Happy New Year!

I am so happy that it is August and I am even happier that we are actually starting school a little earlier this year. You see, unlike most people, my new year doesn't start January 1st. It never really has. I've always been in school, first as a student and now as a teacher, so my new year starts in August.

I have never been more in need for a new year and a fresh start!

The 2019-2020 school year was ROUGH to say the least! I had trouble connecting and building relationships with a couple of my classes. My grandmother died in January. Covid-19 arrived just in time for my birthday and shut everything down! I didn't see my family for months! And yesterday, on the last day of summer vacation, we had an earthquake. An EARTHQUAKE! When I texted my mom to tell her about the it, her exact response was, "What a year!"

This morning, as I was getting ready, I thought about how perfect it was that we had an earthquake yesterday. Stay with me here... I know this sounds ridiculous, but 2019-2020 was the year of ridiculous, so what better way to end it than with an earthquake. I mean we already had hurricanes and tornadoes this year, so earthquake is all we had left.

Today, the first day of teacher workdays, begins a new school year and I for one am grateful for the opportunity to start fresh! No, it's not the beginning we expected or want, but it is a new beginning. So this morning, I happily threw on my mask and went in to work for first time in months and despite the fact that everything is different, it felt good to be back! It felt good to be planning new lessons for a new year!

So, Happy New Year to all my teacher friends out there!

Cheers to the 2020-2021 school year!

Here's to hoping it's a wonderful year!

Free Resources Coming Soon!

It's been a long time since I've written on the blog. Last year was HARD and that's putting it mildly, but we're about to start a new school year and I'm excited.

My county is starting virtually in the midst of this pandemic and it is far from ideal, but we've all learned a lot from last year's experiment with digital learning and we will be better this year!

I've closed my TpT store and will be sharing all my virtual resources here for free. I hope that you'll be able to adapt the lessons to make them fit your classroom whether that be in-person or virtually!

I still have a week of vacation before school starts back, so I'll start posting the first few lessons in a couple weeks!

Here's to hoping everyone has a great school year!

My Experience is My Value

I began my teaching career in 2005. I tried hard that first year, but if I’m completely honest, I had no idea what I was doing. I was fresh out of college and despite their best efforts, my college professors did not adequately prepare me for the real world of teaching. Don’t get me wrong, I learned A LOT in college, but teaching in an actual classroom and being responsible for 20-30 students on my own is an entirely different experience than learning about educational theory and best practice from a book and professor in an academic setting.

Fast forward 15 years and I am a pretty great teacher. Do you know how I got to be an effective teacher? The answer is a simple one, but one that the state of North Carolina does not value…

EXPERIENCE

I am an effective teacher now because I have learned every year how to become better. I have learned from veteran teachers, professional development and my own screw-ups and successes. Despite the fact that I am a better teacher now than I was 15 years ago, I am not paid like it. I am not respected by the state of North Carolina. I am not paid what I deserve.

I am not alone in this frustration. There are thousands of veteran teachers just like me, who deserve more. We deserve more pay, better resources, more funding for social workers, counselors, and nurses. We deserve smaller class sizes. But it is not just what we deserve, but what our students deserve and need. Our students should go to fully funded schools and have all of their needs met. As a society, we are capable of doing better.