Back to school

>>Random thought: My blogger is not spell checking. I am not the greatest speller but, it drives me crazy when things are not spelled correctly.. That's why there is a spell check.. damn you spell checker?

>>I went back to work today after 2 weeks off. We didn't have students, just a teacher inservice in which we had to go to workshops about "teaching struggling students". They were interesting, but it is hard because really my whole job is "teaching struggling students". Special education is a lonely job. I am the only SDC teacher at my middle school. Although it is not lonely during regular school hours because I have my three instructional assistants when we have these inservices it is lonely. I have 2 resource teachers as well at my school, but they deal with different things. Anyways, it's lonely. As a teacher you work a lot with your grade level teams. Elementary schools in our district meet weekly as grade levels. The first grade teachers develop lesson plans together. They develop essential outcomes together. At the middle school, the teachers work with their grade level/subject. 7th grade L.A. teachers meet together, 8th grade history teachers meet, etc. etc. As an SDC teacher, I don't really have people to meet with. It's hard being a new teacher and not really having people to collaborate with. I would love to sit into these meetings and see what 7th grade teachers are teaching during L.A. because I could possibly incorporate some of that into my lesson plans. In any case, inservice days, staff meetings, "team building" things, are lonely. I try to branch out. I try to talk with people, but occasionally I think teachers are afraid to befriend me because that means I will try and put my students into their classes. (which may actually be the case :) )

>>But, teaching as made me more independent. I have done things on my own that I never thought were possible. I have dealt with issues where I really had NO idea what I was doing, but I did them, and I survived. I know I can make it.

>> I am happy to be going to back to work. I miss my students and I worry about them when I am not constantly seeing them. I have some good new ideas that I want to try, and I feel refreshed and ready.