This week marked the beginning of the NYC school year. As the title would suggest, our season is 180 games long. I cannot begin to explain how difficult and rewarding the week has been. These students are quite different than those I taught in Texas.
My average class size is about 30. For those of you unfamiliar with the education world, this is very large. Many of my rolls span up to 35 students, which makes discipline a big issue.
Even with these student difficulties the biggest issues have been in dealing with the bureaucracy of the NYC dept. of Education; the largest in the country. I am still waiting for a:
1. Bathroom key: staff bathrooms are kept locked
2. Working computers
3. Working Printer
4. Teacher’s lounge key
5. Elevator key
6. Telephone
7. Basic Supplies
…many other things that are too technical to explain
In saying this, I have actually really enjoyed myself. The students seem really mature for high schoolers. I am enjoying trying out my different theories on them. On the second day of school I asked them to write about the happiest time in their life. Here’s what I got:
N.A.- “The happiest time in my life was when I was born & I found out I had green eyes.”
T.R.- “The happiest time in my life was when my brother’s girlfriend told me she was having a baby. I was happy because that was a new generation in my family.”
S.C.- “The happiest moment in my life is the first time I got kissed.”
S.R.- “The happiest time of my life was when my dad and mom got married. I’m happy because they are still together.”
R.M- “When my dad came out of jail because now I can spend time with him.”
What can I say, they are nice kids.