Today is the first day of school. Normally, I would not know if I was going to be working it, but I am starting the school year in a long term assignment--seventh grade science. (So, this will be my last Thursday 13 of the summer.)
In anticipation of the new school year, here are thirteen things that I am looking forward to (and dreading).
1. While it is nice to have time off, I am looking forward to being out of the house daily.
2. Air conditioning. While the house has a room a/c, it doesn't work terribly well. (We haven't gotten that hot, so it hasn't been necessary.) I will freeze out the kiddos, but I will so enjoy doing it.
3. Lesson plans. This year I'm covering a maternity leave, not a vacant class, so there will be some sort of plan to follow. Yay! I'll be winging it a bit, but I won't have to come up with things on the fly.
4. New kiddos. I don't cover elementary school. So, last year's sixth graders will all be new to me. Blank slate.
5. New kiddos also goes in the dread category. They don't know me. And it'll be my job to train them into the sort of class I want going forward. (With the wrong touch, the class can be a disaster for the entire school year. No pressure.)
6. Random fire alarms. This is the school that has the fire alarm go off periodically for no reason whatsoever. Not sure if this is a looking forward or a dread. I should keep a countdown clock until that first alarm. It won't be long.
7. Cell phone battles. Definitely the dread category. I hope they're young enough that they're not quite addicted (and that many of them haven't gotten their first phone yet).
8. Teaching. I do enjoy getting up in front of a class and talking about stuff. When the kiddos let me.
9. Scrambling. While in theory I'm going to have lesson plans and other teachers teaching the same thing (so I'm not starting from scratch), it will take me some time to get everything lined up. And I am not looking forward to that initial figuring out what I need and finding where to get it from.
10. Attitude. Oh, I hope they're calm kiddos, but I know this age. Eighth graders have more of that middle school attitude, but it starts in seventh grade (and sixth grade has a bit of it, too). I am not looking forward to dealing with the drama of this age group.
11. Establishing routines. I know the teacher is going to be out for a while, and that I'll be replaced with another sub before she returns. So, I get to set up the class the way I want. Mostly. I don't usually get to do this, so it'll be new for me.
12. I won't have to scramble for day-to-day gigs for about a month. At the beginning of the school year, that's golden. This is the time of year when most teachers are pretty good about being at work. It'll be nice to have something steady until teacher absences become more regular.
13. Getting paid. Subs don't get paid over the summer (unless we pick up summer school gigs). Enough said.
What age do kids get their own cellphone these days?
ReplyDeleteMy brother gives them to his kids in the 6th grade. My niece had a friend who got one in the 5th grade. (That was a whole issue with her getting forgotten at school one day, so she needed a way to contact her parents.) I don't know for others. By 7th grade, I would guestimate that about half the students have one. By 9th grade, it's probably 95%.
DeleteSounds like you’re getting a great start
ReplyDeleteSo far, so good.
DeleteJamie here:
ReplyDeleteI too, have been wondering what age kids tend to get phones. Since I don't have children, I often get curious about the things they're doing these days.
See my response to Bathwater. TL;DR: I'm not sure.
DeleteWow, you will be busy. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThat I will be.
DeleteSounds like you're ready! You know what to expect, even to expect the unexpected. Oh, middle schoolers and their drama...
ReplyDeleteI do. Sadly.
DeleteIt will be fine! Even though yes to the drama (I remember 7th grade) and yes, they already have cell phones at that age. But the 12 year old boy in my life doesn't seem addicted to his (online games are another thing), at least when he's visiting us with his Mom. Fire alarms - how about a contest where your readers guess the date the first one will go off? No prize necessary.
ReplyDeleteOh, I totally should. Feel free to guess.
DeleteIs it that time again?
ReplyDeleteMy grandson just went back to school. His school has a ban on phones, smart watches ect. They can have then in their backpacks but they aren't allowed to pull them out during class. I like that rules. My grandson is 11 and my daughter has not bought him a phone yet, I see no reason for kids this young to have one yet.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty much the rule that we have. Fingers crossed that I don't have to get in many fights over it.
DeleteSounds like an exciting start to the year! Best of luck with the new class and all the adventures ahead!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteI wish all the best for the beginning of the school year!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteNumber 13, says it all....
ReplyDeleteYes, very much looking forward to #13.
DeleteFresh out of fifth grade, huh? They should be nice and feral for you.
ReplyDeleteLove the AC comment. You're gonna have kidcicles! I was sorry to think of the kids as already hooked on their phones.
ReplyDeleteSadly, the A/C in the classroom isn't as great as I had hoped. It keeps the room under 80F, but it doesn't keep the room at 72F (my preference).
DeleteYou got this!
ReplyDeleteIf you say so.
Delete