FIRST-YEAR NEED$

I'll just start off by saying I have not updated because I moved and do not yet have internet in my new apartment. Excuse the delay. I'll make it up to you by posting a few pictures of my classroom. 

 

On today's agenda: a question, and some GOOD NEWS! Which would you like first? The good news? Okay fine, here's the question.

 It's a conversation I've had with a few people, but in the beginning it was something I didn't even think twice about. When I got my job and I started meeting colleagues and parents, I didn't particularly want them knowing right away that I was in my very first year of teaching. So I didn't tell them unless it came up. When parents asked, they assumed I had been at another school because I simply said I was new to the school, just like many other teachers this year. When they asked where I was last year, I told them the school where I did my year-round student teaching. It is, indeed, where I was last year and where I taught.

The reason is this: If they know I'm a first-year teacher, they won't give me enough credit. But if they know I'm a first-year teacher, they might go easy on me. I see both sides to it. There is a stigma attached to being a first-year anything, so I know others generally try not to flaunt it. Friends who have graduated and work in grown-up work places prefer to be treated as an equal rather than a rookie. I feel the same way.

Until the afternoon where I have a breakdown. Like yesterday. I had my second cry session of the year, which I'd say is pretty good considering it's November. And in the midst of these tears and overwhelming feelings and yet still talking 100 miles a minute about everything running through my head, I'm shouting SOMEBODY CUT ME SOME SLACK I AM BRAND NEW AT THIS.

And that's when I wished that I wore it like a sign, or maybe like a handicap. Something that let's people know "Expect a lot out of me, but not too much because I'm so new that my diploma is still in the cardboard envelope it arrived in."

When I mentioned this to one of my dear mom friends, she said if she found out her daughter had a first-year teacher she'd be excited because it means she will be passionate about it. She also said if she got a teacher who'd been around a few decades she'd have more concern. So I don't know... what do yall think? (The comments section of this blog is for feedback.)

And now for the good news, which is still related. I was able to use this whole "I'm a first-year" label as a good thing in a recent endeavour. It's a website called DonorsChoose.org and it allows donors to choose which classroom projects to give toward. Donors include giant corporations like Sonic and U.S. Cellular or normal people like friends and relatives. Teachers create a classroom project that requires them to pick out specific items from a list of vendors and then write up a few paragraphs about why these materials are needed and why your students deserve them. I was told about this site by trusty best friend and fellow teacher Lacey, but then found out that 2 other teachers at my school use it. I created a project with a few things that I need and got really excited. It took me a while to get a decent picture up and finalize the logistics, but I finally posted it last Friday October 22. I went in and tweaked a few things on Saturday the 30 after talking to a colleague who has had a few projects funded. I used my first-year teacher label as a selling point, seeing as how I do not have a lot because I have not been doing this long.

So this is where the good news comes in. On Tuesday I received an e-mail that a donation of $300 had been made. Certainly the high point of my day! The next day I posted it on my Twitter, and tonight I linked it to my Facebook. Even better news: Within an hour it was FULLY FUNDED. For a grand total of $752 I have several new materials for my classroom that I cannot WAIT to share with my students! Once we receive it, I take pictures of students interacting with them and we send thank you notes to all the donors, two of which were anonymous. So I send this out there to all who anonymously donate and all who support the small efforts of small teachers who are trying desperately to make big impacts: THANK YOU. I am incredibly grateful for generosity and support.

Big thanks, big hugs, and big thank yous for keeping me going. 

And now for a treat... my halloween costume at school 

To read more about my specific project, click here.