I started working at New Village this week! I am soooo happy! My colleagues are really amazing people, and I just love our Principal. He’s a really good person, and it’s so clear that he is not only great at his job, but loves it! This week was staff development week. We had 5 busy days of discussions, games, brainstorms, readings, planning, and getting-to-know you sessions. I feel a great amount of support and care from my fellow teachers, and I am looking forward to getting to know them even more over time.
So, here’s what I took out of this week that I need to focus on a bit:
1. My students will probably not trust me or even like me until they see me return next year. They have had many people in their lives abandon them, and until they see me come back, they will not be so sure they can trust me.
2. My students will test me – test my patience, test my willingness to share information, test my ability to teach them, etc. I have to be ready to handle all their questions with calm, dignified, caring, appropriate responses.
3. I will be teaching Algebra, Geometry, and Pre-Algebra. Many of my girls (students – all girls’ school) will need review of basic math functions, but some will be at Algebra II level. I have a lot of lesson planning to do!
4. We are teaching in block scheduling and I will also have an Advisory class. My advisory will likely be 9th or 10th graders, and I will be preparing them for internships and projects for their portfolio. This is a big-picture transitional school. I will have a lot of opportunity to motivate and influence them in positive ways – about life and the working world.
5. My classroom doesn’t have any windows and only one door. It’s a smaller classroom, but I am not sharing it with anyone else; so, I will get to decorate it with math and fun projects my students create! I am very excited about having a dedicated space to create a comfortable learning environment!
6. I expect my students to be very withdrawn at first, but I hope they get more involved as they see that I truly mean to help them learn and care about them. I am concerned about looking so young and so “out of place;” however, I hope they will be able to relate to me in some ways. Just like them, once I was 16, I was responsible for my own education without anyone pushing me to get good grades. It was all up to me!
7. I need to break up the blocks with small pick-me-up games. The girls are competitive, so games will help raise their energy level and make math seem less overbearing.
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Next week: lesson planning, studying for my CSET II (Geometry), then going to see Cracker & Camper Van Beethoven at the Echoplex in Echo Park (right by my work). They play on Thursday. On Friday, I leave for Pioneertown for the Camp-Out! I can’t wait to see my fellow Crumbs! I am soooo excited. What a great way to start the school year – hanging out with my extended family and enjoying great music, great scenery, and great vibes together!