Hello, Hiatus

Sooo, hello there. Remember, I alluded to the possibility of this being a half-hearted blog. For now though, here I am again.

Well, what transpired between then and now?

At the beginning of June, I wrapped up my fifth year of teaching. Woot woot! I posted nothing during that time, so let's sum it up by saying it was long, not as enjoyable as the year prior, and fraught with difficult parents and curricular changes. In the spring, I decided to return to UNLV to pursue a master's degree in literacy. I chose literacy because, while I love reading and do a decent job of getting all my students to read more, I'd like to know more about how kids learn to comprehend; that way I can reach struggling individual students in a different way. That's the hope anyway. The end of August marked the beginning of 3 literary content classes. I am eyeballs deep in reading assignments, let me tell you. Over the last month, I've read a total of 20 books, about half of them being chapter/young adult novels (that's excluding the textbook chapters, which are simply riveting). My hope is to recount strategies and book lists somewhere within this blog.

The overwhelming majority of my class is a happy, excitable bunch. Besides the occasional bark during math and absurd transition times they'd like me to believe are suitable for fifth graders, there are no complaints here. I was invited to and attended my first student birthday party in September. I rarely put as much thought into going out with my husband as I did into preparing for that party. There was the matter of what to wear; with whom it was appropriate/obligatory to hang out with (student[s] or parents?); what to present as a gift, thereby setting all subsequent gift-giving standards; whether I'd then be expected to show up to all future invites (assuming that there will be any, seeing as it was my sixth year of teaching before receiving the first); and what times to arrive and depart. It was a very serious business indeed.

Though I'd love to report otherwise, organization is still my weakest suit. I had thought, "Hey, I just completed my fifth year of teaching. What a perfect milestone to turn a new leaf and get organized!"
...Yeah, no. I mean, I'm trying, but all aspects of my life concerning order and scheduling are currently a steaming hot mess. As soon as I've found some semblance of balance between my obligations for UNLV and CCSD, the Las Vegas valley will know my success.

I willl (eventually) be back with tales and thoughts from my school year (elementary and collegiate) and pictures of my growing Harry Potter theme and memorabilia. Until then, I leave you with this:

Muggle Mishap #1 - Morning Opening

My outstanding ability to keep track of events mistakenly led our class to prepare and perform our morning opening ceremony a week early. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if the school's huge bubble-blowing, back-to-school celebration weren't also planned, and the principal hadn't been standing by for her annual mention of the importance of wearing red, white, and blue (it was September 11th). Although it caused my fifth grade colleagues and I about half of our first hour prep and caused a rift in the entire year's morning opening schedule (which I roped my colleagues into correcting by performing a rap about respect the following week), my class's performance of "God Bless the USA" was well-received. :)

December Pensieve

Well, it's been quite some time since I posted last. The naps and shoes situations have since sorted themselves out. 

SEPTEMBER (and ongoing, I suppose)

Although it's been three months, I'm still grappling with all the new issues that arose as a result of moving schools and grade levels at the same time. I'm guessing that it's going to take me at least this year, and maybe the next one or two, to know the fifth grade curriculum and materials very well. This means knowing what is available to me and determining how best to use it, not that I am unable to comprehend the very subjects I'm required to teach. (...For some reason, I feel that explanation needed to be there, just in case.) That's what I miss most about teaching 4th grade: knowing the standards and having taught the lessons several times already to the point that I feel confident in most of what I do.

I'm very, very reflective on myself as a teacher. What I know about myself is I'm averse to tooting my own horn. (...Most of the time, that is.) While I am quick to come to my own defense when what I do is questioned by others, you will never hear me call myself a good teacher. That's not to say that I am horrible teacher, but I think so much in terms of what I could be doing better that I'm never comfortable with where I am at the present time. I don't know why that is; it's not like I've ever been told that I wouldn't succeed. Anytime that my supervisor comes in to observe me, I'm positive the follow-up meeting is going to be full of criticisms. However, the opposite usually holds true. (The one time I did think I had done well, I received an all but scathing review. Go figure.) I'm beginning to realize that I need to give myself more credit. 

OCTOBER (and beyond)

The parents at this school are something else, to say the least. I spent the last three years in schools that had little to no parent involvement. Now, I'm absolutely overwhelmed with parents willing to come in and help should I ever express the need for something. At the beginning of the school year I received no less than 20 reams of paper. If you've ever known a teacher, you should understand how big a deal that is. I have not yet taken anyone up on their offer of coming in to help out in the classroom outside the realm of holiday parties, though. I've run my class by myself for so long, I'm not quite sure how to comfortably delegate tasks. I'm also unwilling to let them in to what I feel is my private domain. 

Parents are involved here in more ways than one, this second example being the cause of many a headache. In October, I received 4 new students, all from other classrooms. There's a constant barrage notes, phone calls, administrative notifications, and emails concerning students' grades, assignments, behavior, and what I'm doing in my classroom. I do appreciate the parents' involvement in their child's studies, but I find the manner in which some (many, and not just in my class) choose to approach/discuss matters to be offensive and upsetting. I hate to play the I-have-insertnumberhere-other-students-in-my-class card, but there it is. I do not claim to know everything there is to know about kids, heck, I don't even have any of my own, but I do know a fair amount about what and how I'm teaching, and what works in my classroom. I could (and might) do an entire post on parents alone: the good and the bad. 

NOVEMBER

I feel like my students have been on some kind of holiday high since Veteran's Day. Although there have been several instances in these last 5 or 6 weeks where we've had to have 'come to Jesus' talks about my expectations and their responsibilities as students, I am happy with my class. 

I've got to take a minute to talk about the power of reading, and subsequently I guess, the influence of teachers. For the third time in my teaching career, I began reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to my class. For the first time in my teaching career, I actually read it through to the end. When I finished reading it, they actually clapped. I think their interest was driven in part by the British accent I used. While poor enough to revoke the dual citizenship I could have had as a child, it was authentic enough to keep the kids engaged and make them laugh. To hear parents say that their kid is now an avid reader due in part to my reading the book aloud makes me incredibly happy and legitimately smile. It is amazing to me to walk and observe during independent reading and see that at any given time, about half of my thirty students are reading one of the Harry Potter novels. Sure, they probably shouldn't be reading the sixth novel in the series if they haven't read the first four at least, but who am I to quell their interest in the boy wizard? 

Toot, toot! That's my horn you hear. I organized a Thanksgiving feast for our pod of classrooms and it was great! :) I even enlisted the help of a few parent helpers, including my own mom. 

DECEMBER

I could make a strong case that I spend as much, if not more, time planning, reflecting, grading, and conducting meetings than I do actually teaching. Being that it is the holiday season, here's a Christmas analogy: think of all the time and effort you put into prepping and cooking Christmas dinner or wrapping presents, and how little time it takes to eat the dinner and unwrap the presents. I don't know about you, but it seems to me that the times are a bit disproportionate. 

Today made me tired. Just about any free time that I had today was spent in meetings of some sort that mentally exhausted me. While I could delve into several of the above topics in much greater detail, I think I've divulged enough that my brain is a little less full and my headache is not as bad. 

Even though I constantly feel as though I'm never going to catch up and I've had a few more than a few days where I've wanted to rip my hair out and say what I'm really thinking, I can honestly say that I'm still (mostly) happy with where I am. I can also tentatively and surprisingly say that I enjoy teaching, which is not something that I felt last year. It's only December, and already I know that I'm going to miss (most of) the kids come June.

I’m looking forward to our pajama Polar Express holiday party on Friday. :) This’ll likely be the last of my entries this side of Christmas. Happy holidays!

Until next time...

Welcome to Platform 63 (and 3/4)!

Where? Where to begin?!

Here I am for a third entry, several weeks after my last. Today, Saturday, August 31, is the first day in three solid weeks (including weekends) that I did not set foot anywhere near school. I don’t know that I’d quite call it a labor of love (remember, I’m not a passionate person), but it was a labor of something. Perhaps of being better than last year? I don’t know.

So in the last month, my classroom went from this...

...to this.

A bit difficult to see, perhaps, and taken from two different starting points, but a difference all the same. 

Here are what I feel are some of the highlights of my room so far.

I think I might've come up with an apt description of the transformation my classroom library made between last year and the start of this year. Last year my library was comparable to Ross: Dress for Less. You know the deal, all manner of t-shirts in your size crammed into one section with no discernible order as to occasion, color, etc. Then there's always those items that wind up placed in the wrong section, and the public in general just follows suit of the foragers before them and chucks things without concern of where they land. The kids destroyed my books/library digging through the shelf labeled for their particular reading level, trying to find something they might be interested in. This time around though, it's looking more like, let's say, Target or JCPenney. Oh, you need a formal dress? Right this way. You say you love the fit of our jeans? Well, here they are all in one convenient area. I've got all my books arranged in bins by genre with a corresponding mailing label inside that tells where the book is supposed to be returned to. Yes, there is still the occasional misplacement (Really, kid? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in the Nonfiction-Biographies bin?), but as a whole, a much better system. Plus, it has pillows now! 

The use of the Daily 5 and CAFE is the newest craze to crop up in schools in CCSD. I don't mind it so much since they lend themselves to both small groups and individual conferencing. Part of the last few weeks has been devoted to planning on the proper execution of these tools this year. I'm excited because I found a template that satisfies the program requirements and the Harry Potter fan in me. Though it's hard to see (I'm still working on the finesse of incorporating pictures here), that teeny tiny name tag uses the same little HP clip-art and the background is the same fabric used for my curtain and bulletin board. Little details. 

More Harry Potter themed stuff is up next. I'll tell you what: I've done enough coloring, cutting, stapling, gluing, and taping to last a lifetime. I thought I had done permanent damage to the tendons along the left side of my right hand. I had each student stand in front of the purple bulletin board holding a wand and took a picture to mount on the cauldron which is located right outside of our door. Wish I could show you the end result of that, but, you know, sharing children's pictures on the internet is a no-no. 

I do need to give credit here to a handful of people: my dad and husband for cutting out all those letters, my mom for making the curtain hanging in the window, and Mrs. Richards for suggesting the phrase above the cauldron. Thanks, and bravo!

I chose to display the following two quotes in picture frames in my classroom because they emphasize the importance of choices.They are located right above the water fountain in the hopes that the students read them often. (The pictures weren't great, but I wanted to share the quotes anyway.)

           "You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose." -Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. 

There are a few other things that are hung up on my walls, and several non-visual things that I thought up, planned out, typed, printed, emailed, etc. Even though I put in a lot of work and am happy with the way that things have turned out, I still feel like there’s a lot more that could and should be done. I suspect that many teachers feel this way (at some point), as if there is always something else that could be bettered...

The first week went well. I’m happy! By absolutely no means do I have a perfect class, but this ‘honeymoon phase’ as my coworker so aptly named it has been nice. This upcoming week will be less about procedures and will see much more content being taught, so that’s my next challenge to take on. Though I've found out so far that fifth graders aren't much different than fourth graders, I am... anxious(?) about all the new curriculum and materials. I didn't go in today, but I’ll surely be in tomorrow or on the holiday.

By the next time you hear from me, I’m hoping my feet will have adjusted to being back in work shoes and that I will have managed to stop taking/requiring extreme naps between the hours of 3:00 and 6:00 after work. ...I’m only capable of so much on my plate at a time though...

Farewell for now. :)

Oh, one more thing. I've got to give credit where credit is (legally and respectfully) due to:

Beth Newingham at Scholastic as well as several teachers around school for ideas on library organization, Teachers Pay Teachers where I bought (and in some cases, slightly altered) my Daily 5 headers and nametags, and several sources on Pinterest where I found the ideas for my classroom door and student work board. And, not that any of them are likely to find this blog, thanks to all the teachers that found me prowling around classrooms for ideas and advice and welcomed me in with open arms. :)

Ready, Set, Wait

At the end of the 2012-2013 school year, I packed up my personal classroom belongings in order to head for what will hopefully be greener pastures. I'm relocating to a school that is much closer to my house. Although I originally interviewed for a fourth grade position, I was hired on as a fifth grade teacher. 

All returning teachers (meaning everyone that is not newly hired to the district) are due to report back to school the Wednesday before school starts. That Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, in all my (three) years of experience, are usually spent in large meetings where you're discussing scheduling, new ways to assess children, and getting to know/reconnect with your coworkers. Depending on the school, you may be given an hour or two to work in your room to plan and set up, and it usually culminates in Friday afternoon/evening being a chance for students and parents to come in and meet their new teachers prior to the start of the school year. 

Even though this'll be my fourth year, I kind of feel as if I'm starting from scratch again: brand new classroom and have never taught fifth grade material a day in my life. ...Unless you count four months of student-teaching in college, but that was before all the newfangled standards came about. Anyway, I don't think those few hours the week before school starts are going to suffice, which is why, in a gesture that is totally uncharacteristic of me, I planned ahead to go in super early and get a good start on things. Though I’ve looked over the fifth grade standards a few times this summer, I want to look through the teacher's manuals to see how the materials will (or won't) correlate. That would also give me a chance to think about how to structure my lessons around the schedule that we were given at the last Staff Development Day (why is this capitalized as if it’s a holiday?) of last year. I also want to start decorating and organizing my room.

…I’ve got to digress for a moment and explain the decorating thing. Last year was the first time I even came close to implementing a theme in my classroom (pat on the back for the first person to guess what it was!). I found that because I had created a theme from something that I enjoy, I liked being in my room more. My students liked the room more, too. Weaving the theme into group names, classroom jobs, and data tracking for the students made them excited. Overall, it was a more inviting environment than just the few posters I’d had up the previous two years. The kicker was a parent of twins that went from her son’s room (mine) to her daughter’s room (my neighbor’s) and commented on how she liked that this room had things up on the wall. Hence my foray into creating a Harry Potter themed classroom over the course of last year was started.

Last week I stated that I would be visiting my new school. I did indeed make it in to my new classroom yesterday. However, things definitely did not go as planned. I'd intended to go in, get the lay of the land, take a few pictures, and make good on my intention of getting a decent head start on my school year. Summer school tenants, previous owners, and locked wardrobes thwarted my attempts to do pretty much anything I’d hoped to start. I wound up leaving with a student copy of the math and social studies books, and one of six teacher’s manuals for the reading series. If I were into using hashtags or Twitter (apparently the two are not mutually exclusive), I’m sure #teacherproblems would be applicable here. But that’s not my thing.

I’m not worried, just a little miffed that I’m not able to take advantage of the air-conditioned, meeting-less time at school that I’d been mentally prepared and looking forward to. I guess I’ll be skimming through those books and waiting for a call saying everything’s cleared out and ready to go.

Until next time…

New Beginnings

I am not a passionate person. I have several interests that I pursue sporadically, some of which are playing the piano, dabbling in makeup/cosmetics, all things Harry Potter, reading, and writing. Oh, and I'm a teacher, so I suppose I should add 'teaching' to the list as well.

As a teacher in the Clark County School District, I'm lucky enough (as I am surely reminded by the general public) to have the summer off. Being that my husband works and I did not wind up running a summer camp room at an old job of mine, I've had a lot of downtime these last several weeks. Yes, an abundant amount of that time has been whiled away playing video games, reading, and "fill-in-the-blank-with-whatever-other-activities-you-imagine-teachers-do-during-summer"-ing, but I've also spent quite a bit of time thinking about teaching, and that is what leads me here to writing this blog. 

How do I want to implement my theme this year? How many kids am I going to have? I hope my decision to move to a new school pans out. Why does my insurance seem to be insufficient for what I need? Are our pay steps going to be honored this year? Just where do people get off telling me about how easy my job is? 

It's that last bit up there that is the driving force behind me finally being motivated or impassioned enough about something to take action. ...That sounds a bit dramatic. What I mean is, that thought has become so mind-consuming to me that I'd like to be able to organize my ideas and opinions about it on paper (or rather, on a computer screen). I want to be able to see the merit and importance that my job has. I'm hoping that through blog entries and pictures I'll be able to look at my school year and have something tangible to remind me of the merit of my career. To clarify, I do not believe that my work is without importance, nor is my sole intent to shed light for the masses upon 'the noble art of teaching'. I want to conduct a little self-exploration and at the same time, share a piece of what I do.

So, there you have it. Could be that this winds up with the half-learned sonatas, half-formed plots, and mismatched fingernail designs that are my wont. Or I'll have the most awesome kind of school year scrapbook ever! I'm hoping to get into my new classroom late next week, so that'd be my personal start to the school year. A web designer I am not (my husband is, though!), so things will look better in the future. Time will tell... 

...I fibbed earlier. I am passionate about something: Harry Potter. Like, seriously. 

A Muggle is a person with no magical abilities. That's me. I'm human; I make mistakes, and I make them often. I am also a teacher, so I'm a lifelong learner (or so I'm told). So I make mistakes, try to learn from them, and then do better the next time around. I am a Muggle Teacher.