My First Days of Teaching

After spending a few relaxing days by the pool in temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, my first day of school finally arrived yesterday, and luckily the temperature dropped about 20 degrees! I felt like a child at Christmas the night before because I was so anxious to see what the school would be like. I had been told by teachers and a former intern that I would really like it, but that was an understatement. The school is very large in size but it only has about 150 students aging from years 1-12! It is a close knit community because there are so few people. Everyone, both students and teachers, is from different countries from around the world! While everyone speaks English, or is learning English, each student has their own unique accent. My classroom of 14 fifth graders is incredible! I knew it was an international school, but I never dreamed it would be so diverse. I absolutely love it! The each student has such a unique story and understands that others do to, so they get along so well.

The fifth graders are so smart! Even if English was not their first language, they work hard and produce work that is as good as everyone elses!

The set up of each day is great! First block is Math, then recess one (which is 20 minutes long), English, lunch, French/PE/Art (it rotates each day), Recess 2 (about 10-15 minutes long), then Inquiry (which is a combination of Science and Social Studies). During the breaks and lunch, the teachers rotate being on duty supervising, and the rest of the time they sit in the teacher's room and drink coffee and tea and enjoy their break.

The classroom is very laid back which is what I expected. They do not have state standards to follow, but they make up their own so that they know the students will be learning everything they need to know. The lessons are constructivist based, but the implementation is more laid back than I have ever seen. I would never think that this type of classroom could exist, but the students are so well behaved and always on task that it makes me question my current ideas on classroom management. I asked the teacher about this, and he says that has not once had a behavior issue with these students all year long! That is so impressive!

During my first day of teaching, I discovered that the students are using American Math books because they were measuring a map of the state of Alabama, and they had to measure from a city just north of Birmingham to Auburn! I got very excited and proceeded to tell the class that is where I am from!! War Eagle!

I am so excited to see how this year develops! I think I will be learning just as much as the students will. I will try to keep this updated as much as possible!