Now that we are officially off to a good start and half-way through the first term, I feel the time has come to introduce my co-workers. In no particular order, they are:
Katelynn- a 21 year old newbie, fresh out of undergrad from Montana teaching the 8 First graders. She is a very sweet girl but has never lived on her own and I fear that she is living on rice and frozen veggies because she has never been taught how to shop. For food, at least. Like me, she has no vehicle and is reliant upon the kindness of others to pick up her mail or provide a ride. Most of the time, though, the packages she picks up from the post office are clothes or make up. She has already decided she will not be coming back next year.
Donna-an older woman within 5 years of my age but new to teaching. This is her 3rd year in Togiak teaching Science to the Secondary grades (7-12). Prior to this she was a landscaper and already has plans to start a Native Plant garden in the school greenhouse, currently unused and teach the kids the joys of growing their own food. For a place with 18 hours of sunlight in the summer, there are shockingly few veggie gardens, perhaps because of the wild life. No one wants to grow lettuce for the moose. Donna has a huge heart but sometimes comes across as a Know It All Texan who assumes she knows more than anyone else. She sponsors the current 9th grade class and plans to take them to Hawaii when they graduate; good thing there are only twelve of them, and probably fewer when the time comes but she is already fundraising. Last year, she sold soda after school but that was shut down by the admin this year for obvious reasons. We're supposed to be teaching the kids good eating habits, not selling them sugar in a can. She is responsible for our weekly teacher viewing party of Fear the Walking Dead, and often organizes Teacher Movie Nights with movies she downloads via the school internet. Her not-so-secret crush is Thor.
Brian-a quiet guy, in his middle 30s who teaches Math to Secondary. He is originally from Wisconsin and now that he has been here over 4 years, has tenure. I don't know much about him because, as I said, he is a quiet guy. But we share responsibility to supervise Gym Nights on Friday so I am getting to know him a little bit. He doesn't take no crap from nobody but doesn't need to raise his voice to do it.
Tobe-a big, loud Texan in his mid-30s also, married to another Texan named Donna who also works as a paraprofessional at the school. I see Tobe regularly throughout the day and he has been a Godsend as I navigate the ins and outs of this new experience. He has only been here a year, running the Special Ed department but is already one of the leaders of the school. He would make a great administrator, hopefully sooner than later. Three of my students are with him as long as they are with me during the day so we talk all day long, and have established a good relationship of mutual respect and humor.
Patrick-another quiet guy in his late 20s who teaches 5th grade. We trade a few kids every day for reading and since my 6th graders have been moved back into Elementary, we meet weekly so I am getting to know him a little. Teaching is not his passion but he does the best he can, knowing that in a few years he will have enough saved to buy a house when he and his wife Julia move back to their home state of Montana.
Julia-married to Patrick, teaches a First/Second split class. Julia is a mover and shaker in the lower grades and she is the true teacher in the family. They just had a baby last year, a sweet girl named Ira. Whereas Patrick will move on to another job someday, Julia is a teacher for life. She takes on all the little jobs that help a school run smoothly with a cheery, if tired, smile.
Kevin-Secondary Social Studies, mid-20s, coaches the cross country team. Yes, we have a cross country team that travels by little tiny plane to other villages for meets. Often it's only one student who goes but we are doing well in the district so I guess that's something. Kevin is married to Shayla and they have been in Togiak for 2 years, I think.
Shayla-Secondary Language Arts, married to Kevin. Shayla is on every committee at the school, it seems. If it has an acronym, she is involved in it.
Nancy Bell-a quiet Texan (I'm surrounded by Texans) who lives above me in our apartment. She is a proud 64 year old who taught her before, took last year off, decided retirement was boring and came back to teach another year of 4th grade. She is an old school, no nonsense-style of teacher but her students and former students love her. She and I bonded over our lack of affinity for technology.
Susan-twenty year veteran of Togiak School. Susan is one of those teachers who comes across as quiet yet always manages to ask a million questions in every meeting, often needing clarification of something she already asked. She has taught a generation of Third graders and has a husband whom I haven't yet met. She is very sweet and wears her emotions on her sleeve, refers to her students as "kiddos" and surprised me by volunteering to help me supervise Gym Nights on Mondays. But only after being reassured that there would be a man in the building (the custodian) at all times.
Freida-former para in my class, now moved to Secondary for the increased hours. Freida is one of the few Yupik people that I have gotten to know, at least while she worked in my room. She was great at giving me non-verbal cues as to what was going on in the room, and can transmit more joy at a simple raising of the eyebrows than anyone I have ever met. And the Yupik are a very joyous people, who laugh easily and love word play. Yes, this is a stereotype and a generalization, but it has been my experience so I can't write it off as purely racism. Freida is great at helping me navigate my ignorance of all things Yupik, and I never feel foolish asking her questions about the culture.
Colynn-mid 20s, First grade teacher with a few years experience at another school. Colynn is one of the village success stories as a graduate of Togiak School who went Outside for college, became a teacher and came back to the district. She and I are going to set up a Reading Buddies exchange between our classes, and decided to work together on a Spot the Pop booth at the Halloween carnival next month. (Spot the Pop is super easy, kids pick a Tootsie pop off a peg board and if it has a spot on the stick, they win an additional prize!) Her father teaches Kindergarten, at least until we can hire someone else to take on the job.
Of course there are more but I don't feel I know them well enough to write about them. But it's early yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment