Teaching what?

Hi, everyone!

So what does everyone teach? And for how long? And of course, what's your classroom library look like? :)

Chelsea :)

I taught university courses as a graduate student instructor for three years (intro creative writing, intro poetry writing, elementary comp, business/professional writing), so I've never been able to lay claim to a classroom, but as of next year (when I finally finish school) I hope to begin a career as a Spanish teacher.

Katy

I'm currently student teaching a split semester, half preschool special education and half second grade. I have a lot of kid books because I like them SO much!

I want to teach something in the 2-3 grade range next year, hopefully!!! :)

I'm going to be an "official" teacher next year... but right now I'm a full-time grad student going for the M.Ed. in Elementary Ed.

I'd love to teach 3rd or 4th grade. :)

Chelsea :)

I'm an undergrad student planning on teaching biology in secondary school. I student teach next fall.

I currently teach English at a Supplementary School at the weekend, ages 5 to 16. I trained and worked for years as a secondary teacher (11-18), so this past year has been spent learning how to teach basic literacy to tiny, wriggly children. I use 'study' books with set exercises in them for grammar and spelling but am free to make up my own lessons. With the older children I've used Dickens, Shakespeare, Shelley, Greene, Poe and many others in extracts and short stories. I've also introduced them to the Haiku masters and had great fun with Sendak, Dr Seuss and many other 'classic' early readers.

I may have to go back to full-time teaching next year in State schools and will miss the freedom I have at the moment to teach what I like and how I like. All the books I use are my own, which has been a fantastic excuse to buy my own favourite picture books.

I am in my eleventh year teaching high school English, mathematics, computers, and yearbook. This is my sixth year at a small, private school that specializes in students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences. Happy New Year from Honolulu, Hawaii.

7th grade English - I love it more than I hate it, that's for sure.
We just finished a unit on Shakespeare's Tempest (ugh, that was a beast) and are beginning Animal Farm this week. Wish me luck!

I taught kindergarten for 5 years until 1994. Now I am returning to teaching. I am currently doing a long-term subbing position in a kindergarten classroom. I love it! I am looking for full-time as soon as possible!

I taught 11th (American) and 12th (British) grade literature for a traditional school for 3 years. My library consisted mostly of Dover Thrift Editions. In fact, if DTE had books for the stories I was teaching, I would usually buy enough for all of my students so they could annotate the books. That is why I have doubles of some of my DTE...one is unmarked and the other is annotated by me.

I am now teaching 9-12 grade literature for a private on-line school, so no library except what I suggest on-line!

I love Wordsworth Editions for the same reason, tnkrbel. Cheap and effective.

I resigned from my teaching duties last week. It's a huge relief and I'm now free to go and get my long-promised-to-myself MA in literature. Seventeen years of teaching other people about literature and now I'm going to be taught by someone else! How bizarre! My pencil case will be considerably lighter, I won't need thirty copies of every single text going and my photocopying bill will be miniscule. I will not miss the Sunday night panics about lesson plans, the horrible deadlines of (groan) coursework, marking, reports, end-of-year pantomimes, etc. etc. The only homework will be my own! Oh, and I'll be able to drink in the week and stay up late and all sorts of teen things that are ACE.

*slightly delirious at the freedom of it all...

I can now officially respond to this one!

I'll be a first-year teacher teaching 2nd grade in a public school down in Virginia. I'm very, very excited!

Chelsea :)

>12 colombe: Congratulations, colombe. I come from a culture that highly respects teachers, be they elementary school or college. I chased down my 2nd grade teacher in Japan just recently. Wanted to tell him how grateful I was for his energy, love and dedication.

I went to the memorial of a beloved high school English teacher last Saturday. When I came home, I called up two teachers, now in their late sixites or seventies and invited them out to lunch. I don't want to ever regret that I didn't take the time to honor them.

Hello,
I am an older college student - I have three children and 3 grandchildren :-)
I am student teaching in a 4th gr city classroom Sept - Dec 2007 then I graduate in Dec 2007.
I am very excited and looking forward to it.
My library consists of about 12-14 18 gal plastic tubs of my children's outgrown books, yard sale finds, etc. I'm hoping to use librarything to organize and catalogue my books this summer, so they will be usable for classes in the fall.
Have a greta day :-)
Marlene

Hi everyone,

I teach first grade in a rural town in Colorado. I came from teaching full-day Kindergarten in a private school in Los Angeles for seven years, so the small town is a welcome change.

I'm very excited for the school year to begin! I'm organizing my classroom library now and think I'm going to go with browsing boxes by subject.

Have a great day.
Dana

I team teach a K-1 split in Michigan. I love it! Teaching children to read is the best. I am looking forward to the school year beginning. I have some great ideas for my second year. I'm an older teacher because I switched careers so I'm approaching 40 but still love to throw the football around with the kids at recess. I also actively volunteer for our Friends of the Library. I spent a lot of time this summer organizing my books on LibraryThing and loved it!

"approaching 40" doesn't make you old... I started my education at 40, and can't wait to get started as a teacher. I love reading all the joy and excitement everyone has for teaching, students, and reading -- as a parent and future teacher, THANK YOU all for your dedication and enthusiasm.

Congrats, Hera, on your back-to-school adventure. Wishing you lots of luck.

I too am going back to school after a number of years teaching throughout Ontario, Canada, and now Hong Kong. Doing a part-time masters in the thing I love--literatures in English!

I teach high school students English as a first language and also ESL/EFL. I like my work, mostly. I've also taught English to adults which I really enjoyed.

My classroom library--what would it have? Let's see--learner dictionaries, popular fiction and more eclectic titles in contemporary fiction, a smattering of classics that would appeal to my students, illustrated versions the same, some plays that would appeal to the kids, a few good children's books, reference books related to language and learning and life. Oh yeah, and graphic novels... and I'd probably stock some manga, too.

I taught third grade for 14 years at a Christian school in Columbia, SC. I literally had over 1000 books in the classroom including fiction, easy fiction, poetry, folktales, biographies, and science. I loved it!
I recently moved back to MD and am teaching 11th grade Omnibus for Granite Classical Tutorials and love it. Most of my library is still packed up but I rummaged through quite a few boxes and got some of the classics, Reformation and theology books.

I'm a community college librarian but I think of myself as a teacher as much as a librarian. I can't imagine not being an educator -- I'm passionate about it. Please tell me more about the role of the library at your schools.

I teach world literature to high school sophomores and current events for freshman. I'm having a great time, especially with the world lit course!

Update- I'm now teaching 5th grade, so Kindergarten is a fond memory. :)

I taught K for a year and a half (the other half of the year was subbing), and have taught 4th for a year. I also did a home school thing with K-12, but didn't like it. In my area of CA it's hard to maintain a job, so I'm bouncing all over the place. I'd like to end up in 3rd or 4th.

I have enough books in the 4th grade range to have a classroom library (I suppose it could also be used in 3rd or 5th with more books added), but they're all boxed up right now. Many, many boxes in my garage! Luckily I can share books with my partner teacher for Kinder, so my class set there is significantly smaller.

This is my fifth year teaching--I started out teaching freshmen comp. as a grad. student getting my MA, and simply got addicted. Now I teach contemp. lit full time, and Science, Technology, and Society on the side...

(and yep, I'm still just as addicted to students and teaching now as I was when I started...)

and I now have one class left*, 9 short weeks, and I'll be able to sub (I've heard it's a lot of fun!) and start student teaching in the fall... whoo hoo!

*and it's an art class, how tough could it be...?

I just joined this group recently and have had a wonderful time reading through this thread. What a lively, nice bunch you all are.

I am a retired teacher. I taught Middle School (ages 11-14, grades 6,7,8) for about 14 out of the 30 years I worked for the Seattle School District. I retired in 2001 and did some substitute teaching until I began to collect Soc. Sec.

Substituting can be the best and the worst. It is very nice to not have to bring the work home, but oh, boy, the students do love to torment a sub. A huge sense of humor plus an ability to switch personalities on a dime are good qualities to have. Good luck, TeacherDad.

My library of school oriented books is pretty well gone. I gave a great many really nice books to the library of the school where I last taught. Then I gave huge quantities of paperbacks to a few teachers who are friends. I keep a small handful around for the students who I now tutor.

Washington St. has one of those high stakes testing programs that freaks out the high school kids and their parents. So I try to help.

Enough out of me. Great group.

Approaching 40 does not make you old. I walked into my first classroom at the age of 50, and 11 years I am still loving it. This year I have 5/6 split in Southern California in a Title I school and I am finishing my dissertation with a anticipated May graduation date with an Ed.D. I'll still be in the class room because I love these "little puppies." My library (at school) is about 100 books for 4-6th graders. At home, when I have time I read whatever I can get my hands on. Good luck and keep enjoying your class.

Approaching 40 didn't make me feel old... but damn, 42 sure does! I figure if I get my first class at 43? 44?... I'll still be able, Lord willin', to teach another 20-25 years...

TeacherDad,
And what fun you will have!!!

I just found this group, and wanted to throw my 2 cents in. :)

This is my second year as a teacher in fourth grade, after teaching first grade for four years. My classroom library is around 500ish books, including all the lower level readers I used in first grade. LibraryThing was the best thing that could have happened to me for my class library! It has made things so much easier to sort and then find later!

I love hearing about what everyone else does!

:)

I teach preschool...okay now I run a preschool, but I still find time everyday to introduce the young ones to books. I make sure to spend an hour everyday in a classroom reading with small groups of children.
I have been teaching this age group for more than 12 years and have found that just sitting down with a book will grab their attention.
Does anyone else here teach this young age as a career? So important to get them hooked on books this early!

A little update for me...

I'm a second grade teacher in Virginia... and I love it... HOWEVER, I am very thrilled and very much looking forward to June 13th at 1:00pm. :) I can imagine other teachers are as well (on their respective last days, of course)!

Chelsea :)

I've just found your group. I teach English in a secondary school in the north east of England (11-16 year olds) and it's an SEBD school (Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties).

First year teacher. I'll be teaching Anatomy and Physiology. Freaking out!

Less than first year teacher, echo the Freaking out!: signed up to sub in 4 neighboring districts, any grade, any time... the slogan "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger" will either be on my desk or on my tombstone...

I found this group a short time ago. I teach ESL at an inner-city middle school. I love teaching and I love my students, but the administration is really wearing me down. They're making me feel like a horrible teacher. It is becoming so stressful that I wonder if I should move or apply to the CIA (for translation or language instructor).

Just found this group. I am an elementary teacher. I taught four years in third grade. This year I have been substitute teaching at the elementary level. I love being in the classroom and have taught in grades k-4 this year. Subbing doesn't pay enough to be a permanent job and I am looking forward to getting back in the classroom full time.
I organized my books according to AR level. I probably had 2-3 hundred books in my classroom at all levels. Most of those were books from my personal library.
Reading is the most important thing a child can learn. Without reading nothing else is possible.

I'm with you stined. I've tried to show my students the wonders of reading for quite some time, but just lately I've noticed that they're coming to class wanting to read, books in hand, almost begging...

It's a beautiful sight.

I've been teaching first grade for 5 years. I have some books organized in baskets by author, and I also have a non-fiction section, but other than that it's too difficult to keep my books organized when I have so many 6 year old in and out of them. I spend the year trying to teach them to put the books back where they found them and with the spine facing out, but my real goal is just to get them into books and loving them!

I have students who try to sneak reading in while I'm lecturing -- it does my heart good to have to say, Put that book down!

I've been a student teacher in a 5th grade class for 8 weeks now, and have told only 2 students to put books away (he said, disappointed) -- 1 for reading Twilight on the sly during a lesson, and 1 for looking for examples of innapropriate pix in a science book (The Way We Work)... *sigh* No independent reading time, 1/2 of library time is for individual work on math assignments, etc, etc...

Hi. I'm a SK/Grade 1 teacher. My room is busy, busy, busy as I try to fit play in and around a Grade 1 curriculum also.
This is my first year teaching a split so it's a bit of a challenge. Lots of wonderful times but also lots of behaviour issues. Every day someone hurts someone else: pushes, pinches, hits. I am working so hard to stop that part of our collective experience. But so far, I can only recall one hurt-free day.

I have been a special education teacher for 6 years now, five years as a primary school resource teacher in a typical US suburban district and one year with developmentally delayed students overseas at a private school in Hong Kong. This past year I've returned to the US and moved from primary school up to middle school. Last night I had my first duty as a chaperone for a school dance - it's been quite an adventure so far! Unfortunately, I gave away a large portion of my classroom library to a beginning teacher before I went to HK last year (what was I thinking?!). I am slowly trying to build it up again.

Lamplight - keep your chin up! I use a philosophy called the Nurtured Heart Approach to encourage positivity with my students and myself (http://difficultchild.com/). Kids take so much energy, but what a joy to be working with K/Grade 1! I student taught in kindergarten, and my aim will always be to get back there.

Thanks. I took a quick look at the website. It looks promising. I love teaching, but I also find that I'm wearing out. I really need to find a way to inspire better behaviour so I can do realy teaching.

Hi, I am a retired teacher. I taught Middle School (ages 11 to 14) in an urban school district in the US of A. I taught just about every subject offered and did some mentoring of new teachers also. I also substituted for a short time after I retired.

Listen up: Teaching is a hugely difficult, challenging job! No one who has never been in a classroom has any way of knowing what it is like. It is very important that you take care of yourselves with all the basics that you already know: eat well, sleep enough, and get some exercise. I know it is hard to squeeze these into a busy schedule! But do it, it will make the job somewhat easier.

Reading: I loved, loved, loved those days when all the kids had a book of choice in their hands and were actually reading and the classroom was quiet and peaceful. Do whatever you can to create that kind of atmosphere.

I now am trying to find ways to support the teachers near where I live, and take care of some toddlers. I like to read YA lit so I think I'll be passing along what I read. Any other ideas?

I am a high school history teacher and have been for the last 23 years. My classroom library consists of reads that students can do for extra credit and are really below their reading level..however, reading is reading and it is on top of everything else. I have made out a 10-20 question worksheet that goes with each book. Some of my extra credit reads are:

When studying the opening of the west and the railroads: Coolies by Yin
When studying the early 1800's in Europe: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
When studying the Great Depression: Children of the Dustbowl The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp

At Christmas and for fund raisers we are asked to fill out cards with our choice of gifts on them and I always ask for books!

Hi! I just joined Library Thing...needed to find a way to organize my gazillion kids books that all of us teachers (future, past, and present) seem to accumulate! I taught 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades in the public school system in Utah, and now I teach Pre-K in a private preschool in SoCal. I LOVE teaching and I LOVE LOVE LOVE books...each time I'd sit down with my class to read a book, I'd say "This is one of my favorites," and they'd say "You ALWAYS say that!!" And it's true!

Anyway, I'm so happy to be here! Thanks!!

~Sandy

Welcome Sandy!

Hello, I teach middle school in an urban area. I am looking for titles that will help my 11 -12 year old move beyond the FP alpha code reading level. In other words beyond Z books but still keeping their innocence in tack.

When I was teaching Middle School in an Urban setting I found Karen Hesse to be a good author to challenge yet not too "mature".

I'm a teaching assistant for Pre-K...we are currently doing a Fairy Tale unit, just finished up Jack and the Beanstalk and Cinderella (including a Cinderella Ball), and are just about to start Three Little Pigs.

I am in my fourth year of teaching economics and US history in a US public school. I am attempting to start an AP microeconomics course for next school year.

When I started LibraryThing I was teaching in elementary school. Now I teach high school humanities: Rhetoric and an integrated writing and history class at a Classical school.

I have been teaching for 10 years now. I taught 5 years in elementary school 3rd, 4th, 5th grades. I taught a private English Language school for a year in Korea. Now I have taught 4 years at a preschool with a classroom of 4 year old children.
I have almost 1500 children's books ranging from picture books to chapter books. I have been collecting books since I was a little kid.

I have taught 2nd-5th deaf and hard of hearing students in a public school in Kansas for 7 years. Next year I will be teaching 3rd-5th half day and pre-k the other half day. Due to this I had to change classrooms. My new classroom is much smaller, so my classroom library is now at home in boxes. I'm using LibraryThing to inventory what I have so that I can bring my books back to school when I am teaching those topics. So far I have 673 books with 2.5 boxes to go. Then I will have to dig up the books I always meant to bring to school but never did so I can inventory those.
I have a mix of nonfiction and fiction books and some magazines.

I just signed a contract. I will be teaching middle school special ed.

Congratulations! And thank you for your willingness to serve for the benefit of us all.

>55 torrey23: Congratulations!

I just added another "Sorry but no" letter to my collection, but every teacher gets a job gives me hope!

I know how that goes. I got lots of those. I had one say that there were over 150 applicants for the position. It only takes one position to get a job. I looked at the many no's as interview practices, when I got an interview that is.

torrey23 - Congratulations! I teach middle school special ed and it is fantastic! I taught elementary school RSP or SDC for 5 years before moving I came to middle school, and I was always a bit hesitant about moving to middle school, but it's the best decision I've ever made. Best of luck to you!

I am looking forward to it. I intended to teach ELED (I am licensed in ELED and SPED), but this is what was open. It should be a good time.