This is tough!

Back again after so long! I am through my fantasy stage and into my reality slump now! Teaching is very hard work and I'm struggling with balancing teaching Latin with making it fun enough so that my students will show the administration I'm worth keeping around. I am thinking about next year already. I would really like some job security and that means keeping the students interested which is hard when my students aren't interested in anything at all.
After about three days of utter confusion I am getting into a roll. I know what my students will be doing and they seem to as well. Behavior issues are going down, participation is going up, and students turning their homework in is a steady measly percentage! Students don't do any homework. I am planning on assigning a project come next monday but I'm not sure if any of my students will do it...
Otherwise life is good! I'm planning on joining a rugby team down here. I am also in the process of becoming a volunteer at the local zoo!
Back to teaching! Its 5 to 7 and I'm late to school!

First Week

I'm sorry I waited until Sunday morning to write what should have been written on Friday. The first week of teaching was exhausting, stressful, hectic, but AMAZING! I left my last class Friday afternoon with a wide grin on my face. Although I am already letting the students run wild which takes its toll on my voice and my patience they are great kids and learning despite their lack of attention, poor pronunciation, and proclivity towards mumbling everything! That is a very good turn around seeing as how earlier in the day I had to break up a fist fight. I have atrium duty every day which is quite rediculous because teachers are bringing their classes to and from lunch and ordering their students around. I don't want to step on toes so I just sort of stand there. Well a student walked pretty nonchalantly out of the lunch room, right up to another student and just decked him! Laid him out flat. I was maybe 5 feet away and was so taken aback by the suddenness of the attack that the attacking student got a second punch off before I lifted him clear away and carried him to a side hallway. At Mayo, where I student taught, a fight meant a lot of paper work, interviews with administration and a face to face conversation with those involved in the fight. Here in Norfolk a dean came, grabbed the kid from me and left me just standing there. I went back to work and didn't hear anything more about it!

Yesterday after writing lesson plans all morning I went to watch a rugby game at a park pretty close to my apartment. It was so nice being around the game again I'm thinking I'm going to join the team if only to practice with them or be their water boy!

All in all I am liking teaching a lot more than I had been hoping to! I am ready to get into some serious Latin though!

Going into Friday

Again all is going well! Aside from not knowing the daily schedule yet I think I have pretty much everything figured out! I'm still in a holding pattern with my students doing introductory activities before assigning books. I don't like this part because I really cant get into a rhythm with my students yet and I can't really get any pacing down because I am losing my students to assemblies and drills all over the place. All of my classes are at different places and at least a full day behind schedule! That said, I am really enjoying the students that I have. They are fun and although they talk alot amongst themselves they are interested in the material and have been asking some very good questions.
One thing I do need to improve is my use of afterschool time. I've been getting home and vegging out. I don't want to work on lesson plans or do any grading. My dining room table is piling up with sheets and books and mail!

The morning of day two and I am exhausted still! Car alarms kept me up most of the night and then worry about my class the other part of it. I have very mixed feelings going into the second day of teaching. I really enjoyed my students yesterday and in the end had a great time and felt very comfortable leading my own classes. I am just afraid I will not be able to keep up the energy needed. I want to make my classes engaging ALL THE TIME and I think I am letting my kids down on their first day. I'll just need to revise my day one lesson plan to involvel more content and less procedures.

Day 1 September 8th

Well day one went very well. I am exhausted but happy to be a teacher and encouraged because nothing horrible happened and most of my students were engaged! All my classes are at different places now because of bad pacing today but that should work itself out on Thursday! I'm ready for three more of the same lessons tomorrow. Its nice having an A B schedule at two schools because at least the first week all the lessons are repeated two days in a row!

Monday, September 7th The Day Before

You should have seen me this morning. I was pacing back and forth in my apartment going from one stack of papers to the other thinking only "what if? What If?" I was terrified of tomorrow coming. Tomorrow I'll be a teacher and not just on paper but honest to goodness the person in charge at the front of the classroom! Am I ready? hell no!... well maybe!
I got a lot of work done this afternoon then got my mind off of school stuff cleaning the apartment and getting together for dinner with my friend Jason. He is also a middle school Latin teacher in Norfolk who is going into his second year of teaching this year. His statement at dinner of, "Tomorrow everything is just going to fall apart" was oddly comforting and settled a lot of my fears and worries. If he is still here, smiling and ready for the year to begin even when everything fell apart for him last year I can do this! So, thanks to Jason I'm feeling fully confident going into tomorrow. I still am not exactly sure how the schedule at my school works or how I'm supposed to know when to take my students to lunch but it will all get worked out tomorrow. It will fall apart and I will ask my students to help me pick up the pieces and figure out how the whole teaching thing is supposed to work out!

Bring on day # 1!!!!

Pre-Teacher Orientation

I've been in Norfolk since the 14th and working hard on school stuff since the 17th. The first week of orientation got off to a great start with a few friends made and other like minded staff getting out there and talking to all the other teachers that they could! Although, quite as usual, all the information that was presented went directly over my head I met some great people and I was happy with that for a start.
Also, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Norfolk Schools have a lot of additional resources. I have received so many freebies and nik-naks! I'll have plenty of jump-drives to last me the rest of my life!

Sunday, September 6th Almost There

The kids come to school on Tuesday, I'm prepared with all my lesson plans and information/work sheets, I'm just not sure if I'm ready for the kids!

First off, I cant believe I started blogging! I have been asked by tons of people to call them Tuesday after the first day of school but I'll be very busy that night so I started this so that everyone can get my reactions to day #1 even if I don't call! I also wanted to have a way to keep a journal about what is working for me in and out of the classroom.

So here it is, my journal of coming triumphs, trials, torments, and tenacity for you all and for me!