Things that currently make me want to put my (or someone else’s) hair out:
1. “Protocol”. I give said, “Protocol” the quotations because this protocol seems to only be used when it benefits others, and by nature, does NOT benefit me. This includes but is not limited to: Filling out paperwork, going to inane meetings, and having to call parents because, “Your baby is acting a fool.”
2. Duty. Every morning every teacher is expected to be at their assigned duty post. Mine is at the door where students walk through the metal detectors and get their bags checked to candy and junk food (and anything else they shouldn’t have). I hate duty. At 7:45 my coffee has not yet sunk in, and I am too tired to fuss at, say hello to, hug or smile at children. Or adults. Or even at myself. Call me Ms. Grouchy-pants.
3. The sound of chairs scooting. Ok, now this one you have to be a teacher to understand. My students work in centers, so every twenty minutes they switch to a new center. So every twenty minutes I hear the terrible sound that is metal scraping against the floor. Every twenty minutes from 8:00 until 4:00. At first, I even tried to implement that rule that you get a consequence for scooting your chair too loudly, until I saw students actually try and slightly lift their chairs above the floor to stop the chair from making the sound. I then realized that I was being unreasonable and maybe a little bit frightening, so I decided to chill out. I still hate that sound though.
4. People who don’t do their jobs. No explanation necessary.
Things that are making me excited to wake up in the morning and go to school:
1. Seeing my students learning. There is truly nothing like the experience of teaching something to a child and seeing the moment when it clicks on their face. Best. Feeling. Ever.
2. Realizing that my kids are excellent writers. We are finishing up our first formal writing assignment of the year, and while it has been tedious, it has also been awesome to see how great they already are. Goal: Five paragraph essays by May. Maybe.
3. Hearing funny little kid stories and opinions on life.
4. Seeing funny little kid actions.
All in all life is good. Exhausting but good. Amen.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
If anyone is still listening...
Ok…I am a terrible blogger.
Really and truly, I know. I blogged what, three times? And my last blog was telling about driving to an interview? For all anyone knows I jumped ship and went back home. Please allow me to explain my silence.
My main reason for the silence of the blog was because last year turned out to be, perhaps the most difficult year I will ever live (dear GOD fingers crossed, ya’ll). I did in fact teach fourth grade, last year. If I had to guess, I would say about a third of my students come from the ninth ward (or the east as we refer to it), about a third come from the Treme/uptown area, and a third are from all over. It can be hard to tell. Since today is the fifth year maker of Katrina, I do not need to point out (but am anyway) that last years students were in first grade when Katrina hit. For many this meant either no, or little first grade year. Of course, many went to school in Mississippi or Texas, but you have to wonder how much a six year old baby can learn after they had to just evacuate their home. Just sayin.
So, my precious pumpkin fourth grade darlings were pretty chaotic. Actually, VERY chaotic. I went to a lot of happy hours after work. But I think all teachers do that. One could speculate the multiple possible reasons of said chaos. Some of life’s first memories for them are evacuating or staying in the super dome. Grown adults are still having trouble coping with the loss that this natural (and human made) disaster brought about, and little kids just do not have the coping skills. Not to mention that when my babies came back, more than a few did not return to amazing circumstances. Chaos begets chaos. And so it goes.
All this to say, that I did not want my little blog to turn into a place to vent. Had I kept it up, you undoubtedly would have heard stories about fights and lack of supplies or the millions of other things that made last year at times feel almost unbearable. I feared that I would not do justice in explaining all the wonderful, small things that happened as well. This would not have been because good things didn’t happen, of course they did. However I was not in a place to share. I had to come to terms with a lot of things on my own before I could, in a healthy way, relay the events to anyone else.
The last thing I ever want to do in perpetuate stereotypes about my kiddos who already have the odds stacked against them. So I was silent for awhile.
However, embarking on year two, I think I can start blogging again. Maybe because today, as I said before, marks the five year anniversary of Katrina and I am feeling particularly hopeful about life. Perhaps it is the zeal of a young teacher in the beginning of a new school year. Or maybe it is because I already love my new kids and feel both at ease and excited to teach them. Either way, I’m giving the blog a go.
Really and truly, I know. I blogged what, three times? And my last blog was telling about driving to an interview? For all anyone knows I jumped ship and went back home. Please allow me to explain my silence.
My main reason for the silence of the blog was because last year turned out to be, perhaps the most difficult year I will ever live (dear GOD fingers crossed, ya’ll). I did in fact teach fourth grade, last year. If I had to guess, I would say about a third of my students come from the ninth ward (or the east as we refer to it), about a third come from the Treme/uptown area, and a third are from all over. It can be hard to tell. Since today is the fifth year maker of Katrina, I do not need to point out (but am anyway) that last years students were in first grade when Katrina hit. For many this meant either no, or little first grade year. Of course, many went to school in Mississippi or Texas, but you have to wonder how much a six year old baby can learn after they had to just evacuate their home. Just sayin.
So, my precious pumpkin fourth grade darlings were pretty chaotic. Actually, VERY chaotic. I went to a lot of happy hours after work. But I think all teachers do that. One could speculate the multiple possible reasons of said chaos. Some of life’s first memories for them are evacuating or staying in the super dome. Grown adults are still having trouble coping with the loss that this natural (and human made) disaster brought about, and little kids just do not have the coping skills. Not to mention that when my babies came back, more than a few did not return to amazing circumstances. Chaos begets chaos. And so it goes.
All this to say, that I did not want my little blog to turn into a place to vent. Had I kept it up, you undoubtedly would have heard stories about fights and lack of supplies or the millions of other things that made last year at times feel almost unbearable. I feared that I would not do justice in explaining all the wonderful, small things that happened as well. This would not have been because good things didn’t happen, of course they did. However I was not in a place to share. I had to come to terms with a lot of things on my own before I could, in a healthy way, relay the events to anyone else.
The last thing I ever want to do in perpetuate stereotypes about my kiddos who already have the odds stacked against them. So I was silent for awhile.
However, embarking on year two, I think I can start blogging again. Maybe because today, as I said before, marks the five year anniversary of Katrina and I am feeling particularly hopeful about life. Perhaps it is the zeal of a young teacher in the beginning of a new school year. Or maybe it is because I already love my new kids and feel both at ease and excited to teach them. Either way, I’m giving the blog a go.
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