Were you prepared?

Becoming a teacher requires work....lots of work.....long hours, lots of classes, projects, clinical hours, student teaching and much more.... we come out of college with our degree and our ambition but are we really prepared to manage a classroom completely on our own?

NO!

I will tell you right now that we are not prepared to deal with real life classrooms with real life children and real life drama. THE DRAMA IS REAL GUYS!

I am not here to poo poo my professors and teachers that I had at good ol ISU. They were wonderful. I learned so much and I definitely wouldn't have the teaching skills I have now if I hadn't taken those classes.

The problem I am seeing with the whole education system right now are teachers who have been prepared for a classroom of 17-21 students who listen when you say something, know how to tie their shoes, would never think to cuss at you let alone put a hand on you and have the basic skills to behave in a classroom setting.

The reality....most classroom teachers are faced with students who don't hear you the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 15th time you give a direction and when you go over to kindly but sternly explain the direction just ONE MORE TIME they tell you to F**K OFF because we "do too much" or they smack their lips at you because HOW DARE YOU try and help them learn....God forbid!

The kicker? This special friend needs to stay in your classroom....this special friend cannot spend his or her day hanging out in the office and let me tell you now that if you try to send said special friend to the office they will come beeboppin back after having a talking to about their disrespect lookin at you like "Im back b**ch" and your blood will boil. It will actually boil.

I am getting off topic.

I've been chatting with a coworker lately about how colleges need to teach teachers how to properly manage a classroom. These classes need to be taught by ACTUAL TEACHERS! Teachers who are still actively teaching and can give real life examples and ways to help in different situations.
I did not have this. I don't even remember taking a classroom management class....I might have but it made such little impact on my teaching that Ive literally forgotten about it. I do remember making an entire unit binder with tabs and color coded things and sheet protectors and it was lovely...BUT ASK ME HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE CREATED A UNIT IN MY 5 YEARS?!?!?! never...not once...because thats not real life.

I know I babble and this might not be a cohesive post at all and I KNOW its full of grammatical errors....obviously I didn't take much away from my college English classes...but do you get what I'm saying?

There is such a high turnover rate in teaching because
-yes we are underpaid (you all know it....)
-yes teaching is stressful in any school in any classroom in any city
-yes we purchase a lot of our own materials and thats difficult on our already tiny salaries
-support is sometimes lacking greatly
-but truly I think that there is a big turnover because sometimes teachers are just truly not prepared for what teaching is really like.

Universities need to start having a Coming to Jesus 101 course (I cannot take credit for the name) especially for teachers who are planning to teach in an urban setting. This course will be blunt and straight forward and eye opening.  It will teach real life skills to manage a class when you have to do it all your own. It will point out instances you never thought would happen....

EXAMPLE-student A stands on his table and screams at the top of his lungs throughout your entire math lesson because "HE DOESNT LIKE SCIENCE" which makes no sense...because youre teaching math...but to him, this makes sense and he is PISSED... when you try to get him down he jumps like a lemur from table to table, he then gets to the book shelf....and continues to climb.....you have 20 other students in your room watching this unfold...you call the office and request assistance but NO ONE COMES....what do you do....

Yes that happened to me one year....no I didn't know what to do....I think I cried at lunch that day....

Will this Coming to Jesus class fix our teacher shortage? No. Will we still get burnt out, cry, scream, lose our temper and maybe think about selling our organs to make money when we quit teaching? Yes. However I still think that we need to be better prepared.....I will teach the class, you are all welcome to sign up.... it. will. be. riveting.

Honestly sorry about how long this was....and how scattery it was.....I need spring break....

Crotchety Tuesday

GUYS! I haven't written in so long.....I've been struggling to find something to write about this year and I'll tell you why..... My students this year are so good. Like so so good. I take like 5% credit.....they totally came to me like this.

Usually I write about my students struggles and the things they've taught me, and while I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher this year that's not why I'm writing today.

Lately I have been feeling really hopeless in this career, and I am totally not saying this to get a bunch of sympathy or like an ego boost (however if you feel so compelled.....haha kidding kidding). It is really hard to be a teacher these days....there is always going to be someone higher up making the decisions that impact your classroom every day. Lots of times these higher ups have NO clue what they are talking about. They dole out funds where they think fit and they usually don't have the first clue where the money should actually go.

They make rules and do things that they think will work but in reality it just fluffs* things up entirely and then SURPRISE the problems don't go away and in most cases they get worse.

This whole education system is so flawed and so corrupted in ways that I think that it will never be fixed. This is what has given me that hopeless feeling....I want to fix it but the problem seems too big. There are too many issues that are all pretty big hitters. Basically the education system is the Titanic and we hit that iceberg.....WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSE TO DO!

It also is impossible to keep a brave and professional face when your daily life is so fluffing stressful. I don't have any children that I birthed but you better believe that I have 22 children that I care for like my own during the school day......the worst part is though that most of our students are going through their horrible teenage years and theyre awful to us. They hit, kick, cuss out, lie, go missing, steal, say horribly mean things, outright defy us and refuse to talk to us.

So when our little teens do go haywire we need support to make sure that our other students are still learning....but a lot of times the support isn't there. Sometimes its not the admins fault either...they have rules they have to follow by their higher ups (THOSE DANG HIGHER UPS) and theyre not helpful to anyone!!!

Honestly guys I don't even know what I'm talking about anymore.....basically just being a grumpy little grouch bucket. However these are all real concerns....I just think that there should be a rule in place for anyone that has a hand in making decisions for the education system....you MUST be a teacher for at least 7 years in a public school and have a close personal friend who teaches in a private school before you can make ANY decisions that impact teacher's lives. The end.....JUST BE BETTER EDUCATION SYSTEM! BE BETTERRRRRRRRRR

ALSO. While walking into my apartment today at the end of a very long and stupid day....two guys who were playing a casual game of catch in the WINTER while it was RAINING overthrew the baseball and it hit me square in the back....looking back on it and telling the story to my sister I realize that this is actually a hilarious end to my day....but in the moment it hurt...


The end....most eloquent post ive ever written...

Change is good....right?

Hey guys! Its been a while since I've written on here.....probably because its been SUMMER and the farthest thing from my mind is school. HOWEVER, that beautiful time is coming to a close...school is here. TOMORROW! Pardon me while I go sit in the dark and mourn my freedom, aka take a nap.....guys I don't know if Im going to be able to function without a mid-day nap.....and this is the point where im sure every non-teacher reader is rolling their eyes at me :) but like whatever! I LOVE NAPS!
Im straying from my original intended topic of this post....which im sure ill do a few more times...

This year I will be starting my year at a different school. Still within the same district but just a different building. Can I just stress that this decision to move from my beloved RMS was one of the hardest and still is a pretty hard decision to make/be okay with.

Side note: I am currently writing in a Starbucks trying desperately not to cry but I'm getting misty and I might have to put on sunglasses soon and just pretend im severely hungover or something...

SECOND SIDE NOTE: I had to leave Starbucks and finish my post in my apartment because I didn't want to worry customers with my emotions. 

Anyways. I will spare you the details of why I am making this switch because this post is already going to be long enough. But I am lucky enough to be moving with a few of my best friends and I will be teaching Kindergarten with them. Things like that don't always happen, moving schools with the people you love and teaching on a team together. So I am so grateful for that.

However, I will be leaving some of my other best friends and others are going to different schools as well (just caught a falling tear....you guys....this is bananas...). I knew that someday this would happen, we would move schools and we wouldn't get to teach together, but I didn't think it would happen so soon.....my heart still hurts, I spent the last few days of school crying at my desk because I didn't know what decision to make.

The staff at RMS is incredible. I never thought I would love the people I work with so much. When I first got hired I figured I would make some decent friends and acquaintances and I would be just fine. Little did I know that these people would weasel (in a great way, weasels are adorable) their way into my heart and stay forever.

Am I saying that everyone I worked with was amazing? No. Am I saying that every day was this walk in the park dream? Absolutely not. But I am saying that those times that were hard, and even unbearable were made okay by the weasel people (thats a horrible nickname.....) the people who supported me and made me laugh while I was crying, the people who made inappropriate jokes, the people who built me up as a teacher and told me what I could do to improve myself. These people are the people who I will miss. They are my family. They always will be. And if any of you try and kick me out of the Rough Rider group I am going to cry.

Something else that made this decision so difficult were the kids. My babies. The little turds that you all love hearing about. I will miss seeing them grow up and go on to higher grades. I will miss being able to burden their hurt and give them hugs. I know that there are children everywhere that will need me and I will love them all. But there is something about those littles that you start out with. Ones that have your heart and you just can't shake them. I have a list of teenys that I have specifically asked my RMS teacher friends to keep a loving eye on. Little babes that told me at the end of the year "Miss Philips I know Ill be in 2nd grade next year but I can still come say hi to you right?" And even though I knew I was leaving the building I told them "of course" those kids almost made it harder than my coworkers to leave (no offense coworkers). I know I can always call my RMS family and we can meet up and catch up and I won't lose them. That is something that I can't do with my kids.

RMS will always be where I became a teacher. Those people will always be my family and YOU CANT GET RID OF FAMILY! muahahahhahaha

I thought I would add a picture of the day I got my job at RMS and a picture of my last day at RMS.....

BRB going to cry

The apple and the tree: a true story

This is the true story of an apple that didn't fall far from the tree.

One day a big tree, the kind you see in the dark and scary woods, grew so tall and big that it decided to start giving off fruit. The tree didn't know what it really meant to give off fruit. The tree thought that it could make the fruit and drop it off wherever it pleased and that would be the end of the connection to the tree. Produce and drop. Produce and drop. The tree was a selfish tree and it thought that it was so strong and powerful that any fruit it produced had to be the best fruit in the world. Strong and powerful, just like the tree thought it was. The first time the tree produced a fruit it started off small and fragile, the cutest little apple you ever did see. It was small and needed love. The tree didn't want to love it, the tree was annoyed that it was so small and fragile so it ignored the apple. It spoke unkindly to it and didn't nurture it the way the apple needed. The tree was a lazy tree and an ignorant tree so it did not care about what was best for the apple. The apple eventually fell, before it needed to, but it didn't fall far from the tree. It stayed close and listened to the tree and watched the tree. The apple wanted to be like the tree because it thought that maybe the tree would like it better if the apple was more like the tree. The apple eventually became so much like the tree that it started to put down roots in the ground and grow. It was becoming a big and selfish tree just like the tree that had produced it. Once the apple had grown into a tree it looked to the tree next to it to see if it finally cared about it, but sadly the tree had moved on to producing more little angry fruits that would grow into selfish and ignorant trees. The end.


I know that wasn't the best written story in the world....but you get the point. More and more I see that the problems we are having in schools does not start with the kids and it does not end with the kids. It starts with the parents. They are teaching theses children ALL THE WRONG THINGS! And shockingly enough NONE OF THE RIGHT! Like oh I don't know, the alphabet? And maybe it would be nice to be read to sometimes at home. But instead they are teaching their children how to curse and "whoop that kids ass" because thats how things get handled.

Am I saying that every parent is like this? No. Am I saying that it is the main problem in our school system. YES I AM! You would not believe how many times I have had a kid mouth off to me, put their hands on me, or call other students foul names and not feel any remorse. I call a parent, or the parent is called to the school and what do we see? The parent snaps on me or an administrator, slaps their kid in the head and calls them a foul name and then drags them off for what I can only imagine is a "whoppin" of some kind.

It makes me sick to hear the way 97% of these parents talk to their kids and around their kids. The children get called ugly names and pushed around like the are property. Children are not property, they are humans and they need to be taught and loved and cared for. If you can't raise a child to the best of your ability then oh I don't know mayyyyyybe don't have 10?

I adore my parents. Are they perfect? No. But they raised me with morals and they raised me to be kind. Am I always kind? Yes! Kidding kidding kidding Im not.....but I do my very best to be. When I am hurting, broken, sad, confused, mad, lost, frustrated, in need of comfort or basically any other emotion I go to them. They give advice and I hold it in the highest regard. My parents give great advice I think. Maybe thats because their my parents.....which leads me to my last point I swear.

What hope do these children have for growing up to be functioning and wonderful parts of the world when the people that are raising them and shaping them into the person they become are such total and complete ninnys (for lack of a better term). I mean really. When I was little I did anything my mom said because SHES MY MOM and I trust her opinion over anything else. When these kids parents are teaching them to fight and attack before thinking and talking......What do we expect them to do? Go against what their parents are teaching them from the time they could walk?

I guess Im feeling a bit hopeless because I see how hard teachers work every single day and I see the progress that is made when they are at school and then we hand them over to their "parents" who undo what we have worked so hard to do in mere minutes when they pick up their child and call them a "f**ker" (ps-I don't think I bleeped that out correctly....but you know what I mean). Sometimes I hate adults. They're idiots.

Sorry for the novel.....

This is what I know

I don't claim to be a genius. I don't know it all. I know some things I guess, but not everything. You're all probably shocked to hear that......but its true. I guess this is about things that are mainly my opinion......I have very strong opinions about this.

Teachers, true teachers, work really freaking hard. They work late nights, long hours and get paid diddly. The thing that really irks me are the people and things that make teachers lives harder. And usually its not the kids! ITS THE ADULTS! And usually its not the other teacher adults in the building (it sometimes is....but not the majority of the time). The people who make the rules, the tests, the standards for excellence, the criteria and basically suck all the fun out of life are the ones who I have a problem with.

I completely understand why the turnover rate for teachers, especially teachers in rough areas, is so high. Many teachers don't make it 5 years in the same school, and some even leave the profession all together. I bet if there was a study done on these teachers that have left the profession and we asked them why they left, the majority would NOT say the students. Politics. The politics of the education system sucks for lack of a better word.

Testing can suck it
The shame we put on teachers if their students don't grow a certain amount can SUCK IT
THE SHAME THAT IS PUT ON STUDENTS IF THEY DONT GROW CAN SUCK IT!

I am really over it.

I am also over education professionals who are anything but that. If you don't have a heart to teach, leave. If you won't truly do ANYTHING to ensure that your students are safe, learning to their full potential and feeling successful and accomplished to their ability level, leave. Am I perfect? No. Do I yell? Absolutely. Am I quick to judge sometimes? 100%. But I try to change. I know I make mistakes and I don't know how I will get better if someone doesn't tell me! I try to make myself better with the help of others. These kids need me to be the role model that they don't have. If their parent doesn't care for them at home and then they come to school and their teacher doesn't give a crap either, how are these lovely young little babies suppose to grow up to be anything less than a bitter mean adult.

Teaching isn't easy so I am confused why some people decide to do it. It is not some glamorous job where we can go home and leave our work at the door.
 Teaching also isn't a one person job. If you are a teacher you aren't doing this job alone. It takes a team to help students.
We need administrators who care and have a firm belief on what they want their school to be and will stop at NOTHING to get it.
We need support staff who will stick their neck out when a teacher makes a mistake or turns in something late, because we all know thats happened to us.
We need counselors to help our students who we cannot reach because of all the hurt and pain they have in their young hearts.
We need secretaries and office staff to keep the school organized! Because God knows the building wouldn't run without that.
We need tutors and aids that will be the second set of hands for a teacher when they are stretched too thin.
It is not just the job of the teacher to teach the students. All these people impact the kids we see daily and if you aren't a person who has a heart for this you need to go. AND IT IS OKAY IF YOU AREN'T! Teaching isn't for everyone, and you aren't a bad person if it isn't the thing for you.
You ask me to put an IV in someone and I will barf on you for sure. Not because I don't want that person to be hydrated and such but because that is not my thing. Am I awful for it? Nope. So if you truly shouldn't be a teacher. Don't be a teacher. We don't just work 9 months and then have 3 off. It doesn't go down like that yall. So like lets figure that out.

I'm just at my breaking point I guess. This whole education system thing is draining. It takes a toll.

Honestly don't really know what I just wrote about.....if there are even valid points in there....kinda just rambled....a lot.

Meh

Since when....

Its no secret that school and the education system has changed a tad since even I was little. Things are way more serious.....and intense.....and not working? Its weird. Like we take away the happiness and the fun and the creativity and no one is flourishing or succeeding. Its so incredibly strange! I just don't get it......(if you aren't sensing any type of sarcasm in my writing right now I don't think we should be friends anymore)

So here goes my list of "since when"s

Since when is it bad to have recess? I read an article where a school in Texas is allowing their students 4 different times for recess each day. They go out twice in the morning for 15 minutes and twice in the afternoon for 15 minutes. Now really thats only an hour, thats nothing. AND GUESS WHAT! Scores are improving, attitudes are better, kids are thinking more deeply and on their own, they are more quick to try and solve problems on their own than to run to their teacher to fix things. Am I saying that recess fixes all? No. It doesn't at all, but would it hurt to try? I don't think so.

Since when do tests tell us everything we need. This might be the stress of testing season barreling down on me like a ton of bricks (honestly its not too bad for me right now, but I know some other teachers who are feeling the stress) but a test can only tell us so much. Actually spending time with a kid, working with them, reading with them, doing math with them. Thats when we find out our stuff. All tests aren't bad.....they can help us track trends and data buuuuuuuut the importance that we put on tests....unncessary. Calm down test people.

SINCE WHEN is a hug bad. Kids crave hugs, high fives, nose pinches (side note I accidentally typed pUnches first and Im really glad I caught it). Some don't, and that is fine, but others do! They love hugs and to be loved on. It makes them feel cared for and who doesn't have a better attitude towards pretty much everything when they feel cared for!

Since when are the arts unimportant.....I would love to live in a world with no creative people. Oh just kidding that would be awful! It is so important to foster creativity and promote being different and a little weird. The best people I know are total weirdos!

So in conclusion....lets go back to the way school use to be. The end. 

Just a teacher

This is less of a blog post and more of a list. A list of what teachers do besides teach. WE ARE A LOT MORE THAN JUST TEACHERS! You guys the list is loooooonnnnnng and pretty on point. Ive been thinking about this for a while now......

( I can't decide between numbers, bullets or letters.....so I might do a mixture, you'll be alright)

1.Teacher-Ill start with the obvious. We are in charge of little tiny people's educations! Like if that isn't scary......idk what is....especially since my grammar is sub-par and I use phrases like idk....in conversation.

2.Therapist-our kids come to us and they aren't able to leave their problems at the door. Let me tell you how many days have been ruined because siblings "called me names!" or "dad yelled at me this morning" its our job to try and help them forget the things that are consuming their lives

*Counselor-I consider this and therapist a little different. There are days where we have to deal with things that are way heavier than being called a mean name. We have students who didn't sleep or eat over the weekend because mom didn't come home or there were people at their house all weekend drinking beer and being loud. This is when we sit on the floor, hug it out, cry with them. Whatever they need in that moment, we give it to them.

D)Mother/Father-Some of our little lovelies aren't taught how to treat others with respect and kindness. They are taught to lash out and get even. Not all of them, but this is a common thing we see in my school. There are students who you can just see the good in. They so badly want to be good, do the right thing and make people happy, but they are surrounded with negative reactions to kindness. Thats where teacher-mom and teacher-dad come in. We instill goodness into these kids. 

E)Mistake maker- I know this isn't officially a paid position in the world....but it should be (I would be rich). Kids think that if they make a mistake they are bad. They think that when they make a mistake everyone is going to hate them and that they are stupid. WROOOONNNNNG. Making mistakes is how you become smarter!

6.Nurse- Children are prone to scratching things, cutting things, bumping things and bruises.

*Tailor- Its a common thing to see a teeny tiny person walk into school with an oversize shirt, large pants that don't fit or no coat during the winter months. Did you know that a zip tie works as a belt? If you were a teacher i bet you did.....

8. Comedian-We are hilarious. Completely. The best way to a kids heart is through listening and laughing.

I) Creative genius- try teaching a bunch of kids about math and making it FUN! Try to explain a noun with 98% active engagement. Never leave your class under stimulated. Rigorous and exciting lessons are a must.......always.....its super easy.....sense my sarcasm.....(thats a sub-category of this, sarcastic genius)

10. Police officer/bouncer- This has become a new trend in schools. Teachers have to protect themselves and other students from things that put them in danger, be it an outside source or a student in the room. It is a teachers job to protect their kids. I saw this article that said "When did it become my job as a teacher to take a bullet for your kid", I get where they are coming from. And maybe I don't see it like everyone else because I don't have kids or anything. But I honestly think that any teacher in my building would protect their students by any means necessary. It kinda comes with the job. You have to have a heart for kids. If you do, youll want to protect them. That one was longer than I intended.....

Anyways....my point, in a very long and drawn out way is that we are not JUST teachers. We are much more and I am so proud to work with people every day that remind me of that.