I am so sick of this profession right now. I go to college for four years, for what? I’m not fully certified! I have to go through an evaluation process for 3 semesters. Then even after being done with that, I can’t just go in the classroom and do what I was trained to do! I have to be told how to do everything, what to do, and when to do it. Just let me do my job people! Why go to school for it if they are just gonna control us anway?! I am so fed up with everything right now. It is ridiculous. I want a job where I can go in, do my work, and leave and be done with it for the day. Teaching never ends. After spending an exhasting day with my students, I have to say after school to work more, and on the weekends I have to grade papers. I am no paid for working these extra hours! This job sucks!
Whew! Thanks for listening to my griping. 
Well today started off terrible! My friend and I carpool to work and it was my turn to drive. We both wanted to get to school early to get some work done before the students arrived so we left about 15 minutes early. Well traffic was awful so we weren’t making good timing and then, I get pulled over for speeding in a school zone! Even worse, right in front of my own school! I was so upset. Needless to say we didn’t get to school early. After we finally make it into school I realized I forgot to grab my lunch and my water to drink throughout the day. Ugh! I was stuck eating a corn dog from the cafeteria. Well then I tried to stay after school a while to get some work done but I spent the whole hour and a half trying to find out my dental insurance information….which I still dont know. Then to top it all off my shoes I wore gave me blisters. 
On a good note I seem to have a good bunch of kids. I know it is still early but at this point last year I would not have said the same thing.
Oh boy! Today is back to school for the students. I actually feel prepared this year and not too worried. However I still don’t have my roll! Therefore, I don’t know how many students I will have or who they are. I should count my blessings though. As of Tuesday I was going to have 30+ students! AHH! Luckily, our principal hired a new 3rd grade teacher on Tuesday afternoon. Yaay! I still expect my numbers to be high this year. A new apartment complex is going up in our district and is expected to have a lot of kids move into it in the next coming weeks. They are projecting hundreds more to register once it is open. Well, those are my thoughts this morning as I drink my orange juice before work. I’ll post later on how my day went!
Tomorrow I go back to work! Three days left to finish getting my room ready before the students come. I’m excited but nervous at the same time. I am looking forward to this year because I know sooo much more now. Last year I felt blind. I had no idea what was to come during the year or how to do anything! I felt lost most days even with a helpful co-worker. In the beginning I felt like noboy really wanted to help me out or tell me important information about the first days of school and school policies. I guess I finally learned how to ask the right questions to get good answers out of my co-worker in the room next to me. This year I know what to expect throughout the year so I am excited to do a better job. I feel like I can do a much better job planning each week because now I know what the students are expected to know for each unit. I attended a great workshop this summer where I got a lot of ideas to use in my classroom. I just hope I can implement everything! I hope these ideas help my students.
Even with all the excitement I’m still nervous. I don’t know who my students are yet or how many! I’ve been told 3rd grade has the largest numbers this year! That’s scary! I’m so scared I’m gonna get the crazy behavior problems again this year. Last year I had some terrible kids. I’ve never seen kids act like that before. My class as a whole was actually well behaved but there were 2 that I could not handle! They both ended up transfering to another school before Christmas though! :) So the second half of my year was great! I’m so used to having those kids now I am nervous getting a whole new bunch of kids. I will have to teach them all over again how to behave! AHH! That is hard work. Well I’m off to get ready for tomorrow! I will post again soon to update on my new class!
Outside Classroom
Assemblies
- Best behavior! If they are misbehaving I pull them out and have them sit with another teacher to do work until the assembly is over.
Playground
- Walk quietly out to the playground until you reach the blacktop.
- Boys play with boys, girls play with girls. Nobody should be pushing, kicking, etc. If someone doesn’t want to play with you, then “oh well”. They don’t have to.
Lunch room
- Students line up alphabetically and walk to the lunchroom. They wash their hands and use one paper towel each to dry their hands. As they are done I hand them their lunch card and they line up to enter the lunchroom. They receive their plates and give their card to the lunch lady. They sit at our designated table in the order they arrive at the table. If our table is occupied they sit at the next available table. They are not to be talking during lunch. They dump their trays when I tell them to. Usually 15 mintues.
Hallways
- Students are to stay in a straight line with their hands folded in front or behind their back.
- No talking in the hallway because it disturbs other classes.
- Always walk to the right hand side of the hallway
Before School
- Students are to report to their designated area and sit in a straight line until I go pick them up at 8:30
- Due to weather the students will be inside some mornings. If this is the case the students are to enter my room and begin unpacking and start on their morning work. If all work is completed they read a book silently at their desks.
After School
- After students are done packing they are to sit at their desks reading silently to themselves until their bus number is called. When I dismiss them they put away their book and put their chair up on their desks before leaving. Everyone else continues to read until their bus is called.
Bathroom
- We go as a class twice a day. Students are not allowed to go during Reading Block. After this time, it is on emergency basis only. This year I may use a chart to track bathroom use.
- When we go as a class I have a designated boy and girl to hold the sink water on while each other student washes their hands. This student is the last to use the restroom. Four girls and four boys go in at a time. As one girl walks out another girl may go in and same with the boys.
- As they exit the restroom they are to line up one block away from the wall until all have used the restroom.
Leaving the classroom
- The student walks out the room quickly and quietly and gently shuts the door behind them to minimize any distractions.
Field Trips- ?? We didn’t go on one last year so I have no procedures for this yet.
Busses- Same as after school
Class Work
Heading Papers
Pen or Pencil
- Always use pencil unless checking work
- Have students sharpen at least 2 pencils in the morning and again after lunch. Don’t allow to sharpen during class (Causes disruptions)
Legibility
- I try to encourage students to write in their best handwriting. If I can’t read it I mark it wrong.
Paper-front/back- use both sides
Incomplete papers
- Finish during their own time or free time
Late papers
- I accept papers late if they were absent only.
Missed Work
- When a student is absent I have a folder on their desk. When passing out papers I always have a student sitting near them collect a set for them and put it in the folder.
- When student returns they begin working as soon as they are unpacked for the day. I usually have student go in the hallway and work until it is complete unless there is a test to be given or another important assignment they shouldn’t miss out on.
No Name Papers
- To prevent this I have students highlight their name as they turn in papers to help remind them to write their name. However, I do get no name papers so I just go through and see whose paper I don’t have yet.
There are a few things that will be helpful to have ready before the first day of school. I’ve heard of a lot of teachers sending postcards to their students a week or two before school starts just to introduce themselves and get the students excited about coming back. However, you may not have a student list given to you ahead of time to do this with. At my school we don’t get our class roster until the first day of school.
There will be a few papers you will want to have copied on the first day. Most importantly you will want to have independent work ready on their desks for when the students enter the room. They should be working on this while you greet new students or handle anything that may need your attention at the beginning of the day. But keep in mind this may only hold their attention for short periods at a time.
Next you will want to have a letter typed and ready to send home explaining the class rules and consequences for breaking the rules. Have the student AND parent sign this page and return it. You may want to keep a copy of this and send it home again in January just to remind everyone of the rules.
Have a few fun activities ready for the students to do on the first few days. There are tons of “All about Me” activities you can do. You may also use the first few days of school to have the students help make your bulletin boards. So have things ready for them to work on.
For the first day of school don’t stress too much about getting everything perfect. Decorate some but it will come together as the year progresses. Just make sure you have a welcoming environment for the students to walk into. One major thing to think about is where and how you want your student desks arranged. I’ve observed that most teachers, including myself, arrange their desks in some sort of groups. Don’t make your groups too big as it may encourage chatting! I would recommend groups of 4. Also keep in mind things that may distract the students such as windows and doors. According to Back to School Teacher Tips the Keys to Good Classroom Design are:
- Ensure an easy flow of traffic throughout the room and keep high traffic areas, such as those near the teacher’s desk, pencil sharpener, and wastebasket, free from congestion.
- Make sure you have a clear view of all students at all times
- Ensure that students can easily see instructional displays and presentations.
- Make storage space and materials readily accessible.
I agree with these tips BUT realistically its hard to stick to all of these depending on your room size and shape. Just keep them in mind as your plan your room design.
So it’s getting to be that time to start thinking about the bulletin boards, supplies, and lesson plans! As a new teacher this can be overwhelming! To begin I highly recommend reading The First Days Of School
by Harry Wong. Hopefully this will give you a basic idea of what needs to be done! So the first thing to do is get into your room and see what you have to work with. Talk to other teachers with similar classrooms for ideas. See what they’ve done with their rooms! A good piece of advice someone shared with me is to STEAL IDEAS from other teachers! Most teachers will be more than happy to share their ideas with you. Just ask if you need help.