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Home : 2004 : September : 5

Been there (am there)
By Victoria

First, what grade are you teaching? It makes a big difference on recommendations for handling your situation.

1 & 2. We have to supply our own paper at my school too, and we have one photocopier for our use - if it's
broken, no copies for us. Think about investing in a small personal copier for your home. It made my life a lot easier (yes, it's an expensive ease).
3. Not getting your class list till the first day is pretty typical of underachieving schools. Part of the reason they're underachieving is that the support staff is allowed to get away with not doing their damn jobs. On the first day,

hand each kid a nametag and marker as s/he enters your room and instruct him to write his name on it and put it on.

4. Plan your first day in blocks of time (most periods are 45-50 minutes). Be prepared to teach all the blocks together or to separate them as needed for specials and lunch.

5. Buy a cheap-o clock at Target or Wal-mart for your room and hang it up where the kids can't reach it. Don't forget to buy some extra batteries for it so you can quick replace them mid-year when they die (the batteries, not the kids! ha ha).

6. It is my solemn vow that no one will be looking to see if you start the curriculum the first week. Go ahead and teach your rules and procedures. If the school is underachieving, there's a reason. Your administration isn't paying attention. If the educational management organization gets on your case, sweetly tell them you would have LOVED to start the curriculum, but you had no materials from them. Ask them to come in to your classroom and model for you and help you and bring materials with them. They'll disappear lickety-split. As for units, materials, blackline masters, etc...there are some great free or low-cost sites on the net. enchantedlearning.com, abc-teach.com, readinga-z.com (that's great for balanced literacy). Your public library is your friend. Math manipulatives can be cheaply made or bought from the grocery store (dried beans work well for counters, poker chips, craft stores have unfinished wooden shapes).

7. No training? Make up your own grading system to suit you and refer to statements above in #6.

8. Violent children who are not dealt with by the school should be referred to 911. Get on your cellphone and call the police and have the kid removed via handcuffs. Don't do this until you know if you'll get fired for doing it. Also, check with your union if you have one - you should be able to file a grievance if they child is not appropriately dealt with by the school administration.

9. If you don't have a computer, you can't check your e-mail. If someone asks you why you didn't respond to this and that memo, sweetly explain that you were not given a computer and thus cannot check your e-mail. Or it's possible that you can use the library or computer lab computers to check your district e-mail, which would solve the problem.

Above all, develop a thick skin. Don't waste time or energy being angry about things you don't have the power to change. Document everything you do, but don't worry that anyone is breathing down your neck to make sure you do everything you've been told to do - they're not. They're sitting in their offices with their feet up.

Consider your time working in a school like this as time spent working as a doctor in an emergency room. Triage. Know that you will not be able to save every child. Save the ones worth saving.

Good luck.