Finally!

I unfortunately received rejection letters for my last two interviews. I felt I did OK, but I lack experience and that seems to be a problem. Thankfully, the one school that I did interview with for a full time position called me back to interview as a substitute. I was hired on the spot. I was so elated I didn't even ask how much the per diem rate was. To be honest I don't care. I just want the opportunity to be in a classroom and have some experience for something educational on my resume. In the meantime, the hiring freeze in new York City has been lifted for new teachers. I have been applying like crazy. Hopefully I will get a phone call this week. I am told all the hiring seems to happen in the last 2 weeks of August. I still have hope!

I just finished reading a wonderful book, Snow in August by Pete Hamill. It was on a summer reading list for one of the schools I applied to. The book is an emotional journey of a young boy (Michael Devlin) growing up in Brooklyn in the 1940s. His parents are Irish immigrants. Sadly his father (Tommy Devlin)is killed in the war and his mother Kate struggles to make ends meet. Michael is an altar boy who by chance (or fate) befriends a local rabbi. Michael becomes a shabbos goy for Rabbi Hirsch, turning on the lights and stove for the sabbath. The rabbi asks Michael to teach him English and in return he teaches Michael Yiddish. The rabbi tells Michael wonderful and horrible stories of his life, living in Prague, the Nazis, losing his wife and his struggle with faith. Michael introduces the rabbi to baseball and together they witness history as Jackie Robinson becomes a major league player. Robinson becomes a symbol for all people who are discriminated against and both Rabbi Hirsch and Michael declare "I'm for Jackie." I don't want to give away the ending, but it is a happy one where the good guys (and goys) win. I hope I get to use this book sometime during my teaching career.

First Interview down, second next week

I had my first ever teaching interview last Wednesday. There were dozens of applicants working on writing samples when I arrived. They were all in their twenties, tall, blonde, tanned and wearing designer clothes. I must have stuck out like a sore thumb. I hope that is to my advantage. The interview itself wasn't bad. It was conducted by a panel of 5 people: a vice principal, 2 English teachers, a parent representative and the chairperson. I think I did well. I can only hope for a call back. They asked basic questions such as to how would I handle a problem student, other than essays what assignments would I give, how would I keep parents informed and why I thought literature was important? I was confident in my answers and I made sure to ask them a few intelligent questions as well.

I received a phone call from another school district yesterday. They asked me to come in for an interview this Monday. It is for a substitute position. At this point I will take anything. I am thinking that for the next 7 weeks this will be my life. At least I hope it will be. I started a summer class at a local college last week. The professor mentioned that if any of us were looking for a job we needed to stick to our phones the last 2 weeks of August. Apparently that's when all the hiring goes on. I keep thinking things would be more organized, but then I remember everyone is off over the summer. It only makes sense that things start to get busy in late August. Hope springs eternal :)

The First Interview: Next Week

The month of June seemed to pass by at the speed of light. I have been keeping my self busy applying for jobs and catching up on reading. Yesterday I received my first call for an interview. Thankfully I was given an assignment and I have 5 days to prepare. The poem I was given to "teach" is one I had never heard by a contemporary American author I am not familiar with. My research began immediately after the phone call. I scoured the internet checking local bookstores, online bookstores and libraries. Amazon had what I needed and shipped it immediately. I could have had it downloaded to my husband's Kindle, but I find I need to have the actual book. Especially if it is for a scholarly pursuit. I need to be able to hold the book, write in the book, highlight passages and important points, bookmark pages with post-it notes, smell the pages and digest its contents.

Maybe someday I might get comfortable with e-books. I am not ready today. I am however a teacher. I need to remind myself to be open to learning and new experiences. I need to embrace technology because most of my students will be on the cusp of it. Today I will stick with the familiar as I prepare for the future.I did order the book online. That has to count as "embracing technology," right?

Higher Education?

In my quest to find new literature to create lesson plans, I stumbled upon the book "Higher Education? How colleges are wasting our money and failing our kids and what we can do about it" by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus. They are both professors at Queens College. It is a comprehensive view about the enormous amounts of money Americans spend on higher education and how we are really not getting our money's worth.

Aside from the catchy title, I was drawn to it because it was written by two professors from Queens College. During my classroom observation assignments I was placed in several classrooms with other college students, a few from Queens College. I found the Queens College students had a really good grasp on classroom management, lesson planning and pedagogy in general. Many of my fellow students from the private grad school I attended seemed overwhelmed with the whole field experience requirement. Many of us felt we were not ready or prepared to face the challenges of the classroom. We all seemed to have so many questions. I found the students from Queens College were very confident and seemed to have less questions. In conversations with my classmates, they observed the same. I thought it was interesting that many of us thought by going to a private school we would get a better quality of education. This seems to be the mentality of many Americans in general.

"Higher Education?" brings to light many issues in colleges today. All too often teaching assistants and grad students do the work of professors. Everything from teaching classes to grading assignments so professors can have more free time to do research. The sad thing is, some colleges demand that professors complete a certain amount of research, published papers, books etc. in order to get tenure and climb the "college ladder." I found this disheartening. I want to be a teacher so I can teach. I want to know my students and be a part of their educational well being. I wonder if these professors are just burnt out or don't want to be in the classroom anymore. When you get to a certain level of education are students not the main focus? For education to improve we must be committed to the classroom not disengaged. Thankfully, many of my fellow grad students share that philosophy. We are becoming teachers because we want to make things better. Hopefully we will hold tight to these principles throughout our teaching careers.

The great job search!

Wow, it has been a very long time since I have posted anything. I need to get back on track! In the past two months I completed my student teaching assignment, passed the last of my certification tests and successfully finished my M.A. in Adolescent English Education (YAY!). I can't believe I am really done. If all goes as planned, I will be able to print my official teaching certification this Friday directly from the state website.

I have applied for several positions, both permanent and temporary. I did get called back for a writing sample from one school district two weeks ago, but haven't heard anything since. I have a cousin who is a teacher and he says most districts will be looking to hire back any teachers that were laid off before they hire someone new. My best chance is to get in as a leave replacement or a long term substitute. I am applying for any job I can get with my certification. It will happen. I just need to be patient.

While I am waiting, I've decided to start creating lesson plans for anything and everything that I might possibly use. During my student teaching experience I was introduced to many young adult novels that would work well in the classroom. My goal is to read them and post reviews and lesson plans here. I am off to the library today and see what treasures I can find.

No Voice - No Teach

I have learned more in the past few weeks than I have all last semester. My most recent learning experience: do not come to school if you are sick. I struggled horribly last week with a fever, sniffles and sore throat. I tried to push through, but all the talking I had to do in class killed my voice. My fourth period class sensed my weakness and took complete advantage. I was trying to show a movie but they would not stop talking and my mentor teacher wound up stopping the movie and giving them a spelling lesson. I was mortified and disappointed. I took several factors into account.First off, it was Friday (the end of Spirit Week) and the kids could not wait for school to end. Secondly, the class is ruled by a group of "mean girls." My mentor teacher has never shuffled their desks and does not discipline them especially when it comes to cell phones. It's been really frustrating. They were so kind to me when my teaching supervisor observed several weeks ago. It's hard to believe they are the same kids! Regardless, when I woke up this morning my voice was still shot so I stayed home. Tomorrow my teaching supervisor will be visiting and I need my voice.

I am a bit disappointed with my mentor teacher. He isn't very supportive and he has made it clear he likes to work alone. I wonder why his boss chose him to work with a student teacher. Other teachers acknowledge he is a good educator but he has zero social skills. At one point the English chairperson suggested I observe her 9th grade class 3rd period instead of his AP class. I loved it. She is an awesome teacher and a great communicator. My next assignment is to work in a 9th grade setting. I am praying it is with her. I might speak with her tomorrow and see if it can be arranged. I know they are doing me a favor by allowing me in their school, but I am paying tuition to learn and I think I have learned all I can with this teacher. It's time to move on. I guess this is where my management skills will come into play.

On the front lines...

I am deep in the trenches of my student teaching assignment. It started slowly, which I am grateful for. The teacher I am working with knows what he is doing and I am following his lead. Right now I am teaching two 11th grade English Regents classes and I observe an Honors English 12th grade class. This week I will start teaching the Honors class along with my 11th graders and observe some 9th grade inclusion classes.

Last Wednesday my teaching supervisor observed me during my 4th period class. I was incredibly nervous. (I later joked with my husband the last time I was that nervous was on our wedding day.) The students were nothing short of amazing. They knew something was going on and they gave me their full respect and cooperation. It was one of those "teacher moments" that brought me such joy I could have cried. This solidified my reasons for wanting to become a teacher.

My supervisor had nothing but positive comments. He told me to slow down a bit and enjoy the students. I was so focused on getting through my lesson plan and as fate would have it I finished early which was not so good. He said it's par for the course when you are learning to teach. There is no magic bullet. Everything comes in time and you are constantly revising things.

I am looking forward to tomorrow. I can't remember the last time I looked forward to a Monday that wasn't a holiday. I still have lesson planning and a quiz to make up but I am happy. I just hope I am lucky enough to get a job when I graduate.