As the school year ends, advocacy is on my mind

It's over! Year 8 as a middle school English teacher is in the books.

So as any good teacher would do whenever something ends, be it a project, semester, or school year, it's time for a little reflection.

While there are certain aspects of my situation that frustrated me, overall I am extremely happy with how my first year went teaching part-time at my alma mater. Teaching part-time taught me a few things though, mainly that part-time is really what I would consider a reasonable full-time load. I had three classes, 51 students total, and even then, occasionally, the amount of grading overwhelmed me. But only occasionally. I can deal with that. What I can't deal with is a never-ending sense of dread I used to often feel because the paper load consumed me when I was teaching full-time.

I think about the loads that full-time teachers are frequently given: sometimes close to 200 students a day, and I wonder how any teacher could POSSIBLY be reaching every student with that many papers to grade, report cards to comment on, souls to touch.

Having the luxury of a light load this year (though the word luxury is not what I would use to describe my paycheck), I've been able to reflect on how powerful it would be if every teacher had the opportunity to teach fewer classes with fewer students.

Did you know that the National Council of Teachers of English has held a firm position since 1960 that teachers should have no more than 100 students per day? If you did know that, are you sharing that with administrators and politicians? If you didn't, are you going to now?

I go back to the words of Ernest Morrell in his 2014 NCTE presidential address when he said,

It's not about making the case for advocacy. It's about making the case for you as advocates.

We as teachers need to start seeing ourselves as advocates for our profession. Rather than waiting for someone else to make the necessary changes to see that smaller class loads and class sizes along with fewer standardized tests make for happier, more productive, more effective teachers and students, we the people doing the hard work of educating the children need to start making that case to the people who need to hear it.

Read more about what you can do to take action on NCTE's website.
Also check out the advocacy posts on the NCTE blog.

Graduations = Celebration & Reflection

This week we celebrated 8th grade graduation. So naturally this is a good time to reflect on what a wonderful school year it has been. It's hard to believe it's been almost a year since I announced I would be returning to the classroom as an 8th grade English teacher at my alma mater. This year has been everything I had hoped it would be. I had a wonderful group of students, my schedule was about as low-stress as it could be (I come in late morning, teach three English classes, and am home before 4:00), and I immediately felt at home in the community since this is where I went to school.

Since this was my first 8th grade graduation as a teacher at the school I attended, naturally, it would stand to reason that I would start to think back to my own 8th grade graduation 21 years ago.

This is a picture of me with one of my best friends from middle school and high school. Looking at this picture, it's so funny to see how much we've changed (check out my pouffy hair!) but in the few times we have been able to get together over the past few years where we can catch up over dinner, we quickly go into reminiscing mode.

Middle school and high school was an incredibly turbulent time in my family life, so having the support of such a stable, accepting school community helped bring some normalcy to my otherwise dysfunctional life. So to say I am now teaching in the place that helped give me that normalcy and accept me for who I was despite my struggles is a great privilege. When I look at this picture of me from 21 years ago, I see a naive little girl who doesn't have a clue how lucky she got in life. I could choose to focus on the things that make my life difficult or the things that didn't go right, but when it comes right down to it, I have been blessed more than most, and I recognize that more than you know. So despite my struggles, I'm here to say that life is pretty great. And every day is a celebration.

Celebrate This Week was established by Ruth Ayres

Reflection and Gratitude

Yesterday I went back to visit my old school. Every year they put on a pancake breakfast the day before Thanksgiving, so I thought it would be a good time to visit since I wouldn't be interrupting any important lessons. As I pulled into the driveway and saw the lights illuminating the windows of my old classroom, a small pang nagged at my heart. And despite the fact that I briefly met the teacher who now resides in my old classroom, I couldn't bring myself to go inside. She said to me, "Oh! You're Mrs. Shaum! The kids are always telling me I don't have enough books in here."

As I was going down the stairs from my old classroom, a couple of 8th graders were going up the stairs and one of them said to the other, "I think the other 8th graders are in Mrs. Shaum's room." I smiled at the student's blunder and said to her, "I'm glad to know it's still my room to you even though I'm not here anymore."

Catching up with old coworkers and talking books with former students made me realize even more how much I miss being in the classroom every day. But as much as I miss it, I also know that the path my life has currently taken is the right one. Seven years of an 84-mile-a-day commute is just too much. I do not regret my decision to leave my old school, but I am content and thankful for the people and experiences that led me to this moment to pause and reflect on the teacher I was and the one I am still becoming.

As I was leaving church with the 8th graders yesterday, one of them said to me, "Mrs. Shaum, the next time you come visit, you should bring some of that maple bacon ice cream you made. That was so good."

Bacon and books. It seems like that's what I'll be remembered for by my former students. I think I'll take it. :)