The end of the first quarter is in sight, and let me tell you, these first two and a half months have just been a whirlwind of activity! Between creating lesson plans, grading papers, classroom management, and the never-ending trail of meetings new teachers must attend (new teacher meetings - both district and school, staff meetings, department meetings, district staff meetings. Sometimes it feels like I just don't have enough time in my day to get all my "stuff" done. Then to top it all off, I am taking graduate classes as well! So, on top of all that other "stuff" I just mentioned, let's add on time to actually attend the classes, more research, more essays, more reading! It really never ends!
You know though, as much as this sounds like I am complaining about not having enough time to accomplish anything, the truth of the matter is this . . . I actually LOVE what I do! Every time I walk into my classroom and greet my students, listen to their thoughts, opinions, or whatever they want to talk about, or see them making connections from that day's lesson to their own lives, it makes it all worth it.
In truth, I am actually beginning to feel like I am falling into a routine and THAT feels good. I love my job!!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The Summer I Was Hired!
What an amazing summer this has turned out to be!
Back in June, I was informed of an opening in the English Department at Omaha's South High Magnet School. After informing the "powers that be" of my interest in the position, I received a phone call from the principal of the school, wanting to schedule an interview.
I was pretty darn excited.
The day of the interview, I was feeling pretty confident. For the two previous years, I worked as a substitute teacher, almost exclusively, at this school. I knew the staff, faculty, and the students. It felt like a natural fit. However, when I went into the interview, all I could do was "gush" about how much I loved the school and everyone who is a part of it. "I love this, I love that," and so on. It was like I was star-struck and trying to make small talk with a superstar.
By the end of the interview, I knew I had bombed it and on the 20-minute ride home, I essentially talked myself out of the position. When I walked through the door, my husband asked how it went and I told him how poorly I thought I did.
You know that gut-wrenching feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you know you didn't live up to or meet your own expectations? Yeah, I had that!
Less than an hour after I got home, I received a phone call from Nicole in Human Resources. She asked how I thought the interview went. I lied. I told her I thought it went pretty well and that I was hoping to get a call back. It was like she couldn't contain herself, she quickly told me, "Congratulations! They have decided to offer you the position. That is, of course, if you're interested.
What was I going to say?! Oh golly gee. No, thank-you.
Yeah, right!
As soon as I hung up the phone, my husband and I jumped up, hugged each other, and continued jumping and laughing until tears came to my eyes. The overwhelming excitement was pouring out of me.
Since that day, I have been on cloud nine. I will finally have my own classroom, with my own students. I just hope that I will be able to teach them everything they need to know about English so they can be successful in whatever they choose to pursue.
Back in June, I was informed of an opening in the English Department at Omaha's South High Magnet School. After informing the "powers that be" of my interest in the position, I received a phone call from the principal of the school, wanting to schedule an interview.
I was pretty darn excited.
The day of the interview, I was feeling pretty confident. For the two previous years, I worked as a substitute teacher, almost exclusively, at this school. I knew the staff, faculty, and the students. It felt like a natural fit. However, when I went into the interview, all I could do was "gush" about how much I loved the school and everyone who is a part of it. "I love this, I love that," and so on. It was like I was star-struck and trying to make small talk with a superstar.
By the end of the interview, I knew I had bombed it and on the 20-minute ride home, I essentially talked myself out of the position. When I walked through the door, my husband asked how it went and I told him how poorly I thought I did.
You know that gut-wrenching feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you know you didn't live up to or meet your own expectations? Yeah, I had that!
Less than an hour after I got home, I received a phone call from Nicole in Human Resources. She asked how I thought the interview went. I lied. I told her I thought it went pretty well and that I was hoping to get a call back. It was like she couldn't contain herself, she quickly told me, "Congratulations! They have decided to offer you the position. That is, of course, if you're interested.
What was I going to say?! Oh golly gee. No, thank-you.
Yeah, right!
As soon as I hung up the phone, my husband and I jumped up, hugged each other, and continued jumping and laughing until tears came to my eyes. The overwhelming excitement was pouring out of me.
Since that day, I have been on cloud nine. I will finally have my own classroom, with my own students. I just hope that I will be able to teach them everything they need to know about English so they can be successful in whatever they choose to pursue.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
To Thine Own Self Be True
Wow! The end of another school year is upon us. To me, it feels like so much has happened while at the same time nothing has changed.
I have had another fulfilling year of substitute teaching. Not just for one school district, but for two. As such, I was given numerous opportunities to work on and build my classroom management techniques and strategies, learned a lot about numerous academic subjects, and had the privilege of working with and teaching diverse groups of students. I just hope that one day, when I have the honor of having my own classroom, that my students will be as amazing and full of wonder as the students I have been exposed to for the past year.
In addition to being a substitute teacher, I have continued to work on a Master's degree in secondary education. As of right now, I have officially completed over one half of my graduate program. I am still amazed at the fact that I was able to find the strength and courage to go back to school after so many years!
This may sound weird, but sometimes I look in the mirror and almost don't recognize the person staring back at me. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing by any means! It's just that, by looking back on my life and all the obstacles (both those imposed by myself and those imposed by others)I've had to overcome, sometimes it's just hard to believe that I've made it this far. What happened to the uncertain, clinically depressed, teenage girl from oh so many years ago?! I'll tell you what, she found out how good life can be! Once she started to believe in herself, doors began to open up and opportunities began to present themselves to her. I have become living proof that people can and do change and that we all have the power within ourselves to affect change in the world.
So, you're probably wondering what I meant when I said nothing has changed. Well, nothing has changed.
I am still me.
I still have the same hopes and dreams that I have always had. The only difference is now I believe that I have what it takes to achieve them, all of them. Ultimately, it is this belief that I hope to pass on to my students:
"To thine own self be true." If you believe in yourself, with a little bit of work, everything else will fall into place.
I have had another fulfilling year of substitute teaching. Not just for one school district, but for two. As such, I was given numerous opportunities to work on and build my classroom management techniques and strategies, learned a lot about numerous academic subjects, and had the privilege of working with and teaching diverse groups of students. I just hope that one day, when I have the honor of having my own classroom, that my students will be as amazing and full of wonder as the students I have been exposed to for the past year.
In addition to being a substitute teacher, I have continued to work on a Master's degree in secondary education. As of right now, I have officially completed over one half of my graduate program. I am still amazed at the fact that I was able to find the strength and courage to go back to school after so many years!
This may sound weird, but sometimes I look in the mirror and almost don't recognize the person staring back at me. Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad thing by any means! It's just that, by looking back on my life and all the obstacles (both those imposed by myself and those imposed by others)I've had to overcome, sometimes it's just hard to believe that I've made it this far. What happened to the uncertain, clinically depressed, teenage girl from oh so many years ago?! I'll tell you what, she found out how good life can be! Once she started to believe in herself, doors began to open up and opportunities began to present themselves to her. I have become living proof that people can and do change and that we all have the power within ourselves to affect change in the world.
So, you're probably wondering what I meant when I said nothing has changed. Well, nothing has changed.
I am still me.
I still have the same hopes and dreams that I have always had. The only difference is now I believe that I have what it takes to achieve them, all of them. Ultimately, it is this belief that I hope to pass on to my students:
"To thine own self be true." If you believe in yourself, with a little bit of work, everything else will fall into place.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
The Difference a Year Makes . . .
I still find it hard to believe that almost an entire year has passed since I graduated from UNO. The funny thing is, I am not the same teacher I was as I was completing my student teaching assignment. Over the past year, I have gained more confidence in my abilities as a teacher simply because I am becoming more familiar with the wide array of literature that students are exposed to, and in my ability to effectively reach and engage even the most challenging of students.
It astounds me to think that if a person can learn, grow, and change this much in just a year's time, imagine the changes and growth that takes place over a lifetime! As a high school teacher, when we are first introduced to our students as Freshmen, these students are excited and eager to please, while at the same time, scared of the unknown (being in a new school, having to make new friends, learning new rules, and discovering the expectations of all those new teachers). By the time these same Freshmen become Seniors, they are not the same people they were when they first walked through the doors of the high school. For the most part, they are more confident in their abilities and are beginning to form an idea of the type of person they want to be as adults.
The changes are astounding, and it all begins with the first year.
It astounds me to think that if a person can learn, grow, and change this much in just a year's time, imagine the changes and growth that takes place over a lifetime! As a high school teacher, when we are first introduced to our students as Freshmen, these students are excited and eager to please, while at the same time, scared of the unknown (being in a new school, having to make new friends, learning new rules, and discovering the expectations of all those new teachers). By the time these same Freshmen become Seniors, they are not the same people they were when they first walked through the doors of the high school. For the most part, they are more confident in their abilities and are beginning to form an idea of the type of person they want to be as adults.
The changes are astounding, and it all begins with the first year.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Cooperative Learning
What a fantabulous summer this has been! It began with me taking my first two graduate level classes, which in turn, progressed into one amazing summer job as the teacher leader for a summer camp program called, "Project Embrace."
To begin, my job is to create an integrated curriculum plan that ties S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts into the programs weekly themes, AND is diverse enough to effectively reach the zone of proximal development for children and youth between the ages of 5 to 17. While this has been a challenging task to undertake, it has been one that has, so far, been very rewarding for myself and for the students.
For example, over the past several weeks, I have taken many opportunities to have students work in collaborative groups to complete specific tasks. This week, we are exploring the solar system, to be even more specific, planets within our solar system that have natural satellites. After a large group discussion about man-made and natural satellites, the kids were split into pairs (older kids working with younger kids) to research information about their assigned planet and begin working on constructing a 3D model of their assigned planet and all the natural satellites that revolve around the planet.
Once the kids began working on their projects, I stepped back to observe the learning process. It simply amazed me to see how the older kids were not only teaching their younger counterparts about the "science" portion of the project, but they were also helping them to discover what happens when you mix primary colors together and how adding black or white to a color will make the color appear darker or lighter respectively. The best part about the whole process, is that every single participant was engaged in the process and having fun at the same time. At the end of the day, the participants were still talking about their planets by making notes about the differences in size, color and the number of "natural" satellites each of the planets had. Many of the kids also made the connection as to how a planet's natural satellite can act as a sort of "brother's keeper" because of the way it affects many things on the surface level of the planet it is attached to such as weather, tides, and the passage of time.
To begin, my job is to create an integrated curriculum plan that ties S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and math) concepts into the programs weekly themes, AND is diverse enough to effectively reach the zone of proximal development for children and youth between the ages of 5 to 17. While this has been a challenging task to undertake, it has been one that has, so far, been very rewarding for myself and for the students.
For example, over the past several weeks, I have taken many opportunities to have students work in collaborative groups to complete specific tasks. This week, we are exploring the solar system, to be even more specific, planets within our solar system that have natural satellites. After a large group discussion about man-made and natural satellites, the kids were split into pairs (older kids working with younger kids) to research information about their assigned planet and begin working on constructing a 3D model of their assigned planet and all the natural satellites that revolve around the planet.
Once the kids began working on their projects, I stepped back to observe the learning process. It simply amazed me to see how the older kids were not only teaching their younger counterparts about the "science" portion of the project, but they were also helping them to discover what happens when you mix primary colors together and how adding black or white to a color will make the color appear darker or lighter respectively. The best part about the whole process, is that every single participant was engaged in the process and having fun at the same time. At the end of the day, the participants were still talking about their planets by making notes about the differences in size, color and the number of "natural" satellites each of the planets had. Many of the kids also made the connection as to how a planet's natural satellite can act as a sort of "brother's keeper" because of the way it affects many things on the surface level of the planet it is attached to such as weather, tides, and the passage of time.
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