Day 2: A Bit Worse

So... today's morning went pretty well; I felt comfortable and relatively confident. The students were at work again right at the beginning of the day; they should have that all down by this week, it seems!

Since our lovely school has decided to NOT have library or computers until 2 weeks from now, ALL of us are stuck with 2 days a week where we have NO specials. That 45 minute break helps a lot; we get to use the restroom (!!!), make copies, plan lessons, and RELAX. However, without it, both the students and the teachers get antsy. This afternoon, I was quieting the class every few minutes- it was ridiculous. They lost a lot of their earned free time (which they earn as a class every day), and a lot of names went on the board. I had 2 in for recess today, too, so I didn't get to eat much of my lunch. One of the boys was in because he had squirted antibacterial hand gel into a girl's eyes and mouth. Lucky me. The principal seemed disinterested when I told her and asked her what she will do. Doesn't seem like she'll do anything.

Math was awful; the kids are everywhere ability-wise. We did place values today, which the 5th graders already knew well, but the 4th graders couldn't grasp. Quite frustrating. I had them working in 4th/5th pairs today, but I suppose I'll have to explicitly instruct the 5th graders to help the 4th graders.

At the end of the day, I felt exhausted, disheartened, and disillusioned. I worked in my classroom past 6 (it's 6:30 now, and I'm in the teacher's lounge waiting for copies to finish), and my mom called. I burst into tears when recalling my day to her, but I feel much better, now that I've got an outline for the next two weeks.

Hopefully this'll get easier and more enjoyable, because I'm living and breathing school right now. When I'm not at school, I'm at home either planning school or sleeping. It's quite stressful. I really feel unprepared, even though I have TWO degrees in education. They don't prepare you for this at all.

Anyway, there were some good parts to the day, too...
-one of the custodians told me I was her "favorite teacher" at the school, because I remind her of her daughter and I'm sweet and "mellow." Ha! She doesn't know me at all! :)
-I got complimented by the principal and the students about how I ran my classroom yesterday.
-I got a birthday present from a student.
-Another one of the "newbies" had about as rough a day as I did, and 3 other teachers said that their kids were especially hyper today. Maybe it's the weather?

I think tomorrow'll be better. Hey, only 178 more days to go, right? :0