About 4 weeks into school, Tiffany finally showed up to my Geometry class. I asked her where she had been the whole time and she embarrasingly and sweetly admitted that she “hadn’t been making the best decisions”. I didn’t pry any further. As the weeks went on Tiffany would show up sporadically to class but when she was there she was organized, took all her notes, and paid attention. If she was in class two days in a row she always had her homework out and ready the next day. She clearly wanted to do well and she never failed to put a smile on my face when she showed up.
Last night she texted me for the first time telling me that she really wanted to do her best in class but she needed some extra help. When I told her my excessive afterschool availability she said that she can…
As I sat on my plane ride to NY for the weekend I stared out the window and naturally my mind wandered to teaching. The more I started thinking about my life and my job, the more I started to feel the warm tears build up in my eyes and the lights of the city…
read more »I took Friday off of school so that I could have a long weekend off and enjoy myself on a mini-vacation in Block Island. School really should have just ended last week and I should really just have stayed up north. The kids have CHECKED OUT. My room has no air conditioning and it was…
read more »A month and a half of after school “math camp” was over. The kids had been beaten over the head on how to write a number in scientific notation and that parallel lines had the same slope. The kids signed the “Confidence and Courage” banner I made, pledging that’s what they will have on their…
read more »8th period. I really enjoy being at the front of the room, teaching material, interacting with my kids, being in the classroom. I’m typically in a GOOD mood for the entire day until that 8th period bell rings. All of the sudden the teacher that I am with all my other classes just shrivels up…
read more »Two month blogging hiatus. I didn’t really feel like blogging. It seems like all that time things in the classroom were just “mehhh”. I think I was just expecting this big rejuvenation coming back from winter break, and I didn’t really experience it. I was let down. Everything overall seemed pretty much the same. I’m…
read more »On another note, I just found this Christmas card in my bag that a student gave me right before break. He wrote in his beautiful calligraphic handwriting on one side: “When you teach it brings joy to students. This is why you are here with us to give us a future to rely on.” On…
read more »5 minutes before school starts. No one knew where the kids were supposed to go. It was a toss up between 1st period or adbase (aka homeroom). Bell rings. Kids herding and out of my room not knowing where they’re supposed to be. Jeremy heard they were supposed to go to adbase. Kadesha heard they…
read more »First semester of teaching is done. The semester ending brings on winter break during which I encountered the question “How is it going for you?” many times from people I hadn’t really spoken to since I started TFA. That question is almost as hard to answer concisely as it was to get through my first…
read more »Well, okay I didn’t exactly lose it, but what happened today was the cousin of losing it. I woke up in a normal mood, came to school in a normal mood, leaning on the side of excited and happy that it was Thursday and break was so close. Then the day started sucking. Mainly, I…
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