I've Got An Idea...

 

I saw Courtney's name on the caller ID and was concerned. It was summer and if she was doing some sort of get together it was usually communicated via email. She rarely CALLED. Text sometimes, but never a phone call.

'Hey Courtney! How are you?' I spoke immediately upon answering the phone. Her tone was warm and friendly, 'I'm well. How are you?' We exchanged pleasantries, spoke about families and the summer...then came the ask.

'I've got an idea...' she continued. She spoke about the fifth grade team being a mess (retirement, movement, long term substitute, etc.) and asked if I would like to anchor the fifth grade team. There were many compliments and a lot of promises (choosing my own students, choosing my classroom, helping with fifth grade graduation, staying away from a certain grade of students an extra year, etc.) She left me to think about it and told me to get back to her in a few days to let her know.

This was before year six of teaching and I had spent so much of my first five years either unsure of knowing what I was doing, or going for my Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL) Master's degree. I felt as though I was a hamster on a wheel and just needed to feel like I could JUST teach and not have to worry about everything else. We were going to a new building (PPSD was tearing down our building to put up a new K-8 building) that was over 100 years old on the other side of Providence. There was going to be enough change. I felt like we had a very strong fourth grade team and I enjoyed working with these two caring and devoted young women.

I called Courtney and let her know that it was a tough decision, but that I wanted to stay at fourth grade for the year. She was completely fine with it and understood my thinking.

The beginning of the year...was a disaster. This was the grade I had been warned about and the creation of my classroom was a challenge. Two students medicated for ADHD, another one with severe emotional issues, two girls who had parents that were dating...at one time, but no longer, another student that was defiant about almost everything and three boys who had no business being in the same class. I took pride in my classroom management skills, but found myself calling down to administration almost daily.

The two students with formerly dating parents...screamed at each other from across the room almost daily. The student with emotional issues asked me twice if it would be ok if she killed herself (both times I immediately called downstairs for the wellness team). The defiant student...had a mother that got so tired of me texting every day that she just stopped responding.

Here is the thing though...as quickly as things can get tough, they can also turn around. The emotionally distressed student got moved to another school (I can go into the story of their unintentional parting gift another time) and the defiant student got moved to another classroom for a 'better fit' with a female teacher. After I got through the ego blow of a student requesting to get moved out of my classroom...I got back to work.

The students felt the same relief as I did from the two students leaving and it was as if all the 'walking on eggshells' had given way to students' finding their voices.

We made real progress. I started to really get to know students and create bonds with them. We were becoming a family.

Towards the end of the year, a few faculty were out and Courtney brought up the idea of moving classrooms (a teacher was coming back and moving to fourth grade and couldn't walk all the way up to the third floor).

My response, 'If I am going to move classrooms, why don't I just move to fifth grade?'

Courtney was shocked. So was I. I hadn't really thought about it, but I was beginning to really like this very difficult class. This year had been my best year of teaching to date. I could teach professional development about my classroom management techniques. The idea of getting an extra year with these students and not have to go through 'the first six weeks of school' again...think about the progress we could make?!

'Same offer,' I said. 'I get to choose my own classroom. Control the roster? Help with Fifth Grade Celebration?' I asked Courtney.

'Same offer,' said Courtney with a smile.