My whole life changed for the better the moment I was
offered my job at Gold Academy Elementary in Decatur Township. I will gladly
admit that I was in over my head the moment I walked through the doors as an
educator instead of a student. Walking through the hallways felt a lot like déjà
vu, even though I was on the Blue side for my fifth and sixth grade years. A
lot of memories reappeared, mainly since the principal and assistant principal
of Gold were also my sixth grade teachers on Blue. The two fifth grade teachers
I work with were also my fifth grade teachers at Blue. A third grade teacher
that I work with was also my former fourth grade teacher from Stephen Decatur. It
oddly felt like coming home. And those five teachers have turned into my
colleagues and my friends. Not many people can say that about their former
elementary school teachers.
My very first day was filled with A LOT of NWEA testing
and shadowing the English Language Learner Instructional Assistant (ELL IA) on
the Blue Academy. I got to see what the days of NWEA testing was like. I
remember taking it as a student, but boy, things have changed. Instead of
taking it just twice a year, they take it three times a year. Anyway, that day,
I only met three of students: my three fifth graders. Along with them, I also
met four other marvelous IA’s that I now share a LGI room with. That was also
the day the LGI room was all moved around and chaos ensued. It was definitely
an interesting and overwhelming first day.
The following days after that consisted of a lot of
testing and introducing myself to the teachers and the students I’d be working
with. Walking into classrooms to talk to teachers was probably one of the
scariest things I have ever done. I mean, I’m taking students from their rooms
to work with in a small group. I wanted to make sure every teacher trusted that
I would take care of and help their student, which is difficult to persuade
them of such a thing given I was freshly out of college and the only students I’ve
ever worked with before were college students. However, I walked into their
classrooms with confidence. And, honestly, all the teachers I work with are AMAZING. I’m not just saying that. They
are. They put hours and hours of work into their classrooms for their students
and I guess I never really realized that until now. Lesson planning isn’t
always easy. I, a little ole IA, have stayed at work until five or later for
lesson planning (my schedule is so packed that sometimes my prep time turns
into a pull out session). I know of several teachers who have stayed until
eight or later grading and making copies and just getting things prepared for
the upcoming days. It’s inspiring.
About a week after starting the job, I finally got to
work with my students! I was so nervous that I didn’t eat all day. Since I didn’t
know any of them and they didn’t know me, I thought it would be fun to fill out
little index cards with fun stuff like birthdays, favorite colors, favorite
foods, favorites books, etc. (I actually just found those cards yesterday).
Little did I know then that just an act as simple as having them write down
some of their favorite things was huge steps toward building a relationship
with them. Six months later, the bond I have with all 45 of my students is
strong. They trust me, they’re comfortable around me, and that’s a feeling like
no other.
It took some as little as a few weeks to be comfortable
around me, others it took a couple of months. Now, I’m not saying everything has
been perfect or that I’m perfect or that my students are perfect. I’ve had arguments,
I’ve written students up, I’ve taken away recess, I’ve started a clip chart in
my room, I’ve done behavior charts. As an educator (can I call myself that? I
mean, I am teaching them some things), I’ve taken a step back and looked at
everything I’ve done wrong when it comes to disciplining my students. I talked
to the Master Teacher. I’ve talked to other teachers. I’m still learning, but I’ve
learned so much from them and I’ve been going about things differently than I
was before. So far, so good!
One of the hardest things I had to get used to was lesson
planning. I didn’t know my student’s weaknesses right away, so it was slow
going. A lot of spelling board races, reading as a group, talking about the day
just to get them using English, and rereading the story of the week. What I
didn’t know then was that all of that was exactly what they all needed. A few
extra minutes with the story helped with their comprehension tests. More
spelling practice helped with spelling grades. Everything I thought I was just
putting together to hold me over until I knew exactly what they needed, was
perfect for them. They aren’t crazy needy students, they just need a little
extra help to make things click easier for them.
One thing that I make my students do is to read for
thirty minutes every night. At first I didn’t make them document it, but now
they have to. Anyway, every single one of them fought me on it. BUT… I’m going
to brag a little bit real quick, THEY ARE EXCELLING IN READING. Going up on
NWEA tests, going up levels in benchmarking. I’ve even got some to actually
like reading! It’s crazy but so much fun.
Just so everyone knows, I love sleep. I love sleeping in.
But on weekdays, I don’t mind waking up early to go to work. I don’t mind
standing in the commons area and greeting all the students when they get off
the bus. I don’t mind staying after school to plan for pull out groups during
testing season. I don’t mind when I need to change my schedule up a little when
a teacher needs to me help a student at a certain time. I love my job, and
sometimes I wish I went to college to be a teacher. But for now, I don’t mind
working with ELL students, fighting for what they need, or being someone they
can talk to. This job has been one of the best accomplishments of my 23 years of
life.
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