COLLABORATING WITH COLLEAGUES
“I think the colleagues have been a really important part. I think that I never knew that I wanted to co-teach a class. I didn't really know how to do that (...) because I feel like teaching can be a very personal thing and I tended to want things to be my own way (…) in my classroom. I wanted things to be organized a certain way and behavior to be managed a certain way, and all of that. But I've really, really loved co-teaching. I don't know that I could go back to teaching by myself. I'm sure I could, but I think having another adult in the room with me to help with the planning, to help manage students who need extra support with their learning or their behavior, to help just be somebody to glance to across the room to see what is happening right now—I've really really liked that.”
“I think generally I've been pretty lucky with the grade teams that I've had as well. We've worked really well together and collaborated a lot together. This last year, we only had two second grade classes at our school. The other second grade teacher came and ate lunch with us every day and we planned. And she spent her prep with us most days, too. And so that was really a team effort. I think that's been really helpful, because then you have other people to not just get ideas from, but also to vent to, or to ask questions to, or to just have adult conversations during the day—which I think is also a hard part of the job, where you're just talking to children all day, which can get a little bit tiring.”
THE PRINCIPAL
“My principal also is a big part of it. She's not perfect—and nobody is—but I have a really good relationship with her. And I I feel a lot of trust from her in me, and that really helps. It helps me to feel confident. It helps me to feel comfortable raising issues with her that I see in my class or the school, which makes me feel, I think, that I have a certain sense of autonomy in my classroom and that I'm an important part of the the teaching community at the school.”