The Little Engine That Could

Tough, that is my week in one word. Despite working so hard at being the best teacher I can be sometimes outside factors can rattle you. I had another very rough week and it wasn’t helped by the fact that I am now extremely homesick and I’m more stressed out then I have ever been in my life. I feel like I just need one day to sit and do nothing but that is just not possible. I heard a saying about teachers once and that was their work was never done, and it’s not. If I manage to catch up on grading, I have something more to grade by the end of my day. There is always more lesson planning to do and of course reflecting on the lessons I’ve already taught. I don’t mean to complain, I am just feeling very overwhelmed.

This past week I learned something huge. I learned that collaboration equals consistency for students. My school has several initiatives its been working on and the tardy policy is one of them. All the teachers have been in meetings about how to decrease the tardies before and during school, but this is the first year they’ve really stuck to their guns about initiating the policy with every teacher. They’ve announced it to the students and they come around and make sure that the teachers are following procedure. This collaboration has significantly reduced tardies.

I’ve learned a lot about collaboration since I’ve started student teaching. I learned that the more teachers and administrators collaborate, the better school environment you provide to your students. With a school as big as Eisenhower this collaboration is crucial. Teachers and staff all over need to know what is expected out of them but also what is expected out of their students. This collaboration doesn’t just stop with the staff at Eisenhower. Through department meetings and our curriculum director we can collaborate with the other high schools in our district. Every week we get together twice to work on developing an effective learning climate in our department for our students. I’ve already been able to help on developing what our homework policy should be as a department for the whole district.

So far my relationship with parents/guardians has been to help my students what my expectations are for them. When I can’t get through to my student that they need to be trying harder in my class, getting work in on time, etc, then I talk to the parents. Most of my communication has been through email but this week is parent teacher conferences and I am interested to see what that is like. I do most of my communication with my students though. I am pretty good with developing relationships with my students and most of my students I know really well now.

Another collaborative thing I’m good at is co-planning/ co-teaching with my aide, cooperating teacher and other social studies teachers. Its encouraged to talk to other teachers about how they teach a subject, and the teachers at my school are all to willing to share their ideas. I am always showing my cooperating teacher things I plan to do or asking him advise on the best plan of action. He helps be plan the right way to introduce something and he also helps me find a better way to teach something. With my aide I am constantly making sure that I am planning for the needs of all my students.

I’m still in need of finding the strength to continue with this experience. I love my students and I love everything I’m learning and I absolutely love teaching. I just feel like I’m at my breaking point. I feel like I’m not good enough to teach these kids yet. I’m in constant worry that my students won’t learn what they are supposed to because of me. So I’m in need of encouragement this week.

Last week I set a goal to be a better writer for my students. I’m keeping that goal but this goal really showed my students that even though I have gone to college and am now teaching them, I still struggle with some academic things. They really do appreciate being open and honest with them.

My goals for this week;

1. Get government class to calm down enough to be enjoyable. I’m sick of dreading that class every day.
2. My social life can take a hike for all I care this week. This weekend wore me out and now I think I’m getting sick.
3. Eating healthy got better this week and with that I am surprised. It probably helps that I’m stressed to my breaking point and when I’m that stressed I don’t want to eat. So what I do eat tends to be healthy.
4. My relationship with God improved this week. My friend who got married Saturday needed him so much this weekend to stay calm. God used me to help keep her calm but also to remind her that he was there for her. And now after writing these words I realize that God just reminded me that he is always there for me as well. J
5. Keeping my sainity this week will be hard and I’m going to say that I just need to set my sights on God and stay positive.
6. Studying for my tests in November is a top priority now.
7. Being the best teacher I can be, this week is going to be figuring out how to relieve some of the stress in my life.
8. I failed at staying positive this past week but every day, every week, every class period is new and I can start fresh.  
9. A new goal I have for this week is too collaborate more with the other teachers in the building.
10. My second and probably semi-permanent goal for the week is too catch my students back up to where we need to be. Projects last week took longer than expected for both classes. 

Please have me in your prayers this week, 

~Abby