Sep

19

All hail the good teachers

During the summer I made a promise to myself that once school got underway I’d volunteer in both Dylan and Riley’s classrooms. I haven’t done this before, and to be completely honest the prospect didn’t particularly hold a ton of appeal, but I know teachers need the help and I’ve got the availability now. Riley’s teacher wasted no time in scheduling me for a couple hours every Thursday, and yesterday I went for the first time.

I was oddly nervous about it beforehand. I mean, I know there’s no real reason to be scared of a bunch of third graders, but … I kind of was. I don’t know, I guess I just had no idea what I was in for, and felt unsure I was up for the task.

When I got to the classroom Riley’s teacher gave me a bunch of little books the kids were supposed to read, and I was assigned to bring small groups to the library and work on reading and comprehension with them. The first group was a little bumpy — I quickly learned that once we were done taking turns reading the book out loud and were supposed to discuss it for the remaining fifteen minutes or so the kids could get pretty distracted and rambunctious. By the second and third groups I’d worked out a better system: I brought them to a section of the library where we could sprawl in a reading nook rather than sit around a table, and once we were done with the books and I’d asked a few questions, I had the kids put on a little play and act out various concepts from the story.

They loved this, and thankfully the library had emptied out by then because they were pretty energetic about it. I don’t really know if that was an acceptable thing for me to do or not, but it really seemed like they needed to move around and shake things off after sitting there listening to their classmates laboriously work through their pages. God, I remember hating that as a kid, the seemingly interminable amount of time it would take slower readers to mumble each word.

So I guess that’s what I’ll be doing each Thursday for a while, at least in Riley’s class (I’ll be helping in Dylan’s in a couple weeks), and that one experience sure gave me a taste for how hard teachers’ jobs really are. Out of one relatively small group of kids, the sheer spectrum of personalities — the obnoxious one! The goofy one! The one who can’t sit still! The one who’s easily distracted! The somewhat rigid rule-follower! (That would be Riley, by the way) The one who’s incredibly shy! — required me to multitask to a degree I’m completely unfamiliar with. Quieting one kid, gently drawing another out, giving one a quick burst of the attention he clearly craves, praising another, and on it went. I went home with circles of sweat under both arms, no kidding.

I ended up thinking how deeply unfair it is to teachers and kids alike that classrooms are so crowded these days. With 30 kids in a room, how can one adult possibly give kids the one on one focus they need? When you have even one kid like the one I met yesterday who I’ll just refer to as the Energy Suck, how is there any space left to really help a kid who’s failing … or just stays under the radar?

I don’t know, but I’m blown away by the folks who can do it. Riley’s teacher is firm, funny, and seems to be able to spin fifty plates at any given time, and it’s goddamned amazing there are so many like him.

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Austin
Austin
9 years ago

30? Good god. My daughters class has 18, one teacher and a teachers assistant. I think that hard enough on the teacher! I cannot imagine 30.

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gdstone04
gdstone04
9 years ago

Love it! I teach kindergarten (NEVER thought I would end up saying that but here we are and I love it!) and sometimes, it’s like crazy/chaos personified but 30 kids in one classroom! With no instructional assistant (and therefore, no bathroom breaks)! ACK!

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Sue Blezow
Sue Blezow
9 years ago

Loved your post – third grade is truly the year when shit becomes real! Your descriptions of the kids were on point….take it from a mom who has been there – when Riley graduates from high school – the way you described those kids will still be relevant.

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perl
perl
9 years ago

Ha! The Energy Suck! I have one of those at home. I also have an anxious kinder with whom I had lunch the other day. That lunchroom was so chaotic that I wanted a Valium and a nap when I left. I am in awe of teachers (and aides, and everyone else who works at a school). I used to work as a psych nurse and had 8-10 patients max – I cannot imagine THIRTY!

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Katharine
Katharine
9 years ago

YES. It boggles the mind. All hail.

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sooboo
sooboo
9 years ago

That sounds impossibly challenging and yet you did it and created a cool and fun assignment out of thin air. You sound like a natural fit.

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Emily
Emily
9 years ago

To me the kids would seem like the easiest part. It’s dealing with the parents that’s a pain in the neck.

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sarah
sarah
9 years ago

I love this. I work in schools – not as a teacher! Could never do that! And it consistently floors me that other people can, and want to. I am terrified that the reserve will deplete and then what do we do?

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Jeannie
Jeannie
9 years ago

Up in BC we just finished off a VERY lengthy teacher strike, and one of the hotly contentious points was class size and composition — earlier the government had decided that IT would decide these features, NOT the teachers. You can imagine the outcry.

But what was really amazing to me was how many people — even parents — were all “teaching is so easy! You only work 9-3 each day and get all this vacation! And great benefits!” People still don’t seem to realize just how challenging teaching is.

Anyway I’m with you: I could never do it and I sure respect the teachers I’ve had or my kids have who can manage all the chaos.

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Erin
Erin
9 years ago

So appreciate this. I teach high school in CA and have 40 (no, seriously) kids in a class. They are slightly less rambunctious but no less needy. It is so, so hard. But I love it and wouldn’t trade it for the world. And thank you sooooo much for volunteering. I am sure that teacher appreciates it tremendously!

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Erin
Erin
9 years ago

Oh, and I was totally impressed by your ability to switch up a lesson on the fly to meet students’ needs. I have had student teachers who couldn’t ever grasp that. Someone said you are a natural and I second that! ;)

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Liz
Liz
9 years ago

Amen. I thought for awhile I wanted to be a teacher, but quickly realized I wanted a 1:1 profession. There was a kid who went nuts on the first day of kindergarten and trashed the classroom and punched three kids, and when I told my mom about it, I said, “That poor teacher needs a cocktail!”; at the exact same time, she said “That teacher needs a good room parent!” To put her classroom back together. It takes everyone, and good parent volunteers like yourself are SO helpful. What a good idea about the play, btw. You’re 100% right that kids need to move.

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Dennis
Dennis
9 years ago

I spent the better part of a year substitute teaching in a high school once – and I have exactly zero formal training in education. (This was in semi-rural Oregon, by the way – about an hour from Eugene and about an hour from Salem.)

Even for grades 9-12, I cannot second strongly enough your comments about multitasking. I finished each day exhausted, including those days where all I had to do was put the DVD in and press play. It took, for me at least, a tremendous amount of energy to just pay attention to everything.

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Koa
Koa
9 years ago

I’m starting in J’s KG class next week. 30. It’s unreal that this is what we’ve done to education. But I’m inspired by your acting it out idea. I will say his KG teacher looks like she’s just survived Planes, Trains and Automobiles every afternoon at pick up. But there she is again in the morning, ready to go.

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Kelly
Kelly
9 years ago

First, let me say that I agree about classroom sizes and that they should be smaller or at least have more assistants, etc. to bring the student:teacher ratio better in line. But I was surprised to see so many comments about how “now” it’s different and up to 30. We had 30+ in classes my entire time through school, too, in pretty good schools. I’m pretty sure my mom’s schools had about the same. My grandfather’s classes were more like 90 in a classroom.

Kudos for volunteering and flexing so well on the lessons! I think that acting it out is a great idea, both to get them moving and because you have to really understand what was going on if you are going to act it out.

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JMH
JMH
9 years ago

As a veteran elementary teacher of 20 years, thank you for appreciating the complexities of our job. And now you know why I may punch the next person who tells me how “easy” my job is since I all I have to do is “play” with kids all day……!!

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Katherine
Katherine
9 years ago

As the teacher of 6th graders (oh the DRAMA!) thank you for your kind words….And yes the kids to remember are the ones that fly under the radar. We always think of solutions for the energy suck, or the failing student. It is the quiet ones who want to do well but can’t verbalize the questions for help that we need to watch out for. Good luck, have fun and THANK YOU!

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GingerB
GingerB
9 years ago

I also volunteer, this year in third and first grade, and I can’t imagine that level of activity every single day. I am sure all teachers deserve every “non-student” day in the school year and then some.

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Joan
Joan
9 years ago

The Bumfuzzles… with there two children have been RV’g though out the US after coming back from Mexico… they are in Coos Bay area now…thought you might like to see what they are doing. http://www.bumfuzzle.com/blog/2014/09/18/humbug-mountain/

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Gina
Gina
9 years ago

I have all the respect in the world for teachers. I know for a fact that I am not cut out for it.

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Maggie
Maggie
9 years ago

I hear ya! As a Girl Scout Leader, I have gotten a small taste of managing a group of kids and my group is about half of what is in a classroom! It is exhausting, no way I could do it all day. Props to the teachers!!

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Shawna
Shawna
9 years ago

My son’s class has 18 kids and you couldn’t pay me enough to spend my days with that many 6-year-olds. I am always amazed and grateful that there are people who love teaching small children! (I feel the same way about nursing.)

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Tatyana @ theboltonskydiaries
Tatyana @ theboltonskydiaries
9 years ago

Agreed! I’m scared of how I’ll be able to handle baby #2 so I have no idea what 30 would be like. I mean it’s not 24hrs a day, but still. Very impressive. I always say teachers deserve to get paid more than people like football players. I mean, honestly.

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Anne
Anne
9 years ago

It is so nice to hear parents praising teachers and acknowledging how much work teachers do. This is my 11th year of teaching and every day is amazing–and exhausting :) But I really can’t imagine what else I would want to do every day for 8+ hours a day.

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Anne
Anne
9 years ago

And THANK YOU for volunteering!

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willikat
willikat
9 years ago

Dude, I think that was a great idea to get all the kids involved, learning, and moving. Getting them to act out what they understood from the story is brilliant. Way to go!

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Stacy
Stacy
9 years ago

Hey, thanks! It is always nice to hear kind words about teachers!

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9 years ago

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Amy
Amy
9 years ago

As a teacher this post fills me with joy! I’m so glad you had fun, and Riley’s teacher was probably pretty nervous having you there too. I hate people watching me teach.

The way you did it sounds amazing and I bet the kids learned a lot!

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Nic
Nic
9 years ago

As teacher, I am so happy when people see (and appreciate) the complexity of the job! I’ve been teaching for six years now, classes up to 32 students, and when people ask what it’s like I usually tell the it’s the first job I’ve had in my life that I cannot do with a hangover. Just can’t. It’s like going on stage and performing for 9 hours (8.30am – 4.30pm here), and you have to be ‘on’ all that time.

That being said, I applaud you for acting out the text with the kids, that is a great strategy for learning and keeping them interested! I never had any teacher’s assistants but if I did, I’d wish they’d come up with things like that!

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