Meet the {Student} Teacher

So this is a day late and I have no good excuse. Oops! Either way, I am very excited about this link up for Teacher Week '13 at Blog Hoppin'. 

Not only do I get to share a little about myself, but I am eager to hear more from other awesome bloggers on the topics for this week. Check out the linky party to see all the up coming topics for the week! 

Day 1 is was All About Me! 
So here are 10 facts to introduce the {Student} Teacher!

.1. I married my high school sweet heart. We met at 16, dated for 6.5 years and then this January we tied the knot! I definitely have been blessed having met Stephen so young but after 7 years together now, I know that he came into my life at that time for reason. 

.2. I am a very indecisive person. I always want to look at all the options and try to determine the pros and cons before making a decision. 

.3. I am cheep when it comes to clothing. Thrift shopping might be popular now because of Macklemore but I've been doing it for years!

.4. I love sting rays! On a trip to SeaWorld when I was younger, I had my first chance to feed some sting rays and have loved them ever since. On our honeymoon I got to go swimming with them in the Caribbean ocean! It was amazing!

.5. I'm not a natural red head! You may have guessed this if you've noticed I am blonde on my "Who Am I?" page. After my wedding and graduation ceremony, I decided I wanted a drastic change since I have always been blonde.
.6. I collect souvenir squished pennies from places I've visited or places friends and families have gotten them for me. I have just over 100 and can recall when I got most of them and from whom. 
.7.  My favorite children's books are the If You Give a series by Laura Numeroff. My absolute favorite is If You Give a Pig a Pancake is my absolute favorite children’s book. 
.8. I am a University of Idaho Vandal!
.9. I am allergic to pineapple. It isn't as terrible as other allergies though. It really only impacts my drink choices, pizza toppings, and stops me from enjoying fruit platters.

.10. I am 38 days away from my first 5k! This is a big deal for me as I gave up working out once I started college and only started up again this summer. 

Day 2 is Classroom Desk Tour!

Well, I can’t very well give you a tour of my classroom when I don’t yet have access to my mentor teacher’s classroom. I guess since I work for the district I could sneak into the building and snap a few pictures… and I am a little temped to do that… but I really shouldn't  Instead, I thought I would give a glimpse of what it’s like working in a school district office. 

What do I do? 
I work for an average size school district in the Seattle area. Our district is made up of 14 elementary schools, 3 Middle Schools, 3 General High Schools, 5 specialty schools offering unique learning experiences. My senior year of high school, I got an after school job as a student aide in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) department, formerly Career and Life Skills Education. After graduation, they promoted me to a Classified Substitute position and I worked full time during summer vacation and holiday breaks. Though I am a sub and can work in almost any department, I work primarily in CTE., I basically fulfill the role of Assistant to the Administrative Assistant.

Since this is my fifth summer with the district, I have a pretty routine schedule of tasks that I handle during the summers. Some things are typical like ordering supplies and textbooks, helping teachers move/rearrange rooms, helping out with summer trainings, workshops and conferences, inventory items from the closing year.


Typical day at my desk.

 .a. I handle all the ordering for our Middle School’s engineering program called Project Lead the Way. It’s a project-based curriculum that our district has had a lot of success with the past few years getting students interested in STEM. This year we are doing the Science of Technology and Design and Modeling units.  .b. Those aren't my kids in those photos! I tend to “desk hop” because I am not a permanent position.
.c/d/e. Our department also handles things such as volunteer paperwork and training, driver’s education and use of our district’s performance arts center. Lots of paperwork and red tape that our teachers are lucky to not have to deal with directly!
.f. Each summer I update and edit the district Senior, Junior, Volunteer, and Scholarship Handbooks

Working at the district office has taught me a lot about what goes into running a school district and all the details that have to be taken care of behind the scenes to make the school year go well. I’ve gotten to meet a variety of teachers and school administration and learn the dynamics of those relationships.

The biggest lesson I've learned is that as a teacher you have to remember that your classroom and students are not the only class in the district. Administrative assistants are typically balancing multiple teachers and schools at once. Planning and communication are key to interacting with support staff if you want to stay on their good side.