"You can go to the toilet four times a semester": How I work in an American school
We all learned from cinema from childhoodthat every American student has a locker for personal belongings, American football or baseball takes up no less time in his schedule than mathematics, and there are no replaceable shoes at all. What else is an ordinary school in the United States different from Russia, as the director participates in her life, and what happens in parent meetings, we were told by Maria Baker, a Spanish teacher at Eagle Valley High School.
I live in the States for a little over four years. At first we lived in California, where I worked under a contract at Apple, was engaged in the localization of applications; then we lived for a while in Texas, where my husband is from. And now they moved to Colorado - I have long liked this state. My friend lives here, and it so happened that almost her entire circle of friends is a teacher. I was looking for a job as a teacher, and a friend recommended me to the director of one of the high schools. The nearest schools are united in the so-called school district (school district), there are about fifteen of them - primary, secondary and senior.
In Russia, I worked as a tutor for more than ten years, but this experience was not counted in determining salary - it cannot be confirmed. Been credited only two years of work on courses at the university. The interview was very informal, my knowledge was not checked - I think it was the fact that I came on the recommendation, and the vacancy was open for a long time. Although this is a public school and there are more standards in it than in a private one, they took me to work without a teacher’s license — on parity that I will receive this license within a year. To do this, you need to pass the exam on the knowledge of the subject (and I have already successfully passed it). The kids call me Miss Baker - although formally, “Mrs.” is correct, but in fact this word is not used.
Finding staff in school is partly difficult because the salary in our school district is average in the country, while the standard of living here is higher: there is a ski resort nearby. I can say for sure that people go to this job not for the sake of money, but for the love of the profession. I really like the team: the teachers really want to help the children. Once a week we have a meeting dedicated to professional development; the director makes a presentation, we discuss various issues, this is all very interactive, that is, a meeting is not just a formality. There is also a separate counselor position, there are three or four of them at school - they make up a schedule, reveal difficulties for students, help to catch up on some subjects. If there are any emotional problems, help the children get psychological help.
Pupils in our school from 14 to 18; mostly they are from ordinary families, not very rich, but not marginal. While at school I did not see or hear any stories about drugs or violence among students; Perhaps this is all there is, but certainly not as obvious as in films about schools in dangerous areas. Of course, there are children from families in which no one has ever attended college, and we make every effort so that these children finally start studying there. "First generation college student" is an important breakthrough for the family and an opportunity to reach a new financial level. There is a separate subject where they actually learn to learn: take notes, organize a binder with printouts.
We do not have Russian-speaking students (at least I have not met); There is one boy who speaks Ukrainian and hardly speaks English. To help such children, we have special teachers of English as a foreign language - they are present at classes in other subjects and help bring the material to children who do not speak English. That is, in a chemistry lesson there can be two teachers at the same time: chemistry and English as a foreign one. For two months of work I went to ten professional trainings - and two of them were about how to convey information to students who do not speak English.
As for the school device - indeed, everything is like in the movies, everyone has their own locker. Since driving licenses can be obtained at fifteen and a half, many children come by car. The school has two parking lots: one for teachers, and the second for students. The bus stops right outside the school - not a yellow school bus, but an ordinary city bus; it is very convenient for those who cannot come by car. The route was specially laid through the school, and the schedule was such that the children could come without being late for school, and go home immediately after school. Some students come by bike. Of course, the school has normal toilets with lockable booths. There are fountains for drinking, from which children take water into their bottles. There is a "lost and found office" - a special corner of lost & found, where there are always about thirty bottles for drinking alone. The school has a cafeteria - relatively small, so lunch takes place in two shifts. Now we have about a thousand students. Twenty-five minutes for lunch. The food in the cafeteria is quite edible and inexpensive - for $ 3.5 you get lunch, which includes a bag of milk, fruit, one of several hot dishes to choose from and a salad bar with vegetables.
The fact that a student "fights for the honor of the school" at competitions and does so successfully does not mean that the school will turn a blind eye to poor grades.
Much attention is paid to the sport. The school has teams of American football, softball and lacrosse, they train, take part in competitions and take it very seriously - I often see that children are getting ready, they make posters for some events. There are all sorts of creative activities, there is something like a car repair shop - they teach useful skills like oil changes. At the same time, the fact that a student “fights for the honor of the school” at competitions and does it successfully does not mean that the school will turn a blind eye to poor grades. Each student constantly sees his average mark online - and if this is the worst (F on the ABCDF scale), then he will simply not be allowed to see the next match. Before the competition, teachers are reminded that they need to update the grades in order to understand who is playing and who is not.
All grades are online. I was immediately given a chromabook to mark the presence of students and give marks. In addition, there is a special application like a social network: you can post content that parents, children or groups of teachers will see. Naturally, the school has free Wi-Fi access. Pupils are prohibited from using gadgets, including telephones - but especially for the lessons we have mobile stations with computers. This is such a cabinet on wheels, in which thirty-five chromebooks lie. If I plan to give some general task online, I order this station before the lesson, they bring it to me, the children disassemble the computers and enter each one under their own account.
I teach two Spanish courses: "Spanish 1.5" and "Spanish 2". Those who already have knowledge come to the course of 1.5, but they do not pass to the level 2 yet, or those who took the course 1 last year, but did not pass the exams well. In my classes, only English-speaking children. Generally, Spanish is an optional subject, but for most colleges two years of a foreign language are required, so many children choose it. In our school, a little more than half of the children (51%) are Hispanic, and they also have a Spanish course; Although they are native speakers, many of them, for example, write illiterately. There are usually twenty-five or thirty children in a class, and they are not divided into smaller groups, even if it is a foreign language lesson, like mine, because of the habit it’s difficult for the teacher.
Preparing for lessons takes time. For example, students do not have textbooks - only I have it. This means that I must select and print any educational material in the right quantity. I work part-time, I have three lessons a day plus preparation in the morning (time is allocated for her too, that is, there are only four). And the full rate is eight. But in the first month I worked forty-five hours a week, I had to figure out the tutorial and figure out how to cook it all. We actually do not follow the textbook consistently - there is just a set of knowledge that I have to give in a year. Preparation for the lessons is, perhaps, two-thirds of the load, and considering that I have two different courses, then the training is twofold.
Our parent meeting takes two days - although, as far as I understand, in this regard, each school is given freedom, and the format can be any one. On the first day, the teachers sat in the cafeteria at the tables, each had a sign with the name, and the parents simply went and chose who to talk to for five minutes. The second day is more official, in which the meetings were already individual and lasted for fifteen minutes, and parents could book the time online. We interact with parents and call them if necessary - I recently called and felt that the parent was happy with this call.
Fire safety trainings are held every month - again, this is not a formality, but a real training alert. A siren sounds, everyone goes outside, and each class gathers in a certain place. I take with me a list of students and two cards - green and red. Recount children; If everything is in place, I raise green. If there is no one, I raise the red one, and then the administration realizes that someone has stayed at the school. There are still safety training in case of shooting. In each office reinforced door that can not be hacked. When I arrive, I have to "close" it with a key so that it can be slammed at any moment - and that the door remains slightly ajar, a special lock is set. In the event of an alarm, he cleans up, the door closes - and everything, the heroic teacher saved everyone. Several years ago it had to be put into practice: somewhere in our area, not far from the school, they were shot, and then the school was completely closed until the police arrested the criminals.
In our district, the school year began on August 17 - and before that there were about two weeks of training and preparation. During this time, we were invited several times to a pub, where food and drink coupons were given, there were breakfasts before trainings. There was also a party at the director's house - a barbecue on the lawn, beer and all that. Naturally, this is not done for your money - a separate budget is allocated for this. There are no charges from parents "for the repair of the school" either - by the way, now we are repairing, and the district allocated a budget of 30 million dollars for it, they even wrote about it in the local newspaper. This is a serious repair, there will be new rooms for sciences like chemistry, biology, physics. Right now we have the so-called mobile classes - there are four trailers in front of the school. Outside this is a “mobile home”, and inside it is a full-fledged office - with heating, Wi-Fi and so on. One time I taught a lesson in such a class.
With discipline, everything is strict. For example, to go to the toilet, a child, naturally, has to take time off - but, let's say, from Spanish lessons, he can go to the toilet only four times per semester. Everyone has a card where it is recorded, when and when it came out, and I put my signature. But no one has canceled common sense either - of course, if a person is about to describe himself, I will let him go for the fifth time. Before the cards, they used a large wooden piece, on which the teacher's name was written - so that if a child walks along the corridor during a lesson, it was clear that he was released. These pieces of wood with which the students went (and some teachers still go) to the toilet, we call germ sticks “microbial sticks”. The lesson lasts 48 minutes, the change is five minutes. During the change, it is assumed that the student goes immediately to the office where he has the next lesson, and already there, if necessary, ask for leave - to the toilet, to get some water or where he needs to go. For me, this is wildness - a person has only five minutes to himself, and he is forced to ask permission even at this time.
If a situation arises when a child needs to take time off to go home, then he goes to the administration - from there he will contact the parents and be released if necessary. That is, to let someone go home just because of the pain in my stomach, I have no right. If I complain of feeling unwell, I can send the student to the nurse - it’s true that she has no right to give any medication, because only doctors can do it. There are uncomfortable situations when a girl with painful periods goes to the nurse, and there she is given a maximum of a hot pillow to put on her stomach. The gasket, of course, also give, if necessary - but there is no pain medication. I especially can not give the student a cure. In general, girls who suffer from abdominal pain during menstruation should carry their ibuprofen with them - and we have no right to give it.
Before the cards, they used a large wooden piece on which the name of the teacher was written. These pieces of wood with which the students went (and some teachers still go) to the toilet, we call germ sticks - “microbial sticks”
The boys and girls at school are roughly equal, and the performance of girls is generally higher. We have the so-called advanced courses - and, for example, in advanced mathematics there are almost two times more girls than boys. But in the professional world, the picture is different - the glass ceiling has not gone away. The school administration is four people (the director and three assistants, something like a head teacher), and there is only one woman among them. Working at Apple, I observed the same picture.
If the teacher wants to take a day off for some reason, he has to prepare a lesson for a surrogate - and anyone can be this substitute. I had to conduct biology, vocal and Spanish lessons for carriers. My lesson can be replaced by a teacher who does not speak Spanish at all - and the plan I prepared should take this into account. For example, you can schedule a movie to watch. The schedule of lessons for each student is individual, although children of one year often overlap. At the same time, although there is no concept of "class", there is something like a classroom guide: each student is assigned to a certain classroom and teacher. There is a lesson once a week where important announcements are made or, for example, children do homework. If someone is behind in my subject, I can ask his "homeroom teacher" to pay attention to homework in this lesson.
I was very touched by the fact that our director regularly in the morning is on duty, adjusting the movement of traffic - performs traffic duty. Every day in the morning he puts on a bright vest and goes to regulate the intersection when children are brought to school. All communication - sending to parents, important announcements, door signs - is conducted in two languages, English and Spanish. And in the morning the children take an oath to the flag - get up after the morning announcements on the internal radio, look at the flag and read the oath. I am not a US citizen, but I also get out of respect, although I do not read the oath.
Photo:littleny - stock.adobe.com, lmel900 - stock.adobe.com
