The Big 4 (of teaching)

 Two AMAZING student walls! 

(My 9th graders can earn a wall if their work is outstanding AND they come up with the idea for the name!)

   

      

I cannot believe my life was all packed up into my little car just three months ago. Vegas already feels like home and I don't plan on leaving any time soon!

        

When I accepted a job with Teach For America, I had no idea what would come of it. But now that I have more than two months of teaching under my belt I can honestly say it was the perfect choice for me. Sure I applied for a few other fantastic opportunities, but none of them would have met my personal goals like teaching does every day.

In a career:

1. I want the freedom to be myself

2. I want the potential to inspire others

3. I want to bring joy to kids (and get it back ten-fold)

4. I want the opportunity to change someone's trajectory with a fantastic education          

What other profession can truly boast ALL of those on a daily basis?

           (A beautiful Vegas sunset: blue mountains, green palm trees, and a bright yellow sun) 


In some teaching news: I GOT A TEACHER TWITTER!


I know some of you are thinking that I'm totally nuts. And maybe I am (I won't fight you on that!). But I looked into the pros and cons of a professional homework reminder system and it turns out "kids these days" are ALWAYS plugged into their technology. And twitter seems to be one of the latest social media outlets, so they are constantly reading tweets. If once a week or so they see a tweet from @MissLandau that reminds them that "Shakespeare papers are due tomorrow! #100%" I DO BELIEVE it will be a positive and educational way to use their addiction to the internet to MY advantage!

And, every so often one of them gets up the courage to tweet about my class, and it makes my WEEK! For instance, one of my seniors who was nervous to "rap" about the Comedy of Errors ended up doing a fantastic job and was clearly very proud of himself and his teammates! (see picture)


As you know, last week was Homecoming and I had a blast. With all the craziness though I forgot to post a picture from the Homecoming dance, which I chaperoned with a few other brave teachers! It was fun to see my kids all dressed up and dancing! Here is a fun one of me with Ms. Deney, another TFA-er at my school.

Have a wonderful week!

-Ms. Landau

Homecoming Week and Visitors!

What a fantastic week I've had! Homecoming at Cimarron is a HUGE DEAL: the kids have fantastic school spirit and the excitement for the football game and royalty crowning builds up every single day!

The first spirit day was "80's workout" day (see picture!). Obviously I LOVED that theme because I'm always playing 80's music in my classroom anyway! It was especially fun to dress up with some of the other teachers and so many students.

On Tuesday my Bubbie and Zayde (grandparents) and mom all visited my classroom. It was incredible to have them sitting beside my kids, watching me do what I love. Some of my male students walked over to my Zayde, who was sporting his WWII Veteran hat, and gave him a firm handshake and "thank you". (I WAS BEAMING WITH PRIDE!) And thanks to my mom the photographer, I finally have some pictures of ME in my classroom! We had so much fun and my mom even answered some questions my kids asked about me. They learned that I was a tough teenager, but a great student and athlete!

Pause for a teeny-tiny-little-itsy-bitsy moment of truth specifically for those who simply cannot imagine it is all "so easy" for me:

I know I am a positive person, but I want to be very honest. I absolutely love my job, specifically the incredible kids whose lives I am able to impact. But it is THE HARDEST THING I have ever done. I work 12+ hour days and still feel behind all the time. And because I want my kids to know I support them inside AND outside of the classroom, I go to two or three sporting games per week to cheer them on. All together I'd say I am teaching, grading, or dealing with student events 14 hours per day, and it is NOT EASY in the least. In the classroom, I know my kids are learning but it is difficult to meet every need of each student as well as teach an exciting and rigorous lesson. I often feel that I am choosing between "fun" and "challenge", so finding the balance is definitely tough. Overall what I'm trying to say is I would NOT give up this opportunity for the world, but it is not "rainbows and sunshine" 100% of the time. I just happen to be the type of person who believes sulking helps nobody, while positivity and enthusiasm seems to get me (and others) moving in the right direction. That is why I try to highlight the very best of the experience in this blog. Of course I do it for all of you, but it truly is therapeutic for me to see the positive impact I made at the end of each week. So there you have it!

Nevertheless, it was another powerful week with visitors who brightened my day and an amazing homecoming game where I was able to drive around the football field with two of my students (the elected Freshmen "Lord" and "Lady") seated in a BMW convertible during half time. I hope one day I can afford a car like this! (see picture)

Thank you so much for taking the time to read about my teaching life. It is so incredible to hear how my experience has touched such a variety of friends and family. I hope if you have any questions about Teach For America or my life in Vegas you will ask them as I am always happy to discuss!

All My Best,

Danielle (Ms. Landau)