Different English Styles (by Mrs. Styles)

I am a high school teacher.  I work with teenagers.  I don’t have to help with backpacks, homework folders, cubby’s, shoe-tying, etc.  However, I understand completely how important and difficult it is to be an elementary teacher.  More importantly, I understand how influential elementary teachers are on the children in their class.  This leads me to my next question:  (let me first say that the following situation did nottake place in the district where I work, but rather a neighboring district)  Why when I attended Kindergarten orientation this morning, were there no kindergarten teachers present?  The auditorium was filled with eager 5-year-olds and their parents.  Supplies were in hand, and we were all excited to meet the teacherwho will start our children on their educational journey.  This is a big step!  I mean, it’s kindergarten!  We were introduced to the principal, and then the children were grouped by class and led by either the assistant superintendent, a special education teacher, the school nurse, or the school psychologist.  The children were taken to their classrooms and on a tour of the school.  They dropped supplies off near the teacher’s desk, looked around at what was soon to be their new classroom, and then taken on a bus ride.  The whole orientation took approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Parents took off of work and arranged for child care for their younger children.  As a teacher, I understand how important it is for parents to be involved.  I’ve complained that certain parents never help, yada yada yada.  But never have I seen so many willing and able parents and children in one space, and so little teachers to help!  What a negative tone to set for the beginning of a school year!  What a message to send to parents, that two hours of that teacher’s  morning couldn’t be shuffled so they could be there to meet with us.  On the flip side, what a great lesson for me as a teacher.  Appearances at sporting events, musicals, plays really do matter; and not just to the student. 

When I think back on my former students, the ones who seem to stand out are the children who were not afraid to ask for help.  The students who stood up for themselves, led in class discussion, talked to me about their lives, and let me in on their real selves.  It’s absolutely natural and normal for certain students to grate on a teacher’s nerves, and of course there have been a handful of those students throughout the years.  Students who feel as if they need to challenge you on every single thing during class, students who decide to bully as a form of social interaction.  And then, there are the students who are so painfully quiet that you spend so much time trying to get to know them and they seem to just want nothing to do with you.  Here is my confession:  I’m deathly afraid that my 5-year-old is becoming one of the quiet ones.  He is a sweet innocent little boy who loves to learn.  He loved Pre-K and made a lot of friends.  He gets invited for playdates and birthday parties, and plays with the neighborhood kids.  But he does not talk to adults.  Oh, he talks to his father and me all day and night.  He’s certainly not shy around the house.  But if you put Nate in a room full of adults (including aunts, uncles and grandparents) it’s a pretty safe bet he’d faint from nervousness.  I’m so scared he’s going to get left out when he starts school in a few weeks, or fall behind because he won’t ask for help.  What’s more sad to me, is that his teacher won’t fully know what a wonderful little boy he really is, or how funny he is, or what a great hockey and baseball player he is, or how much he loves Spiderman and the Sabres because HE JUST WON’T TALK!  How do I fix this?  How do I encourage him to speak, or at least let out a gruntwhen someone asks him something?  Well, let’s hope that the kindergarten curriculum involves the Sabres and Spiderman and a miracle will happen. 

So, I’m thinking that God  (or Allah, Jesus, whoever your higher up might be) is trying to make us all better swimmers.  Here’s why…I’ve found that a majority of my life is spent just treading water, trying to keep my head above and stay afloat.  This happens at work, when I have 120 essays to grade, progress reports to complete, some forms that need to be completed ASAP that are 5 pages long.  At home, when I have the entire house to clean because I’ve been concentrating on work so much that the kitchen floor has gone unwashed for 2 weeks, and my family is now on their last pairs of underwear because I need to do laundry so badly.  Or, when I have what feels like 100 bills to pay between now and the next payday.  It’s just a constant treading of water feeling that I have.  What especially throws me for a loop is when I just get everything completed and I have a moment of calm and relaxation…sort of like God has thrown me a life jacket.  And then, wouldn’t you know, the next big project starts up, or my in-laws come for a visit and the house needs to be really, super clean, or I get an unexpected bill in the mail just when I finally get something else paid off.  The life jacket’s gone, and I’m back to treading water.  I totally get that there is supposed to be some lesson in these times of stress and I’m supposed to appreciate the calm that follows, but I just wish that God wanted us to be better floaters than swimmers. 

Well, here I am.  If you’re reading this you’re probably my family since you are the only people who really know about my little blogging gig so far.  If you’re not my family, thank you for visiting!  I’m hoping this blog will help some educators out there, just as my assistant superintendent’s blog has helped me.  (ghsprincipal.edublogs.org)  It’s my hope to include insight from my perspective in the classroom, as well as insight as a mom, wife, and (well, you saw the title of the blog.  You know.)  Let’s start with some background info:

• I am an English teacher at a small rural district just south of Buffalo. 
• I spent the past 4 years teaching 7th grade English and am now moving up to teach 9th and 10th grade.
• My students and school district make me proud to be a teacher.
• I have 2 little boys, ages 5 and 2.
• My boys have made me a better teacher, a better wife, a better daughter, and a better person. 
• With that being said, they just might also lead me to insanity.  Honestly, if I have to explain 1 more time why it’s important not to put puzzle pieces into the heating vents, or that broccoli will absolutely not make you throw up…
• I have a husband who makes me laugh every single day.  What’s better than that? 
• My husband is also hoping I will one day miraculously wake up and decide that I want to leave my job and school district that I love so much and move south so he can golf all year long.  It’s taken him 9 years to learn it’s not going to happen.  But he still holds onto the hope, poor soul.

So, that’s about it.  School starts in a few weeks, fall weather is coming, my 5-year-old starts kindergarten, and Grey’s Anatomy is starting up again soon.  So much to look forward to, but so sad to see my days as a stay-at-home mom come to an end… until next summer. 

Thanks for reading and I’ll post another when I get a spare minute.  For now, I need to finish up my plans for these high-schoolers I’ll be getting soon.  Adios!