Training happens

Training is going ok I guess. I don't feel helped much though. We started working on lesson planning and stuff and I got a really good start to it all, but I feel like I just don't know where to go now. Saying create a lesson plan is just not very helpful. I need more guidance.

For example, right now I'm working on my unit plans for next year. I decided to start off with the 7th grade plans because those students start from scratch so I can more or less teach them what I want. They haven't learned anything yet so I don't have to worry about teaching them something they already know, with the exception of any native speakers I might have. But, what do I teach them? How much can they learn? How do I know what I should do? I am just confused. It's pretty daunting to me. I have the curriculum map that the old teacher left behind, but the order she went in is confusing to me and I don't know how to alter it without doing too much. It seems like she taught them an average of 6 things per unit, but those 6 things were spread out over two months of instruction, which is close to 16 lessons. Is that weird? Did she spend some days reviewing? I don't get what to do, I need help!

On a nice note I passed my CST, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. Annoyingly enough they sent my score report to my old apartment and I'll probably never see it again. I'm going to have to pay 10 bucks or something to have them send another one. That's what I get for being lazy. But not really, I went on the website to try to change my address about a week prior to the score posting, but it's completely unhelpful and I just don't have time in the day to call the stupid NY State teaching certification exam people, who I'm sure are only open when I'm in training anyway. Bastards.

I don't like the font that the blog gives me as standard, but I can never remember which way does look good and I'd prefer to have a uniform looking blog I think.

Oh, some people came here looking for welcoming event, so I'll just say it was about half as inspiring as it could have been. Mostly because half the time was spent listening to department talking heads saying how great it is that we are joining this noble profession. How about if instead taking the day off to tell 1700 some new semi-qualified teachers how great it is that they are joining such a noble profession, you support working teachers so they all stop quitting? I don't mean to sound ungrateful because this is probably the only way I would have become a teacher, but really, I'm still going to suck this year and probably next year and those kids are going to lose out because of it. And if, god forbid, I have some sort of a child in the future, it's very unlikely that I'll be able to continue teaching unless whoever I am raising said hypothetical child with, has a much better paying job than mine. Or you know, if I one day decided to move to a neighborhood that's not unsafe or less than an hour and a half commute from work. That's much more likely than the baby scenario.

I wish I posted more. I think if I didn't feel like the teaching fellows program spent so many hours a day wasting my time I would be more inclined to write here. Only two/three more weeks though(two in my horrible methods of teaching class, three in my summer student teacher training site.) I'll have to write about my student teaching next time too. Maybe I'll post again soon about that. I have lots to say. Until then.