I was decided depressed starting the work week. Many changes were introduced at school, and not most of them were not explained. This left the teachers at my school guessing to the reasons for the changes, and all of us feeling frustrated.
Monday - The morning was spent in a meeting, introducing new people, going over changes, etc.... at about noon, we finally get to go to our rooms.
Fortunately, the routines and reality of setting up our classrooms has set in. Oddly, it is comforting in some way. I received my class list, and started sorting all my room's possessions. I re-arranged, cleaned out and put up posters, inspirational messages and word walls. I was so industrious that I even had my hall way displays up and ready to go by the end of the first day!
Then the announcement came - we can't put anything on the walls, because sometime between now and November the maintance elves will come in the dark of night and paint our classrooms and hallways! I suppose a fresh coat of paint will be nice - but I don't think I can take bare walls for 2 or 3 months!
Tuesday - Yesterday, I was too industrious. I took everything down.
I decided to start writing my plans for the first two weeks of school. I have my plans from past years, so I can start from there. But wait! We have to submit our lesson plans on a new form this year. They want to train us on the use of the new form - on Friday. Since we have not been trained on how to put our lesson plans on this new form, the form will not be made available until then.
I found a plan book and started writing, knowing I'll have to transfer it to a different form later. Maybe I'll cut up my plans and glue them on the new form.
The rest of the morning was spent organizing and labeling school possessions and supplies (the school provided new labels for everything they own) - it was wasn't too bad. I was starting to feel comforted by creating order again. Now my room is covered with the name of my school and little green paw-prints - but it is done.
The afternoon was mandatory training on the changes to the curriculum for this year. Not exciting, but definitely necessary.
Wednesday - A pep rally. Yes, a 2 1/2 hour long pep rally to get us ready for school. If we didn't have to travel 30 minutes each way to get to the high school where the rally is held, it would help our enthusiam. We cheer, and clap. We listen to school board and local speakers. We listen to the county teacher of the year speak (He was a very good speaker). Then we listen to our featured speaker - Dr. Borba. (She was good too!). The bad thing is, most of us spend the whole rally thinking - how soon can we get back to our classrooms. We haven't finished setting them up! But I admit - I do enjoy seeing other teachers I've met in inservices.
For the afternoon, our school is working on instructional strategies. We were whisked away to another site, to begin our yearlong study of the book "Classroom Instruction that Works". I left with several good ideas to implement right away.
Tomorrow is the last day to get the room ready before the families show up to meet the teacher day. I need to put my students names on things. I need to assign textbooks to students. I still need to write my class start of school newsletter! I also know the afternoon will be spend going over more changes to the curriculum, and procedure changes, so everything I get done will be before 12:00! I know every year is like this, but I wonder when they will finally give us too much of good thing and we won't be able to get ready in time.
Tomorrow is the beginning of our teacher workweek. I met with the my team last week to hear from our team leader about some of the changes going on this year. There are a lot changes, because we didn't make AYP (again). We are always close (1 or 2 kids each year). Our administration is under a lot a pressure, and we are now seeing bigger changes because of it.
I want to be positive and supportive. No matter how hard a try, the negativity of other team members seems to really affect me. I started the meeting positive, but by the end of the meeting I think I probably sounded just like everyone else. We're frustrated, and don't know how to add more data collection, more formal reports and more documentation to our days. I really like the people I work with, but I don't like how I feel when I come out of meetings like this. I know that everyone needs to vent once in a while - but it would be nice to hear someone trying to be encouraging. I don't seem to be able to be the encouraging person (I get discouraged when it feels like everything I say is met with "OK, but..."). I think we are also struggling because one of our team mates left at the end of the school year for another job. She was our calm, centering force. We needed her.
I'm hoping when I get my class list and start learning about the students in my class I'll feel better about starting this year. There really are positives in the changes. Some of the changes the administration made will make this year easier - they provided our daily schedules to us this year, instead of having to work it out ourselves. Some changes will take a little adjustment, but I think will be a benefit to us and them - they have provided a new lesson plan format to use this year. Some will be more difficult, but it's what the adminstration needs to answer the tough questions they have to answer. (I don't want to be put in the position to answer those questions!).
I'll write again tomorrow after my first day - when I hope the excitement of a new year will kick in for me.
This week I have my mandatory summer inservice. We all have to take one, but to be fair my district offers many to choose from. I am taking a class on visual literacy. It's interesting, and we are getting to spend time working on projects to use in our class this year. I've talked to several people who have taken other inservices this summer, and they also were given time to create material to use in their classes. I think overall we're all pleased this year!
My inservice is my school, within sight of my classroom. But I can't get to my classroom to set up yet - it is 'roped' off with yellow caution tape. Apparently there was a leak this summer. They won't let me get anywhere near it. They just say - "You can come in next week. It will be OK." Somehow, this doesn't re-assure me at all.
The good news is that I got to see my state test scores from last year - and they were great! I wasn't too worried, and yet I always feel relieved when the scores are OK. I had such a great class - I really don't know why I was worried (except I'm a teacher and that's what we do!).
I guess it's just your perspective.... My husband and I just finished a conversation about what we did today. I attended a David Warlick presentation, met briefly with the other teachers of the summer professional development class I'm assisting with tomorrow, read part of
Web 2.0, New Tools, New Schools. I told him about Blogging, and that I was looking forward to the summer PD class I'm taking about Podcasting. He told me to make sure I did something fun this summer. That seemed strange because I thought I was having fun! I guess because I'm on 'summer vacation' I'm supposed to be playing all day. I also guess that what I spent my day doing just didn't sound fun to him. I don't know, am I supposed to take my time and learn about all of this during my school day in the Fall? I think learning is fun. Don't get me wrong - I have a shopping trip planned, and lunches with friends during the summer. BTW - He told me he just worked, nothing exciting. To me, my day was much better than 'just working'.
I just finished a fantastic year with my fourth graders. But I'm sad. On the last day of school my mentor teacher accepted a position as a gifted teacher at another school. Although I'm excited for her, but it will be really strange to not have her there across the hall next year. She was the one I turned to for advice when I was confronted with odd things, like when one of students found a family of mice in his backpack. (We set them free in a field near her house, in case you wonder). She was also the one I went to when another student brought his pet snake to school in his backpack. (Needless to say - I'm very wary of student backpacks). She was also the shoulder to lean on (and cry on) during a year with a very difficult class. She was always calm, and always had a solution that seemed so simple and logical. I get to be a mentor teacher next year - so hopefully I can live up to her advice and guidance when I new teacher walks in my room and asks me what do with whatever they confront. I think my first advice will be - don't go near the backpacks.