It's not stealing, It's borrowing!

I love to "steal" ideas from other teachers and tweak them to make my own. Today I went to Taylor Elementary School, a year round school, for their first day back! While volunteering in a first grade classroom I took so many ideas out with me. One thing I want to continue to do as a teacher is observe other teachers. I think we often get into a mundane routine and that's where the "burn out" comes in. It was so energizing watching another teacher at work and seeing the great things she did that I could also bring in to my own first grade classroom!

On the same subject, different idea, another teacher mentioned something about me going the extra mile in a surprised voice. This last week I spent 3-4 hours a day helping at the school and then today in the room with the kiddos. In away this made me sad because it seems a lot of teachers don't go that "extra mile" and often complain about the work they already have to do. When I chose to be a teacher I knew the work was going to be hard, and I know that there will be days where I "want to pull my hair out" but that's ok, because in the end I see these little ones grow up to be responsible adults and I know that I was a part of that!


Here is a website I found tonight and it's awesome!

http://www.ilovethatteachingidea.com/index.htm

All of life is a journey; which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there.

Today was one of those super exhausting days... I went to MN over the weekend and got back late Sunday night. Last night I found out I would be working a few extra hours for our after school program along with the 2nd class I started teaching today. I also was switched from working in my pre-k room to another class. Basically I worked 9 pd hours and then stayed at school till 7pm prepping/cleaning. Throughout the day I started to feel grumpy. I felt bad when I could tell the kids where "getting on my nerves" and I wasn't my normal perky self. Then I kicked myself in the butt and remembered #1 that I was there for them, #2 I dislike teachers like that #3 it wasn't there fault I was in a bad mood and if a student acted the same way they would probably be in trouble too. I think it's easy to just blame things on being a "bad day" and then not work at making it better. Today was one of those days where I took the situation and turned it around. I don't believe we necessarily have good and bad days. I believe we make the days and how they are going to be with our attitudes and actions.

On the plus side I feel like I am preparing for my teaching assignment coming up by working the extra hours and getting my body used to the feeling of going non stop at school from 7am till 5:30pm. :)

For the love of science!

A few weeks ago I taught a class called "Mad Scientists" and we had a blast! I think one of the best parts about being a teacher is that you get to be a kid again. The class only had 8 students in it, which was great because it was just enough to have whole group and small group work. We were also able to do more experiments since they took less time. I was also able to experience my first field trip. We went to Coe College to see what "real science labs" looked like. Other than the students complaining it was hot outside when we went from building to building, it was a great day.

Some of the topics we covered were: Light/Reflection, Color, Senses, mixtures, and density.

I think the biggest thing I practiced with the class is teachable moments and how to utilize them. This was the perfect class to do this for since we didn't have a set curriculum and I was able to design the lessons.I tried to take a lot of their conversations and just go with it. Luckily with the use of technology this was relatively easy. The room had internet and a Smartboard... what more does a teacher need? :)

I am a first grade teacher :)

YAY, finally all the extra work, late nights of studying, putting in extra hours just to get a step ahead. Next year I will be teaching first grade in Fairfield! Not to many other right out of college students can say they scored a job so soon, most go out looking for a year or have to transfer to a school further away from their destination. I feel so fortunate and lucky that everything is falling into place for me. I'm really excited to get into the room, meet the kids, and all that other first year stuff. It seems like there is so much to do where do I start?

Great quotes about hard work....

I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it. ~
Thomas Jefferson

~ Hard work certainly goes a long way. These days a lot of people work hard, so you have to make sure you work even harder and really dedicate yourself to what you are doing and setting out to achieve. ~
Lakshmi Mittal

~ Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven't planted. ~
David Bly

~ Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work. ~
Rita Mae Brown


~ It's important to know that words don't move mountains. Work, exacting work moves mountains. ~
Danilo Dolci


~ I've always worked very, very hard, and the harder I worked, the luckier I got. ~
Alan Bond


~ If you want to achieve some really big and interesting goals, you have to learn to fall in love with hard work. ~
Steve Pavlina

~ Hard work is painful when life is devoid of purpose. But when you live for something greater than yourself and the gratification of your own ego, then hard work becomes a labor of love. ~
Steve Pavlina

~ You have to put in many, many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile. ~
Brian Tracy

~ When you live for a strong purpose, then hard work isn’t an option. It’s a necessity. ~ Steve Pavlina

To be, or not to be a kid again!

Today I was "working" at summit. I got to blow bubbles, play with bugs, and all sorts of other fun kid stuff. One thing that I love about this job (after school program) is that its a time where kids can just be kids at school. Today I incorporated some "school" stuff. My goal is to help create a better portfolio for myself in this, well not so great, economy. I utilized stations and creativity. The stations included: Science (one of the favs) where they had to find bugs. Music: (another fav) I had bottles and filled them up with different levels of water for the kids to tap or blow into. Art: (third fave) the had to draw something they see on from the bench. History: Read about someone famous from Iowa. Writing: Write a story about what it would be like to fly for a day/what would you do. Gym: least favorite because they had just done this, but how many push-ups/sit ups etc. I didn't have to do this for the job. Everyone else just lets them run around outside and is basically the babysitter. But what kind of teacher would I be if I didn't take this opportunity to throw fun and learning together? Afterwords I had a lot of great compliments both in person and on my facebook page from the other staff.

I can't think of something more frustrating that a lazy teacher.... Ok I know that seems out of the blue, but after all this work for just $10/hr and no pay for prep time, or even health benefits.... only reason is for the kids to learn and enjoy just being kids. And there are still teachers out there with jobs in this economy who are lazy and would prefer to just give out pre-made worksheets because actually doing something would be to much hassle for them. In someways teacher pay based on test scores and effort put forth would be better than salary and the union backing them up. Don't get me wrong, the union is a great thing and does a lot of good. They protect good teachers from getting taken advantage of. But unfortunately they also protect the bad teachers from getting fired.

As a up and coming teacher I feel frustrated because I am entering a job market where there are teachers retiring and not having jobs replaced, ok teachers keeping their jobs, great teachers who are new or at the bottom of the list because they have a lack in "experience" not being resigned and others like me who have almost no chance at all. Above everything else a country needs to focus on education, then everything else after that. Not just because I'm a teacher, but because knowledge is power.

even on my weakest days....

So it's been awhile since I've written here and a lot has happened. But tonight I saw something that somewhat upset me and made me see things from a different light.

I had a not so great day at a school that I student taught at. I left with a negative attitude and thinking about how much I'm going to dread going to school tomorrow. First off, I have to remember that tomorrow is a new day just like turning the page in a note book. If you make a mistake there's always another chance.

Then tonight I read on Facebook a post between a few other subs. One sub had a bad day and posted about it... That lead into dissing a school and another sub said how they would never go back to that school and how the children there are horrible. I understand how someone could have a bad day, but is that fair to state on a public forum how horrid a school is? Just because one class (or maybe even 2) classes where not all that great behaved, doesn't make the school a bad place. That isn't fair to the teachers who are working very hard with the students, that isn't fair to the students who are really trying. Students are not "bad kids" just because they act in away that goes against the norm. I believe some kids are not meant to be in a school setting. I think it's frustrating for them to have to wait to be called on to answer a question, or to stop in the middle of an assignment in order to go on to the next thing. This can cause a lot of frustration, thus leading to seemingly bad behaviors.

I had a student who I reflected a lot on at the end of the day. He was often thought of as being "defiant" or "rude" basically because he wanted to share the knowledge he had and didn't want to just wait to be called on. Then when he wasn't called out he just blurt out. This student was also very intelligent and acted more mature for his age. I saw this student again earlier today and I could tell he did not like his surroundings and I've heard from his teacher that he just wants to go to a different school. I am a guest teacher in his room on Friday and I know before we butted heads. I'm hoping to use my new understanding and maybe it will help...

Back to my original thought... A school shouldn't be put down because of one bad class. I think as teachers we need to try and look deeper at what is causing the issues, why are the students acting like they are and what needs are we not meeting for them. I think we must remember why we wanted to become teachers in the first place and realize we have one of the most important and challenging jobs.