Sunday, September 21, 2003
Three weeks of school have come and gone. I've figured out how to work Grade Book, how to take attendance online, how to file my students' return work, how to call and email parents, how to contact counselors, and how to figure out whatever else I don't know by asking other teachers or shooting in the dark. In short, I am struggling up the steep learning curve that is a first-year teacher's climb.
It certainly isn't easy. For the past three years I've been observing other teachers, working in classrooms, student teaching, and studying education. Many people told me, "This is a hard job," and of course I listened, but there is no way to explain it without experiencing it (like so many other things in life).
My students are needy. Many people might say "But you teach in BELLEVUE." Yes, true, but these are not typical Bellevue kids. Over one third of all my students speak Spanish as their first language. In class, I hear kids translate poetry we read into Spanish for each other, trying to understand the meanings and nuances. My kids aren't rich Bellevue kids. They're from Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Korea and many many other places. Though I do have some kids whose parents are lawyers or doctors, they are few and far between.
That's the great thing about the school I teach at. Though I might have 120 students, and my junior classes might be way overcrowded, I am happy to have only 16 students in each of my freshmen classes. I'm happy to have Jorge Gutierrez, a 19-year-old man from Mexico who works at Schuck's auto supply. He came waltzing into my freshman Language Arts class, a silly grin on his face, claiming, "I'm the new kid." While all my other wide-eyed 14-year-old freshmen looked at his tattoos and gangster attire, I thought, "He must be in the wrong class." Not true. His schedule was correct. As he put it, "I REALLY need to graduate from high school." Now Jorge is one of my favorite students, and working with him to understand some of the short stories we read is challenging, but rewarding.
I'm learning that being respectful towards students and using simple phrases such as "please" and "thank you" gets a teacher a long way. I treat my students with respect, and ask the same in return. So far I've had almost no behavior problems other than talking in class, and severe motivational issues (YES you must do your homework!).
I'm also learning that teaching creates incredible, amazing, outragous mood swings. One minute I'm ecstatic, living-on-top-of-the-world, "can't believe I'm paid for THIS!" then the other I'm depressed, don't want to do anything but sleep, "can't believe I'm paying student loans for THIS!!" Basically I've found I have to be patient with myself, just as I'm patient with my students. I'm learning, they're learning... that's not going to change anytime soon!
It certainly isn't easy. For the past three years I've been observing other teachers, working in classrooms, student teaching, and studying education. Many people told me, "This is a hard job," and of course I listened, but there is no way to explain it without experiencing it (like so many other things in life).
My students are needy. Many people might say "But you teach in BELLEVUE." Yes, true, but these are not typical Bellevue kids. Over one third of all my students speak Spanish as their first language. In class, I hear kids translate poetry we read into Spanish for each other, trying to understand the meanings and nuances. My kids aren't rich Bellevue kids. They're from Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Korea and many many other places. Though I do have some kids whose parents are lawyers or doctors, they are few and far between.
That's the great thing about the school I teach at. Though I might have 120 students, and my junior classes might be way overcrowded, I am happy to have only 16 students in each of my freshmen classes. I'm happy to have Jorge Gutierrez, a 19-year-old man from Mexico who works at Schuck's auto supply. He came waltzing into my freshman Language Arts class, a silly grin on his face, claiming, "I'm the new kid." While all my other wide-eyed 14-year-old freshmen looked at his tattoos and gangster attire, I thought, "He must be in the wrong class." Not true. His schedule was correct. As he put it, "I REALLY need to graduate from high school." Now Jorge is one of my favorite students, and working with him to understand some of the short stories we read is challenging, but rewarding.
I'm learning that being respectful towards students and using simple phrases such as "please" and "thank you" gets a teacher a long way. I treat my students with respect, and ask the same in return. So far I've had almost no behavior problems other than talking in class, and severe motivational issues (YES you must do your homework!).
I'm also learning that teaching creates incredible, amazing, outragous mood swings. One minute I'm ecstatic, living-on-top-of-the-world, "can't believe I'm paid for THIS!" then the other I'm depressed, don't want to do anything but sleep, "can't believe I'm paying student loans for THIS!!" Basically I've found I have to be patient with myself, just as I'm patient with my students. I'm learning, they're learning... that's not going to change anytime soon!
