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?
No comments:
Post a Comment