Details

I heard back from my new teaching team yesterday and got some fantastic information about the year to come. From their email I can tell they are SUPER organized and I am really happy to have an idea of how the schedule works now!

This is what the day looks like....

 

     8:10-8:20        Table work as the students come in
     8:25-9:00        FastTrack Phonics
     9:00-9:30        Literacy Activity (Word of the week, Letter of the Week, writing)
     9:30-10:00      ELD students leave for ELD; other students have playtime and a  
                            supplemental activity.
     10:00-10:30    Math
     10:30-10:40    Story, Star of the Week

**Where is the time alotted for packing and cleaning up? That can take a long time with 5 year olds!
**The kiddos will also have specials, but I guess not everyday and they change throughout the year. One of the teachers said they go to library then computer but not PE or Music....

They also sent me a cop of their YEAR LONG plan and said they will create the plan for next year in August (which hopefully I will be present for). They have an Excel document that lists what topics will be covered in every subject/category for every week of the school year including special events, holidays, and field trips. WOW! It is great to know the different topics/themes that will be covered since I feel like Kindergarten does more with holidays than I ever did with my first grade classes. I was really happy to find out that they work very closely as a team because that is important to me. I find it really helpful to work alongside one another when planning to maintain consistency between classrooms. I don't think it's necessary to always do the exact same activities in the exact same way, but it's good to have a master plan that everyone agrees to. 

I will also admit that I am happy the reading program is based mostly on Fast Track Phonics and less on Treasures because I think Kindergartners need a strong phonics program and Treasures does not offer it (at least we found it to be weak at the first grade level). I have tons of games and activities that quickly became too easy for first graders, so it will fun to use them for stations and small group activities. 

I am not too sure I like how ELD (English Language Development) is set up because personally I feel like all children in Kindergarten would benefit from language development, but in our district only students categorized as ELL receive this instruction. At my old school it was taught by some classroom teachers and ELL teachers, but I guess at my new school it is just taught by the ELL teachers. ELL students leave the classroom and the district policy is that ELL students cannot miss content instruction while they are having an ELD lesson. In a day that is already short, I feel like that creates a period of time that cannot be used as effectively. Because ELD is supposed to be specific language instruction taught to students according to their acquisition levels, you can't just have everyone in the class participate in the lessons since they would be different levels of English speakers including both ELL and native English speakers in the mix, which is why ELL students are pulled out and grouped according to level. I just wish that somehow all students could be involved...it's complicated, but the 30 minutes of ELD time was always a source of frustration because the other children could not be working on content areas or receive new instruction during that time. Since we always felt short on time (and I am sure it will be intensified with SUCH a short day) it is frustrating to feel like you have to spin your wheels waiting for 1/3 to 1/2 of the class to return. I guess that is a good time for additional  literacy/math activities, however I want my ELL students to have those opportunities too. Regardless of what we do when they are gone, they are missing something because I am not just going to provide a recess time for other kids during that time (and even if I did...don't they deserve time to play too?). 

I am still trying to brainstorm good ways to stay organized this year. In addition to creating a binder of songs and rhymes, I of course, need to put together an assessment binder and files for each child. File maintenance will be a bit larger of a task with about 50 kiddos...

***

It is so hot here today, I can't even believe it. We are having this pattern of extreme heat during the day and then wicked thunder storms at night with heavy rain and lots of lightning. This has happened for the past two or three nights! I was so afraid the power would go out! No hubby and no power would not be a great combo.

In reading news, I have read a few Ramona books this week in addition to The Penderwicks, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and Love That Dog. I am currently on The Borrowers, which I am hoping to finish today. I am not really sure why three different Ramona books are on the top 100 list. I think she is a great character (the trouble finding silly girl character before Junie B. Jones without the incorrect grammar!), but I honestly don't think the stories are that worthy of having three spots on the list of must reads. Some of the others in my stack are Dear Mr. Henshaw (actually not on the list but when I saw it in the library I wanted to read it), The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Ramona and her Father, and The Hobbit (still avoiding that one...)

Team Players

When I worked in OR, I was on a teaching team with three outstanding women. It was because of their support and help that I made it through my first year of teaching and they taught me the fundamentals of how to make what I learned in college actually work in a classroom. Everything that we taught was a combination of our efforts and I loved the experience of working on a team. I think one of the best things about teaching is the opportunities to share with and learn from other teachers. Working in an environment where a team effort is valued is my kind of place.

Right now, I am feeling a little frustrated by some of the circumstances at school that involve cooperating with other teachers. Working with other teachers is the nature of my job. Being a team player is absolutely essential.  I pride myself in being someone that is positive to work with and I try my best to show other educators that I am very invested in the students and am willing to work hard to provide them with what they need. This week, I  got assigned to a new class. Since it is not content that I am well versed in, I emailed the teacher requesting information on what topic they were currently working on and whether or not there was a text being used.

I didn't get a response.

I emailed another second teacher who might have been able to help provide me with this information asking the same questions.

I didn't get a response.

I did get my hands on a copy of the textbook that is being used, but not until 30 minutes before the class and I didn't know what topic to look at, so basically I went to the classroom completely unprepared.

I am not comfortable being unprepared.

My job is to help students, but I cannot do that to the best of my ability if I am not well versed in the material. When I am responsible for the instruction, I  never begin a lesson without being fully prepared. I feel like I am at the mercy of other teachers and can only do my job well if I have their cooperation in telling me what to expect when I enter the classroom for that particular period so I can get ready. I felt awful when a very nice student looked to me for help today and I was fumbling around in the book trying to find answers because I had no way of getting ready and previewing the material.

I felt like I was thrown into the fire and I was so frustrated during this period. I felt like a failure myself and worse than that, I feel like I failed the student who looked to me for support and help with his work. I simply cannot understand why a teacher would completely disregard the email I sent. I understand that teachers are busy, but I didn't send a last minute email. I gave an entire week's notice that I would be joining the class and was hoping for some guidance regarding the lesson content for today.

Collaborating professionally is a very important. In my master's program, we had two courses specifically about collaborating with colleagues. Throughout these courses, I recognized the importance of collaboration, but due to the strong team I was working on, I never felt like it was difficult to work with other teachers. Now, I see why so much time was dedicated to providing us with strategies to cooperate meaningfully with colleagues.  Perhaps the cultural differences contribute to misunderstandings and different expectations, but I am starting to feel affected by the lack of relationships with some colleagues. I want to have positive working relationships with other teachers and I have established great working relationships with most of the teachers that I connect with during my day, but the ones that aren't so great are getting me down. I don't feel like it is bad enough to merit actually sitting down with these people to confront the situation, but at the same time, I am left wondering if I did something wrong. I know I am way too sensitive and I can make something small into something bigger in my mind, but I like to do things well and be successful.

I have never had this problem before because in the past all of my cooperative working relationships have been very successful. I guess I come from the "can't we all just get along" mentality, but I just want to feel like I am at least  being acknowledged when I ask questions or seek help from others.

If you felt like you were up against a colleague who, for whatever reason, was not really responding to attempts to work together, what would you do??