February 2012
13 posts
6 tags
Rejection
Normally, I am not bothered by rejection. But, I just got my first rejection e-mail from a school district and it bothers me.
I wish they would have at least interviewed me. I spent a lot of time on the application and rewriting my cover letter/resume.
Also, (I know it’s early still and that hiring doesn’t really take off until March) I’m starting to worry that this is a...
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Things Teachers Go Through
I had to have my fingerprints redone for a substitute position. It didn’t help that I had “Sexy and I Know It” (I hate that song but it is catchy…) stuck in my head the entire time the officer was taking my prints.
I was able to fight the urge to bob my head to the beat sing.
Also, I am one of those people who stare at my fingerprints card in pure fascination (until I...
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Finally..it has happened...
Submitted my application for my “Initial Educator License”…Finally. And I’m not nervous. I just want my pretty piece of paper that cost me four and a half years of college tuition + $95 for my in-state content area exam + $80 licensing fee + the cost of my transcripts.
I just want to hold my insanely expensive (but they’re also very blue and very pretty) license....
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Tumblr Teacher: Girl with a Lesson Plan: Something... →
girlwithalessonplan:
No. Really. You can’t teach the unwilling.
Here are options in my speech class:
Pick your topic, whatever you want as long as it fits the genre of speech (persuasive, narrative, etc.)
Research it however you want, either with print or web
Show me some progress points as you work
Make…
This whole post sums up a huge lesson I had to learn during my student...
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One Town's War on Gay Teens →
There is some dialogue about the school district that became a battleground of sorts. I could only imagine how I would feel as a teacher put in the situation of possibly losing my job if I mentioned homosexuality in my classroom. I literally don’t know what I would do (especially because it is a lot harder to come across a job in my content area). And that is a scary thought as someone...
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“When adults say, “Teenagers think they are invincible,” with that...”
– “Looking for Alaska” by John Green
I just finished this book. I wish I had read it back when I was in high school after two students died in a car accident. However, I still enjoyed it as an adult and educator. I received so much wisdom from this “Young Adult” novel.
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This makes me happy. →
I discussed this with my classes during student teaching. Because I was in a small (conservative too) town, a lot of kids had never heard anyone tell them not to use “gay” in this context. Most kids did not care what I had to say and in a period of Government (one that I did not teach on a regular basis but observed most of the time), students quickly turned my discussion into the...
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To the anon who messaged me...
…”Yes” is the answer to your question. And that is all I will say. That and I am expecting 12”-24” of snow.
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Things your teachers might do when not working (or...
Drink chai.
Watch “Dance Moms”
Wait for “Project Runway: All-Stars”
Get ready for a huge snow storm.
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One of my friends who graduated from school at the...
…got her teaching license in the mail.
*whines*
*although she did go to a different university and they had her final transcripts and degree available A WEEK after graduation (my university did not have my transcripts OR my degree available until January 17th…over a month after I graduated).
In all honesty….I will feel so much better and much more confident when I have my...
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I've realized...
…that I love history and civics and sociology and geography…but I hate teaching it. Well…that lowers my job prospects…
Is it possible for a teacher to love teaching one subject (that they are very passionate about) but hate teaching another subject (that they are also very passionate about)? Perhaps I am only basing my opinion on my student teaching experiences (I liked...
January 2012
18 posts
5 tags
Thank you everybody!
Thank you everyone for your portfolio suggestions. And if you are reading this and you have a suggestion, feel free to share!! I feel like the whole “finding a job” thing is something I was not prepared for at all. So thank you everyone! I will definitely be exploring many of your suggestions!
Also, if I ever get to talk to a room of education majors/prospective teachers, I...
themusicstopped asked: Hello there! I recently graduated with a visual arts degree from Central Michigan University. On your blog about the portfolio are you asking about the online portfolio or a hard copy portfolio? I ask bc there is a lot more you can put online than you'd want to give a principal to look at during an interview.
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Teaching portfolio
I am trying to put together my teaching portfolio (in case I get a job interview any time soon) and I am trying to figure out what I should put in it (I’m thinking lessons that include knowledge of differentiated instruction is a must). My university did not really give me any information regarding what I should put in my portfolio, so I am consulting tumblr!
So, what do/did you include in...
Mr. Carver
thanksforteachingus:
Thanks for continuing to teach me even though other teachers had given up on me. You inspired me to become a teacher myself! Your student, Beckie C. (@beckiebarista) Grade: 9 School: Pomona High School City: Arvada, CO
I have to share this one (because it is mine). I don’t know where this teacher is now (he left my school when I was in tenth grade) but I appreciate...
How I felt after I submitted my first full-time...
lovemusicandlaughter:
teachintraining:
At first I was like…
bahahaha, I felt almost exactly the same way.
I’m so glad I’m not the only person who felt this way. :)
8 tags
Dealing with nerves
I have been dealing with my post-application nerves by reading about technical theatre and practicing my perspective drawing techniques…
…so I will feel a little bit more qualified for this position.
Because…I’m just throwing this out there…my skills as a theatre technician are as “derptastic” as this gif:
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How I felt after I submitted my first full-time...
At first I was like:
Then I realized I submitted a legitimate job application with a legitimate cover letter and resume…and might have a legitimate job interview…so then I was like…
So then I kept thinking “I’m not going to get the job…I’m not qualified to teach theatre!” And then I realized I went to college for this…so then I was...
6 tags
Job opening part 2
Part-way through filling out an application for the job opening I found yesterday, I come to a questionnaire section. A lot of these questions are questions I expected to be asked in an interview so these are questions I have put a lot of thought into. Needless to say, I have written a NOVEL (at least two fully developed and thought out paragraphs for each question so far)!
Am I over doing...
4 tags
Job opening!
There is a job opening for a Drama teaching in a school in a local state…and they ALSO have a bitching Forensic/Debate team *which I did in high school and really really miss so maaaayyybbbeee I can get involved in that!*
And it looks like it’s a *new* program/position…which is what I really want.
I really hope they’ll let me apply even though I don’t have my...
Teacher in Training: Teaching license! →
positivelypersistentteach:
teachintraining:
Why is it so hard to apply for one?! In my state, you must apply online. And you cannot proceed forward in your application until you meet the requirements on the page you are on. So, I have been waiting weeks for my university to send me a copy of my transcripts just so I can proceed to the next…
Don’t you have the original praxis II score results...
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Teaching license!
Why is it so hard to apply for one?! In my state, you must apply online. And you cannot proceed forward in your application until you meet the requirements on the page you are on. So, I have been waiting weeks for my university to send me a copy of my transcripts just so I can proceed to the next page of the application. Now I finally have my transcripts and I have scanned them in. I find out...
3 tags
Pain...
All I feel is pain at 4:30 a.m. due to my lower right wisdom tooth. Salt water rinse, asprin, tooth numbing agent, ice…I’ve tried it all and I am still in so much pain. Anyone willing to pay for my removal since I most certainly cannot afford the extraction procedure myself?
Seriously….I was holding out to have them removed until I found a job with dental but this is getting...
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Anonymous asked: How hard is it for a person with an education degree (any field) to get a job? Also for a person who cannot get into the program but wants to teach, what other programs would you recommend them do?
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moodyismeh asked: Is money ever an issue? I hear a lot of bad talk about a teachers salary. What are your views on it?
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Diary of a First Year Teacher: What's it Like to... →
diaryofafyt:
A colleague of mine is teaching a secondary social studies methods class at a local university this spring. He asked if I and another first year s.s. teacher would be willing to speak to his teacher candidates about what it’s like to be a first year teacher. Here’s what I know so far:
Ask for…
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So...
Everyone is back to school (it seems) and I sitting around, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for my college to at least get my degree info on my transcripts so I can do…anything…All I’m limited to at this point is browsing for jobs…that I can’t apply for anyway…
Is there something I should be doing?
Also, I feel so unprepared for this part…the part where...
December 2011
9 posts
5 tags
6 tags
Bored
So bored. It’s only the second day of my winter break. I’ve already read one book, finished Christmas shopping, and obsessively stalked the employment pages of the school districts I want to work in (as if a job posting for a Drama teacher would magically appear out of thin air during the first week/days of winter break). AND MY LAPTOP IS SLOWLY DYING AND CAN NO LONGER HANDLE...
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Plagiarism (again!)
I was grading my Government class’ finals when I noticed something odd about a student’s paper. I was reading the paper when I realized that it sounded very familiar. So, I googled portions of the paper to find that the student copied the entire thing from oyez.org.
And this time, I am so disappointed in this student. I have previously mentioned this student on this tumblr and I...
theworldinpink asked: To me, the effort to make the phone call is more effort than some teachers would give. Not that they are bad teachers for not calling, it's just that some teachers have too many students or have too much other stuff on their mind to take the time to try to get in touch. I'm thinking that something outside of you is going on, and that "it's too cold to walk" is just an...
4 tags
Is it break yet?
Not for me, no. I still have two more days next week.
Bah humbug.
Grinch-face.
But in all honesty, I will miss my kids. I’m kind of sad to see the semester end.
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Conversation with a parent...
A little background first. The student involved is a home schooled student who comes to the middle school twice a day: once in the morning for choir and once in the afternoon for Drama. She has not been in class for the last week and a half and I have only just now gotten an answer on the phone:
Me: Hello! I’m Ms. C and I am your daughter’s teacher in Drama. Mom: Yes. Me: Well, I...
2 tags
It’s my birthday today. Also, I graduate on Saturday. That is all.
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My play is tonight
And I swear, this thing is cursed. On top of all the “drama” that has happened this semester (including lead actor failing to do his part, none of my technical crew meeting deadlines for posters, costumes, props, or program, and removing two kids from the cast), I found out this morning that one of my cast members got the chicken pox. In high school.
Well, I guess they do say “Macbeth” a bunch…
November 2011
16 posts
2 tags
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I just banged out three lesson plans in the last hour. That’s a record for me. Seriously.
I feel so inspired and creative this evening. I was able to come to a sense of closure and peace earlier today. This last week has been a big blob of depression, anger, and grief. However, today I attended my friend’s funeral and although I cried a lot during the service, I am now at peace...
3 tags
It's Sunday...
I spent the day in mourning: one of my good friends since sixth grade died this weekend. And I still have so much to do before my two-day week begins.
And so, I have next to nothing done…except for a vague lesson plan for my 7/8 Drama class.
I remember something a cooperating teacher once told me: “When you’re a teacher, your personal life goes out the window as long as your...
1 tag
I'm waking up at 4:30 tomorrow morning
To ride a bus with 45 seniors…to the not so big city. Wish me luck….
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Things are just falling apart...
The play I am directing with my 9-12 Drama class is falling to pieces. And it’s all because one person in the cast is not holding up his end of the deal. Today, I told the entire cast that if this one person does not get their act together, then I will have to cancel the show. This person has until Wednesday. Tickets are going on sale on Monday next week and I refuse to sell a single...
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This weekend, I should have gotten a lot more things done than I did. If that sentence makes any sense at all…I should have done a lot more grading…a lot more planning…a lot more cleaning…
And my only excuse for not getting things done: the allure of relaxing for ONE WEEKEND. Is that too much to ask for?
I’m gonna pay for it this week…
Also, thank you to...
3 tags
IT'S A PLC DAY!
It’s a PLC day! Which means I get to wear JEANS!!!
Also, it’s Friday.
6 tags
Good books for teachers?
I am trying to find some good books to read. So, teachers…what is one (or two…or three…if you can’t pick just one) book that you think every teacher should read at some point?
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Most amazing day ever...
Spent the day in the big city with my students and all the “artsy, fartsy” teachers. The Lion King was amazing! We sat on the Orchestra level and my students were in awe of the whole show. They were amazed with the special effects. One student in particular surprised me. He was so into the show and showed an extreme interest in the process of getting to “do that”.
...
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To-do Tomorrow(Saturday)
1. Get on a bus at approximately 8:30 a.m.
2. Three hour trip to the city on a school bus with 14 students.
3. The Lion King!
4. Work Sample (due by 11:59 p.m on Saturday!)
Description of Setting
Analysis of Pre and Post Assessments
Reflection
References
Reformat lesson plans
5. Eat *if there is time*.
6. Get home at approximately 8:00 p.m.
I did it….all of it.