Sup Teach?

Tomorrow I have an interview to teach 6th grade English Language Arts at a middle school in the Bronx. What is unique about this school is that it’s located on a college campus. It partners with a program where college students tutor kids that need help with Math or English. It’s perfect because, no matter what grade I’m in, I want my classroom theme to be GRADUATE COLLEGE.

I want my kids to know that it doesn’t matter where you come from; you can go to college. You aren’t born dumb, and you aren’t born smart. You work hard to get smart. So it’s up to you to dedicate yourself to exercising your brain to get it as buff as you want it to be.

That being said, I’m nervous and excited for this position (if I get it – crosses fingers). From my last post, you can tell how nervous I am about teaching middle school when I’ve only been trained to teach Pre-K to 2nd grade. But when it really comes down to it, I know I have the resources and the passion to overcome whatever challenges I will face.

My friend said to me today:

T: Wow S. I never imagined you being a teacher because I never thought about it. But now that I think of it, it seems like a good idea because of your personality.

Ms. S: What do you mean? I’m strict? I don’t curse. I’m bossy.

T: No, because you’re very organized. Creative. Nice, but when you gotta get down to business, you ain’t playin. You take on the leader role.

haha, coming from a person who’s known me since the first grade, her comments really mean a lot to me. One of my greatest wishes is that a stranger or visitor will ask my students about their teacher, and they’ll say, “Ms. S is nice. But when we gotta get down to business, she ain’t playin.” Also, I want them to say, “We can tell she really cares about us.”

If I hear my students say that, I’ll be so happy, and I’ll know I did my job well. Also, their test scores will tell me if I did my job well. If your students aren’t learning, you’re not teaching.

Wish me luck that the title of my next post will be “I HAVE A JOB!”