Spectre
10-18-2008, 06:40 AM
No, it isn't perfect. The school is run more like a junior high school than a middle school and I have already had a run in with one of the more tenured science teachers, on another grade level.
But compared with what I have seen before...my current school is the best one I have ever been in. My only regret is that I didn't get here before this year.
And to think I very nearly didn't take this position when it was offered to me this past summer. What a "dumb" move that would have been.
I had not fully realized how much stress that 90 minute commute, there and back, added to my life, until it was halved. I can now get to school in 20 minutes, driving through the tobacco fields and seeing very little traffic.
Students do what I ask them to. Well, yes, there is the occasional "knucklehead" who won't turn in their homework, doesn't finish what they are doing in class, or gets silly during a science activity, but they would not be 6th graders if that did not happen. And there aren't that many who do that. I have three isolation seats in various parts of my classroom and any miscreants go there if they foul up. It doesn't take but one or two being sent there to get the message to the others.
I can now say that I spend the majority of my time teaching and interacting with my students rather than addressing behaviors and/or attending useless meetings and "trainings" designed to protect the administration's hind side. Our administration at my new school pretty well leaves us to do our job, but while I say that, they maintain high expectations and if someone starts to slack off, they hear about it.
Our administration supports us and advocates for students at the same time. Nonsense is not tolerated and the students know it. There are no "double standards," based on racial preferences. We have high expectations of ALL students, regardless of ethnicity or where they come from.
We were seining for minerals in my classes this week and one of my sinks got clogged with sand. Rather than having the school system plumber come in and bless me out, my current principal came down and fixed the problem himself, saying that if I was involved in teaching kids and this happened, it was "no big deal."
As I said, my only regret is that it took me so long to find this place. :clap:
But compared with what I have seen before...my current school is the best one I have ever been in. My only regret is that I didn't get here before this year.
And to think I very nearly didn't take this position when it was offered to me this past summer. What a "dumb" move that would have been.
I had not fully realized how much stress that 90 minute commute, there and back, added to my life, until it was halved. I can now get to school in 20 minutes, driving through the tobacco fields and seeing very little traffic.
Students do what I ask them to. Well, yes, there is the occasional "knucklehead" who won't turn in their homework, doesn't finish what they are doing in class, or gets silly during a science activity, but they would not be 6th graders if that did not happen. And there aren't that many who do that. I have three isolation seats in various parts of my classroom and any miscreants go there if they foul up. It doesn't take but one or two being sent there to get the message to the others.
I can now say that I spend the majority of my time teaching and interacting with my students rather than addressing behaviors and/or attending useless meetings and "trainings" designed to protect the administration's hind side. Our administration at my new school pretty well leaves us to do our job, but while I say that, they maintain high expectations and if someone starts to slack off, they hear about it.
Our administration supports us and advocates for students at the same time. Nonsense is not tolerated and the students know it. There are no "double standards," based on racial preferences. We have high expectations of ALL students, regardless of ethnicity or where they come from.
We were seining for minerals in my classes this week and one of my sinks got clogged with sand. Rather than having the school system plumber come in and bless me out, my current principal came down and fixed the problem himself, saying that if I was involved in teaching kids and this happened, it was "no big deal."
As I said, my only regret is that it took me so long to find this place. :clap: