My first day of teaching (this year)
My first class is 9 students who can barely speak English. They are all so cute...

My second class is the students who are reading at the same level as their peers, but their writing still needs refinement; like problems with subject-verb agreement and use of article in prepositional phrases, for example. I was so excited for this class, because I can actually speak to them at a normal rate of speech and challenge them with new ideas, but they had a major fit of the giggles, so we didn't get much done. I hate the feeling of impatience when kids can't stop laughing...I want them to have fun and be happy, but at some point it's wasting time and a bit disrespectful. But I'm still excited to teach them. Atypical of my student population, this class has only two native Spanish speakers out of seven. The rest speak Ghanian, Cambodian, Hmong, Vietnamese, and Thai. Isn't that amazing? They already put two postcards in my mailbox, which is outside of my classroom. Both asked when I would be giving them food from different countries. I'm not quite sure where they got that idea:)

My third class is co-teaching in a second grade classroom. Well, two students are from my first class and don't understand anything that's going on, so today I mostly interpretted the teacher's questions for them (which George W. would say is sooooo against No Child Left Behind...well, if he's even paying attention to education). If I didn't interpret though, the little boy would completely act out since he doesn't understand English. Argh. Honestly, there has to be a better way then to just throw him in without any support. He had an "accident" this week because he was so stressed out :(

My fourth class is co-teaching in a third grade classroom. In there, the students are much more advanced, and mostly need writing help. Since I don't want to ignore the other students, who don't qualify for ESL, I try to help them, too. Most students who aren't in ESL end up thinking I'm a reading teacher and then they tell their parents, who get confused. Some students in this class are very disruptive with constant, incredibly frustating behavior. It's so trying on teachers, especially those who are trying to help each student equitably.

My fifth class is with second graders who are low English speakers. This class has a student who has autism. The funding I received from ECM helped me to buy very organized materials for all my students, but for him in particular, which will help him to feel safe and structured in my classroom.

Then I have a 15 minute break. Whew.

My sixth class is co-teaching in a third grade classroom for writing. They write at incredibly different levels, which is interesting to watch. I have to learn the entire writing curriculum, which is, um, kind of interesting. Mostly, I hope to spend my time in the classroom giving small lessons on English writing.

Lunch and Prep. time. I love my lunch time! Everyone is so slap happy and hilarious in the staff lounge. And I'm getting along with the people who used to drive me crazy. If I avoid the drama of trying to be "friends" with everyone, it's much easier to be nice to them:)

My seventh class is pushing into second grade math classes. I am going to try my best to actually teach during this time, but I haven't figured out the best way to teach reading then. So we'll see if it even works.

My eighth class is perhaps the cutest. Well, that's saying a lot, because they're all adorable. But one of my students in this class looks like a little teddy bear.

This afternoon we had an assembly, so I didn't get to meet with my last class, who are mostly low writers. It is amazing how many students got lost on the way to the assembly...I picked up a bunch of kindergartners wandering around the school! I took them back to their classroom and one of their teachers gave me a look and said, "Um, they're supposed to be in the gym" as though I had taken her out of the gym and walked her back to class. Honestly, how was I supposed to know that her class had been in gym and she missed their walk to the gym while seeing the nurse? Oh well, at least I found where they were all supposed to be.

After that day, I left right after school!