3rd Grade

I taught 3rd grade this summer. It was really wonderful. Third grade is just a great grade to teach. The kids are still cute and enthusiastic learners. One of my girls would give me a new name every morning based on the outfit I had on that day. She was so cute and creative. I loved hearing what she would come up with. A couple of my names were Ms. Sailboat (I was wearing blue and white -- it's really pretty amazing that she would pick up on this since her exposure to a sailboat I can almost gaurantee is null), Ms. Funeral (I was wearing black and dark purple), and I really wish I could remember more. This same girl was an incredible writer. I loved reading her work. This is a picture of Sierra hugging Lance. Lance probably reads at an 8th grade level. I told Sierra on the first day that one of my best friend's names is Sierra. She loved it.
The kids -- running on the second to last day of school bounce off the wall energy.
After my students "tracked out" (most schools in Vegas are year round schools, so they have different "tracks") I had to go into another 3rd grade class just to hang out, basically. There was another teacher still in there. This is a picture of me and John who is the son of the teacher whose class I was in. John is in 5th grade and is the class President. His fro is AMAZING.

I think Marshawn was absent on this day. Marshawn is a 4th grader I tutored in reading over the winter and spring. Marshawn and I would plan to have matching Transformer tatoos on some days.

While I don't plan on teaching in the traditional school setting, I am really grateful for the experience and training I've received in this area. The education system is such a difficult one to be in - especially at this time. While I know all school systems have the same problems, I think Vegas sees these difficulties at a heightened degree. It's just not a place that values education and for this reason any educated people who end up here realize relatively soon that they need to leave; so it's a transient place with high teacher turn-over. It's unfortunate that this is the case, because, of course, there needs to be good teachers here and everywhere.

I love kids and I love learning. I love being in this field. And with that, I'm off to read John Dewey's Experience and Education or my Educational Research text, or Schooling Around the World. Does the reading never end?? It really doesn't. I have SO much I have to read, but also so much I want to read. I wish I could take off a whole summer to read, or something.