Unemployment Hell

Many things have happened since my last post. Below are the top 10 highlights of the last 2 weeks.

1. I found out that I do not have a teaching job for the 2011-2012 school year.
2. Survived the naughty boys in my summer school class.
3. Raised the fluency scores of 90% of my summer school students.
4. Successfully kept my cool during the daily district walk-throughs of my summer school class.
5. Received MANY complements from district officials about my teaching and classroom management abilities but STILL....no job!
6. I filed for unemployment.
7. I applied for 30+ non-teaching jobs that I am not fully sure I am qualified for.
8. I came to the realization that instead of spending my college years pursuing a career in teaching, I should have become a nurse, social worker, or therapist (there seems to be an abundance of jobs for these people).
9. Experienced a week of depression over the fact that I am a 30 year old, college educated woman with a Masters and I STILL can't get a job.
10. Have had to explain the reasons for my unemployment despite my qualifications to family and friends more times than I would like to count only to be told, "But they say they need teachers ALL the time!"

Here's to hoping something good comes my way and soon!

Summer School-Week 1

So, I decided to teach summer school intervention this year for two reasons. 1. I still do not know if I have a job for the 2011-2012 school year and 2. I wanted to make some extra money. As it turned out, it was a good thing I applied for the position since I still don't know if I have a job for the upcoming school year.

This was the first week of summer school and I have to say it has been the most exhausting 4 days I've experienced for quite some time. I'm teaching 3rd grade intervention. These students will be in 4th grade next year and maybe it's just me but I just don't see how. Let me back up. I have 17 boys and 5 girls in my class. Did I mention there are 17 boys!!!! Holy moly...my work is cut out for me. And there are only 3 weeks left!

As a whole, the boys in this group are the most exasperating bunch I have encountered in my short teaching career. I have tried many things but nothing has worked yet. The following are the techniques I and my aide (even with an aide they are crazy monkey children) have tried to no avail.
1. Establishing class rules and consequences as a class.
2. Developing teams for cooperative learning/table groupings-at the end of the week the team with the most points gets to go to the treasure box. Teams can earn or lose points depending on their behavior and ability to work as a team.
3. Proximity to students making poor choices (shouting out, distracting others, laying down on the desk).
4. Temporarily taking away chairs from students who are not sitting correctly.
5. Time out in the classroom.
6. Losing recess time.
7. Giving M&M's to reward students who are on task, participating, and good citizens.
8. The class earns time to play Study Island, Around the World, and Spelling Bee.

None of it has worked. Select students have even been pulled out to have serious discussions regarding behavior with the Summer School Principal...and yes, parents have been informed.  So where do I go from there? It is impossible to motivate a student or students who do not care about their learning. These students do not even care how their poor choices affect other students learning in the class. I think it is very sad and disappointing to see this type of attitude in such young students. I have 3 more weeks with this group. This is my challenge to teach the students who do care and attempt to motivate the students who do not care to change their negative attitude to a positive one. I welcome your suggestions!

It's That Time of Year Yet Again!

This school year was a blur. I can't believe how quickly 180 days can go by. It began with a transition to yet another new school and grade level in my district. I began the year hopeful and full of excitement that I had finally found a school to put some roots in. I was full of great ideas about how I would be a super 2nd grade teacher, even though I had absolutely no knowledge of 2nd grade curriculum. The year started off great and then the testing season began. It seemed I had only had my students for 4 weeks. They were troopers but by the time the CST came in April, they were done...and so was I! I had never experienced so much testing in my life! Synonyms, antonyms, multiple meaning words, compare and contrast, predicting, revising sentences...and that was just the language arts portion! They were tested in math, science, and writing. It seemed our days leading up to the CST were filled with test prep. Every spare moment was spent reviewing how to use the UNRAAVEL strategy when faced with a reading passage and it's accompanying comprehension questions. The year seemed to move even faster once the CST was over. Before I knew it, I was being handed my 3rd pink slip. I was told yet again that I would not be picked up for the coming school year at the school I had so hoped to stay at for more than 180 days. Despite this sad news, I had to keep moving forward. I still had several days of teaching left, interviews to seek out, and packing to begin.

I have now been on 10 interviews for teaching positions in my district. While some may have given up hope, I am still hopeful. I am not done teaching yet. I am not done making a difference in someone else's life. I am determined and as I have learned over the past 3 years...resilient. I think that is the most important lesson that I can teach my students. No matter what curve ball life throws at you, you will pick yourself up and keep going.

As I sit here writing and thinking, I remember all the lives I have touched and those who have touched mine whether they were teachers, office staff, administrators, or students. Most importantly, I remember the students. I have literally taught well over 200 students in my relatively short teaching career. It all began when I was a tutor for the America Reads program at Cal Poly Pomona. I never thought I would have the desire to be a teacher. I remember thinking at the time it was just a way to get some financial aid. I am so glad I chose this path. It has not always been easy, but it has ALWAYS been rewarding.

It is with a hopeful heart that I look forward to my next adventure in education....whatever that may be.

It's That Time of Year Again!

March 15 has come and gone and of course, I got my lovely little pink slip. Does anyone else wonder why it is not actually pink? I think that might make it a little friendlier. Now the waiting game begins. I have no idea what will happen for next year. Right now though, I have way too much on my plate to dwell on it. The week I received mine, I had my last formal observation for the year on Structured Academic Talk and report cards were due. The following week, I had parent conferences. This weekend was the beginning of my Spring Break, and really, who wants to spend their week off worried about whether they will have a job for next year or not? Not me! I have decided to wish for the best and be the best kindergarten teacher I can be for my kids for the rest of the school year. This is the only way I can get through this time. I know that I am a good teacher and I also know that I have absolutely no control over the current negative budget in my district. So why spend my energy worrying about it? I am ready to enjoy my Spring Break!

So much to do and so little time...

The work never ends for a teacher. I think about lessons in the shower. I think about ways to improve my students behavior on the way to work. I think about how in the world I am going to ever find time to organize my desk as I pull into the parking lot. As I walk into my classroom, I think about when I am supposed to plan and organize small group instruction. While I teach my morning reading group, I think about how I never seem to have enough time for partner reading. As I welcome my afternoon Kinders, I think about finding the time to finish the mountain of paperwork that is BTSA. As I gulp down my lunch in 15 minutes, I think about the writing lesson I am going to teach and wonder when I can find the time for my students to share their work. As we finish writing, I think about how we didn't have time yet again to share their writing. As I teach my afternoon reading group, I think about Friday and how the entire time will be spent assessing instead of teaching. As I teach math, I think there has got be a more exciting way to teach the concept of more and less than using the workbook. As we do centers, I think, are my activities meaningful enough? And if they aren't, how can I fix that? As I dismiss my students, I think, finally I can sit down and plan! Until I realize I have a staff meeting to go to!! As I sit in the staff meeting and listen to the differences between sentence starters and sentence frames, I think about how I never have enough time to effectively plan for these instructional strategies. As I read the handout on the importance of vocabulary development for English language learners, I think "Wow, this is really important! I can't wait to effectively plan for this and implement it in my teaching!" As I walk out of the meeting and into my classroom and back to reality, I am faced with my highly unorganized desk, the BTSA folder, and all the other things I am already trying to plan for and I think, "Boy am I tired!"