This year, I have an extremely interesting 7th-period class. There are no words to describe them. I love them, but they're interesting. They're hyper, moody, angry, loving, sweet, and feisty all at the same time. It's crazy! One day last week, I asked one of the kids if he was going to behave today in class because he normally doesn't. Well, it's not that he's misbehaving. He just won't stop talking. Ever. Non-stop talking. For 51 minutes. Ok, maybe not 51 minutes. Sometimes he goes to the bathroom. Anyway, I asked him if he was going to be good today. His response? "I don't know, Mrs. Scott. Sometimes my glaucoma be hurtin', and I can't act right." Oh. Ok. I didn't even respond to him. I just accepted the fact that he wasn't going to be good. And he wasn't.
Being the new teacher on campus is like being the new girl in the class. All the boys want to talk to you or have your attention and the girls hate you because you're stealing their shine. Like with all schools at the beginning of the year, there was a little chaos with scheduling. Rosters change every class period, so it's impossible to really know who belongs where in the beginning. Enter J. J came to my class the first day of school. He wasn't on my roster, so I penciled him in. J came to my class every day, took notes, and did the work. Over the weekend, I updated my roster, so I could have an accurate roster for the upcoming week. Lo and behold, J isn't even in my class. When we got back to school on Monday, I told him that he's been going to the wrong class and that he needed to get a new schedule to follow. The gag is he knew that he was going to the wrong class. He had English 4th period then came to me and took English again 5th period. Apparently, he thinks I'm pretty and that meant he should be in my class. After I finally got him to go to his 5th-period class, we had Open House. Do you know that he brought his mom by to meet me? She was so embarrassed. I was tickled.
I walk around my classroom while I teach to help with behavior issues and other classroom management things. Friday, my kids were working independently. It was their first work on your own activity, and I wanted to make sure that everybody was working alone. While walking around, I noticed a kid measuring his thumb with a ruler. He was quiet, so I didn't ask questions. Then I heard, "Man, my dick ain't THIS short!" *clutches pearls* The kids around him start slapping him telling him to look up. I'm standing there embarrassed. He looks up and sees me standing there and he's embarrassed. He starts apologizing and explaining. Apparently, somebody told him that a guy's thumb is the same size as his penis when it's soft. He tells me this and there is further embarrassment. The kids who can hear this conversation are DYING laughing because he just won't stop. He's trying to explain the blunder away, but he's making it worse. I just told him to put the ruler up and give me 25 push-ups for being inappropriate in class.
My classroom has hardwood floors that are really pretty, but my feet and legs hurt so bad by the end of the day. What can I do? I don't want any issues with my bones and muscles from it. I haven't tried gel insoles yet. That's my next thing. I don't want to be an old lady!
Do any high school teachers follow me? Let's collaborate! Most blogs I read and/or follow are elementary or middle school. I want to read some high school stuff! Drop some links or emails, so we can connect!
K. Scott
Monday, August 15, 2016
Saturday, August 13, 2016
It's a New Year!
*peeks in* Hey, y'all! It's me, the teacher from Room 300. I know it's been awhile, but hopefully, you haven't forgotten me.
The 2015-2016 school year was a doozy for me. I was just trying to stay afloat most of the year. I felt stressed, overworked, and very much underappreciated. No matter what I did, it wasn't good enough for the new administrators. It was a year of bullying, nitpicking, and shadiness. I went from being "Teacher of the Year" for the 2014-2015 school year to being told, "you're not a good fit for the school" (even though I had been there 10 years) in the 2015-2016 school year. It was AWFUL! I HATED going to school every day, but I knew those kids needed me. By the end of the year, I was exhausted. I was tired of fighting a battle that I had no chance of winning. I was tired of trying to convince the administrators that I was a good fit for the school when clearly they had already formed their opinion. I was tired of the slick comments about me being pretty and light skinned. I was tired. Reluctantly, I resigned. I resigned without already having a job lined up because I was THAT desperate to get away from there. I'm not going to lie, I cried. HARD. I was so angry and so frustrated. I was angry because they attacked my gift and my calling as a teacher. I was frustrated because I knew that I had done my job as a teacher, and they wouldn't let me be great. After I turned in my letter of resignation, I felt so relieved. Then the panic set in. What was I going to do? Where would I find a job? The schools that I wanted to work in didn't have openings. All the schools I didn't want to work in had plenty of openings. I had a lot of higher up connections in a few districts around me, so I started calling around. They would recommend me heavily. I'd get an interview and it would go great. Then they'd ask THE QUESTIONS: "Your resume is impressive, and you seem like an excellent teacher. What would *insert principal's name* say if I called him up?" or "Why'd you leave your last school after all of these accolades?" Then they'd call the administrators. I wouldn't hear back from the schools or they'd hire someone else. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on there. This happened several times. The level of panic and worry that I was feeling was through the roof. How was I going to help my husband pay bills? What was I going to do for work? I don't have any marketable talents or skills. I mean, I do, but... never mind. *laugh track* Anyway, every rejection phone call was an attack on my self-confidence. The rejections made me question whether or not I was a good teacher. Did I make all of that up? Maybe I really did suck. Maybe I should find a new profession. The self-doubt struggle was so real. On June 20th, I got a text message about a job in the district south of my old school. I humored her by saying I'd apply. Truth be told, I had NO intentions of applying there because I had heard terrible things about the school. I had already had 1 stressful year. I didn't need another one. Plus, I had some promising interviews coming up. Ten days later, I got another message about the same job from someone else. I just said "thank you" and went on about my day. Later that evening, I talked to my husband about it, and he told me to apply. I didn't and had no intentions of doing so. The only reason I decided to apply is because he brought it up again. I emailed my resume to the administrator, and like the others, he was impressed. We set up an interview for that week. I went in for the interview expecting to just go through the motions. At this point in the job search, I was defeated. When the interview was over, I had a job. I was hired on the spot! I didn't accept right away because I needed to talk to my husband first. We talked and prayed about it, but for some reason, I was still hesitant about accepting the job. It was probably fear. And I still had one more interview to do at a school where I really wanted to teach. I did that interview, made it to the top two, and got rejected. The interviewing administrator was very apologetic. She said I was her pick but she couldn't get everyone else on board. I told her that it was ok because that meant that I didn't have to turn her down when I accepted the other job. The words fell out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them. Had I FINALLY decided on a school? I had! I emailed the administrator and accepted the job. Now, there's a lesson to be learned here.
As a lifelong learner, I'm always looking for opportunities to grow and to become better. For 10 years, I taught 9th grade English. Twice I got to teach something else along with English I, but for the most part, I was stuck in English I. I didn't mind it, though. It was comfortable. Easy. I had gotten to the point to where I didn't really plan for it. I would come up with a bomb lesson and activity 5 minutes before the kids walked in and nobody knew. I had gotten complacent. I had turned into the man in the Bible who hid his 1 talent. More times than not I would say that I didn't feel effective as a teacher anymore. I considered coming out of the classroom. Fast forward to the summer. Every job that rejected me was for a 9th grade English position with the exception of 1. Even if I had gotten one of those jobs, I wasn't going to grow. I would've forever been known as the teacher who gets 9th graders ready for 10th grade English. God knew that I needed to leave where I had been for 10 years, leave what was comfortable, leave my husband (we worked together. Ain't no divorce, bih) in order to be the kind of teacher I wanted to be and that He called me to be. Sometimes you have to go in order to grow. That'll preach right there! With that being said, allow me to reintroduce myself:
The 2015-2016 school year was a doozy for me. I was just trying to stay afloat most of the year. I felt stressed, overworked, and very much underappreciated. No matter what I did, it wasn't good enough for the new administrators. It was a year of bullying, nitpicking, and shadiness. I went from being "Teacher of the Year" for the 2014-2015 school year to being told, "you're not a good fit for the school" (even though I had been there 10 years) in the 2015-2016 school year. It was AWFUL! I HATED going to school every day, but I knew those kids needed me. By the end of the year, I was exhausted. I was tired of fighting a battle that I had no chance of winning. I was tired of trying to convince the administrators that I was a good fit for the school when clearly they had already formed their opinion. I was tired of the slick comments about me being pretty and light skinned. I was tired. Reluctantly, I resigned. I resigned without already having a job lined up because I was THAT desperate to get away from there. I'm not going to lie, I cried. HARD. I was so angry and so frustrated. I was angry because they attacked my gift and my calling as a teacher. I was frustrated because I knew that I had done my job as a teacher, and they wouldn't let me be great. After I turned in my letter of resignation, I felt so relieved. Then the panic set in. What was I going to do? Where would I find a job? The schools that I wanted to work in didn't have openings. All the schools I didn't want to work in had plenty of openings. I had a lot of higher up connections in a few districts around me, so I started calling around. They would recommend me heavily. I'd get an interview and it would go great. Then they'd ask THE QUESTIONS: "Your resume is impressive, and you seem like an excellent teacher. What would *insert principal's name* say if I called him up?" or "Why'd you leave your last school after all of these accolades?" Then they'd call the administrators. I wouldn't hear back from the schools or they'd hire someone else. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on there. This happened several times. The level of panic and worry that I was feeling was through the roof. How was I going to help my husband pay bills? What was I going to do for work? I don't have any marketable talents or skills. I mean, I do, but... never mind. *laugh track* Anyway, every rejection phone call was an attack on my self-confidence. The rejections made me question whether or not I was a good teacher. Did I make all of that up? Maybe I really did suck. Maybe I should find a new profession. The self-doubt struggle was so real. On June 20th, I got a text message about a job in the district south of my old school. I humored her by saying I'd apply. Truth be told, I had NO intentions of applying there because I had heard terrible things about the school. I had already had 1 stressful year. I didn't need another one. Plus, I had some promising interviews coming up. Ten days later, I got another message about the same job from someone else. I just said "thank you" and went on about my day. Later that evening, I talked to my husband about it, and he told me to apply. I didn't and had no intentions of doing so. The only reason I decided to apply is because he brought it up again. I emailed my resume to the administrator, and like the others, he was impressed. We set up an interview for that week. I went in for the interview expecting to just go through the motions. At this point in the job search, I was defeated. When the interview was over, I had a job. I was hired on the spot! I didn't accept right away because I needed to talk to my husband first. We talked and prayed about it, but for some reason, I was still hesitant about accepting the job. It was probably fear. And I still had one more interview to do at a school where I really wanted to teach. I did that interview, made it to the top two, and got rejected. The interviewing administrator was very apologetic. She said I was her pick but she couldn't get everyone else on board. I told her that it was ok because that meant that I didn't have to turn her down when I accepted the other job. The words fell out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them. Had I FINALLY decided on a school? I had! I emailed the administrator and accepted the job. Now, there's a lesson to be learned here.
As a lifelong learner, I'm always looking for opportunities to grow and to become better. For 10 years, I taught 9th grade English. Twice I got to teach something else along with English I, but for the most part, I was stuck in English I. I didn't mind it, though. It was comfortable. Easy. I had gotten to the point to where I didn't really plan for it. I would come up with a bomb lesson and activity 5 minutes before the kids walked in and nobody knew. I had gotten complacent. I had turned into the man in the Bible who hid his 1 talent. More times than not I would say that I didn't feel effective as a teacher anymore. I considered coming out of the classroom. Fast forward to the summer. Every job that rejected me was for a 9th grade English position with the exception of 1. Even if I had gotten one of those jobs, I wasn't going to grow. I would've forever been known as the teacher who gets 9th graders ready for 10th grade English. God knew that I needed to leave where I had been for 10 years, leave what was comfortable, leave my husband (we worked together. Ain't no divorce, bih) in order to be the kind of teacher I wanted to be and that He called me to be. Sometimes you have to go in order to grow. That'll preach right there! With that being said, allow me to reintroduce myself:
Hi, I'm Kristin Scott, and I'm the new English II and English III teacher at Crystal Springs High School! Now, you may be reading this trying to figure out why this is such a big deal. I mean, I'm still a teacher, right? Yes, I am still a teacher, but I'm teaching two new subjects and I'm in a school where I can really be the teacher I know I can be and feel appreciated because of it. I love my new school! I feel so at peace. I have to be there by 7:15 every morning, and you know what? I'm there at 6:50 most days. On my late days, I get there at 7. Last year we didn't have to be at school until 8. I would get to school about 8:30 or 8:40. I was in no rush to get there. I stay up late planning lessons now. It's been great! Even though we've only been in school a week, I can already tell that it's going to be a great school year. God will always put you where you need to be. Just stay the course.
I know this is long, but I need to thank my wonderful husband and parents for always believing in me and encouraging me when I wanted to quit and be a stripper. You guys are AMAZING. I also want to thank the people who gave me good recommendations. Thank you to all the people who prayed for me and encouraged me during the time of uncertainty. And finally, I want to thank my old administrators for forcing me to recognize my value as a teacher so I could grow and start the process of taking over the world of education. Ron Clark, I'm coming for you! And thank you, the readers, for even reading this long post. I plan on getting back into blogging. I already have tons of material. LOL! Tales from Room 300 will now be Tales from Room 32. It has a nice ring to it:)
K. Scott
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