I'm Hired!

I have been hired to teach first grade in a school that houses K-3. I will be the only new teacher which allows me to access all the other teachers as a resource! I'm pretty excited. It will be quite the switch from fifth and sixth graders to first graders, but I think I'm ready for it.

First grade, here I come!

To Interview or Not to Interview... That is the Question

Well no news yet on the last interview. I called on Monday to see what the status was and they hadn't made a decision yet.

I just got a call from another elementary school way down south and to the east, near Four Corners. They scheduled me for an interview at 1:00 and want me to bring a ten minute lesson plan to the interview. I looked it up and it's a seven hour drive to get there. That means leaving at like 6 in the morning or leaving Sunday and finding a place to stay halfway. I know that opportunities to interview are scarce these days, but I don't know that I want to interview with this one. It's a small community and doesn't have what I want in my personal interactions with people. I'm sure the community is great, but I don't think it's for me. However, I don't know if I should go down and interview for the experience and then end up declining the job, because I don't think it would be best if I took it, or if I should decline the interview so I don't spend the time and money getting there and have them spend time and money on me when I really don't think there's a possibility of me taking the job.

Yes, I want a job. And yes I appreciate that they want me to interview, but it doesn't feel right. I want a job that puts in a good area with people I know that can support me and with experiences that I can grow from. Granted I don't know whether this job could give me that, but it seems highly unlikely that I would be happy there. And me being unhappy will not work well with the kids. And yet maybe that's where I need to go.

The question is: Am I being resistant because I don't know what's ahead? Or is this really not the job for me and I should let it pass by because something better is coming? It's these times that I just want to scream because I want to make right choice and I don't know how to do it.

Interview

I had an interview with East Midvale Elementary yesterday. It went really well. And I'll hear from them by Friday! I could know if I have a job this week! AHH!

Another Interview Down, Another Scheduled

My interview with Canyons went great. Although it was a bit hard to find and it snowed. It snowed for my last interview too. So plan for snow on April 16 when I interview with Davis.

My six year old student told me I was one of her favorite teachers today. That makes me happy. She works really hard, too. And I got to teach place value today! She picked up so quickly. I'm proud of her. She said it was too hard at first, then we talked about 100's, 10's and 1's and she got it really quickly. And she wants to help me find and put away materials. She's progressing really well.

Huntington Day 4

I really like my job. I worked with a 6 year old today. She's struggling with her phonics and gets distracted easily, but she wants to learn. And she does pretty well. It's always a challenge balancing learning and fun with kids, but it's great. I enjoy working with all the different ages with their different interests and abilities and personalities. There's a middle school boy who is pretty fun to work with. He'll push your limits, but he's pretty good at doing his work. And a fifth grade boy who can get laughing so hard I have to walk away to get him to do his work or else he'll just keep laughing. I love it. Kids are amazing.

Day Three - Getting the Hang of It

Some of the tricks I'm picking up from Huntington:
Separate books and put them in binders with sleeves. Then use dry erase markers. It saves on paper big time!
When first meeting students ask what you should know about them: can they wiggle their ears, do they collect things, aside from just what a sports do they like and what movies are their favorites

I saw a student borrowing in subtraction in the longest way ever. I don't know who came up with it, but it takes way too much time and confuses him in the process. Instead of beginning at the right side of the number he automatically started borrowing from the left and then would carry. So he was having to add and subtract. It made things so much more difficult. Teachers out there, please don't confuse your students like that. We had to undo his strategy and reteach for quite a chunk of time today.

The same student and I came up with a strategy in reading because he isn't getting the correct vowel sound: try it out in the word then read the whole sentence. Novel concept to a fifth grader who is struggling. He's proud of his growth already, though. He said his mom was right about Huntington. His scores have already gone up. I was so happy to hear that.

Interview

I had my interview with Jordan today. It went really well. I'm pleased with it. Now they pass my name on to the principals. I can look up the schools with openings, too, and contact them on my own. So it's looking good, especially because I'm not picky about the grade I teach which gives me many more opportunities. I will keep you posted!