Sweet Note

On Wednesday, I subbed for a 5th grade class at the school I interviewed for this summer.  I had a wonderful time and for the first time in a long time, I remembered why I went into teaching.

As we were getting ready to leave, one little girl came up to me and handed me a piece of paper and told me not to read it until I got home.  I stuck it in my teacher bag and sadly, forgot all about it.

Today, I was cleaning out my bag and I this is what I found…

(Ignore the white splotches…I edited out the teacher’s name and the child’s last name for privacy reasons :))

It made my day and reminded me why I went into teaching :)

Kids Say the Darndest Things

After teaching kindergarten for a year, I got used to all of the cute sayings.  When I stepped foot into a third grade classroom to sub today (which happened to be right across the hall from my SEW classroom from this summer!), I didn’t expect too many “cute” conversations.  Boy, was I wrong!

The class was great.  There were a few that were a little rowdy, but according to the other teachers, they have problems with them on a daily basis.  It was a huge change from K in that I could give them work and not have literally sit there with them to do it.

Anyway, when lunch rolled around, I was sitting with them at the table and one of the girls noticed my rings (I usually wear four: my diamond ring from Alex and a “matching” ring - today it was my black diamond ring- on one hand, and my class ring and diamond from my grandmother on the other).  She commented on how pretty and sparkly they were and then she said, “Miss Slaten, are you married?”.  Of course I said, “No, sweetie I’m not” and she said “Well, with those rings, you should be!  Let me guess, you’re waiting on the perfect guy?”.  I laughed and said “I guess so” and she replied as seriously as she could, “Well I’m going to work on finding you one today and you guys can get married tomorrow!”

If only it were that easy…;)

Inspiration from Miss Carrie Bradshaw

“As we drive along this road called life, occasionally a gal will find herself a little lost. And when that happens, I guess she has to let go of the coulda, shoulda, woulda, buckle up and just keep going.”

As I was getting my daily fix of Sex and the City last night, Carrie Bradshaw wrote this in her column.  She wasn’t exactly referring to my situation, but this quote could definitely apply to how I’ve been feeling lately:  lost.

I am a planner by nature.  I enjoy schedules, organization, lists, and most importantly being in control.  Every since I was little, I set goals for myself.  I rarely set goals I couldn’t attain, but I set goals nonetheless.  It might have started out small like making the competition team at dance or finding a great square dancing partner, but they eventually moved to life-changing things like attending the University of Alabama and majoring in Elementary Education.

My goals of course became bigger and better when I went to college.  This is how my life played out in my mind:

I would get my elementary education degree from the University of Alabama.  While in college I would be super involved and meet Mr. Right.  After I graduated I would become a teacher and pursue a Master’s Degree and eventually a PhD.  Sometime after I graduated and while working on degrees I’d get married and have children someday and then spend my remaining years teaching at the college level.

As you can see, my life hasn’t quite played out like that, but up until this summer…it has worked itself out.  This summer, however, has thrown me for a loop.  It never crossed my mind that I would get a pink slip after one year of teaching or that I would not be able to get any sort of teaching job.  This was no where near how I thought my life would play out and for once, this girl is lost.

I have to say, I don’t like not being in control.  I hate the fact that I can’t make the principals call me in for an interview or that I can’t just “get a job”.  Because of this, I’ve really beaten myself up this summer, analyzing every aspect of my life.  My confidence in myself is completely shot and my glass that used to always be half full has become empty.  Just last week I  had a friend say to me, “Maegan I really miss your upbeat and optimistic personality…it is really hard seeing you down like this”.  Sadly, she is not the first person to say this to me lately and it breaks my heart. 

So, I’m turning over a new leaf.  I know there is a reason for everything and although I don’t see the reason right now, I know it is there.  So, I’m going to utilize this free time to make myself better.  I’m going to sub and get my foot in the door in schools around here, cram in some PhD classes so hopefully I’ll be ready for dissertation stuff soon, get myself back in shape, relax and get my life in order and hopefully emerge a better Maegan.   There is no point in wasting time analyzing the “coulda woulda shoulda” because I can’t change the past, but I can change the future.  So in the words of Miss Carrie Bradshaw, this girl is going to buckle up and keep going :)

As always, thanks for all the continued support and advice.  This has been a topic I’ve struggled with all summer (as many of you have seen my depressing twitter and facebook posts), so I wanted to let you all know…I’m fine and am going to stop looking at the past and look toward the future :)

Love,

Maegan

SEW: Final Week

What an exhausting week!!  Today was our last day of SEW and it was a bittersweet day!  I’m glad to finally have a much-needed break, but sad I won’t get to see the students or my co-workers anymore! 
Anyway, this week consisted of putting the finishing touches on our projects, rehearsing them, and then presenting them to the parents today!
The students did such a great job presenting!  Thankfully, the technology cooperated (minus one small glitch, but it wasn’t noticeable to anyone but myself!)  The parents raved about the projects and how much the children had learned so it really boosted my confidence :).  I unfortunately did not get many pictures from today (and none from my first class), but I did get the parents to make a few (and they agreed to e-mail me pics as well!)  Enjoy!
  

If you'd like to see their completed projects, check out our SEW Technology Class website http://www.uasewtech.webs.com/ and click on Videos and Presentations (I still have a few to load, but this will give you an idea :))

Interview Update

I know I’m a little late in posting, but I was hoping to hear something before I posted and since I haven’t, I thought I would go ahead and do a post about the interview.

As I think I mentioned in my previous post, I interviewed at a local elementary school last Wednesday.  I was very nervous it being my only interview, but I got tons of sweet messages on Facebook about it!  Yeah, my friends are awesome!

 The day before my interview!

   The day of my interview!

It was at a really great county school with a a principal I did one of my placements under.  I felt really good about the interview (which in the past has predicted my success with the interview, but we’ll see if it works this time!).  She and the assistant principal seemed very receptive of my responses.  After I interviewed, she took a few minutes to brag on the school, teachers, and children.  I thought this might be a good sign since she told me AFTER I interviewed (almost like selling me the school, which if that’s what she was doing, she so didn’t have to…I already knew it was an amazing school!).  She said that they were doing interviews that day (Wednesday) and the following day (Thursday) and that they had 3 positions open at the time:  1st, 2nd, and 5th and that they were going to figure out where to fit everyone in.  Then she said I would be hearing from them soon.  I felt like the later part of the interview was fairly positive so I was pretty confident leaving.

However, here we are 5 days (only about 2 working days since interviews were finished, but it seems like forever!), and I still haven’t heard anything.  I have been compulsively checking voicemail throughout the day and checking mail to look for any rejection letters, but so far nothing.  The Lord did not bless me with patience so this has been a tough thing for me.  Part of me is ready to give up on it, but people are reminding me that it sometimes takes them a little while to decide and she recently posted another job on the job board so she may be swamped with those interview as well.  I’m trying to stay positive, but because I’ve been burned with a similar situation last year about this time, I want to be realistic as well (although I was eventually called, but only because their first choice dropped out!) 

As my mother reminded me, sometimes people don’t do things the way I want them to and believe it or not, the world doesn’t revolve around me ;)  and that if it is meant to be, it will be.  So, I’m going to try to keep myself busy and put it in the Lord’s hands.  Say a little prayer that it works out the way it is supposed to!

Thanks for all the support and sweet messages and I promise to update as soon as I hear!

Love,

Maegan

SEW Week 2

What a great week we had!! Since the first week was mostly introductory stuff, the students were so excited to actually get to get on the computers this week!  This week, we focused on finishing up our vodcasts/podcast

Check out our podcast/vodcasts here!

(They are everything except the first three!)

http://uasewtech.webs.com/apps/videos/ 

Then we began work on our final projects.  I let them do anything they wanted to do on any topic so we spent the remainder of the week planning our final projects!

    

SEW Week 1

What an exciting week!!! I have loved getting to know my kiddos and teach them about technology!!

This week has been pretty much an introduction to the course (although I did have to move some of my plans up because they learned quicker than I expected!)

We started the week getting to know each other…

Middle schoolers playing “Buddy Bingo”

getting to know the internet…

Second and third graders watching the Internet Safety presentation

and getting to know the computer!

 

We even learned to blog!  Check out our blog posts on uasewtech09.blogspot.com

Then we learned their favorite thing….podcasts and vodcasts!! We didn’t finish them, but we did get a good start!

I can’t believe the first week is finally over!  I’m looking forward to more fun activities next week!                           

UPDATE!!! :)

Okay, I’ve got a lot of catching up to do, but I just wanted to share…I just got a call from a local elementary school asking me in for an interview!!! :)  It is next week, so I’ve got a few days to prepare, but I just wanted to share!  Fingers crossed because it is a great school! :)

I promise I’ll update later!

Besos,

Maegan

UA’s Summer Enrichment Workshop (SEW)

I think I eluded to my “summer teaching job”, but I’m not sure that I ever gave a full fledge explanation, so here it is!

At the beginning of May, I got this e-mail from a professor we worked a great deal with when I worked in Creative Campus.  She works with the Gifted and Talented program, which I had actually considered going into until I found out that I could go straight into the doctoral program, but I digress.  Anyway, she said that she was directing a program that UA does every year for local Gifted and Talented students called the Summer Enrichment Workshop (better known as SEW).  She said that the girl who had planned to teach the two technology classes had dropped out at the last minute after  speaking with my doctoral advisor as well as some of my former classmates from that program they immediately recommended me for the job.

I was ecstatic to be asked to do something for the university and immediately took the job (plus it paid really well so that’s a bonus).  At the time, I was still employed and it fell during AMSTI training, but I decided that it would be better for me and my career if I took advantage of this opportunity.

I went to the introduction meeting on Monday and I have to say, I was a little intimidated.  Much like elementary education, GAT has their own “language” and I had no clue what they were talking about, but I was also excited that I could try some technology lessons in a real classroom setting.

We got to set up our classrooms the past two days.  I had the hardest time coming up with a theme (computers just weren’t very entertaining) so since the ads said they could be “Cyber Stars”, I thought I’d go with the whole Hollywood theme.  Here are the before and after pictures.

Before:

After:

The class list for both sessions on my door.

     

The view as you walk in my room (thanks Alex for all your help!)

 

The front of the room

Front corner of the room

Walk of Talents:  I plan on putting my “talent” posters (a GAT thing) on this wall.

There’s my room!  I don’t think I’ll be able to update on a daily basis, but I will try to update at the end of each week! :)

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings’ end…”

It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I begun a new chapter in my life.  I had just graduated from Alabama with a Master’s degree and had started frantically searching for teaching jobs.  Although I had quite a few ups and downs during the summer, I finally got a job and I was on cloud nine.

I wish I could say that the excitement stayed with me, but that excitement soon turned to frustration, sadness, depression, and those happy smiles turned into many tears.  The first semester was probably the worst semester in my life.  It almost drove me to the point of having to go on nerve pills.

After Christmas, I went into the classroom with a newfound confidence and determination that this semester was going to be better.  It was, indeed, much better, but it did not come without its share of tears as well.  Part of me felt some success, but the other part of me felt like I just needed to get through this year.

Since Spring Break (in April), things began to go downhill again.  Everything that used to work no longer did and everyday I left school feeling like I had been running a marathon in place:  exhausted, but felt like I got absolutely no where.  This time, however, I was not the only one feeling the frustration as even veteran teachers were miserable and contemplating a job change.

When my principal called the university in to remediate me in October, I began preparing myself for a pink slip at the end of the year.  With the economy in turmoil, many people were dreading the pink slip, but honestly, there were days when I was saying a silent prayer that if a pink slip was what I needed to get out of this situation, I would take it.

About two weeks ago, listening to my coworkers vent and contemplate changing schools, I began to do a lot of soul-searching.  Their dilemma was that they were tenured or almost tenured and they didn’t want to leave and have to start all over.  I, on the other hand, only had a year under my belt so it wouldn’t be as dramatic if I had to start all over.  Seeing them in this predicament even after so many years of teaching, it made me realize that I didn’t want to be in their shoes…miserable and several years into their career and having to choose between money and happiness.  It was then I decided that pink slip or not, I was going to apply for some jobs in the county that had been recently posted.  I knew if I didn’t get pink slipped and I didn’t get the new jobs, I could still return to my current job.  However, if I got pink slipped, I knew that would be a sign that this school/job was just not meant to be.

Last week, I got that sign in the form of a meeting with the principal and a letter stating that they were not renewing my contract, otherwise known as the pink slip.  I knew it was coming, and in a way, I’m really glad I prepared myself to get one because I’m not sure how I would have handled it with no warning.  Even though I was prepared and I did not cry in the meeting with the principal, I teared up a little as I went back to my room.  Not really about the pink slip or even having to leave my job, but hearing some one tell you you are not good at what you have spent your whole life preparing for, really hurts.  These tears were, however, minimal compared to what I had shed over the course of the year and even a few days later, I have not been as upset as people expected me to be.  Yes, there have been a few moments where I would tear up, but there have also been moments of excitement of beginning something new and getting a fresh start.  I tend to tell people it feels a lot like getting out of a bad relationship…you may feel some sadness that it’s over, but you also feel some relief that you no longer have to deal with it.

Although this year was horrible on many accounts, I can’t say that I regret it.  Do I regret parts of it, of course.  Yes, I hate that my first job didn’t work out and that people at my school didn’t get to see all my wonderful things I learned and could contribute to the school.  Yes, I could have done things differently, but I learned a lot.  I got to see how a school gets built (and I mean internally, not structurally).  I now have a better appreciation for established policies and procedures and veteran administrators.  I’ve dealt with behaviors I never thought I would encounter and I learned to be extremely independent and do things with little to no support.  I have also developed tougher skin and realized that no matter how well you treat other people, sometimes they will do anything to bring you down, including stabbing you in the back.  Although this job has caused me a great deal of stress and tears, it has made me a better teacher and person.

So, as this door closes, I’m hopeful that there is another door just waiting to be opened.

I promise I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth…

Sorry!  I know I haven’t posted in a while, but life has been crazy since Spring Break!  The kids realize it is getting near the end of the year and they are crazy (as am I).  Between work and getting stuff together for my final project for class, in the little free time I have left, I want to do nothing more than sleep.

Let me see if I can do some catching up (although it is nothing too exciting!):

Spring Break was not very eventful, but it was really nice having some down time.  I did a lot of things at home (home home not my apartment) getting stuff ready for Josh’s graduation stuff (scrapbooks, invitations, etc).  Although I stayed pretty busy, the down time was nice!

I came back on Thursday to meet with my advisor.  She is wonderful and we spent the majority of the time chatting about my year.  She was very positive and made me feel much better about the situation.  I’m so grateful to have a professor/advisor like her!

As I mentioned above, I’ve been working really hard to get ready for the end of the school and classes so that has taken over my life.  I don’t even have any exciting pictures to post (check my teaching blog for some field trip pictures though!!)

Things will start picking up in the next month so there will be lots of blog posts  (and pictures) to make up for the down time.

Have a great week!

 

Maegan

New Easel!!

This probably should go in my teaching blog, but it is how I spent my weekend so I thought I could post it on both for different reasons.  Our principal ordered us an awesome easel for all of the kindergarten classes and although we knew it was big, we did not realize just HOW big it was (seriously...you'll see in the pictures).  So when it arrived in 3 boxes at least my height and 2 of me wide, I knew this was a task that Miss Independent had to ask help for.  So I proceeded to call Alex and sweet talk him into coming to help me and this is how the conversation went:

Me: (In my sweetest, poor damsel in distress voice) So, um, I need a favor
Alex:  Ok, what's that? (already annoyed I'm sure)
Me:  I need you to help me put together my new easel
Alex:  Okay, but isn't an easel just like three sticks.
Me:  Well, this is a really big easel and I can't do it by myself.
Alex:  Okay (still not convinced that he is needed for this project)

The next day when he arrived at school:
Alex:  Holy cow, you didn't tell me that this was like the monster of easels.
Me:  I told you it was big! :)

Anyway, him being wonderful Alex, he got to work putting my monster easel together.  My co-workers had their husbands put it together and they said it would take about three hours so after we got the million pieces unwrapped and sorted out, Alex settled in with his Ipod and one of my kids' chairs and did what he does best....put things together. 

We are having walk-throughs on Monday so I thought I would get some work done in my room while he worked (since most of the time, it is better for me to just stay out of the way :) and I actually got quite a bit done.   It only took Alex about an hour and a half once he got started (without the drill that the others used might I add...yeah he's that good :)) and he even had to wait about thirty minutes on me to get finished with my stuff so we could leave together.  Although I hadn't finished everything, I was so ready to leave that I decided I would come back the next day.  Here's what I got finished though (Note:  I forgot to take pictures of the finished easel so I'll take them tomorrow when my room is all cleaned and ready for walk-throughs)

Back to School (in more ways than 1) :)

Well school has started back (both my school and the University) so this week has been eventful trying to get back in the swing of things in both worlds. I got two new students at school and I also had my first class meeting at the University today. So now I'm back to juggling both school and work! Although this class is going to be tough, I'm actually really pumped about this class. It's times like this I wish I wasn't having to work too because I could really get a lot out of this class :) Anyway, this class is all about instructional design and for our final project, we actually have to design an online course. Although most of my classes are obviously relevant, this is really exciting to me because I eventually want to teach college courses, in hopefully an online setting so this is especially relevant to me. I also really enjoy my cohort...it's a lot like my undergrad because we all take the classes together. Anyway, I don't really have anything exciting, but I thought I just type a quick post while I had time :) Have a great weekend!

2008 In Review

I have to say, 2008 has been one of the most eventful years ever! So as this year comes to an end, I wanted to take some time and reflect on all that has happened this year!

January

• Josh turned 17!
• Josh had his first formal...he looked so handsome!

February

• I turned 23 and celebrated with a Mardi Gras party at the library!
• Josh was in a prom fashion show for a local formal shop

March:

• The football program threw us a party at Mugshots to celebrate our #1 recruiting season!
• My dear friend Lauren got married in Nashville so we enjoyed a fun filled (and freezing) weekend there to celebrate her beautiful wedding!
• We said goodbye to the Library! They closed their doors the end of the month, but not without a huge blowout to send them out with a bang!

April:

• I was a bridesmaid for my friend Crystal's wedding in Guntersville! We spent the entire weekend relaxing in Guntersville and had a wonderful time!

May:

• Creative Campus threw it's annual AL's awards gala and Jenny and I were in charge! I'm happy to say, it went really well and we had a wonderful time!
• The staff at Creative Campus gave the first ever CCI report to Dr. Bonner and many other "high-ups" on campus and in the community and it went very well!!
• I graduated with my Master's Degree in Elementary Education!

June:

• I finished up my job at Creative Campus :(
• Josh came down for his annual team camp for basketball and broke his nose :(
• I went for my first two unsuccessful job interviews

July:

• I was hired as a kindergarten teacher at Southview Elementary and spent the majority of the month working in my classroom!
• Josh got his "new nose" after his nose surgery :)

August:

• I started my new job as a kindergarten teacher and my life became consumed with teaching!
• I got accepted into the Instructional Leadership and Technology doctoral program at Alabama. I was so excited!! :)
• Josh started his senior year :'(

September - November:

• My life became consumed with teaching, school, Alabama football, and Josh's football so I did not have much free time other than that! Josh's football team had a very successful season ( 12-1) as did Alabama (13-1). I was sad to see both of those seasons come to a sad end :(
• Alex and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary in November! It's hard to believe we've been together that long!

December:

• I made it through my first semester of teaching!

Let's hope 2009 is wonderful! :)

Happy New Year!

I'm still here....barely! :)

I know it has been forever since I have posted and I promise to do some back blogging when I get some free time (the doctoral program, kindergarten, and football have taken over my life! :))  Anyway, I'm still alive and kicking, but I just wanted to drop in and write a quick note just to check in.  I'll update soon!!

Classroom Set-up Day 1

Ever since I can remember, I've always dreamed of having my own classroom to decorate. When I was little I spent hours arranging and labeling my "school room" back home until it was just right. Thankfully that desire has not changed one bit! One thing I've been looking forward to is getting my classroom and getting to do things the way I want them done. When I found out I got the job on Friday, I spent the entire weekend thinking of ways to decorate my room and anxiously awaiting the day I could get in and begin working. Well, today was that day!



I stayed up late last night putting all of the books I had been given into a spreadsheet on my computer (so that I have a record of my library) and my family and I decided it would be better for me to wait until this morning to drive home. I woke up this morning at 5:30 and my family and I loaded up my car to head to Tuscaloosa (When I say loaded, I mean it was PACKED - See pictures below)

I got back in town around 8:00 and I unloaded the non-classroom stuff out of my car, got ready and headed to the school. When I got there, I ran into my principal in the hallway and she gave me a huge hug and welcomed me to the school and told me how excited she was to see me :) She then gave me a small tour of the school and showed me to my room. Since it was a middle school, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly was in decent shape when I arrived so I was thankful that I wouldn't have to deal with a lot of repairs and the such. This is what I saw when I walked in my door:

Obviously there was a lot of work in store for me! My principal was wonderful and told me she'd be happy to help me with whatever I needed and that she would check in her storage for stuff for me :) Anyway, I spent most of the day just cleaning and unloading stuff and putting as much away as I could. Alex stopped by to take me to lunch and to bring me a fan and his fridge (we have no AC so both were wonderful). Anyway, he made me do a classroom tour for him. It's so stupid and I totally wasn't expecting it, but at least you can see my room!!

Anyway, I worked until about 6:30 and then headed out when it got a little stormy. There's so much that I have left to do, but it is nice to step away and reflect. I'm excited about having a productive day (hopefully) tomorrow!!