Learning curves, Kindergarten style

Hello! This and the forthcoming posts are a dramatically different approach to teaching that I was experiencing four years ago at this time.  Four years ago, I was juggling five grades, in a culture I knew nothing about, with very little constructive feedback that was useful.  I left feeling bitter about teaching but not yet ready to give up.  After all, I had started my master's program at SPU and figured that continuing to learn would give me a shot at landing my dream job.  It took four years but I think I have landed my dream job.  Though kindergarten is not a grade I would have told you I would voluntarily teach, it seems it was the job that I needed to break though and gain the experiences I have been craving.  I am finally putting all that conceptual, textbook knowledge to good use.  Further I actually see the impact of an effectively run professional community looks like.  I did not know what a professional community looked like as a participant.  As a sub and a student at SPU I gained all sorts of factoids and concrete data about what works in a school, what doesn't work, and the many types of professional structures that can exist in a school.  I'm experiences it and it is a thousand times better than reading about it.  When you read about something, you tend to think, "awwww, that's nice," or "sounds good in theory but what about practice?" There is no reading and doubting here.  It's real.

 In the first two weeks of my job I have set goals, attained them, critiqued them, reflected upon myself as a teacher and the skills I have and need to learn.  A huge factor in this is the fact that I have a mentor who I work with on a weekly basis, who helps me by walking me through the evaluation process, providing feedback, and answering my questions (about anything!!).  The second critical factor is that I have a principal who wants to be in my classroom!! This is one of those conceptual things that I knew was supposed to happen but had never experienced it knowing I would get feedback that would help me improve.  It's amazing to come out of a meeting with my principal feeling as though I am not failing as a teacher and that it's absolutely okay to not be perfect at everything.  I was also told I am very intuitive towards what I need to learn and the amount of reflection I can provide about myself and teaching is incredible.  (Thanks SPU!) I thank SPU because my entire program consisted of reflecting upon myself as a teacher and my teaching experiences.

My principal is also a hoot. She is hilarious.  She is also one of the most straightforward, honest, and caring people I have met.  She truly wants me to succeed as a kindergarten teacher.  Even when she hired me, she told me that she knew my experience was not in kindergarten and that she would provide the support I needed to scaffold my knowledge of kindergarten instruction.  In my feedback today, she reiterated that she is keeping my learning curve in mind.  It's incredible.  I cannot say that enough.  To finally have a professional community where rambling on and on about teaching is acceptable and you feel supported and welcomed is the most amazing thing ever.