Tag: second year teacher

Cheers To Us

Cheers To Us

by suzannamoberg ♥ 2 Comments

Would you look at that! Another day, another blog post starting with an apology for my seven-month-long blog hiatus!

If I were following my usual blog post template, this paragraph would start with my generic explanation of how crazy life has been, how busy I’ve been, and why I’ve been neglecting to post for a while.

And while that is true, life has been crazy and I have been busy, I’m feeling a little wild today, so let’s skip that part 😉

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Instead, we’ll jump right to the 7-month recap. From November to May, here’s all you need to know: I DID IT.

I finished my second year of teaching.

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It actually feels surreal to say that – I can’t believe it!

These last two years have been the hardest years of my life. I realize that sounds dramatic, and in some ways it maybe is, but truly. I have never cried, stressed, doubted myself, or panicked more than I did this last two years.

In two years, I:

  • taught all online classes for a semester
  • taught hybrid classes for a semester
  • taught wearing a mask for 1.5 years
  • taught a class of 30 students who didn’t speak the same language as I do
  • taught classes outside my content area
  • taught classes of upwards of 40 students at a time
  • broke up countless fights
  • busted countless drug deals and smoking sessions in class and in the bathrooms
  • confiscated countless lighters (especially after they were used to light another student’s pants on fire)
  • had students pierce each other’s ears during class
  • cleaned up boxes worth of condoms that were thrown like confetti around the room
  • repeatedly reshelved books after they had been thrown at me and other students
  • purchased new AirPods after some students stole mine
  • discovered that THC now comes in chip form

And more! A dear friend of mine suggested I write a memoir with all my bizarre stories – stayed tuned for that to hit shelves soon 😉

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I couldn’t have done it without my amazing support system.

I am so thankful:

  • for my team and the other teachers on my hallway for letting me cry, for letting me bombard them with questions, and for being there for me to rant and laugh and eat way too much candy with!
  • for my family and amazing friends who picked me up, brushed me off, and told me I could do it. You were right. Sorry I didn’t believe you. Thanks for believing enough for both of us.
  • for my students. They taught me so much. I can only hope I passed some of that knowledge on to them.

And if, by chance, this blog post reaches another young teacher who is feeling overwhelmed and defeated, please reach out. You are amazing and you are not alone. Teaching can and should be an amazing and rewarding experience. Let’s work together to achieve that experience together.

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Enough looking back! Now, I look forward to what comes next. I’m moving a little farther south and starting my next adventure at a new school this fall. I know teaching isn’t easy (I never expected it to be) but I’m really looking forward to new and different challenges that maybe don’t push me so close to my breaking point 😉

As I prepare for next school year, I’m celebrating my success (and survival!) with the “Summer of Suz” – I have decided that I will absolutely be living my best life this summer! I started with a week-long trip to visit my sister on the island of St. Maarten. I hope these pictures bring you almost as much joy as this trip brought me.

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I can’t wait to have you join me on my summer adventures! I plan to read a lot, travel a lot, and relax a lot.

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Cheers to you for reading, cheers to me for making it through, and cheers to us that this blog post brought us together! Thankful for you all.  

Always Plan in Pencil

Always Plan in Pencil

by suzannamoberg ♥ 4 Comments

Ah, the age old question of how to start a blog post after an almost six month hiatus. I think the answer is don’t take said hiatus…well, now I know for next time?! 😉

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This blog post has been in the making for half of that break. I took summer to travel, spend quality time with family and friends, and relax after the craziness that was my first year of teaching.

Sitting down to write this post (which, let’s be honest, has been less “sit down and write” and more “I have an idea for a blog post better jot it down in my notes app”) had me thinking a little more about my “goals” for this blog.

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When I first started this platform, my mind ran with the possibilities. I thought I could share fun stories, lesson plans, classroom management strategies, and teacher tips. In theory, all of my stories and posts could help struggling college students who need ELA ideas for lesson plans and new teachers, like myself, who want to make their English classroom engaging and fun.

I looked over all the notes I’ve been taking in my six months off (and trust me, there are lots), and I realized none of those potential posts fit the “ideal blog” space I’d created in my head. It wasn’t positive and uplifting stories. There were no great lesson plans that revolutionized the art of teaching ELA. I had no great classroom management strategies or teacher tips for engagement or relationship building.

Instead, my potential posts felt more like cries for help. Begging for ideas, suggestions, strength, and relief.

How? How, only three months into year number two, am I already feeling so broken?

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I think the main reason for my long break is that I wasn’t ready to admit that my journey as a teacher hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. In fact, in my darkest moments, it’s been hard to see any sunshine or imagine the possibility of a rainbow.

It’s been so easy to see other teachers post on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok about the great things happening in their classroom. It’s been so easy to compare myself and my classroom to those pictures and feel disheartened that I’m not having that same experience.

I don’t want this blog to turn into a sob story. A space for one very stressed new teacher to complain and whine.

I do think, however, that it’s important to be honest about my experience. If ever this post comes across the feed of another young, stressed teacher, I want him/her/them to know they aren’t alone – even if it feels like it.

In case ^ they come across this post, here are the two pieces of advice I feel qualified to give at this point in my teaching journey:

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1. When it comes to teaching, always plan in pencil.

Here’s what I mean:

– don’t shell out the few extra dollars for the personalized planner with each class printed at the top of page. While cute and, at the time, practical, you never know if your schedule will get changed the week before classes start (or the first day of professional development before classes start). Taking an extra minute to hand-write your classes on the page looks and feels better than having to cross out the printed class to write the new one over it. Always plan in pencil.

– when an activity you spent hours planning and prepping crashes and burns (or your students just refuse to even begin the project), it’s easier to go back and redo your unit if you can just erase the initial ideas in the planner and start over. Always plan in pencil.

– if, after three months, your classroom management strategies still aren’t working, it’s easier to brainstorm new ideas and adjust the policies and procedures if you can go back to the master plan in your notebook and erase (plus, sometimes all that erasing can be therapeutic). Always plan in pencil.

2. When it comes to you, always plan in Sharpie.

And I mean those *huge* Sharpies that you’d use on a poster. Outline it, underline it, go over it twice, and use lots of colors.

– YOU are more important than pencil marks in a planner.

– YOU are more important than crashed lesson plans or units that change every day.

– YOU are more important than students who challenge you and push you to your limits.

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In the last year, my plans and goals for this blog have shifted and changed, and I’m sure that they will every year as I learn and grow as a teacher. For this blog, I will plan in pencil.

In the last year, my plans and goals for myself as a teacher have shifted and changed. But my value and importance as a person have stayed rock solid. I am important. I am worthy. And I am meant to be a teacher. For myself, I will write in Sharpie.