It's Time!

Well, it's official! As I signed my paperwork with my new school district, I am finally ready to start my new blog!

I decided I needed a new blog to chronicle my continuing adventures as a special education teacher. Please add my new blog and continue to follow me at The Write Combo!

I'm hoping to set up my TPT and Etsy shops this summer so continue to stay tuned for my teaching products on both sites.

Thank you to those of you who have followed this blog since my beginning days as a new teacher two years ago! I look forward to many more blog posts in the days to come!

To Be Continued...

So, I've been absent from the blogosphere for a while and haven't had the motivation to write or blog recently because of unforeseen events both in my work and personal life. And I'm not sure when my mojo is going to return to me.

But I hope it's soon...

Not a Morning Person

I love coffee. I really need it to start my days, as I am by no means a morning person. Starbucks should be delighted by my patronage; I spend about $30-35 at Starbucks every week on my almost daily Starbucks runs.

In an effort to save some money, I invested in a Keurig coffee machine this past September. I liked that I could have multiple cups of coffee at home, switching out the brews (flavors) as I deemed fit. I've found a variety of flavors that I've liked (Green Mountain's Caramel Vanilla Cream and Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice, and Starbuck's Blonde brew, among others).

I was recently shopping at Ralphs when I noticed that they had started producing their own k-cups with the Ralphs brand - which were a few bucks cheaper than the Starbucks and Green Mountain k-cups. It looked appealing, so I decided to give it a try.

The cappuccino turned out much better than the 7-11 cappuccinos I get some mornings on my way to work (which I think are MUCH better than any cup you can get at Starbucks or Coffee Bean). I'm glad that Ralphs is marketing their own k-cups now and at an affordable price for consumers.

This won't be my last box of this brew!

The Good and the Bad/Ugly

THE GOOD: I was sent an email earlier this afternoon that informed me that I had been selected to be one of Earthwatch's 2013 fellows. The program is taking place in Arizona toward the end of July and into early August and will be centered around climate change and caterpillars. (I know this may not sound interesting, but for a science geek like me, I'm very excited!) As part of the program, I will receive a $1,000 stipend for the trip and get to spend 11 days near Tucson, working in the field with other scientists and teachers. I applied for the program on a lark, not really thinking that I would get the opportunity to participate. I guess it just goes to show that filling out long, tedious applications might actually reap some reward!

Photo courtesy of earthwatch.org

THE BAD/UGLY: I have been out of work since Monday, when I went into the emergency clinic for a back injury I sustained at work last week (and that got progressively worse over the weekend). The doctor checked me out and after taking multiple x-rays, determined I had a thoracic sprain in my upper back. He issued some medications and gave me a back brace and an icepack. I had a follow-up appointment yesterday morning, and he told me that I would need some physical therapy. He also changed one of the medications I was taking and told me to up the frequency of which I was taking the muscle relaxers he had originally prescribed. So, I am out of work until next Wednesday when I will have my follow-up appointment after completing several physical therapy sessions.

As much as I sometimes complain about the challenges of teaching, I do miss being away from my classroom. I would rather be teaching my kindergarteners than stuck in bed or on the sofa with an injury. I just want to be back in my element. 

I'm crossing my fingers that the PT the doctor ordered lends to my recovery and return to work.

Holidaze Me

I am one of those teacher's that goes into a holidaze with the coming of each new month. During December, my classroom looked like the North Pole, complete with tons of lighted garland and a lighted, decorated Christmas tree. This month, it looks like cupid threw up. We have pink lights, two different types of heart garland, and tons of Valentine's Day crafts that we've put together, courtesy of Pinterest.

Here are just a few of the crafts my kiddos have done in the last week or two...

Valentine's Day was deemed "Grandparent's Day" at my school job...even though the national holiday was five months ago. We made cute gifts for our grandparents, nonetheless - we even laminated them for safe-keeping. 

I've already started collecting decorations for next month's St. Patrick's Day...and don't even get me started on the Pinterest March crafts that I've hoarded! Stay tuned...

The Resignation

I decided late this afternoon that I was going to quit my tutoring job.

I didn't need to work a part-time job; I've been comfortable just working my full-time teaching job. But I liked making the extra money, saving up for some fabulous trip abroad.

However, I realized that my part-time job was making me a crap graduate student and was affecting my weekend "recuperation time" from my teaching, which has taken a toll on me emotionally and psychologically - while also exposing me to a whole new batch of germs from sick tutoring clients (yuck!)

I needed my time back.

So, I resigned - via email. Not exactly professional, I know, but I could care less. I am so drained at this point that I needed to do what was right for me...not what professional courtesy dictates.

I spent this evening making dinner, watching a movie, and completing two weeks worth of homework - something I would not have had time to do if I was tutoring clients back-to-back all day.

I think resignation suits me just fine.

Out with the Old, In with the DUH...

Today I participated in a 6-hour training for the new IEP program our district is planning on rolling out on Monday. And all I can say is that the training itself was a waste of time and money.

To start off, I could have spent the day in my classroom actually doing something productive and catching up on the work that's stacked up because I was out sick for a week and a half and because I have an incompetent instructional aide (but that's another blog post altogether). Many of our district's special education teachers opted out of coming today - because this "voluntary" training violates our union contract in about 10 different ways. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to stay behind and work, I couldn't because I am not yet tenured with the district. And I am POSITIVE that our special education director would have seen my absence as non-compliance and not asked me to return next fall despite exemplary evaluations from my site administrator.

So, I was bitter about attending this whole training from the get-go.

On top of that, though, the district failed to offer any sort of waiver for those teachers who are tech-savvy and/or have advanced degrees in technology (like myself) that would allow for us to figure out the program on our own. By not doing so, the district is basically paying me to sit in a computer lab for 6 hours and chat on Facebook or pin new ideas on Pinterest. Now that's being fiscally conscientious!

I was hoping that this training would be beneficial. It wasn't. 

Every piece of information that was presented was something I could have figured out independently or by looking up in the program manual. It was a waste of time.

It really upsets me that with all these budget issues happening within the school districts, administrators and program directors aren't doing everything possible to save the district money. Like paying for one trainer instead of three and only training those teachers who feel they really need the training in order to be successful? There's an idea!

Or giving a 3-hour training instead of a 6-hour training, because, really...it could have been done in two.

Now while the technicalities of the training flat out sucked...I do like the new program that the district is using. It really streamlines the information and eliminates the amount of paperwork that is processed in special education. It is very user-friendly and will hopefully eliminate some of the errors the district has faced in the past with IEPs.

Germs are the Devil

So, one of the downfalls of being a kindergarten teacher? You're exposed to SO many yucky germs and are susceptible to getting sick. Case in point...

I was sick back in December and saw a doctor. She determined I had bronchitis and gave me a breathing treatment and a round of antibiotics for the ear infection that I had also incurred. After taking the medication, I thought I had gotten better and actually felt relatively decent through the holiday season.

However, last week (Wednesday, to be exact) I felt myself getting sick again. I managed to get myself through the rest of the week (and a formal observation that I had with my principal on Friday) but I didn't have the time over the weekend to nurse myself back to health - I was working at my part-time job - and I think that's what did me in.

I woke up Monday feeling terrible but decided to tough it out and go to work. Low and behold, I didn't make it past 9:30 that morning. I asked my principal to go home and I've been in bed or parked on my sofa ever since.

I went into the doctor on Tuesday and she sent me to the hospital to get chest x-rays, thinking that it could be pneumonia. On top of that, she gave me a steroidal shot to "kick start" my immune system along with another breathing treatment and an aggressive antibiotics and medication treatment - five different medications in all!

It's been horrible. I hate being sick and being away from my classroom and the kids. But I know this comes as a warning - that I need to slow and take care of myself and not work myself to death with two jobs and school. So my doctor gave me a medical leave of absence until next week so that I can fully recover.

Although I don't mind all the extra rest I've been getting, the antibiotics that I was put on are incredibly strong and make me sick to my stomach. I just want to be better already!

So forgive me if I have been lagging on the posts...I will try to get back into the swing of things soon. Till then...

Movie Review: Won't Back Down

As I was sitting at home this evening, lounging on my sofa in front of my TV, and relishing in the fact that I don’t have to tutor tomorrow, I decided to peruse the current Pay Per View listings. Low and behold, Won’t Back Down had an early release and since I’d heard mixed reviews about it, decided to see what it was about. (It’s a “teacher movie” and I’m a teacher…can you blame me?)

For those of you unfamiliar with the movie scene, Won’t Back Down was a movie that was released back in September that met disappointing box-office numbers and even worse reviews. Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight and Mona Lisa Smile) and Viola Davis (The Help and Eat Pray Love), Wont’ Back Down tells the story of two determined parents that will fight against all odds to get their children the education they believe they deserve. Set at an inner city school in Pittsburg, the movie chronicles the challenges of Gyllenhaal’s character – a single mother, working two jobs in order to provide for her third grader – whose attempts to get her failing child into a different classroom and school fall on deft ears. Along the way she meets Davis’ character – a third grade teacher at her child’s elementary school – who is also searching for an alternative school choice for her young son. The two women band together in an effort to get both parents and teachers alike on board and ready to take on the teacher’s union and the dissenting school board.

Photo courtesy of Walden Media

The movie’s premise is based on parent trigger laws – laws that enable parents to change the administration and staffing of failing and under-performing schools and essentially “take over” the school in question. (Prior to this film, I knew very little about such laws but after reading more about them after watching this movie, found out that my home state, California, was the first state to pass such legislation back in 2010.)

Overall, I thought the movie was moving and I applauded the tenacity and drive of the two main characters. Fully aware that Walden Media’s major backer is a money man who’s pro-school reform, I thought the movie touched on some relevant topics that I, as a teacher, face on a daily basis – teacher union bureaucracy, the pitfalls of teacher tenure (i.e. protecting bad teachers), and parent/teacher collaboration…or lack thereof. Although the film wasn’t all “union bashing,” they made one point very clear: teacher unions are failing both the teachers they serve and the students and families that ultimately employ them (because without the families and students, teachers wouldn’t have jobs).

Photo courtesy of Walden Media

I just wish that more parents were like the two depicted in the film. I’m lucky if I get ¼ of my families in for Back to School Night or Open House…let alone a parent who wants to consistently volunteer and help out in my classroom. Many parents are uneducated – especially when it comes to special education – and they aren’t sure how to help their child, which does them a huge disservice when the student is not getting an education fit for them. And God forbid that the school district or administrators would actually give them information that might help them! Yet, I risk my job security when I attempt to do what is in the best interest of the child.

Schools are failing and, unfortunately, one teacher speaking her mind is not going to move mountains. Schools do need change – desperately – but it needs to be strategic, district-wide, explicit and it needs to start with the men and women who are in positions of leadership and power.