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Post by elaine on Aug 27, 2022 13:11:14 GMT
How’s everyone doing? Week 1 is in the books! Woo-hoo! I am going to learn an incredible amount this year - probably more than the students. 3rd grade is turning out to be a blast! They have boundless energy. My biggest challenge will be that 3 of my 21 students know almost no English and all speak different languages in the home.
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Post by Merge on Aug 27, 2022 13:20:59 GMT
Yay! Good for you. I’m always amazed at how quickly young kids learn English when they get here. And third grade is super fun.
I liked my first week of a compressed schedule. It will keep me on my toes, but that’s good. Having K-2 for only 30 minutes each week means I spend every second teaching and no time basically warehousing kids so their teachers can have a full planning period. I like not having to be there until 8 or later, and getting to leave at 2:30 or earlier depending on the day.
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Post by freecharlie on Aug 27, 2022 13:40:08 GMT
I just went back. No kids until Sept. I loved being back with my co workers, but our building isn't done and will not be done completely by the time the students are back, I don't have enough time to get schedules changed for kids that need schedules changed, and incoming IEPs are a hot mess. I hope to get it all (except the building) sorted out by opening day
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ddly
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,947
Jul 10, 2014 19:36:28 GMT
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Post by ddly on Aug 27, 2022 13:49:51 GMT
First week of inservice done. Freshman Tuesday and all students Wednesday. I have not done much planning because Sped takes all our free time for scheduling, getting IEPs for teachers and other paperwork. We have almost doubles the number of IEP students since last year and only got a .5 staff. No one wants to teach! We were lucky to find 2 additional para educators so that will help. We have been struggling to schedule one block because we don’t have enough staff.
Our admin has been very gracious about giving teachers at least a half day of free time each day. I’m excited for the kids to come! I like them so much better than this crap! LOL
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TankTop
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1,871
Posts: 4,772
Location: On the couch...
Jun 28, 2014 1:52:46 GMT
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Post by TankTop on Aug 27, 2022 14:02:40 GMT
I have been back with kids for 3 1/2 weeks. This is year 21 for me.
I am not going to sugar coat it… this year has been my worst so far. I have 1 student who is a total game changer. It is so hard to teach when behavior is taking all of your energy and you are on high alert in order to keep the other students safe. Yesterday alone I had to call for backup 3 times and had 7 reports to complete by the end of the day due to game changer. 30 minute prep was not enough to complete those reports.
I have general behaviors on top of the game changer. I am qualified to address those issues, but there is not enough of me to go around. I feel like I am failing all of my kids because I am so bogged down with one student.
I just hope my kids are not seeing what I am feeling on the inside. 😢
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Post by leannec on Aug 27, 2022 14:07:00 GMT
I've been back for a week and a half ... a week with students ... Last year my grade 7 classes were the most difficult I had ever experienced in my long career ... my grade 7's this year are completely different! My classes are bigger than usual though ... I usually have about 23 and now I have about 29 ... we really need a fifth grade 7 class but I don't know if that will happen. My days are super busy! I have a grade 7 team member who is gung ho to try all of these new things and a lot of it is more challenging than what our kids are ready for ... he is accustomed to teaching grade 9 ... he'll learn. LOTS of meetings! I have to phone home to all of my Homeroom families on Monday ... Have to do testing for ELL levels soon ... File review of students of concern ... It goes on and on ... sigh!
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Post by elaine on Aug 27, 2022 14:33:18 GMT
I have been back with kids for 3 1/2 weeks. This is year 21 for me. I am not going to sugar coat it… this year has been my worst so far. I have 1 student who is a total game changer. It is so hard to teach when behavior is taking all of your energy and you are on high alert in order to keep the other students safe. Yesterday alone I had to call for backup 3 times and had 7 reports to complete by the end of the day due to game changer. 30 minute prep was not enough to complete those reports. I have general behaviors on top of the game changer. I am qualified to address those issues, but there is not enough of me to go around. I feel like I am failing all of my kids because I am so bogged down with one student. I just hope my kids are not seeing what I am feeling on the inside. 😢 (((Hugs))) That sounds awful. It also sounds like a Gen Ed environment may not be the LRE that allows him/her to access the curriculum. It certainly is impacting your ability to teach and therefore the rest of the students’ abilities to learn. ☹️ I hope that your administration supports you in this.
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Post by Merge on Aug 27, 2022 14:34:07 GMT
I have been back with kids for 3 1/2 weeks. This is year 21 for me. I am not going to sugar coat it… this year has been my worst so far. I have 1 student who is a total game changer. It is so hard to teach when behavior is taking all of your energy and you are on high alert in order to keep the other students safe. Yesterday alone I had to call for backup 3 times and had 7 reports to complete by the end of the day due to game changer. 30 minute prep was not enough to complete those reports. I have general behaviors on top of the game changer. I am qualified to address those issues, but there is not enough of me to go around. I feel like I am failing all of my kids because I am so bogged down with one student. I just hope my kids are not seeing what I am feeling on the inside. 😢 Is this child being referred for services? One of our first grade classes has a similar child this year. The process to get them into a more appropriate setting is long.
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johnnysmom
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,682
Jun 25, 2014 21:16:33 GMT
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Post by johnnysmom on Aug 27, 2022 14:39:37 GMT
I’m exhausted and the kids haven’t even come back yet (they return Monday)
In a building with 250 students this year we lost: Principal (replaced by someone w/o any principal experience) 5 classroom teachers (2 brand spanking new teachers, 2 long term subs) 1 specials teacher (long term sub, 2 classes away from being done with his degree) Literacy coach School counselor (unfilled )
Everyone is coming to me with their questions. I’m making decisions and changes I should not be making (I run them past the principal but she just agrees with whatever I suggest), she has an almost constant dazed look bc she’s so overwhelmed. I think she’ll be great with the kids (I was on the interview committee) but she has zero building management experience. On the upside (I guess)….I’ve never seen the principal’s office so clean and nicely decorated 😆, no one has ever had time to clean out file cabinets and such but she has 🤷🏻♀️
This year is gonna be one helluva ride, that’s for sure.
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Post by Skellinton on Aug 27, 2022 14:43:35 GMT
We just went back to our room last week. We don't have kids yet.
We got rid of a ton of stuff we will not be using which was nice and got our classroom organized which we have not been able to do since pre COVID due to having to move the past two summers out of our space and not having access to our classroom before school starts, It was heavenly. Next week is when we actually get to get the room ready for the children and they start at the end of the week. Excited to see the kids that are coming back and that we've not seen all summer and excited to meet our new students as well.
One thing that will be very different in all my years are teaching Pre-K is that Our class list is stable day to day. Previous years we have had lots of kids come 3 days a week. Sometimes it's Monday, Tuesday, Friday. Some kids were Monday, Wednesday, Friday some kids were Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. So each day we had a different group of children and some children never saw other children in our class. this year everyone signed up for all 5 days, so that it's very nice. It will make some things much easier for us, but it also could be that two kids that should never see each other will be together everyday. We will see how it goes, but I'm actually kind of looking forward to it overall. It will definitely make planning easier. There are lots of things we've wanted to do in the past that required 2 or more days to complete and this will be much much easier to manage.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 27, 2022 14:47:54 GMT
TankTop(((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))
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dexter
Full Member
Posts: 233
Nov 28, 2016 15:57:15 GMT
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Post by dexter on Aug 27, 2022 15:12:56 GMT
4 student days in and this year is going to be a doozy. I have a very small class, but 85% of the students have already been red flagged for concerns, most of them major. Not really sure how I am going to survive this one. And I have a student teacher and I just feel awful for her - this experience wont be the one she bargained for!
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Post by leannec on Aug 27, 2022 15:15:26 GMT
I have general behaviors on top of the game changer. I am qualified to address those issues, but there is not enough of me to go around. I feel like I am failing all of my kids because I am so bogged down with one student. This was my experience last year ... I ended up going on a leave of absence because my health suffered so much ... it was a complete nightmare. I hope you are able to get some support ... Hugs to you!
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artbabe
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,034
Jun 26, 2014 1:59:10 GMT
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Post by artbabe on Aug 27, 2022 15:52:06 GMT
I'm always shocked that some districts have teachers come in a week (or weeks) before school starts. We are only required to be there the two days before school.
So this Monday was meetings, Tuesday was getting ready, and the kids came Wednesday.
I have 8th graders right now. I taught 90% of them last year so I already know personalities. This was an extremely hard group last year and there has been no honeymoon period this year- I had problems with several students the first day. I am going to have to start sending emails home and giving detentions next week. I usually have a pretty decent handle on classroom management and can do it in a positive way but these kids have no boundaries and I need to put the hammer down before this gets completely out of hand.
That being said, there are so many completely lovely kids- sometimes it is hard to remember that when the handful of challenging ones get in the way.
Two good things:
I got new tables and chairs after begging for 20 years. They are fantastic but I need to do paint next week and I have no idea how to protect them. People don't even get newspapers anymore. My old tables were a wreck and I didn't care if they got stuff on them but these are so nice I want to keep them perfect.
The other good thing is we got a grant for a special counselor that deals solely with student issues. I guess we only get her for two years but it is super nice already. Teachers are always begging for more nurses, social workers, psychologists, and counselors. So many of the kids have special issues in their lives that impact their education and unfortunately there is not enough time in the day for teachers to meet these needs. I think this is the thing I'm most excited about this year.
Also: we are going on the 8th grade trip to DC this spring! I've missed going so much- I have gone for over ten years pre-covid.
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Post by annie on Aug 27, 2022 15:52:36 GMT
Congrats on a successful first week, Elaine! Next week will be hectic. Open House Tuesday, kids return Thursday. My class size is growing. 23 Kindergarteners - 5 with special needs. Our school cut from 4 teachers at each grade level down to 3 this year. Class sizes across the building are rising - some have 28 students. I feel very stressed for all of us. (((hugs))) to you, TankTop. I have been there and it sucks.
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Post by Skellinton on Aug 27, 2022 16:21:49 GMT
I'm always shocked that some districts have teachers come in a week (or weeks) before school starts. We are only required to be there the two days before school. So this Monday was meetings, Tuesday was getting ready, and the kids came Wednesday. I have 8th graders right now. I taught 90% of them last year so I already know personalities. This was an extremely hard group last year and there has been no honeymoon period this year- I had problems with several students the first day. I am going to have to start sending emails home and giving detentions next week. I usually have a pretty decent handle on classroom management and can do it in a positive way but these kids have no boundaries and I need to put the hammer down before this gets completely out of hand. That being said, there are so many completely lovely kids- sometimes it is hard to remember that when the handful of challenging ones get in the way. Two good things: I got new tables and chairs after begging for 20 years. They are fantastic but I need to do paint next week and I have no idea how to protect them. People don't even get newspapers anymore. My old tables were a wreck and I didn't care if they got stuff on them but these are so nice I want to keep them perfect. The other good thing is we got a grant for a special counselor that deals solely with student issues. I guess we only get her for two years but it is super nice already. Teachers are always begging for more nurses, social workers, psychologists, and counselors. So many of the kids have special issues in their lives that impact their education and unfortunately there is not enough time in the day for teachers to meet these needs. I think this is the thing I'm most excited about this year. Also: we are going on the 8th grade trip to DC this spring! I've missed going so much- I have gone for over ten years pre-covid. Congrats on new tables and chairs! We use a drop cloth from lowes on our tables for painting. For slime or really wet activities we put a thick plastic tarp under the drop cloth. We get the blue thing from Discount School Supply or Lakeshore, Keep our tables clean and dry and both are reusable. We have had both for years. www.lowes.com/pd/Intex-8OZ-8-oz-1-mil-Drop-Cloth-Common-6-ft-x-9-ft-Actual-6-ft-x-9-ft/1000818680
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,415
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Aug 27, 2022 16:33:12 GMT
16 days in with my continuation high school kids. 13 in chemistry, 9 in integrated 1 math, 10 online electives that I help and keep them moving along. I fought this site/grade/everything change with every ounce of my being. I'm so very glad I landed where I am. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the job. My kids are not easy. My kids tend to be reluctant to learn. I push them and help them and show that I care. We have tough conversations (breaking sobriety? why are you in a group home? do you have contact with your parents? did you get that job you've been trying for?) and I've gotten to know these kids probably better than their adult in charge of them. There are a few still being pissy and cranky at me because I'm there to help them learn and not let them wander the school and play on their phones the whole time they're supposed to be doing school work. BUT for the most part, the kids are willing to do what I ask of them and are falling in line with expectations. My schedule is AMAZING! I leave the house around 7, drop my son off at his school on the way to my school and get to mine between 7:30 and 7:45. Kids show up around 8;15 and the day starts at 8:25. My door is open as soon as I get there and they come in as they arrive. I have 85 minutes of instruction, 20 min break, 85 min instruction, 35 min lunch, 85 min instruction and day is over at 1:35. I then have "student contact/services/needs" time until 2:30 and then prep 2:30-3:20. That said, if I need to leave at 2 some days, I 100% can. I just have to be sure my stuff is done and I'm keeping up on the kids and their needs. I usually take are of that stuff during my break/lunch time. Most of the time I leave around 3:30 just because I really love being in my classroom and it's still way earlier than I was leaving when I was at the elementary site (I see you 5-6pm!) Now I'm going to back to read.
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,415
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Aug 27, 2022 16:35:25 GMT
I have been back with kids for 3 1/2 weeks. This is year 21 for me. I am not going to sugar coat it… this year has been my worst so far. I have 1 student who is a total game changer. It is so hard to teach when behavior is taking all of your energy and you are on high alert in order to keep the other students safe. Yesterday alone I had to call for backup 3 times and had 7 reports to complete by the end of the day due to game changer. 30 minute prep was not enough to complete those reports. I have general behaviors on top of the game changer. I am qualified to address those issues, but there is not enough of me to go around. I feel like I am failing all of my kids because I am so bogged down with one student. I just hope my kids are not seeing what I am feeling on the inside. 😢 Yikes! I can guess that the kids are not seeing what you're feeling. Do you not have a full time aide in your room? With those behaviors, I'm thinking it might be important to have this. I know now all schools can do it. Are you a behavior class teacher or a regular ed teacher?
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 27, 2022 17:38:54 GMT
artbabe how about butcher paper or a roll of paper tablecloths? District probably won't spring for it I guess..
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Post by christine58 on Aug 27, 2022 18:11:02 GMT
Yay! Good for you. I’m always amazed at how quickly young kids learn English when they get here. And third grade is super fun. I liked my first week of a compressed schedule. It’s will keep me on my toes, but that’s good. Having K-2 for only 30 minutes each week means I spend every second teaching and no time basically warehousing kids so their teachers can have a full planning period. I like not having to be there until 8 or later, and getting to leave at 2:30 or earlier depending on the day. Wait I thought you retired?
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Post by worrywart on Aug 27, 2022 18:53:17 GMT
I have been back with kids for 3 1/2 weeks. This is year 21 for me. I am not going to sugar coat it… this year has been my worst so far. I have 1 student who is a total game changer. It is so hard to teach when behavior is taking all of your energy and you are on high alert in order to keep the other students safe. Yesterday alone I had to call for backup 3 times and had 7 reports to complete by the end of the day due to game changer. 30 minute prep was not enough to complete those reports. I have general behaviors on top of the game changer. I am qualified to address those issues, but there is not enough of me to go around. I feel like I am failing all of my kids because I am so bogged down with one student. I just hope my kids are not seeing what I am feeling on the inside. 😢 Mine isn't quite to this level but I am having issues with a few students that I haven't been able to correct yet. I called some parents yesterday. It is so hard - I agree, I feel like I'm definitely failing most of the students when this happens. It is disheartening, frustrating and not okay. I hope that you can get help or resources for your student.
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kate
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,517
Location: The city that doesn't sleep
Site Supporter
Jun 26, 2014 3:30:05 GMT
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Post by kate on Aug 27, 2022 18:54:58 GMT
We go back next week; kids come after Labor Day. I'm already suffering the Sunday Night Blues for the end of summer. The other good thing is we got a grant for a special counselor that deals solely with student issues. I want this for our school!!! The problem would be that there is no office space - my desk and another teacher's are literally in the hallway. But still! TankTop, I hope things improve. I've had years like that, and they were hell.
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TankTop
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea #1,871
Posts: 4,772
Location: On the couch...
Jun 28, 2014 1:52:46 GMT
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Post by TankTop on Aug 27, 2022 22:14:24 GMT
I do not have an aide. My admin team is amazing! They come as soon as I radio. In that way I am blessed. Student has no accommodations, but I have started the process. It is just painfully slow.
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 27, 2022 22:22:49 GMT
I have been back with kids for 3 1/2 weeks. This is year 21 for me. I am not going to sugar coat it… this year has been my worst so far. I have 1 student who is a total game changer. It is so hard to teach when behavior is taking all of your energy and you are on high alert in order to keep the other students safe. Yesterday alone I had to call for backup 3 times and had 7 reports to complete by the end of the day due to game changer. 30 minute prep was not enough to complete those reports. I have general behaviors on top of the game changer. I am qualified to address those issues, but there is not enough of me to go around. I feel like I am failing all of my kids because I am so bogged down with one student. I just hope my kids are not seeing what I am feeling on the inside. 😢 I'm a sub, and I always get through all the plans that the teachers leave for me. I've never not finished something unless there was something unplanned like a fire drill that cut out a chunk of time. Until one year a few years ago I subbed for my very favorite 3rd grade teacher. She wrote excellent plans and as I said I always finished them. Until that year. At the end of the day the first time I subbed for her that particular year I realized I'd had to cut almost every lesson short because we just ran out of time. And then I realized why... it was because of her "game changer" (lol at the name). Every other minute I was saying "Joey [not real name] sit down please" or "Joey please do not touch your friend's things" or "Joey do not touch anything on Mrs. M's desk!" His response to that one was "oh she lets me." . hahaha Not being born yesterday I knew for a fact that Mrs. M certainly did NOT allow her students to go through her desk drawers! omg... So yeah, I totally hear you about that one kid. Of course it's easier for us subs to deal with because we get to go home and never come back to that class if we don't want to. You regular teachers have to keep coming back and coming back and dealing with everything else that goes along with your particular game changers. ugh
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seaexplore
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,415
Apr 25, 2015 23:57:30 GMT
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Post by seaexplore on Aug 27, 2022 22:36:16 GMT
I do not have an aide. My admin team is amazing! They come as soon as I radio. In that way I am blessed. Student has no accommodations, but I have started the process. It is just painfully slow. Oh man. I'm glad you have an awesome admin team. Sounds like you need to just keep doing what you're doing as long as you can and hope accommodations happen and/or they're absent often. Sending you love and strength to make it day by day. Try to remember the positives when it gets rough. (I know that sounds TOTALLY trite but I really mean it, that's what pulls me thru the rough times)
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Post by SockMonkey on Aug 27, 2022 23:49:11 GMT
We just finished our 3rd week. Overall, the vibe is pretty good? We do have students and staff out with COVID (no masks required in school). But, the kids seem more settled, more ready to be in school, and the staff seems more energized. We had our first in-person pep rally in like 3 years and the kids were really good, cheered, stood for the school song.
So, it's not without problems, but it's pretty decent so far. (We'll see in October...lol)
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Post by Merge on Aug 28, 2022 1:22:33 GMT
Yay! Good for you. I’m always amazed at how quickly young kids learn English when they get here. And third grade is super fun. I liked my first week of a compressed schedule. It’s will keep me on my toes, but that’s good. Having K-2 for only 30 minutes each week means I spend every second teaching and no time basically warehousing kids so their teachers can have a full planning period. I like not having to be there until 8 or later, and getting to leave at 2:30 or earlier depending on the day. Wait I thought you retired? Well, yeah. I first agreed to go back very part time to do pullouts and help with programs, and then admin decided not to fill the full-time position but was willing to pay me hourly for up to 30 hrs/wk. So I got sucked back in because otherwise most kids wouldn't have music, and I felt badly about that. I'm now hanging out with the other old teachers who tried to retire (they're mostly interventionists) and got sucked back in - it's like the Hotel California! So I'm working 30 hours and have a compressed schedule with shorter class periods. I'm not in the regular ancillary rotation, so if I decide to take off and travel for a week, I don't have to get a sub because I'm not providing anyone's planning period. I also have been training with Houston Guitar Initiative to teach classical guitar during 5th grade classes and after school, and that's musically interesting to me, so I'm willing to keep doing that. We'll see what happens from here. My 3rd grade program is in early February and I'll probably scale way back after that, especially with the upper grades, while continuing the after-school guitar program.
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Post by playingcinderella on Aug 28, 2022 15:03:51 GMT
I just finished week 2 - sort of. Missed the first half of week 1 (2 days with Freshman and 1 with the full school).
This is year 15 for me. So far things are going so much better than last year which was the worst year behaviorally I have had since I started teaching high school ten years ago. I put in stricter cell phone policies (including exchanging your cell phone for my bathroom pass) and it has made such a difference with the frequency and duration of bathroom visits.
We auditioned our fall play this week and had our first rehearsals Friday and Saturday. We have been working very hard to build our numbers and to attract students that are more diverse (our program has not been reflective of our larger school population), we are really seeing those changes with our freshman class.
I won't lie the additional demands being placed on teachers and the political climate are taking their toll. We are looking at how to maximize investments and options for transferring our retirement in five years when our youngest is done with high school (kids are on a transfer to the school district where DH & I work).
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Post by flanz on Aug 28, 2022 15:33:05 GMT
Thanks for posting everyone! I know how hectic this time of year is for you. Hmmm... is it ever less hectic during the academic year??? prob not! Wishing each of you all of the support you need to make this a good year! Your hearts are so big and you want the kids to succeed. I hate how teaching is such an under-respected and undervalued profession in this country. Ugh. So, from little old me, THANK YOU!!! katybee - would love to hear how you're doing if you have time to share.
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Post by scrapmaven on Aug 28, 2022 15:43:51 GMT
With my still small, but greater understanding of the teaching profession, I also want to thank you for doing such a vital and important job. It truly does take a village and you're such an important part of the growth of children. elaine , I am giddy reading your post. Those children have no idea how much fun and how much they're going learn this year. TankTop , I really hope that things turn around for you and that you get in-class help for your difficult students.
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