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.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
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.
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