I always want to remember my first "real" job as a teacher. "Real" meaning: I teach & get paid for it. Each day is a little different, as it always is in Special Ed.
The mornings are slow, as I answer emails and prep for the day. I cherish these times and they aren't rushed, but they do seem to pass quickly. I always try to remember to put away my lunch, sign in, and fill up my water bottle in one run, but I think I've only remembered to do all 3 at once maybe a handful of times. At first, emailing someone was so intimidating, but now it is the easiest & most effective way to communicate. It definitely isn't as enjoyable as face-to-face. 8:45 is when my day really begins. That's when she comes. My full-time student. We'll call her Kari, because it almost conveys the spunk/sass packed into this tiny little child. I set timers to keep her on task and usually loom in the back of the cafeteria to make sure that she is behaving correctly at breakfast. 9:10-9:25 is our time, which can somedays be very rough, but is generally quite enjoyable. I like to be with her when she can be herself, and not when she is being forced to work. Math with the boys is like trying to get a bunch of dogs to pay attention in a park. There are too many squirrels to keep them on track. I love this group of three though. They are sweet to me and sweet to each other. Math with the girls is more like social hour, but I try to remind them why they're here and motivate them by giving them time for their homework. #bestteacherever Reading with Kari does something to the clock. The hands speed by while time actually moves at a snails pace. I have yet to understand this. This time ends in one of two ways: a singing performance, or a temper tantrum. There is no middle. Math with 4th grade is usually the time of day when I'm ready to pull my hair out. (See: temper tantrum at the end of reading.) Also, one of my students sometimes needs to be bribed with one piece of dark chocolate per math problem that he completes. One day, I gave him half of a Trader Joes dark chocolate truffle bar. I almost cried. But he got his whole math sheet done for the first time since I've been here! Then it's lunch/prep. Insert sigh of relief and happy dancing. Also, recess duty in the cold. SOS I hate this April. If I sit in the teacher's lounge, it's at the edge of my seat, waiting for a banging on the door from Kari. Girl has spunk I tell ya. Then is my favorite lesson of the day. Kari is at lunch and I get small group reading time with the two sweetest fourth grade boys in the world. It is peaceful and I am happy during this time. It's followed with my "prep period" which is more of a hilarious joke than anything. It consists of reteaching Kari how to blow her nose, taking her to the bathroom, coaxing her to write, and maybe successfully sending 1 email. Afternoon reading is usually quite enjoyable, but apparently if I make them read on their own, I am immediate the worst teacher ever in their eyes. They still get jolly ranchers every 3 days so I think they should quit their whining. I am clearly the best. Math with Kari and another 2nd grader is one of the hardest parts of the day. Kari is fighting for attention while the other student is trying to actually learn. She is DONE with Kari. I don't even need to remind her to ignore Kari's attention-seeking behavior. She just does. It makes me sad. Reading at the end of the day is with my math boys again. It's almost schools-out time in their minds, so getting them to focus is somehow WORSE than it is in the morning. We use a lot of bribery. We do vocabulary each day and they crack me up with what they think some words mean. "What does the word fuss mean?" (after studying the meaning for 4 days) "It means that a baby is hungry." Well, close enough. And that's pretty much a wrap. After school is usually spent getting Kari out the door and in her car. Sometimes I get to chat with Heidi (another SPED teacher) after school & those days are my favorite. I mean, right after the days when I get to actually leave at 3:30 and go home. :) So grateful to have such and incredibly stretching experience right after graduation. I've been told that Kari is one of the toughest students many of the SPED teachers have ever seen. Gotta start somewhere, right?
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December 2022
I'm guessing I'll have it all figured out by the time I turn 30.
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