Here’s a round up of last-day-of-school posts from some of our New Teacher Diaries contributors:
[Editor's note: Mr. Foteah is a second-year teacher in an elementary school in Queens. He blogs at From the Desk of Mr. Foteah , where this post originally appeared.]
After I dismissed my fifth graders for the final time last year, the school guidance counselor found me and said, “Mr. Foteah, I’ve never seen a fifth grade class leave like yours. On the last day of school, all the other students say, ‘Bye, teacher! Bye, teacher!’ But all of yours are in tears.”
Well, what can I say? I’m a sentimental guy, and I lay it on thick for the last day of school. Although the little rugrats may test my patience and nerves as the final day approaches, I’m not the kind of person to look at the last day as liberation. Sure, I look forward to the summer, and I enjoy the break from the stress, but I believe my job is about instilling memories that my kids won’t soon forget. And so, I look at the last day as one final blowout in celebration of our accomplishments as individuals and as a family. More »
[Editor's note: Mr. Foteah is a second-year teacher in an elementary school in Queens. He blogs at From the Desk of Mr. Foteah , where this post originally appeared.]
As the school year comes to a close, it is a particularly special time for my graduating fifth graders.
The three official rites of passage for the graduates in my school are: awards night, a dance, and the graduation ceremony itself. All are charged with emotions that run the gamut from pride to joy to sadness to curiosity. For an 11-year old, the last couple of weeks of fifth grade, knowing you’re at the end of your elementary career and ready to conquer the next phase of life, are really wonderful times.
Monday was awards night, and there was a palpable buzz in the classroom that day for the students who were invited to accept an award at night. They were anxious to get gussied up — the girls with their barrettes, the boys with their too-short ties. The fact that I resolutely refused to even give them a hint what awards they would receive only made the anticipation greater. More »
[Editor's note: Miss Brave is a third-year elementary school teacher in Queens in her first year as a classroom teacher. She blogs at miss brave teaches nyc, where this post originally appeared.]
I had a truly fantastic birthday at school. First and foremost, Julio’s mother gave me the greatest birthday gift of all by not sending Julio — my biggest problem student, a 2nd-grader prone to epic meltdowns and all manner of out-of-control behavior — to school on my birthday. As a result, it was a blessedly relaxing day, and I was genuinely touched by the gifts and the love my students gave me.
Of course, just when you’re least expecting it, the poop will hit the fan. When I arrived in the morning on our Brooklyn-Queens professional development day, I wasn’t expecting to find next year’s organization sheet in my mailbox … but it was there. With my heart pounding, I quickly scanned all the names of next year’s 2nd-grade teachers.
And my name … wasn’t among them. Apparently, my students aren’t the only ones moving to 3rd grade next year! More »
[Editor's note: Bronxteach is a third-year elementary school teacher. He blogs at bronxteach.com, where this post first appeared.]
Photo by evelynishere
One of the axioms I was told early in my teaching career was, “Don’t smile till Christmas.” And I suppose, to a certain extent, this cliché is a useful tool of survival for novice teachers. But based on recent experience, I don’t need advice on how to handle problems with the kids; I need help with the adults.
The general rule I have tried to follow since early on is, “Pick your battles.” This is definitely helpful in my third-grade classroom — should I bother arguing over pen vs. pencil? Is it worth addressing a kid who is overly fidgety on the rug? — but it is even more valuable for navigating school politics. Since my first year teaching I have found myself confronting issues large and small that made me uncomfortable. Deciding whether to voice my opinions was always a difficult choice. More »
[Editor's note: Mr. Foteah is a second-year teacher in an elementary school in Queens. He blogs at From the Desk of Mr. Foteah , where this post originally appeared.]
Dear Gladys,
Today, when you were supposed to be reading your book, and while I was meeting with another student, I saw you writing something furiously. You are one of the few students in the class who regularly and dutifully records your thoughts on Post-its, and, when I excused myself from my conference to come see what you were doing, I expected to see just that. However, when I asked you what you were doing, you told me about your book. I listened, but continued to glance at what you were trying to hide under your arm. When I saw it, I was less than happy. You were doing last night’s homework, and I was livid.
I did not react as I should have. Taking your paper and crumpling it was inappropriate. Had I thought for a moment, instead of reacting instantly, I would have remembered that you are one of the most diligent, hard-working students in the class. I would have realized something was amiss. More »
[Editor's note: Little Miss Sunshine is a second-year teacher in an elementary school in Queens.]
As professional educators, most of us can point to that one great teacher who encouraged us to work hard, challenged us with new ideas and ultimately inspired us to follow this career path. But recently I started to think about that teacher’s opposite: the worst teacher I ever had, the one who brought me down and made me feel small.
I remember it clearly: I was sitting in my 3rd-grade classroom, front row center, working on a reading comprehension exercise, when Ms. G walked over to me and asked why I hadn’t answered any of the questions at the bottom of the page. More »
[Editor's note: Ms. Flecha is a third-year ESL teacher in an elementary school in Queens. She blogs at My Life Untranslated where this post first appeared.]
My professor who is advising me on my Master’s thesis recently asked me why I think my ELL students do so well, often making more than a year and a half’s worth of progress in reading. My initial response was that I think it’s because I teach them to be aware of the language they’re learning and train them to think about unknown words rather than just try to sound them out or get frustrated and skip them. But I can’t say for sure that they all really do that. I do witness a great many doing that, especially the ones who do so well. I also do what I can to limit the role of the affective filter so that they feel comfortable as language learners. But I think I was wrong. I don’t think these are really what’s at the heart of what’s going on in my class (I also don’t know how easy it’d be to compare me to other similar classes since kids are different, not just teachers).
To be honest, I feel it’s the norm, and whether it is or not I tend not to think about why they do well. I look at why they aren’t doing better, which teachers need to, but that’s not the whole picture. More »
[Editor's note: Ms. Socrates is a first-year 10th-grade science teacher in a school in Brooklyn. She blogs at Teacher's Diary where this post originally appeared.]
Like so many new teachers, I have had to learn the hard way that I cannot fully trust my students, no matter how close I feel to them or how responsible they may seem.
A few days ago, my camera was stolen during a passing period, when I left it on my desk for a few moments to slow an influx of kids into my classroom. The students are always a bit off the walls right after lunch and I was hoping to avoid chaos at the front of my classroom.
Instead, I lost my camera. More »
[Editor's note: Bronxteach is a third-year elementary school teacher. He blogs at bronxteach.com, where this post first appeared.]
After months of work and a fair amount of anxiety, test day finally arrived. As usual I did my best to calm the nerves of my students, and refreshingly, for the first time I didn’t have to calm my own.
I assured the kids that they were completely prepared, and reminded them of all the strategies they had learned to make the test easier. I handed out key chains from my trip to California and told the kids they were good luck charms. I could see the kids loosening up. And finally when I told my 3rd-graders that the practice test they had taken Friday was actually a 4th-grade exam I knew their confidence was boosted.
Once the test began I knew that I had been telling the kids the truth. They really were prepared, probably better prepared than any class I’ve taught before. More »
[Editor's note: Mr. Foteah is a second-year teacher in an elementary school in Queens. He blogs at The World As I See It, where this post originally appeared.]
The imposing forces known as the ELA and math tests have been moving in since September. If you’ve seen the television show “V,” you are familiar with the image of the alien visitors’ ship hovering above New York City and hanging there as an ominous sign of the new world order. That’s the best way I can describe the tests.
We are in full-fledged testing mode now (invaded, you might say). It’s flowing all the way down to the children from the top. Every morning, after we dutifully pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, our principal assumes the public address system to remind the kids how many days remain until the ELA and math tests. More »
[Editor's note: Ms. Socrates is a first-year 10th-grade science teacher in a school in Brooklyn. She blogs at Teacher's Diary where this post originally appeared.]
I’ve often expressed my wish that there were more effective discipline at my secondary school. But when I read an article a few months ago about how a 12-year-old New York City student was actually arrested and handcuffed for merely writing on a desk, I was almost impressed with how my school deals with certain issues.
While I’m almost certain that the student and probably most of her classmates will never tag up a desk again, I am positive that this zero-tolerance approach is not the most effective way to deal with discipline issues. More »
[Editor's note: Miss Brave is a third-year elementary school teacher in Queens in her first year as a classroom teacher. She blogs at miss brave teaches nyc, where this post originally appeared.]
Recently, my class had a very, very difficult afternoon. Julio had not had a good day: yelling, singing, humming, tapping, taking his chair wherever he pleased, pulling his jacket over his head, etc. (Julio is now on a long waiting list for a seat in a self-contained class after his mother finally and belatedly agreed that our class of 28 was not the right learning environment for him.)
During math, I gave this direction to the whole class: “Take out your slates and your markers. If you can’t find your slate or your marker, take out your notebook and a pencil instead. If you can’t find your slate or your marker, take out your notebook and a pencil instead.” Notice how I repeated this last part when I noticed kids starting to get up and wander around the room to look for extra slates or markers.
Julio had forgotten his marker. And I had forgotten to pick my battles. So as he got up from his seat to snag a marker after he had very specifically been told not to, I took the marker from his hand and asked him to take out his notebook.
Right around that time, Julio transformed into the Hulk. More »
[Editor's note: Mr. Foteah is a second-year teacher in an elementary school in Queens. He blogs at The World As I See It, where this post originally appeared.]
Motor Mouth, one of my least mature students in terms of behaving in accordance with the expectations I and school demand of a child his age, has really impressed me the last few days.
One of the traits I correlate with him more than any other is his propensity for raising his hand and then speaking without giving much consideration to what is about to come out of his mouth.
Now, don’t get me wrong. He is still the loudest during morning unpacking and the most distracted during independent reading. But, for whatever reason, he has, this week, been putting forth the most cogent arguments I have heard from him all year, and some of the best from the class as a whole. More »
[Editor's note: Ms. Socrates is a first-year 10th-grade science teacher in a school in Brooklyn. She blogs at Teacher's Diary where this post originally appeared.]
It is a frequent occurrence in many 10th-grade classrooms: A lesson is underway, when suddenly, from the back of the room, comes the exclamation that no teacher wants to hear: “Miss, your class is so boring!”
Midway through my first year of teaching, I’ve been really getting into improving as a teacher. I’m excited about trying out new techniques and receiving criticism on my teaching. I have learned to detach myself much more from the day-to-day incidents and distractions in the classroom. However, no teacher likes to be told his class is boring, especially not one who is consciously trying to be the best teacher possible. As a first-year teacher, I know I could be more engaging at times, but hey, at least I’m giving it my all!
Since the beginning of the school year, I have dealt handily with comments about my breath, my hair and even my handwriting, never batting an eyelash. But for some reason, the boredom comments always throw me — either into rage or despair. More »
