I survived!

I'm sorry. I know that this post is very late and you probably wanted to know how the first day and the first week went. I've now almost completed my first TWO weeks of teaching, and I'm still alive :) I also love it so far.

I knew that I should have written a post after my very first day, because now I can hardly remember what it was like. It's all a blur! I have duty on Mondays, so I got to school super early and my first introduction into the world of teaching was standing in the cafeteria monitoring behavior as kids came in from the buses. I chose my first day outfit very carefully and I wore a sensible pair of heels (that I also once thought were comfortable). The heels came off after first period. Even so, after wearing sandals the rest of the day, I was in disbelief over how badly my feet and legs hurt after day one. I have 7th period planning, the last period of the day, so while in some ways it's a huge blessing, it also means that literally the only time I sit down is at lunch (teachers eat with our classes in the caf every day). And if I am able to go to the bathroom once during the day I guess that counts too. First lesson learned: physically, teaching is a very taxing job. Not just on the legs and feet, but also I woke up a few days ago from a horribly sore throat after a day that started with singing in the car, continued with my teacher voice throughout six periods, and ended in open house night talking to parents. I was afraid I was going to lose my voice, but instead the sore throat was replaced by sneezing and nasal congestion today. Kids are germy. Very germy.

Second lesson learned on the first day: my kids are not what I was expecting. I was expecting Atlanta. This summer in Atlanta I had 8th graders and summer schoolers, so maybe that accounts for a little bit of the difference, but these kids just seem so much more like kids than they did. My 8th graders in Atlanta were kind of scary. I loved them, but they were scary in the way that I was always scared for their lives and their safety in the back of my head. They weren't scary people, but you could just feel their potential to get mixed up in scary things and be victims of gangs or violence, even if they weren't there yet. The possibility was always there.

My 7th graders here are so...different. The scariness for them is that they will give up on themselves or start believing that they can't do it, because you can see some of them starting to think that way. But I don't sense the same kind of danger for their lives. Most are so respectful that it sometimes makes me want to laugh and/or cry. I can't believe how many things I say call for "yes ma'am," even when it's not a question. I was shocked--SHOCKED--when I received almost 100% of the homework I assigned on the first day (a parent survey and worksheet about what it means to be a champion). I had to bribe my summer school kids to do homework, and even then they quickly lost interest in that. I was expecting that to be a huge fight. But the first week, we set individual and class goals for ourselves, and on top of actually doing their work, they had specific goals for themselves in mind: the most popular were A/B "anarole" (or "honor roll," to us), making passing or better than average scores on the South Carolina PASS test, and not getting in trouble (if you're a boy) and staying out of drama (if you're a girl). And most of the time, I really feel like these kids come to school knowing that it's a place where they work, and they know that it is important and want to do well. In Atlanta, I was blown away by the extent to which my students hated to be asked to do work. A five-sentence paragraph was too long and boring to read, and asking them to WRITE a five-sentence paragraph, well, you might as well ask them to throw their phone out the window.

Which is another thing: I have not seen one cell phone out or child at school texting. I know they have phones, because they'll talk about them or mention them. But they actually follow the rule that they are to be put away completely at school. It's completely bizarre. And finally, I also haven't heard one curse word, even at lunch or in the hall. I don't know if they just don't say them as much, or if there's a strictly enforced language policy, but it's one of those things that is very notable by its absence. I was expecting swearing on desks and bathroom stalls at the very least, and none of that even.

I don't want you to think that I landed in some kind of preteen utopia...but this post is getting very long and it is way past bedtime. Coming soon: my opinion on single-gender classes (why doesn't everyone do this??) and the top ridiculous student answers on interest surveys! And, something to make you smile. I certainly did. I'll explain these photos later.

The top looks weird because I badly edited out the name using Paint.

'Twas the night before...

It's getting late and I should really go to bed--huge day and a very early start tomorrow on the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!--but I knew I would regret it if I didn't post the night before and record how I'm feeling. I'll try to keep it somewhat quick. This weekend I was very grateful to have my older sister Laura come and help me put the finishing touches on my classroom. I can honestly say I am so proud of it, and that if I was a student I would enjoy learning there. If I do say so myself. Laura was a huge help and I was sad to see her go on Saturday...not only was it lonelier, but the nerves started to set in. I allowed myself a relaxing couple of hours at the apartment complex pool, but by Saturday night I was already freaking out a little. Today, Sunday, I woke up early and got a good bit of preparatory work done, knowing that I was going to school this afternoon to make my copies and make sure I was ready for tomorrow. As the hours dwindled, I was getting work done, but I was starting to panic. I could tell because whenever someone spoke to me I felt like I was going to start crying. Classic sign of stress. Haha. And it didn't help that everyone who did speak to me said the exact same thing:

"Are you nervous/ready/excited?"
"Yes."
"You'll be fine."

Not helping. Don't believe you.
In reality I know that I will be fine, and tomorrow won't be as terrifying as it seemed. But I want it to be stellar, which is why I'm so stressed. I feel like there is so much pressure to make the first day perfect; in this summer's training I have heard over and over again how important the first week, day, even minute is and how it sets the tone for the year and can even tell you whether the whole year will be a success. At the same time, they keep telling us that none of us will get it right the first time, that it's okay if we mess up because we can always fix, change, and improve. Anyway, I feel much better about tomorrow by now, having finalized my schedule of what I would do and say when during each class. Now I have a plan to follow and I feel like I at least won't forget what to do next. My biggest fear is to look unorganized in front of the class tomorrow...or should I say, for the class to realize I have no clue what I'm doing. Later this week (hopefully if I have time) I will post more details about my daily schedule and my classes. Right now I just wanted to explain what the night before this first-year teacher's first day of school feels like. I'm not looking forward to the nightmares I'm probably about to have...but I will leave you with pictures of my room!

                                

                                                                                                    

My first bulletin board! The classroom theme is "Champions," aka the Olympics, but more about that later.

View from the door.

Corner behind my desk. These posters were all inherited from a wonderful 7th grade SS teacher who isn't in the classroom this year and lent them to me! On the cabinet is a postcard from my friend Jacqueline, something one of my summer school students made for me, a SC postcard from my MTLD, and my name drawn during a boring Institute session.

My desk. Those flowers are pencils with fake flowers wrapped on. Behind my desk is a canvas my friend Elizabeth painted for me with the C.S. Lewis quote, "You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream," my pin collection, and my cross country letter from Mercer. On the window sill is a picture of my dog Champ (I know, I still need one of Bella), and a picture of the TFA SC 2012 Corps at induction.

The reading corner! Leggy has been with me since 8th grade...now my 7th graders get to love him too! Poster from Kristen Blackwell :)

Laura made me this awesome pencil wreath!

My second bulletin board! The pictures of Olympians will be replaced with student work, making us the champions instead. Above you can see the sign for my attention getting signal...the BOLT pose.

"If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you." Handmade by Laura and going to be our class motto. The "track" above the clock is our class tracker, where each of my classes will track their progress on assessments and hopefully get some competition going to outdo each other.

Caley made me this awesome candy jar! I love it!

"Kids are Goats"

I finally started the "teacher blog" I've been thinking about all summer. First I wanted to do it before Institute, but I could barely keep up with what I was required to do, much less start blogging on the side. Then I wanted to do it as soon as I moved here, but I was stumped because I couldn't think of what to call it! Blog names are always so clever and witty; I couldn't go with something like "Adventures in Middle School" or "First Year Teacher." Yawn.

Last night I was so pumped to start writing things down that I bit the bullet and decided on a title. The title of the blog, Kids Are Goats, comes from a quote by one of the administrators of the school district who came to speak to all the new teachers at our orientation this week. She told us never to call our students "kids." They are children, they are students, they are scholars, but they are never kids. She once gave a presentation in a college education class in which she substituted "kids" for "children." Afterwards, her professor called her over and said, "Linda, children are not kids. Kids are goats." She said it stuck with her to the point that now, after 30+ years in education, she cringes when she hears someone say it. When she told us this story,  it sounded familiar because my mom, who's also a teacher, had had almost exactly the same experience in college. A professor took points from her research paper every time she used "kids" because it was incorrect.

kid: noun, verb, kid·ded, kid·ding, adjective

1. Informal . a child or young person.

2. (used as a familiar form of address.)

3. a young goat.

"Kids" for "children" may be slang, but I have already started thinking of my students as "my kids." Children just doesn't sound right for middle schoolers; I know they are still children, but the word just doesn't really fit that in-between stage they're in. And while they are my students, I know they're going to become more to me than that word seems to hold. If kids are goats, these will be my goats! And I can't wait to meet them!