Week 2

Friday's seem to end on a good note. Today, state superintendent Cathy Cox was in our school. The administration stressed that we should have our rooms ready and our students well behaved for her visit. Well, I knew at least I could have my room clean. Someone must be praying for me because Cathy Cox came down our hallway during my 6th period class - my AP class. I am blessed to have a room full of bright and energetic 10th graders. They are cute and loud - very loud. I was teaching them about irony in poetry and they just weren't getting it, so I broke out in song - literally. The Alaniss Morisette song "Isn't it Ironic" sprang from my lips before I could even think about what I was doing. The kids loved it, although a few called American Idol on an imaginary phone and said, "Hello, American Idol? I do not want to vote for Ms. Taylor." They were laughing and learning - something hard to do at their age - when the door opened and in walked our principal, Cathy Cox, our assistant principal and two school board members.
Ms. Cox said, "you are having too much fun in here, what are you learning about?" The class shouted "Poetry."
"Poetry's not suppopsed to be fun is it?"
Here's the part I really like - One of the girls up front said, "It never was before Ms. Taylor."
Oh, how nice and proud I felt. The principal whispered, "Nice job" in my ear and Ms. Cox stayed in our class for quite a while. When they told her she had to go, she turned to me and said, "very lovely job. You should be proud."
As the door closed, our principal said, "That is one of our first year teachers."
I strained my ears to hear Ms. Cox's response of "Impressive."
That was a really nice feeling, but if she had come just 30 minutes later she would have seen the same teacher (me), giving the same lesson and doing the same thing, but getting a very different response from another class. In my last class, I took up a deck of cards, two cell phones, and stopped some kids from playing a spirited game of "Quarters." Peaks and Valleys. Ups and Downs. I have to say though that the peaks were better than the valley's today.

Still Diving

Well, I survived my first long week as a teacher. Friday ended on a great note when my seventh period class of delinquents actually behaved and produced some work for me. In that class alone, out of 35 students, 23 of them have over 15 disciplinary referrals, and they are only in the 10th grade. However, one is 18 and one is 17 so I guess they have been around a while. They are amazingly low performers. They have no idea how to spot a simile or a metaphor and repeatedly misuse words - Where for Wear; hear for here. In the first week alone I have thought to myself, "Well, I can just give them busy work until I can figure out how to reach them." I have thought and said just about everything I told myself I would never do. I yelled "Be quiet" yesterday after repeatedly asking them to "listen up." They responded to a yell when a respectful request would not work. I am going to point this out to them later on, when I know them better.
Public school - at least at McIntosh - has the feel of a prison. Adults standing around ordering those in the hall to move along. I was not prepared for the barriers the kids put up between me and them. They view me as the enemy, not to be trusted, and hold me at arms length. There are a few who have already declared me the "nicest teacher in the school," and allow me to help them. I caught one boy spitting on the floor in my class and I said, "Tyler, do you know that there is a little old lady that comes through here and cleans up these classrooms. She is someone's mother. Would you want your mother to have to clean up someone's spit?"
"Yes maam" he responded, "because my mother is a piece of low life trash."
"No she is not," I said, and the girl sitting next to him said "Yes she is Ms. Taylor. You just don't know. His grandmother has him now and it is the best thing that ever happened to him."
What do you say to that? I told him that he can change his life and what his mother does is not his fault. Maybe he will believe me. He just got back from the alternative school and I really hope I can help him. But there are so many! It is truly overwhelming. I never dreamed it would be this hard, but the moments that you see some progress outweigh the bad. Things like, "Ms. Taylor, Ms. Boyd went over this last year and I never understood it, but you make it so easy." I can see why teachers return again and again to overcrowded classrooms and lousy pay. Next week we study the Puritan writers and begin introducing The Crucible. I will keep you updated.

I forgot to tell you where the "Word Work" sign came from - Tony Morrison's Nobel Prize acceptance speech - "Word work is sublime . . . "

The Puritans

I need a little help with the Puritans. Today's lesson went over like a flop. They liked the part where I talked about what it means to lose something and how Bradstreet thanked God for her loss, but after that it was all down hill. Plus, I spelled unconditional wrong and the girl who rolled her eyes at me pointed it out and laughed. Butt hole.

The Inferno

I was watching Grizzly Man today and found a perfect metaphor for my first day as a high school teacher. The man they were interviewing about the grizzly guy said, "I guess he thought he was going to get out there with those bears and it was going to be a feeling of mutual respect and love. I guess he thought they would see that he cared and it would be some type of beautiful relationship. What he did not know was that the bears just wanted to eat him." I feel like the grizzly man. I trapsed into the classroom believing that the kids would see how nice I am, and how much I want to help them. Instead, they saw dinner, or a snack really. They devoured me in short order. By the fourth period, I wanted to go home and never come back. Right now, I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of returning tomorrow. I waver between confidence and desolation. I have worked all weekend preparing for next week, but I do not know if I can get them to shut up and listen. I have to start my eleventh graders with the Puritans and the Pilgrims and I have to find a way to make them care. I am going to do Ann Bradstreet's poem about the burning of her house and the loss of her grandchild. I will introduce these poems by asking the kids to write about a traumatic event in their life and explain how they handles that tragedy. Maybe that will build up a sense of empathy with the little ones. We will see. I know that if I do not give up, it will be ok. Pray that I will have a better week.

Some Did Not Show Up

 
  

My Lame Room

Due to lack of resources and time (and creativity), I could not do my bulletin board the way I wanted too. Here it is though. I start with my students tomorrow and I really liked the kids and parents I met at Open House tonight. I am going to be such a marshmallow . . . Does anyone recognize where I got the phrase "Word Work" from? We have to have a word wall with a minimum of 5 new words a week. Everyone said "Word Wall" on their board, but I decided to have a nice literary illusion. Whoever recognizes it gets 5 quiz points . . .

 
 
 
  

Whaaaaaa!!!!

I sat at my desk and had a big cry today. I was preparing my syllabus with no idea of where I am going to go in the next two weeks, or how I am going to get there. We start off with short stories, so I am going to do Travels with Charley by Steinbeck, Boys and Girls by Alice Munro, and Everyday Use by Alice Walker. I don't know if it will work, but I will enjoy myself. One of the other new English teachers told me that he has no idea what a lesson plan even is, much less how to write a syllabus. I felt better. One other business teachers told me she has cried three times today. So, I guess life is not so bad for me. Who said to stay out of the Teacher's Lounge?

On another note, my AC is still not working in my room and Open House is tomorrow from 3-6. It will be tropical to say the least. By the end of the day, I look like a sweaty mess and smell like hot dogs. Not a good combination.

No Breathable Air

I am finding it difficult to make time to post, so I will give you the "quick and dirty" version of what it going on in my first full week as a teacher. I am finding that "quick and dirty" is a favorite phrase in the education world.

1. I have to write the syllabus for the entire English tenth grade. I found out today that the lady that "hates me" because I was teaching the 11th grade AP class she "hand-picked," went to the principal to get "her" class back. I don't care - I did not even know the kids - so I am doing 10th grade AP and one 11th grade class. No 9th graders!!! Too bad though - they would not know that I did not know what I was doing.

2. I have to turn in 5, yes 5, emergency lesson plans to the assistant principal - by 11am on Thursday.

3. I have to find some way to get them to make my non-working air conditioner a priority - It is way too hot in my room, and my makeup and hair are fading quickly.

4. Get the Jew-boy that teaches Social studies to give me some type of assistance. Just kidding.

5. Decorate my hot room before open house on Thursday evening.

All in all I feel overwhelmed. The feeling is familiar - like the first time I took Dr. Winterhalter and she went over her syllabus. You know, the feeling that you are in way over your head and have no idea what is going on. It is pretty distressing, but I think it will be OK.
More Updates coming soon.

Ideas

I know many of you have already responded to my questions about room decoration, and all of you have given me some great ideas. Now, I need some more help. Brandi had the idea of taking some great quotes and putting them on my board, or even around the room. Now I need you to send me one of your favorite quotes. If you have not given me any room decorating ideas, then send those too - I know I am needy. . .