Step 16: The hunt

The topic of job hunting has been at the forefront of my mind this week; so, since I assume you, too, hope to someday find a teaching job, I'll fill you in on the ways that I have been beginning to pursue next steps with help from the Teacher Education Program.

My plans for next year are somewhat complicated right now based on personal arrangements that will be up in the air for another month or so. That said, I am starting to feel the pressure to at least start to polish my resume, begin applications, and network like crazy! On Tuesday, a representative from the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) visited our cohort to present on their application process for new teachers. While my classmates have aspirations across the country, the majority hope to stay here in Philadelphia, and many plan to apply to the district. It was really helpful to put a face to one of the readers in an otherwise intimidating process, and it was encouraging to hear that the District desires to move up the hiring timeline to secure new teachers sooner than they have in the past. SDP operates through a process called "site selection," in which the District screens applications and creates a list of eligible candidates; hiring is then turned over to principals to fill their own schools' openings. From our end, this means that we first must be "approved" by the district, and then convince individual principals that they want us on their teams. In order to facilitate connections between principals and new teachers, the District will host a variety of networking events, the first of which took place on Thursday.

While I am excited about pursuing work in the district, this week I also attended a hiring event for independent schools across the country. I have been grappling for a while with how the idea of working for a private school fits into my larger goal of improving the quality of education available to ALL students, even those whose families cannot pay for it. This spring, I believe that the private school that I am student teaching in is the best place for me to develop my own skills, such that I might be the best teacher for my students in the future. After this year, however, I believe I will still have a lot of learning to do, so I think that I am open to working in any environment where I can be most successful as I work through the multitude of struggles faced by novice teachers. Anyhow, I digress. On Saturday, I had the opportunity to speak with school leaders about my own desires as well as training as a teacher. I was pleased to realize that the curriculum and methods that I have been exposed to in both my student teaching and Penn classes were extremely relevant to what they were looking for. From Lucy Caulkins' Readers' and Writers' Workshop, to Guided Reading and Everyday Math, I was able to describe my own experiences with the programs that they use, and set myself apart as a prepared applicant as a result!

While I still have a long way to go to finding a job, this week did give me confidence that the program is setting me up well for the search. And as a first (necessary) step, I'm happy to report that I passed my credentialing test on Friday, too!

Step 15: SNOW DAY!!!!

In case you haven’t heard, the East Coast got some snow this weekend! About two feet fell in Philadelphia, which is more than the city gets on average in a whole winter. The snow has transformed the city, and although it is, admittedly, less easy to walk through the slush, everything sort of sparkles in the first snow of the year. Though I did take the Mayor’s suggestions to “just stay put” to heart and had a very lazy weekend, I also took a few short adventures out to see what was going on; I was rewarded with drink specials at City Tap House, which was full of Penn students with cabin fever, and a remarkably short line at the famous Hershel’s Deli in Reading Terminal Market on Sunday. By Sunday afternoon, the big thruways had mostly been cleared, and there were some busses running, so you can imagine my surprise when a classmate texted me the message that all teachers hold their breaths for:

Yes, that’s right, our first official snow day as teachers! And let me tell you, it is just as exciting as it was a kid. Sure, it will mean shifting around lesson plans for the week, but the luxury of extending the weekend is made so much better by the unexpected nature of the announcement. Maybe I’ll build a snowman! Or bake cookies! Or…lesson plan? I guess the day might be less carefree as it was in the past (one classmate noted that this would finally give her time to do laundry) but I’m still pretty stoked about this bonus day off!

Now the real fun begins...

Step 14: Day "on"

Last Friday, I had the wonderful experience of returning to my first graders for a mid-morning visit (we are currently in our new placements Mon-Thur and have class on Friday mornings). While I was simultaneously excited to see them again, and, admittedly, nervous that they may not demonstrate such excitement about seeing me, all of my trepedation vanished immediately upon arrival when they swarmed me on the playground. Their hugs filled me with warmth and gratitude for the role I have been able to play in their lives, and acted as a weighty reminder of the way in which a single teacher's comings and goings actually do influence the children they interact with. These students also have an ongoing impact on me, too, and Friday's visit was no different. Most immediately, they challenged me to view this long weekend for what it truly should be: a time for service and giving back. Specifically, when I asked some of them what they were planning to do on their day off, they corrected me,

 

Teacher Rachel, Monday is a day ON. 

 

As usual, my little humans, you are so right. So I took up their challenge and found a way to get involved in a local service project today. Lucky for me, and for all of us here in Philly, the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service is the nation's largest organized MLK event, with volunteer activities occurring all over the city. While I cannot claim to have contributed much to this record-setting event, it did feel good to be part of it. Of course, to fully live Dr. King's dream, we must continue our service throughout the year, but on this particular day "on," it was meaningful to join my students and my new Philadelphia community in trying to make this place a bit better for everyone.

Step 13: Storytime!

When I think about the best things about teaching elementary school, most of them involve the relationships I get to build with students and the classroom community that I get to be part of. But selfishly, another aspect of it that I truly love is the chance to return to many of my favorite books and characters I had almost forgotten. Beginning this summer in our wonderful Children's Literature course, I was thrilled to surround myself with familiar "friends" from the past such as Chrysanthemum and Miss Rumphius and "meet" many new ones, too. My bookshelf is slowly filling up with picture books and early chapter books, and my holiday wishlist reflected this re-awakened love for children's stories! Stepping in to my new third grade classroom I was reminded of my voracious appetite for chapter books at that age and it is so fun to watch my students tear through series the way I once did. I am now re-reading many old favorites as I plan for literature circles that I will lead with my students, and it is both delightful to return to these stories, and also exciting to be able to share them with new audiences. So many great chilren's books are timeless in their appeal, so while I may not be able to keep up with the latest TV shows or music that my students follow, we can always connect over Ramona, Amber Brown, or other literary leads!

                     

Step 12: Day 1, round 2!

Happy New Year! I am so excited to think that 2016 is the year when I will become a fully-credentialed teacher. Before then, however, I have the opportunity to learn from a new Classroom Mentor - this time, a 3rd grade teacher at another school in Philadelphia! Today was my first day in my new student teaching placement, and I am full of both excitement as well as some nervousness about this term. Right now, it's hard for me to believe that these unfamiliar faces will soon be students who I will know as well as those I got close to in the fall. Somehow I'll know their currently unfamiliar classroom routines consistently enough to teach them full-time in the spring (more on this later!) I hope to speed along this "getting to know you process" by spending even more time in the classroom this term. In fact, my schedule has dramatically changed this term - I will now be student teaching Monday through Thursday, and taking far fewer classes (Tuesday and Thursday evenings as well as Friday mornings only). This changes once again in March when we begin to go to our placement classrooms all five days of the week! 

In addition to student teaching and taking classes, I also need to take the PECT (Pennsylvania Educator Certification Tests) in order to become credentialed. I'm actually taking these mandatory exams next week with the hopes of passing before job application season begins. TEP is setting up a series of recruitment events this spring that should help us embark on this complicated process, and I will certainly keep you posted on it!