Pseudo First Year



I am drowning in work. Drowning doesn't even begin to cover it. You can ask any teacher, their first year teaching is undoubtedly the worst. The upside is that this isn't my first year teaching. I was a long term sub before finding my spot at my school, so I have a year's worth of experience in coming up with assignments, handling grades, communicating with parents, grading essays, going to meetings, etc.

But since I am "real" now thanks to Geppetto, there is a whole slew of new things to trudge through. Teacher inservice week(s) was perhaps the longest experience of my life. I got to go to new teacher training for three days and then do in-service. That's long off the list of things to do, but it wasn't exactly a blast.

Now for the things that remain…

I need 50 hours of professional development THIS YEAR because of my alternative certification program (regular teachers need 25 or 75 in three years). I also get three in class visitors that review my performance. The first is from the school admin, the second is from my alternative teaching program and the third is my teaching mentor from the school. So I'll probably be reviewed like 15 times this year, nbd.

And then there are the essays and short answers that I have to do for my alt program which suck up hours and hours of my time that I could be using to implement the very things I'm being forced to write about. But nah, that'd make too much sense to just give me my time to get work done.

And then I get to go to this new teacher session every month to discuss how it's going. Oh and I'm supposed to have time to keep a reflection journal? I personally would rather prefer the school provide free psychiatry services. (That was a joke (sort of))

I'm also used to having one team meeting a week and now I have three…which again, takes up a lot of time.

Last week alone I had eight meetings. I mean…dude…eight?

I really need that time to do one of the 10,000 things on my to-do list. One of which is figuring out the three different machines that grade papers. There's the Lexmark, the Brother and of course scantrons, which are the easiest (and we don't use them). So the Lexmark machine jammed three times on me last week. And yesterday, the Brother jammed on me a grand total of 12 times on me. The cherry on top was when a teacher jumped in front of me, LOGGED ME OUT, and did hers. Unbelievable.

Plus, for whatever reason, my commute to school really stresses me out, but I need to just get over that. I think that all the stress I have about getting things done just decides to manifest itself in my feelings about the drive. See, the free psychiatric help would come in handy!

At school, our plans change constantly and we have plenty to do, so I'm always trying to figure out how to teach certain things. And then there's the grading……………….so many essays, short answers and worksheets. These are the times I envy other subjects.

English is tough, it's a core class and a lot of the students don't really want to be there. So I try my best to make it fun. Last week when we read "The Monkey's Paw," I brought in dry ice, turned on halloween lights, dimmed the class lights and started reading in a spooky tone before popcorning it off to the students. They did great on the test, so I must be doing something right. Right?

I just need time.

I just finished a book study for CTE credit and I need to sign up for my PPR exam this spring…which I should probably study for over Christmas break. It just never ends, and I feel like there are things that the school and my certification program add on to my load that I don't need/can't handle at the moment.

I have no social life. At all. None. Well…I did get hit on yesterday…but it was by a girl, too bad I'm not gay. At least I'm appealing to someone right? My kids are ALWAYS trying to ask me personal questions, so to get them to shut up about it, I told them I have a boyfriend. They nicknamed him "Corn." Teenagers are weird. Life is hard.

Losing my 16-year-old cat last month was devastating. I'm not over it, I'll never get over it.

And this week…my dad was involuntarily retired…so you're looking at the only full-time employee in my family…no pressure.

I need a vacation…

Thank God most of my students are respectful sweethearts. We'll see if they still like me this week when I put their phones in "phone jail." Wish me luck.












Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RAWK Holiday Art Show

Image
Do you live in Houston? Do you enjoy looking at beautiful artwork, having a fun date night with your honey bun, meeting new people, having fun and supporting the hopes and dreams of this artist right here? Than come to the RAWK Holiday show, featuring yours truly! Tickets are only $15, and you're in no way obligated to buy anything. You can just come and have a blast if you want! I'm thrilled that I was scouted through my Etsy shop and made a featured artist in this show. It's such a fantastic opportunity as an artist, and an awesome belated birthday gift for me. So if you're able to come, I'd be thrilled to see your smiling face there on December 11 at Stereo Live in Houston. You're support means so much to me, even simply buying a ticket if you're not able to come would help me out a ton. To buy tickets go here:  http://www.rawartists.org/lizrector Thank you to all my friends and family who have encouraged my artistic development through the year...
Read more

Things You May Need to Hear

Image
There is a good chance that you need to hear at least one of these things at this moment or throughout the new year: 1. Stop looking at your anger or anxiety as a wall you keep running into. Instead, look closely at the bricks that make up the wall. Attack the wall one brick at a time and watch the wall disappear. 2. Fear is an illusion. When anxiety strikes, you have to lean into it to get out of it. 3. You are where you need to be. Even if you feel stuck, even if you hate it, even if you don't understand it - stop trying to escape, and start asking yourself what you can learn from this. 4. People who don't have a clear sense of their own identity latch on to others. They turn their insecurity into gossip, their anxiety into manipulation, their inferiority complex into sabotage. Remember that you are a separate organism and that you can choose to either let their toxins in, or keep them out. Don't take on others' baggage before unpacking your own. If you ca...
Read more

Analysis of Gerrit Dou's "Dentist by Candlelight" by Liz Rector '09

Image
The piece I have chosen to analyze is Gerrit Dou’s Dentist by Candlelight. A Dutch painter from the 1600’s, Dou began this piece that explores everyday life in 1660 and completed it in 1665. Painted with oil on oak panel (14x10 in.), the piece, which is mostly bathed in blacks and grays, has an eerie lure to it. Entrapped on the oak is a man with his mouth agape, sitting in a wooden chair, wearing a distinct look of anticipating agony. The man looks to the ceiling, where his eyes are met with an alligator hanging from the ceiling; the alligator’s mouth agape as well, with its underbelly aglow. The dentist holds a single candle to the man’s face with one hand, and with the other holds back the patient’s forehead. A concerned wife stands before the man, holding his hand, which is securely fastened to the arm of the chair. The viewer anticipates action, as the scene seems ready to unfold at any moment. The three people in this situation form a sort of circle through their lit facades and ...
Read more