Things I Know For Sure...About Teaching...After 4 Months

Happy New Year's Eve!

Are you all running around in your sparkly dresses and heels looking for someone to kiss?  Suckas! NYE is for yoga pants, telecasted ball drops and dips. Lots and lots of dips. Oh and champagne!

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 As for New Year's kisses?

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I'm thinking this handsome boy will be my kiss!

Oh and these...

If you are going out have fun and be safe!  

Back to the main point of the blog post-what i know for sure. I'm sure Oprah's title and book is full of more valuable life hacks and tidbits of fantastic wisdom than you'll find on this bloggy, but I like her title so here goes!

As of tomorrow I will have been a teacher for 4 months. I teach 2nd and 3rd grade resource room. Saying I love my job is a gross understatement. I am beside myself with love for my job and my students. I can't imagine working anywhere else or doing anything else. In my 4 months I've learned a lot. I'm so lucky to have great mentors and people to help my out along the way.

Also on a semi-related note-THIS is a gem for teachers!  It's teachers' New Year's Resolutions!

Here are my few pearls of wisdom that I have gleaned along the very short pathway.  In honor of 2015, I have left you with 15!!  

1.) You will love your students more than anything. I never thought I would love anyone or anything as much as I love my students. I hope they succeed, I want them to be happy, I want them to always be appreciated, and never get hurt. I want them to be confident and proud of themselves. I want them one day to have a job that they love as much as I do. 

2.) Lakeshore will rip you off. I love Lakeshore as much as the next first year teacher. What with their primary colored walls, and nifty border patterns, and classroom accessories you couldn't have dreamt up in your wildest dreams, but after they wanted $300 for an easel I decided I could probably build one for under $25. So I did. I bought a clothes rack at this little French boutique called Target for $20. Then I bought Lakeshore anchor chart rings for $5. And for about a tenth of the Lakeshore price I have an easel!  P.S. Thanks to 10 years of working at a dance studio, I was able to build it myself.

My students did NOT believe I built this...

*Also, note the reindeer sweater.  This is as close to a dorky teacher Christmas sweater that I will ever wear.  It is also from LOFT and therefore negates the dorky teacher Christmas sweater stigma.  It is still festive, though.

3.)  You will feel incredibly guilty. About everything. About every modicum of your day. I usually arrive at work between 715 and 730. I usually leave around 5- a little earlier if I'm tutoring. Most days I come home feeling like I should still be at work. I should be grading something, prepping something else, reading a new article, scouring Pinterest for some fancy innovative method to teach multiplication with, or just scanning for new anchor texts to teach a concept. I feel immense guilt when I drive away from school and see teachers still avidly working away. I need to tell myself that it's ok. It's ok to drive away after spending 9-10 hours at work. It's ok to push away from your computer to eat lunch. It's ok if all of your lessons are not "Pinterest Worthy". It's ok if you count getting enough sleep as part of your job. Feeling guilt about not being able to attend friend functions in the middle of the week because you need sleep or a run or a Zumba is normal. It's all ok. As long as you are teaching your students and they are having fun, you're doing your job. We, as new teachers, need to give ourselves a break. We're new, we're not perfect and no one expects us to be. 

4.) Set up a retirement fund separate from your pension.  I want to be a crotchety old woman with a lot of money!  Someone has to pay for those Early Bird Diner Dinners!

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5.) Set up disability insurance. 

6.) Your attitude towards learning will become your students' attitude towards learning. Believe it or not, but skip counting and writing compare and contrast essays aren't exactly jazzy bursting with excitement activities, but guess what?  I sell them to my students like I am selling Manolo Blahniks toCarrie  Bradshaw.  I'm a big believer in fake it til you make it and if you fake loving these things, your students will do them so much better.  Think Buddy and the Mail Room.  If you don't get that reference, we can't be friends.  

7.) They do pay you to like kids. If you don't like kids you better get out now. 

8.) Some people will be easy to work with. Some will make your job difficult. Remember that smiling and tone of voice makes all the difference. You can't control or imagine what goes on in someone else's life or what comes out of their mouth, but you can control yours.  Choose wisely. 

9.) Always eat the baked goods on the teachers' lounge. 

10.) Start everyday with the same sentence, "Good morning!  I'm so glad you're here today!  I'm happy to see you!"  This might be the only time they hear this all day. This creates positive classroom culture and the kids will work harder for you if you genuinely love them and they know it. 

11.) Compliment them for everything. Build them up, praise them for the good, and genuinely mean it. Don't just say good job. Be creative!  

12.). Have a classroom mantra. Have hiur kids repeat it. We have 2:  Everyone gets what they need to succeed and It is tough, but I'm tougher.  Post these around your room. Mine are over the door. 

13.) Learn to be corrected by an 8 year old with grace. Trust me, this will happen a lot. If you show them it's natural to make mistakes, they will be more apt to take risks and not be upset when they are wrong. 

14.) Ask questions and don't be afraid to ask for help. You're new, I'm new, teaching is not a science, it's an art. There are a million ways to do it and do it well. Ask around and you'll become a better teacher. 

15.) Know your skill set and don't keep it to yourself. I am good with technology and SMARTBoards. I help the seasoned teachers learn about and incorporate their SMARTBoards into their lessons and in turn they give me advice and tips. It's give and take.

I hope you all have a Happy New Year!  I hope it is full of love, laughter, and sweets!

xoxo,

E

Sub Thoughts On Subbing

Hey Hey HEY!!

So while my student teaching is kicking in and four classes (weird days/hours that make it hard to have a "regular" job) I have been subbing.  Can I tell you a secret?  I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!  It's a three LOVE kinda affair!  I'm just so thrilled with this job!  I've always loved all of my past jobs (dance teacher/ballet teacher/babysitter/day care worker/tutor) subbing is just...different.  Since I was little I've wanted to be a teacher (ever since I realized that being a fairy princess with a unicorn BFF was no longer in my realm of career possibilities).  Subbing is all of the fun parts of teaching.  Here are a list of pros and cons that I have compiled after subbing for 2 weeks.

Pros

• The FUN parts about teaching-You get to perform!  You get to stand up in front of a class and just talk and be funny and silly and goofy and TEACH!  
• No lesson plans-As a Special Ed Master's student I have written my fair share of 12 page long lesson plans (To all of you non-Ed majors, I'd gladly take your weekly lab reports over a 12 page document detailing my every move).  
• Everyday is something new-Every day I have a new crop of kids, a new grade level, a new opportunity.  I have always said that 3rd-5th graders are "my people".  They get me, I get them, we just mesh.  However, I think it's important to try on all different types of teaching roles.  I eventually want to be a superintendent and I think that in order to be the boss (and be respected) you have to know how to do every one else's job.  You need to know the stresses, excitement, hardships, and challenges that every person on your staff faces.  I have subbed for gym, library, special ed, gen ed and I have found some things I like and dislike about all of them.  
• Being scared out of your mind-This is something that I like a lot.  There's a great quote that says, "All of the best things in life are just outside your comfort zone".  I think this is 100% true.  I went into subbing more scared than I have ever been in my life!  (Even more than when a cat scared me at the beach...or the dark...shuddering.right.now.)  I love being scared and I think that you grow best once you've been scared and learned how to deal with your fear and channel it into positivity.  
• You get to hone your skillz-You can really werrrrrk your hard and long learned teaching skills on the main stage.  You're rolling with the big girls now!  You have 25-30 sets of eyes looking right at you, waiting for you to fill their brains with knowledge, and maybe some laughs...if your lucky!
• I can pick my schedule-If I have a busy school week coming up I can opt out of working one day to finish up some stuff/work on a paper/write a lesson plan.
• TEACHER CLOTHES-I love teacher clothes!  I get to dress up (a personal fav activity) everyday for work!  On a non-shallow side of this, it's hard to get 26 kids to respect a newbie, young, blonde sub.  But dressing the part makes it easier.  You can't wear jeans and a sweatshirt and sneaks and think that the kids will see you as a real teacher...THEY WON'T.  You need to be conservative but still cute and as always...CLASSY<3

Cons

• Every day you go in cold-As an ed major we have multiple weeks, months, days to prepare a lesson plan.  We can scrutinize, debate, discuss, research, pin :) every angle and detail to ensure that it is perfect.  Subbing is not this way AT ALL!  Every day you walk in not knowing your kids, their goals, behaviors, IEPs, challenges, learning styles, aides, co-teachers, likes, dislikes, life, background, and how they learn.  It's also hard because you don't know the plans.  You don't know where materials are, what the students are allowed and not allowed to do.  
• Morning phone calls-Every day I get (or don't get) a phone call at 6:30.  I have to answer the phone in a professional manner (not groggy grouchy Curmudgeon Erin) and remember the information the sub caller gives me.  Today I got a call when I was at spinning...at 6:13.  My spin instructor was none too thrilled with me for leaving to answer the phone.
• Disrespect-some kids (only one day thank GOD) just don't care.  Some kids are not going to listen no matter what you do or how many privileges you give them.  It's hard work.
• A lot of work-You need to figure out all of the duties, locks, behavior management, personalities, bathroom breaks (only lunch and prep), floor plans of the schools on the fly.  
• Not knowing anyone-Usually I stay in my classroom for lunch because I don't know anyone.  I end up doing homework, reading, or most likely prepping for the afternoon classes.  At TCNJ I have lunch with my fellow SPEDs and we talk about everything and laugh and really enjoy ourselves.  I'm just not sure how to walk into a teacher's lounge and sit down and be like, "Hey...I'm Erin the sub..."  So for now I'm gonna lone wolf it up!  I also enjoy the quiet alone time...peace and zen, peace and zen.

Moral of the story?  Subbing is harder than it looks!  It is the most fun I've ever had at a job!  I like the fear of the unknown and the joy of working with kids and I love practicing being a teacher.  I think this is preparing me for my future life of student teaching and my future profession.  Below are some of my constructed Teacher Erin Outfits!

First Day of Subbing!
*Jean Jacket-LOFT
*White Tee-Target
*Crops-Gap
*Tan Flats-Target
*Earrings-Loft
*Watch-Michael Kors
*Infinity Ring-Tiffanys
*Scarf-Target (It was Patriot Day)

Day Four
(please forgive the scrunch hair...I had one hour to go from Schweaty Spinner to Sub :))
*Sweater-LOFT
*Pink Tee-LOFT
*Jeans-Gap
*Sperry's-Lord & Taylor
*Watch-Michael Kors
*Infinity Ring-Tiffanys
*Ball Earrings-Tiffanys

My outfit yesterday was tres fab and Jackie inspired...but...no one was home to take my pic and I didn't wanna be a selfie girl at subbing, so I didn't get to take it :(

Happy Weekend ya'll,

Erin