A new beginning for a new beginning :)

All summer long I waited (rather impatiently, I'm afraid) to hear back from nearly 100 jobs I applied for.  I interviewed with a few choice schools, received plenty of rejection emails, as well as a couple of particularly crushing rejection phone calls from my dream school.  I whined and complained about how so many jobs I tried for were given to someone with "just a little bit more experience" than I have.  I thought it completely unfair that nobody would give ME a chance to begin my journey as a Special Educator... Dale and many friends and family members so graciously reminded me that God has a plan for me, and when it is my time to begin, it will happen.

Well... Two weeks before the beginning of school, I was blessed with a phone call out of the blue (where did this phrase come from, by the way?) from the Special Ed Secretary at Okemos asking if I had been hired yet, and if not, if I was interested in an elementary position.  At the time, I thought she meant a General Ed placement, and though I prefer Special Ed, I would have taken it in a heartbeat.  I later found out that I was "interviewing" for an Emotionally Impaired Basic classroom at one of the elementary schools, and I was offered the job after a 15 minute discussion with the principal, CI Basic classroom teacher (who is now my Mentor Teacher and an amazing friend), and the Social Worker (who is also now and amazing friend and support!)

Joni, the CI Basic teacher, took me for a quick tour of the building, beginning and ending with MY classroom.  This is what I remember from that day:

-I was terrified that I would be disappointed again.
-I had a TERRIBLE cold, and I felt pretty ridiculous that I sounded really gruff and couldn't stop sneezing.
-My heels were killing me, but that 15 minute tour of MY new school made me forget all about it :)
-I felt completely overwhelmed and in shock.
-My dad had a minor surgery (minorly scary?) which later blessed us with the news that he has Prostate Cancer, and BECAUSE of the surgery it was caught at the very earliest stages, meaning he has the greatest outcome for successful treatment at this time :)
-While at the hospital waiting for my dad to enter/leave surgery, my mom told ABSOLUTELY EVERY SINGLE PERSON (I love you, Mom!) we encountered that I was the newest Special Education teacher at Okemos!

I still find it hard to believe some days that this is my JOB and that I will (hopefully... no, definitely) be doing this for the rest of my life.  I still feel like I'm waiting for someone to come and step in, take it all away from me, and wish me luck for the future.  Well, guess what :) I'm not going anywhere!

I have just successfully completed my fifth week in my first year of teaching on my own, and it's hard to believe how much growth I have made so far.  I know I'm nowhere NEAR being a perfect teacher and role model for the amazing (naughty) 4 boys that I am in charge of, but I find myself learning SO MUCH from them every day, and I hope they feel the same.

Recently, I read the story How Full is Your Bucket? to my kids, reinforcing that the choices we make and words that we use every day not only impact their own happiness, but also the happiness of those around them.  This concept has changed me as a teacher, and I am glad to say that the combination of this book, my behavior plan, and the new token economy I have interconnected (yes, it was a lot of work) have ALREADY made a huge difference in the way I interact with my kiddos, as well as how they interact with me (and each other).  Together we brainstormed a list of things that make you a "Bucket Filler" and things that make you a "Bucket Dipper", and I have made posters to refer to when redirecting behavior in the classroom.

Most of all, the whole point of FINALLY starting a blog is that this story has brought me to realize that sometimes it may seem like I complain a lot about my job, but I am more thankful than anyone knows for where I am teaching, who I am teaching, and for all of the support I get (at the school and at home).  This blog will be a gateway for me to think and verbalize (hopefully every day) at least one moment of being Specially Educated by these amazing children, by my staff and friends, and by my family.

Today's moment of being Specially Educated:
During Science, L and C (I will refer to the boys only by first name in hopes to keep confidentiality) tend to be mighty wily (borrowed the term from someone amazing), spouting "potty words" and blurting more than I thought humanly possible.  Most days it's a battle to get through an entire thought without being interrupted to correct behavior or answer a completely off-topic question.  Today, with the use of my fabulous Fankhauser Tickets, I was able to engage the boys for a complete 30 MINUTES (NO JOKE!), and even had C tell me that he wanted to "put a drop in my bucket by following directions".  Lately I have been very hard on myself, thinking that I don't spend enough time actually engaging the boys educationally and spending too much time on behavior management (which is, supposedly, typical for a "behavioral" classroom).  Today, I feel I made a MAJOR breakthrough.  The smiles I saw on their bright little faces taught me that if I can be patient and positively reinforce every tiny little good thing, I can reach these boys.

I can do this.

Today, I was Specially Educated :)