Another new innings...

...started for me this week. Having held the Illinois Teaching Certificate for almost a year and a half, applying in school districts and not hearing back from them, I finally got a break in the same school district as Nino and Chica's. Lesson learnt - knowing people in the system works as much here as anywhere else in the world! So even though the hiring right now has been as a paltry substitute teacher, its exciting nevertheless for a variety of reasons. Getting back into a profession very close to my heart even if its a baby step towards that; getting the opportunity of experiencing teaching, first hand, in a country other than my own; being able to step out after another long stint at home to name a few. And the good part is its working well with my schedule. Nino returns at 4:00 and I am able to return before that. Chica who still goes half day has been lucky to get a loving babysitter in a dear friend. And mornings just got better. Every morning Nino wakes up with the question if I got a call from some school to see if he would be able to don his 'responsible child cum caring older brother' hat today :) I had been counseling the kids since last week about all they would have to remember to do as I would have to leave, on some days, almost an hour and a quarter before they leave for school. Which is typically the time they are ready to go for the bathroom 'works' after having gulped down their milk. And A more often than not has office calls during that time, which essentially leaves the kids on their own to get ready, fold their clothes, make their beds, eat their breakfast, make sure everything that's supposed to be in the bags actually is (yeah we are last minuters) and biggest of all KEEP AN EYE ON THE CLOCK! And I am proud to say that on the very first day, I am a proud mom of kids who got ready 20 minutes before their scheduled time and were the first ones to reach the bus stop! Yeah, Chica wore pink and green socks with a black and white shirt and red leggings, but I am ready to overlook that because she did look amusingly cute nevertheless :)

So now notes from the first day of work. I spent my time laughing over this video with A last night and hoping my day went better than this ;)

I substituted for a Math/Science teacher in a middle school today. Some of the things that impressed me -

1. The day started with select News being broadcast for the students to watch throuhgout the school in the homeroom period. Such a great idea!
2. Outside every teacher's room, along with their name was a sign which stated "Mr/Mrs XYZ is reading                            . " (followed by the name of the book). How inspiring!
3. 6th graders were working on a presentation in groups of 4 on National Parks. The roles taken up by each group member were Geologist/Animal and Plant researcher/Historian/Tour Guide. They made slides according to their role and shared it on Google Docs with their group members which the Tour Guide then adjusted to, well guide the audience. Such a great project!

So that's the latest from my end. Tomorrow is another exciting day as I get to visit the young Kindergartners. My kids are more excited than I am about this one :)
 

Share