I don't know if you remember the student teacher at the "Oh,Snap!" blog. Some find God. She found KIPP.
a greeting from the mist!
By newoldschoolteacher
Hello good people. I hope that no one is reading this blog any longer...I stopped writing in it when I got a teaching job because my job gobbled by life up like an enormous fish with a gaping, child-filled mouth. So here's the story. I started a job at a KIPP school teaching 5th grade social studies in July. I taught for 3 weeks in July, went to the KIPP conference, worked in August on my room and curriculum, and started for real in September. I have not really slept or, for that matter, sat down, since then.
I love the job, the school, and the kids though. It's an amazing experience. Everyone is so smart and hard-working and I can just relate to them because they are like me. It's so different than everything I've encountered in education before this. In 3 weeks at KIPP I learned more about teaching than I did in a whole year of grad school. The other teachers are incredible, and inspiring and everything. And the little kids are so dear...when they're not being tiny devils. But that's what 10 year olds are for I suppose. Anyway, I don't want to sound pollyannish, the school definitely has its problems.
It has a REALLY long school day that's hard on the kids and hard on the teachers. I teach 3 90 minute classes, 2 45 minute homerooms, and 1 45 minute test prep/reading class. My schedule is such that I teach straight from 1 pm to 5 pm. It's killer. But it's totally worth it when I imagine the alternative work environment...public schools seem even crazier since I got to KIPP.
Anyway, I don't want to write too much now because it'll be a boring overview. I'll try to write more as I go along, although it's difficult because I'm so busy and exhausted all the time. I've found myself saying things to kids like "I don't CARE about your ISSUES!" That's when I know I'm too tired. But it would be good to reflect too, so I'll try to keep this up this time. |
