Has anyone else noticed that birth stories are super popular on blogs all of a sudden? And for some reason people want to read all about the birth story of a complete stranger on the internet? (Not judging, I totally read them myself!) Well, this is my version of a birth story – the birth of my teaching career. My first year was rather unconventional for many reasons and 4 years later I am excited to put it all into words here. No, I’m not still at that school, but those students, colleagues, and classroom walls will always hold a very special place in my heart.

My Job Hunt

I graduated with my teaching degree in December 2013 and landed my dream job at a children’s museum working as their education director/exhibit designer/volunteer coordinator. I loved it, except that I had over an hour commute each way, and the lack of pay and benefits were not sustainable as my student loan payments came due. I found a job coordinating field trips at a museum closer to my home and taught Lego Engineering at local elementary schools on the side while I began my masters degree. That was a busy time! The next year, I felt ready to find a classroom to call my own. Teaching positions for history and biology were rather scarce in my area, so I applied pretty much everywhere in a 50 mile radius. I had a few interviews that summer – and one charter school even offered me a job without interviewing me! That was a red flag and I demanded an interview, because I’m a nerd. They then tried to hire me on the spot at the interview after asking just one question: “how do you handle difficult student behavior?” They also couldn’t say what subject I would be teaching, which of their schools I would be at, etc. I turned it down because it did not seem like a good situation for a first-year teacher. Suddenly, it was August and I figured I would not find a teaching job that year. Then, I was offered an interview at a brand new, teacher-led school. I changed into my interview clothes in the bathroom at my summer job after working outside all day, and drove my 1998 Honda with no A/C to the school, showing up to the interview a hot mess, literally. Two hours later, I drove home, feeling that the interview went well and that the school leader was someone I could see myself working with. Then, *crickets* as the school year inched nearer and I still hadn’t heard back. One night in mid-August I got the call. I was going to be the founding history teacher at a little school in Metro Detroit! Later that week I got 5 more offers, but I was so glad that my first-choice school called first and I accepted!

Getting Ready

The very next day, I celebrated being hired by getting a new haircut and going on a Dollar Tree shopping spree! (I donated 10 inches of my hair to Children With Hairloss.) Then I got down to the important work of mapping out my classes for the year and trying to plan some lessons and Project Based Learning. I was having a blast, even though it was a little overwhelming.

I was the final staff member hired before school started, so once I was on board all of the teachers met up at a local restaurant to get to know one another and discuss how on Earth we were going to start a brand new school. I was nervous that I wouldn’t click with anyone on the small staff, would be the least experienced, be super awkward, or all of the above. Luckily, the other teachers were amazing and we had a great conversation and I found myself even more excited to get started. I went home feeling energized to keep planning and prepping before we began our week of set up and PD at the school.

As is typical at many schools, the teachers spent the week before school began having meetings, setting things up, and trying to get our ducks in a row before the kids came. We planned our first school-wide collaborative project, got the new Chromebooks set up, learned how to use Google Classroom, set up the school library, and worked on getting each classroom ready.

We couldn’t do much in our classrooms yet, because there was a wedding reception scheduled in the space that our classrooms would occupy. That’s right, there was going to be a wedding in my classroom on Saturday night and school would start on Tuesday morning. So, I knew that I would need to come in on Labor Day to turn my space back into a classroom.

On Labor Day, my mom and I spent a few hours readying my little classroom. We pulled the retractable wall back out and got to work. I didn’t have much for my classroom yet, but luckily there were already some posters of artwork hanging on the walls – a perfect start for someone who loves museums like I do! I brought in a variety of books to start filling my shelves, organized a few files and my desk drawers, and attempted to come up with a layout to fit giant, heavy tables, computer chairs, and my projector cart. I would say I worked up quite a sweat moving those tables a dozen times! I finally came up with an arrangement that I thought might work. (Pictured below) Of course, it is easier to figure these things out when you have the actual students in the room using the space, so things were changed around again within a few weeks.

The First Day

Ahhh! The students are coming! It is all real now! What if they don’t like me? What am I doing? I’m so excited! I’m so nervous! <– Probably the thoughts of many teachers on their first day, and I was definitely there!

But, my first day with students was a bit unconventional because I didn’t welcome any of them into my classroom that day. We kicked off the very first day with a field trip! Yes, we were doing things differently because we were new, and cool, and all about projects and experiences. And also because only half of the building was approved to have students in it because the half with the classrooms was still undergoing renovations. Luckily, I worked at the local art museum prior to starting the school year, so we were able to get our last-minute field trip scheduled and everything went well as we worked on getting to know our students while we explored the galleries.

In the days that followed, we made it work while half of the building was still under construction. All of the teachers taught in random parts of the building that we were allowed to use. My space became the lobby/hallway. I set up my projector and a portable screen, dragged a few tables and chairs out, and taught some history.

Getting Into My Groove

All of the students were coming from different schools and backgrounds. Many different public, private, and charter schools, as well as home schools. So we decided it would be helpful to start the year with some assessments to see the students’ skills and prior knowledge. I created some fun little assessments to get a feel for students’ historical thinking skills in a way that didn’t feel like taking a boring test. I read them intently that evening and then sent every single student a personalized email response. This was very ambitious and I was up very late…I was so excited to finally have students of my own!

It was in that hallway/lobby classroom that I started my first PBL. I was teaching World History and we were studying ancient civilizations at the beginning of the year. I thought it would be fun to have students plan a vacation to an ancient civilization, and then tell the rest of the class all about their trip! Since most of my students were 9th graders, I gave them more structure for this first project and we spent lots of time on it in class. It was so much fun to see how each group interpreted the project and produced different results. This new PBL thing was off to a good start!

Eventually, the construction was done and I was able to move into my classroom and it was nice to feel a little more at home. I rearranged many, many times. Students created projects, infographics, and posters to hang on the walls. The bookshelf began filling up. It was really starting to become a classroom, despite having held a wedding just a few weeks before.

We did our usual classroom things: lectures, research, projects, reading, partner work, etc. But we also went on around 7 field trips that year – unheard of for high school students! I also wrote a couple of grants to get funding to support some of our trips because it was important that all of our students were able to attend. I love field trips, but it was different being on the teacher side instead of the museum-hosting-the-field-trip side of things! Booking the buses, coordinating schedules, making groups, gathering permission slips…it is a lot of work. Luckily we had a great group of teachers to keep it all together!

One of the highlights of the year, where I really felt that things went well, was our whole school’s participation in National History Day. Students worked in groups for months curating exhibits, building websites, and filming documentaries. Our whole school traveled to Detroit one snowy Saturday to compete in the District Finals. The students were nervous about being interviewed by the judges, but after they came out of the interview room most of them were beaming because they were so proud of their work. This made my heart sing! A few weeks later, many of the students traveled to the State Finals and it was amazing to see them support one another.

Challenges

There were some challenges that first year (as there are every year!) and it is important to reflect, but not dwell on those. Being such a small school, I felt that I knew SO MUCH about the students. I would spend multiple hours each day with them in classes and sometimes also at lunch. We were never far apart in such a small building. Teachers often find it difficult to leave school at school, and this was definitely a struggle me. I would lay awake at night thinking about how to better teach a certain student, the struggles another student was facing, the potential that they had but were not reaching, etc. I found myself doing too much. Working until 10pm each night trying to do things just right, plan an amazing lesson, give good feedback, and be the best teacher I could. This group of students was also very different from those who I had taught during my student teaching, which was in a very rural area, so I had to adapt my teaching style and materials. These challenges are probably very common – we all want to be the best teacher we can for our students. I am very thankful for supportive administration and colleagues.

Looking Back

By the end of the school year, I felt like I had gained 3 years of experience in my first year because there had been so many growth opportunities and so much support. My evaluation went well, and I even won an award for my teaching. I survived year 1, and had a lot to reflect on as I looked toward year 2.

In 2017, I left my role as founding history teacher and took on a new position as an instructional designer for a large textbook company. I sobbed when I told the principal and nearly cried when I told the students that I wouldn’t be teaching their history class that year. I packed up my classroom, loaded it into my car, and literally left all of that stuff in the trunk for A YEAR because I couldn’t believe it. (Also, where was I going to put a bunch of classroom stuff in my house?!) This June, I went to the graduation ceremony for those students that I worked with so closely in my first two years of teaching. It was amazing to see what they have accomplished and to hear their plans for the future – they are doing way cooler things than I was at 18! I will always remember my first classroom and group of students and the many memories made together.

Thinking of You, First Year Teacher

I made something for first year teachers that I want to share here. I know how I felt a little overwhelmed and disorganized my first year, and couldn’t always get my thoughts together to reflect. With that in mind, I created a student teacher binder with some (hopefully) helpful resources. Find it in my Teachers Pay Teachers store Here or my Amped Up Learning store Here. (Use coupon code Rosie10 at AUL for 10% off.)

Ps. I was also getting my masters degree, potty training our new puppy, and planning my wedding during my first year of teaching. I must have been nuts 😛