It is those frantic first few days of the school year. Meetings, preparing rooms and trying to figure out what to do with those children the first few days of school. Always important; really hard to plan. I must say, this year is off to a rousing start. Certainly, not without the help of God.
We've already had our first week of school. It actually flew by really fast! We are learning new technology -- I must confess, it is the bane of my existence. There are two reasons for this; 1) because it's new and change is hard and 2) it's technology, I'm in my 50's and the two are not copacetic -- enough said!
Yes, I am definitely technologically challenged. I struggle with texting, let alone new software. To me, I'd rather have my gums scraped than learn something new that is technologically based. And yet, in an effort to keep in touch with my children and friends, I do it. I much prefer the comfort of a PC with a "real" keyboard. I suppose one day they will invent text messaging you can do from a real computer -- perhaps it's already out there and I just don't know about it. Either way, just having a conversation on a cell phone via text makes my palms sweat.
Today was professional development. We had some time to take our questions to our techno-guru; another teacher who took a class on this stuff. I just needed the basics, such as putting an assignment in the gradebook and doing seating charts -- no biggie, right? Well, the good news is, I am teachable. Yes, if I pay really close attention and someone walks me through it, it is possible for me to get my techno-groove on. The downside, of course, is that I only know what I know. So, anything further that is required -- I'm lost.
I'm what one would call a kinesthetic learner. That is, I learn by doing. Unfortunately, that is not very practical in the day to day. Although, as teachers, we are expected to offer lots of hands-on-learning, it does not seem to happen in the "real" world. How I wish that were offered when I was in school. No, we learned by looking and listening. For me, if you hand me a sheet of instructions and say, "Here, go for it!" it might as well be written in Russian. Think of it this way...ever put together a swing set for your children? Well, that's basically how all written instructions look to me. What happens when you are finished building it? A handful of nuts, bolts and screws remain? Well, mine always ended up that way! The kids, fortunately, lived. But, like the swing set, the computer program always seems to have a screw or two loose...or perhaps, that's just the ones in my head?
This is now week two. I have watched all the required curriculum which, I believe is close to fifteen videos and some have quizzes to go with; and you must pass with 100%! This is no small task. I have learned how to input lesson plans on the new computer software the district has adopted and even tweak them for my special needs students. I have also learned how to take attendance properly, make a seating chart and input classroom assignments. All in the span of 11 days. Not to mention put together a classroom which I moved into this year. Yes, my aide and I had to unpack all my stuff that was dumped on about half a dozen desks. Oh and teach for the last 5 of those 11 days. Yes, us teachers sure have the (perceived) easy life!
I have a friend who said to me, "Let me put this in perspective," when I was lamenting about the end of summer. "You suck!" I suppose there is some truth to that. After all, we do have summers off -- not me per se, but many teachers do; the lucky ones who don't work two jobs to pay off school loans. Few and far between, since most districts require a minimum of a Master's degree in order to become highly qualified which is now a "must do."
Now here's the thing. In listening to me write about this, you would probably think, "Wow, she hates her job!" Quite the opposite...rather, I hate being asked to do things that, although have something to do with my job, don't really impact the students directly. Ask me to take a course on engaging children in the classroom and I'm all over it. But, ask me to take a course on a new software that we're rolling out...puh-lease! Truth be told, I love my job. As I enter year six, this looks to be the best year so far. So, I guess as summer comes to a close and we enter into the season of autumn, I think back to those days of singing, "School Days"....or as I prefer to refer to it, "School Daze!" For it's that crazy time of year when we, as teachers, multi-task to the -nth degree with our heads spinning for at least the first month. For me, it's a magical time that takes me back to my childhood and holds special promise for the students that are now in my care.
So as I close this blog, I want end it in a special way. As I listen to this song, I realize that my job is what makes me tick; so does my writing. This is how I feel about my job, the kids I work with and my life in general...may everyone be so blessed!
"Happy" by Pharrell Williams
http://youtu.be/CEN9I8jJ0Nk
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