Head of the Class

It's official: I have my own classroom. And for the first time, I am beginning to feel like a teacher. It felt very surreal to have an entire classroom to do with as I see fit. I just stood there and gawked at everything as I took it all in. The custodian was friendly and right there to get anything I might need and the other teachers I met treated me with complete respect. I've been on the other side of the coin for so long. In education, there seems to be a silly hierarchy...much like in medicine (i.e. doctors, nurses, cnas, etc.). As an instructional assistant, I often felt like I had to "remember my place" so to speak. Well, that is no longer the case. I know that I will never be the kind of teacher to remind anyone of their place...that's not my place. I am told I will have an assistant and so I have high hopes we'll be great together.


I am still battling my nerves, but felt really good after talking with the principal and getting a feel for the lay of the land. I found myself debating where the best spot for my desk would be. I mentally rearranged furniture. There are these two large filing cabinets that I'm not sure where they'll end up. It was so much fun! There are so many things I'm gonna need to buy out of pocket. There is very little funds at my disposal because it is a high poverty school, so I want to be careful with what I use them for. I figure the Goodwill will become my best friend for certain things. Thankfully, there is a Dollar Tree down the road that sells some decent teaching supplies. I can't wait to get paid and go raid the Learning Palace for stuff. I've been waiting for a long time just for the sheer joy of that. I know, I know...I need help.


I know the real work is yet to come, but I am trying to enjoy and embrace each step as it comes instead of freak out. I go to a training tomorrow all day, so I've gotta get organized. There is so much to do in so little time, but I just try to concentrate on a few tasks a day so as not to overwhelm myself...which is easy to do. Until I have all of the materials I'll need to start lesson-planning and such, I am trying to figure out what will adorn the walls of the classroom. There are no set bulletin boards, but the walls are very tack friendly. I think I'll surf online tonight for ideas and go from there. This is truly the fun part! I feel like I'm a kid again getting ready for the first day of school. My kids are going through that actually. My son, N, is entering first grade so we gotta finish getting his school supplies and pick out his first day of school outfit. We are enrolling K in a nearby preschool, so she is getting excited for that. N's birthday is also next month, so we are starting to think about what to do for that. I'm glad I was able to talk my MIL into taking the kids to a few of their swimming lessons since I have to start work earlier than expected. They'll get a few more days out of it, so I'm really happy about that. All in all, lots to keep us busy and to look forward to as well...:)