rengerain

[rengerain]

Eleventh Classroom...

It’s been a year…

Still AroAce…

Still a teacher…

Still barely sane…

I went from being a ‘traveling ESL teacher’ to a paraprofessional at a Montessori school. I am not impressed.  Oh sure, Montessori is a wonderful learning philosophy but it is not for everyone.  It is certainly not for a teacher with ADHD that struggles with hyperfocus.  The individualized lessons given are often at the cost of classroom management or vice versa.

The parents who send their kids to a Montessori school do so in lieu of seeking out professional help for their unique or troubled child.  I have TWELVE out of twenty-six students who are either obviously ADHD or obviously Autistic to some degree.  Two have IEPs and the rest are ‘busy kids’ in their parents’ eyes.

This is a challenge that I have no problem with.  I LOVE my students.

BUT I am not thrilled with their parents…

‘I want to focus on this pregnancy’…Yeah, but while you’re doing that you could LAY in bed and work with your son on his letter sounds.

‘My parents are in a motel getting their act together’…AKA, drug addicts.

‘My mom says that this rule is dumb’…Sorry, it’s a SCHOOL rule.  No sweets.

The only thing worse than the parents is how this school is run…

The double standards and obvious favoritism is what REALLY pisses me off.

I do my job, I get yelled at by THREE different people.

Someone else DOESN’T do their job and they get praised…wonderful.

Oh yeah, and we have FOUR Montessori teachers out of FORTY.

#aroace #montessori #teaching #teacher #ESL #adhd #autism #no sugar #double standards suck #no wonder they want to unionize #hyperfocus #love my students #hate their parents

[rengerain]

Out of curiosity, since I know you had trouble logging into AO3, are you the commenter on my fics that just goes by 'a'? Because I know when I changed to a logged account I would sadly see your comments less

Yup. Real creative, I know. Now I'm even more 'creative' I named myself after my favorite Netflix show! LoveDeathRobots.

[rengerain]

My Valentines...

Asexual me

I’m Aromantic so please

Do not scar with ‘love’…

#are my cats #finally accepting myself #my parents accept me #my friends accept me #my cats love me #asexual #aromantic #not broken #Still not whole though #somethings missing

[rengerain]

Happy Christmas!

It is Christmas time

One day I will be people-less

Cats will be my love…

#christmas #cats #haiku #watching old christmas classics #people did a lot of pot back then #why is santa moonwalking in the sky #winter #where is my snow

[rengerain]

I’m Trying...

Class Rules

 1.      Stay quiet.

2.      Look at the teacher.

3.      Listen to the teacher.

4.      Stay in your seat.

5.      Answer questions.

  Prizes

 1.      One good day gets you one sticker.

2.      A whole week of stickers gets you a small prize.

3.      A whole month of stickers gets you a bigger prize.

  Punishments

 1.      Verbal warning and no sticker.

2.      Five minutes off of recess.

3.      A call home.

  Signals

 1.      Finger to lips – Quiet!

2.      Teacher points to eye – Look at teacher.

3.      Teacher touches ear – Listen to teacher.

4.      Push down with palm – Sit.

5.      Hand up – Raise your hand to answer.

6.      X with arms – STOP!

#classroom management #rules #signals #punishments #prizes #consistency #needs more work #new teacher #teacher life #constant exhaustion #so much fun though

[rengerain]

Depressed Again...

Depression hits hard

What if it never leaves me

Will I be trapped here?

#haiku #depression #trapped #isolated #alone #make it stop #please

[rengerain]

Depression...

It’s hard to keep your head above the water when you’re drowning in your own tears...  Take that, former me who wrote horrible Goth poetry! 

#depression #sunday post surprise #not surprised I'm depressed #NEVER surprised by that

[rengerain]

I hope he’s lying...

I sometimes wonder what parents are thinking when they shroud their children in ignorance…

Are they protecting themselves from having to explain the virus?

Are they bamboozled into thinking that there is no pandemic?

They vaccinate their son against the flu yet he has no idea what ‘corona’ or ‘covid-19’ is…

What does he think of these masks then?  A sudden fashion trend?

At least he wasn’t told it was all an elaborate hoax…

#Corona #covid-19 #vaccine #flu #masks #fashion trend? #hoax? #What?! #I hope this kid is pulling my leg #my one student is clueless i guess #bamboozled #get the shots #wear the masks #pandemic

[rengerain]

Hug...?

Hug hug hug hug hug

You’re my favorite teacher

No, no please don’t leave!

#haiku #i dont actually teach these kids #why do they like me?! #its like being mugged by a friendly bear... #I'm sorry kids #I only have 20 minutes #teaching #ESL

[rengerain]

Distracted...

I have a tight schedule that has grown even tighter…

There is no wiggle room…

So I find it where I can…

Last night I found too much, got too into it, and forgot to post…

Oops.

#not a haiku #freetime #NONE #I love working with kids but I HATE the paperwork #I was playing games #tf2 to be exact #it's not dead yet #the cheaters suck but the fandom rocks #still distracted #xd

[rengerain]

Weird Kid...

Strange kid, why like me

I’m a weird, childless spinster

Nobody likes me.

#who says i love you to a teacher #haiku #I'm 37 going on 7 #child at heart #type B personality #I be chill yo #kids #elementary school #ESL #men find me intimidating #i don't fall for their bs

[rengerain]

Nothing ever changes...

Bureaucracy is a tumor on society’s ass that will never go away…

Government…fueled by greed and money…one of the worst necessary evils…

All I wanted from Biden was student loan forgiveness for my admittedly incomplete education.  Did I get my diploma?  Yes.

Did I graduate feeling confident and ready?  No.

My student teaching was interrupted by Corona.

This may not seem like such a big thing to you…

But when you have anxiety and are faced with a new experience, a new challenge, a new career…  It is terrifying to feel ill prepared.

Teaching well behaved adults who want to learn English is one thing but teaching children who are a million times more hyper, sociable, and sneaky than you are is an entirely different matter.  I am happy to say that I am finally on the right track to becoming a teacher…hopefully a GOOD teacher.  But at the same time, I am very disheartened that it took so long and I had to jump through so many rings of fire to do so.  You’d think that someone at some point in the educational food chain would know how to organize things better…streamline the process.  Make things easier.

No.

First I get told that I need to have three different certifications…

Then I’m told that the school district that just hired me needs me to do yet another background check…

I’m working in the same State!  Why do I need to get another background check when I just got one done last month?!

#Bureaucracy sucks #Government needs a 'get along' shirt #student loan forgiveness please #Corona #teacher #teaching #background check #yes another one #none of the talking heads talk to each other #nothing ever gets done #nothing ever changes #well except for the climate

[rengerain]

Looking up...

Breakthrough finally

Happiness can be real now

I have a new job.

#haiku #happiness #new job #happy #still anxious #still hollow #ESL #fulltime teaching #also my cat pooped #hyper

[rengerain]

Certification Pending...

This is such a depressing thing to see when you have studied for what essentially amounts to three months straight.

Sadly, I only have myself to blame considering I let my background check slip. Now I have to get in touch with people to have my work email unlocked.

It has been a long and winding road already…

No one at grad school said anything about additional certification…

The program was geared towards preparing student to teach adults, not kids.

Then again, when I asked the ‘teaching career’ guru if I should get certified in general education or special education…she said ‘no’.

Do yourself a favor, if you are going to specialize in ESL, special education, or any other area…go for additional certification in general education. There are more special education jobs than there are ESL (in my State, anyway) and there is WAY more general education jobs than there are both ESL and special education combined.

Get it while you are still in college!

It will open up three times as many doors for you!

Start in general education, get that experience, then work towards the subject or kinds of students you actually want to teach.

Get your foot in the door!

#certification pending #education #teachers work 3 jobs but get paid for 1 #no wonder the education system sucks #ESL #teacher #teaching #elementary school #special education #k-6 or k-12 Praxis #ALL four course content areas #career advice

[rengerain]

Tired...

No energy

Still rather depressed at times

Creativity.

#haiku #depression #paxil helps #insomnia #cats don't help #but i love them so #i wish i had energy #i wish i had peace of mind #need sleep #can't sleep #need to be creative #no energy

[rengerain]

Oops!

Background check needed before certification can go through…

Guess what I forgot to do during winter break?

Yup.

So my K-6 general education certification is pending until the background check I had done last week is cleared.

This, sadly, has cost me a couple of job opportunities…

But hey, as long as parents continue to act worse than their children in my state, I should be in a position in no time!  Seriously.  ‘I can’t stand to see my kid in my mask’ is just code for ‘I’m tired of hearing my kid whine about masks and I don’t want to wear one myself so here I am protesting my family’s right to get terminally ill.

The fact that America ever made it to become a first-world country much less a world power is still a mystery to me…

I love my country but I hate the spineless, cowardly, selfish, greedy people who run it.

#forgot background check was due #shoot #love america #government needs a hug #seriously #hug your kids or they turn into politicians #I don't like to talk politics but when i do i don't shut up #certification pending #I was so into Christmas that I forgot my background check #i don't even have kids! #I did donate toys and clothes though

[rengerain]

Background Check...

I passed both Praxises

Yet I am so forgetful…

My brain has a fog.

#passed my tests #forgot background check was due #let it go for months yet still worked?! #who has a fog #Me? #Or the school district? #Soon certified in 4 areas of gen ed k-6 #students #teacher #teaching #i can't wait