ahora vamos a contar

alright, there's way too much to tell but the abbreviated version is all i have time for...

MAY: the school year ended quickly and quietly. i will be teaching my same half-english, half-spanish-speaking class again next year... in second grade. it's not exactly the same class, but i'm keeping the majority of my amazing kiddos from last year plus a few special picks. i was the only first grade teacher to not retain anyone, but next year i'll have one retainee and three kids reading far below 2nd grade expectations. as in, beginning of first grade. a little ridiculous, but apparently my disbelief wasn't enough to convince the administration to retain. i'm not quite sure what my retention philosophy is, but i certainly don't think a kid without special needs should be allowed to go to second grade if they're barely reading and definitely not writing. anyhoo, i got through the last day without crying until the very end (for a real tear-jerker, check out gustavo's blog). i said goodbye to my kids that were moving, and to hot dad (who gave me a lovely end of year gift... but that was all. we're both wusses.). then my kid whose parents are having all kinds of crazy custodial drama stayed late while said drama was resolved. no such thing as a simple end to things, but at least i was the only one crying at the end of the day. i packed up my room a few days later and turned in my keys. goodbye, first grade. you were a blast.

JUNE: i was supposed to teach summer school in june, but backed out for a number of reasons. moving to a new grade means i have tons of trainings i need to take, so that played a large part in my decision. yet somehow my friend finagled me into subbing TWICE the first week of summer school. i was in a pre-kindergarten classroom, and while the kids are crazy cute and sweet, it just reaffirmed that's totally not the age group for me. i can't handle the crying and slower pace... after a few hours, i was bored out of my mind. this week is filled with trainings... y'all may remember that i have little tolerance for teacher trainings (check out last summer's posts), so i may be posting quite a bit this summer. mostly i'm still irritated by trainers' need to treat us like students. fine, model away and do group teaching to demonstrate, but SERIOUSLY, i don't need to fill out the graphic organizer AGAIN independently. please pretend that my college degree and teaching certificate mean SOMETHING. they are hundreds of things i'd rather do with my summer "vacation" than waste 15 minutes coloring with a bunch of teachers and talking about character analysis and summaries of books that i've already read. call it a bad attitude, but i think it comes down to this: i'm all about learning about better ways to teach, as long as they're brief and written down for me to refer to later. i have no use for people reading aloud to me and making me get super hands-on in an artificial environment. if i have questions, i'll ask after i'm ready to put things into practice or after i've already tried strategies/techniques myself. so THERE!

and i just took the state art all-level certification exam. i get my scores in a little under a month. if i pass, that opens a few new doors for me as far as next year's teaching options. keep your fingers crossed. have a great summer!