Thank You, Wasatch Jr. High

This is also a little overdue, but I wanted to write down my experience and 5 things I learned during my 4 1/2 years of teaching.  My major, Family & Consumer Science, is an education major.  Up at BYU-Idaho, people called it the MRS. degree meaning that it was the major girls took in preparation to getting married and becoming a wife and mother.  I didn't necessarily go into that major for that reason, but I knew that what I would learn would be helpful.  I took it because I was interested in those subjects, such as cooking, sewing, money management, child care, interior design, etc.  Since it's an education major, you do have to student teach to graduate, but most people I graduated with didn't become teachers.  Some students were already married so they became moms pretty quickly and others went on to study something else.

Bulletin I made advertising our major.

My student teaching experience was actually pretty horrible.  I decided to go to Vegas as I thought it would be a fun experience, although my experience was just the opposite.  The environment in Vegas was difficult to handle, especially being just out of college.  I had an awful cooperating teacher, who did nothing to teach me anything about teaching.  She would leave me on my own quite often without any help on how to prepare lessons and then get upset at me for how poor my lessons went.  I would cry almost everyday after teaching because it was so draining.  I passed, but I went back home to Missouri thinking that maybe teaching just wasn't for me.  I was about ready to put in papers to just substitute teach when I got a call from a friend, Teresa, from college.  She had student taught at a school in Utah and the school was looking for a part-time teacher.  My friend had gotten a job somewhere else and told the school about me.  I did an interview over the phone with them and left for Utah a few days later to teach part-time at Wasatch Jr. High.

I have to say that I really wasn't prepared to teach that quickly after graduating.  I just finished a student teaching experience that really wasn't that beneficial.  Jodelle was great though at teaching me and letting me use whatever she had to prepare lesson plans; something my cooperating teacher didn't do.  I started halfway through the year and it was a rough start.  My first two years were actually pretty rough.  Teaching is something that doesn't come naturally to me.  I really have to work hard at it.  My principal was nice, but really didn't do much to help me grow as a teacher.

Of course you can make a giant cinnamon roll instead of following my rules and making smaller ones!

I would love for you to make me a cake instead of being in class because it's for me and my boyfriend! How nice!

It wasn't until we got a new principal that I really changed my teaching methods.  This principal was definitely more strict at how things were done.  Other teachers were struggling as the old principal was more relaxed, but I actually enjoyed finally having some structure.  Because she was more strict, she didn't approve of my teaching methods and put me on probation.  It was definitely an emotional time and I had to really work hard for a month to prove I could do it. 

Check out this shoebox room display!

What an awesome critical thinking poster Mrs. Fletcher. Your kids are great!

I had so much support from Jodelle, the other teachers and Scott which brings me to my first lesson learned.

     1. Teachers really do support and stick together.  I was surprised at how much support I got during my "probation".  There were certain teachers that I knew better than others and even the ones I didn't know as well showed me their support.  There were many other times that I felt love from fellow teachers.  I am truly grateful for them and they are the ones I will miss the most.

     2. In the beginning, I was a little soft and tried to be the student's friend more than teacher.  I learned that it's okay to be "tough" and "mean".  Just like a parent, being a friend is not enough and a student will learn better when they are disciplined and have consequences for their actions.  I noticed my classroom management greatly improved when I enforce discipline into my classroom.

     3. Just like anyone else, students like it when you are yourself.  You can only keep up a teacher persona for so long.  You need to incorporate some of you into teaching.  Even if you do or say "embarrassing" things to the students, they do appreciate you being real.

     4. Preparation is key!  I noticed that once I started putting more effort into being prepared that my lessons would go more smoothly and efficiently.  It was not only helpful to me, but to Jodelle whenever we shared lessons.

     5.  You have to enjoy it for it to make any sort of difference in your life.  Once I got down the type of teacher I wanted to be, teaching became enjoyable and made it easier for me to connect with the students. 

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to teach and have a career for 4 1/2 years.  I know some people graduate and either don't know what to do with their major, can't get a job or become a mom right away and don't have the opportunity to get a job with their major.  I am glad I had the opportunity to teach before having children.  I received my tenure which makes it easier for me to return to teaching whenever I would like.  I like having a job that I know I can do as a back-up in case of emergency.  I know that being a mom to Kylie is the job I want to have right now, but it is nice to know that I could teach later on if I wanted to.

There is no doubt that I learned way more than 5 things while teaching, but these are some main ones that come to mind.  Honestly, I wouldn't have lasted 4 1/2 years without Jodelle (and the rest of the staff) and Scott believing in me.  So many times I put myself down, telling myself I was not an adequate teacher.  Sometimes it was Scott or Jodelle bringing me back up, but receiving a thank you note from a student is really what made me realize that I was doing something right.

There were definitely a lot of ups and downs during those 4 1/2 years, but I wouldn't trade the experiences I had for anything.  I loved being able to share my life with students and co-workers.  They supported me dating Scott, witnessed me getting engaged, shared joy in my marriage, were ecstatic when I became pregnant, and loved Kylie as if she was their own.  Thank you Wasatch Jr. High for an unforgettable 4 1/2 years.