First Day of School

August 13, 2012

Ok so technically the first day of school was last week, but better late than never, right?! Well as you can tell, I was pretty pumped and excited, ready for the first day to begin! However, as the time drew near for the first block bell to ring, I had a student come out in the hallway to tell me that he could not sit in the seat I had assigned him. He went on to explain that he and the boy he was near did not get along. I told the young man to remain in the hallway with me until the bell rang and when we walked in the classroom together he was to get his belongings and move to the opposite side of the classroom. Well, no sooner did we walk in together than the other boy start up with some sleazy comments. I can't quite remember what was said, but I knew I couldn't allow me or this baby to get stressed out. So, I told the young man I previously spoke to go out in the hallway, where we went across the hall to see Office Acord (our SRO) who kindly handled the situation for me. By the end of that first block that boy had been removed and transferred into another class. Needless to say that first five minutes had me somewhat shaken up for the rest of the day. By the time my class arrived, I was exhausted; unfortunately, that class is my World History I course which is full of freshmen--lots of 14 & 15 year olds. And you'd think after lunch they'd be calm, but they are always ready to go, full of energy! I'd like to say this group isn't a handful, but that'd be a lie. So please, say a pray for me! The rest of the week went by pretty fast, but it was also exhausting. Hopefully with procedures and rules in place and with the kids becoming more familiar to me and vice versa, things will start to calm down! Until then, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the rest of my weekend!

Day 6 of Prayer: Parenthood & Leading

This is one of my absolute favorite verses. Back in high school, I became a BIG Third Day fan and the lyrics to one of their songs "My Hope Is You" matched the verses I was reading in my Bible. Check it out:

Psalm 25:4-5

⁴ Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.

  

These verses continue to encourage me long after I first connected the Third Day song to this part of God's word. And with it here's my prayer. 

Father,

How fitting it is that you are called that since we are your children. While you are the ultimate parent, I have no clue what it's like to be a parent and while I'm really excited most days, I'm also terrified. What if I make the wrong decision(s)? How will I handle this situation or that? What if I lose my cool? But you Lord, say not to worry. And instead, to put my hope in you. Because you are the Instructor, I will follow Your lead. Help Adam and I as we navigate this journey we're about to embark. Please continue to work your holy spirit in our lives so that we'll know how to lead and teach our little one by making the best decisions: by following you and putting our hope daily in You. 

Amen. 

**Next day here**

Praise Report!

I first wrote a post involving a bit of a rant about SOLs and how the scores affect my job security. However, I trusted in the Lord and prayed for His goodness in return for the work I've put into teaching the children I had this spring semester. Well if you noticed the title of this post is called "Praise Report" so it is with joy that I say that out of 16 students 13 of them passed, bringing my pass rate to an 81% and of those thirteen, three scored an advanced giving me a 23% pass advantage rate! Praise the Lord He is good! I was so nervous that some of my students wouldn't do well due to test anxiety but throughout the last week and a half before testing my students proved me wrong and continued to do well with practice questions and the like. I so proud of my students and what they accomplished but all the praise must be given to the Lord who's hand orchestrated all of this!

Grading Papers

This pretty much sums up my night!

Tonight, I'm having to stop and spend at least a good hour and a half (minimum) of grading papers. I started grading a few tests, but became seriously distracted upon choosing to read some blogs instead. I know, shame on me. Bad teacher. It's the one thing I loathe about teaching,  yet it's what the Dept. of Education (state and national) consider to be the most relevant to charting and documenting student growth and achievement. Ergo, my hind parts will be sitting upon the same chair at my lovely dining room table until 8 o'clock. Until then, toodle-loo!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

Soooooo good news! Remember how in March I told you that Adam and were praying about a possible job opportunity in Mathews and Bassett? Well unfortunately, Mathew's budget did not get approved for another History teacher and at the time, the teacher that had put in his resignation at Bassett just up and left so they needed somebody to fill the job, quick?! Well praise the Lord, there is another position available now! I received a wonderful tip at the beginning of last week from a source who will remain unidentified and from this person emailed a person they knew in HR (whom I also emailed to confirm my interest) and WAM BAM within 24 hours I received an email stating that a representative of HR would call me to confirm and set up a pre-screening interview! YIPEE!

So in less than a day's time after the email, I received a call and had my pre-screening interview set up for today at 10:00am (I did this because I knew I wouldn't have any "kids" at school with the exception of first block because on odd days I only teach blocks 1 & 5 and my seniors make up block five and they weren't to report to school this week except for graduation practice on Wednesday and Thursday). Sooo thankfully Adam was able to take today off, as was I, and we came out to Bassett over the weekend to stay with my parents. So not only did I have a pre-screening interview, but I got to see the 'rents as well!

Ok so enough blabbering you wanna hear the good stuff! Alright here it is, I walked into HR looking professional with my portfolio in hand ready for whatever they threw at me, and I nailed it! Every question I answered clearly and concisely (probably too fast at first since I was a bit jittery, but more slowly after I settled down)! I feel really good about this interview and I've prayed and prayed that if this is what the Lord wants, then I want it, and if it's not then I don't. So immediately following the interview (and the HR rep didn't leave either) she looked me square in the face and said, "Wow! Well I will most definitely be getting in touch with such-and-such principal because you just passed your pre-screening interview!" I was elated! So I am now waiting to hear back from said principal and hope to have some more wonderful news to share, in the meantime enjoy this beautiful day!

SOL Finale

Yesterday I got to school skidaddled around to get all my stuff together, wished my students who were re-taking the best of luck and then left to spend my day as a chaperon on the senior picnic trip. The picnic went better than planned and I enjoyed myself a lot more than I did last year. As predicted, my students who hurled threats all week of me getting thrown in the pool, yes that did come true, twice actually! Don't worry, I was prepared and had extra clothes on standby. When the picnic was over, we rode the bus back to school, and then I got the news I had mulled over and stressed out about for two weeks, my SOL results.

I won't drag this out any further or give you any such false inclinations to think the scores were amazing. The truth is, only two out of the ten passed, leaving me with an ultimate 65% pass rate. I did not cry although I felt like it. All I could do was say, amen because had God wanted anything different it would have been. However, I am still human and still somewhat disappointed. I am waiting for my colleagues VSEP binders to return and see if we'll remain accredited in the History Dept. Hopefully *fingers crossed* we will because goodness knows I'd hate for anyone in the state to step in next year. So there you have it, the SOL finale. Now all that's left is graduation and a long enjoyable summer!

Re-take Update

Those students who failed and fall under the re-take category are set to take the test again on tomorrow. I have been working my butt off with these kids since the day we received the results from the first test. I have spent hours making index "flash" card sets for them, one of which (the largest strand of my own personal copy) is now missing. So needless to say, I'm a tad frustrated and ready for this SOL test to be over with.

Despite my ill mood, I am pretty confident that so long as my students have studied the materials I've provided (which they say they have) and remember the information we've reviewed in class, they should do better! I am no longer worried, but I still seem to carry the weight of the stress involved.This has been a stressful week, despite the fact that we had a three day weekend.

Today was "Awards Day" and the entire student body acted foolish, talked too much, and snickered at anything that could produce a chuckle. I was completely mortified and embarrassed when a guest presenter stopped in the middle of announcing her award in order to scold and reprimand our students on their behavior. Today was one of those days I was ready to throw in the towel. I believe it's safe to say that June 17th could not get here fast enough!

Where things stand....or fall...[you be the judge]

As of last Friday, I received my student's scores from the SOL test they took nearly two weeks ago. I am sad to say that out of 33 students, only 18 have passed (so far). My pass rate stands at 54% and it has the potential to reach 85% but no higher. Let me explain, although 18 passed, 15 did not. Of those 15 who failed, 5 failed outright meaning they scored below 375 and cannot retake it. However, 10 students are in the retake range, meaning they scored between 375-399. Starting today, these students were double blocked and I'm spending one-on-one time with them to help them on strands they scored the poorest on and need the most review and help with.

I must say I was VERY disappointed upon receving my student's SOL results--in fact, I nearly cried. I know, this may seem petty, but if you read here you would know how I feel about how unfair it is that teacher's jobs are solely based on student performance. I must admit, that I am somewhat worried. My colleague called to say that he got grilled after school by our administration and I'm nervous the same will happen to me. My colleague also stated that all of the students who can retake, that if we every single one of them don't pass, then we could possibly keep our school from receiving accreditation, so of course there's "no pressure." Like any teacher, I want my students to do well so 1) they get their credit, 2) so they can earn their advanced diploma, and 3) so that it's a good reflection upon me and all my hard work. However, God has a better plan, some days, like today, it's just hard to remember.

World History II SOL in T-minus 9 hours!

So in less than 9 hours my students will be taking the creme-de-la-creme of the World History II course, the SOL test. My students must a) pass this test if they want an advanced diploma and b) will have to take my end of year final exam if they fail, so some students might possibly fail for the year if they don't pass this sucker. I know better than to be anxious because Philippians 4:6 reads "Do not be ANXIOUS about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

I have worked my rear end off this year. I know you're wondering where I'm going with this, but stick with me. I hate that student's performance is a reflection on the teacher. Yes, there are some teachers who are not pulling their weight and aren't truly in it for the children, however, I and many of my colleagues are not those teachers. I don't feel that it's fair to judge a teacher based solely on student performance. I say this because I have had two male students who have not put forth hardly any effort all year long (i.e., came to class and did no work) and on top of that, neither of their parents have returned any phone calls, allowed/signed-up their child up for after-school remediation (which they clearly needed), and have not attend parent-teacher conferences. So in all fairness, at any other job, when an employee is not pulling their weight, they get the boot, but as a teacher, when a student refuses to do the work, you cannot simply give him or her the boot.

I'm not saying that a teacher should throw in the towel, I'm just saying that when you've done all you can do,then it's simply in God's hands. Ergo, my students and this test are in His hands. God knows my needs and the needs of my students. I have laid this down at His feet and I know that His will, no matter if my students pass or not, is what matters most. Thank you Lord for giving me this opportunity to serve you and these children, despite my many shortcomings and complaints. Thank you for remaining my JOY these past few weeks when you know I've struggled to have a positive attitude. And above all else thank you for being good, always and forever.

Mr. Opportunity, Welcome Back!

 Remember when I blogged about Mr. Opportunity here and here? Well if you remember, Adam and I have been praying for God to show His will to us. We know that change is in the air, we both feel it's coming and are trusting God. We have also shared these opportunities and bits of information with others, especially our parents, siblings, and close friends who have all said that they are praying for us as well! Well I now have an update.

The position for the upcoming history teacher at Mathews High School (Adam's hometown) was not approved in the budget and this evening I received an email from my old high school history teacher basically stating that another Bassett High School (from my hometown) alum has a master's degree in administration and will more than likely be offered a contract. As far as I know this is only contingent upon the remainder of this school year, not the next, but you know how these things usually turn out...I'm still hopeful that perhaps this is not the case and that it's only for the time being because goodness knows I would love to be near my family again!

And even though we'd both like the chance to be near my family, we're still interested in the possibility of the Air Force, we've simply hit some bumps in trying to get in touch with the Air Force recruiters. I'm not taking that as a sign we're not to talk to them, but to remain persistent and persevere. Please note however, that for someone who enjoys having a "plan" this is driving me nuts, I would love nothing more than to know where we're headed but as a friend of mine recently said, "Where's the fun in that?! "Somehow I feel that the subliminal message God is trying to send my way is to be patient. Oh if that were easier done than said! Anywho, as always please continue to pray for us and God's will as we know that above all else He is #1 and is to be glorified always!

Teaching is the....

The door to my classroom!

Student's desks and my ActivBoard

best job ever! Now grant it, those of you who know me well, know that my experience at Charles City has been tough, and I haven't thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Of course each school district will have its problems, that comes with the territory, so I'm not so much as naive to believe that any other district will be perfect. I do however, love my job! I enjoy preparing lesson plans, looking for new material, but most of all I enjoy the impact that I can have on students, as a Christian! Day after day students come up to me telling me their problems, asking for guidance and time and time again I always point them back to the cross, to Jesus Christ. Because without that relationship everything else is minuscule and futile -- exactly how teaching WOULD be if it weren't for the fact that the Lord has called me to do this.

My desk and bulletin board

Bookshelves/Closet

Chalkboard/TV

I don't blog much about my career. I guess I'd always been afraid of the idea that someone from the district or school would see it. But after stumbling upon some of my friend's blogs and realizing that I could blog without invading privacy I think I'll be more open to the idea. Of course if I ever do blog I will not use the real names of my students (if I use any names at all) and I will not post pictures of them. However, I do want to share with you what my classroom looks like. These pictures were taken at the start of the school year so ignore the bulletin board, it has since been updated and is a beautiful spring picture with a rainbow and a leprechaun chillin' with a pot of gold at the end. You'd think that by that description I teach at the elementary level, but in actuality I teach high school history.

About a week ago I posted about opportunity and the fact that Adam and I are looking for direction. Well not too soon after that, I actually had received notice that there's an anticipated high school history position in Mathews County and yesterday (I'll tell you about this later) I discovered that there's an opening at my old high school for a history position as well. I can hardly believe that both schools have anticipated positions open. Adam and I had already been praying about Mathews and now we're praying about Bassett, too. We would just ask for you to be prayerful with us, that God would blatantly open or close the door where we should or should not go because above all else we want to remain faithful to Him. Let me leave you with my favorite verse:

Psalm 25:4-5 (New International Version, ©2011)

 ⁴ Show me your ways, LORD,
   teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
   for you are God my Savior,
   and my hope is in you all day long.

Knock Knock

Knock knock! "Hi, it's me, Mr. Opportunity knocking at your door. Aren't you gonna open the door and let me in?"

Lately Adam and I have been discussing where God's leading us. We're not exactly sure. Due to our financial situation, it would be such a relief if I could get in a job in what the Southside Tobacco Forgivenss Loan considers to be "southside" Virginia. If we moved to one of the 24 localities it considers, then the money I borrowed against for three and a half years, to help pay for school, would be forgiven for the same amount of time put back into the system. It's really a great opportunity: borrow money from people who are willing to give it to you and then go back to help encourage and build up that region/area. However, due to the economy and budget cuts, schools aren't exactly hiring because teachers are staying put so they have an income, and I can't say I blame 'em! However.....

My experience at Charles City High School has been a bumpy ride. I've grown a lot and have learned ten times what I thought I knew. However, I'm ready for a change. I feel that my time here is coming to a close. I feel that God is leading Adam and I somewhere else. The only problem is, where? You see, Adam graduated from high school, but never enrolled in a college/university. He did enroll in an electrician apprenticeship but discovered that that was not for him. When I met him he had just left the apprenticeship and was offered a job at a local hardware store that paid him decently and offered benefits - no complaints there. When we married though, he moved to be with me and had to leave that job behind, which brings me to the present. After job hunting for 9 months, he finally got a job working for a small business...can you guess what in......yep! electricity! I thought, huh it's funny that this is the opportunity God brought to you.

I call electricity an opportunity because literally you are turning on the lights for people. Remember what Matthew 5:16 says, "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." What an opportunity it is that we get to serve the Lord, that He so loved us to go die on a cross and we can live out His precious will for our lives today?! Never ever take that opportunity for granted!

So to sum it all up, we're not sure where we're headed....maybe I'll be teaching in another district, maybe I won't. Maybe Adam will stay in electricity, or maybe he'll enroll in a college or serve his country in the AirForce....those are just some of the possibilities we're entertaining. Whatever we end up doing, we know it's because that's where God wants us to be, and He'll keep and place you right where you're meant to be, until knock knock, Mr. Opportunity is at your door!

"School's out for summer!" -Pink Floyd

Yippee! I am so very very thankful that I made it through my first year of teaching! I'm not sure I could even thank all the people that helped me get through this year, but to any of you who read this blog, thank you! Before I continue in my ramblings I would like to say that I ended up receiving a 79% pass rate on my SOLs, which was a little disappointing, but again this was only my first year and it can only get better! And I must say that while the SOLs do limit what the kids can learn, I'm glad I had some sort of a guide to follow. I'm not sure we would have covered or "touched base" on everything had I been able to do as I wish. I do think with more time and experience I'm sure I'll change my mind. I will say that I do hate how focused schools are on just one assessment, it's not fair to the kids, but that's life.

My last week of school went relatively well. I spent most of my time cleaning and organizing my classroom in preparation for this upcoming fall. As I was organizing and going about my business I found myself saying oh this would be great for next year, this would be a fun project, and oh I'm gonna handle this situation like this next year, so if my college adviser were to ever read this I hope she'd be proud of my "reflectiveness." While I'm not saying that I'm eager for school to start up again, I will say that I am looking forward to starting over and doing a better job! As a final note about school, I did return my contract to central office with my John Hancock signature saying I'll be coming back next year, so unless if Adam gets this freight train conductor job then my plans are to return with more gumption and ambition!

I know I said I was finished with school but I will say that I worked among some of the best teachers! I enjoyed getting to know all of my colleagues and I can truly say I've learned something from all of them! The relationship amongst the faculty and staff was encouraging and even upon getting ready to leave a group of us decided we'd go to the Courthouse Grille for lunch as one last "hurrah" you could say. And for those colleagues leaving us I wish nothing but the best of luck in their future! I hope it's filled with even better opportunities for them to succeed! So finally I leave with this parting quote from Pink Floyd, "School's out for summer!"

SOLs are history....no pun intended :-)

*My last post was supposed to be from this past April, but somehow I logged on to an old post that never quite got posted so that is why the date is wrong.

As most of you know, I am currently in my first year of teaching at Charles City High School. Well thankfully, with all praise to the Lord, the SOLs are history....no pun intended! I say that because 1) the course I teach is World History II and 2) my students were finally able to take their SOL tests after some much awaited technical problems were fixed! I'm still waiting for the final passage rate, but overall I'm just thankful to have this behind me! This year has been especially tough, but praise God in His mercy I've somehow made it through....well almost....we still have 15 more days of school until we're officially finished, but I'd say it's close enough to say done. And I am eager to see what all summer has in store!

I've already made a list of goals that I hope to accomplish, including finishing my Europe scrapbook, reading through several novels, starting and finishing our wedding scrapbook, visiting friends, visiting family, traveling, volunteering at the Holocaust Museum in Richmond, and starting and finishing the Insanity workout program. Finally, with fingers crossed, I will most definitely catch up on some much needed sleep, relaxation, and time with my wonderful husband!

As for tomorrow I've got a lesson I need to prepare so my 16 year olds don't get bored and into trouble ;-) So until summer officially arrives, you'll hear from me later!

Catch Up Time!

Wow! It has been incredibly too long since I last posted! I failed to post much due to the stress and overtake of my life because of my job: school! I got a job teaching World History II, Government, and Sociology at Charles City High School in Charles City, VA. It's located 30 minutes east of Richmond and 30 minutes west of Williamsburg. The school is extremely small; there are roughly 50 students that make up our senior class, altogether there are 298 students in the entire school! Because this is my first year teaching it has been more than stressful with the addition of having planned a wedding, too! However I don't think, well I know I could not have survived the rest of this year without my husband! (Catch up time on marriage is coming up shortly)!

Teaching has taught me so much about myself as a person, and it has truly pushed me out of my comfort zone. I remember thinking last summer that I would love for God to use me, and well He's definitely brought me to an area that needs His light. I am by no means perfect in attempting and facing this challenge, but it has been quite the challenge indeed and hasn't been the most pleasant experience. My students have toughened me up; I am no longer "fearful" of putting students in their place and writing referrals. But I have also learned to think WAY outside of the box so that I can bring new strategies to the table of differentiation. I so much desire to be a teacher that at the end of the year has students discussing how much they learned and enjoyed my class, but only time will tell. And thank the Lord above we only have 40 days left of school! I am overjoyed at the thought of having uninterrupted time to myself this summer without the worrying of creating lesson plans, developing and creating activities, etc.

But before I continue daydreaming of summer, as a little reminder or notification for those who do not know, SOLs are coming up in the next month so needless to say I'm a little anxious. I want all of my students to do well and pass 1) for themselves so they do not have to repeat this course and can earn an advanced diploma and 2) so it'll be a good reflection on me and all the hard work I've done this year! So please pray that on May 18th my students will not be intimidated and will achieve exceedingly good scores or simply put: will pass! What a joy it is to share my concerns! Until we catch up again, be blessed and rely on the Lord!