Fellow Teachers--Nobody Else Understands!

[NYCsparkle]

harleigh....i taught 1st grade for 5 years and then went up to second...i absolutely LOVE 2nd grade. you don''t have to worry about kids who may pee their pants everyday (just occasionally), they can somewhat write and have an idea of how to read, theres less "babying". its like the end of 1st grade, but in the beginning of the year. its not all that different than 1st, just less time taken on who took whos pencil or other nonsense. i love that they still need you, but do figure out some stuff on their own as opposed to the 1st graders who need you for everything. once i taught 2nd grade i couldn''t imagine going back to a lower grade.

haven...good luck on your 1st day! mine isn''t for 2 1/2 more weeks, but i''m nervous already.

 

[Mannequin]

I echo your pain ladies. I go back officially for teacher days on the 29th and 30th, and the kids come on the 4th. However, I''ll probably be at school most of this week for meetings and getting my room back in order, and I have workshops next week. I am on a block schedule this year with my 7th grade LA classes (new to me, I''m a bit nervous as to how it will work out) and I am not teaching communications/speech anymore so I am down to only one prep. Should be interesting!

 

[zoebartlett]

Hi Harleigh,

I teach second grade also and I used to teach first. As NYCSparkle said, second graders are a little more independent. I still get a lot of tattling but I think that goes with the territory of teaching in the primary grades. Second graders know way more than first graders do, in terms of classroom routines, etc. You''re not starting everythig from the very beginning. I love both grades for different reasons and it''s not as huge a jump as it would be, say, going from 5th down to first. I think it''ll be fine! If you have any questions, ask away!


Do any of you have great beginning of the year activities? My kids have gone to school together for two years now (this is their third), so we don''t need many getting to know you type of activities. I will have one new student so I will do a few. I always feel stuck at this time of year.

 

[zoebartlett]

Haven and Harleigh,

Have a great first day of school tomorrow! How did today go, with the meetings (or in Harleigh''s case, a meeting and a ring appt)? I hope it was a productive day. Have fun with with your new classes!!

 

[gwendolyn]

ACK! IEP meetings on Thursday and Friday of this week!! And I was supposed to be off until next Tuesday...how did this happen so suddenly? Bad communication... *mutters*

 

[Harleigh]

Date: 8/13/2007 8:45:04 PM
Author: zoebartlett
Haven and Harleigh,

Have a great first day of school tomorrow! How did today go, with the meetings (or in Harleigh''s case, a meeting and a ring appt)? I hope it was a productive day. Have fun with with your new classes!!

Thanks, zoe! I am actually just getting home from school at a little after 8 PM, which is pretty usual for me the day before school starts, and I did get just about everything done and my room looks great! Class lists went up at 5 today, so lots of my former students and their parents stopped by to say hi and see my new ring as many heard I got engaged, BUT...(and I should probably post this in a separate thread, but I''m exhausted and still have a little work to do tonight, so please forgive my threadjack!)

Well, to begin with, my principal kindly let me leave the meeting today at 12:05 and I made it to the other side of town in exactly 10 minutes...I hit every green light and was right on time, amazingly enough. I forgot to mention in my earlier post that the gemologist doing the appraisal is leaving town for 3 weeks, and today or Wednesday were her only days at the jewelers before she leaves, and I didn''t know if she would hand me the plot right then or mail it to me, which has been running about 2 weeks after I see her, so I was afraid to take any chances as I need to get it to my insurance company ASAP.

Anyhow, if you''ve followed some of my other posts, so far with this big honker

, I have had a crooked head, knicked edges & scratches that were on it when I got it, a hole that needed to be filled w/solder, etc..., and it has been BACK in their hands 3 times so far in the past month. The last time I went in, my jeweler had me deal with someone else and while there, I attempted to discuss the possibility of getting my diamond set lower (it was MUCH higher than what we had talked about) and she told me I would have to pay several hundred dollars to get a low-basket head.

Considering they didn''t offer me a choice of heads, and we had discussed setting it lower and showed my mom''s ring as an example, I was pretty surprised when my FI proposed and it was set soooo high. It looks beautiful, but not the most practical if I do say so myself. So, I discussed this again with my jeweler today and mentioned that I keep getting it caught on things and that I''ve lost a few hundred hairs (give or take a few!) on the off-chance my ring gets anywhere near my head! He then looks at it and notices that one of the prongs is not tightened on the diamond

, which is something I had mentioned previously and no one believed me.

Nothing got solved about the head, unfortunately, but of course I again had to leave it with them for at least a day or two, so now won''t be wearing my ring for the first day of school, which makes me incredibly sad. I know that''s dumb, but I was so excited to show it off a bit, especially to the parents who were hoping it would happen this summer, and now I got nothin''! I also didn''t dare tell my FI that the ring is at the jewelers AGAIN when he just called, so I can''t vent to him about it! Even though I chose the setting and the jeweler, my FI seems to think that it is a reflection on him that there are so many things wrong w/the ring, which is in NO WAY his fault at all. I''m sure most others wouldn''t even notice any of the flaws that I have as they''re not as PS savvy as the rest of us!

I did manage to make it back in time for lunch, but that was almost 8 hours ago and I''m starving, so I''m off to find some din-din. Thanks for letting me rant...I feel better already!

Haven, I hope you have a fantastic first day tomorrow! I''ll be thinking of you!

 

[Harleigh]

Date: 8/13/2007 9:53:50 PM
Author: gwendolyn
ACK! IEP meetings on Thursday and Friday of this week!! And I was supposed to be off until next Tuesday...how did this happen so suddenly? Bad communication... *mutters*

That just stinks, gwendolyn! I had 2 surprise meetings over the summer that weren''t quite "communicated" to me, either! Hang in there...at least they can''t take your weekend away from you, right?

 

[Haven]

Thanks for the well wishes, Zoe, NYCSparkle, & Harleigh!

Oh, Harleigh, I''m so sorry to hear you''re having such a rough transition! How was your first day today? I, too, am STILL getting my act together for the kids tomorrow, and it''s 10:30 at night already! I hear you about the multiple names in a class--I have about seven Miguels, a handful of Jorges, and way too many Alejandros to keep them all straight!

I''m really sad to hear about how tough it is for you to switch grade levels--you''d think your colleagues would want to HELP you! If you read this tonight, GOOD LUCK TOMORROW!!!!

And your ring saga! I totally understand that you want to have it for the first day of school--I had so much anxiety about going back without a ring this year (it is in the works right now) and sure enough EVERYONE came up to me and grabbed my left hand, then looked SHOCKED I was still not engaged, and gave me that "Oh boy, if he hasn''t done it yet . . . look. Of course I haven''t told anyone the ring is on its way, but if it''s frustrating for ME without a ring (and I''m not even engaged yet) I can''t even imagine your disappointment, I''m so sorry. I hope your jeweler gets it RIGHT this time, sheesh!

Equestrienne--I teach on a block, too! I love it! I''ve never taught a period shorter than 90 minutes (I used to teach community college, 2 hour classes) and I cannot imagine going to a traditional schedule. I''m sure you''ll love it, you have so much time to actually get real work done! I''m sure your LA classes will go well, good luck!

All of you ladies who teach the little guys are so amazing! I could not imagine teaching elementary, and I don''t even want to think about middle school! I totally and completely look up to you, and think you do not get nearly as much reward as you deserve. Our system is so messed up, with the pay scales rewarding those of us with the EASIER teaching jobs, it''s infuriating.

Gwendolyn--Oh yuck! I''m sorry you have to go in right at the tail end of your vacation!

Zoe--Thanks for asking about the first day. It was very looooong. We had meetings from 8 to 2:30, and I was wiped out without even seeing one student all day! I did get my room in order, and now that I went back I''m excited to start the year, but that alarm clock going off at 5:30 AM is just so AWFUL!

I don''t think I''ll ever get used to waking up so darn early, never ever ever.

Well, ladies, I''m off to another restless night of sleep (anyone else have sleeping problems the first week of school?) Thanks for sharing each others'' pain, here, it''s nice to have a place to discuss our teaching anxieties!

Good luck with your 2nd graders tomorrow, Harleigh!

And enjoy the rest of your vacation, ladies!

 

[Harleigh]

LOL Haven, you are too funny...thanks for the well wishes!

If this makes you feel any better, I overslept the 2nd or 3rd day of school and they had to call me at home and wake me up...it was one of my first year''s teaching, I think, so I ALWAYS have anxiety the first week of school,which just adds to the nerves of all new kids and parents, etc...!

And I guess I should have mentioned that I am the only single, never-been-married, teacher at my school...so I completely understand about everyone grabbing your hand and checking for a ring-they''ve been doing that to me for years (I''m 35, so it''s been a LONG time coming!) When I returned at lunch, it had filtered around that I''d gotten engaged and of course THEN everyone wanted to see it...and I didn''t have it. I was really tired of trying to explain that one away for the rest of the day! The new girl in the room next to me isn''t even engaged yet, but I just found out she''s planning to get married in Maui next July, too! I guess we better pick different hotels...she said they''re expecting 100+!

I think I''m going to wear my two diamond bands tomorrow, so I at least have something on my finger...hee hee hee!

Sleep well and I can''t wait to hear how your day goes tomorrow! BEST OF LUCK to you, too!