First Week: Surprises and Realizations

So I survived my first week at Wyandotte...except, there wasn't much to survive. Now, it wasn't all unicorns and rainbows either. There were a fair share of fights in the building...none on our floor though. I think it will be an anomaly if I ever see a fight during my time at Wyandotte. We had all of our students start on Monday, and by Tuesday I had realized something: these students are exactly the same as any other students in any other school district. I had started this experience thinking these students would be different than others I had encountered because they were "KCK Public School Kids." I had done exactly what I shouldn't have done...I judged my students before I even met them. And I think a lot of that judgement came from my own fears. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to build any sort of meaningful relationship with my students because of our different backgrounds. I couldn't have been more wrong. We've had students for five days and I'm already bragging about the students in my class. I love watching them learn...they're like sponges just soaking up all of this information (when they want to of course). And I know it seems silly, but every time I hear a kid say "Miss Riss" my heart sort of jumps a bit. I've waited four years to be in a classroom teaching students, and now that I am it seems sort of surreal. My fears have started to subside, and as I'm starting to plan lessons my excitement is growing. Next week will most likely be last week of observing and then I'll start to take over the classroom full time. All the doubts I had about being able to be a successful teacher are gone...I'm ready!

First Day: Gang Bangers and Vera Bradley

Yesterday was our first day with students...freshman only, so not too intimidating...or so I thought. At 7:00, the students started filing in through the metal detectors and headed downstairs to the cafeteria. I was watching the students as they passed by me I was thinking about how young they all looked...and then I looked at one of the students, looked down at his feet, and saw an ankle monitor. All I could think about was Martha Stewart on house arrest...not quite the same as a fourteen year old high school student, but whatevs! Next comes the real fun....I'm going over the roster (quick note: my class sizes are huge! Thirty-three, thirty-one and twenty-eight) with my cooperating teacher (who by the way is awesome...so supportive and positive) and we come to this one name. He stops, sighs, and says, "Now this kid just got out of juvy. He's one of your gang bangers." I was just like....okaaay. And then he proceeds to teach me about gang graffiti to look  for on students' papers and the type of gang clothing students will wear. All in all it was a pretty informational first day.

Regardless of the culture shock of the school, the first day really was great! The teachers in my small learning community are amazing! They are beyond nice and I managed to make a connection with a few of them on the first day. One of them happened to be a fellow Olathian and graduated from the same high school I did. Another shares the same unhealthy obsession with Vera Bradley that I do. We were eating lunch in the teacher's lounge and she saw my Vera lunch bag and made a comment about it. I noticed she had a Vera lanyard with her ID badge on it and told we'd have a good  working relationship. And in that moment I came to the conclusion that I found a good home for the next two months. Oh...and in two weeks I'll be teaching full time and the classroom will be in my full control...no biggie right?