Observations=done!

Although they both went really well, I am so glad to have my observations over with! I know that I am a good teacher, but it is still pretty stressful to have 3 different people watching you as you interact with students. The 5th grade class was totally within my comfort zone. Fifth graders are part of the middle school, but I am used to them being part of the elementary school, so I felt right at home. The high schoolers were different, but they were so nice. They were appreciative of my help and very kind to me. I expected them to ask for help based on the info I was given initially, but that was not at all the case. They definitely needed help, but did not always ask for it. I felt like it took me a longer amount of time to get in the groove in that classroom, but once I started helping them, they were more willing to ask questions and everything felt good.

I briefly met with the special services teacher afterward and she gave me all positive feedback. She was going to meet with both the high school and middle school principals after school to get their feedback and she said hopefully I will hear back on either Monday or Tuesday of next week. The director of the school is out of town, so they have to get in touch with him before they could officially offer me the position.

After going through today, basically being put in two classrooms where I had never met the kids before and didn't know much about them, I am confident that I would be good at this job. I enjoyed working with the older kids and I know that I have the skills needed. I hope all my observers saw the same!

Interview

The interview was this morning and it went well. It lasted for about 45 minutes and there were LOTS of questions. Particularly I was asked a lot about how I would handle uncooperative middle and high school students and/or uncooperative parents. I was told afterwards by the support services teacher that I interviewed really well and that they liked my answers.

But....the high school and middle school principals were a little concerned because I do not have experience working with students at those levels...

So...I have to be observed on Friday in order for them to see how I interact with students in a classroom. I am going to push into 5th Grade English and 9th Grade Math (not sure yet which type of math). I emailed both teachers whose classrooms I will be visiting to ask if we can meet briefly to review what their lessons will be about so that I can do a good job supporting the students who need help. One teacher already emailed me back and we are meeting up tomorrow before school.

I did find out who the other applicant was. She is a certified teacher also working as a TA at the school. She is certified to teach HS, but she does not have any full time teaching experience nor is she certified to teach Special Ed (which I am PreK-Grade 8). Not too sound cocky/rude/whatever, but I don't think they would hire her over me because I am more qualified. At least I hope not!

That said, I think they still want to make sure I am completely qualified for the job and I can't blame them. I am happy to have the chance to be observed because I don't want to take a job that I am not ready/qualified/a good fit for. This will be a great opportunity for both the principals and me to see if it's really going to work out.

I am hoping that I will be notified on Friday whether or not the job is mine, but I think that is wishful thinking. I am nervous, excited, and intimidated all at once! Wish me luck!

Cosmic Forces

Have you ever had an experience when you got the feeling everything was aligning in exactly the right way?

I finally got word that I have an interview tomorrow morning for the support services position! I found out that I am not the only applicant, but I know nothing about how many candidates there are or how qualified they are in comparison to me. I will be interviewed by a panel consisting of all three school principals (elementary, middle, & high school) as well as the director of the school, and one of the support services teachers. This is the same teacher that approached me before school started and said she felt like they made a mistake in hiring me as an assistant because I am too qualified and could be used elsewhere given my experience...

Anyway, back to the whole cosmic forces thing, I was thinking that I should come to the interview prepared with some examples of how I would modify assignments to help struggling students. I recalled learning about a note taking system called Cornell Notes, so I googled it to refresh my memory and guess what? I found a treasure!! It could not be more perfectly fitted to the job I am interviewing for.

The site is called The Learning Toolbox and from what I have checked out so far--it's phenomenal. It has links for students, parents, and teachers and is geared towards instruction for middle and high school students who are struggling learners. One of the first things I checked out was a questionnaire that either the teacher can complete based on knowledge of the student, or the student can complete. It asks questions about organization, test taking, study skills, note taking, reading, writing, math, and advanced thinking. Then there is another tool that matches each question with a particular strategy that could be used to strengthen that skill. For example, if the student gets really nervous/anxious when taking a test, the BRAVE strategy can be taught. Click here for a visual of the BRAVE strategy. I can picture making a copy of that page and having a student keep in on the desk during a test. This seems like a great way to evaluate a student's strengths and weaknesses and help them focus on some helpful strategies.

There is a whole section on the webpage devoted to the different strategies and they are listed within the same categories mentioned before: organization, test taking, note taking etc. Each strategy has a description with either a mnemonic device or visuals to help students remember the steps or key parts. The site also provides a link to a section on how to teach the strategies and offers instructional videos!

I hope I am right, but for some reason, discovering this tool today makes me feel like getting this job is totally meant to be! I always go into an interview with the attitude that all I can do is be myself and if I am the right person for the job, I will get chosen. I am not trying to pretend that I have tons of experience teaching middle and high school students, but I am trying to show them that I am committed, willing to try, and hardworking. Even if I am not chosen, I still have a great job and wonderful people that I really enjoy working with. I would be disappointed, but it's not the end of the world. Please send me some positive vibes!

If you are a middle school or high school teacher or a parent who has a child in this age group, this is a really great resource to use. Check it out!!

Friend Makin' Monday

Today's theme for Friend Makin' Monday is:

What are your hobbies?

What do you wish you knew how to do?

Hobbies

blogging! :0)

working out

reading

baking/cookie decorating

being crafty like stamping or scrapbooking

volunteering for Special Olympics

In a Perfect world I would be able to:

sew & quilt

do my own blog makeovers

decorate with style and chic-ness

play an instrument, preferably the piano and sing too!

paint or draw really well

Check out the rest of the posts at Amber's blog!

P.S. The goal for this Friend Makin' Monday is to get up to 50 followers! One more to go as of posting time! I mean ideally more than that, but I am just rounding up to the closest 10 right now!

Heaven for the organizationally inclined!

We are still in the process of getting things organized in our new apartment here in Germany. We unpacked all of our "bathroom stuff" and I got that organized and put away yesterday. My office/our guest bedroom is pretty much good to go as well. When the movers came, my husband told them to put all my books in the storage area in the basement which appalled me. What good are books if they are boxed up and far away from me?? Needless to say, as soon as I got the chance, I went down there with the laundry basket, dug through about 5 different boxes to find them all, and dragged them upstairs so I could put them away in the bookshelf in my new desk.

I was very disappointed to find this:

and this:

I guess in the grand scheme of shipping a household from OR to Germany, a few bent/ripped books is not the end of the world, but I was still a little sad. My poor books!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was really excited to organize my new desk. I am realizing the extent of my affinity for obsessive organizing. I have a tendency to arrange clothes in the closets with like colors together and I want everything to be lined up just so. Weird, yet I know some of you are out there thinking "me too!" And in the case of my desk, I organized all my teaching books by topic such as teaching ELL students, reading, writing, research, multicultural education etc. It's my own personal library of bliss!

Desk as it looks when it's opened up

Close up of the books!

Where the blogging action happens!

I was also pretty happy with how much I could fit in the one drawer because I really don't like to have things out on the desk. I prefer if I can put them away in their own little space so the overall appearance is neat and tidy. My desk at school was always a disaster zone, so I try a lot harder with my home office.

Gotta have post its...lots and lots of post its!

Finally I found my files and organized them in my little bench. The top opens and there is space inside for hanging files. I keep files on various important subjects, so I can refer to good resources that I have collected over the years when needed. A lot of the contents are from when I did my master's in SPED, so I have info on many disability categories. That way I have good resources if I am working with a kid who falls into a certain category. This would be very helpful in the event I get hired for the SPED job, but I still have not heard about it. Maybe this week?

Then, when I am not using my desk, it closes up, so it looks neat which is great because the room itself is not very big.

I am still trying to attack the boxes containing the contents of our kitchen, which is really tough considering we don't have a kitchen installed here yet. There isn't really anywhere to put the stuff once we unwrap it, but we need to check and make sure nothing is broken and we also want to get the rest of the empty boxes that we unpacked after the movers left picked up because right now they are taking up 1/2 of our storage space. Once they get taken away, we can get more organized in the storage space which means getting the apartment visitor ready as well!

A little poem I wrote

Lately I have really been enjoying writing. My daily blog post is a fun part of my day and I just love composing something that others will read. This is a poem I wrote a few weeks ago and let me clarify that this is not based on reality...purely fiction!

Mrs. Toppel’s class was the best in all the school.

They never misbehaved and always followed every rule.

Their line was always straight, not one person made a sound.

Every eye was looking forward, not one trickster could be found.

After painting in the art room, they washed each and every brush.

When they used the bathroom, they always remembered to flush.

All their pencils were sharpened; books open to the page.

They knew all there was to know and more, quite smart for their young age!

They always did their homework and got it right without fail.

They even did extra credit writing pen pals through the mail.

They used their thinking brainpower each and every day.

Their eyes never left the teacher and they never tried to play.

They raised their hands high and never shouted out.

They were one fantastic class I say, without any doubt!

They cleaned up the classroom every day at two fifteen.

Everything was tidy; nothing out of place was seen.

The books were all put back on the shelves where they belong.

They even liked to softly sing a special cleanup song.

Papers off the floor, the trash put in the hall.

Some kids even dusted the artwork on the wall.

If you peeked into their classroom while they were hard at work,

you’d see every student focused and never a sneaky smirk.

Mrs. Toppel’s class truly was the best.

Until the new kid came to school and put them to the test...

Let me know what you think! I love comments!