A new beginning

It doesn't feel real at all and I haven't shared any of this because I was so worried something would go wrong and it wouldn't happen. I am happy to share that I have found a new job! It's official, as of September 7th, I will no longer we working at PS XXX where I have been for the last 5 years. Instead I am transferring to a different public school in a different borough to work in a totally different program with different curriculum and a different population of students. WOW!!! That's a lot! I feel energized by it all and I have to say that I feel lucky to have found this school. I know no school is perfect, but this one had everything I was looking for. It is a place where I think I can continue to grow as a professional. When I interviewed there and did a demo lesson, I could see myself teaching there and for me that was enough. It's also going to be a very welcome lifestyle change for me cutting my commute time by a full 40 minutes each way. I am also happy that it happened now so I could inform my administration and team so the can replace me soon and we can introduce the kindergarteners and parents to the new teacher before the year is over. I wouldn't have wanted to find out in August.

As the school year comes to a close, I am getting sad about leaving my school. For the past 2 years, I have gone through this same process of really wanting to leave my school starting at about February. I really gained momentum in my search in March and April. Usually by June, I am once again resigned to stay another year and fine with it. The end of the year happens so quickly and the atmosphere in schools is usually more laid back. There are more social events happening like baby showers and parties, etc. So, I do still feel that sense of "I can make it another year," but that feeling I had in February keeps me in check and reminds me why I have made the decision to leave.

The same old craziness and lack of advocacy for children continues, but I'm just able to think each time "I won't have to deal with this anymore." When the weather is so hot and we are sweating it out in the overheated classrooms, I think of my new school with it's air conditioning and think "I won't have to deal with this anymore." When I'm on the train in the morning and it's so delayed I decide to just get off and walk 15 blocks rather than waiting to transfer for the 3rd time, same thing "I won't have to deal with this anymore." When the super of the building next to my school and his buddies are standing around shirtless as I exit the building and cat call me, same feeling. When I almost step on a rat on my way in in the morning, I do still wonder if this may be a problem in my new placement as well. You get the idea.

I have worked so hard for the last 5 years and have committed myself to this place regardless of all of the problems both internal and external and it is very sad to leave. I am beyond devastated to leave behind my trusted colleagues, but when I think about how many have already left (I am the 8th to leave out of my little group in 3 years), I am saddened for the loss at my school and for those who are staying behind. I just hope everything will be okay and things will improve. I'm tired of fighting for it. I guess I've sort of given up in terms of my role in changing the school. I am also really sad to leave the families and siblings that I have worked with for years. I know they are counting on me to be there, but I know I will have a new class of students with families and siblings who will count on me once again.

Reading Charlotte's Web

Charlotte's Web was the first book I remember reading on my own. I didn't go to a school where children were taught to read with authentic books in first grade. We had lots of books in the classroom and we listened to a lot of read alouds, but I really can't remember reading by myself for most of the year. We did round robin reading from a textbook in groups. I didn't dislike the approach. I can remember looking forward to my turn to read in the group. I didn't mind it mostly because I was a strong reader and a fast learner. What I do remember is borrowing Charlotte's Web by E.B. White from the school library and reading it in the classroom toward the end of the year. I was captivated, transported to a new world. This was the book that led me to discover the magic of reading. I wanted to share that same feeling with my first graders (a vast majority of whom will not be reading Charlotte's Web this year, and many who might not even get there next year).

A coworker warned against it saying it was too hard for the ELLs and they wouldn't understand. I couldn't help but think about what one of my professors from my masters program said, "It would be a crime to withhold English from the children." She is a bilingual educator and strongly believes in dual language education. What she meant was that we owe it to the children to give them the best possible programs like dual language so that they can learn English at school to the best of their abilities, so they can transfer the knowledge of their first language to English. This statement was ringing in my head like a broken record. I have done a lot of read alouds this year and I just had this feeling that my students were ready for some magic, so I began one day.

Now, usually when I do a read aloud, it involves a chart with vocabulary and pictures and reflections. Sometimes I have a K-W-L or a character web. I just didn't feel like doing any of this with Charlotte's Web. I wanted them to have a pure experience in listening to the story. I wanted them to envision what they were hearing and to absorb the language as it is written. So I decided to implement a few strategies I thought would support them while not over-scaffolding. The first is bilingual preview, view, review. This is where I preview the text in Spanish (for my new arrivals) before reading it. Then I read the text as written in English, and we recap in Spanish. I scaffold for vocabulary by doing a lot of vocabulary-related think aloud and drawing little sketches on the board as we read. It's usually only 1 or 2 words per chapter. I'm also doing think aloud for higher level literacy skills like envisionment, inference, prediction, and even some for basic comprehension. The students think aloud at times too and I don't discourage it.

All I can say is that my class is captivated. Even my recent arrivals sit there in awe of the way the language sounds. My students are silent throughout the reading of entire chapters. I can see their eyes processing it all. Sometimes one of my new arrivals will repeat certain words to himself as I am reading. I've even heard him translate little things to himself without interrupting at all. It shows me he's following. For example, every time the goose talks he utters, "el ganzo" quietly to himself. His eyes light up when I do the Spanish review and he chats away with his turn and talk partners when I prompt them at the end of the chapter. When I am finished, they beg me to know the title of the next chapter.

This is the pick-me-up I needed right now. I was feeling really down about my job, the profession in general, my school, even my students at times. No matter how many programs the system tries to shove down our throats and infiltrate our classrooms with, we will always have authentic literature to bring us back to life.

The grass might not be greener

For those of you who follow my blog, you know I am actively looking for a new position within the New York City public schools through the open market transfer system. I'm looking for a school where children, parents, and teachers are valued, a place where years of experience mean something and teachers have input into the curricular decisions they make and how to best serve the needs of their students. I'm looking for a school with functional collaborative structures (not just show), for a school where teachers have leadership opportunities. After 4 weeks of searching, I am wondering if I will ever find a place like this. I have some interviews lined up and I have been receiving phone calls from schools, but I can't help but feel discouraged by what I am encountering.

Just today I got a call from a new school that opened to ease overpopulation in one of the outer boroughs. I had passed the school while dropping off a resume at it's much older counterpart across the street (complete with a yard full of trailer classrooms). It was so new it was practically glowing. I was fascinated by this new building, full of new possibilities for children and families in such a needy area. When I saw a posting for an open position there on the open market, I applied. When I got the phone call, I was eager to hear more. They wanted to interview me and to see a demo lesson. "Great!," I thought. So I asked them to tell me what grade level and what kind of lesson. They said it would be 1st grade literacy. "Excellent," I thought and then I asked, "What kind of curriculum do you use for literacy?" (keep in mind, I was transfered to the "literacy specialist" to answer this question). That's when the conversation turned sour. "What do you mean?" asked the voice on the other end of the phone. "You know," I said, "like Balanced Literacy or TC?" "Oh, yeah," she said, "sometimes we use balanced literacy, and Reading (can't remember the second word in this program, but it sounded like a basal reader-type program) but you know, we use a little bit of everything like right now we're learning about the life cycle of a frog, you know, so we're writing everything about frogs." "Okay," I responded, "so you plan thematically?" "Yes, each week we (grade levels) teach one strategy to the children until it is mastered and then we teach another the next week." WHAT!?!?!?!?!? Okay, first off, how can you "sometimes" use balanced literacy? Not possible! AND, how is teaching a uniform strategy to classes across the grade level each week constitute thematic planning. So you get the idea. The conversation was confusing at best and it made me really sad. Are you kidding me? Such a beautiful new school in such a needy area full of immigrant children (and you KNOW how I feel about teaching my ELLs). I couldn't help but think "How dare you go near those children!!! How dare you (city) build such a beautiful building with NOTHING inside for our city's kids." They sit there learning about frogs all day when there is critical thinking to be done and literature to devour. I thought about the conversation and then called the principal back immediately to decline the interview. Maybe I'll be back at my school next year. At least we know what program we use for literacy and know how to plan thematically for deeper learning.