Going on three years ago, I taught for a year. I was not a certified or a trained teacher. Here in Texas, if you have 28 hours or more in a given subject, you are deemed "highly qualified" to teach that subject. Based on that, I was highly qualified to teach Spanish, Business, English, and Information Technology. I have two undergraduate degrees and a lot of hours in a lot of things.
I was hired as the Spanish teacher. I also taught the business classes to the upper class men/women.
I had no background in education and had not ever taken an education course. In short, I was completely untrained. I was not a Super Teacher. I gave a crap, but that was about all.
As the beginning of the school year approached at this particular charter school I started to ask about basic things like curriculum, text books, and general resources. I was routinely blown off by the campus administrator who had her own problems to worry about. She hadn't yet completed the schedule and it was a complete mess.
Two days before opening day I was handed a schedule, shown my classroom, and told to set up my room. This room was to be the center of my universe for the next 9 months.
I've done a lot of things in my various careers, but this was the beginning of the hardest 9 months I've ever been through.
I didn't have a curriculum for my Spanish class. I had to make it up as I went along. I didn't have a curriculum for my business classes. I had to make it up as I went along. But, at least, for the business classes I had a text book and a teacher's text that didn't refer to a bunch of stuff I didn't have. For the Spanish classes , I had texts but the teacher's text referred to DVDs, workbooks, and web sites that I didn't have or didn't have access to.
Lesson plans? After about 6 weeks I was politely asked why I hadn't turned in any of my lesson plans. I asked, "What's a lesson plan?". I was able to learn by copying another teacher's plans.
I realized very quickly that I was, at best, committing educational malpractice. I was not just not a Super Teacher, but a very, very bad teacher.
The other staff with a couple of exception loathed me. To them I was an insensitive, arrogant refugee from the business world. Truth be told--that's pretty accurate.
The 1st semester came to a close and I lurched gratefully into the holidays. As the holidays were coming to a close I wasn't certain that I could force myself to return to the school.
I decided to go back and spent much of the Christmas break preparing for the 2nd semester. No one had told me about that preparation thing.
By the time the 2nd semester rolled around we were on our 3rd campus administrator--finally we got someone with an actual Principal's certification.
I found, with preparation, things became more tolerable. The kids realized that I was more in control and they settled down. I found some of them hanging on my every word. Others would stay after class and share personal issues. Some just want to be around me.
One of my students, indeed one of my worst students, started confiding in me. I still think about him every day. His father is in federal prison for 1st degree murder and is a member of the Xetas. He and his co-gang members have taught themselves Nauhuatl (the language of the Aztecs). He thinks he might be gay. Sometimes he thinks his heart is going to explode...
The 2nd semester was all about the standardized tests so a lot of my classes were often empty because my students were all in tutoring sessions. Sometimes I was holding tutoring sessions. Turns out that I know enough math to be able to help up to the 9th grade.
And then it was over.
In the end, that first year. It broke me.
I'm back to selling now. It's a lot easier and a lot less rewarding. Teachers don't make half enough folks. That's the hardest job I've ever had.
Thanks for posting this.
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