Week 3--Day 10

Today is the first day I've actually felt anything at all like a teacher rather than a crumby daycare service provider. I don't really recall the first few days of school (I think this may be something of a symptom of post-traumatic-stress disorder) but my supervisor tells me that all we first grade teachers did during the first week of school was wrangle kids from one area of the room to the next and try to get them to stand in anything even close to what resembled a straight line. I recall vaguely having to use the last stores of my will power to restrain myself from taping my chattery children's mouths shut, and I recall many conversations with parents after school and on the phone. Oh yes, there were tears too. I recall shedding tears after the 2nd day of school, and the fourth... until I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel as I discovered the eye-brightening and attention-grabbing power of stickers, which are now my faithful sidekick. 

In addition to stickers, the other teacher tool I will never let go of is my tool belt. Best $1.49 I ever spent at Meijer. The two pockets I tie around my waste are relatively empty each morning, aside from a few band-aids (which quickly disappear as students show me the most distracting and painful, though invisible to the naked eye, cuts and scratches--they're always "bleeding"), our school pledge (which we're all trying to memorize together each morning) a whiteboard marker, pen, and of course, lip grease. By the end of the day, I've acquired loose staples, pieces of kleenex, crayon wrappers, unwound paper clips, numerous pencils, stickers, and other distractions kids hand me. Although I do resemble a mama kangaroo, the convenience of having a pouch is entirely worth the fashion faux-pas. Plus, I've set something of a trend as 3rd and 4th grade teachers caught on to the beauty of my idea and now sport their own decorated versions of the ever-handy portable pocket.   

The first week I told my mom I was glad this was just a one-year commitment because I might be looking for another job in which I could be fully competent. Today I'm reconsidering. It seems to go like that though, from day to day. It kind of depends on whether my students are hissing at each other or not. Today, no hissing, only a couple of referrals and visits to buddy teachers, and more moments of whole-class attention than ever before. We actually accomplished almost everything in my lesson plans : )

In all reality, I have an amazing place to be beginning my employment. The parents I work with are highly involved in their children's education and very supportive of the learning taking place in the classroom. I speak with almost all my students' parents every day and know that when I say there's a problem at school, they're going to make sure there's not a problem the next day. The company I work for (National Heritage Academies) is very supportive and believes strongly in the power of professional development, meaning they're not going to leave me hanging high and dry if I'm struggling, and my principal and deans are great. We get to wear solid tennis shoes every day if we want because my principal "doesn't care what you wear as long as student achievement is there!" Now that's sensible. 

How could I not love working with a staff that starts off every meetings with positive things and ends with affirmations? Ooh, and staff breakfast tomorrow morning! And there's parent volunteers all over the place it seems. Yes, I'm glad to be a teacher. For now. 

Thanks for reading, love to all. 

Me