As of Friday I finished my first official week of teaching 8th grade science and the best way to describe it is organized chaos! A beautiful, chaotic whirlwind of teachers and faculty balancing countless emails, schedule changes leading to lesson plan revisions (done 30 minutes before class starts) and already concerned parents with the average personality and temperament of an 8th grade adolescent student. Whoever said "Those who can't do, teach" needs a quick swift kick to the butt... or locked in a classroom full of 25 hormonal 13 year old's for 8 hours and see if they survive the day. Anyways, my first week was beyond my expectations on what I thought it would be, in a good way. In a really amazing, life choice-reassuring way.
I'm not going to say my first was easy, but it wasn't hard either. It was a challenge. At 8:20 on Monday the bell rang and as my first 22 students walked through the door, everything I had ever learned in college, all my prep and classroom design fell to the wayside. In that moment, you question if where you are, standing in front of 22 pairs of eyes, is where you should be. If you've made the right choice. It's a terrifying moment! As the bell rang on Friday, calling the first week of school to a close, I absolutely knew not only middle school but my school/ district choice was the perfect one for me.
I've already been asked for stories, and believe me I've got 'em! Here's a few highlighting my week:
I'm not going to say my first was easy, but it wasn't hard either. It was a challenge. At 8:20 on Monday the bell rang and as my first 22 students walked through the door, everything I had ever learned in college, all my prep and classroom design fell to the wayside. In that moment, you question if where you are, standing in front of 22 pairs of eyes, is where you should be. If you've made the right choice. It's a terrifying moment! As the bell rang on Friday, calling the first week of school to a close, I absolutely knew not only middle school but my school/ district choice was the perfect one for me.
I've already been asked for stories, and believe me I've got 'em! Here's a few highlighting my week:
- Having "Gonzalez" as a last name and being as blonde as Barbie I figured would cause a bit of confusion. I didn't anticipate students stopping directly in front of me, looking at me, starring closer at their schedule, looking cautiously at me, and back down at their schedule before entering my class with the most confused face in the world. Happened at least 15 times...
- First class, first day... I ask them a science question (something like, what has scientific research help in this day and age, ect.) and the table of boys comes up with the answer "Vibrators Mrs. G! Don't you agree?"... AND WE'RE MOVING ON! (Those young men and I had a talk after class)
- Placing everyone alphabetically for the first day of school is always a safe bet right? Wrong. During my "Welcome to 8th Grade Science!" presentation, as I am already walking around the class, I notice a boy showing the boy next to him the inside of his shoe.... yes his SHOE! Accompanied with subtle hand gestures. I tell him if he doesn't want me to come over there and take his shoe and whatever is in it, he better get his stuff and immediately move himself to the front, right next to me. Since that first day, he's not a problem for me... oh & he's getting a tattoo on his birthday. He's 13 lol.
- I don't really have any behavioral issues, I see middle schoolers as high hormones, energy and attitude but I do have one who likes to play semantics with me. His best friends turn into bullies; I ask him to whisper-talk to me if he has an issue, he whispers commentary all class long. I tell the class that the next person who talks while I'm talking will get written up, he promptly starts making noise with his lips... "But I wasn't TALKING Mrs. G!" I don't do semantics :) By end of class Wednesday, he figured that out
- A young man, whom I had been calling "Jose" all week long, came up to me Friday and told me I could call him "Tony... like Tony the Tiger... or just Tiger, if you want." I told him I'd probably just keep calling him "Jose." Lol
- Got to sound the alert to my first "possible" lunch fight... apparently "snitches get stiches" so it's up to us teachers to eavesdrop constantly
- I have a male student who would sit as close to me as possible if I let him... literally. Every day he asks when he can move to sit in the front. So I told him if he can get an A for this first unit, he can move up to the front... I don't doubt for a second he's going to make that happen.
- The kids keep trying to guess my age... my favorite guess? 46. Hell I look pretty good for 46!
- The 3rd day of teaching my principal and AP were walking down the hall as I was leaving for the day and he stopped me and said "Mrs. Gonzalez, I've been hearing fantastic things about you" to which I told him he can't believe everything the kids tell him but he laughed and responded saying "It's not the kids, it's your peers. We something really special in you, keep up the great work!" Can you say day made?!
Something I wanted to do, to set the tone of expectations in my class, was do a project called "Myself as a Scientist" where we go through and see different scientists from all racial and socio-economic backgrounds and then they choose a science field and draw themselves as that kind of scientist. I had a list on the screen for them to choose from and we talked about the pay scale for some of them. These kids went nuts for this assignment! It was completely silent in the class while they worked on it, they really took it to heart. Here's a picture of some of the completed works of art that I've now hung all around the room.
Working at Baxter has confirmed for me so many things that I always thought were true, but others don't always want to admit. For one, an adolescent is an adolescent is an adolescent. I don't care if they're a teen with a lot or a little, they're literally all the same. Different behavioral problems and learning styles perhaps, but you approach them all the same: With genuine, honest signs of compassion... and sarcasm. They wanted to be treated like adults, so I did and held them accountable when they showed signs of showing anything less. You'd be surprised how much a simple smile can do for the shyest of students and a quick appropriate sarcastic response to the most talkative little stinker can make their day.
So with a 3-day weekend to recover and create a plan of attack for next week, it also gives time to reflect on the first week. Yeah there were some rough moments, like realizing 30 minutes before school started I needed to change my lesson for the day due to a revised bell schedule, but that's the teacher life. You roll with the punches and stay flexible and calm in all situations. I have some fantastic role models to look up to as they are master's of this craft. But above all else, it's very satisfying going to a place of work where I know I'll spend the majority of my day smiling, just doing what I love.
So, even when you come home to 15 emails filled with questions and information that needed to be done yesterday, remember to:
Think like a proton, & Stay positive!
~Mrs. G
Live. Laugh. Teach.
So with a 3-day weekend to recover and create a plan of attack for next week, it also gives time to reflect on the first week. Yeah there were some rough moments, like realizing 30 minutes before school started I needed to change my lesson for the day due to a revised bell schedule, but that's the teacher life. You roll with the punches and stay flexible and calm in all situations. I have some fantastic role models to look up to as they are master's of this craft. But above all else, it's very satisfying going to a place of work where I know I'll spend the majority of my day smiling, just doing what I love.
So, even when you come home to 15 emails filled with questions and information that needed to be done yesterday, remember to:
Think like a proton, & Stay positive!
~Mrs. G
Live. Laugh. Teach.