Is it a celebrity? Are they Giving away cash? What is all the fuss about?

     Imagine a line of people twenty feet deep, people craning their necks and elbowing to try and get a better look.  There is a buzz in the crowd, smiles, and screeches of joy.  What could cause all this drama?  Well, class lists of course.

      As kids look at these lists each fall, the first thing they look for is for the name of their friends.  Parents then begin asking around to gather information on their child’s teacher.  They will ask, “How old is this teacher? How much homework does this teacher give?  Did you like them as a teacher?  Will we have a good year?”  Like a political poll they’ll gather their “facts” and determine their opinion of the teacher. 

     Inside the school the class lists take on a different drama.  Teachers want to look at your class list and tell you who their favorite and least favorite students are. On two different occasions today I had teachers come up to me and attempt to prepare me for a student on my list.  They felt they needed to tell me about the student’s problems, quirks, overbearing parents and give me their sympathy.  I’m sure they meant well, but I really would rather form my own opinions.

     I’m sure that a great deal of thought has gone into the formation of my class list.  The fourth grade teachers have divided up the class according to behavior, gender, and academic abilities.  Our specialists have separated students who don’t get along, and administrators have made further adjustments to make their lives easier. For the most part, I have had little say in who will be entering my class on Monday.  The position I have taken over the years is that each student is placed in my class for a reason.  Sometimes it is because I am the best teacher to meet the needs of a student.  Other times it is for a student to help me to grow in various areas of my life.  By looking at my good and bad students and realizing that they have a purpose for being in my room, I can avoid the drama that comes from the biases of others.  It also opens my eyes to the potential in every student.  For me every student is a unique challenge that I have volunteered to take on each year. 

     The success of this year doesn’t depend on the names on my class list, but on the brief time we share over the next 180 days.  So as I look at my class list this weekend, I’ll pray for each student and dream of all that we will achieve by the end of this year.         

(In the comments below, please tell me some of the drama that you have seen take place from class lists?

Shopping, Shopping, Shopping

      I’m not much of a shopper, but I can appreciate getting a good deal.  School supply companies all over my county have found ways to get me to spend six dollars in gas to go buy two cent folders and quarter packs of paper.  At the cheep promotion prices we find ourselves buying school supplies whether we need them or not. 

     It’s time to update my wardrobe.  Out with the old and in with the new.  In spite of my limited budget I feel that students respect a well dressed teacher better than the worn out clothes I would probably continue to use.  Thankfully, my wife is adept at navigating the local sales to accomplish the task without draining our bank account.  I also have two teenage daughters who have followed in their mother’s example and saved us hundreds of dollars using coupons they find on the internet.  I am amazed at what a good shopper can accomplish.

    Since we don’t have a local teacher store I’ll have to visit the teacher section in our dollar stores and look through some catalogs to garner the odds and ends that I use each year.  If I can’t find anything, I’ll have to go “old school” and create the items I need on my own.  The document projectors of today work much better than overheads did eight years ago. 

   With all of this shopping I’ll need to head to work on Monday to start putting some money into my bank account for a change.  I look at all we have and realize how blessed we are.  I work 190+ days a year and through hard work were able to have a good life even on a teacher’s salary.  I don’t have everything I could want, but I have a sense of pride that we have everything we need.  So, good luck with your last minute shopping.  I hope you get everything you need as well.    

(In the comments below please tell me what your best purchase was in preparation for school this year.  If you have tips or coupons you can share those here too.)   

School Supply Hoarding

     Don’t you just love school supplies?  The blank notebooks, pencils fresh from the package, and crayons without a scratch all arranged carefully in a desk.  It makes you just want to get to work and start filling them with stories and lessons.  As a classroom teacher we spend time getting the backpacks unpacked and stowed away in various parts around our rooms.   If we’re not careful these hidden supplies can multiply and before we know it we have some amazing results.

    Two years ago I was moving into a team member’s room and he told me, “I’m all moved out except I have one more cabinet with a couple rolls of paper towel.  Set those aside and I’ll get them later. “  As I began to move into his room, I found the cabinet with paper towel.  I pulled a couple rolls out and saw that the cabinet went deeper and I kept pulling more rolls out.  24 rolls later, I had enough paper towels to stock a grocery store.  When my teammate came by for his paper towels we had a laugh to see how many he had squirreled away in a cabinet. He didn’t need to have paper towels on his school supplies list for a couple of years. 

    After years of teaching we can collect some pretty amazing piles of school supplies.  It’s in our nature to hoard supplies, because as teachers we have all gone without.  However, when we open up our cabinets at the beginning or end of the year and we find we have fifty of something, it may be time to take the risk and give a few away. 

(In the comments below, please tell me of some of the treasures you have found tucked away in your classroom.)

One Step at a Time

    Today I met with our administrators to help plan our school year.  We went week by week and laid out every meeting, training, and major initiative for the year.  In some regards it is nice to have a plan, but it is rather scary to see how much work is ahead.  In the administrators minds the focus is how high our scores are and how can we get them ever higher. 

    To this end, we’ll spend the first two days of preschool listening to the new policies and our future evaluations.  While the presenter goes on about something that may be important I’m sure my mind will want to wander into my classroom preparations.  As teachers we face ever increasing requirements and less time to complete these requirements.  All the work will get done, but I am daunted by what is ahead. 

    I once heard someone ask this question, “How do you climb a mountain?”  His answer was one step at a time.  I’ve tried to keep that perspective when I feel the stress of getting started with a new year.  My first step will be to get the expectations of my bosses, my next step will be to get my room organized.  With each step of preparations, I’ll get closer to being ready for the students to arrive.  I’ll then take steps to understand my students needs, etc.  After many single steps I’ll catch my stride and start the hard work of climbing through the year. 

     Most of you have already started the new year, or you are just about to begin.  If the challenges  before you look near impossible, just remember.  The only way you’re going to get anywhere is one step at time.        

(In the comments below, please tell me what ludicrous things you have to do before you can start teaching. )

The Bulletin Board Wars

     The bulletin board wars are about to begin.  It began in the first grade hallway.  Legend has it that those over achieving first grade teachers stayed late into the night perfecting their bulletin artwork.  The next morning everyone arrived to a visual extravaganza that set the jealousy of other grade levels aflame. 

      At our school each classroom teacher has a bulletin board in the hallway and it is the expectation of our administration that we have these boards covered.  It used to be enough to put up a mono-color board with a title like, “Welcome to fifth grade.”  These simple boards could be changed to “Look at our great work!” in September and that was all that was needed for the remainder of the year.  Not anymore. 

      As you walk down the first grade hall you see three dimensional boards leaping off the wall with catchy phrases and pictures that would rival any advertising billboard around.  For the longest time we had a pact in the intermediate hallway to keep it simple, but then a fourth grade teacher snapped and put together a block buster board that stopped all passers-by in their tracks.  Since my board is right by hers, it just wouldn’t do to slap up some paper and go simple.  I had to step up my efforts. The resulting work of art had a winding road going off into the sunset.  Along the way were billboards that told my fifth grade students what they could expect on their journey through fifth grade.  It took over an hour of my precious time, but at least I would be able to save face in our hallway. 

     Over the course of the year, as one person would change their boards, the rest of us would follow suit.  At the battles peek one teacher brought in a toaster and hot glued toast to her board with a title, “The 5^th graders are the toast of the town.”  The students complained about hunger every time they went into the hallway and smelled the toast.  That is until the bugs began to find the petrified morsels of food hanging on the wall. 

    As I begin school next week, one of my first activities will be to unroll some fresh, brightly covered paper and cover my boards.  When done I’ll have a place to display discipline, word walls, calendar math and student work.  I’ll also have one board left that I’ll reserve for the board of the century.  However, I haven’t quite figured out what the board of the century looks like just yet.  I have one more week for inspiration to hit. 

(In the comments below, please tell me or show me some of your great bulletin board ideas.  Also, let me know if your school has similar board wars.)

Classroom Setup Surprises

      I saw a book today where two artistic ladies who go around to various places collecting “junk,” and then they turn it into fabulous looking items.  As I look through many of the teaching blogs on the web I see the same thing going on.  Teachers are taking cans, dollar finds, and other “junk” and turning it into useful items in their classroom.  With the ever decreasing budgets of schools this has become an effective way of obtaining the items we need in the classroom.  Just keep in mind the following story. 

    Every year at our school it is common to take any items that we don’t want to use and put them in the hallway for other teachers to salvage.  Since several of our rooms open to the outside the teachers are sometimes forced to put their items outside under the awnings.  A teammate of mine was walking down the outside walk and saw the perfect size file cabinet just waiting for a new home.  She did not want to injure herself moving it so she put in a request for a custodial worker to deliver it.  The next morning she arrived to find it in her room right in the corner where she wanted it.   She went about her other preparations and by afternoon finally had the time to start filling her new file cabinet.  She opened the top drawer and begin filling it, until she heard a hissing sound like air escaping.  My teammate closed the drawer and listened carefully, but the sound disappeared.  She opened the second drawer down on the file cabinet and heard another noise.  It wasn’t a hiss, but a tumbling sort of sound.  She could only imagine that a book had fallen down so she opened the bottom drawer to get to the bottom of this mystery. 

   Across the hall I was putting the final touches on one of my bulletin boards.  My first thought when I heard the scream was that my teammate had somehow hurt herself.  I ran across to her room just as she flew past me white as a ghost;  her arms flailing as if all of hell was hot on her heals.  I looked into the room and saw a raccoon begin to climb out of the bottom file cabinet drawer and run for his life.  His peaceful slumber had been broken by a screaming human that was obviously dea- set on harming his peaceful existence.  The raccoon managed to find the open back door and ran to find another place to sleep. 

     It took several hours of cajoling to convince my teammate that it was safe for her to reenter her class room.  The maintenance workers were summoned to remove the file cabinet that had an open space in the back.   I learned that everything free comes with a cost.  Whether it is hours of work refinishing, cleaning, or ridding it of critters you have to work hard to make cast-offs useful. 

     So as you get back to school and start setting up your room, keep your eyes open to see what people have gotten rid of.  You never know what will find when you least expect it.

(In the comments below, tell me of something wonderful or not so wonderful that you were able to salvage and turn into something useful.)