Starting out

I could talk about a lot of things about the first week. But, I'll hit the highlights and talk about the worst and the best changes since last year.

The worst first (to end on a good note):

Scheduling has been an utter nightmare. I know teachers, students, and adminstrators would agree. I didn't find out what I was actually teaching until the day of classes...minutes before we were handed a folder with our homeroom rosters that we called in an auditorium full of enthusiastic, sweaty, and impatient students. I'm not teaching physics this year, which I was fine with because that left with me with two doable preps: Algebra II and Trig/Pre-cal. However, they did not hire another full-time math teacher, and are again sharing a teacher between the junior high and high school. I thought she'd be teaching geometry...but because the junior high had done their schedules first, the periods that she was available to teach in the high school were Algebra II periods (I was told that they did the students' schedules before the teachers' schedules...which is probably where most of the problems lie). So...that means here's my schedule:
1st-Geometry
2nd-Algebra II
3rd-Geometry
4th-Trig/Pre-cal
5th-Geometry
6th-Algebra II
So it's a fun-filled day...I do like having that 7th period off when 6th period rolls around...

Crap, I'm digressing. Back to the first week...

So every day was full of surprises...different students added, taken out, switched to different periods, and switched back to the same periods. Even now, after the fourth week of school, there are still new students being added and schedule changes. Just yesterday I was informed (even though I knew it would happen since I already knew about the overloads) that the other Geometry/Algebra I teacher was overloaded, meaning she has 161 students, 11 above the maximum of 150 total students. She's already taken the other Algebra I teacher's overload of students...so the only way to lower her numbers is to switch 11 of her geometry students to me. But...my geometry classes are already 28, 20, and 28 students. I comfortably (using that word loosely) fit 28 desks in my room. You do the math.

It's impossible to teach in a clear sequence with so many students coming in and out. The first week this year was more disorganized, more thrown together at the last second. But I will say there are a few things that went better....

The Best:
The first week, and since then, have been a bit more peaceful. There still is at least one fight every day...but they're not as big or as often. There are actually some periods that I have walked down the hall, taking the absentee or coming back from a meeting, that I haven't seen students popping their heads in and out of the restroom, dodging teachers, or basically roaming the halls. It seems a bit quiter, a little less wild. Part of this may come from our principal really trying to do a better job this year. We have a band director this year, so he is not trying to do the job of two men. He's more consistent and swift with his discipline. He is more with-it, more friendly, and more of a presence.

Still, even with his change, there are some deeply rooted problems that haven't gone away, mostly pertaining to discipline and support from the adminstration...and organization. I can save that for another blog.

As far as myself as a teacher goes, I will say that I am more comfortable with the responsibility and control of being a teacher. I was not afraid of the kids on that first day like I was last year. Nervous, yes, but not afraid. It's a strange feeling to realize the power you can potentially have over them, by every facial expression, gesture, and word that comes from you. I just still need to figure out how to use all that to my advantage...and to stick firm to what I know I have to do.

You don't know me to teach me

We had our orientation today. The theme was "Do you know enough about me to teach me?" (I had a Freudian slip when I titled my page: "You don't know about me to teach me."). I did enjoy some of what the speakers had to say. There was one guy who reminded me of a mix between Chris Rock and Eddie Murphy...he did some excellent renditions of students that were somewhere between hilarious and heart-wrenching...of reactions of students to being sent to the office and the believable lies they tell the principal. He had their mannerisms down. Was it cruel? A large majority of the audience of teachers and staff were rolling in their seats. It's good to laugh. It sorta bonded all of us...we've seen that, we've heard that bad grammar, we've seen those dance moves, yes, we know what you're talking about.
So it turns out I still don't know what I'm teaching. I will find out tomorrow. Physics has been passed off to the new science teacher (who is an old teacher of Brooke's from both high school and college) which I'm okay with. I was actually quite excited (understatement) to find out I'd only have 2 preps. That was until...I find out they still have not found another math teacher 2 days before school, and we all know they won't. Then I was told that there are a lot more students enrolled in Algebra II than had been expected. So how's that gonna work? Let's do the math: last year I had 4 classes of Algebra 2, physics, and Trig. So let's say I've got the same for Algebra II, just bigger, than Physics, and Geometry...yet she said I might have 1-2 classes of geometry...so does that mean 3 very large classes of Algebra II? I shouldn't complain, I'll just find out tomorrow.