First let me begin by saying thank you for reading this blog. If you found me by accident, thanks anyway and I hope you find what you’re looking for. If not I hope I can spare you some hair pulling by telling you, YOU’RE NOT ALONE!
I am going on my third license application in three years. If you read anything about me you would know that I started in Colorado, taught in New Mexico, now I live in Pennsylvania. Transferring from Colorado to New Mexico was a breeze, but now going to Pennsylvania it…well, hasn’t been the easiest thing in the world.
I have a hard time with tests (as most people do) and have taken the test required twice now. I know my stuff, don’t get me wrong, I know it better than anything else in the world, but the moment the test pops up on the screen I freeze and go blank.
In the meanwhile (and because the license is Pre-k-4 here, instead of just k-8) I’ve been working at a daycare that is also part of a nursery school. I’ve been doing this to help me get a grasp on the pre-k side of the elementary side of things, but everyone there hasn’t ever worked in a school setting aside from daycare, so they aren’t much help.
Back in NM, I was lucky and had my college friend working in the same district, and a wonderful staff at my school to turn to for help. We had each others backs and guidance from and amazing principal. All things that I don’t necessarily have here. It’s hard to reach out the teachers here, if you aren’t apart of the district or even as a sub.
So for now I’m “restudying” and trying to build my confidence and attention span to take the test one more time in hopes of passing, so then I can start the challenge of getting into one of the most wanted jobs in this state.
I hope that if you read this blog, and you feel as if you’re struggling, that this helped you in someway. This has been my first blog, ever and I want to be a helping hand to let other teachers out there, whether you be pre-k, elementary, or even secondary. I wish you luck.
Thanks again, the Struggling Teacher
I am a teacher...well aren't we all? I guess I am just starting out as a teacher. I started my career in New Mexico teaching 1st grade two years ago, now I recently moved to Pennsylvania and am struggling to find my own classroom.
I grew up in Colorado. I am the oldest in my family (with three younger siblings, I'll explain more later) and the first to go to college. My parents divorced long before I went started college and the fighting between them is still alive almost 12 years later. They both have remarried since then and had a child each. So I am 5, 19, and 22 years older then my siblings. I'm the oldest grandkid on my moms side, and smack in the middle of about 30 on my dads side. So to make an even longer story short, being a model, leader, someone to talk to, has always been on my resume for life.
Now I'm 26, living around the Pittsburgh area (huge adjustment from a smallish town in Colorado) and working in a daycare as I search for my classroom again.