I've been sick now for over a month with various formations of a cold. One weeks it's nasal congestion. The next it is a cough and sore throat. This week's "cold special" is the chills, a light headed feeling and nausea...my favorite! I have chugged along this far, I didn't want to take a day off. Here is my dilemma. I have 7 sick days for the entire year. I used one for day my transmission blew and we needed to get a new car. 7-1=6. I have 8 months left in school. That's less than 1 sick day per month. NOT COOL.
So, Wednesday morning I wake up. I feel like crap. Well that's an overstatement. But my determination got me dressed, and got me to school. I didn't leave substitute plans because I told myself I could do it. I can do anything I put my mind to it. Correction: I can do anything I put a well rested and taken care of mind to.
I felt I had the responsibility to my students. To leave a thorough plan. I have observed this year, teachers who call out and don't leave students work - or enough work to get through the entire 1 hour and 40 minute period. So I made copies and gathered everything together. As soon as I arrived at school I spoke to the head honchos of the school and they said they would try and find a substitute, but didn't seem ecstatic about the idea of me leaving.
In my head the entire time I am thinking: I took the time to make sure everything was perfect for my kids...and the higher ranking personnel cannot even see that. They see a teacher who wants to go home because she is "claiming to be sick".
After a lot of confusion a sub was found and I was home and in bed by 10am. I woke up around 3 and shot off two e-mails. I was again asleep until 10pm. Awake until 1am and slept again until 11am the next morning...yes I had Thursday off since it was Veterans Day. Needless to say my body thanked me.
MORAL OF THE DAY: When your body tells you you are sick, and it has to do with lack of sleep...give in. You cannot charge ahead at 1000% everyday of the year. It is OK. Even if some colleagues do not agree you are going about it the right way.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Life is not all about THE JOB
First of all I wanted to send a special thanks to all my supporters out there! Whether you have donated for the calculator cause, or just have given me words of wisdom or been a cheerleader since I began this job, thank you. It means the world to me, and knowing that I have support really makes each day better and brighter.
I'd be lying if I said my entire life revolves around the teacher world. Although it sucks up 70% of my daily life, the other 30% is learning how to deal with a job that is so mentally and physically demanding. This is my first career with a salary where I can actually afford...or try to afford paying my bills. It's my first job I have had with a regular schedule since I have been married - well since I moved to Philadelphia and lived with Andy. I think it's important for all those theachers out there to know that your job will invade every aspect of your life. I come home talking about my students. I have nightmares about my students. Sometimes I dream up awesome ways to teach my students, but really it is a 24/7 job. But without the support of parents, loved ones, friends, colleagues, etc, it's diffidult to wake up in the morning and say "I can do it."
I got this job one week after my Mom left for a month and a half long vacation. Yes she has been enjoying herself in Italy - a well deserved birthday present to herself, but I haven't realized how much I relied on her intelligence, wit and comfort to get me through the hard times. Growing up, my Mom has been the one to rub my back when I was sick. She let me cry myself to sleep in her lap when I was heartbroken. She yelled at me when I said, "I give up," and had to get back on track. She cried when I succeeded through college and graduate school.
I am the type of person where I bottle my emotions and say I am fine, and the next moment the smallest thing will set me off. It takes that one string to break me. And when I do I crumble. I always try to put that confident front about how successful I am trying to be, and how hard working I am, but if something is slightly off, it affects everything.
Learning how to save, spend and handle my paychecks has been an experience in itself. A life experience...since this salary thing is new to me. It's not easy. Trying to pinch every dime I can, paying for car repairs that were never budgeted for, and buying supplies the school cannot afford to give you, is a daunting task. For one in my life I have been serious about my money. No more using book money my parents gave me in college for the killer designer shoe sale at Bob Ellis Shoes that came up twice a year in Charleston, South Carolina. Or taking my tip money from Main Line Grill and playing the stock market (although my investments have been treating me nicely). But making sure the electricity stays on. The car insurance is paid. We are eating healthy - no more Cup O' Noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rent is paid. Gas in the car so we can get to work.
My advice to you. When someone offers you a starting salary in the low $40k's take the time to sort out a budget. Because if you are working in Philadelphia, 36% of your salary goes to taxes. So all of a sudden that $3,200 a month you are making is now $2,000. Make sure you take time to plan out your life. The 30% that you are not working is what holds your world together. That's where the support from others comes in. The 2 hours a night you have with your husband before taking a bath and hitting the sack for the next day. Enjoy your Saturday and Sunday's. If you catch up on sleep, so be it. Sometimes that's what life needs. If you have that extra $14, go get a manicure. When you feel better about yourself, your well-being and the order of your life, your job will be less stressful.
My Mom comes home on Wednesday. I have been counting down the days for the last 2 weeks because all I need is that person to talk to. Mom's have that magical power about them. I know Andy wishes I could talk to him the way I talk to her, but he's not 35 years older than I am. He doesn't have that life experience she has. When that time comes we will have had the experience together, but until then a Mother's love. Her generosity. Her support. Her wisdom. Her spice of life. That's what I need.
I'd be lying if I said my entire life revolves around the teacher world. Although it sucks up 70% of my daily life, the other 30% is learning how to deal with a job that is so mentally and physically demanding. This is my first career with a salary where I can actually afford...or try to afford paying my bills. It's my first job I have had with a regular schedule since I have been married - well since I moved to Philadelphia and lived with Andy. I think it's important for all those theachers out there to know that your job will invade every aspect of your life. I come home talking about my students. I have nightmares about my students. Sometimes I dream up awesome ways to teach my students, but really it is a 24/7 job. But without the support of parents, loved ones, friends, colleagues, etc, it's diffidult to wake up in the morning and say "I can do it."
I got this job one week after my Mom left for a month and a half long vacation. Yes she has been enjoying herself in Italy - a well deserved birthday present to herself, but I haven't realized how much I relied on her intelligence, wit and comfort to get me through the hard times. Growing up, my Mom has been the one to rub my back when I was sick. She let me cry myself to sleep in her lap when I was heartbroken. She yelled at me when I said, "I give up," and had to get back on track. She cried when I succeeded through college and graduate school.
I am the type of person where I bottle my emotions and say I am fine, and the next moment the smallest thing will set me off. It takes that one string to break me. And when I do I crumble. I always try to put that confident front about how successful I am trying to be, and how hard working I am, but if something is slightly off, it affects everything.
Learning how to save, spend and handle my paychecks has been an experience in itself. A life experience...since this salary thing is new to me. It's not easy. Trying to pinch every dime I can, paying for car repairs that were never budgeted for, and buying supplies the school cannot afford to give you, is a daunting task. For one in my life I have been serious about my money. No more using book money my parents gave me in college for the killer designer shoe sale at Bob Ellis Shoes that came up twice a year in Charleston, South Carolina. Or taking my tip money from Main Line Grill and playing the stock market (although my investments have been treating me nicely). But making sure the electricity stays on. The car insurance is paid. We are eating healthy - no more Cup O' Noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rent is paid. Gas in the car so we can get to work.
My advice to you. When someone offers you a starting salary in the low $40k's take the time to sort out a budget. Because if you are working in Philadelphia, 36% of your salary goes to taxes. So all of a sudden that $3,200 a month you are making is now $2,000. Make sure you take time to plan out your life. The 30% that you are not working is what holds your world together. That's where the support from others comes in. The 2 hours a night you have with your husband before taking a bath and hitting the sack for the next day. Enjoy your Saturday and Sunday's. If you catch up on sleep, so be it. Sometimes that's what life needs. If you have that extra $14, go get a manicure. When you feel better about yourself, your well-being and the order of your life, your job will be less stressful.
My Mom comes home on Wednesday. I have been counting down the days for the last 2 weeks because all I need is that person to talk to. Mom's have that magical power about them. I know Andy wishes I could talk to him the way I talk to her, but he's not 35 years older than I am. He doesn't have that life experience she has. When that time comes we will have had the experience together, but until then a Mother's love. Her generosity. Her support. Her wisdom. Her spice of life. That's what I need.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Make Math Memorable With Calculators!
THIS IS A SHOUT OUT TO ALL THOSE WHO HELPED ME REACH MY GOAL OF $650 FOR THE PURCHASE OF 30 CALCULATORS FOR MY CLASSROOM!
IT HAS BEEN REACHED! THANKS TO JAMES AND KAREN K., BARBARA L., CG AND FREE CREDIT REPORT.COM! I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE TIME, EFFORT AND GENEROSITY OF ALL OF YOU!
(I would say my kids are grateful too, but they are not grateful when things are given to them. The actually ask why would people want to donate money for calculators...I have no comment for that. I find it so ironic for kids who are suffering from families who cannot afford to feed them on a regular basis, kids do not appreciate what teachers and parents try to do for them).
NEEDLESS TO SAY, MY STUDENTS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO BETTERING THEIR MATH GRADES. NOW I JUST HAVE TO TEACH THEM HOW TO USE A CALCULATOR PROPERLY!!!
THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!!!
IT HAS BEEN REACHED! THANKS TO JAMES AND KAREN K., BARBARA L., CG AND FREE CREDIT REPORT.COM! I REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE TIME, EFFORT AND GENEROSITY OF ALL OF YOU!
(I would say my kids are grateful too, but they are not grateful when things are given to them. The actually ask why would people want to donate money for calculators...I have no comment for that. I find it so ironic for kids who are suffering from families who cannot afford to feed them on a regular basis, kids do not appreciate what teachers and parents try to do for them).
NEEDLESS TO SAY, MY STUDENTS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO BETTERING THEIR MATH GRADES. NOW I JUST HAVE TO TEACH THEM HOW TO USE A CALCULATOR PROPERLY!!!
THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE!!!
Monday, October 4, 2010
I am on FIRE!
First of all I wanted to send a special thanks to all my supporters out there! Whether you have donated for the calculator cause, or just have given me words of wisdom or been a cheerleader since I began this job, thank you. It means the world to me, and knowing that I have support really makes each day better and brighter.
One more week until I am West Virgina bound! A long weekend is what I need to recover. All within an eight hour day with my students, I want to laugh, cry, scream, and hide in a corner. Yet, just when I think I have seen it all, the students bring everything to a new level.
The disciplinarian has finally been hired, yet the grid of consequences still has not been approved by the board. So although I am calling student's parents on a daily basis, I personally cannot follow through with disciplinary actions such as after school detentions, lunch detentions, in-school suspensions, suspensions and even expulsion. I am finding this super frustrating because as a teacher there is only so much I can ignore before it hinders my teaching abilities and the learning capabilities of my students. I sense many of my students have attention issues. Not that they cannot pay attention, but that they crave attention. Students act out inappropriately because they know they can get my attention. I have been trying to ignore this behavior and continue teaching, but what amazes me is that the seeking for attention doesn't stop. It escalates to throwing things across the room, talking back and yelling at me when I ask for simple tasks to be completed, dancing around the room, rapping over my lessons...or...wait for it....lighting matches in the middle of class.
Oh yes! My class was on fire! Literally. Being a child who loved to light matches and candles, the smell was a familiar and comforting one. However in the middle of my classroom, I didn't find anything comforting about it. Although I knew it was the smell of a match I checked, double checked and even triple checked the appliances in the room and even the air freshener to make sure nothing was on fire.
I followed my nose to an area of desks right in front of mine. Out of all the students the smell came from a cluster of desks occupied by girls. Giving kids the benefit of the doubt I was hoping it was the guys that decided to light matches...it just seemed something guys would do. Instantaneously the girls said the smell was coming from across the room and it smelled like bad cologne. Sound fishy? Students began to get concerned and I called for security. The last thirty minutes of my class were spent frisking the students and quarantining them by gender. The verdict - one girl brought them to class. Two other girls lit them. Best of all - the girls threw the blown out matches in the trash can - which happened to have some used braids from a girl in the class. All I could think about was recently lit match + hair + trash car = school on fire.
But the lack of consequences in place, the student who brought the matches has one day of in school suspension. One girl who lit them received 2 days of in-school suspension. The third girl had no consequences because she has an IEP (individual education plan) therefore her circumstances are handled differently. Do I agree with the consequences? Not really. I wish they were more harsh because I don't think students learn from other student's mistakes. If the consequences were more harsh, maybe students would learn. It's going to take a student getting suspended or even expelled before they take their actions seriously. But if that's what it takes, maybe I should let their behavior fester.
All it takes is one person to change the world.
One more week until I am West Virgina bound! A long weekend is what I need to recover. All within an eight hour day with my students, I want to laugh, cry, scream, and hide in a corner. Yet, just when I think I have seen it all, the students bring everything to a new level.
The disciplinarian has finally been hired, yet the grid of consequences still has not been approved by the board. So although I am calling student's parents on a daily basis, I personally cannot follow through with disciplinary actions such as after school detentions, lunch detentions, in-school suspensions, suspensions and even expulsion. I am finding this super frustrating because as a teacher there is only so much I can ignore before it hinders my teaching abilities and the learning capabilities of my students. I sense many of my students have attention issues. Not that they cannot pay attention, but that they crave attention. Students act out inappropriately because they know they can get my attention. I have been trying to ignore this behavior and continue teaching, but what amazes me is that the seeking for attention doesn't stop. It escalates to throwing things across the room, talking back and yelling at me when I ask for simple tasks to be completed, dancing around the room, rapping over my lessons...or...wait for it....lighting matches in the middle of class.
Oh yes! My class was on fire! Literally. Being a child who loved to light matches and candles, the smell was a familiar and comforting one. However in the middle of my classroom, I didn't find anything comforting about it. Although I knew it was the smell of a match I checked, double checked and even triple checked the appliances in the room and even the air freshener to make sure nothing was on fire.
I followed my nose to an area of desks right in front of mine. Out of all the students the smell came from a cluster of desks occupied by girls. Giving kids the benefit of the doubt I was hoping it was the guys that decided to light matches...it just seemed something guys would do. Instantaneously the girls said the smell was coming from across the room and it smelled like bad cologne. Sound fishy? Students began to get concerned and I called for security. The last thirty minutes of my class were spent frisking the students and quarantining them by gender. The verdict - one girl brought them to class. Two other girls lit them. Best of all - the girls threw the blown out matches in the trash can - which happened to have some used braids from a girl in the class. All I could think about was recently lit match + hair + trash car = school on fire.
But the lack of consequences in place, the student who brought the matches has one day of in school suspension. One girl who lit them received 2 days of in-school suspension. The third girl had no consequences because she has an IEP (individual education plan) therefore her circumstances are handled differently. Do I agree with the consequences? Not really. I wish they were more harsh because I don't think students learn from other student's mistakes. If the consequences were more harsh, maybe students would learn. It's going to take a student getting suspended or even expelled before they take their actions seriously. But if that's what it takes, maybe I should let their behavior fester.
All it takes is one person to change the world.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
I have now survived 2 weeks...going on week 3. Like I said before I came a week late to the school, so the kids have a week of plotting against their new math teacher. I lost my voice by the end of the second week completely. Now I am going on week 3 without a solid voice. I sound more like a prepubescent boy, and let me tell you, I wouldn’t take myself seriously sounding like I do. By the end of my first week I saw two mothers of children in younger grade get into a verbal and physical fight in the school bus line Friday afternoon. It was something out of Hollywood. One woman threatened another and the newborn she was holding was passed to one of our learning support teachers while they threw fists and pulled hair. End result...the women had their children pulled from the school because parental behavior like that is unacceptable AND both of their weaves were laying in the middle of the street...even after all the buses pulled away. Two kids told me they hate me and want to transfer. Only option for them is going back to 6th grade. I’m the only 7th grade “mathie” in the bunch!
Week two brought on 2 fist fights in my classroom and awful behavior from the children. A lesson learned: on your first day...don’t smile. Don’t show emotion. Lay a strict policy and don’t let anything slide. Unfortunately it took until week 3 to get a disciplinarian in the school to take care of violent behavior...so I had to deal. It’s easier to pick out the bad apples now. I know everyone’s name! YES! I gotta tell you, I thought remembering 3 “Katie’s” was bad....now it’s 3 “China’s” spelled Chynna, Chyna, China oh and a Chyenna – pronounced Chyenne!!! And just as I tell the girls apart by their hair styles, they go and change it over the weekend. I freaked out on the kids last Friday. I officially did not have a voice 1/2 way through the day on Friday. It was BAD. So when my homeroom came back to be at the end of the day, I wigged out. They were unruly, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get their attention verbally. I resulted to throwing down a desk. They looked at me like I was insane...and I felt it. What was worse, they looked at me and continued to do what they were doing. They yell. They scream. The hit “playfully”. They throw things. They contradict. You name it they do it. Eventually reinforcements came to the rescue and I ran to the bath room to scream...well yell silently since I didn’t have a voice.
So now we are at week 3. It’s been a rocky start. In two days I have had 2 kids saying they are going to kill themselves in the midst of a nervous breakdown. One kid has come back – he’s my star student, almost as if he was bipolar. Fantastic one day asking for challenging math questions and the next he was yelling at me, talking back, giving attitude, accusing me of not helping him understand and not “being a teacher” because I didn’t have a sharpener for his pencil. But post Monday night, I was ready for Tuesday. After all, not only did I get to watch Dancing With the Stars, BUT the Bears beat Green Bay! AND Tuesday night was going to be the Britney Spears Glee episode...so I had a LOT to look forward too! BUT...Tuesday was the worst day I have had here. Really. The kids were terrible. The bad apples were rotten today. One student ran around with her hands in the fly of her pants trying to touch people. She also told me that her perfume smells like “a girly part of the body”. WOW. I was shocked! Another kid starting ripping down my bulletin board and making paper airplanes out of my fraction pizza pieces. Needless to say, 4:30 couldn’t come quick enough. I was gone – home and ready for a night of homemade enchiladas and Glee!
Today was amazing compared to yesterday. Student’s listened. Well...the best they have all year. I have gotten the art of speeding through the lessons...they catch on quicker when I move at a quicker pace. I have those I am concerned about, but I cannot really do anything until I see a failed assessment. Quiz on Friday for them! Checking homework EVERYDAY and even grading in class work, to make sure they get good habits for doing the work properly. Amazing how some students can’t even take notes. They complain about everything...taking notes, doing problems on the board, taking out a pencil not a pen, sitting properly in a chair. What I think is common sense is totally foreign to them! Sometimes I feel like the only thing I can do is walk away in awe. Seriously. As of tomorrow I am starting raffles. I now see why teachers LOVE their job...yet don’t make any money lol. But if it gets them to listen and we reach AYP (annual yearly progress) I get a bonus :) Kids get raffle tickets for exceptional behavior. At the end of each week I pick a ticket. Better behavior better chances of winning! Prizes are going to be things like $5 giftcards to Target, Walmart, McDonald’s or iTunes. Once a month a bigger prize will occur...1 big prize for the grade. We will see how this works. I am trying anything and everything at this point!!!
On another note I have begun to write some grants for my classroom. The lack of supplies is astounding. Students don’t have pens, pencils and paper. I know some are lazy but some parents cannot afford new sneakers for the school year! As a math teacher I am trying to get the students to the level of pre-algebra. Without calculators this is near impossible. I have students who can convert mixed number in their sleep and input numbers into functions. Then I have the kids who are still adding and subtracting on their fingers. It’s really sad. They understand many of the concepts but the simple multiplication facts keep them from progressing. So right now I have begun a fund on www.donorschoose.com. It is a website for teachers to write down their goals and dream projects for funding, including critical supplies like calculators.
Check it out: http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=446529
I am willing to match every dollar that is donated! If anyone has information about any other grants available PLEASE let me know. Every little bit helps. They are also selling Christmas Décor from Yankee Candle...so if anyone is just DYING to get a spruce scented candle let me know!
I probably could go on and on and I think I am going to try this blog thing again (for like the 10 millionth time!) It’s a good way to get out everything that is in my head and actually document it. Some of the things I see everyday are amazing. I am being opened up to a world that I knew existed but had no personal connection to. Yes it is a trying job day to day. Yes the kids drive me bezerk sometimes. Getting up at 5 every morning sucks. But I love what I do. So once the initial alarm goes off and I am in my car and drinking my DD coffee “light and sweet” its not too bad. I find honesty with the kids works. I told them how I had to go to summer school to boost my GPA to get into grad school cause I goofed off in college. I told them that’s why 7th grade is so important for high school. Junior year in high school for college. Showing them I am human. Some appreciate it. Others say...”well you screwed up...that’s your problem not ours.” Those will be the kids who don’t get into their high school of choice and don’t break the mold of their poverty stricken families. If I can reach a couple in each class, I will be successful. It’s a day by day process. I have little glimmers of light in my tunnel – like Columbus Day weekend...Veteran's Day....oh yeah and in-service days when we get to wear jeans!!! YES!
If you want to catch a glimpse of what my school looks like, check out http://www.pfpcs.org. I have some photos on Facebook, but for those who don’t have it, I will try and take more photos this week....
Kisses, Pencils & Erasers!
Week two brought on 2 fist fights in my classroom and awful behavior from the children. A lesson learned: on your first day...don’t smile. Don’t show emotion. Lay a strict policy and don’t let anything slide. Unfortunately it took until week 3 to get a disciplinarian in the school to take care of violent behavior...so I had to deal. It’s easier to pick out the bad apples now. I know everyone’s name! YES! I gotta tell you, I thought remembering 3 “Katie’s” was bad....now it’s 3 “China’s” spelled Chynna, Chyna, China oh and a Chyenna – pronounced Chyenne!!! And just as I tell the girls apart by their hair styles, they go and change it over the weekend. I freaked out on the kids last Friday. I officially did not have a voice 1/2 way through the day on Friday. It was BAD. So when my homeroom came back to be at the end of the day, I wigged out. They were unruly, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get their attention verbally. I resulted to throwing down a desk. They looked at me like I was insane...and I felt it. What was worse, they looked at me and continued to do what they were doing. They yell. They scream. The hit “playfully”. They throw things. They contradict. You name it they do it. Eventually reinforcements came to the rescue and I ran to the bath room to scream...well yell silently since I didn’t have a voice.
So now we are at week 3. It’s been a rocky start. In two days I have had 2 kids saying they are going to kill themselves in the midst of a nervous breakdown. One kid has come back – he’s my star student, almost as if he was bipolar. Fantastic one day asking for challenging math questions and the next he was yelling at me, talking back, giving attitude, accusing me of not helping him understand and not “being a teacher” because I didn’t have a sharpener for his pencil. But post Monday night, I was ready for Tuesday. After all, not only did I get to watch Dancing With the Stars, BUT the Bears beat Green Bay! AND Tuesday night was going to be the Britney Spears Glee episode...so I had a LOT to look forward too! BUT...Tuesday was the worst day I have had here. Really. The kids were terrible. The bad apples were rotten today. One student ran around with her hands in the fly of her pants trying to touch people. She also told me that her perfume smells like “a girly part of the body”. WOW. I was shocked! Another kid starting ripping down my bulletin board and making paper airplanes out of my fraction pizza pieces. Needless to say, 4:30 couldn’t come quick enough. I was gone – home and ready for a night of homemade enchiladas and Glee!
Today was amazing compared to yesterday. Student’s listened. Well...the best they have all year. I have gotten the art of speeding through the lessons...they catch on quicker when I move at a quicker pace. I have those I am concerned about, but I cannot really do anything until I see a failed assessment. Quiz on Friday for them! Checking homework EVERYDAY and even grading in class work, to make sure they get good habits for doing the work properly. Amazing how some students can’t even take notes. They complain about everything...taking notes, doing problems on the board, taking out a pencil not a pen, sitting properly in a chair. What I think is common sense is totally foreign to them! Sometimes I feel like the only thing I can do is walk away in awe. Seriously. As of tomorrow I am starting raffles. I now see why teachers LOVE their job...yet don’t make any money lol. But if it gets them to listen and we reach AYP (annual yearly progress) I get a bonus :) Kids get raffle tickets for exceptional behavior. At the end of each week I pick a ticket. Better behavior better chances of winning! Prizes are going to be things like $5 giftcards to Target, Walmart, McDonald’s or iTunes. Once a month a bigger prize will occur...1 big prize for the grade. We will see how this works. I am trying anything and everything at this point!!!
On another note I have begun to write some grants for my classroom. The lack of supplies is astounding. Students don’t have pens, pencils and paper. I know some are lazy but some parents cannot afford new sneakers for the school year! As a math teacher I am trying to get the students to the level of pre-algebra. Without calculators this is near impossible. I have students who can convert mixed number in their sleep and input numbers into functions. Then I have the kids who are still adding and subtracting on their fingers. It’s really sad. They understand many of the concepts but the simple multiplication facts keep them from progressing. So right now I have begun a fund on www.donorschoose.com. It is a website for teachers to write down their goals and dream projects for funding, including critical supplies like calculators.
Check it out: http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=446529
I am willing to match every dollar that is donated! If anyone has information about any other grants available PLEASE let me know. Every little bit helps. They are also selling Christmas Décor from Yankee Candle...so if anyone is just DYING to get a spruce scented candle let me know!
I probably could go on and on and I think I am going to try this blog thing again (for like the 10 millionth time!) It’s a good way to get out everything that is in my head and actually document it. Some of the things I see everyday are amazing. I am being opened up to a world that I knew existed but had no personal connection to. Yes it is a trying job day to day. Yes the kids drive me bezerk sometimes. Getting up at 5 every morning sucks. But I love what I do. So once the initial alarm goes off and I am in my car and drinking my DD coffee “light and sweet” its not too bad. I find honesty with the kids works. I told them how I had to go to summer school to boost my GPA to get into grad school cause I goofed off in college. I told them that’s why 7th grade is so important for high school. Junior year in high school for college. Showing them I am human. Some appreciate it. Others say...”well you screwed up...that’s your problem not ours.” Those will be the kids who don’t get into their high school of choice and don’t break the mold of their poverty stricken families. If I can reach a couple in each class, I will be successful. It’s a day by day process. I have little glimmers of light in my tunnel – like Columbus Day weekend...Veteran's Day....oh yeah and in-service days when we get to wear jeans!!! YES!
If you want to catch a glimpse of what my school looks like, check out http://www.pfpcs.org. I have some photos on Facebook, but for those who don’t have it, I will try and take more photos this week....
Kisses, Pencils & Erasers!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Rants...Raves...and Rewrites...
For the 10 millionth time I am attempting to keep a Blog this time for my first year teaching experiences. I spent the past 2 years training for this exact chance. Every "new teacher" that comes back to speak to the newbies of the graduate program at Rosemont College mentions something along the lines of, "You can never be prepared for your own first classroom." Really...they aren't lying. Too many things happen on a day-to-day basis that if I don't write it down and blog, I may never fully appreciate everything I have done or what has happened to me. My days blur together. It is like one long 120-hour day.
I have now realized I don't have the time to write EVERY day. I wish I could...really. This seems to be a therapeutic outlet. But here I am at 12:40pm on a Friday afternoon during my prep time TRYING to get some thoughts on paper...or a computer. I have to jump hurdles even for this therapy session. Currently the school blocks www.blogger.com...so I am crunched in the corner of the learning support room, by the window (the only one I can look out for the entire day since my room is all walls) straining for that unsecured network. But alas I have it...enough to get the page up and running for me to write on.
So let this be my introduction into the crazy world of a twenty-six year-old middle-class, suburban-raised, Caucasian woman teaching in a predominantly poverty stricken, African-American, North Philly charter school. My stories are yours. Learn from them. Pass them on. Many of them are great for learning what NOT to do. Everyday I try something different. Something’s work, a majority don't. This isn't here to scare people away from teaching in urban schools. I hope my honesty and pureness help those beginning their journey into the teaching world. Seriously.
If you don't believe me, read on. After graduating college in 2006, I moved to New York City to be the next top talent agent. After 2 years of working as a makeup artist, associate producer, location scout, production assistant, talent associate and best of all mailroom girl, my dreams changed. I followed this path since I was in high school. A freshman in high school. By the time I was 23 I was done. Exhausted and wanted out. It was lonely. I had no success in the career but MANY life lessons. So I followed my heart - since a boy stole it from me - to Philadelphia. Here I made a new home. But I had to convince my Mother it was a good idea. A full believer in furthering education, the plan was in place for me to pursue a Masters in Education. For those who didn't know me for the first 24 years of my life, teaching was NOWHERE on my agenda. Kids = boogers and poop. Not a fan. Crying...no thank you. I didn't have the patience. I still don't. But when you fall in love with a guy who is in the Army (National Guard) you find a career you can do anywhere. Teaching was it. Everyone needs teachers...or so I thought 2 1/2 years ago when I moved here. I convinced myself no matter how cute little kids can be (when they aren't yours); I needed to be with the older kids. Middle school. A challenge? Yes. Impossible? Well...I am still alive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)