Relax!

I am very excited right now because I just bought a Carson Dellosa File Folder game book (in excellent condition) on ebay for $10...those things are normally about $30!!! I was actually at Holcomb's yesterday trying to find one and the cheapest one was $26. So I am truly pumped about my bargain hunting. My cooperating teacher told me it would be a good idea to get one now and just start making the games because they take forever to make and are a good resource to have handy for moments when you have extra time. I always get excited about a bargain.

I have recently found that one of the most relaxing things I can do is to cuddle up with a hot drink like tea or hot cocoa (NOT coffee) and read a book...how did I live without this before? With the weather slowly turning into fall, I've discovered that my favorite drink during this time of year is a hot caramel apple cider. I am going to attempt to make some at home but the best I've had so far comes from the Seattle's Best Coffee shop inside of Borders.



I think that we all need something like this to relax us on stressful days, or just to help us unwind a bit after a long day dealing with kiddos. What is your favorite relaxation technique? I would love to hear some more suggestions.

Uncertainty

So far with student teaching, both my cooperating teacher and my supervisor from the University have told me that I am doing a great job. multiple times even.

...but for some reason, today I feel uncertain. I am trying to come across as naturally as possible in the classroom and trying so hard to get it all right. Granted, I am only a student teacher at this point, so I am not supposed to be some amazing teacher...that's what I'm still trying to learn how to do...and that's the whole point of student teaching. But for some reason, I am overly critical of myself and any tiny thing that I feel did not go well gets me down.

Today I even questioned myself. Is this REALLY what I should be doing with my life? What if I end up being a terrible teacher??

So, on the way home from school today, as I was practically on the verge of tears (even after my cooperating teacher reassured me that I am doing FINE) I called one of my best friends, who also happens to be a veteran teacher. We'll call her Vi. Anytime I want to "talk ed" with someone, Vi's the one I call...and vice versa. She's also like a big sister to me so I felt this was the perfect time to call her and ask...do you ever question your career as a teacher? I explained a little bit of my situation to her and she really made me feel better. She reminded me that this feeling happens to every teacher from time to time, especially during student teaching. She also said a few things that reminded me why I even want to teach to begin with...and my faith was restored. I suppose I was being a tad irrational in my worries, but I just want to make sure that I am going to be the best teacher I can be...and thinking about that is slighlty nervewracking from time to time.

Other than talking to a teacher-friend who totally gets your woes, are there any other de-stressing methods or pick-me-ups you use to get rid of your "teacher blues"??
I think that this is an insider tip I could really use.

Office, Books, and More

Well, last week was a fairly strange one. Because of wind damage and power outages from the hurricane, I did not have school on Monday or Tuesday. During that free time, I actually got a few things done: worked on my resume (which was NOT very much fun), caught up on sleep, put name stickers on my children's books, organized my room a little bit, and even tried out a new pie recipe! Then, on Wednesday, I had my first teacher in-service. For some reason, I thought that it would be much more fun than what it really was, but I actually did learn a few things. In the morning session, I listened to a classroom management presentation and got quite a few good ideas to try in the future. In the afternoon, I went to a powerpoint workshop, which was basically useless to me since I am already very familiar with the program. However, it gave me some time to play around on the newest version of microsoft office, which I do not have on my own computer...and I decided that I really do need to buy it with my student discount before I graduate. What a difference just a few years can make!

Speaking of Children's books and office, this weekend the boyfriend helped me create an excel spreadsheet of all the books I own (he is very supportive of my passion for teaching...even buys me Holcomb's gift cards!). Ever since I took a few classes on children's literature, I have been obsessed. I have been buying books from retiring teachers' garage sales (and any garage sales), library clearance sales, scholastic, and basically anywhere else I am able to get books for cheap. So far, my beginning classroom library is at a whopping (ha) 139 books. I averaged all the money I've spent, and it seems that I have paid less than a dollar a book, so I am really proud of my collection...the picture really does not do it justice but I promise that the crate is extremely heavy and all 139 books are in there!! :) It is just one of the many things I have been trying to prepare so that I am ready for that first year.

One other thing I have been thinking about lately is teacher's unions. This is most definitely not a topic that was discussed in any of my college classes, and I am not very familiar with unions in general. All I know about them is that they are expensive to be a part of and they helped one of my friends when requirements for her job were going to change and be unfair for her. Other than that, I am totally in the dark. This week I have heard some of the teachers at school buzzing about who is joining, what kinds of things they will be doing, and who is coming to their first meeting. I guess if they will back you up as a teacher, they seem very beneficial...so I am unsure as to why there seems to be controversy surrounding them sometimes. Is this something I will learn more about in my first job?...or am I expected to be familiar with this? This might be a very dumb thing to wonder about...I probably seem so sheltered and naive...but I just want to make sure I am aware of these kinds of things before I get myself into anything.

This week at school I have my first midterm evaluation. I am a little nervous but both my cooperating teacher and supervisor have said I am doing a good job...so hopefully I can keep it up. It is hard to believe that I am already over halfway done with my first placement! In mid-October I will move from second grade to Kindergarten (at the same school).

Well...another exhausting day has gone by! Time for bed!!! One thing I know for sure is that teachers need a lot of sleep! :)

Taking Control

Tomorrow I was supposed to be taking over the entire morning at school.
Just my luck, the school closed for tomorrow because of the terrible weather we've been having here. I guess you could call it a "snow day" even though there is no snow. So I guess I will be taking control on Tuesday. I am excited. The part I am most nervous about is actually writing notes home in response to parent notes recieved in the morning. I know my mentor teacher will help me a ton, but surprisingly that is something that is making me nervous to think about.

I am also looking forward to the rest of this week as well because I will be attending my first in-service! I really have no clue what that entails...I'm sure it will probably be some kind of presenter or something...but I am really excited for it. It's like...one of those cool teacher things they don't teach you about in college.

Speaking of those kinds of things, I have been learning so much lately. I really feel like I am gaining a ton of confidence both with the students and as a professional. With that, I am also always either busy or exhausted, which is why my posts have been pretty nonexistant for the last week.

Today I was talking (well, I guess I should say "gushing" because we were both very excited and extremely happy with our experiences thus far) with a fellow student teacher and her fiance was just kind of listening to our conversation and laughing. He is a teacher in a charter school and has been there for 2 or 3 years. He thought it was funny that we were enjoying it so much and warned us that we will hate our lives during our first year of teaching. I mean, I suppose that I can see where he is coming from...loads of paperwork, new rules and policies, getting comfortable in a new position with new colleagues, and having to maintain an entire class and classroom. And it made me slightly nervous. I mean, I do have a lot of help now, but I thought that this experience was supposed to prepare me as much as possible so I wouldn't hate my life that first year. Am I wrong? I mean, my teacher is giving me a ton of great ideas on management strategies, instructional techniques, and even materials that I can start preparing now. So now I'm slightly worried that all of this is not enough.

I guess what I'm looking for is some advice. How can I better prepare myself for that dreaded first year?

Those Who Can...

Today at lunch one of the teachers was talking about the unfortunate, yet common, mistreatment of elementary school teachers. She said a phrase (trying to make her point) that, in my mind, was extremely disheartening:


Those who CAN, DO...
Those who CAN'T, TEACH...
And Those who CAN'T TEACH, TEACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.


As I returned back to the classroom after my lunch, I couldn't seem to get that stupid little saying out of my head. I had heard the first part before, but never the elementary school part. Ever since I changed my major to early childhood education, I have taken crap for it. People instantly assuming that I am unintelligent because I want to teach that level...People assuming that all I do all day is "play"...People wishing that their homework and coursework could be "that easy"...People telling me "you're too smart to do that" or "you're never going to find a job"...and just about anything else you could imagine. And every time they've said those things to me, I've come right back with the fact that I am an Honors student, do NOT "play" all day by ANY means, spend more time on homework, projects, and field work in a semester than they ever will in their entire college career, and just about anything else I could say to prove them wrong. I have stayed confident and believed that I WILL be a good teacher and that I WILL find a job and that I WILL reach those kids. But now, I am at a loss for words. I just feel like that little saying is a complete and total disrespect for the people who work so hard to TEACH the future of this world. As I have learned from my first two weeks of student teaching, this job is endless and sadly, thankless...and yet we STILL spend hours upon hours trying to figure out how to help that one student. I mean, I have been thinking about hardly anything but school since I returned home at 4pm!!! With all this hard work, I would think that we at least deserve to be treated like the professionals that we are.

Hearing that from a very-veteran teacher made me realize that I am going to put up with this my whole life. I am going to be treated this way...and I know that...but I still want to teach. Yes, it is incredibly discouraging (and flat out makes me mad), but I am just too passionate. Today, I was working with a student and he had a total "A-HA!" moment. He got it. It all clicked. I actually helped him to learn something...and THAT is probably one of the most rewarding experiences I think that I could ever have not only as a teacher, but as a person. SO maybe that's why we put up with all the crap...because we know all the extremely hard work we put into it, and when we actually reach a student, it makes it all worth it.

Today's Lesson...

Today I taught my first official lesson for student teaching. It went fairly well, and I think that the students really grasped the concepts I was trying to teach them (short e and short o sounds, consonant blend identification, friendship, sharing, etc.-all tied together for a reading/phonics lesson). Afterwards, my cooperating teacher made a few suggestions that I could try for next time (like specific materials I could use, etc. to involve the students a bit more) but she said she thought it went pretty well, which was most definitely reassuring. I am just trying to be confident in the classroom...but I think a more natural confidence will come when it is my own classroom I am teaching in.

Have I mentioned that I really love my cooperating teacher? She is just great. I feel like I have already learned a ton, and she is giving me very useful feedback. At times though, I can tell it is strange for her to just sit there and let me take over her classroom, but I am most definitely very gracious in her doing so.

To my surprise my classroom management skills are much sharper than I had realized. I have been actively and conciously practicing the use of proximity and eye contact, as well as speaking with children privately when they are acting out. It is working much better than I had anticipated! And the best part is I am actually recalling this stuff from my ed classes! Hooray...all that money on college tuition may not have been wasted!!

On a final note, I have always wanted to teach either Kindergarten or 1st grade, because I have spent a lot of time working with students of those age levels and have really enjoyed those experiences. My experiences with 3rd and 4th graders were alright, but just weren't my favorite. Now, though, I think I HAVE found my favorite...2nd grade! Maybe I am only saying this because I am working with second graders now, but I love their age level. In-between the two ends I mentioned before, I suppose. The kids I am teaching now are all on different ability levels, but somehow I feel like I can really reach them!
...and isn't that the point? :)