Teaching Mrs. Ryan

Every year as spring rolls towards the end of the school year, all teachers are doing two things: (1) either praying their contract is renewed, or (2) looking for a job.  For new teachers the task is daunting.  I can surely write that and know the truth in the statement, because here I am, a new teacher, interviewing.  If preparation for interviews and sitting through panels of employers wasn't nerve wracking enough, the fact that there are fewer jobs to go around due to budget cuts is down right scary.  I personally know teachers' whose contracts were not renewed, and now they are vying for the same job all the recent graduates are searching for, and all the other teachers' whose contracts weren't renewed are searching for.  I have been on several interviews this year, and this is what I have learned: 1) Your resume is important, your references are important.  Bring plenty of copies of each. 2) Know your teaching philosophy.  Do you demand obedien...

To say the last 3 weeks have been informative would be an understatement.  I can say without hesitation that I have learned more from my kids than they've learned from me.  I wish I could say it has been all sunshine and roses, but that is definitely not the case.  In fact, it has been hard, exhaustive work, but I sure do love it! While I've been working on differentiating my instruction by doing different activities, modeling, visuals, and group work, my main focus has been about classroom management.  The first week the students seemed to be wary of me since I was a new grown up, but by the end of the week, they were definitely testing the waters to see what they could get away with. So, when I began my second week, I began to get a bit more strict about what was going on in the classroom. One of the things I did was grade the work we did in class together.  This helped me for a variety of reasons.  The first thing was that I could tell when I was tea...

It has been a while since I posted and I must admit that had more to do with me being so uncertain about my teaching future.  My desire to teach was of course there, but it looked like the opportunity was going to not be.  Much to my delight, and due ALL to God, I will be teaching starting Monday.  I am going to be a long term substitute for a local school.  What that means for me is that I will get paid a bit more than a regular sub, and I will be teaching the same students for around 3 months.  I am praying that an opportunity presents itself for me to continue as I took a HUGE leap of faith and quit my steady full-time income to do this.  I want to sneak a special thank you in here for all the staff at ETBU who worked hard praying and keeping their ears open for me. With  that being said, this week has been a whirlwind of activity!  I am learning about a program called C Scope that the school uses for planning, and I'm getting my thoughts in ...

This week is the last week of our Summer I courses.  Two full size courses crammed into 1 month has me exhausted.  And then, I remember I still have 2 more months like this to go!  I CAN do this.  This week we focused mostly on our final projects which are presentations for both classes.  Tonight is the last presentation for the week, but the work is not done.  We still have take home finals that are due prior to midnight on Friday.  I started yesterday, but have a long way to go with that. Next month is considered Summer II and before I get geared up for new learning, I wanted to take some time to reflect about what I've learned in this past month.  I really feel like I've learned a lot about what the teachers do inside the classroom.  This didn't come from instruction as much as it came from getting to know those that are in the program with me.  These teachers teach in various types of schools to various age groups, and they all h...

I am currently attending East Texas Baptist University to attain my Master's degree in Education with Elementary Certification.  This is my first term for the program and by this time next year I will be close to graduating.  1st - I have to do this blog as a classroom assignment. 2nd - My goal is to continue this blog throughout my master's program. 3rd - I am going to chronicle what I am learning, what I am messing up, experiencing, wish I wasn't experiencing... an expose' if you will. 4th - This is a Christian university.  I WILL be posting about Jesus Christ.  My faith is a part of who I am and what I'm doing. I think that is about all.  I've already attended my first class.  It is a Law course about legal issues within the public school system.  My second class for the week is Teaching with technology.  Which is why I am here. So... my blog will be about as the title suggests "Teaching Mrs. Ryan"... about how to be a teacher ...