JOANNE
PAYLING
Diary #28
As
Contract Time Approaches,
How Much Credit Can I Claim?
This is the time of year districts and principals calculate how many teachers they will need for the next school year. At the moment my school will be downsizing by 2.5 teachers. My principal is making certain all his temporary teachers, which includes me, are well aware that there is no guarantee of a job at PMS in the fall and that we need to be looking elsewhere for a teaching job.
My heart is heavy at the moment. I would like to continue at Pleasanton Middle School. My initial adjustment to the culture here was rough. I felt isolated and left out. I voiced some of those feelings in my diary entries. However, little by little, relationships are growing, sharing is occurring, and I begin to feel the "fit" that my principal indicated might be lacking.Add to this growing feeling of belonging my sense of accomplishment last week during the grading of the district proficiency essays, and I begin to believe that I might actually have a great deal to offer any district as a teacher. Out of almost 1100 8th graders, districtwide, there were only 20 essays that earned the highest score of a 6, which indicates extraordinary writing by a student. Of those 20 essays, four were written by students in my Language Arts classes. I am so proud of each of them.
How much credit can I claim?
As a new teacher, I have to ask myself, how much credit can I claim for their success? At first, I modestly thought very little. Of my 160 kids, I have many very bright students. Yet I remembered working with one of those students, James, explaining to him how to use vivid details in his writing instead of the hazy descriptions he was sharing with me. I also modeled how to describe a character through his actions and voice. These were lessons I taught to all my classes, and again, individually, as students had questions or needed help. James was attentive and asked many questions. His essay turned out to be the one voted to be published in our school newspaper. How much credit can I claim when one of my students excels? There is no way to determine what percentage of excellence is from a student's hard work and giftedness, and how much from a teacher's contribution. All I know is that I am proud. I am proud of my students and I am proud of myself. That's enough for me. Well, okay, I admit it. A contract renewal with my district would be great, too. Meanwhile, it's time to dust off my resume, write new cover letters, include my principal's good recommendation, mail them off, and cross my fingers.
