At the initial parent meeting, I warned them all about my propensity to rap.
I kind of think that I'm Eminem.
There were a lot of smiles and a few chuckles when I confessed this, but it turned into full blown laughter and I knew that I had the parents hooked after my demonstration. I broke out into a little bit of my self-penned "Dime Rhyme" and the "Rollin' Multiples" song that I borrowed from KIPP.
Done... I made them believers. Just. Like. That.
The kiddos eyes got really big. Is this really gonna be my teacher?
That was when I knew that this year was going to be different. That I was finally going to get to do what I do. That I could finally be the teacher that I have always wanted to be.
Until this year, I lived in a lot of fear that I wasn't a very good teacher. That I sucked actually. That didn't have control of my class and that I didn't know what I was doing with curriculum.
In actuality, I have been a good to an excellent teacher. A new teacher who was unsure of herself at times, a teacher who wasn't supported at others, and even a teacher who was bullied, picked on, and harassed. In those latter times, I was filled with self-doubt and worry. I let my lack of confidence undermine my abilities and esteem.
I decided that this year I would take risks. That I would allow myself to fail and try again. That I would try something new. That if something made sense that I would give it a go. That I would do the things that I was passionate about and that I would have fun doing them.
I love to rhyme. I love to rap. So I decided I would rap and rhyme in class a lot. I know that kids learn to read by being read to, so I decided to 1) buy a whole lot of on-level books for my classroom 2) read them onto cds 3) create a system for my students to listen to the books on cd and read the books at the same time. I developed an organizational template for writing and a pre-writing system that accompanies it along with a system for developing voice so that my students can begin to write in ways that make sense right away.
And it's working! I kind of can't believe it. I'm not exactly sure why, but the things that we are doing are helping them to think on their own.
They are reading. They are thinking. They are beginning to write.
I am not afraid that I am a terrible teacher anymore. I am exhausted. I am having fun. I feel more light of heart. I am not looking over my shoulder waiting for an administrator to tell me that it's not enough. Maybe that will happen later. I don't know. But so far, so good, and that's good enough for me right now.
Here's an example of one of my classroom raps for your entertainment:
The Dime Rhyme
I got my mind on my money
And my money on my dime!
Penny, nickel, quarter, dime!
It's small, ridged, and flat
So we put it in the back!
1, 5, 25, that's fine!
10s the magic number when we're talkin' 'bout dimes!
A nickel is fatter and wider than a dime
Cause size don't matter this time!
I got my mind on my money
And my money on my dime!
I gotta double up my nickels
To make one dime!
I got my mind on my money
And my money on my dime!
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