Get Your Head Out of It

Around this time of year a lot of people tend to think that teachers have the sweetest job around. Three months off? Who wouldn't want that job?! Sadly for them, it's not that simple. First of all, it's not three months, but two months. Secondly, while some teachers do use most of the time for leisure, most are working at least part time during the summer, either taking on a part-time job, working on their own professional development as a teacher, debriefing the year and planning for the following year or a combination of all these things.

As the past week has been the first week of the summer, most teachers have hardly detached themselves from the classroom yet. This is probably especially true for the first-year teachers. Last year during the first two weeks of summer I simply had to recover. By the last day of school it's as if a freight train knocked you down, a stampede of bison ran right over you and then some jerk burned you on your forehead with a cigarette. You have little clue as to what happened and your head is spinning so hard that you're nauseous. Personally, I was in a horrible state of disrepair having not exercised in months, lacking sleep and having pushed myself to the breaking point time and again throughout the year. It was the first time in my life where I agreed that a long break was the best thing I could do in order to improve myself and support my career.

If you're a first year, you should take the next couple weeks off entirely. Go on vacation with what little money you may have saved or simply sleep in every day. Do what you need to in order to get out of the school mindset. This is important for a variety of reasons, but a short list is: it will help prevent burnout; you probably need to recover some of your previous health; and, in order to improve as much as possible next year you need to approach it with a clear head, willing to change things in your classroom. The latter is especially important if you intend to teach next year and thereafter.

After you've had that time off, we can talk about what needs to be done this summer (from a post-second year's perspective) in order to make next year a good one.

Today's Wine: 2008 Marotti Campi Luzano. This is an Italian white made from Verdicchio grapes. It's floral up front, smooth and citric on the palate. It was another of the case assembled by the New York Wine Club.

Mid-Winter Break

In NYC teachers and students are given a winter break, mid-winter break and a spring break. The instructional days surrounding these breaks are especially important for a number of reasons. They may well be the most productive instructional days of the year and for that reason they should be well-prepared for. This week has been February break, which can allow for two important things to occur: resting for the coming period in which there are no long weekends and preparing curriculum, procedures and your classroom for a productive spring.

The first thing you should do over break is use it for what it is intended to be: a break. Instead of stressing out the entire break and only getting a few of the big things on my plate accomplished, the past five days I've been cooking, taking advantage of Restaurant Week (which was extended for a few weeks to help boost sales throughout the city), spending time with friends in the city and procrastinating on anything work-related. This has allowed me to catch up on sleep, get in some exercise and improve my health before I continue to douse myself with coffee to make it through my work days operating once more on around five and a half hour sleep regimen.

The reason it's important to prepare for the coming weeks is that they are nearly uninterrupted weeks of instructional days. We have five weeks between now and spring break. From spring break to the end of the year there are eight weeks that are interrupted only for state exams and Memorial Day, which were less disruptive last year than all of the random days off in the fall. Also, at this point in the year you and your students probably know one another fairly well. It's more than half-way through the year now. They most likely know what to generally expect of you and you know what you can generally do with them. Drastic changes on either side are, while perhaps desirable, not as likely. Take what you have built, however large, and work with it. Move forward as best you can, still working to improve, but having a more realistic goal as to what you and your students can accomplish by the end of June. The solid weeks of instruction will work to your advantage, as they will in themselves give more of a routine than November, December, January, and February to this point have offered. If you're still struggling with routines, this is an opportunity to take another look at them.

Tonight I'm jumping back on the horse to get a few things done before my parents get into town tomorrow night. After they've headed back to the Midwest I'll have about a day left of break to get my act together for Monday- the beginning of this productive spring period. Luckily I already have the next couple weeks mapped out. If you've been working like mad this week to get things planned for your classes after break, take the next couple of days to really separate yourself from that work and relax. Come back to it on the weekend and make sure you're prepared for five long weeks that are full of potential.


Today's Wine: Cudgee Creek Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. Something I've found a bit challenging is getting reviews on newer vintages. The link above is the 2006 vintage of this wine. To me it was another Australian wine that was incredibly fruity and not what I think of as a Cabernet. It was fine though with the white wine/duck cream sauce I served it with, which might have been over-powered by a drier or fuller-bodied red.

Leaving it At School

My first year changed me. It made me so angry. I was angry all the time. It was directed at the students, at myself, at my girlfriend, at strangers and at the world. Last year I'd go home after a tough day (most days) and bring everything negative with me. Thoughts of misbehaving students would plague my mind late into the night and I would get visibly and verbally pissed trying to pull down a lesson plan for the following day. Doing that made life unnecessarily terrible sometimes and certainly affected how effective I was in the classroom.

By the end of the year I felt as though my general disposition had shifted to something that I certainly didn't want it to be. I was pissed at the school of education, at my students, at myself and at pretty much the entire world for allowing such an impossible job to exist for a rookie teacher. The whole thing sort of built up on top of itself until I was edgy, impatient, and irritable.

You'll see a lot of older teachers in the field angry and bitter with years of nonsense, unrealistic expectations, and unruly students (among other things). I'd imagine the outlook also comes from years of a grinding realization that you can never do enough- that as much as we try, students do fall through the cracks and criticism of the profession from all corners of society is increasing. Whether that's the case or not, the feeling I had wasn't so deeply rooted, but was instead a reaction to one really bad year in the field.

The fact that this year has been better than the last has helped me to release some of the negative feelings I was harboring. Even after the worst day this year I can leave it at school, go home and do what needs to be done without freaking out about miscreant children. Whether I've become more used to the biz, better at controlling my temper, both or something else,I'm better able to leave school with a clear head, relax and get things done at home. It also helps to know that at the end of the day- at the end of the year- things are going to be just fine. Last year I didn't know that was going to be the case.

Today's Wine: Duck Walk Vineyards Boysenberry Fruit Wine. We picked this one up on one of the wine tours we did on Long Island last year. It's tart, not too sweet and pretty great after a meal. I don't think it's widely distributed in stores, but I would recommend visiting the winery if you're ever at the other end of Long Island.

Sunday Nights

Sunday nights are the cause for a lot of anxiety for teachers. In spite of how exhausted I was last year, I would lay on my cheap futon mattress in my bomb-shelter apartment and stare at the ceiling while my stomach turned. All of the things I still needed to do and all of the things that might possibly go wrong again in the coming week ran through my head like a newsreel. Because of that Sunday nights were one of the worst times of the week. My reaction to them was pretty mild, however, compared to what some teachers experience.

A colleague that worked with us last year (and has moved on to become a principal) was talking to me about how much she likes our administration. The topic of Sunday nights came up during this chat. She said that in a different position, one she didn't enjoy, she became physically ill every Sunday, dreading the week ahead. Her job was so terrible that she'd throw up! In our school last year she was one of the most respected teachers, both by staff and students.

Another colleague of mine last year admitted that every Sunday night she couldn't fall asleep on Sundays. She cried in her bed and waited for Monday and another whole week to start. This is a pretty well-balanced person who has since been very successful in the classroom. She boosts test scores while teaching students things they actually need to be successful in school and out of school. In short, she's a great teacher, but it certainly took at least that first year to get there.

Sunday's are probably stressful in any field. During your first year in the classroom, going into a full week after working all weekend to prepare for it can be pretty nerve-racking. Taking Sunday evenings off can help you get your mind off of school and get some sleep. As much as you want to feel prepared, being slightly less prepared (not unprepared) and on point with enough rest will be more useful in the classroom than being very prepared and exhausted.

Today's Wine: 2008 Terranoble Merlot. The problem I have with a lot of Merlots, especially the ones within my price range, is that they taste almost syrupy. They're not sweet, but the mouth feel is pretty thick. This one is a bit lighter, still fruity and not acidic. Pretty easy drinking. The sale, however, was that the sign at the liquor store read "A Terrifyingly Delicious Wine." How could you not buy it?

Missing Home

At this time last year I experienced something that I'd never experienced before in my life: homesickness. When I was growing up I starting going to camp for two weeks during the summer every year at the age of ten; I studied abroad in Europe for three months; I lived in Brooklyn for a summer and I student-taught over seas as well. Never in all that time did I feel much of a desire to head back home. Perhaps it was because I knew I hadn't left for good.

Last year what I was feeling around this time seemed inexplicable. Although I had a few friends in the city, I had buried myself in my work and holed up in my bunker-apartment in Queens. The sun started going down earlier and coming up later. I was arriving at school just before seven and leaving at six o'clock, saw no sun and really had no social life. On the weekends I stayed in trying to figure out how to make things better at school. In short, my job was consuming me and I wasn't very happy about it, though I wouldn't have said it outright at the time.

Two other first year teachers at my school took weekends last fall to go back to their home states and see their family. While I didn't have the cash for the plane ticket, it certainly would have done some good. Getting back into a familiar element away from the front lines is certainly good for the nerves. At the very least it helps you to remember the confidence and drive you left home with, if not regain some of it.

Today's Wine: The Shiraz pumped from my post on the 1st.

Here's to Cultural Sensitivity

Today New York City public schools get the day off for Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews. There is such a large Jewish population in New York and there are so many Jewish teachers in the public schools that the city has to recognize the holiday, or there wouldn't be enough subs to go around. Back in Kansas there are many fewer Jewish residents, so few in fact that when I was growing up I hardly realized that things such as antisemitism still existed, as I didn't realize there were sizable Jewish populations left in the U.S. While I can't be certain, I don't think a single one of my students is Jewish. There's also no way I can be certain their knowledge of the holiday, but I would guess that it's pretty minimal.

Today I'm taking the time to run errands and relax a bit. While still getting a few things done, it's important to take time out when it's given to you even at this point in the year. One nice thing about getting the federal holidays and the Jewish holidays off is that you get to run around and enjoy the lunch specials in the city that people with other jobs often get to take advantage on a daily basis. I'd like to chalk this one up to getting to know the city a bit better and thereby improving my ability to teach "local culture."

Today's Wine: Jelu Malbec 2005. This is a decent red, but you can probably get a better Malbec for the same amount of money.

Quiet Before the Storm- Put on Your Game Face

Teaching in the city is a lot like being on a tropical island. It can be the most pleasant thing you can imagine or you can feel like you're in the middle of a hurricane. Sometimes this transgression happens in one day even. Imagine laying in a hammock with a margarita in the late morning, sipping away and watching the waves crash against the shore. Thirty minutes later a tidal wave rips through your little resort and leaves face-down and/or buried in the sand.

The difference between a desert island and the classroom is that often times the storm can be prevented or at the very least redirected.

This weekend is the last of the summer for NYC teachers. Many are out grilling during the holiday, or have traveled to some out of the way place. Most are preparing for the first week of school, whether that means gathering materials, planning curriculum or getting your game face on.

It's very difficult to know what your game face is, however, if you've never played the game. Last year during the few days before school new teachers were required to report before the rest of the staff, our principal tried to make us put on different faces. While I'm not sure how effective it was in teaching us what a game face is, I understand why she did it- if you can't look stern and serious, the students will not take you as such. While we all want to be respected and regarding for what we think and say, students don't necessarily think that way.

Like any major undertaking, you need to prepare mentally for the classroom in addition to finding your game face. You also need to relax before things get heavy and the work load skyrockets to eighty or ninety hours per week, up from however many you were working during the summer. Even with my thesis, writing an article and other little projects in the field, I didn't make it to a forty hour work week this summer. Aside from that, you get a bit rusty if you're not in front of students for two months.

The point in doing these things is to make sure you hit the ground running at the beginning of the school year. Students need to know you mean business- that you're calm, collected and have a handle on teaching. If you're green and nervous, they can sense it. Cool and calm, they can tell you've done it before and that you're not joking around. While the latter won't necessarily mean they'll never act out, it often-times gives you a couple of days to set up expectations as to how you run the show in the classroom. If you've been told anything about the first year, you've heard that the first week is crucial. That's true.

Today's Wine: Louis Martini Cabernet. This is an old favorite of mine, as we served it a the restaurant back in Kansas. It was one of the most expensive glass of wine we sold, so of course I recommended it to everyone. I suppose I just didn't break the habit.