some tips that you may need to know. All teacher training programs (at least the good ones) will tell you to find out about what resources are on hand for you. I'm here to tell you: that is DIFFICULT. I have already been forceful (though polite) with getting into my own classroom. Within a week of accepting my contract, I had contacted the Department Head and gotten the list of what I was teaching. However, as helpful as my new colleagues are, I still have no idea what resources are available to me. Yes, I know what books we have, but as for the little things like paper, pens, white board markers, etc.? I have no clue. I tried to ask, and was faced with an awkward situation:

I took my father and uncle (whose daughter is also a teacher) with me to get into my classroom early. I hoped to scope out the layout and start arranging things so that the week of orientation I could put up posters and be done. I arrived, during the time the Principal told me to, and was greeted with confused faces. After double checking that I was really a teacher, an office assistant let me into my room. I poked around some and discovered that there was a desperate need for painting. My helpers and I arranged the room as I desired, and I had a list of questions I wanted to ask the ladies up front. I was always told they were there for helping and was ready to try my hand at getting information. However, when I tried to ask about painting over the murals the previous students had so kindly left me, I was faced with some confused faces. I guess I was being too forward? Either way, I left quickly and forgot to ask the other questions on my mind.

I am not saying I had a bad experience. Rather that I realized that as a new teacher...it's hard to find out some information. Be prepared for that. As much as you may try to prepare (and I am the queen of trying to get it done early, or else it'll be done in the midnight hour), you can't prepare everything. There are sure to be late nights ahead of you, Oh Fellow New Teacher, and it is something we are going to have to deal with.\

But you can do one thing - PLAN PLAN PLAN! Use your summer and plan. A lot. Try to plan a week a day. I have been trying to plan nine weeks of each class (I have three preps to do) and I'm still on 9th Grade! AH! So don't be lazy - PLAN! You don't have all the resources a veteran teacher does...so you will need A LOT of time. Don't get discouraged, because your student teaching semester? Well, that saves you some time.