Report card time is not my favorite time of the year but 4 times a year (8 really because interims take almost as much time) it has to be done. I LOVE teaching. However teaching takes a lot of time - off the clock. There is grading, planning, grading, contacting parents, grading, interims, grading, conferences, grading, report cards, and more grading.
I got my first full time teaching postion 15 years after I graduated from college. I started teaching full time when my girls were in 3rd and 5th grade. I taught 4th grade (the only 4th grade class in a small DODDs school in Idar-Oberstein, Germany). My girls would come to my classroom after school to get a snack from the snack drawer in my file cabinet and then go to play with some friends or to the base child recreation center a block from the school. We lived off base and this was the only time they got to play with American children. Once we got home, I would man my post at the dining room table grading and planning, as well as supervising homework until it was time to fix dinner. Then after dinner it was back to my spot at the table. The girls said they always knew where to find me. It is funny, because now my granddaughters know where to find Grandma - at the table, grading and planning.
The best part of my job is the actual teaching part. Watching my students learn, helping them figure out how to read or solve a math problem, exploring science, learning about history. I love it. My second favorite part of teaching is working with other teachers. I love helping new teachers discover the joys of teaching. I love learning from other teachers too. I have worked at many different schools over the years. No matter where I am teaching, I always find great teachers, working hard to do the best for their children.
After Germany, we moved to Hawaii. I was a part time teacher for two years. The first year, I was a support teacher for 5 kindergarten teachers. I worked with a small group of at risk students in each class. Once a week I did a literacy/art activity in each class. It was fun, but not my favorite thing. The second year in Hawaii, I taught remedial reading for 3rd, 4th, and 6th grade students. It was a great experience. I loved the job and my students. The third year in Hawaii, I was offered a 1 semester full time teaching position at one of the schools on base. I taught third grade and had 35 students in my class. The students and staff were great. At the end of the semester. I was offered another 3rd grade position at a school 30 minutes away or I could stay at my same school and run the K - 3 Special Education room. I was thinking about getting a Masters degree in Special Education, so I thought this would be perfect (plus no long commute in Honolulu traffic). It was a very interesting experience.
We moved to Maryland and I got a 4th grade teaching job at a Math, Science, Technology Magnet School right away. I also started my Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction (not Special Education). After three years, my principal was retiring and Sarah was increasing her hours of gymnastics practice, so I transfered schools to be at a school that had hours more compatible with Sarah's hours. I taught second grade Math and Science at another Magnet School in Prince George's County Maryland. It was a smaller school, no air conditioning either. After two years, I moved up with my students and taught third grade reading, language arts, and social studies. During that last year, we built a house in St. Mary's county and I commuted 45 miles each way. No fun.
I started the application process for St. Mary's. I was hired quickly. I taught 5th grade for six years and this is my second year teaching 4th grade. Although I've stayed at the same school, we have been in three buildings. After my first year, we moved to an annex while the new school was being built. We were in the annex (ie trailers) for 3 years. It wasn't bad for the first two years. However, in October of the third year, there was a fire in the middle of the night -electrical problem - and my classroom was one of the 6 classrooms destroyed by the fire. Some time I'll post pictures and the whole story. So I was starting over from scratch. At least when we moved to the new building the next summer, I didn't have a lot of packing up to do :-)
I have never taught at a school as long as I have taught at my present school. I have also never stayed in a classroom more than 2 years. Okay, 2 years and 6 weeks until the fire caused me to move. This is my second year in this classroom. I wonder if I will break the record? Will I change grade levels? Will I try an IRT position? Will I just stay where I am and teach 4th grade again next year. Only time will tell.
