First Week Out of the Way

Rocking...
8-25-07

Well, my first week as a seasoned veteran teacher (well, a second year teacher) has come to a close and I feel very good about it so far.

First off is the state of my room. It’s been remodeled! Well, not completely, but I’ve received new carpet and a new paint job. There’s an interesting back-story to this: I had put in a request for the work to be donw three months ago before school got out. I returned to Lake Village, visited my room, and noticed that nothing had happened. I had the same, gum covered floor. The same scuffed up walls with “Dawn loves Chad” written under the blackboard, and the same exposed air conditioner unit and heavy duty power cable just screaming “Dangle from me and get zapped!” Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.

I approached the assistant superintendent and told him that nothing had been done: no paint, no carpet, unsafe conditions. He told me they would take care of it. A week later, still nothing. Finally, a fellow teacher, a good friend and nearby trailer teacher (career orientation), is also a contractor. His room, similar to mine, was in bad need of a face lift. He offered to get his guys to fix up both of our rooms, and the school would pay him later.

So there I was, Sunday night, the day before school, with brand new carpet, a fresh paint smell, and all of my desks, file cabinets, and tables on one side of the room. In approximately 12 hours, my room would be invaded with children, and having my room set up for half of the class would not work. I called a friend and had him come help me out with moving my furniture in the sweltering heat (my air conditioner wasn’t working, and even though t was 7:00 p.m. we were still breaking heat records in Lake Village).

Monday arrived and I had an (almost) brand new room, a new set of students, and a new look on life. Walking into the school I was aware of the procedures, the staff, the way things were run. I knew how to clock in, how to make it easy to take role, and most importantly: I knew what I expected from my kids when they walked into my room.

A week later I now have a crew of minions. My 6^th graders follow instructions the first time, and when they don’t we re-do whatever it was I instructed. Things like lining up and coming into class have become ridiculously easy, and now the real challenge isn’t classroom management, but how to get my kids to learn! Amazing! It’s a big difference moving from not worrying about behavior to knowing your kids will follow instructions.

I also have two choirs this year, an all girls middle school choir and a mixed high school choir. Luckily all of the students in these choirs want to be in class, so this will make a huge difference from last year. I’m still working on my confidence in front of the groups, but the training I received this past summer coupled with a year under my belt has already made a world of difference.

For both classes this week it has been logistical stuff: procedures, operations, warm-ups, rules, etc., and throughout all of this I’ve noticed that I’m asking more questions and am definitely more aware of myself and what I say in class. Last year I lectured a lot without engaging my speakers. This year I ask them questions all the time. If I say “This rule is here” I ask “why do you think I have it? Does anyone think this rule does not make any sense? You might think ‘No talking? That won’t do anything.’ Tell me.’” It’s been going well so far, but maybe I’m just in the magical “honey moon” period of teaching. Or…maybe I’ve finally found the balance between strict and too strict. We’ll see.

Overall I feel great. I’m posting this on a Sunday night and I don’t have the impending sense of doom that usually felt before a school week. I’m energized, excited, and ready to get some kids to learn music.

Hope all is well at home. Scroll below for pictures of my classroom!

Cheers,

-Nate
“See, everybody is somebody, but nobody wants to be themselves. And if I ever wanted to understand me, I’d have to talk to someone else.” Gnarls Barkley