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a 2010 CM’s experiences
I’m going to just put it out there. They say that the end of September through to November is the hardest stretch for teachers. I thought it was hard my first year but I’m thinking I may trade that for these past weeks. Last year, I had enormous student turnover and instability. That was limited in many ways to just my classroom. This year, that sense of instability has seeped out into the building as a whole. I don’t know the names of all the teachers in my building, in particular those who’ve been hired to replace those who have already quit. We have substitutes in on a regular basis and some days the substitutes just don’t show up.
Morale is incredibly low. If it weren’t for dedication to the students, the ones that desperately want and need to be there, I think there would be a mass exodus of teachers…
On Fridays, I make a point of eating lunch with my kids. Normally, I try to avoid the din and air of madness that is the cafeteria, but the kids get so excited about it that I can compromise once a week. This past Friday, I managed to get more kids involved in conversation than…
read more »I’d heard that Apple was encouraging people to donate their first generation iPads to Teach For America, but it barely registered on my radar. As a second year corps member, I figured any goodies would be given to the newbies. But lo and behold, look what landed in my inbox this week from our TFA*Nashville…
read more »Last year, I was overwhelmed by the number of kids initially in my room (27) and the number of kids that left and arrived over the course of the year. I’ve already had my first student leave and it breaks my heart. The school was simply too far away for the family. He left unceremoniously…
read more »And we’re officially back in business! Metro Nashville schools welcomed back almost 80,000 students on Thursday for the first day of school (albeit a half one at that). The week leading up to it was a blur of faculty meetings and room preparation, so much so that on Wednesday night I felt that familar “uh…
read more »I think it’s safe to assume that many teachers were like me when I was little. I’d eagerly look forward to the return to school — not just to find out who my teacher was or who would be in my classes, but for the back to school shopping. As the daughter of a teacher,…
read more »Although it’s taken several weeks, I’m finally relaxed enough to enjoy my summer. After the school year ended, I was still having dreams about not having my copies done and feeling unprepared. While I’ve had other vacations, this is the first time I don’t have to worry about my plans and my students — the…
read more »In a nutshell, I have fallen down on all lines of communication. I don’t remember the last time that I talked on the phone with my parents, I haven’t talked to my brother in over a month on my way to my reunion, and the only real conversation I’ve had with anyone I reconnected with…
read more »One of the exciting things about taking a teaching job in Tennessee last year was hearing about all the plans for change and improvement across not only at my school and in my district, but also across the state. After a crazy day, which ended on a hectic note because of the tornado watch, I…
read more »Coming out of my teacher bubble to interact with adult people sometimes feels like yet another culture shock. Many want to hear the stories. Some, as I’ve documented here previously, as quite hilarious. However, a majority of them want to hear about the “bad” stuff and how difficult my school is. I always get conflicted…
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