I survived my first year of teaching!

[Catshrink]

It was full of ups and downs, but hey, I survived! The cool part is, I get to learn from some of my mistakes and bury some other mistakes --- and start over next year.

[gristy]

1. That's wonderful, catshrink.

You have my admiration and thanks.

[Catshrink]

4. Thanks!

It was a great year -- but I'm so glad it's over!

[cjbuchanan]

2. Good for you

Hope you enjoy your Summer.

[Catshrink]

5. Oh yeah....

My house is an absolute mess. I have a list of projects that has no end....

1. paint the living room.

2. repaint the bathroom.

3. new light fixtures in both bathrooms and the hallway.

4. organize lesson plans and other school stuff

5. list junk I no longer need on ebay.

and on and on....

Today, I'm painting the bathroom ceiling. I bought a gallon of Glidden's new ceiling paint. It goes on pink and dries white. I'm going to watch paint dry this weekend.

[teach1st]

3. Way to go!

Willingness to learn and to roll with the punches is key. It does get better and easier.

[Catshrink]

6. Thanks!

Yep -- modify and adjust, right? I sure learned that one -- very quickly and very well!

I know next year will be better and easier -- much of the work is done already, I know how to prevent certain issues, I know the kids and school procedures.

I put this off for 20 years and I am so happy I got off my duff to do it!

[m-jean03]

7. What grade(s) do you teach?

Glad you survived! :hi:

[Catshrink]

8. I teach HS science -- 9th - 12th grades this year`

next year it will be predominantly 10th graders.

[Champ]

13. What HS?

I may know some people depending on what HS.

[Catshrink]

14. I'll PM you

[playahata1]

9. What level do you teach?

Elementary? Secondary? College?

I am a college professor, and believe me, the first year is the roughest. And you are right: you do learn a lot, so you will know what to do and what not to do the next go-around. Here's to you. Peace.

[Catshrink]

11. HS

Everyone told me the first year was the worst -- and I survived! I know it will get easier. I told my students that I learned more than they did this year.

Thanks!

[Maestro]

10. Congratulations!!!!!

I have been teaching for 13 years now. I really enjoy it. I hope you will too.

[Catshrink]

12. I did love it!

There were days I was incredibly discouraged and others when I was absolutely elated.

Some of the most difficult things happened between classes or before/after school. A girl showed me her wrists which were red and scraped. She told me she'd done it with her nails and I asked why she was hurting herself. She was practicing for slitting her wrist over the weekend. The school social worker had her and her mom in her office within 30 minutes. The parents are divorcing and the girl was crying out for help.

I made several referrals, some as serious as the one above. Some of the things these kids are going through is heartbreaking. I'm sure you've seen many instances of this kind of thing.

[Maestro]

15. Yes, this year I had one girl

who is the sweetest little thing and very smart, but started struggling with grades about mid-year. Turns out her real mom had just gotten out of jail and was trying to turn her against her father who has full custody of the children. She was torn between two parents. She would cry telling me that she didn't want to go home because her stepmom beat her (it was a lie that she began to believe because of the real mom), her grades dropped, etc...The counselor at my school, the parents, the kids, and myself all sat down one day and worked things out. She ended up doing very well this year. And I am not done with the family. I'll have her little brother next year.

[Catshrink]

16. I was so surprised/amazed/weirded out/"honored"

to be the adult some kids chose to confide in. The relationships with kids were the most interesting and challenging part of the job. Some of them I bonded with right away and some were my worst nightmare all year long. I came to respect and care for all of them to varying degrees.

I made an effort to reach out to the "odd" students, those that didn't quite fit into the jock crowd, the social crowd, the student government crowd, and other cliques. I was one of those students and remember how it felt. One in particular had D's and F's in all her other classes -- but pulled a B in chemistry. Another freshman was failing horribly until we had a chat. She worked her butt off after that and pulled herself up from a certain F to a well-earned D+ (which I converted to a C- because she was so close).

These are the real lessons for me this year -- chemistry shimistry, anyone could teach it. The relationships with the kids are the most important part of teaching. So, yeah, I discovered that all that trite bullshit about making a difference in kids' lives is indeed reality.