my 4th post in 2010

I can't believe I wrote over 200 posts in both 2004 and 2005. Of course, that was back when I had a desk job. Even if I wanted to blog at school I'd have to do it from my phone because all Blogs are blocked.

So this is my third year of teaching. This year, I took on the challenge of being a founding teacher, a floating teacher and teaching technology in addition to teaching art. This first month has been crazy and I now know it is due to the nature of the school (and district), not my lack of teaching skills. I know I still have a ton to learn about teaching but instead of feeling stressed when I walk into a class and relieved when I walk out, I feel relaxed in the class and stressed when I walk out. The lack of communication and disorganization is staggering. It was probably just as bad in my first year of teaching, also a new school in the same district, but I was so much in survival mode that I couldn't see past the end of my own nose.

In spite of all my stress and frustration, I have discovered that I really love teaching. It's fun and it's challenging. You never know what the kids are going to do. And it's fun watching them learn even when they ask you the same question over and over because they didn't listen when I answered it for one of their classmates.

I miss having a classroom. I had no idea how much it meant to me until I didn't have one. I spent a lot of time last year considering the placement of tables and materials and how things would flow - systems, routines and storage. I also had a place to put my stuff.

My dream classroom would be a science lab or bigger size room with tables (4 students per table), counters, drawers, shelves and at least 1 nice, deep sink plus a kiln. It would have lots of storage and lots and lots of room to move around (RANT I'm tired of not being able to navigate around 30 kids and their bags - We are not supposed to stand in the front of the room yet the room is packed like a can of sardines leaving us only one place to be /RANT) I'd have traditional media on one end and technology tools at the other end including an elmo, an interactive white board and a mobile cart with a class set of laptops.

My biggest frustration is, as always, the place that enrichment classes have in our schools. What we do is not taken seriously. At any moment our classes can be interrupted, kids can be pulled out and our classes can be outright canceled at the last minute. It's just enrichment. The thing is, I know that I can walk into any of our core classes and teach the lesson that's being taught. It might not be to the depth that the core teacher might get to but I know I would do alright. Could any of them say the same of what I teach? It shouldn't be too hard. I teach Art to 2 kinder classes per day in addition to Art and Technology to two 6th grade and 9th grade classes per day. At least I'm having fun!