Monday, December 5, 2022
My First Holiday Break
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
The Start Of My First Year!
The Start of My First Year!
I am so excited to share that I am one of the new 8th grade Math Teachers at Bryant Junior High! Towards the end of May, I was informed that another Math position had suddenly become available. After I had been approved by the school board I was so excited to share with everyone that I had gotten my dream job!
How it is going...
I started at Bryant in the Fall of 2021 to do my internship for school. After that, I stayed after graduation taking a ParaPro job! Now, I will take the position of a full time Teacher this Fall of 2022! Honestly, everything happened so fast I am still getting things laid out. The Teacher that left her position is someone that I have looked up to for the past year. She is so kind, caring, and helpful. There would be days where I would go in her room just to ask advice or to sit and chat. I am honored that I am filling her position and wish her the best as she continues teaching in her new position.
Since I have been with the district as an employee since January, I am technically not a new hire. However, due to Covid-19 and all that comes with it, I decided to join my new coworkers at the New Hire Orientation. To preface this, last semester, I ended up having to go home on the second to last day of school because I had caught the stomach bug going around. Because of this, I never was able to tell my previous coworker goodbye or even see what all she had left in my room. She was so kind in leaving so many different materials and items for me as a first year teacher! It has been a few months and I am still going through everything that she had left me!
The first few weeks hit really hard. I honestly felt like I had no idea what was going on half of the time. Thankfully, I have other teachers in the math department that helped me so much! I knew what was coming but until you're thrown into that fire it really can't be described. There are so many things to remember! 504 plans and which students need what. Which parents to call and which parents want to be kept updated about certain things! Not to mention lesson planning, making sure that I am hitting all the standards while slowing down for some classes and keeping it challenging for my advanced classes. It is A LOT. I'm not complaining though! I love the fast pace and all the things that go into it! Now that we are 3/4 through the first semester I think I have a pretty good handle on things! That doesn't mean I am not ready for Thanksgiving break in a few days!
Friday, April 29, 2022
Job Interviews!
Well, it's that time!
I have already completed my first real interview! I was so nervous but thankfully it was here at the school I already work at! Even though I know the people that I had my interview with it was still pretty nerve wracking! There was a panel of 4 people. Two vice principals, the math specialist, and a math teacher. I was at an advantage because I already know the people and the school. I prepared a list of questions to ask because you never want to look unprepared! Overall I was calm and sure about everything I said because I know what I'm talking about! I keep having to remind myself that I hold a whole degree in this. Yes, I will always be able to learn more, but right now I have to be confident in my knowledge.
After this interview, I ended up having one more at a different school district. They asked me to prepare a presentation about myself! I thought this was interesting because I had not heard of having to do this for an interview! I waited in their office until it was my turn to interview. Of course, I had shown up earlier than my time so I expected to wait! They led me to a conference room with three people. It was a little nerve wracking because one of the interviewers showed no interest in anything I was saying. I kept going though and made sure to smile and look my most confident self!
After that, I was asked for an interview with another school district close by. They did a "round robin" style interview. This was interesting because I had never done this before! In my group, there were 5 applicants. We all waited together so that we could go together to the interview. They took us to the library for the interview where there were 6 tables set up with 6 people. They included people such as the principal, the librarian, math specialist, and math teachers. We were given 2 minutes at each table to answer whatever question they gave us. It was very fast paced and it made me really nervous. I brought along my "teacher binder" with me which piqued the interest of one of the people interviewing me. I believe she was a current 6th grade math teacher. (I believe the "teacher binder" deserves its own post in the future.)
I still do not hold a teaching position, but I have been told it may take way more than 3 interviews to be chosen. It is also still rather early to start stressing out at all. Here at the school I am at, the contracts just went out and they have 30 days to sign. So maybe there is still hope that a lot more positions will be posted! For now, I am continuing the hunt for a good job somewhere. I wanted to go ahead and share my experiences for now and the few things that I have learned through this process.
1. Don't stress! It takes a while to find that perfect fit.
2. March/April is a too early to stress about a job in education.
3. It may take quite a few interviews before you ever do get a position.
4. Everything happens for a reason.
5. This is a HUGE waiting game! (which is the hardest for me)
Overall, it is all going to be okay! Which is what I will keep telling myself until that position comes along!
Friday, April 15, 2022
A Parapro and all we do
Since I graduated in December, I have taken on the role of an Instructional Paraprofessional. What does this mean for people who don't know? Basically on a good day I co-teach math! I help with classroom management, struggling students, IEP kiddos, and even pull some students for small group instruction. On a more realistic (read mostly because of COVID) day consists of covering classes/duties of teachers who are out. I LOVE my job! I think that everyone should start out being either a sub or a Para! I get to come to work each day and have something new! There are some days when we have enough subs that I have a more consistent schedule, but right now with COVID and the flu going around we have seen better! I love the fact that I am getting to go into many different classrooms and meet a whole new group of students that I otherwise would have never known! Don't get me wrong though, there are days that these kids are on a whole different level because they "have a sub"!
I swear those words are the bane of my existence. The school I work at is HUGE, which means that even though I've been here since technically August (Intern first semester employee the second) that there are still students who take one look and think that they're going to act up because I'm "just a sub". I think that the biggest thing I have learned from this is that you have to be confident and sure of yourself.
Monday, March 7, 2022
After Graduation: what's next?!
I graduated!!! But...What's next?!?
Towards the end of my internship, I knew that finding a permanent position was going to be almost impossible in the middle of the year. Especially the school district that I am in because it is one of the most competitive that I have ever seen. Thankfully, a paraprofessional position opened up! The day that it was posted I went to the principal and talked to him about it and was told to apply the same day! Before I even walked across the stage I had this job lined up for me!
Thursday, March 3, 2022
Tips From A Recent Grad!
Tips From A Recent Graduate!
In education, we know that December marks the smack middle of the school year. So, what does this mean for people who are graduating in December? I'm not sure how typical my situation was, but I have learned a lot from my own experiences.
Student teaching is HARD! Never let anyone tell you otherwise! There is two levels of school that you are dealing with. You are both the student as well as the teacher. Balancing your own school work, projects, and personal life is hard enough. Then you add on top of that all of the duties and responsibilities of a school teacher (8th grade in my case) and it is INSANE! Also an added bonus that my specific internship was 40+ hours a week....UNpaid! It was a lot to deal with! Being completely transparent, there were times that I would cry from being overwhelmed from all of it. BUT, if I can make it...so can you!
Stay organized!!
This is the number one tip that I have! Being honest, until this last semester of college I was the messiest person you would ever see! I did not have things in order, even my planner was a mess! This is something that is a huge no in education. Time is precious in the classroom because everyone knows we don't get enough of it! If you know anything about teaching, then you know that the first and the last five minutes of class are not yours. That typically leaves 45 minutes for each class to have instruction and to get done what you have them doing for the day! Fumbling around and looking for papers or getting things ready is wasting even more of the already short time. Also it makes you look bad to both the students and your mentor teacher.
Be Prepared!
This is another really big one I had to learn. Being prepared doesn't just mean that you have a worksheet handy for the students when they walk into the room! This means mentally, emotionally, and physically prepared as well. The biggest part of this for me was being mentally prepared. I was really bad about not going through the night before and working out the content on my own. I'm not sure how I thought teaching was as easy as just knowing how to work the problems. The best thing that I learned to do was sit down the night before my lesson and go through it like I would have taught it. I picked out different problems that showed the content I specifically needed to cover and even had a few backups just incase. I picked out what I would do myself, the notes, the guided practice, and what the students would do independently. It made the actual teaching go so much smoother! This is also the time to refresh on your content! Especially being an intern, there is SO much content that I came across that I had not done in at least a few years! It's been a while since you were in school so remember that!
Don't sweat the small stuff!
I remember a day during my final internship that I ended up SO upset because halfway through the day I realized that I had taught something wrong! I was so embarrassed and I felt TERRIBLE for teaching these kids something incorrectly! It was just one of those days that got to me and resulted in crying in the teachers lounge. Thankfully the community at my school is one of the best I have ever been a part of. A few seasoned teachers told me about the times they had mishaps and that it was all part of learning and growing in the profession. This leads me to my next point....
Be prepared to learn.
The Beginning!
Hello!
My name is Heather! I am a 22 year old recent graduate living in Arkansas! I just graduated from the University of Central Arkansas with a Bachelors of Arts in Education! I plan to teach middle school but I work as a paraprofessional right now with 8th and 9th grade!
I have always loved to read and write! I have never been the best at writing but I figured why not give this a shot. I love having a creative outlet because I am constantly doing something artsy! I want this blog to be a place to talk about my experiences as well as a place to learn from others. I believe that becoming a teacher is taking on a lifestyle of learning because there is always something new to learn. Just in this year I have learned so much not only from mentors, but other teachers and students as well. I want to live a life that is full of new discoveries while also teaching kids math in a way that is fun and engaging!
So, to tell a little about myself. I live in Central Arkansas with my wonderful fiancé and our two precious dogs! The tan lab is named Willow Brooke. She is 5 years old and my calm child. She loves to lounge around and sleep! The black lab is named Dolly Mae! She is almost 2 years old and she is the epitome of the second child! She is absolutely wild and loves to act crazy. They are both rescues and we love them like real children!
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