With quarter 3 of my third year of teaching fast approaching, it becomes quintessential to reflect on the practices that have worked and have not over the last year.
Going into my third year of teaching, my 2nd year at Rise Kohyang Middle School, I was filled with a sense of anxiety and dread. Would my management get better? Would the pressures and workload of working at a charter be reduced? There were points last year where I wanted to not only quit because of the conditions of the school, but also the difficulty in interacting with certain segments of the population.
First, my new classroom for the year:
Even though it is smaller than the computer lab I was working in last year, it has been astronomically easier to manage students in this setting. My management definitely improved since I started the year off on a more firm, rather than gentle note. My personality in the classroom is pretty twisted – instead of giving off feelings of nurturing (which I did the last two years), I give off more of I-don’t-care-about-you-at-all type vibe, which for some reasons students respond to better. It’s kind of similar to how girls like you better if you AREN’T nice to them all the time. Reverse psychology works. Here’s a picture that best demonstrates my persona this year.
My lesson plans remain roughly the same, encompassing a wide range of activities which include gallery walks, stations, comic strips, Snapchats (on white boards), Jigsaws, Foldables, Guided Notes, and of course essays.
It’s not necessarily the content though that students respond well to. I don’t know which middle school students actually like history, because they fail to realize the significance of it in their everyday lives. I think they like the fact that I make ridiculous jokes and insult them half the time.
On weekends, I sometimes do community service projects with students, which help to make them better people. Because let’s face it – we need better people in the world after this last election. We have done every type of service project imaginable, which parallels directly with how much service I did in high school and college respectively.
Sorry Duke, but my homeroom this year has been miles better in each and every way. USC Trojans.
Not only do they have the most books (they could always read more though), but they have the most spirit, as shown by video embedded below.
They also had fun doing a mummy newspaper race, which of course was definitely not in the Advisory “lesson plans”.
Other notable points of interest these past 2 quarters have been 1) the amazing relationships I have formed with my co-workers, both old and new 2) Spooktacular, which was not as good as last year 3) The short-lived Pokemon Club, which lasted as long as Pokemon Go was still popular (which it no longer is) 4) the Drum Circles and UCLA Field Trips which were exhausting but somewhat memorable 5) being forced to host Scholar’s Assembly in front of all 141 students and 6) being asked to host the Winter Holiday Party in front of coworkers. What a night that was, where I insulted and quite possibly offended everyone.
As a millennial, we are all about reaching “instant gratification”. The problem with teaching is that it not a career that instantly rewards you. You don’t necessarily know the impact you have on students until potentially years later. It’s notes from students that make me satisfied (slightly) with the work I’ve done. It’s from a student that chose to leave RKMS and decide to come back a few months later.
I’m not 100% certain I’ll stay at this school. I was so dead set on leaving last year. Even though I’m personally doing better, I know new teachers are struggling. Either the system changes from within, or it will become unbearable seeing great people leave each and every year, like Nathaniel Hanna and Elizabeth Lee. RIP. The end.
