Done with Orientation

I just got back from the last day of New Teacher Orientation. The pros of orientation were:

• Meeting lots of new teachers who are a lot like me - I'm not alone!
  
• Meeting lots of new teachers who aren't like me - like the Teach for America kids and the DC Fellows (a program run through American University to get certified)
• Meeting veteran teachers who have decided to switch into the DCPS system from other places like post-Katrina New Orleans
• A session about how to prevent and handle aggressive behavior
• The food was surprisingly good, and free!
• Free stuff like Harry and Rosemary Wongs' "The First Days of School", "501 Tips for Teachers" by Edward Ramsey, and some school supplies
  

The cons of orientation were:

• My free school supplies included black construction paper. What am I supposed to do with black construction paper?
  
• An entire day of learning what standards are and how to use them to guide planning. For those not hip on teacher language, standards are just the main things we need to teach. No one should require 5 hours of training on how to figure out what standards mean.
• I never met the other new teacher that will be at my school

I asked a bunch of people at Orientation what they thought about my kids making up the rules or me making up the rules dilemma and everyone seemed to like a compromise that sounds good to me. Let the kids come up with some rules on their own, but jot them down in wording I would use or guide them towards my rules. I can tell the kids I'm going to compile every classes' rules together, but then just put up my rules the next day. They'd never have to know. No one seemed to think going one day without posted official rules would ruin my year, despite what all the literature I'm reading says.

Ron Clark had one funny rule: No Doritos in the Building. The whole point of this rule was just to give him an excuse to freak out about seeing Doritos to provide some laughs for the kids. It injected a little personality into his rules. Clearly I can't just use that rule, because for one, I love Doritos. So tasty! But, I think I've come up with another rule I truly believe in:

Deodorant is for armpits only. Don't you dare use body spray.

I like this rule for two reasons. One, teenage boys seem to honestly believe girls will be unable to control their passions if they spray this foul Axe or Tag on themselves, so they practically drown themselves in the stuff in the hallways and classrooms. Two, it gives me the chance to throw a pretend fit when I see a bottle and to throw it in the trashcan, thus making kids laugh.

I just read over that last paragraph, and now I'm re-thinking this idea. Am I copying Ron Clark waaay too much? I feel like a stalker. And is it funny at all to throw a kid's Axe away? I dunno - maybe I need to find a new funny rule. Or perhaps just not search for ways to steal kids' things.

Another thought I had was about decorating my room. Being a very organized person who can't stand clutter, I'm trying to avoid making my room look like the funny pages. I want it to feel very comfortable, like home. I'm going to try and clear bringing in some rugs with the cleaning staff at the school, and I'd like to have lots of live plants, since I'm fortunate enough to have a number of windows in my room. Wouldn't it be cool to grow herbs like basil and mint in my classroom? That way I can make myself some good dinners at home and even let kids take some home to their parents, as well. And it has got to be easier to keep plants than a class pet. I also wanted to bring in some personality items like my Harry Potter blanket or my Kermit the Frog talking puppet, but I would cry if those things got stolen, so I've decided against that.

Do you see how much time I'm spending thinking about all these details? As a student, I never gave any thought to the bulletin boards on the wall or the class expectations. I guess just how little kids don't realize that their teachers go home at night and don't sleep in the school building, I'm realizing that all this teaching stuff isn't instinct. Every minor thing is loaded with potential meaning and consequences and took a surprising amount of time for teachers to decide upon. I am already thoroughly convinced that teaching is the most challenging endeavor you can find. Why climb Mt. Everest when you can teach middle school?

Well I'm off to finally start planning out my units and maybe even some lessons. On a Friday night. Because I'm cool. Have a great weekend!