Ms. KP [name removed], a graduate of Illinois State University’s (US) special education program in 2005, is a teacher in a central-Illinois elementary school. She maintains a blog and parts of some of the entries are about her teaching experiences.
It’s interesting to me to track Ms. P.’s experiences. I can understand when she complains about in-service training, but I got a hint of more general discouragement, too. She noted in one entry that securing her first teaching job was “well worth the time and effort” and that her class is good, but in other entries she complains about some of the children and about having new ones assigned to her. In another entry, she indicates that she’d rather be working with older students.
I guess being a bit discouraged is understandable. I remember my first year of teaching. Although I had worked as an aide for several years, it was daunting to be responsible for the kids. Furthermore, I put in lots of evening and early-AM hours getting ready for the school days. I hope Kacie’s experiences are good in the long run.
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I can relate to her experiences. I am a new teacher, new in this country and I’ve experienced so many frustrating things in my everyday life as a teacher. But I am trying to hold on to my advocacy of making a difference in the life of my students. I guess somebody has to hit me really hard and tell me “hey girl, stop being idealistic! get real!”. What Ms. Pointer described in her entries happen in every school, in day to day life of every teacher. It is poart of the “culture of teaching”. Now I believe that TOUGH TIMES NEVER LAST BUT TOUGH PEOPLE DO! Afterall, I still have life outside my classroom, outside the walls of my school.
Hey, thanks for linking my blog here, let me link back “ayt?
HIya, T. Sol. Thanks for the comment. I agree that one has to maintain a balance between one’s teaching life and one’s outside life, all the while making sure to stay true to core values. If one compromizes herself, then there’s nothing left, no?
JohnL (posing as administrator)
The individual who originally maintained the blog I described here asked that I remove her name and the link to her blog. I did so 9 April 2006.–JohnL