Tales of a Fourth Grade Teacher

So, it looks like I've survived my first eight days of teaching, and I haven't quit yet! In those eight days, I attended my first IEP meeting (to discuss accommodations for low students), met the superintendent, talked to parents, kept the students occupied throughout the day, received my badge to let me into the building (this was momentous because the first 5 or 6 days I had to wait for somebody to let me in), and had my contact information listed on the school website. I'm pretty much a pro by now.

By which I mean I still don't have much of an idea of what I'm doing, but the current plan is to fake it 'til I make it. It's working so far.

Allow me to share a few tidbits about my class:

- Earlier last week, I had my students fill out a reading interview form that asked questions like "What kind of books do you like to read?" and "How do you feel when you read aloud?" One question asked students to list their favorite place to read. One girl wrote "in the bathroom." Bahaha. A girl after my childhood heart.

- I'm setting up a classroom economy. Students will earn money to pay rent on their desks (a hefty $1,000 a month, which -- shh! -- is almost twice as much as we pay for our apartment rent), pay fines for violations of class rules, and participate in auctions. They earn money by holding a classroom job and earning bonuses for good behavior or academic achievement.

I had my students fill out a job application for their top three job choices. If they wanted to be a police officer or banker (by far the most popular job choice), they needed to get a "letter of recommendation" from a former teacher. I was more than a little surprised -- and impressed -- when some students turned theirs in from the principal! Way to go to the top.

- These are a few of the reasons my students said they would be good at the job they were applying for:

• For a librarian: "I will make sure I go over my [book] list twice, like Santa."
• For a banker: "Not ONE person knows where I keep my money, that's what I want to be in J biz town." (Should I know what J biz town is? I'm so behind the times!)
• For a filer: "I need a job, and a good one."
• For a custodian: "Because you [Jennifer] were one." Why thank you, thank you very much!
• For a police officer: "Because I am a fast writer and good speller so I can fine [write tickets] fast."

So things are going pretty well so far. Except for the times when my students make me want to pull my hair out. Which is only about twice a day. I'll take it.