First Teaching Job

Good afternoon, my lovely readers! I apologize for my long absence. I have no excuse other than to say that the pace of my life has picked up quite a bit since my last post. As always, I hope to be a better blogger, but there are so many things to do that by the time I think to myself, “I should write a blog post about that”, I don’t get to it…It’s a lame excuse, I know, and I’ll get better. :) Anyway, I want to blog about the high and low moments of my days. I feel that thinking and reflecting on them will make me a better person and a better teacher.

Last fall, I completed my student teaching internship here in Norman. My post “140 Children” dealt with some of my first impressions, but then my blogging hiatus kicked off and you didn’t get to hear any more of my adventures. I’ll try to work in some stories from time to time, but the thing is that many of them repeat themselves naturally. Kids are kids, as one of my mentors wisely told me. They are absolutely unique, make no mistake, but many of their situations are alike. So, now that I find myself in a new job (that’s right!), many of the stories – both heartbreaking and inspiring – will crop up again and again.

Once my student teaching wrapped up, I spent time with family and spent time job searching. To say that was maddening would be an extreme understatement. The waiting, the wondering, the overanalyzing of every minuscule detail of the search-apply-interview process – it was driving me crazy. Then out of nowhere, another job popped up, I interviewed, and got it! Now I am a Literacy Resource Teacher at a middle school in town, helping kids with their reading skills in small groups. I work with different students every day, from all three grade levels (6, 7 and 8). In total, I see about 60 students a week and am trying to differentiate lessons for each group.

It is not a job that I would have expected doing, but it sure beats subbing and it gets my foot in the door here. Most importantly, it gets me some experience in working with kids who struggle when it comes to reading text. They are a mixed bag – many know they need help and are defiant, many know they need help and are grateful for any knowledge they can absorb, and still others do not even realize how important reading is and would rather get hit by a bus” than read anything (in the actual words of one student). Others believe that they can read just fine and see no reason to spend their Explo time with me once a week. They have threatened to have their parents call the school, so we’ll see how well that works for them. I have tried telling them their reading comprehension is the real issue – can they read something and understand it afterwards? I have also tried to convince them that we can read things that are fun and interesting to them. Indeed, that is what I would prefer. Some believe me, and they’re very forthright with their preferences. Others doubt my sincerity and are staying quiet until I can gain their trust.

I’m sure I could go on and on, but I will stop for now. If I am going to make blogging a regular thing, I need to keep it short. My hope is that by reflecting, thinking, and writing about my school life, I will gain some insight. Maybe I will learn about myself or my students, who knows? If nothing else, I hope to preserve some of the amazing moments in the life of a teacher. Everything happens by so fast, and memories fade. With a blog to record some fleeting thoughts, I hope to preserve them.