The assignment is to describe these first days without students. I decided to write this on the eve of my last day without students. For a dull summary, what we did was one day of new teacher orientation with some great (seriously!) classroom management review, then we got spoiled for two days at a conference center up the road where we were served breakfast and lunch and did a low ropes course and played games and danced and joked with each other to bond with our new co-workers, and then, since last Friday, it’s been an orderly, smooth, calm, even fun four days of classroom prepping, soaking in veteran teachers’ knowledge and pointers, and getting hyped up for the first day.
On a less dry level, though, I would like to describe these first days without students by recording my first impressions, which have been strong and many. Here's a trip through my mind and thoughts in this first week of in-service and P.D.:
"Wow, this school has so many resources; the physical facilities are fantastic. Is this Jackson? It seems kinda rural out here...quaint, quiet, pretty.” I later learned, it’s in a part of town with a record for hold-ups in stores and parking-lot attacks in the early morning hours.
“Oh no—I hope my curriculum won’t be too controlled by the pacing and curriculum guides. That will stifle my dreams!” But the department chair was very attentive to my concerns, and my teaching assignment is so excellent – my role is to reinforce what the English II teachers teach (with compensatory writing). Which means I am free, or at least, more free, to choose reading selections and writing methods. Now that I have my syllabus approved by the chair, all I can say or feel is “sweet anticipation!!!!!”
“I can’t believe how nice she is being to a first year! I cannot believe how comfortable I feel with all the other teachers and administration.” This was by far the strongest benefit of the retreat we had early last week. Our faculty really does feel like a family – it’s not mere PC talk or bureaucratic protocol. I feel like all my colleagues are sincere and gold-mines of ideas and experience. I have been especially thankful for an English teacher who made me her mentee/guinea pig. She has reached out to me so much, I can hardly comprehend her friendliness. Her laughter makes the workplace a pleasure. I like how she and the other English teacher preface a lot of their statements with: “Giiiiirl!” I have also really enjoyed conversing with the librarian at my school. She has been working there for 25-some years, so she really has a grasp of its history. It turns out, my school used to be 80/20 white to black, then became 20/80, and is now 98/2. I had always thought and assumed that this ‘white flight’ transition was gradual. But oh, no – as the librarian showed me old photos of high school musical casts, I realized by looking and counting the students’ faces, that this transition occurred, more or less, within the span of 3 years: from 1999-2002, total transformation in the school’s racial composition,
“Wow, teachers have a lot of jobs besides teaching.” This thought rolled in my mind as I realized how much time, paper, energy, and daily manpower it takes to govern students’ attendance alone. Phew. These administrators/staff are on the ball though – and I am not just saying that. I really feel supported by and trust them at this point. But I suppose that starting tomorrow (or “on tomorrow,” as they say in the South) will be the real test of that sentiment. I am so nervous, so excited, so ready for it to be 2 p.m. tomorrow, by which time I will be able to reflect on the first day with students.
On a less dry level, though, I would like to describe these first days without students by recording my first impressions, which have been strong and many. Here's a trip through my mind and thoughts in this first week of in-service and P.D.:
"Wow, this school has so many resources; the physical facilities are fantastic. Is this Jackson? It seems kinda rural out here...quaint, quiet, pretty.” I later learned, it’s in a part of town with a record for hold-ups in stores and parking-lot attacks in the early morning hours.
“Oh no—I hope my curriculum won’t be too controlled by the pacing and curriculum guides. That will stifle my dreams!” But the department chair was very attentive to my concerns, and my teaching assignment is so excellent – my role is to reinforce what the English II teachers teach (with compensatory writing). Which means I am free, or at least, more free, to choose reading selections and writing methods. Now that I have my syllabus approved by the chair, all I can say or feel is “sweet anticipation!!!!!”
“I can’t believe how nice she is being to a first year! I cannot believe how comfortable I feel with all the other teachers and administration.” This was by far the strongest benefit of the retreat we had early last week. Our faculty really does feel like a family – it’s not mere PC talk or bureaucratic protocol. I feel like all my colleagues are sincere and gold-mines of ideas and experience. I have been especially thankful for an English teacher who made me her mentee/guinea pig. She has reached out to me so much, I can hardly comprehend her friendliness. Her laughter makes the workplace a pleasure. I like how she and the other English teacher preface a lot of their statements with: “Giiiiirl!” I have also really enjoyed conversing with the librarian at my school. She has been working there for 25-some years, so she really has a grasp of its history. It turns out, my school used to be 80/20 white to black, then became 20/80, and is now 98/2. I had always thought and assumed that this ‘white flight’ transition was gradual. But oh, no – as the librarian showed me old photos of high school musical casts, I realized by looking and counting the students’ faces, that this transition occurred, more or less, within the span of 3 years: from 1999-2002, total transformation in the school’s racial composition,
“Wow, teachers have a lot of jobs besides teaching.” This thought rolled in my mind as I realized how much time, paper, energy, and daily manpower it takes to govern students’ attendance alone. Phew. These administrators/staff are on the ball though – and I am not just saying that. I really feel supported by and trust them at this point. But I suppose that starting tomorrow (or “on tomorrow,” as they say in the South) will be the real test of that sentiment. I am so nervous, so excited, so ready for it to be 2 p.m. tomorrow, by which time I will be able to reflect on the first day with students.
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