The School Sitch...

Dad really wants to know about this sort of stuff, so I'm dedicated this school post to him. (He wants updates on the classroom, my schedule, my students, etc.)

Woot! I have my own classroom!

View walking in the door,
towards the back of the room

Though many people were frustrated that it took the administration so long to figure out my room situation, I really appreciate the way the timeline has played out since my arrival here in China.

Welcome to Room A310...

 Since I was a late-hire for the school, getting started and settled looks a lot different now from how it might've been if I had come in the summer, before the school year had begun.

• Week one: arrive, do paperwork and get logistical things set up (i.e. bank account, medical, insurance, cell phone, etc.)
• Week two: settle into apartment, nesting, exploring Beilun/Ningbo area, and adjusting to the culture
• Week three: begin teaching, get to know students, lesson plan, feel things out academically.
• Week four: move in a new classroom, settle in and organize, work out kinks in the my teaching system, make the place my own. It was sort of nice to take time to see how other

View from the back, looking towards the front
(my desk is to the left from where
this photo is being taken)

Doing these things in stages really has helped me manage my stress and take everything step by step.

I've been in my own classroom four full school days now. I'll put up more photos later, when I'm a little more settled in (i.e. posters are up on the wall, tables rearranged, desk tidied, etc.). The classroom isn't really my own yet. But here are some photos for now.

I have 12 students in total: three 6th graders, five 7th graders, one 8th grader, and three 10th graders. Which doesn't sound like many. But when you take into consideration that these students are from all over (though mine this semester are predominantly Asian--Korean, Chinese, Japan), the differentiated learning that needs to be planned in the classroom to cater to all the different levels is quite complex. That makes for a lot of planning time.

I teach in the mornings, and have the afternoons to lesson plan and get other school stuff done. Which makes setting goals and getting things done during the school day very manageable. If not everything gets finished, oh well. I leave my school stuff at school. (I'm quite proud of myself and not bringing work home. Setting boundaries between work and personal life! Yeah!)

Messy panoramic of my room, windows to my back. Hopefully you'll get the idea.

Anecdotal school story to end this post:

Last week Wednesday was Mustache Day for AIAN’s Spirit Week. When I asked my class of 7^th grade “Elves” (English Language Learners (ELL) students) why they weren’t wearing mustaches, two of the boys pointed to their upper lips, protesting, “We DO have mustaches!” Alright, alright. I looked to the only girl in the class and asked, “What’s your excuse?” To which she replied, “They’re gross.” Amen, sister.