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.

today I was sneezed on, chased by, hugged, spit on, high fived, cried to, laughed at, jumped on and headbutted by pre-schoolers! I love my job :) Never a dull day in the classroom.

Well, its been a long time since I've posted. But now I'm not student teaching anymore, instead I'm subbing. So from now on my blog will be about the adventures of substituting. I'm also working at a private school before and after school as well so you will hear some of the stories from that too!

I would attempt to catch the blog up with everything so far, but then I would be typing all night and that would be boring. So This blog is dedicated to pre-school! The classroom I was in today as a para (which they definitely don't get enough credit because they rock) was insane! The room had 20 kids, 1 teacher and 2 paras. For those of you that don't know, para = paraprofessional. Basically paid less teacher's aids. The classroom was full of students that should have had one-on-one attention because as a whole the group isn't learning as much as they could because of these students. The first student (I'll call him joe) had major anger problems. I felt bad for the little guy because every 10 minutes he was in the quiet corner for bursting out, hitting, yelling etc. I think he just didn't know how to control his emotions. The next little tyke was a 3 year old, who I and the teacher think, might be autistic. He isn't able to talk yet other than the words nigh nigh when he lays down. This guy didn't follow any directions and basically the teacher let him do his own thing as long as he wasn't putting himself or others in danger. If she wouldn't ignore him, all her attention would be on him because that's how much of a spit fire he is!

Anyway, I have to give pre-school teachers more credit after today. They don't know who's coming into their rooms and they don't have any inkling of what they will be like or what they need. Branstead is trying to take these programs away or make them more expensive, but these children need the program. If they can start learning the basics of "school" before kindergarten, then they will be able to focus more on the learning once they get there. The basis of their study is to see how much progress academically the students make in pre-school. The problem is most of the grow is in the way they act, the way the are able to line up/sit down/follow directions etc. If they take the funding away from pre-schools like Polk, many of the families wouldn't even be able to afford the 3$ a week. That's a loaf of bread and peanut butter, or at least a pizza to feed a family. Either the family starves for a day or they send the kiddo to school? Politicians don't understand what it's like to be poor, but yet they make the rules for those that have to live that way. All they care about is the money that's going into their own wallets. I'd like to see them live off of even a teacher pay.

“According to most studies, people's number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you're better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Jerry Seinfeld

I wanted to find a quote about public speaking, this is what I found. Not exactly what I wanted but it made me laugh out loud and in teaching humor is a life savor.


It's my last week and I've been observing other teachers in my own grade as well as others. Some of them have been really good and I've learned a lot from. But I have to say the ones I learned the most from where the teachers that I would not want to be like. I was sitting one lesson about big numbers and math and I think I about fell asleep twice! I had to force myself to take notes and stand up in order to entertain myself. Then when I went and talked to my CT about it he basically said how would you feel if you were that student? The classroom seemed to have a lot of chatty students and the teacher said "I'll wait" 5 times in just a couple minutes (I started tallying after the 3 time she said it. This was her way of telling them that she was waiting for them to stop talking and to listen to her. My thoughts where why listen when she didn't seem to enjoy teaching the lesson and it was mostly a lecture. In essence we are public speakers. We stand in front of an audience and we need to figure out how to get them to listen to what we are saying and become interested in it. Yes this is more difficult thanks to modern technology and more entertaining television shows for kids, but it's still our job to keep their attention and teach! While watching the lesson the whole idea of "don't smile til after Christmas" came to my mind. I think the teacher smiled once at the end of the lesson when the lesson discussed baseball teams.

Another mistake that I saw was a teacher got upset at the students for throwing their marker board erasers into the baskets instead of handing them to the person next to them who's job then is to place the towel in the basket. I think I saw 8 or 9 students out of 27 do the right thing. So she stopped the class and had them watch her do it the wrong way then the right way. (And even though she told all students to watch her 5 of them who threw the rag was not watching). Then she went on with her lesson. First off if this was my class I would have found a different place for the towels, even I would be tempted to make a shot in since it was close enough. Then instead of modeling it for them I would have a few students that did it the wrong way do the modeling. The students know as the teacher I could do it, but as the teacher you want to show them they can do it the right way too. Then instead of just going on after showing the wrong and right way I would have every student collect the erasers and do it the right way. If one student did it the wrong way again, we would keep doing it till everyone does it the right way. One thing I learned a lot about in my second placement is showing authority in the right way. As my CT also says you are not the "bad guy" if you make them re-do something they did the wrong way. You are essentially setting them up for success. Showing them how to act the right way and also letting them know you won't just give into bad habits. I think it's also important to always explain to students why you do something a certain way. Your answer shouldn't be "because I said so" it should be "because we should always be doing our personal best and doing things the correct way because it makes us look good .... " or whatever the reason may be for the circumstance. Ok... so there is my rant for the week :)

On a sad note I only have 2 days left of student teaching and a lot left to do. It will be strange leaving the classroom (again) but knowing that I won't be walking into another room right away. While watching other teachers I feel a need to help students and be the one teaching them. I found myself wondering around the rooms that I observed and asking students questions or pointing out something on their assignments they where working on. I wasn't made to be an observer, I was made to be a teacher :)

All good things must come to an end.

So my time at Pierce is almost up. It is really bittersweet because I love the class and I loved teaching them, but I'm ready for the next step. I have learned more than anticipated over the last semester and gained a lot more confidence in many areas. Not just teaching, but in communicated, socializing and even professionalism. My fiance said that he has even noticed a different in my demeanor. Everything we do in life and every choice changes us in some way or another. No one ever said teaching was easy, but I've found confidence in the challenges that it creates for me. There wasn't a day in class that I left the room feeling empty. There was always something that happened or something one of the students did or said that showed me that this job is what I want to peruse.

Next week I will be able to watch some of the other teachers from the building. I feel that this is a strategy I will want to continue as I teach. Every teacher has different and unique ideas, and this job is all about stealing them :P I think a good teacher find what they are comfortable with and what works for them, but a great teacher continually adds to their list of strategies and keeps finding new and fresh ideas. They may or may not work but you never know unless you try. I'm excited to watch the other teachers to see how they teach and to see other aspects such as different ways to set up the classrooms and the different grades. I don't know what level I would prefer to teach yet so watching the different classes will hopefully give me a little bit better idea as to what I might want.