Holy hell.

#whatnow

Being a new teacher is NOT for the weak of heart. Two weeks ago, I began in my new district. It is a district where diversity is the name of the game. It is a district where Spanish is spoken constantly in the hallways, playgrounds, lunchrooms, etc. It is a place where the district make the “all in” decision many years ago as they were working with numerous cultural and language issues to be that place in Northeast Iowa where they’d have translators around and work to involve all families. At one point, the town would host a cultural celebration where food, music, and other aspects of cultures were highlighted.

As time as gone on (along with a major immigration raid), cultures in this little town have come and gone, but the school’s persistent stance of being a champion of all students never wavered. And I’m part of it. The job that I took has taken me to this district for a number of reasons. The feeling that I got during the interview. The fact that I know seven teachers in this elementary, having taught with one of them in the elementary, and two in the high school. People call this school the northern campus of the district that I left.

The issue, that new teacher feeling is TOUGH! Last week, we had meet the teacher night and to walk up and down the hallways with only Spanish being spoken was intimidating to say the least. I had at least two different families where the a student was helping to translate, which I had no experience with at all.

#eek

This week, I was very excited to get into our lessons. That lasted about 20 minutes. We learned very quickly this last learns differently than other classes, so we are reevaluating our approach to get the schedules figured out. We’ll get it sorted out, but this wasn’t something that I was expecting at all! And our district, for whatever reason has agained 76 students since July 31!

#what

I know and this is was brings me to the fact that I’m supposed to be here. This district has rallied around the students and each other. No paras? We’ll figure it out. Where do we put the students? We’ll figure it out. Supply issues? We’ll figure it out. I’ve never seen a group just jump in, feet first, to figure things out and that’s not to the other districts that I’ve been in haven’t been great problem solvers. But when you’ve added a class and a half of new students, basically three week before school starts, you have to be amazed at the people you work with and the community as a whole.

Kids are kids, if they are speaking English and white or speaking Spanish and brown, they want the same things: to be seen, to be valued, and to be loved. In the end, that’s what matters. I’m proud to be part fo this district and cannot wait to see what happens with us as a group!

This old dog will learn a few more new tricks before all is said and done, and that’s a good thing! 🙂