Inspire, Summer 2009

August 22, 2008 Today was one of the best days I have had in the past two weeks. I feel so excited about how the day went, and I feel like I might actually make it through my first year of teaching! August 29, 2008 Today I realized my constant pausing and “regrouping” probably showed the kids that I didn’t know what I was doing. If I’m not into the lesson, then why should they get into it? I was frazzled and tired, and I just wanted the end of the day to come. October 7, 2008 I’ve been struggling to keep up with grading and have lots of questions about how to do it well. How many papers should I be grading each day? What kinds of assignments should I be grading? Is this assignment a good assessment of my students’ abilities? These are decisions, in my school at least, that are left up to the teacher. December 10, 2008 Today I was reminded, once again, that many of the students I work with have struggles and heartaches that I never could have imagined as a first-grader. When I started taking attendance this morning, I noticed that one of my students was no longer on my roster. I later learned he had to be removed from his home for safety reasons. My heart breaks for him. I feel sad thinking that Christmas is coming and he won’t be with his family. I also feel sad that I may not ever see him again. January 14, 2009 After P.E., our class was walking by a bulletin board, which has a large picture of Martin Luther King on it. We had been talking about him in our class, so my kids recognized who he was. As we walked by, one of my girls said, “Mrs. Nanney, don’t you miss Martin Luther King?” She asked as if MLK and I had been good friends. I had to chuckle at that. February 24, 2009 Yesterday, Ayana ✴ had a wonderful day at school. She was so respectful, had great behavior, and paid attention well. I told her I was going to call her mom and tell her. She looked at me with relief and said, “Good! She wants to hear that!” Ayana doesn’t always have the most positive behavior reports, so I take every opportunity to let her mom know when things go well. Today, Ayana told me that her mom got my message and that they had gone to Red Lobster to celebrate. How sweet! March 16, 2009 In the middle of class, Mya said loudly, “Mrs. Nanney, can you please tell Tyrell to stop kicking me in my broken leg?” She doesn’t actually have a broken leg. She broke it way back in the summer. Apparently, she will forever refer to that leg as her “broken leg”! My First Year in First Grade Journal excerpts by Sara (Hayes) Nanney ’08 22 SUMMER 2009