Hey there! According to WordPress Insights, about 45% of you are returning visitors. I don’t know who you are, but I’m honored that you’ve chosen to spend some of your valuable time here at Teacher In Exile, and I’d like to tell you a little bit about who I am, what I’m doing here, and what I hope to contribute.
Teaching Raggedy Ann
When I was a kid I played school a lot. I distinctly remember the day I realized my Raggedy Anne doll was my favorite student. Until then I hadn’t much liked her. Yarn for hair? Come on. I’d seen the doll section of the American Girl catalogue.
But then, when I was deep into an impression of my first grade teacher a lesson, pretend Raggedy Anne gave a pretend answer that knocked my socks off. Her response was not only correct, but insightful and impressive. I looked at her with new eyes. I had really taught her something, and (excuse the cliche) she had taught me something too.
Unreality notwithstanding, this was the first time I experienced the thrill of seeing the “lightbulb go off” in a student’s eyes. I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.
Teaching in the Real World
As you probably guessed, my real-world experience was messier, more stressful, and more rewarding. I started out teaching fifth grade reading. I was a reading workshop enthusiast, and was determined to implement workshop right from the start.
I was concerned, but not deterred, when I realized my reading block would be only 80 minutes long. I was concerned, but not deterred, when I learned one day a week would be taken up by a combination of library and computer lab. I was concerned, but not deterred, when I learned I’d have to dedicate one day a week to test prep, starting on week 1.
The next few years were a whirlwind that, if you’re reading this, you’ve likely experienced yourself. The extreme ups, down, and exhaustion associated with teaching are intense. I spent those years overdoing it while feeling like I was always underperforming. You’ve been there too? Yeah, I assumed as much.
But. Though the circumstances were not ideal, the people were wonderful and the challenge forced me to choose between abandoning my commitment to reading workshop, or tailoring my reading workshop to fit my limited time and resources.
I chose the latter.
What I hope to Contribute
When I decided to embrace reading workshop within my limitations I learned to implement what I think of as “real world” reading workshop. There are great and scholarly books about reading workshop that assume you have a 3 hour reading and writing block. I love these books, but I can’t help but notice the chasm between their descriptions of “typical classrooms” and my experience in a typical classroom. So what do I hope to contribute to the conversation?
I would like to make reading workshop more doable for the typical classroom teacher. So you don’t have 3 hours a day to teach reading? Okay, you can still do reading workshop. Sure it won’t look the same or get the same results as a 3-hour workshop, but it’ll still benefit your students. There are ways to prioritize and modify reading workshop to make it work for you.
I would like to do some grunt work for you. Right now I’m at home most of the day raising my two kids, but I’d like to stay connected to the world of education. A part of me is a teacher, and while I don’t have any students right now, I do have the ability to create lessons and activities that might benefit your students. You (working teacher) probably don’t have time to do extensive planning, because you’re doing so much face to face teaching. Right now, I do have that time. I’d like to share it with you.
I would like to be a resource for continued learning. How can a no-longer-classroom-teacher help a current-classroom-teacher sharpen her teaching skills? Well, fair question. One thing I remember about teaching is I had little time for my own professional reading. I was interested in growing through reading, I just didn’t have much time. I’d like to help you learn new things, remember old things, and just share books with you. You may not have time to scroll through professional articles or books, much less read them. But again, I do have that time, and I’d love to send those resources your way.
My Hope for Teacher In Exile
I hope Teacher In Exile is place that provides inspiring, thought-provoking, and burden-lifting resources. I hope the work I do from 1:00-3:00 each day as my children nap will benefit your students tomorrow morning, or next week or next year. I hope this is a place where you can work out how to be a really good teacher in a really real world.
Again, thanks for spending some of your time here–I’m truly honored. If ever you have comments, requests, eyerolls, don’t be shy about commenting or chatting on Instagram. I’d love to know who you are, what you’re interested in, and how I can help you on your teaching journey.
–Janille
