If you can't make it to a meeting but would like to participate in the book club anyway, feel free to post your comments here.
I'll start you out with a summary of Esme's diary entries. Please feel free to post your own comments after reading. We'll share all posted comments at the beginning of each meeting!
After each meeting, I'll post a summary of all comments within a week or so. Feel free to coat-tail if you wish.
Meeting #1: June 21 through August 16 (pgs. 1-22)
Summary: Esme introduces us to her late-mentor. She tells us about her less-than-orthodox interview style. She shares her excitement and enthusiasm during the first weeks of school, preparing her first classroom and anxiously proposing a project to her reluctant principal. She also shares her personal style of dealing with inappropriate student language in her classroom.
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In the August 16 entry I found myself a little confused. Esme was talking about how she felt uncomfortable at the community center meeting before school started so that the new faculty could be introduced. She spoke about how she was part of 35 new teachers of over 800 applicants. Esme talked about how she was helping her principal sort through these applicants for interviews. I immediately thought to myself, "Why is a first year teacher who was just hired helping their new principal choose fellow new teachers." It just seemed a little bizzare to me...atleast enough so that it stuck in my mind. Also, the entry on July 23 is almost unbelievable...yet hilarious.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting, Nick! We'll use your comments to spark out discussion Wednesday, and post our ideas here afterwards.
ReplyDeleteKeep on blogging!
Summary of Jan. 21
ReplyDeleteWe discussed who our educational role models were and how they influenced us. Most of the ones we discussed were positive role models (people to pattern ourselves after) rathr than negative (I don't ever want kids to have a teacher like I had...). That's encouraging!
In response to Nick's post above, it was suggested that maybe Esme is just one of those go-getters who likes to be involved in things as a positive role model to other teachers, too! Other ideas: Sometimes teachers feel as though they have to volunteer for everything in order to remain employed; and, maybe Chicago schools at the time needed volunteers who were younger in order to attract new teachers to their ranks.
Last, Matt extends an open invitation to the author, Esme Codell, to join our blog and participate in this discussion from afar. We loved hostin Esme in November and would greatly enjoy her thoughts and insights as we dissect her writings ad compare them to our experiences!
Reaction to September and October
ReplyDeleteI really kind of laughed when I read the posting for the beginning of September about Esme being excited to set up her room. I really do love teaching, but I have long accepted that I was simply born with out the proper "gene" in my body to be good at that kind of stuff. I've never been good at making the creative posters or making neat bulletin boards. I really struggle with that kind of stuff.
I also laughed when she had the mother who was upset because she took down the library of books because one was stolen, even though Esme personally owned the books. It was fascinating to me that this mother thought she was entitled to insist Esme make her own personal books available again. It reminded of a situation I had at one time. I've always coached baseball or football since being a teacher. I once had a parent explain to me that I should play her son constantly regardless of his lack of skill because she was always at the games to watch. She had reasoned that the best kids did not deserve to play if their parents were not there to watch. I laugh when I think about her saying it now... :)