And just like that, summer is full swing. It’s amazing to think about how far each of my students have come, but even more so how much they have taught me. I could not have asked for a better group of kids. Not only were they hard working and, for the most part, in love with school, they rose to every challenge put in front of them.
So reflecting back, here are five things I learned over and over again. I certainly plan on taking them with me as I continue down this ever-surprising special education path because as Winston Churchill once said, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
California is currently reviewing possible educational budget cuts and the last few staff meetings of the year included discussions on how we will be tightening the financial belt for the 2012-13 school year.
One thing that upsets me is that our budget seems to be determined by people who know little about the needs of a rural school. For example, our school district, and all the school districts of California, lost their transportation funding halfway through the 2011-2012 school year. Every school needs transportation funding, but a rural school cannot go without it. Rural busing is one of the district’s highest costs because students sometimes live 10-20 miles away from their schools, and putting the cost of gas and driving strain on the parents may literally cost more than rural families can afford.
Unlike my fellow Reality 101 bloggers, who have been on summer vacation for a couple weeks now, I am just starting my first week. The last couple of weeks for school seemed to get longer and longer. I have never felt so burnt out from teaching before. I think that the stress and climate of the year seemed to have really caught up with me. Even being tired and ready for the year to be over, I still managed to get in a couple really cool projects and activities at the end of the year.
This year was my first year teaching and the last year of my masters program. I still remember the first week of school when I had to excuse myself from the room and find a quiet place to reflect on if teaching is really what I wanted to do. I had just restrained a student, my other students were putting me through a vetting process, and I didn't feel as though I was doing well. I am so very happy I was able to come back to the classroom, get control, and pass their test.
I have learned a lot this year about teaching, which no teacher education program can prepare you for. I have learned how to cope with the stresses of the educational bureaucracy while teaching students with EBD. I have learned to maintain excellent grades in school and have some resemblance of a personal life. I have learned how to advocate for children in a manner in which no party feels defensive and I am able to mediate nearly any situation with students, parents, teachers, or any combination.
Long ago, after George Washington cut down that cherry tree, he donned his powdered white wig, and became the President of the United States. Then in 1792, he approved a total federal spending budget of $5.1 million. All inflation talk aside, $5.1 million is practically a coin in the penny jar these days. In fact, it’s barely enough to cover our school district budget let alone the entire country’s.
I’ve avoided talking about money as much as possible this school year for a couple of reasons. 1. At the end of last year, my district closed one of our six schools to balance the budget. It was a painful experience not only for those at that school, but it also involved major growing pains for my school because our two schools merged. 2. Even though my school district does have a Budget Committee, the Committee didn’t start meeting until the last two weeks of school because we’ve been waiting for the state budget. And 3. I hate talking about budgets and pots and pools — none of it makes much sense to me anyway.
Seeing as many of us are beginning summer break, here’s your opportunity to catch up on movies. Chances are you’ve seen these five movies about real people in real schools, and been inspired. Of course, if your first year of teaching isn’t quite like this, don’t fret. Teaching in real life isn’t quite the same as teaching in the movies.
Stand and Deliver (1988)
Real Teaching: You may enter a classroom and discover it is overcrowded, not everyone speaks English, and not everyone has the basic skills necessary to study the subject matter you are teaching them.
I seem to be getting the reputation of being a big activist when it comes to protests, marches, and rallies. After the NATO conference here in Chicago, one of my co-workers came to me and said he watched the news all weekend to see if he could catch a glimpse of me on TV. While I’m all for a good protest and march, the NATO marches were a bit too unpredictable for me.
I recently had the opportunity to be a part of a historical rally and march. On Wednesday, May 23rd, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) held a State of the Union meeting at the Auditorium Theatre. Leaving the house on Wednesday morning, I said to my dad, “Watch for me on the news tonight.” While I know that is not a normal thing people say to each other, my dad looked at me all decked out in red with my “Proud to be a CTU Member” button on and said, “Okay.”
As the year wrapped up for my students, I was able to take them on two exciting field trips within two weeks of each other.
As a motivator for good behavior during testing, I took them to the infamous Georgia Aquarium. We started our day in the park with lunch and explored the aquarium. Most saw aquatic animals for the first time, touched sharks, and asked so many questions. My students are often labeled as lost and are not included by many teachers because they are misunderstood. It has been part of my mission to dispel that myth and this trip helped to do that.
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