I just graded my beginning of year assessments to see where my students are in their reading comprehension skills, and the results were definitely disheartening...only about 20 of my 70 or so students scored 70% or higher. While these numbers are intimidating, it just shows me that I have a lot of work to do this year, and that I have the opportunity to really help my students get to the reading level that they need to be at.
I had my students write stories of their lives, or as we like to call it at Teach for America, Stories of Self. To be honest, I was worried that my students wouldn't really understand the assignment or wouldn't take it seriously. I shared my story of self with them about why I am here as a teacher today, and how I struggled with school and my self esteem a lot when I was their age--needless to say, they completely surprised and amazed me. I haven't been able to read all of their stories yet, but from what I have read, I am so proud of them. They were so open, honest, and got really personal with their stories. Reading about the struggles and hardships that they have had to go through just reminded me why my role is not only to be a teacher for my students, but also a mentor and role model as well.
Since I was running around trying to get everything done in time before school started, I'm just now getting around to posting before/after pictures of my classroom. I'm pretty pleased with how it looks, and I can safely say that I was wrong when I assumed that all of my teachers' classrooms came decorated for them. I also never realized how much money teachers pay out of pocket to decorate their classrooms and get supplies for their students.
BEFORE:
