Penny Wars...the fun stuff

 Things I love about my new school:

1) The size of my classroom. It's huge. And it has lots of natural light.

2) Shared lesson plans. All four kindergarten teachers literally have a connected lesson plan book. I don't have to write lessons!!! I just alter them a bit. It truly is a game changer.

3) The curriculum. I love Saxxon match. It's clear and concise. It provides the homework and the pacing. It's awesome. I also love that they have the students memorize recitations. They seem like really difficult passages but the students really do rize to the occasion.  I also love that during snack I read a chapter from a children's book. The book is obviously more advanced than what the can read but it helps them to be exposed to more vocabulary words.

4) My kindergarten team is full of lovely ladies. Each of us are just trying our best. 

5) I also really enjoy the creative aspect of teaching in general. We recently had a penny war. This means each class tries to raise money with pennies and dollar bills. Each class can sabotage another class with putting silver coins in other classes jars.  I decorated the jar with minions saying "banana fund". The kis loved it! And frankly I loved making it!

With all  these lovely reminders of what's great about my new job these are the things that contribute teachers leaving the profession.

1) increasing number of behavioral problems. Whether that's due to lack of socialization because of COVID or increased number of ADHD...these numbers have increased which makes an already emotionally demanding job even harder.

2) this follows the next point we don't pay teachers enough. Anyone who thinks teachers have it easy need to spend a day in class. I invited one of my student's parents to see how their child interacts all day. She didn't make it for even two hours. I said this has been a relatively easy day with you here....she dropped him off the next day.

3) the bottom line. We bend over backwards for one difficult student and the rest of the class is collateral. Every child deserves an education but not every education facility is appropriate for everyone. In the mean time I'm pulling my hair out. At the end of the day the primary teacher has no control over who is allowed to stay in the classroom. It is beyond frustrating.