my first two days of being a teacher
In order to prepare you for my experience of the first two days of teaching, I am putting my new banner here (in case you have not yet seen it).
First period, which also serves as homeroom:
Only 16 students. God bless the ESOL program. Having only 16 kids is not only good for me, but it is also crucial since I'm the only one who speaks English. And I'll stay the only one who speaks English, unless I teach it to them, because there are only about four who actually understand what I'm saying. Then there are about eight who vary in understanding, mostly ranging from understanding no words to understanding only the things I put in very basic terms. Of course, there are about four more who don't understand a word I say. No matter how I put it. And the small amount of Spanish I remember from high school and college classes come in handy about 3% of the time, especially considering 4 of the kids speak Portuguese and 3 speak Creole. Fortunately, the kids who know the least English and the ones who know the most English all speak Spanish. They help each other out a lot.
Second period:
My only advanced class, and boy does it show. They all come in and start doing their work and don't talk and don't do anything else wrong. And there's only 23 of them, which is also nice.
Lunch is at 9:55 am. I know I'm not the only one who thinks that's insane.
Third period:
My only non-ESOL, non-advanced class. Today we had 34 kids. Which is way too many when you have one child who talks and/or sings all period, and 33 others who talk to each other at least half the period. Fun fun. Although I was able to teach them the components that make up a complete sentence. I guess. I don't know yet how well they can apply that to real life.
Fourth and fifth periods:
Higher-level ESOL kids mixed with (I'm guessing) lower-level English-speaking kids. Once class is at 25 and the other is at 18. Not too bad, except today I got a new boy in fifth that has to be in the spotlight at all times. And a girl with an attitude problem, although she's pretty bright.
So we'll see how the rest of the week progresses. I'm so tired. People don't realize that teachers work about 11-12 hours per day at the school, then another 1-2 hours at home. Most of the time is spent planningand/or preparing. And I'm not just talking about me. The teachers who have been teaching for 20 years are at the school during non-school-hours just as much as I am.
Okay, I've written enough for today. Stay tuned as the saga continues�
I can't believe - 11.22.2006
life sucks - 11.19.2006
alone and unhappy - 11.14.2006
please don't let it end - 10.15.2006
nothing to wear - 08.28.2006
Today I feel
Everyone else feels