slowing down my mind's rpms

Wow. What is going on!! Things have been crazy this week. I just made a reluctant exit from the world of UTEP as I knew it, and now I'm thrust into a whole new world: Dodge. It's a very exciting world. I've never a school that relied so heavily on the expertise of its teachers; the professional community here is really strong. Monday and Tuesday were dedicated to new teacher orientation, and it was run almost entirely by veteran teachers.

We learned about the values and organization of Dodge as a school. We had two sessions on the balanced literacy framework. We had a session about educating students with special needs. UTEP clearly prepared me well because I had already heard most of what was said in the balanced literacy and special needs sessions. But there were many things about Dodge that surprised me-they run a really tight ship. There is not talking aloud in the hallways, and teachers are not allowed to raise their voices in the hallway. Students are not allowed to leave the classroom without an adult, so if a kid is having an emergency, you have to buzz the office and have someone escort them to the bathroom.

But what really blew my mind was that there is going to be a program called Teacher Advancement Program (TAP). The program is centered heavily around teachers learning about and testing out new instructional practices. Every Tuesday during the schoolday, I'll meet with colleagues in my grade level band and a designated lead teacher to discuss these practices for one hour. Teachers will come into my class to observe and model various techniques. But the craziest thing about it is that the whole program is based around merit pay. If our kids perform well on the ISATs, we'll receive bonuses. I don't know how I feel about this. Ostensibly, this program is designed to help improve our practice, and I think it will. But we're treating kids like money-making opportunities. I can see how this program could get ugly. We'll have to wait and see.

I'm trying to remain calm. On Wednesday my room was finally ready for me to get in there and start arranging it. It's nowhere near where I need it to be. The teacher in that classroom left so much junk. On top of this, I'm running through routines, figuring out what curricula I'll be responsible for, trying to bond with colleagues, etc.........CRAZY! Keeping it to one thing at a time is difficult. But in so many ways, I'm very lucky. I feel a personal connection with the 5th grade teacher who's also new, and the 4/5 split teacher is knowledgable and is willing to collaborate. She's been in my room alot, and it's helped me calm down. Also, in a lot of ways Dodge really has its act together. I got a folder of my kids IEPs and I've been talking to the special needs inclusion teacher, and she seems really good.

My biggest worry thus far is being a contributor to the professional community. I'm the only teacher here who is on their first year. The next lowest person has 3 years of experience. I can tell that the other teachers aren't used to having a new teacher around and they may be a little wary. I can also sense that people want me to volunteer more in PD discussions. I hope they understand that it takes me a while to feel comfortable enough to voice my opinions in large group settings. Plus, I've got so much to think about right now...

I'm going to end this entry here. I have alot more to say, but I need to get back to planning.