And on the 28th Day, I Rested

Well, I had to break down and take a sick day. Apparently my health regimen isn't working too well. Every fall I get some sort of respiratory infection so I'm trying to cut it off before it gets worse. I'm stressing out right now. I got everything I could together and organized with post-its everywhere. I also left instructions with the classroom assistant: there are videos on the VCR and don't be afraid to take extra recess. Most of my students will be fine, but I have 2 that will probably fall completely apart. It's also a testing day, so my students who would usually go out for inclusion will be in the room all day. I keep looking at the clock thinking, "they should be doing this right now".

Luckily yesterday when I was dragging my body around the classroom, I didn't have to redo any of my lesson plans. If there was one thing my mentor teacher was adamant about during student teaching, it was that my lessons could be followed if there was no way I could get there. The only thing I had to do was highlight the things I wanted done. I just wrote a quick note, and put post-its on everything to be clear, left it on my table and closed the door with my mind racing about what I could have forgotten.

I'm not being over-dramatic. I know they will be fine without me. They will make it through the day and that's all that matters. It's hard knowing that simple changes in certain student's routines have the potential of ruining their days. Besides, I'll be back tomorrow.

The Intervention Specialist Diet

There are often comments made about how small I am (honestly, it's through the blessing of genetics) so in response to that, I decided to give my advice on how to maintain that girlish figure through what I like to call the Intervention Specialist Diet.

Eat Sensibly

Every morning pack a healthy lunch that is well-balanced and has enough important nutrition to get you through the afternoon. When it comes time for lunch, only eat about 1/4 to 1/2 of what you have packed. Instead of eating, continue to walk around the lunch table opening containers and helping your students to stay in their seat. Train your students to get up and run across the lunchroom when you are just about to take a bite. This way you almost perform the act of eating without all those pesky calories. Have every intention of finishing your lunch later, but don't actually do so.

Exercise Regularly

Doing a combination of aerobic and strength-enhancing exercises will keep you feeling good and also gives that sense of accomplishment. Some common ways of doing this would be to walk the hallways of the school at least 50 times a day, running after students who have thrown mulch and then sprinted off, helping students go across the monkey bars (if you're tall, stand on your knees to get a greater work out) and picking up students up off the floor who are having meltdowns so that other people can get through.

By starving and exhausting yourself through the everyday routine, you too can look your very best!

Tips From a First-Year Teacher

Always confirm and practice your building access code to ensure that you a) have the right code and b) truly know how to enter it to fully turn off the alarms.

If you do not do this, you may in fact set off all the alarms in the building, not be able to reach any of the emergency numbers, be told by the security company that you have the wrong access code, and be stuck at the building with the alarms sounding in the corner near tears until you finally do get ahold of the on-call person (whom is really not happy that you are calling him on Labor Day weekend) to come fix the problem.

Exhaustion, Sickness, and the First 4 Weeks

I will be the first to admit, I had some lofty goals to begin the year. I imagined having my classroom completely set up, students coming in ready to learn, and blogging every minute of it.

That didn't happen.

It's not that my room isn't set up, but being a first-year teacher in a brand new unit, I don't have a lot of things. My kids currently keep asking for different things (sand/water table, News-2-You, more toys, etc.) but I have to keep the same response: I have to wait until I get paid. They have now learned my pay days and look forward to them as much as I do. So, I'm slowly accumulating and building things up. It will take time and it will get there. Just probably not as fast as I'd like it.

We are now in week 5 of school. I can recap the first 4 weeks in a very simple statement: I was exhausted. I have never been so tired! The first night alone, I stayed until 5:00 and could barely keep me eyes open. Thank heavens it was only a 3 day week. By the following Monday, I was sick. They passed the crud around very quickly and the 2nd Thursday of school I did everything in my power just to get through the day because it was way too soon to call off. But I made it and got myself on an immune-building regimen that I'm hoping will help me throughout the year (2 Immune Defense, at least one Airborne a day (usually at night), 1 Vitamin Water that is boosted with Vitamin C/antioxidants, and plenty of water and tea throughout the day).

It wasn't until the end of week 3 that I began to feel productive and settled into our daily routine. A large part of this fact is that our schedule literally changed every day for the first 2 1/2 weeks. Between regular education classes, specialists, and simply finding what worked best, it became a huge task of time management. If I could hug Microsoft Excel, I would. But we got there, we have a daily routine (which is interrupted with specialists nearly every day) and the students are now also into the routine of knowing what to do. I get most of what I plan done every day and AU would probably shudder at the lesson plan format that I've had to come up with to get through my weeks, but it works for me and they are fairly complete if someone were to step in.

I'm trying to work closely with the OT and PT to set up an effective sensory-based classroom. This is going....ok....I suppose. I'm doing what I can right now. Later in the year, when I'm truly in my groove, I'm going to sit down to write some grants to try and get some really cool things in place. All in due time. My new mantra: It will come if you give it time!

Admittedly, I tried to do too much. I felt the stress of having 2 IEPs due at the beginning of the year and working hard to get initial assessments done. I should have spent more time on the routine of the room and just getting to know the students and enjoying them. Some of the teachers were amazed that I was teaching content the first week. I thought I had to. I thought I would be behind. I suppose that's just the first-year ambition (and the desire to get hired by the district next year). It's a lot more reflection than what I had done in my practicums that is for sure. A lot of, "next year I'll do..." I had a desire to keep a nightly journal to help me these thoughts, but that also has yet to happen. I am too busy getting things ready for my kids.

I still stay until 5:00 nearly every night but I now feel much more productive and I feel as though it's OK to leave. Before, I really did not feel as though I could leave, but rather that I had to so I could eat and sleep.

Stayed tuned for more to come!

Summer School

Summer schools started this week at Crestview Elementary School. Instead of doing an end-of-the-year program, Crestview does a jump start program 2 weeks before the school year. This works really for students like mine and the incoming Kindergarten students. They get a glimpse or refresh on the routines of the school. It also gives them a chance to get into the academics before the full school day is piled onto them. It's a nice ease in for them (and right now, for me!).

Technically, yesterday was the first day of summer school, however, my one student was sick and could not come. So, I sat in with the Kindergarten teacher who was in charge of the incoming students with no preschool experience. This turned out to be a great experience for me. I was freaking out the night before. I just wondered if I was truly ready and how things would go. She made it look so easy. She gave me some great ideas and showed that these next two weeks are a relaxed time to get to know some of the students. I kept thinking throughout the morning watching her, "Oh, this is easy. I can do this." She was perfect for me and didn't even know it.

Today, my student showed up. They have a really delightful personality. Definitely pushed all the boundaries they could (and probably will continue to do so the rest of the week), but did what was asked when I showed I meant business. There was very little actual teaching done today as I have quite a few goals and objectives to meet so every activity centered around assessment so I could get a feel for what I was up against. I am very thankful to have this time with them. Going into the year, I have 7 student IEPs I'm responsible for (2 of which are due in September) so getting some assessments out of the way gives me a chance to meet the other students' needs when they come in. This student will all be set up and ready to go, which gives them and me an advantage. The morning went relatively quickly and we got most of the work done. I was able to plan some actual instructional activities for tomorrow based on what we covered today. Getting through today really helped me feel better about how these next 2 weeks are going to go.

I have to admit, teaching this morning was such a fulfilling experience. I have always wanted to be a teacher and my road to getting there has been a little difficult. It felt so wonderful to do my thing without someone watching over my shoulder and constantly second-guessing myself. I was fully accountable and loving it so much. It is so great to finally do things completely my way. I write my lessons the way I want, I'm organized (sort of) the way I want...it's my show and I can't express how much happiness that brings me right now. I cannot wait for this year. I am still so excited.

Preparing for the Unknown

I'm a planner. More specifically, I'm a scheduler. I love to make schedules and calendars. I can't leave the house without my phone. Not because of my texting (which I'm also a big fan of) or the off-chance that someone might call me. No, my phone has my calendar on it and I hate to be without it. So the one thing that has been driving me crazy since I accepted this position is the fact that I want to make my schedule and can't until probably the day before school starts. I knew this would probably happen, my mentor teacher for student teaching warned me that she usually does her schedule the 1st week of school. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely thinking about it and how to arrange it, but nothing will come to fruition until probably that week of school. The Lord is teaching me patience, I'm sure.

The more I thought about being unable to schedule due to unknown factors got me thinking about all the other things I am unsure about. As a new teacher, I am finding there are many things that I am not going to know until August (the planner in me is hyperventilating). I don't know about my space that I will be working in. OK, I have a general idea, but the last time I saw that room, it was filled with 3 different teachers' stuff and arranged in a manner for these teachers to work with their independent students. I also don't know what stuff I have to put in that space. Do I have tables? Desks? Both? What kind of supplies are already in the room? Am I going to have to take a 2nd mortgage out on my house to pay for manipulatives? I know how many students I have, but what are the types of disabilities, learners, and personalities am I working with on a day-to-day basis? Do I have non-verbal communicators? If so, how are they communicating now? Do my kindergarteners need a nap? Is it OK to have a snack with my 4th graders? Speaking of snacks, what are my students allergic to? ...The planner in me is now balled up in the corner of my mind refusing to come out until she has some answers.

It is just amazing to me the different questions that begin to crop up when I start thinking about the year ahead of me. It can be a little overwhelming when it really gets going in my head and I start coming up with worst-case scenarios (like what if I catch Mono the first day of school and have to live out the rest of the school year an exhausted mess?). Here's the comforting thought: people have done this before. Every semester teachers graduate, find jobs, and go do their thing. Even the not-so-successful teachers set up their rooms and teach kids every single day. Every day, brand new teachers survive in the unknown. Even veteran teachers deal with the unknown each year and come out on top. They have just done it more times than me so they are a little more used to it. I know I'll be fine. I've survived this far, haven't I?

I'm now going to try to coax my planner out from the corner with the promise of doing some lesson brain-storming.

The Art of Interviewing

Interviewing isn't natural and there is definitely a knack to doing one. I'm not here to offer any sage advice on how to do a successful interview because I don't know. I thought a lot about how to be in an interview before going to my first. I was prepared with possible answers to questions they may ask me and when it comes to intervention, I know my stuff. But doing a school interview is difficult. The friends in my life right now are almost all business/IT workers and were kindly giving their advice on what to do. My father-in-law has a saying, "educators are in the people business". Keeping this in mind, you cannot apply regular business techniques to an educator's interview on the public school level. You have to be professional because education is a serious business, however, you have to show the school your personality. A school needs to know what kind of person you are and how you will fit into its dynamic.

Keeping this in mind, I decided to be sincere. I thought this would work best for me. I'm serious about education and my children with disabilities. I'm passionate about it. But the personal me; the me you hang out with is a real goofball. I sing and dance randomly, I have a love for Jim Henson and his muppets, I tell really bad jokes and will usually laugh at them, I get excited about the small things, I take it personally if my tomato plants decide to die, and zombies scare the bujeezus out of me (no really...they do). With that mix of crazy, is it really smart to let it all show through? Well, to a degree, yes. At least that's what I decided. I'm going to make new friends and work with these people and the personal me is a part of the professional me (not that zombies are going to play very heavily into my curriculum). Being sincere will show who I am professionally and give you a glimpse of the person that will be roaming the hallways.

Now another element that goes into an educator's interview is who is going to be there and what you are going to be doing. Districts can vary greatly between each other and so can their interview process. I generally had three different types: A group interview, a one-on-one interview and a "teach" interview.

The largest group interview that I did was with 5 other professionals, however, I have heard of teachers who had a panel of 10 that will fire questions at you like it's the Fast Money round on Family Feud. Everyone would ask at least one question and I had resolved to answer each to the best of my ability and be as honest as I could be. Also in these interviews, they would ask a question and after I began to answer, they would begin to write furiously. This can be intimidating as no one is actually looking at you so it can be hard to know where to look.

The one-on-one interviews tended to be more like talking with the person over a cup of coffee. These were by far the most relaxing situations for me. If you just let me talk about what I care about, I think I will do so much better than coming up with contrived answers to questions.

The last type of interview I did was called a "teach" interview. This is an up-and-coming method of interviewing which is popular with school districts that have found teachers who are great in interviews but may not be very good in the actual classroom. In my teach interview, they gave me 2 state standards and had me write a lesson plan (including how to modify that lesson for 2 students with moderate to severe disabilities) and then teach that lesson to 4 preschoolers. I have also heard of having to teach to teachers acting like preschoolers. I was thankful to have the students. I was confident with type of scenario as well. If there is one thing I am confident in, it is my ability to work with students. The most difficult part of this situation was the fact that I didn't have any information about the students including the abilities that they had. It went as well as I hoped it would. Of course it could have gone better...it always can. Given the circumstances, however, I was pleased.

With everything that happened, however, it worked for me. I had 3 job offers and am still getting calls for interviews. I like to think my passion and sincerity for what I wanted to do came shining through. I'm just thankful that I'm done with that process for now.

How to Get a Job

Upon graduating, David made it no secret what my new job was: To find a teaching job. I would continue to work at my current job which will pay me and then go home to work on getting a job that would pay me and give me state benefits (the dream).

Don't get me wrong, I welcomed this new endeavor with incredible motivation and made it my life mission. This was 7 years in the making. I had been working on graduating and getting a job for so long that I was antsy to get out of the gate. So, I threw myself into it. I was at a disadvantage already. I didn't have the freedom to move like the others I just graduated with. My region was reasonably small and highly competative. I was also limited with my license. Sure, I could teach the entire spectrum of disabilities, but I am only licensed through the 3rd grade (thank you ODE). With the economy like it is, most districts want someone who is licensed through the 12th grade and easily moved within the system. The administrative influence in my life doesn't blame them, but I don't want to teach middle- or high-schoolers. Once a student has the ability to put their elbow on your head and use you as a leaning post, you lose a little authority.

So, every day I was on the Ohio Department of Education's website tweaking my online resume, uploading new documents, and searching for positions. I also bookmarked every single school district that had a webpage with job postings with a 45 min driving time radius. I also checked those every day and made note of those hiring or to call about further information. Then would come the hard part. I would rewrite my cover letter for each district tailoring it to the job and the district and then print out the multitude of papers that would go in each envelope, stuff said envelope, telepathically lay positive thoughts on the packet and send it on its merry way. In total, I sent out 9 packets and submitted 2 applications online in the course of 2 weeks. After that, I ran out of job leads.

While still checking the websites, I would wait for something. I did some calling and soon gave up as I didn't encounter a secretary who particularly cared if my packet had been received. So, I resolved to wait. My first interview came for a very good school district about 40 miles away. Not very ideal, but they had a great reputation and they were willing to talk to me. In my next blog, I will talk my interviewing experience, but for time sake I will resolve to say after 8 interviews, I received 3 job offers. Now, to hear the whole story of that also takes some time. Let's just say that I turned down 2 job offers waiting to hear on the 3rd. This move was either going to be stupid or pretty baller. It turned out to be baller as I was able to land my number one pick of a job and was elated. I'm still on a high and have been mentally rearranging my room ever since.