Classroom Theme

Since it is my first year of teaching I want to give my room a theme.  Why a theme?  Well I don't really know!  I am not going to name my lessons things that correspond to the theme, but I just think it is a nice way to distinguish our classroom and make the kids feel like it is their space too.  

This year, I have decided on a camping theme for the classroom!  I have a little tent, a camping chair, sleeping bag and other little goodies for the classroom that will make the classroom feel like a little campsite.  I am excited to see how it works out in practice!

The other thing about the themes that I was thinking of is whether I would change themes each year that I have a class?  Obviously that would be rather expensive to do but it is something to think about.  Especially if there are even 2 themes to rotate through!  Then you could change each year to give yourself and the incoming students something fresh to look at.  I imagine that I will change (or at least add things) every year.  That is just the way I am.  I need to start each year with a fresh slate and what better way than to redecorate the classroom!  :)

Preparations

I am so excited to see my classroom.  In a short 12 days from now I will officially see what I will be working with for the rest of the 2009-2010 school year and I cannot wait.  Of course I want to do "before and after" shots so I can have those for memories of my first days.  

I have been working hard on getting things ready that I can while I have some down time in WA before I move.  I am glad I did because time is quickly coming to a close before I move to Montana and I have a lot of packing to do!  Luckily my sister brought home some boxes today from work so that is my project tomorrow if it isn't too hot in the garage.  I have been home for a year so I really need to sort through things too to see if there are things I don't even want anymore.  I can hardly remember what things I have!  

It is so exciting (yet slightly scary, not going to lie!) that I will have my own class.  As exciting as the decorations for the classroom are when it comes down to planning those first three days I will be a nervous wreck for sure! One step at a time though, and for tonight, I will continue to work on nametags!  :)  So fun!

Class list

Today I officially got my class list of students!  Only 14!  Wow!

Although things can change before the first day of school (and likely will since today I got a new student already!) I am excited that the classroom I will see in 14 days is becoming real for me!  (And yes, I am counting the days until I get to see my first classroom!)

Also found out that at Frontier, teachers don't have to pay for school lunches every day, which will be a really good and easy way for me to save money every day by not having to buy things for lunch.  As an extra bonus..... the lunches are all homemade every single day!  There is no food from a can and frozen entrees heated up for lunch.  Homemade food every single day!  I am going to gain so much weight! :)

Reading with Meaning

I was just going over some of my college textbooks and I read a really great quote that I thought I should share:

"The children I teach are limited only when I choose to limit myself."

-Debbie Miller, "Reading with Meaning"

I really liked that quote.  Just makes me feel justified in wanting to do things in my classroom and for my students that everyone tells me I don't need to do because no one cares.  It has always been in my personality to go "above and beyond" what is expected of me or what everyone else tends to do.  I am not trying to "one up" anyone or be "better" than someone else... it is just that I hold myself to high standards and my classroom to high standards.  If those standards are different than other classrooms... so be it.  I do the things I do to keep my classroom they way I want it to be and do what is best for my students.  Those are my priorities and I feel those are the priorities that every teacher should have.

Standards

It is so interesting to see how different every state is in terms of learning standards.  In Washington I have spent 3 years of education learning everything about Washington EALRs and GLEs and now that I am going to Montana soon I thought that I better get a look at what the standards are like for another state and I wanted to compare to find any differences.  Wow there is a difference for sure.... detail!  Washington State has everything broken into such small, detailed pieces there is seemingly a standard for everything in every grade k-10.  In Montana however, there are just skills that students should be able to do by grades 4, 7, and 10.  That is hard for me, as a new teacher and a new teacher to the state no less, because I am not sure what I am expected to do in third grade!  I guess more research is what is calling!  Here we go... a teacher's life I now have!

Real teacher duties!

I am really excited because I got an email from my superintendent describing the resources I will have in my classroom... it is so fun to say MY classroom!.... and telling me that I need to make a school supply list for my students!  :)  So exciting but also a little intimidating because I don't know what the kids should bring, what I am going to do with them this year, and whether the rest of the teachers generally use community supplies or individual supplies.  Lots to figure out for sure!

The other exciting thing is that tomorrow I get my class list (YAY!) and today my mom took me shopping to get a bunch of new "teacher" clothes and we went to Staples and got a bunch of things for my future classroom.  I got borders, certificates, pencils, glue, and more.  So fun!  Expensive, but fun.  

SO much to do!

Wow is there a lot of things involved with getting your first real job.  :)

I have been printing, signing and researching like crazy but it is really exciting.  It is interesting to see that I will have a real salary but then kind of sad to see how fast that disappears when you factor in rent, car insurance, utilities, food, student loan payback, etc.  Yikes!  But it is a start and you have to start somewhere.  If nothing else, even if I am super poor for a while, it is a great opportunity to at least get a year of experience under my belt, meet some new people, and move to a new part of the country!  I am excited to start this crazy, yet exciting journey in life!

I GOT A JOB! :)

Oh my goodness I am so so excited I got a job!

The interview went amazing (though I suppose that seems obvious :) ) and not a half an hour later I was offered the job as THE third grade teacher at Frontier School in Wolf Point, Montana.  It is an adorable town and I will be the only third grade teacher at the school.  Wow!  

It is going to be a big change in pace for me but also a lot of fun.  And a lot of work!  Goodness, there are so many things to do since there is training I have to go to in mid-August in Billings and then teacher days are the 24th and 25th and school starts August 26th! AHH!  That is a lot of stuff to do, include moving half way across the country and getting settled in, in about a month exactly.  Wow!  My head is definitely spinning at this point.  :)  

I am super excited for this next point in my life though and I cannot wait to see where things lead!

Interview #2!

I just got a call asking for a phone interview!  At the Frontier School District in Wolf Point, MT.  A huge change of pace from the super urban DC district.  Wow!

So excited but really nervous!  The only thing I know is that it is an interview committee that will be interviewing me over the phone (thank goodness!) and there will be time for questions from both sides!  Goodness.

The interview is in about 15 minutes and I will update to record the results!  Wish me luck!  :)

I am official!

I officially got my teaching certificate and diploma the other day so I am officially a college graduate AND certificated teacher!  Wow!  

It seems like that 5 years went by super fast!  Goodness.  

Checked off the list

Well I just got back from my whirlwind trip to the East Coast.  

As for the interview... it was terrible.  The lady interviewing me was really short with me, interrupted me while talking, rushed through the interview (another person came in the office about 3 minutes after we sat down and asked when we would be done, she looked at me and said, oh we are almost done here!), and basically acted like everything I said was wrong.  The whole time I was there I felt like the DC employees were really disorganized which was hard to handle because I kept getting interrupted by people walking in late, the interviewer texting and her phone going off.  Needless to say I was not that thrilled with the situation so it is definitely crossed off my list of potential places to work.  It was a good experience for me though to see a different side of the country and how their schools work.  Also, to be part of a real interview was nice as well, even though I felt like it went terribly.  :)

It was also kind of a bummer because when I got home I checked my email and had about 5 other emails saying that positions had been filled that I applied for, a.k.a I didn't get those jobs. :)  It is hard to think that I spent the time filling out the applications and really haven't heard from any school (aside from DC) but also with the economy the way it is, I really have not been thinking I will get a job since so many people with experience are being laid off.  It is one of those double edged swords.... schools say that they want people with experience, but how is a person to get experience if they aren't hired anywhere!  :)  

Subbing is likely going to be my ticket to some kind of experience and hopefully landing a long-term leave replacement.  Where to sub?  That is the question at this point!  I am trying to decide what to do in terms of my future: subbing alone?  Subbing and finishing my math (and potentially Spanish minor) and the reading endorsement at WWU?  Subbing and grad school?School alone?  Goodness!  Many options (which is a blessing!) but hard to have to keep switching gears all of the time.  :)  Only time will tell but I sure hope I know soon since it is half way through July already!  :)

The trip is booked

I officially have my interview on Wednesday at 11:30 EST in Washington, DC.  I booked my trip last night.  I am really excited because I wanted to go back to DC and visit, since the last time I was there was in 8th grade (10 years ago!), but it will be a super quick visit!  I am leaving Washington at 5:10 am on Tuesday and I will be back at 9 pm Thursday.  I know that I am there for business so I will not get to see everything that I want necessarily but I am making a list of things I want to see after my interview.  Since most museums and attractions close at 5 pm, I am not sure what I will do at night but I am sure that it is going to be a great trip with a lot of really good experiences, if nothing else.  

Now, my focus is on what to teach and getting ready for the lesson, case study discussion, and interview.  The lesson, I think, is my biggest focus since it takes up half of the interview time!  Some serious and intentional thought will have to go into this one!

Fast turn around

Well the phone interview was Wednesday and went awesome.  I was surprised how quickly it went by, but I guess it was only 15 minutes so that is a pretty short time period.  I was supposed to hear within 10 days if I made it through to the next "round" of interviews - the in person interview - but the interviewer told me right away that she was going to recommend me for the next interview.  That was super exciting to know that I made it through!  Also, a bit scary though because that means I would have to fly out to DC, teach a mini-lesson, and have a real interview!  :) 

So she told me that I would have an email within 3 days telling me the next directions.  Well, about 12 hours later I got my email!  It told me about the next steps, what to prepare for and expect during the interview, and who to contact to set up an interview time for the week of the 27th.  That was fine because that gave me about 2 weeks to prepare so I was okay with that.  

Well, it turns out they want me there Monday, Wednesday or Thursday!  Of next week!  That is less than a week away and I am not going to lie that that makes me a bit nervous!  I emailed back asking what times were available on Wednesday because at least that was mid-week.  So now I have a lot of planning and prep to do... including finding a hotel and flight over there.  :)  It is going to be a quick couple of days, especially since I have a wedding on Sunday and will leave on Tuesday.  Wow, this is all happening so quickly!

Interview Tomorrow

So, the phone interview is tomorrow and I am not going to lie... I am getting a bit nervous.  The benefits of a phone interview are that I don't have to get all dressed up and if I am looking flustered or anything the interviewers won't see that.  The scary part is that it is all on how well I can talk, so if I ramble it is not as good.  I feel like things are really up in the air.  

Also, since I haven't heard back from anyone else it is hard to know what to think. Are people looking?  Not looking?  Looking and not interested?  Ugh, not knowing is torture.  Plus, with the economy the way it is and so many teachers getting laid off, putting them higher in seniority than me, I keep wondering what other back up plans I am giving myself.  I realized that I have been spending an awful lot of time doing job applications but what am I going to do when I don't get a job?

Right now I see that I have two options.  

1. Sub for a year, potentially going back to school to finish off some classes.

2. Apply to grad school and start work on my Master's degree.  

Only time will tell I suppose!  But for now I need to concentrate on the interview tomorrow!

Another good quote

"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth."  Dan Rather

I just really liked this quote.  Seems appropriate for my current job search and career in general.  

Perfect

Happy 4th of July!

I just received an email from a teacher job website and part of the letter just seemed... well, perfect.  The letter said, "We challenge you to teach in a classroom where the potential is limitless and change is possible."

There is something about that part of the letter that I just really enjoyed.  At least part of it is that it is kind of why I have been looking at some more urban schools lately.  There is just so much potential for amazing things in those schools!  And though I am not saying one little person like me will solve all of the problems, it is a start.  A step in the right direction.  And while I cannot feasibly help and influence every student who needs the love and support that they do not get elsewhere, I can make a difference in the lives of those students I have in class and even in my school.  The support they get at school may be the difference between life and death, happiness and sorrow, the streets and something more!  I want to be that influence in the lives of the students who need it the most.  Help those children see their vast potential and motivate them to reach that potential.  Be something bigger and better than what is around them.

Reflection

In preparation for my interview (scheduled for July 8th!) I have been thinking a lot about potential interview questions I may be asked and reflecting on the things I have learned in my teacher prep courses.  I have also been reading up on classroom management procedures (Thank you Harry Wong!) and strategies to close the achievement gap in American schools.  I have been pouring over one question that until recently was a struggle for me to answer: "Why do I want to teach in a very urban school district?"  

For a while the reasons generally had to do with the "things to do" in the surrounding areas and the sight seeing that can be done, to be honest.  I know that might not be the right thing to think but that was my gut reaction.  Then I took a step back and told myself, "Wait!  You are not going there on a vacation... you will be living and working there!"  Then reality set in when I told a couple close friends that I got an interview for the DC schools and the replying text message I got in response said one word only, "Deathtrap".  Wow, thanks!  That is exactly what I want to hear in preparation for my interview... Not.

After reading several articles about urban schools (since that was not a topic we talked about in my teacher prep classes) I quickly realized that why I wanted to teach in an urban school is the same reason that I wanted to teach period.  

Many people that I went to school with wanted to teach in exactly the environment that they went to school in, which was largely suburban, middle class neighborhoods.  That is fantastic for those schools because they are given a plethora of teachers to choose from and hire to work in their schools.  However, what happens to rural and urban schools then?  Don't get me wrong, urban schools definitely have their share of problems: achievement gaps, violence, poverty, lack of resources for students and teachers, irrelevant content, students from very emotionally draining backgrounds, and more.  But then it hit me... why would I not want to teach in that environment?

It sounds weird to family and friends that I talk to when I come to that conclusion but that is the honest answer I feel in my heart.  Every day in education, teachers have the chance to make a difference in their students' lives.  That could be with the education they provide or a number of other things that students are not getting from outside of the classroom.  Suburban, rural and urban... that opportunity is there.  However, what better place to have a chance to make a real difference in the lives of others but in an urban school.  The students in those schools arguable need more support than other students because many of them do not receive the necessary support outside of the classroom.  Moreover, if there are those problems with the school district, what will be solved if educators turn their backs on the school to look for other places to work?  Nothing that I can see.  

I know that I have many hoops to jump through before I get a job, even when I already have an interview lined up.  To be honest, I am not getting my hopes up that the DC interview will lead to anything more than the initial phone call (first of 3 interviews) because there are a number of applicants.  All I can do is do my best to convey my passion and love for education and hope for the best.  When the job is the right fit for me, my ideals and enthusiasm will match up with the district and then I will know I have found it.  Until then, I can keep researching and learning more and more about the field I will hopefully soon enter, more prepared than ever. 

I have an interview!

I officially have a phone interview!  After scheduling to take 4 national exams (reading, writing and math general knowledge and elementary content exercises) during the month of July I am officially going to have my phone interview with DC Public Schools on July 8th or 9th.  I am really excited but not going to get my hopes up that I am for sure getting a job or anything.  This is just one interview out of three for DC schools.  Plus, since I am going to be doing a lot of research on the schools in the next week, something may make me change my mind.  Things are wide open at this point but very exciting that things are happening!  :)

Washington, D.C.!

Well I recently received news that I am tentatively accepted for a phone interview with the DC public schools!  SO SO SO excited!  However, I cannot schedule this interview until after I have completed the Praxis I tests and at least registered for the Praxis II content test.  I keep thinking, "Wow!  I am so excited to finally get an opportunity to have an interview!  But I have to pay like $225 to get that first of three interviews!"  The three Praxis I tests and the Praxis II tests will cost $225 in all.  Yikes!  But, it is an interview!  :)  I will have to decide what my plan of attack for this is, and quick.  It is already JULY!

West Coast vs East Coast

It is really interesting to compare the differences between the West coast of the country and the East coast of the country.  Besides the cultural and historical differences, the differences between the teacher prep programs are very different as well.

Throughout my time at WWU I was told that Washington State teacher prep (licensing and program requirements) were some of the strictest in the country so anywhere we wanted to get a job would be easy since the requirements would likely overlap.  Well that is true to some extent.  In terms of program requirements and internship and student teaching time, Washington state, or WWU at least, has one of the highest on the West coast.  And compared to other west coast or even midwest states, Washington has some of the most rigorous out there.

Then comes the hurdle of looking at work on the East Coast.  Then all of that talk falls apart.  :)  While Washington does have some great requirements for teachers that do overlap there is a lot of testing requirements that are not even looked at in Washington that many other states require.  The main one I am coming across is the Praxis series of testing.  East coast states require their students to complete a reading, writing, and math Praxis I tests before entering the teacher prep programs.  The nice thing about the Praxis I and II series of testing is that the tests are the same nationwide, and therefore transfer across without a hiccup.  Washington also has a test that covers reading, writing, and math that they use instead of the Praxis I series called the WEST-B.  The problem with this difference is that that test does not transfer outside of the state.  So, states like those on the East coast require three separate tests to be considered for employment.  AND then while Washington only requires one elementary content knowledge test to become certified in the state, East coast states require two content knowledge tests: one for content knowledge, and one for the application of that knowledge in classroom settings.  

In retrospect, I wish I had the foresight to look at other states when I was in school and had time to take the tests.  The Praxis I tests, luckily, are offered year-round by appointment so that will be easy enough to arrange.  However, the Praxis II tests are only offered during the academic year so I have to sit around and wait until September to take the other Praxis test if I am interested in choosing that option.  Decisions, decisions... but it does explain a lack of calls for employment!  :)