Never Promised You A Rose Garden...

Well, it's been a while.  Mostly because I'm lazy, but partially due to the fact that I'm on my Christmas ["Holiday" to be politically correct] Vacation and school is just about the last thing that I want to think about.  But I'm sitting here in the airport so I figured I'd kill some time and throw a little update out there.

Obviously I survived week three, but it was no picnic. Here's some of the highlights:

• Two of my students were suspended for fighting.
• Five more are on the "list," ready to be suspended for general bad behavior.
• My administration is finally stepping up to take care of my biggest problems (see above). Meaning, they'll have to come in for a meeting with me, the principal, and their parents.  If that doesn't work; they're outta here.
• I was told by my "mentor" (who's supposed to be there to support me) that every single thing I'm doing is wrong and ineffective.  Well, she said it a little nicer than that, but that was the general idea.
• I was the "grinch" teacher who didn't give my class a party on Friday afternoon.  They took a Science test instead.  Did I feel bad? Nope. They spend enough time partying on their own.  When they earn a party, I will gladly give them one.

I'm hoping that at least a little bit of the craziness was attributed to the time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  When I arrived they were just coming off a short break and only had a few weeks before their long break.  Coming back in January, they'll really have nothing to look forward to or get excited over, so hopefully they'll settle down a little bit.  I'm hoping to go in more prepared as well.  Now that I know them and they know me, maybe we'll actually be able to get some work done.

It'll get better.

It has to.

Be careful what you wish for...

..cause you just may get exactly that!

I know, I'm a slacker. (But to be fair, I did say I wouldn't post everyday).  The reason for my absence from posting is not due to the fact that the week has been uneventful. Quite opposite in fact.

Well, first- the reason for the title.  I did indeed wish for a job teaching in the inner city, thinking that it was the place for me.  And where do I wind up but smack dab in the heart of Philadelphia, which, contrary to its nickname, is not always full of brotherly love.

Disclaimer:  I do love my students. I do love teaching. No matter what else follows, those two truths remain.

Now, notice I said "love" rather than "like."  Cause I'm gonna be honest with you, I quite often find myself not liking my students very much.  Well, at least not liking their behaviors.   I'm not gonna lie, last week was rough. And rough is an understatement.  Very difficult. Challenging. Frustrating.  If I were the swearing type, I'm sure I could insert a few expletives there to get the picture across a little more clearly.

I really am amazed at the disrespect that I've observed (and been the object of) over the last week.  I saw it some in my third graders, but it's a whole different world that I'm in now.  And I'm talking blatant disrespect here.  They don't even try to hide it; they even seem proud of the fact that what they're doing is wrong and they know it.  And it's not even just disrespect towards me- they treat everyone like dirt- including each other.  I try to explain to them that like it or not, they're going to be stuck together for a very long time, and need to learn to deal with each other.  We'll see if that one ever sinks in.  

I'll spare you the sickening details of last week and just say that it was bad.  I tell my kids every morning that it's a new day, we all start over fresh.  So Monday marks a new week and we are definitely off to a smoother start then last week.  Although, I did have ten kids in lunch detention today.  But I'm hoping a few days of that and they'll begin to see who's running this classroom.  Fortunately I was able to at least teach the lessons I had planned for today, which is more than I can say for any day last week.  We'll find out tomorrow how much they actually absorbed.

I'll leave you with one slightly amusing story:  The first few days with my kids, they kept calling me "Miss Romo" and I just kind of ignored it at first, but after a while it got quite annoying.  So the next time a kid called me that, I said to the class "It's not Romo- I'm not the Dallas Cowboys Quarterback."  Well, any mention of anything related to the outside world, they start going off.  So I get their attention again and tell them, "But he IS my cousin." (I thought it was pretty obvious that I was joking.)  I guess 9 year olds don't pick up on stuff like that.  You wouldn't believe how many requests I got to get tickets and autographs for them.  I'm still not sure if they know the truth...  But I guess in their world, everyone is everyone else's cousin, so maybe to them it makes sense.

Well, that's all. 

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

And today was that first step.

And it's going to be a long journey.  But I'm ok with that.

I survived my first day of fourth grade.  (Hmm, now that I think about it, this was my third first day of fourth grade: when I was a student ['96], student teaching ['07], and now my OWN class ['08].) So I guess this is the grade I'm meant to be in, eh?

Anyway, like I said, I survived. And I mean survived. Barely.  I'm not gonna lie, it was a rough day.  As in, it was 12:00 and I thought to myself "I can't do this. There's no way." I quickly got over that thought because I knew I HAVE to do this.  My hope is that it will only go up from here. 

On the bright side, the whole day wasn't horrible.  The afternoon was actually pretty decent.   Here's the juicy details (and don't expect a post like this every day).

• I get to school very early, unpack all my junk, and literally stare at the room for several minutes.  For two reasons: One, I couldn't believe I was standing in my very own classroom. No more of this "just a sub" thing.  And two, I could not believe at the disorganized chaotic mess I was looking at. More on that later.  I talk to my mentor teacher and get a little bit of the lo-down. Unfortunately, no lesson plans (or ANY grades for the marking period) had been left for me so I was starting from scratch.  I also found out that no one seemed to know where this class had left off in any subject.  Tiny problem. Fortunately I didn't really plan on doing much teaching (not in the reading, writing, or 'rithematic aspects anyway).
• The time comes to pick up the little darlings. I get them from their line, and hear the question: Are you the sub?  Nope. I'm here for good.   Mixed reactions from the line.
• Oh- funny story I have to interject here.  I was walking out with my class, turn around, and there I see one of my third graders, staring up at me.  Typically I'd assume he was just there to say hi.  Not this one.  He was still under the impression that I was the one he lines up with cause I'm still his teacher.  He tends to live in his own little world.  Sorry Irwin, not your teacher anymore.
• Anyway, we head up, do DEAR (Drop Everything And Read ), and I get attendance, etc. out of the way.  I then proceed with my little shpeel about expectations, incentives, all that fun stuff.  Well, they're testing me already. I made it very clear that I was not one to be messed with. They kept pushing.  I pushed back. This went on until it was time for health. 
• Picked them up from health, and they still thought they were in charge.  Not in my room, I told them.  All the stuff you got away with before will no longer be tolerated. It's a brand new year as far as I'm concerned.  At this point I made the mistake of trying to teach math.  Wasn't happening.  So we stopped, and I moved their seats.  It's amazing how quickly you pick up on who shouldn't be sitting together, what arrangement doesn't work, etc.  Well, I picked up on it quickly. Doesn't seem like their old teacher did. So we get that done and I take them to lunch.
• Now, about that chaos.  Anyone who's seen my bedroom knows that I am not obsessed with keeping things in order (I've gotten better, but still, it doesn't bug me if my bed isn't made or there are shoes on the floor.)  But this was RE-DIC-U-LOUS! Seriously. I'm not even joking when I tell you that these kids had so much stuff in their desks that their BOOKS couldn't even fit in them.  And I can't blame the kids for that.  There was simply no (apparent) structure prior to my arrival.  So we spent the afternoon cleaning out desks.  You wouldn't believe how many notebooks and folders they had that they weren't even using!  Needless to say, their desks are now organized. And mine is getting there- that's what I spent my hour after school doing. 
• Like I said, the afternoon was much smoother than the morning.  I think they started to see that I wasn't kidding around when I laid out my expectations.  The candy I gave them for cleaning their desks probably didn't hurt either. (Candy = Positive Reinforcement, NOT bribery.  And I gladly take contributions to my candy fund. Hint, hint.) 

So that was the gist of my first day.  The kids weren't perfect, but I wasn't perfect either. (Really- some of you who know me as quiet and mild-mannered would hardly recognize me in the classroom.)  But tough love is what they need.  And hopefully they'll become better students because of it.  That's my prayer for the year.  

Today was the first step... and there will be many baby steps to come, but maybe, just maybe, by the end of this journey, we'll be running and jumping instead of crawling.

There's no time like the present...

...to start a new blog!

Yep. I gave up on my xanga [seems like so long ago] because, to be completely honest, I had nothing to write about.  However, things have changed slightly and I now actually have things to say that people may want to hear.  Or maybe not. But you're reading it, aren't you? So someone, somewhere, must be interested.

Anyway, like the title of the blog suggests, I plan on sharing all the "stuff" that goes on in school.  It's partially for my own good- I figured I'd need to have good documentation for when I write my memoirs in 30 years or so. (Kidding.  Maybe.)  But mostly I want to keep whoever's interested updated on the happenings in my class.

So, in case you don't know the story up until now, I'll catch you up:

         Back in August when I had absolutely no leads on jobs and was seriously considering putting an application in at WaWa (again, kidding- I wouldn't go that low), I started looking on Craig's List and saw a posting for a substitute service called Source4Teachers. I looked into it and it seemed pretty decent, so I filled out the info and kind of forgot about it.  A few days later I get a call from them, asking me to come in for an interview.  I did just that, and found out there was an opening at Renaissance Advantage Charter School (RACS from now on) for a long-term sub position for a teacher who was going out on maternity leave.  Oh, and it was in Philly, which, while I was not thrilled with driving there everyday, I didn't have much of a choice because I was not yet certified to teach in NJ. (I'm still not, but that's a different story).  

So, I was asked if I wanted the position, and I said- absolutely I do.  I was told to be there at 8:00 the next morning. Yes, things happened fast.  I went in on Friday, the last day of teacher in-service, and school started Monday.  Fortunately, the teacher I would be taking over for was going to be there for a couple of weeks, so I had some time to adjust.  Not as much time as I thought, because she wound up going out a week earlier than planned, so I was on my own starting week #2.

Fast forward a couple months and I am approached by our HR lady, asking me if I'd be interested in staying on permanently if the opportunity presented itself.  I said I'd consider it; although at that point I really didn't want to stay.  However, once again, I didn't have much of a choice because alas, no Jersey certification.  After much contemplating, I told her I'd like to talk more about it.  A couple weeks later, I meet with the principal who says there was a fourth grade position available if I wanted it. At this point I breathed a huge sigh of relief because I thought for sure I was going to be asked to teach sixth grade, to which I would have given a big, fat NO WAY IN... (you get the idea).  I had absolutely no desire to teach middle school, especially not when they've already scared off two teachers- one of which taught in Brooklyn for three years.

So I said I was interested in the position, and I'm told- great, we'll get back to you with your contract, salary, etc.  Fast forward another two weeks (two days ago) and I finally sign my contract. So, starting Monday I'll be a full-time, salaried,  fourth grade teacher at RACS (with benefits!!).

Saying I'm nervous would be fairly correct at the moment.  Not because I don't think I can do it, I know I'll get through it.  But because I have no lesson plans, haven't met my class, and don't even know what they're studying.  I get to find that out AND begin teaching on Monday morning.

It'll be interesting, to say the least.

Stay tuned...