If I don't count my last year teaching STEM as my first year of teaching, this year would be the first. I don't count last year because I was technically a "guest teacher" and didn't have as many required PDs, no evaluations, and a lot less accountability (no lesson plans to submit)..which was nice, but I wish I'd had a lot of those things because this year is taking some getting used to.
I'm 2.5 months in and wondering how people do this their whole life. After our PD last week, we were asked to write 2 words describing how we felt after the day...I wrote: overwhelmed and underprepared. The response? None so far. It's ridiculous! I feel like I have zero support in regards to evaluation and feedback because I'm rarely observed and have yet to actually speak to my invisible mentor. Thankfully, the rest of the middle school team is awesome and fills me in as things come up...but shouldn't there be some kind of basic orientation to school-wide procedures, weekly paperwork requirements, that kind of thing? Maybe a staff handbook (I heard there was one but have yet to receive a copy)? SOMETHING!?
Can you feel the frustration through your screen? I absolutely love what I'm doing in the classroom, but the rest of it can be disheartening- the politics, the drama, the unrealistic expectations. I feel as though I shouldn't yet be having mornings that I want to call in sick and take a personal day...the only thing that has kept me from doing that is my students. They are awesome and when it comes to this job, I live for them. And why shouldn't I? Shouldn't teaching be about them, and what's really best for them? Two students came to me today and asked if they could vent about an issue with another student who had provoked them, but when an administrator spoke to the other student, he broke down crying (as he usually does) and got away with whatever he had actually done. In that moment, I wished I had a response. I don't know what really went on, but if a student feels like their teachers/staff aren't listening or being fair, and nobody is taking the time to talk to them or explain why they're being punished...then aren't we doing more harm than good?
I don't know, all I know is that I'd love to be a teacher the rest of my life...but if education keeps going the way it seems to be, I might need to go back to school for that business degree.
*end rant*
Oh, here is The Atlantic article "Why do Teachers Quit?" by Liz Riggs that sparked this little party.
I'm 2.5 months in and wondering how people do this their whole life. After our PD last week, we were asked to write 2 words describing how we felt after the day...I wrote: overwhelmed and underprepared. The response? None so far. It's ridiculous! I feel like I have zero support in regards to evaluation and feedback because I'm rarely observed and have yet to actually speak to my invisible mentor. Thankfully, the rest of the middle school team is awesome and fills me in as things come up...but shouldn't there be some kind of basic orientation to school-wide procedures, weekly paperwork requirements, that kind of thing? Maybe a staff handbook (I heard there was one but have yet to receive a copy)? SOMETHING!?
Can you feel the frustration through your screen? I absolutely love what I'm doing in the classroom, but the rest of it can be disheartening- the politics, the drama, the unrealistic expectations. I feel as though I shouldn't yet be having mornings that I want to call in sick and take a personal day...the only thing that has kept me from doing that is my students. They are awesome and when it comes to this job, I live for them. And why shouldn't I? Shouldn't teaching be about them, and what's really best for them? Two students came to me today and asked if they could vent about an issue with another student who had provoked them, but when an administrator spoke to the other student, he broke down crying (as he usually does) and got away with whatever he had actually done. In that moment, I wished I had a response. I don't know what really went on, but if a student feels like their teachers/staff aren't listening or being fair, and nobody is taking the time to talk to them or explain why they're being punished...then aren't we doing more harm than good?
I don't know, all I know is that I'd love to be a teacher the rest of my life...but if education keeps going the way it seems to be, I might need to go back to school for that business degree.
*end rant*
Oh, here is The Atlantic article "Why do Teachers Quit?" by Liz Riggs that sparked this little party.
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