Starting Over

I am a new teacher. I retired last July as a Chief Master Sergeant from the United States Air Force after 25 years of service. Six months later I find myself teaching English in a ninth grade classroom on the edge of city of almost 2 million people.

This is my first entry.

Alas, I am now just starting my third week as a public educator. I have 250+ 14 and 15-year old students of varying ability, some barely write at the fifth grade level. Much of my time has been spent counseling students and calling parents in an effort to get my classes under control. I inherited one class in particular with students who were fond of ripping dictionaries to pieces and throwing their pages around the classroom. I am pleased to report that I have moved them above that behavior, at least in my room. All of my classes started this school year with a new teacher who threw her keys at the principal before the end of the last semester and then they suffered under a series of substitutes and are thus behind in both their academic ability and their general civility.

I am starting a review of standard English conventions coupled with an autobiographical writing project as well as beginning a novel unit in order to build their ability to read actively and critically and to develop their sense of place within the context of the written word. All of this goes toward meeting state content standards and getting them ready for the state interim ability testing taking place in seven weeks.

I am surviving day to day and look forward to knowing exactly what I will be doing in the classroom a week ahead of time. It is a modest dream to those outside the profession but to those who have ever been first-year teachers it has a familiarity that brings knowing nods. I have other, less modest goals as well: start a quarterly literary journal of student work, develop connections with other secondary schools around the globe, and build culture of excellence in my classroom.

The ground here is fertile, I just need time to plant.