My life as a teacher post

I've decided to start labeling the titles of the posts that involve me rambling, ranting or raving about teaching, so that should you so choose to ignore my exciting adventures as a teacher, you will know when those posts come up (did that sentence even make sense?).

I realize that I haven't been a teacher for very long.  And that technically, I haven't had all the training required for it yet either.  However, in being a sort-of half-teacher for a whole year and having much experience observing how teachers work, I feel fairly prepared for being the real deal now.  I know it's only the end of the fourth week, but I feel like I need to dispel a few myths.... mainly because I've been thinking about these issues for a while.  In no specific order, here goes:

1.  Teachers work hard.  And we don't get paid enough.  Ok. So maybe that's fairly well-known, but it's still true.

2.  Charter schools teach the same types of kids as regular public schools.  This is one of the things that bug me the most- when people find out that I work in a charter school they're like, "Oh.  Well, all your kids are really smart and really good, so your job isn't as hard as if you worked in public schools."  Wrong.  Charter schools are public.  They get government funding- less even than public schools.  And they do not "pick and choose" the students who attend.  Most charter schools are filled by lottery.  Pick 'em out of a hat.  Literally. So no.  I do not have angel children in my class.  Far from it.

3.  I wish I could just do the first week of school over and over.  I'm very good at setting up ground rules and working on procedures and such.  It's now, deeper into the teaching material, when it becomes harder for me as a first year teacher.  I don't necessarily know all the material I'm teaching yet, which means I have more homework than my students every night.

4.  I'm just taking it a day at a time.

5.  Schools may not be the most professional work environments, but we try our best to be confidential and to keep business where it needs to be.  Yes, there are coworkers who vent and moan and groan and complain all around about some children and their behavior.  BUT, that is true of any job.  There will always be people who complain and gossip.  Teachers do not have the monopoly on griping.  And the majority of us would rather find solutions.  And knowing about how your child behaves in other classes will help the teachers find those solutions.  So being afraid of your child being "gossiped about" shouldn't be a problem.  I (and a lot of teachers I know) don't talk about those ADD kids because we just feel like it.  We're trying to find answers and find the best way to teach them.

6.  Sometimes, teachers know more about the students than the parents do.  We know when your kid has attention problems.  We know when they are having stressful times at home.  We know a lot.  Which can be sad.

7.  I already love the kids I teach so much.  I have already cried because they make me so happy.  Those happy times are not when I'm actually teaching.  It's when I'm just observing--- not focusing on Dan jumping in his seat, or Aaron picking his nose or Annie whispering to her neighbor--- when I look at them and see how awesome they are.

8.  The school I teach at is not as weird as you may think.  It's not a military school.  It's not rote memorization.  We have structure.  And we teach kids how to be smart.  Isn't that what most parents want from their kids?  Come observe.  You'll feel a difference.

9.  I may feel like I complain a lot.  I may also feel like I judge a lot.  But I've learned that I am more positive than I think.  There are some people who live to complain about everything.  I vent and try to move on.  Sometimes my vent is long lived.  I'm not perfect.  But still.  I'm sick of listening to complaints.

10.  My partner teacher in the sixth grade is boring.  Bless him.

11.  I still want to teach History instead of Science.

12.  This last week has been the hardest.  Hopefully it gets easier?  We'll see.

And that is my rant.  For now.  More to come, I'm sure.

Week 1. Check.

So I survived.  The first five days were pretty close to how I imagined them going.  No- the children did not sit with rapt attention, obeying my every whim and instantly memorizing all the information I gave them (which was how it happened in my dreams).  Yes, I woke up at least four times every night this week which made me very tired.  Yes, my hips and knees ached after the first day of standing/walking/running around all day.  But overall, I think it went well.  I think the kids are so good- with a few exceptions, of course- and hopefully I can be a good teacher to them.

Josh had his first week of classes as well.  Dance 260 included. ;)  The goal is to graduate in April! Hooray!

We're just glad there is a long weekend now.  It's been a while since we've been so productive.  Wish us luck for week 2!

P.S.  Everything worked out with all the licensing stuff.  Just like everyone told me it would.  Still- that was some extra stress in my life that I could have gone without.  

Fine Art?

I've recently been told that my major, Art History, cannot be transferred over to Social Studies credit.  For BYU generals it could.  But other education systems such as the ARL program consider Art History to be a "fine art."

Ok.  Technically, it is.

But that doesn't mean that I don't know history.  Or geography.  What is it about Art History that makes me unable to teach elementary students the basic history of the world?  I know more history than most people.  No- I don't know specifics of the economic output of new world colonial slaves, or the details of the Portuguese' initial domination of the shipping and trade relations in the Indian Ocean during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.  My schooling focused more on the art made, and the political, social and economic influences that were part of that.  But I know history.  And my travel experience has covered 5 of the 7 continents.  I know where the countries are.

But really.  Am I not qualified to teach basic world history/geography to sixth graders?

According to the ARL family, I am not.

They're fine with me not having a single math class in eight years, but tell me I need to take just one more History class to qualify.

Awesome.

Some reasons why

After I wrote my homebody post, I was surfing the facebook and catching up on my blogstalking when I decided I miss Josh.  He left while we were in Krakow (again- I will post about tour soon!), which left me with two weeks in Europe without him.  Then, he started a job at a boys camp this week, which meant he was not home when I got back. Sad face.  Two weeks in Europe and two weeks at camp is four weeks too long.  This is only the third time we've been apart since our perfect wedding.  I hate it.  Yes. I'm a wuss when it comes to being apart from him.  I admit it freely.  Even the one night in St. George without him was not a happy night.  I don't care if it's one night or a year of nights.  I don't like being away from him.  Judge me if you will, but that is how I feel.

So.  Stop reading now if you don't want to read my mushy list of reasons why I love and miss the handsome Joshua.  I warned you.

Why I love/miss Joshua Daniel Park:

-  Sleeping in the same bed.  Yes, I used to wake up a lot when we were first married.  Being elbowed in the face is not the most relaxing way to sleep.  But I would like an elbow in the face when I get to see him again.

-  Cuddling.  He doesn't think his shoulder is comfortable, but I do.

-  Kisses on the forehead.

-  His constant concern for my well-being.  I probably take advantage of that too much.

-  His comfort when I am stressed or hormonal.

-  His toasted sandwiches.  The best.

-  Holding hands.

-  His perspective on everything.  I don't always want the big picture, but sometimes it is really nice that he doesn't get caught up in little things like I do.

-  His handsome face and hot bod.

-  Talking.  About anything and everything.  I want his opinion on everything.

-  Having a sushi-eating buddy.

-  His ability to figure out and fix things.  So manly.

-  He loves me.

I miss his confidence in me.  I miss watching him do his hair in the morning.  I miss his voice.  I miss the way he looks at me.  I miss watching movies with him.  I miss his arms around me.   I just miss being around him. I wish he could have been the one to pick me up from the airport.  I wish I didn't have to wait til Saturday night to see him.  I wish we didn't have to be apart.

That's all.  

Home

I am a homebody.  I admit it freely.  I love being at home.  Going out is nice.  I like doing things, don't get me wrong.  But I love being at home.  I love coming home.

Tour was awesome.  I love love traveling.  I loved visiting my parents.  I love dancing in festivals.  But I was ready to come home.  And before I post about our exciting adventures in Europe, I want to list (as is my favorite way of describing life) the reasons I love being home, and a few reasons why I don't like being home, because not everything is always positive (as much as I wish it would be, or that I could make it so).

Why I love being home:

-  Feeling safe to sit on my toilet.

-  Feeling safe to walk in bare feet.

-  Washing clothes in a washer and not having to wash my unmentionables by hand in the sink.  Worst part of traveling, for sure.

-  Sleeping in my own bed, without worrying about the thousands of people who have slept in it before me.

-  Showering.

-  Jet lag.  I don't have to worry about falling asleep when I lay down.  It's like I'm already asleep before my head hits the pillow.

-  Air conditioning.

-  My hippo pillow, Rupert.  It's been a while since I've slept with him.

-  The food- All I want to eat is cereal and salad.  It'll be a while before I eat potatoes again.

-  Having a comfortable place to get healthy again.  Cold + Salmonella = Not a happy traveler.

-  Internet.

-  Phone service.

-  Unpacking all my souvenirs and figuring out where to put them.

-  Wearing clothes that haven't been packed in a suitcase for a month.

-  Driving my own car.

-  Deciding my own schedule.

Why I don't love being home (especially right now):

-  Coming back to real life and all the stresses and demands that come with it.  Especially now that I am a real adult (meaning, not a full-time student), it's hard to want to work.

-  Jet lag.  I want to sleep all day and stay up all night.

-  Having no husband with me.  :(  Josh is up at a boys camp in Oakley.  He has another week and a half before he comes home.  I never want to go this long without him again.  Ever.

-  Laundry.

-  Unpacking.

-  Cleaning the mess I left before tour.  I always hope it'll be magically clean when I get back.

-  Cleaning up what has happened since I left.

-  Trying to catch up on all the things I need to do, that I could have done, had I not left in the first place.

- No oreos for me when I came home. :(

I'll admit, there are many other things.  But I am a little comatose from traveling home- taking over 24 hours to get from Warsaw to Salt Lake is not the easiest thing to do and be able to function the next day.  I'm sure I'll mention more.  I'll also hide some others.  But for now, just know that I am happy, and stressed to be home.  It'll be an interesting month.

I'm done.

Let's forget the fact that I'm sick in the middle of summer.  Let's also forget the panic attack I had on Saturday. Let's just forget that the air conditioner is broken and the house is 89 degrees inside.  Let's forget that there are boxes piled in 70% of the house.  Just forget the weeds that are taking over the yard.  Don't look at the pile of laundry that hasn't been put away in a month.  Let's just forget all of that and remember that there are only three more days left of school.  And two of those are half days.  So it's really only two days left.  And one of those days is a field day.  So it's kind of like there's only one day left.

One day.

Things I have learned

I still have four more days to babysit, ahem, teach until school is out. Finally.  I came home early today because I am, yet again, sick.  Lovely.  But as the year comes to a close and I prepare for the new start in the Fall, I have decided to make a list of things I have learned in my first year teaching.... well, "instructing." Not in any particular order:

-  Teaching for 8 hours a day is hard.  Now- I thought I knew this before.  I've taught dance and swimming before, and those things were hard.  It's hard to leave your personal life behind when you teach.  But it's even harder when you teach full time.  There's truly no way (that I know of as yet) to really leave your personal feelings at the door.  I'm thinking that I will need to have some kind of reminder next year...

-   Teaching is fun.  I really do like standing at the board in front of those kids, pretending I know everything there is to know about anything: astronomy, grammar, you name it.  It can be very fun to teach things you don't know very well yourself.

-  Bribing children with candy is totally acceptable.  Sometimes that is the only way to get them to work.

-   Teaching from your desk is not an effective way to help the kids learn.  Especially when there's a phone in your hand.

-   It will always seem like every other teacher has everything together, is positive and successful with every child, and never gets angry.  But I am always doing better than I think (even when I come out of Math, shaking with frustration), at least I hope I'm doing better than I think.

-  Even with direct instruction, kids will find a way to space out.

-  Kids assume the darndest things about you.  Like little Johnny (not his real name), who thinks me and Ms. Cooke are best friends.  We are good friends.  Good work friends.  Only seen at work, though.  Besties for life.

-  Some children just don't get it.

-  Some do.

-  Being positive is always the best option.  Even when you're dying inside from various situations, being positive will always make it easier.

-  Someone else will always outdo your drama.  It makes me grateful for the simple life I have right now.  Hopefully it will always stay this way (wishful thinking?)  My drama is never as bad as others' (except for that one time.  I can't provide details, however, I provided endless entertainment for my coworkers for a couple weeks on some of my drama and complaining).

-  Waking up early gets easier with practice.  Look at me! I'm an adult!

-  Having an adult conversation is something I crave after being around kids all day.

-  Classroom management must start out uber-strict.  Or else the kids walk all over you.  You can lighten up after Christmas.

-  Even with a picture of you and your husband hanging by your desk, and your nametag saying "Mrs.", kids will still not know you are married.

-  Kids who wear uniforms judge what their teachers wear everyday.  "Cute outfit, Mrs. Park."  If I don't get a compliment, I know I've done something wrong.

-  Non-work-related emails will sit in the inbox for almost a week before I have time or energy to open them.

-  There are politics everywhere.

-  You need a strong immune system to be a teacher of snivelchiddlers.

-  Some of the kids who drive you the most crazy, end up being the ones you care about the most.

Just some of things I've learned.  There's much more, I'm sure.  But for now, this list will suffice.  I've learned many things to do, and many things not to do.  It's been a long year.  I hope I get all the suck-ups next year. I can't handle class clowns.