teaching – Page 2 – Teachers Have Lives Too!

12/23/201512/24/2015 Erika S. outfits, seriousness

Heavy and Light

A quick update from the last post: I spent time discussing race with each one of my classes the next day. Over the next few days, word had spread and individual students sought me out to talk about it. We talked about so many things, and the students had a lot to contribute.

Each class’s discussion was different, and conversations morphed towards gender issues and consent. I showed them this video showing a woman walking in NYC and dealing with catcalls and creepy men (I know that there is an issue with race in this video also, but I think the message overall is relevant). As they watched it, I watched them. It was interesting to see their reactions – none of them had seen the video before. The girls faces either had horrified looks or nervous laughter (that weak laugh that we have been trained to do when they feel uncomfortable or scared). The boys were either shocked or laughed. It was a great learning opportunity and I’m happy I took the time out of traditional Biology curriculum for it.

Back to light hearted blogging! This was what I wore that week. Everything here is an oldie but goodie. I’ve had these Pilcro loafers for ages, but never wear them. I’m just too addicted to ankle boots! I had listed them on my Poshmark closet, but decided to take down the listing in keep them after all. I only just started listing things on Poshmark, and I’m feeling like it’s more trouble than it’s worth.

zara tshirt pilcro flats forever 21 cardigan

cardigan and jeans: f21 – t shirt: zara – belt: gap – shoes: anthropologie – jewelry: madewell, family heirloom – watch: pebble

11/30/2015 Erika S. outfits, teaching

Keep Calm and…

Today was the first day back from our week long Thanksgiving Break. I was NOT ready to come back – a week of lounging around the house stuffing my face wasn’t nearly enough! It was rough getting back into the groove today and by the time my last section rolled around, my patience had gone out the window. Normally, I love my 6th period – they’re a rowdy, noisy, chatty bunch who as a whole are an awesome group of kids. Sometimes, their shenanigans can get to me and push all my buttons all at the same time. Today was one of those days and I got angry…but now I feel bad for getting angry. They’re teenagers who just have a harder time focusing on Biology after they’ve already been in school for 6 hours (kids here have 8 hour school days — I think it’s ridiculous). I should have kept calm and…let them be teenagers.

These booties are from Zara, a few years ago. They’re pretty bad-ass, and I got many compliments on them today from students and adults alike. I don’t wear them that often, for no good reason at all. My top is from COS, a H&M spin off with a store in Manhattan and is also available online in the US. I picked this one up over the summer while visiting New York. I love the shape since it has so much room in the belly area but is still fitted around the shoulders (a trapeze top?). The fabric is also a perfectly drapey material. Lastly, I got a technology hand-me-down from B, his Pebble watch. Winning.

forever 21 high waisted jeans

zara studded boots

pebble watch

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zara boots

teacher outfits
cardigan: uniqlo – top: cos – jeans: f21 – boots: zara – watch: pebble – gold bracelet: madewell – jade bracelet: somewhere in china

11/19/2015 Erika S. outfits, teaching

Science!

Thanksgiving break officially has started for me. YAY. I get tomorrow “off” with the rest of the science department, because my principal is generously sending us to the Colorado Science Conference for Professional Development. I’m so freaking excited. I haven’t attended a science conference since my first year, when the NTSA held their national conference in SF. As a first year teacher, it was all wasted on me while in survival mode. This time around, I’m ready with my science teacher hat. I need a fresh step in my science curriculum.

I love science. I teach science. Every. single. PD I attend is about reading/writing/speaking (common core). Where is the science at? No where. Until now. Have I mentioned how excited I am about tomorrow?

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cardigan and jeans: madewell – belt: gap – shirt: uniqlo – boots: doc martins

10/09/201510/08/2015 Erika S. outfits

Mucking Around

The other day, a kid in my first period asked me what crawled up my ass and died. Yup. I had gotten tired of his and his friends mucking around (Aussie speak, thanks to B) during class and employed multiple non-verbal “100% engagement strategies” on them all at once. I stood right next their chairs. I tapped on the worksheets they were supposed to be paying attention to. I mimed putting a cell phone away and taking head phones out (teenagers are a cleaver bunch when it comes to illicit technology use in the classroom). I made eye contact and scanned their work area. Then finally, I crouched down to their level and asked if they needed help getting started. “Miss, what crawled up you ass and died today?” LOLZ. I chuckled and said something along the lines of “your lack of work”. Was that appropriate? Who cares? The kid who said it got started and got his work done eventually.

Today I wore a new linen button down from Madewell (super sale!). White shirts are basic, classic and creates an instant “professional” look. This one in particular is awesome because it’s long enough to cover my entire torso. Also, I can wear this shirt till I’m old and fabulous as it’s not too teenager-y like other things I have. Linen is pretty much permanently wrinkled, so it fits my non-ironing life style. When B’s mum was in town, she actually helped me iron a couple shirts (#winning). I’m saving those shirts for a special occasion now.

glasses: warby parker – shirt: madewell – belt: urban outfitters – jeans: j.brand via nordstrom rack – boots: steve madden

01/13/201501/13/2015 Erika S. outfits, teaching

Fallin for a Safety Net

There is something to be said about high quality professional development. When you participate in a good one, you can walk away with immediate ideas and an implementation strategy to try out the very next day. You know the PD was worth your time when you learn something new that blows your mind a bit and makes you excited to try it out. This was how I felt after a PD led by one of my colleagues recently on “close reading”. I had been struggling with teaching my students how to read independently AND gain useful information from their reading. None of my students in Brooklyn were reading at grade level and I never really knew how to teach them reading comprehension strategies. Of course I took a literacy class in my credential program, but that was more theory and not at all practical applications of teaching literacy. At most, I annotated for/with them and hoped that things stuck after some questioning and discussion. Here in Denver, some of my honors kids are reading at or above grade level, but I still have a majority who will read fluently, but without full understanding. It’s refreshing to have a short PD that teaches you something concrete, useful and simple to implement the very next lesson. In addition, it’s super helpful to have somewhat of a safety net in the form of a fellow teacher right at your school to help clarify routines, and give you tips. If you want more information on close reading, check this out (though it’s much more useful to see it in action).

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glasses: warby parker – cardigan: madewell – tank: banana republic – pants: urban outfitters – boots: steve madden

This outfit is from the day I incorporated close reading into my lesson on Potential and Kinetic Energy. I know these pants aren’t the most flattering for my body type with it’s slouchy look. But hot damn, they’re comfortable. They were also just $15 from the sale section at Urban Outfitters. They’re still on the website (but for $30 – I got them at an extra 50% off), the Silence and Noise Winston Trousers. They’re thick and warm for this freezing weather in Denver, and have I mentioned how comfy they are yet??

01/08/201501/08/2015 Erika S. outfits

Black and Maybe Blue, but White?

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glasses: warby parker – top: madewell – jeans: uniqlo – boots: franco sarto via nordstrom rack – jewelry: family heirloom, some craft booth in brooklyn, fossil watch, fitbit

I wear black jeans to work on most days. Jeans for me generally means skinny jeans. I know this is tabboo for some teachers, but I personally don’t really see a problem with it. As long as they’re dark, they could just be plain old black pants. The only difference between my jeans and some other teacher’s pants are the material. At least, that’s how I rationalize it. Sometimes, I’ll even wear blue jeans. Not often, but occasionally. But what about white jeans? I asked B the other night if I should wear white jeans to school. I thought they’d look really cute with this blue silk top I bought at Madewell recently (on super sale – extra 40% off – and with my teacher discount). I knew I wouldn’t wear them anyways, because white jeans, to me, veer into the “probably shouldn’t” territory. But I thought I’d ask his opinion anyway. He said very bluntly, “white jeans are not appropriate for teachers”.

Is that true? Who says? Why? What do you guys think? Are white jeans taboo for teachers and why? Are jeans in general “not appropriate”? Be sure to answer this prompt with a claim, evidence and analysis. Just kidding!

10/14/201410/14/2014 Erika S. outfits, teaching

Kicks

I want to start off with a heartfelt appreciation for all the supportive comments in my last post. It had been a month of struggles and I was at a particularly low point. I guess I really needed words of encouragement from fellow teachers, and the advice really helped me feel like I’m not alone with these issues. At my last school in Brooklyn, the small staff regularly ate lunch together and I always felt supported and encouraged by my peers every day. We’d spend those 30 minutes sharing stories, ideas and giving advice. In hindsight, those lunches really helped support me both as an educator and an emotional human being. That lunch culture is not really established at my current school, so I find that I can go an entire day without any more than a “hello” type interaction with adults at school. I need to set up some lunch dates!

Things have been going much better these past few days. Classes have been running smoothly, I’ve had positive interactions with almost all of my students, and I had a couple restorative conferences with individual students that helped clear the air. Also, students are turning in heaps of late work and raising their grades, which helps boost morale in the classroom. Things are on the up and up – though I’m still not sure if this school is the right fit for me. TIme will tell.

In other news, I did a bit of retail therapy this past weekend. I got myself some new kickers. I’ve been wanting a pair of 8 eye Docs, but I’ve always been held back by my ridiculous boot collection and the price. So when I saw that I had a $20 gift card and they were on sale for less than $100 at Nordstrom, I caved. Plus, B was out of town and he’s usually my voice of reason on how I don’t need anything. While at the mall, I popped into J.Crew where they were having one of their 30% off sale prices events. I picked up this adult version of a sweatshirt – it’s merino wool and ridiculously soft and comfortable (J.Crew Collection). With the sale and my educator discount, this sweater was ~~practically~~ ~~free~~ super cheap!

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The ever present pencil in my hair – it’s the only way I can keep track of fit. kickers4

scarf: super old no brand – sweater: j.crew – jeans: uniqlo – boots: dr. martens

10/07/201410/07/2014 Erika S. outfits, teaching

The Face

I’m struggling, people. Struggling with classroom management AND with teaching physics content. I thought teaching for 5 years in 2 different inner city schools would have taught me something about how to manage my classroom, but nope. I’m dealing with a problem that is completely new to me – seniors who claim I can’t teach and therefore loudly blame me for their low grades during class. There is some truth to this – I’ve never taught physics before and I’m figuring it out as I go. I get most of my materials and curriculum from well established sites such as The Physics Classroom but I’ve had a hard time finding labs that work with the supplies I have at my school. This means I may invent labs and assignments that don’t work out (crazy acceleration calculations like -33.89 m/s/s for a free falling object!). The flip side? These seniors are not coming in for HW help, they’re not doing the assignments or test corrections or any of the many supports I offer inside and outside of class. They’re goofing off in class and fighting me on simple rules like cell phones, uniform and staying quiet during the entry routine.

I’m exhausted, mentally and physically. Do I still really like teaching? Honestly, I don’t really know anymore.

People say that if you are down, you should fake a smile because even faking a smile helps reduce stress. So here is my fake smile of the day. the face

This on the other hand, is what my face really looks like lately. I know that I typically have a “resting bitchy face” (it’s true – bartenders will actually pass over me because I look unfriendly and mean). But lately my RBF has been a bit more turned down.

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the face2

Nothing new on the outfit front – all old reliables.

glasses: warby parker – shirt and high-riser jeans: madewell – belt: gap – shoes: worishofer – necklaces: etsy and f21

08/29/2014 Erika S. outfits

One Two

First day of school with students was this past Monday and Tuesday. Both days – 9th graders only on Monday and all the rest on Tuesday. So I had in effect 2 first days of school. This is what I wore on day one and day two of the first day(s) of school. For me teaching is like childbirth (or so I hear). It’s agony sometimes, but then your mind seems to block all that stuff away after a break from the agony. The summer must have given my brain time to block a lot of the agony away, because I. Am. Exhausted. It’s been 11-13 hour days all this week and lots of mental strain trying to get organized and learn 110 names and faces. Much of it has to do with the fact that I’m starting a new school and teaching one (physics) and a half new courses. The half is because 2 of my 4 sections are Honors Biology, and I’ve only ever taught at non-tracking schools in the past. I’m generally not a fan of tracking students, but I’ll admit it’s going to challenge me more as I now have to up the bio game.

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day one – dress: thrift store find – belt: h&m – shoes: madewell – glasses: warby parker – day two – tshirt and belt: jcrew – skirt: anthropologie – sweater: uniqlo – shoes: sweedish hasbeens

10/11/201310/11/2013 Erika S. outfits, teaching

Hater-ade

I’m a hater. Lately it feels as if I’m spending too much time telling the kids what not to do instead of just enjoying and reinforcing what they are doing. It’s like I’m the mean teacher. I don’t know when this happened! Instead of being happy that kids are expressing themselves with a rap battle, I’m on alert, ready to shut down any potential negative stereotypes or sexist remarks. Instead of letting the girls learn how to handle unwanted (I assume) male attention, I imediately jump in to lecture the boys on being respectful to women and that women are not objects. Constantly I’m “no” this, “no” that. No eating in class. Put on your uniform. No playing soccer in the halls. stop screaming at your friends while in the museum. NO all of the things. I’m a hater and I’ve been drinking the hater-ade. It’s exhausing.
I need to chillax a bit, but I’m having a hard time because I know there are social politeness norms that I feel the kids need to learn. Or are these social norms I’m thinking of actually just my own? Or even worse, am I actually forcing kids into a box of prescribed behaviors? What if I’m stifling their creativity?!?
It seems as if as I get older the more type A I am. Maybe I’m just setting myself up for an ulcer. Anyone else have this problem? How do you deal?

In the meantime, I’m stuck in my own behavioral rut of white and black dressing. It’s working out for me.
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