Miss Brown's Busy Bees

" there is always gonna be a classroom full of kids who need you"

2010-12-29T19:01:00.000-08:00

"point is, you're a teacher...that's what you do best. anywhere you go in life there is always gonna be a classroom full of kids who need you...promise you that. "

From the movie, Tenure..
I really empathized a lot with the main character in that movie. He didn't have a secure position, and a university wouldn't offer him tenure, but he loved what he did. His students loved him and he made a difference in their lives.

I am in sort of the same position ~ I am not a college professor seeking tenure, but I'm a teacher seeking a teaching position. I do a lot of long term substitute teaching. I connect with students, impact their lives, they connect with me and love me as their teacher. Like the quote says, I'm a teacher, and there will always be kids who need me. That's the important thing ~ that i'm affecting students' lives for the better.

Grade 6

2010-10-05T04:22:00.000-07:00

So I'm teaching Grade 6 right now in E.Hartford. I mostly like it, minus a few exceptions...
But one student told me, "Miss Brown, you're the smartest teacher." I said, "why do you say that?" He said, "Because you LISTEN to us." Another student chimed in and agreed. Wow. that was encouragement.

Good class. 26 students!

2010-05-08T19:10:00.001-07:00

really nothing to say. cept that i will pray every day that i will survive the next 6 weeks.

2010-02-15T04:24:00.000-08:00

2009-12-28T05:49:00.000-08:00

teaching grade 4.
a challenge.

I will ALWAYS love you.

2009-10-28T18:56:00.001-07:00

Nate said, "I love you Miss Brown. I will ALWAYS love you. Adorable. touched my heart. A friend called me on the way to work today and said, "the children will light up when they see me. That is Christ's reflection that they see in me." She said I am making a difference and there will be fruit from what I am doing. She was so encouraging because today ended up being a more challenging day. God knows what we need!
~~~~~~~~~

Pumpkins and storytelling

2009-10-22T04:38:00.000-07:00

So I'm throughly enjoying teaching kindergarten! Yesterday was PUMPKIN DAY as it's the fall season and we're learning the letter Pp. I bought a book called Pumpkin Soup....it's sooo cute. My students loved the illustrations and story. I love reading seasonal-themed literature. It's a MUST in the classroom. Mrs. Zgorski came in (the teacher I'm covering for) and she interacted with the students, in order to get to know them as well as to help ease their transition from "Miss Brown" to Mrs. Zgorski as their teacher! :) She is a wonderful, energetic teacher and I know my students will love her!

I enjoy the FUN challenge of getting to know each of my students. I love when they open up and share with me about personal struggles and joys. This is the joy of teaching...this is what makes it all worth it, that I can be an influence and make a difference in each child's life! I love seeing them learn....watching the process of writing their name, learning their first letters and words. It excites me to challenge students to higher levels, and find projects, activities and assignments for my students who surprise me with their high academic knowledge! I find it a blessing that I struggled in school as a child (mainly math, hehe) but that I have the ability to break down concepts to very small levels in order to reach a student when they are struggling. That ability is a blessing in disguise!

I have three more weeks left at this job, and as my friend Jenn told me, "God already has the next job lined up.." Yes..so I don't need to worry about my career...God has a plan. "Thank God" for that!

Where I've been since March..

2009-09-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

Well, last time I blogged I had just started a long term grade 3 substitute position! I thought I would really love it as it was my "favorite grade." It was difficult in some ways, but I must say I learned quite a bit about EIP, referring students to EIP, collecting and analizying data, building centers for more individualized instruction, writing objectives, learning how to teach various subjects more creatively, and more! I a extremely grateful for "on the job training." I am getting some really good experience. I have had many long term sub jobs IN A ROW.....special ed, music, 2nd grade, 3rd grade and Kindergarten now. I can't complain about never gettting experience in the teaching field before I get hired as a full time teacher...I have had 2 years of it so far! :)

So here's a little about my Kindergarten long term sub positions! I really love it. Some positive aspects of the job are: A) great, organized school, B) warm, genuine, organized, friendly, caring principal, C)friendly, inviting staff and D) I am in contact with the teacher I am covering for. She is very helpful. Not all schools have these three benefits! I've been to enough schools as a sub and I know when I've found a school that is run properly! (in my terms, I guess ;)

The kids in my class are really cute. They're always saying, "we love you Miss (or Mrs.) Brown....you're very beautiful...I love your hair", etc etc etc. This makes for an easier time. I didn't think I would like teaching K--thought I wouldn't have enough patience! But I've found that because you HAVE to be patient with K's...there is no choice to get upset or frazzled, most of the time! I like it. I will write more later!!

Teaching 3rd Grade

2009-03-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

So...I got a job as a third grade long term sub that goes until the end of the year!~ I'm super excited!!!! Will tell more later....

a joy in teaching

2009-03-09T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well hello to anyone who reads my blog! hehe...

So, I'm currently not teaching as a long term substitute. After the music position I described in the last blog, I was called by my temp agency to teach 2nd grade in East Hartford for the month of Februray. I had lot of fun!! 2nd grade is my favorite to teach, and I developed great friendships with my students. There was a student, very well behaved and cooperative, but quite mellow and didn't smile much. I made sure to respect his boundaries and let him have his space rather than trying to make him smile or laugh.

I understand that each student is different and needs different amounts of space. So...anyway! the last day he came up and gave me a hug!! I was so surprised and excited that he had finally opened up to me. I exclaimed, "WOW!!! Did _____ just give me a hug!!???" I made a big deal of it and a ginormous smile appeared on his face. It's those moments when I know I make a difference in student's lives and want to continue teaching. I'm not only teaching to their academic knowlege, but I am an aid, helper, friend to my students as they walk through life.

teaching 2nd grade!

2009-02-15T05:07:00.000-08:00

God has been really faithful! I finished teaching music for a month as the E. Hartford district hired a certified music teacher to take on the long term position. I realize that even though I was there for a month, God used to me to show love to the kids. I see a lot of them now, as they come through Sylvan so I'm able to continue my friendships with them!

One week after my music job was over, I was requested to be a long term sub at O'Brien School in East Hartford, 2nd grade. I jumped at the opportunity to teach for the entire month of Feb (minus break). I love teaching 2nd grade, despite the challenges of a more urban school. In the two weeks that I have been there, I have really grown to love the kids. One studnet gave me a valentine as said, "this is for you because you are the beautiful teacher..in the world." so cute.

I was reminded of my students when I was in church the other day and these were sung during worship.........."Everyone needs compassion, A Love that's never failing, Let mercy fall on me. Everyone needs forgiveness,The Kindness of a savior......My God is mighty to save.." God was showing me that He wants to use me to reach the world, to give compassion to those who need it. That is what I am fulfilling as a teacher to these students who need Jesus' love.

I don't know where I'll end up next, except for the fact that I will do my part in the job search, and expect God to do the rest!!

from STEP to music

2009-01-10T05:15:00.001-08:00

After finishing at the STEP program (Special Ed) in Manchester, where I taught for one month, taking students from severly lacking in their education, creating curriculum for them, speaking with their homeroom teachers...as well as being interviewed for a Kindergarten position....and not being hired (there were 11 candidates)......I moved on. It is unfortunate that schools and principals do not take into account the many young certified teachers (like myself) who put forth much effort and faithfulness and entrust them with a teaching job. It is very difficult to recieve a job as an elementary teacher as there are many certified teachers looking for jobs. One has to have a few long term substitute teaching jobs posted on their resume to even be considered. This can take from 2-5 years to obtain.

Having moved on, I accepted a job as a music teacher in East Hartford. I absolutely love working with grades K-5.

2008-12-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

My Creativity at STEP..

I've come a long way baby

2008-11-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

On my way out the door to substitute for a special education class, I said to myself..."I've come a long way baby..."

It was only January of 2007 that I sat in a room with my advisor and fellow student teachers. As each of us opened our student teaching journal and syllabus, we all had an overwhelming feeling linked with excitement as we started the beginning of our teaching career. We were to student teach that spring semester. For me, this meant I would work with 23 students in a third grade class and add classes one at a time, until I gained full responsibility of teaching. I knew it would be a great semester, but would be a lot of work. I did enjoy being with my students and I learned much.

So, what made me think I've come a "long way" from almost two years ago was... a) in my senior year of college, I was so worried about impending interviews and now I've already been on three...and one coming up on Tuesday! b) I had no clue how to put together my resume or portfolio, and now I have both of those completed and they have accompanied me to my interviews. c) I was very nervous when my cooperating teacher or the principal would observe me, but I have had so many people observe me and now I can focus on teaching the students and not who's watching me and critiquing my every move. d) I didn't know how or when I'd get my teaching job or experience in teaching, but since graduation I have learned so much about pedagogy, teaching reading, comprehension strategies, classroom managment/discipline.......and more...

I've learned to keep pressing on, to keep persevering and stay "in the school system." I know I am called to teaching and have confidence that I will be a great teacher. I know this because I am able to quickly establish rapport with students, I enjoy helping students see their potential, encourage children to act maturely and responsibly, reward positive behavior and consistently implement fair consequences. I genuinely care for my students and want them to do well. I believe this affects their work ethic and behavior.

When I say "my students" I mean my students during substitute teaching. Even though I do not have a permanent position right now, I still treat these students as if they were my own students. This works because when I subbed for a school in E.Hartford for 1.5 weeks, I enjoyed my time with the students. One of my students said, "Miss Brown....are you too old for recess??" I think it's awesome how I have the opportunity to build positive relationships with students and recess is a great time for that. Yes, I was taught how to throw a football by a friend in college and this comes in handy at recess. :) The kids are quite surprised that a "girl"...especially a "teacher" can throw so well. hehe

Teaching is so rewarding. I love when kids (during an argument) say, "I'm going to be the mature one and stop arguing", after I've instructed them to stand up and be the mature one. It is exciting to see them making the right decision that will not only effect them in the classroom but in their daily life, now and in the future!

How I got here

2008-11-06T14:12:00.001-08:00

When I started college at 18 in South Carolina at Columbia International University, I started a journey to become a teacher and to influence children's lives for the better, and to impart knowledge. Despite the many times I wanted to quit in school, I graduated on May 2007. When I came back to CT (Sorry...not a Southern Belle!) I was planning on starting grad school to become certified and get my master's degree.

Since I took education classes at CIU and even did student teaching in third grade (which was awesome!) I sent my records to the Board of Education in CT. The BOE sent me a renewable certification, as long as I passed the Praxis II test. I signed up and took the two long, tests...which were two hours each! Exhausting to say the least. But it was worth it and rewarding as I found out a few weeks later that I had passed. The BOE sent me my official certification!!!!

By the time I got my certification, the school year had already started (October) and I started substitute teaching. After about two weeks, I was offered two jobs at Washington School in Manchester. I started working as a Title I tutor in the 6 grade. I worked with a teacher who gave me three reading groups and full responsibility of teaching students comprehension strategies in order to have comprehension while reading. We studied strategies like summarizing, inferencing, finding the main idea, sequencing and predicting. Students read interesting books such as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle and Crispin.

I also worked as an after school teacher for the 5th and 2nd grades at Washington. While I kept up these two part time jobs, I was taking classes at Eastern CT State University, studying Teaching Reading and Children's Literature. I plan on going back to finish my master's degree in the near future.

Because there was a sixth grade school built in Manchester, the Title I Tutor position at Washington Elementary became no longer available. In Fall 2008 I decided to start substitute teaching again, as to get my name out in the "education world." Many teachers need to substitute/long term substitute before they obtain their full time dream job. This is my plan!