My first week

So, as many of you know, I got a job last week at J.F. Shields High School in Beatrice, AL. It is a tiny tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Right now I'm staying in a hotel in Monroeville until I find a permanant place to live. J.F. Shields is a whole new world for me. It is a very small school, and honestly, I believe that all the students are pretty closely related.

Today was a pretty busy day for me. During two periods of the day, I had a substitute in my class because I was in an STI meeting about the graduation exams. I found out today that J.F. Shields High School has a very low passing rate on the Math and Reading portions of the graduation exams. I was disturbed by how low the scores were. I have to change this. I can't stand for the scores to be that low. So I've already talked to the principal and assistant principal about staying after school to help students. These problems can be fixed. The students here are completely capable of passing those tests.

Anyway, right after school, I had a new teacher training meeting at Monroe County High School. It was kind of boring, and I didn't really learn anything I didn't already know. But I did get to meet all the other new teachers in the county, so that was cool.

After that, I went back to Beatrice for a parent night meeting. I got to meet a lot of my students' parents and talk with them about their children and the standards of my class. I really want to keep the parents involved because countless studies have shown that students whose parents are involved in their education are more successful students. It was really great meeting all the parents. But probably the best part of the day was meeting the new superintendent of the system, Dr. Kathy Murphy. She just started in July, and she has very high standards and expectations for all the schools in the system. We have that in common. She and I got to talk together for about 20 minutes so that we could get to know each other. She was quite encouraging and seemed to be very excited that I had come to J.F. Shields.

You all know that I have prayed endlessly that God would lead me where He wanted me to be. And I know now that this is it. I know that God has a plan for me here. This world probably could not be any more different than the one that I'm used to, but I really think that I can make a difference here that I may not have had to opportunity to make at a different school. I want to be a great teacher to my students, and I also want to be a positive Christian role model for the students.

The kids here really are pretty good. I know that I teach Chemistry and Physics, so I probably have the best students in the school. But there are very few problems throughout the school. And some of my students are actually quite intelligent. They pick up the work we're doing pretty quickly.

I have had a couple of problems with one student who keeps testing me. He wants to see how much he can do and get away with. So today I wrote him up, and he got suspended for three days. After I wrote him up, I met with his grandmother and told her everything that had happened, and she was very nice and completely understood. The principal and assistant principal were also very supportive because this student had been causing problems in other classes as well. (Today, Tre (we'll call him) got angry with a girl in class and threatened to beat her up. I told him to sit down, and I said "No matter what problem you have with a lady, you never hit her. Never." Then he cursed a few times, (very explicit words!) and walked out the door. So, I wrote him up.)

Most of the other students are very well behaved and respectful. Oh! And probably next week after school I will be starting a Pep Rally Band that will also play for basketball games. The school doesn't have a football team or band director, and a lot of students really want a band, so I said that I would help them. I'm a little nervous, but I'm also really excited!

A great deal of stuff is going on, and I feel quite busy. But I love it. I'm having a great time. But I'm also missing all of you back home. Know that I love y'all, and I'm praying for you.

Thanks for reading!