Seventh Classroom…

Certification Pending...

This is such a depressing thing to see when you have studied for what essentially amounts to three months straight.

Sadly, I only have myself to blame considering I let my background check slip. Now I have to get in touch with people to have my work email unlocked.

It has been a long and winding road already…

No one at grad school said anything about additional certification…

The program was geared towards preparing student to teach adults, not kids.

Then again, when I asked the ‘teaching career’ guru if I should get certified in general education or special education…she said ‘no’.

Do yourself a favor, if you are going to specialize in ESL, special education, or any other area…go for additional certification in general education. There are more special education jobs than there are ESL (in my State, anyway) and there is WAY more general education jobs than there are both ESL and special education combined.

Get it while you are still in college!

It will open up three times as many doors for you!

Start in general education, get that experience, then work towards the subject or kinds of students you actually want to teach.

Get your foot in the door!

Irish Yums!

Golden chocolates.

Foil wrapped Leprechaun coins.

Mouth melting goodness.

Talk to Them...

“I hate it here.  School is too hard.  The playground is different from the one in Pennsylvania.  I don’t like Delaware.  I don’t like living with my grandpa.  I want to live with my mom and dad but they have to fix the house so we can go back.  My brother and sister and I moved down here.  My baby-baby sister is with mom and dad.  I want to go home.”

This ramble is brought to you by a displaced boy in first grade.

Sometimes you just have to listen and not just shove a lesson down their throat.

Not long after this, I sat with him again.  We worked on his reading, which is something he hates.  He still hated Delaware.  He still missed his mom and dad.  But he was more willing to participate and work with me.  He didn’t act up or whine.

Sometimes a chat can make a world of difference.

Even if the effects only lasts two weeks before he goes back to Pennsylvania…

Physical Therapy...

Uneven ceiling

Wall colors strange holes in beds

Stretch, ow, strengthen, ow

Depression Battle...

Depression falling.

After so many weeks of pain…

I feel at peace now.

Eleventh Classroom...

It’s been a year…

Still AroAce…

Still a teacher…

Still barely sane…

I went from being a ‘traveling ESL teacher’ to a paraprofessional at a Montessori school. I am not impressed.  Oh sure, Montessori is a wonderful learning philosophy but it is not for everyone.  It is certainly not for a teacher with ADHD that struggles with hyperfocus.  The individualized lessons given are often at the cost of classroom management or vice versa.

The parents who send their kids to a Montessori school do so in lieu of seeking out professional help for their unique or troubled child.  I have TWELVE out of twenty-six students who are either obviously ADHD or obviously Autistic to some degree.  Two have IEPs and the rest are ‘busy kids’ in their parents’ eyes.

This is a challenge that I have no problem with.  I LOVE my students.

BUT I am not thrilled with their parents…

‘I want to focus on this pregnancy’…Yeah, but while you’re doing that you could LAY in bed and work with your son on his letter sounds.

‘My parents are in a motel getting their act together’…AKA, drug addicts.

‘My mom says that this rule is dumb’…Sorry, it’s a SCHOOL rule.  No sweets.

The only thing worse than the parents is how this school is run…

The double standards and obvious favoritism is what REALLY pisses me off.

I do my job, I get yelled at by THREE different people.

Someone else DOESN’T do their job and they get praised…wonderful.

Oh yeah, and we have FOUR Montessori teachers out of FORTY.

Okay, I am Mad…

As a teacher, my discipline is lacking…

So long as the students respect each other and do their work I’m fine with some of their shenanigans.

But

I

Do

Not

Tolerate

Bullying

Unfortunately, I failed one of my students…figuratively, not literally…

She has an IEP…

She struggles in math…

Theory says that I should pair her with a more capable student…

Theory neglects to say that I should make sure that the ‘capable’ student will HELP her instead of insulting her intelligence to her face.

She has been a no-show at summer school for a full week…

Gee, I wonder why…

The only time this was brought to my attention was when my ‘capable’ student insulted her intelligence in front of the whole class…

She hasn’t been back since, and no, she’s not on vacation.

Now, I am a new teacher so if there’s a ‘sixth sense’ that one develops after years of practice I have yet to develop it.

I am also VERY hard on myself.

I feel as though I have neglected to protect and empower her…

I can only hope that things improve for her as she repeats 3rd grade next year…

I’m so sorry sweetheart…

Happy Christmas!

It is Christmas time

One day I will be people-less

Cats will be my love…

Forth Classroom…

I was at a community college, panicking over my BA in English.

So I went for an associate’s in medical secretary.

I helped my friend learn her medical terminology, abbreviations, grammar, and anatomy.

I helped another friend learn about computers as we had to take Windows, Excel, and Access.

All three of us struggled comically over transcription.

The Puerto Rican said that the “Puerto Rican” doctor on the recording didn’t sound right.

The Caucasian said, “Where the heck do you find the ‘send’ key?!”

I felt like the smartest person in the room for the first time in my life.

Looking up...

Breakthrough finally

Happiness can be real now

I have a new job.