Vacation

I went on a week long vacation last week to Park City. A vacation from what? Good question. My family and I just had to get away from the stress and worries of everyday life. So we went up to our condo in Park City.

We had a great time. Its the off season up there. So there weren't that many people around. Making it a nice time. However, most of the tourist stuff was closed down for two months until the ski season starts up. So we mist the concerts, hot air ballooning, and stuff like that. But, we did get a lot of shopping in at the outlets! I had to buy some new clothes that I can teach in.

I haven't taken any substitute jobs this week. I have received over 10 calls so far in the mornings, but I am waiting til next week to get back to it. But I did set up a week long substitute job for next week! I am excited about that. All I know about it is that it will cover 4th, 5th, and 6th grades at an elementary school close to my house. I hope I handle a week of this!

Our retirement plan is worse than yours

On Thursday, when I substituted that fourth grade class, I talked a bit with the teacher about my career. She said some interesting stuff about her district, the Jordan School District. She told me not to apply for a job in that district, to go to any of the other districts, such as Granite or Alpine. She said that since they changed their retirement plan and health benefits the district is no longer a good place to work.

Jordan School District did changed a lot about their retirement plan. No doubt about that and it is a lot worse than other plans in Utah. I have read a lot about this change in different newspapers and websites. But, I don't think this district will be unique in the next couple of years. After having worked in the corporate setting and watching my company and other companies do the same thing with benefits, I am not surprised that school districts are doing the same.

When I was hired as a technical writer and web developer six years ago, I worked for a company that was rated in the top ten companies nationwide for outstanding benefits. Two months after I started working there, the benefits changed dramatically and I don't think they even placed in the top 100,000 after that. So, I am not worried about the change in the Jordan School District and I will be very surprised if the other local school districts don't follow suit in the next five years. Times have changed and unfortunately education is not immune from the same changes.

Well, this teacher's attitude was "work anywhere but in this district, you'll be much better off." She even said that its less stressful working in the other districts. I think she is buying into grass is greener on the other side theory. I know teachers in the other school districts and once your there it isn't any different. Well, except that their benefits are better, for now.

I must be lucky

I must be lucky. I subbed again today for a fourth grade class and the students were so well behaved and we finished all of the tasks that were in the lesson plans. It was just a half day, afternoon. We started off with a Math Pre-Test. They are starting a new chapter in their math books, so the teacher wanted to see how much they already new. I gave the kids forty minutes to finish the test. During that time I was able to open my novel and read several chapters. The class was so quiet during that time and when some of the students finished before the others they quietly pulled out some books and started reading.

I was blown away at how well the students behaved with a sub. After the math test we moved onto science and watched an two movies from the Isaac Asimov educational video series on the planets Mercury and Venus. During the videos they took lots of notes on Mercury and Venus. I was surprised at how much information they took down. We ended the day by correcting some assignments from the morning.

The only issue that I had was the kids started talking during the last fifteen minutes of class while we were correcting papers. They had done so well up until that. I didn't worry about it much. They did so well for me the entire afternoon. I asked them to keep quiet every couple of minutes which did help and we got through this final task.

Oh, I forgot to mention, I arrived early to the class and talked a bit with the teacher. When I mentioned that I was getting my masters and was subbing for the experience, she thought that was a great idea. But when I mentioned that I was hoping to work in this school district when I finish the program, she had some interesting remarks about the district. I will write more in another post later tonight or tomorrow morning. You will have to wait...

First time subbing at an elementary school

I subbed for my first time at an elementary school yesterday. I had the opportunity to teach two grade levels. The teachers were in some on-site training. So, I started with a fourth grade class and it went so well. I taught Language Arts. The kids started off by writing in their journals about what their favorite book. It was a great activity to start with. Right there I could see which kids were having trouble paying attention to their tasks and which kids were having difficulty following directions. Next, we moved on to some language skills tasks that were already written on the whiteboard, then more language skills in their activity books. We ended the class period with a twenty minute movie and mammals.

The second class, fifth grade, went almost as well. This was for a different teacher who was called next into the training. There was one kid in the class who had problems following directions and kept getting up from his desk. He wasn't all that bad. I kept telling him not to disturb the other kids and he always went back to his desk and was quiet for a bit longer until he would get board again.

In that class we went over their assignments from the previous day. Then did some spelling exercises, and some fun activities. The class ended with the TA reading a story to the kids during a quiet time.

The teacher in that last class did have a small bell that she rings when the class starts talking too loud during tasks. I had to use it twice. Not too bad for a sub. When the bell is rung, all the kids stopped what they are doing, stood and folded there arms, and went quiet. Then I rung the bell again which told the kids to sit back down. That teacher has done such a great job with teaching these kids how to behave. Plus, every kid worked very well on their tasks.

I have another sub assignment this afternoon at a different elementary school. I hope it goes just as well.

Am I overconfident?

I found to great online forums that teachers post about issues, ideas, concerns, and advice. The first one, which I like best, is A to Z Teacher Stuff and the other one is Teacher Focus.

A lot of the substitute and new teachers sound really scared and unsure about abilities. It seems that the majority doesn't seem to have any confidence in themselves. This has made me wonder, "Am I overconfident in my abilities?"

I did have a bit of stress when I subbed last week for the first time, but I didn't question my ability. The last class of the day did get a little bit out of hand, but I kept them from disturbing other classes and the majority of the students did finish their assignment.

I know that I have only subbed two classes so far, but when I read those forums and I can imagine those teachers and subs crying as they write. That's the way it sounds to me. Maybe this is why a bunch of them are also having problems finding jobs. School supervisors, principals, HR reps can tell one someone if confident and when one isn't. I would suspect that they want confident educators in the classrooms and will pass up those that aren't.

I have always been confident in myself even when I was taking on a new task, having to learn new skills. I got myself into situations were I had to finish a task in two under two days and I had no clue what to do. I worked in software development for five years where I was always challenged with new opportunities.

That's the way I see teaching and substituting, new opportunities. I know when I am getting in over my head and I also know what I can accomplish. Teaching will be difficult, I know that. I know that it will take a lot of work. But I also know that I can do it and that I will be great at it.

Reading those forums has helped me a lot. There is some really great information in those forums, but I can also see where my abilities and confidence is greater that a lot of other teachers. Maybe I am too new to teaching and will eventually break down, I hope not. I feel great about what I can do and I want to keep it that way.

Spanish sub for the day

I received two calls this morning to substitute. The first one was that special ed school again. I turned that one down. I didn't want to try that again so soon.

The second call was to teach Spanish Level 1 at a middle school. I happily accepted this assignment because I do speak Spanish and received a minor in Spanish in college.

Well, I was hoping to be able to do a little bit of teaching today, but all I had to do in the class was show a DVD to the students. When I showed up to class, the other Spanish teacher brought in the DVD and said to show that and have the students write 15 facts about the DVD. It was a cultural DVD on Spain. I mentioned to her that I was hoping to do more than that because of my Spanish background. She was very surprised that I knew Spanish that well.

The teacher I was subbing for and this other teacher didn't expect to get a sub that knew Spanish. That's understandable. I'm sure most classes receive subs who have no clue about the topic. I would feel lost if I had to sub an advanced math class.

The other Spanish teacher did ask if I could leave my information with the school so that they could request me again if needed.

Now, here's how my classes went. The first and the last period where the worst. I'm sure that's because in the morning the kids just got to school and haven't been worn down yet, and the last period just wanted to get out of school on a Friday.

I quickly learned in the first period to take control of the class right away. The other Spanish teacher came in for a minute to help quiet the kids down, then I took over. I did very well with the next four periods, until that last one came in. They were very noisy and rowdy during the video. I'm still not sure how to handle those situations. I ended up moving a bunch of kids from their desks to other desks. That helped for a while, but I still have to figure out something else.

I'm sure these kids respect their teachers more than the subs. Otherwise, they are getting away with a lot more than I ever did.

More about todays teaching gig

I still don't know what to think about my substitute teaching today. After a half hour the main teacher (there were four of us) wanted to move me to a different class because his was being very disruptive. When no other class needed any help I was sent home. The main teacher said that it wasn't anything against me, but of course it was or he would have given me other tasks to help with in his classroom.

I think that this teacher wanted someone with special ed experience to be the substitute. There's nothing wrong with that, except that there aren't many substitute teachers with special ed experience.

When I entered his classroom the first thing he asked was what kind of experience I had with this type of classroom. I was honest and said none. You should have seen the look on his face. He was shocked!

As I was leaving, secretary at the front office mentioned that if I wanted to try to this school again that I would definitely get another call. She said that a lot of substitute teachers ask to have this school removed from their substitute school lists after trying for a day.

I told her as long as they didn't mind that I was knew to substitute teaching and new to special ed, then I would give it another try. She mentioned that a lot of the subs that they have never had any experience in this area when they first started.

So I guess I really have no idea why that teacher didn't want me in his class. Its probably something that I can't worry about. Now I just have to decide whether of not I am going to keep this school on my list of schools I can sub at.

Had my first substitute teaching gig today

Last night, while I was at dinner with my family, I received a call from the substitute teaching Hotline. The Hotline said that there was a job available, but unfortunately I didn't have my pin number with me. So I wasn't able to take that job. I was surprised that I had already received a call to substitute so soon after the class on Monday. I guess they really are in dire need of teachers and subs out here.

I thought that because I missed that opportunity last night that it would be a while until I received another one. But to my surprise I got another call this morning. My wife and I didn't sleep much last night and I promised to watch our kid today, so I wasn't looking for a teaching job for today. But I decided to enter my pin number to hear what kind of job was available.

They needed someone to teach Special Ed at a Special Ed School. This sounded way beyond what I could do. Special Ed can be a tough area with young kids. So I was going to decline the job, but accidentally pressed the wrong key on my phone and accepted to be the sub for the class.

At this point, I could either take the class or call up the Substitute Clerk and council. I didn't want to cancel, they needed me there in four hours. So I decided to let my wife sleep in and I took my daughter to her grandparents house. Luckily, my mother-in-law was home and could watch my daughter.

So, after lunch I showed up to the school to teach. At the front office, the first thing they mentioned to me was that this was a special ed school for children with major physical and mental disabilities. They also mentioned that I lot of subs ask to never be sent back there. It was kind of a warning to me about the kids.

Well, I lasted about a half hour. But not by my choice. The class that I was given is the most difficult in the school. There were three other teachers in the class of 12 kids. I was the substitute for the fourth teacher who had to go to an appointment.

My first task was to help one child eat his lunch. What I thought would be easy turned out to be a difficult task. Turns out he doesn't like to eat. I got him to eat fifteen bights, but then he ran off and laid down on the floor. I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Guess they wanted me to pick him up and put him back in his seat. Oh well. One of the other teachers took over that task.

My second task was to take one of the kids that was acting up and a walk. So I held his hand and walked him around the school for about ten minutes. Turns out this happens often with these kids.

The class went on with kids hitting each other and then one started biting another kid. I was told that these kids will sometimes do this when someone new shows up in the class. They are retesting the boundaries.

So the main teacher over the class asked the front office if there was another class I could help out with. Unfortunately, there wasn't. So they told me go home. I was a little upset at this, but I guess this sort of stuff happens. However, they did say that I would still be paid for a whole days work. That was nice of them.

Signed up to become a substitute teacher

I took the substitute teacher training class today. It was a two hour class mostly about policies, a little bit on how to handle the classroom, and more info than necessary on how to use the substitute phone system. We covered things like daily procedures, preventing disruptive behavior, health care emergency, sexual harrassment, substance abuse, and over 30 minutes on how to access that phone system.

The class ended with a pathetic video of the phone system. I just have to mention this because just about everyone was annoyed with the video. Some people even walked out of the training and left. The video looked like it was made by complete amatuers from the 80's. And each time they introduced something new, they had to take you through every step to get all over again. Yes, we get the idea, you have to call the system, put in your pin and all that other crud to get to this new menu!!! Just get on with it and tell us about this new menu!!! After twenty minutes of the video the instructor finally turned it off stating the system is easy to use if you just listen to the different options when calling. Yes, we figured that out after five minutes into the video.

So now I am "qualified" to substitute a class. Actually, there's more to it than that. To get into the class you have to have a bachelors degree or 60 credit hours, or a teachers certificate, or be a retired teacher. There were a lot of retired teachers there. The school district sent letters to all of the recently retired teachers from that district asking them to become substitutes.

I don't know if I have a chance at getting called to substitute a class. There were over 130 people at the training and they have been holding several training classes over the last three months.

I do have one advantage. I'm not currently working and don't have to work while I am in the masters program.

I hope I get a call sometime soon. I need all the experience I can get!

Talked with my local school district about careers

I called up the school district that I live in, which is also the one I would like to work in. I wanted to make sure that I am making the right decision with attending WGU. I just wanted to make sure that they wouldn't look at my degree differently from those that are graduating from universities such as the U or USU.

The HR rep that I talked with said that they don't care what university you go to as long as it is accredited and you receive a teaching license for the State of Utah.

I also asked what the competition is like for jobs in that district. The kind of laughed at that question. Basically, if I had my teaching certificate right now I would probably get a teaching job there.

The district looks at three major items during the interview process. You have to have a Utah teachers licence, of course. You have to have passed the Praxis Content Test. And they look at your teaching evaluations from your student teaching.

That last item, the student teaching evaluations, is the most important. All of my competition are going to have the licence and will have past the Praxis test. So I will have to make myself stand out during my student teaching. I will have to make sure that I am always happy, smiling, teaching and all of that other stuff that I will be learning.

I also asked if they are looking at out-of-state applicants more, because the elementary school by my house just hired several teachers from other states. The district HR rep said they did that because not enough teachers in Utah are applying at this school district.

The HR rep sounded very excited that I getting a masters degree, teachers certificate, and then looking at their school district for employment. They are having a hard time attracting teachers because they just changed their retirement benefits and health benefits. But almost no company or organization is offering benefits like they used to. I'm not worried about that at all, so it looks like my career has a bright future ahead.

What is WGU?

I remember hearing about WGU when I was attending USU. This was about eight to ten years ago. Well, I forgot all them until two months ago. I was searching theInternet for teacher licensure programs in Utah and WGU popped up in my google search. As soon as I looked at their site I became very excited about this opportunity. So, what is WGU? WGU is a unique online university.

The following is from and email I received from the university:

WGU's online, competency-based approach allows you to:

* Earn your degree on your own flexible schedule
* Accelerate your degree by demonstrating knowledge you've already acquired
* Follow a personalized Academic Action Plan
* Work with a faculty mentor to achieve your goals faster
* Learn from faculty and experts using numerous learning resources

WGU was specifically created by the governors of the Western states for busy adults who need to juggle work, family, and school demands. MostWGU students work full time and find it inconvenient or impossible to commute to a college campus because of geographic or time restrictions. The governors of the Western states who supportWGU insist that we produce highly competent graduates and, at that same time, help them obtain their degrees as quickly and affordably as possible.

So how does their competency program work?

WGU has developed sophisticated assessments that students must pass in order to advance through a degree program. By assessments we are talking about tests, assigned performance tasks that students complete at various stages, and sometimes, cumulative projects.WGU degrees are not credit-hour based. Progress is not determined by accumulating credit hours. Your progress is based upon passing required assessments.

Because WGU degrees are competency-based, not credit-hour based, I can speed up the time it takes to obtain my masters degree by clearing the assessments as quickly as I'm ready. I hope to have my degree finished in 18 months. Currently, I am looking at attendingWGU full time.

Check out WGU's "Who We Are" page at their website for more information.

Why go back to School?

After working as a journalist in northern Utah, moving to Denver, CO to work as a technical writer and web developer, oh, and that short time as a car salesman (I'm trying to block that time from memory), I have decided to go back to school to receive my masters degree.

I started my higher education career at Utah State University (USU) majoring in Nutrition with the intent to go onto dental school. That didn't last very long. I hate the sound of dental drills and I decided that the chemistry and biology classes were not my thing. So I switched to an English teaching degree. This area fit me much better. I was very excited until several poeple kept mentioning that there's no money in teaching. Of course I knew that. You don't become a teacher for the money. But after a while, I switched from English Teaching to English with an emphasis in Technical Writing.

My mother was perfectly correct in telling me that there's no money in teaching. I eventually moved up the ranks in the corporate world and made a lot of money. I even started my own company and did very well with that.

But now that I am successful and reached what I think is the American dream, I found an empty spot in my life. I kept looking back at those years where I almost became a teacher. For the last year, I have had this feeling that teaching is where I belong. Throughout my career I never had that feeling about what I was doing at the time. It seemed that I was just floating through life waiting for the next thing to happen. So now I am grabbing life by the horns and creating a destiny that I feel I was chosen for.

I know that probably sounds sappy, but who cares. I want to be a teacher and Western Governors University is going to get me there.