Teacher's Diary

The First Week and a Half

The lack of posts lately is testament to the fact that work has officially begun for me. Yes, charter schools start incredibly early. We don't have any kids yet, but rather there is extensive professional development and orientation for teachers prior to the actual start of the term. This is very good for me because I am going to be teaching a class that is brand new to me - Living Environment (Biology for non-New Yorkers) - in addition to one Earth Science class.

At first I was bummed to be teaching bio rather than more Earth Science, but my anger over that has died down enough for me to begin looking forward to a new challenge. Today I finally started to feel my feet touching down on some solid ground. We new teachers were given an overview of expectations and rules and consequences, good basic stuff that makes me feel more comfortable working in a new place where I definitely don't know all the procedures.

Am I happy overall to have made the leap? Yes.

Last week, the principal of my old school resigned and a replacement has not yet been named. The situation there is unlikely to get much better for at least the first year, plus students are going to feel that they caused the principal to leave, which will only make them more defiant. While I will miss "my kids" and the co-workers I had truly bonded with over the past to years, I don't think I will regret my decision in the long run.

I can see that I have a long and challenging year ahead of me, but I am ready to be in a more supportive environment and really get to work on becoming the best teacher I can be. Hopefully I'm well on my way!

No Facebook for Teachers

Should teachers be allowed to communicate with their students via social networking sites?

According to the state of Missouri, the answer is no.

A friend recently forwarded me this blog post, which describes the new Missouri law banning teachers from being friends with current or former students on Facebook and other social networking sites. The law is part of a larger act that protects children from inappropriate conduct by their teachers.

I agree that precautions need to be taken when dealing with our youth. I myself have taught students for the past two years, many of whom I know have been physically, sexually or emotionally abused by their parents and guardians. I certainly would not want them to be exposed to more hardship and trauma from their teachers. However, I feel that banning social networking of all kinds with teachers can have negative effects. I have a separate Facebook account especially for my students, where I post messages about upcoming tests and field trips and answer students' questions about homework and the content of my class. Since I will be leaving my current school, I plan to keep in touch with my former students using Facebook.

However, I am extremely careful in how I use Facebook. I never go onto my students' pages or look at what they have written to other friends. I monitor any pictures or notes that have my name tagged in them so that I am sure nothing inappropriate is tied to my name. I do not use the account for anything personal. I feel that, used like this, Facebook is an extremely valuable tool for communicating with students. Most of them do not check their email regularly, but they are on Facebook constantly. Should I stop using something that is working for me simply because others worry that it could be inappropriate?

I took the precaution this year of letting my principal know that I was using the account and offering to give him my password so that he could check my activity at any time. I think as long as teachers are willing to be open about how they are using Facebook and keep their activity in regards to their students on a professional level, things should be fine.

But that's just my opinion. Please comment if you have ideas about how social media should or should not be used as a tool for learning.

My Big Decision

I have mentioned several times throughout the history of this blog a certain unhappiness with the school at which I am currently teaching. Back in the spring, I had a big decision to make, as I got a job offer at an after school program, where I would have been working with a similar population of students, but in a much different capacity. I turned that job down because I felt I wasn't ready to leave teaching just yet. And as much as I was beginning to dislike the climate at my school, I decided to stick it out for a third year - mostly because I didn't have the time or energy to search for another school, which could easily be just as bad or worse than my current one.

Then everything changed.

The end of the year was a series of negative events for me. The school hired a new AP who was rude and literally badmouthed me to other teachers, even though the parents and students of the school voted me Outstanding Teacher of the Year. I felt that my ideas were consistently ignored and that the school was taking a turn for the worst. Next year, the school will have its first graduation ceremony and it seems about 15 students will walk the stage unless something drastic is done. But the administration seems stalled.

At the same time as all this was happening, I got a message about a job opening for an Earth Science teacher at a fairly well-known charter school. I looked into the school and it seemed like a dream job. Not only has the school been around for almost twice as long as most charter schools, it takes its mission of college for all students very seriously, requiring every student to be admitted to at least one college before they can graduate from high school! The school has music, art and drama - classes I had found sorely lacking at my current school - and the classes are capped at 24 students.

I couldn't resist applying, but though it unlikely that I would get the job. I was wrong. After an intense interview process, I was offered the position. The previous Earth Science teacher was leaving to become the head of the science department at another charter school and the other science teachers I met were high-energy and dedicated.

There were some negatives. The work day and year are both longer than a typical public school (which is a positive for the students). The commute is slightly longer, the pay slightly lower and I would no longer be part of the union - but I had grown tired of the union's antics at my school anyway. Overall, the positives far outweighed the negatives.

I accepted the job.

I'm excited and nervous to be moving on. I will be the 'new' teacher again, despite having two years under my belt. At the same time, I think this school is going to be a great place for me to grow as a teacher and experience success. The community feel is great and parents are involved on every level of the school. The students I have met so far are polite and studious, though I'm sure they won't all be like that. Still, I am hopeful that a new, happier page in my teaching career is starting.