Just Another Day in Paradise...

So the question I get asked the most is ‘what is a day at school like in the USA?” – I guess there is no one answer as each school is different, the same as back in NZ.  I can only tell you about my experience so far, so here we go…

I arrive at school at 7am (that’s when the alarms are turned off) and head straight for my room.  Once I have turned on the lights, the computer, the smart board and plugged in my iPod to the speakers I am ready to go.  I then head to the photocopy room that has a photocopier, teacher pigeonholes, a refrigerator and 2 vending machines.  The size of this room is about the size of a mid size walk in wardrobe.  Here I put my lunch in the fridge, check for any news in my pigeon hole and copy anything I may have forgotten from the previous day.

I then have to head back to my class as the first bell is due to go at 7.45am that is when breakfast is starting to be served in the cafeteria and when the students start making their way to class.  From 7.45am – 8.20am the students enter the class and I am to provide morning work for them to do – this can be anything from review of previous days work, reading a book, handwriting etc.

From 8.20am – 8.45am is notices, morning broadcast and relaying any information about the upcoming day.  The students arrive to school in one of two ways – either their parents drop them off or they get the bus (buses arrive at different times through out the morning).  At 8.45am the students in my class have Resource (4 out of 5 days – this is where the students go to specialist teachers and do subjects such as PE, Music, Computers & Art – on the 5^th day they have what is called Spiral Review, this is a chance to catch up and review anything that is not fully understood).  Resource is from 8.45am – 9.30am – during this time I have non-contact time.  For me this involves meetings, prep for upcoming day or anything you can fit into a 45min block.

At 9.30am I pick up my students and we make our way back to class.  At this point I need to tell you about a new system the school is trying this year – team teaching.  Teachers are buddied up and each teacher takes specific subjects – mine are Reading, Writing and Social Studies, while my buddy teacher is doing Math and Science.  So the day involves a lot of swapping of classes and having 40 students as opposed to the 20 that are in my class.  So my class has Science first up and I get the other class for Social Studies/Writing (2 days each).  This is for an hour, at 10.30am it is Bathroom Break time – the whole class has to stop, line up and walk quietly to the bathrooms.  Here is where we wait while all of the students in the class use the bathroom – once everyone is done we go back to the classroom. 

It is now 10.35am and we are about to start Literacy – this lesson goes for 75mins and includes a whole class session and small groups.  During the whole class session I teach phonics, spelling, comprehension skills, comprehension strategy, vocabulary and fluency.  Then in the small group sessions I have to see 4 groups and read with them and cover those whole class areas again but specific to the groups needs.  It is pretty full on but I am getting used to it.  At the end of this Literacy time I swap classes and have to teach the whole lesson again but to a different group of students with different needs and levels.

These Literacy sessions end and it is off to lunch – the time is now 1.06pm.  My class is the second to last class in the whole school to go through the cafeteria and receive lunch.  The cafeteria starts serving lunch from 10.30am all the way through to 1.30pm – it is a long day for them.  At this time we have lovely lunchroom staff that look after our classes for 25mins.  That is just enough time to down my sandwich and drink, go to the bathroom and chat with the other 5^th Grade teachers.  No sooner have I sat down then I am back up again and it is time for my class to go to Recess – this is 25mns where the children are outside and playing – normally this is organised games or activities.  If it rains or if it is wet then the students stay inside to play indoor games.  At the end of this time outside it is back to have a final Bathroom Break for the day.

Finally it is 2.05pm and there is only 55mins till the end of the day.  In this time I have to teach my class the same Social Studies or Writing lesson I taught earlier in the day.  At 2.55pm it is time to pack up and get ready to go home – students have 3 options for going home, Bus Riders, Car Riders and After School Care.  My job is to go around to all of the 5^th Grade classes to pick up the After School Care kids and take them to the cafeteria where they are sorted into groups, put on buses and taken to their respective programmes.  Finally at 3.25pm all students have left the school and it is usually time for a meeting.

So that is my day from go to whoa – at times it seems very full on and overwhelming but in reality I am slowly getting used to it.  I am enjoying my time in the US – although trying to teaching phonics when we pronounce vowels differently is a real treat, and I find myself self correcting (not because I am wrong but I need to make myself understood) and re saying phrases just to get by.

Well it is the end of another very busy day, so until then…