Pre-Teaching Jitters

[queenbookwench]

Well, I'm about to do something, and I can't decide if it was a great idea or a not-so-great one. I volunteered to teach in the Saturday classes that our school holds to prepare students in the grade that takes the NCLB-mandated test that is supposed to cover standards. It's a way to earn extra money, which is honestly the main reason that I signed up--I'm dealing with the double whammy of having my rent go up $75 (for each of us) and at the same time trying to be responsible and save a little and put some money into my 401k and Health Savings Account. But I also kind of wanted to put a foothold back in the classroom, since it's been awhile. I'm a little nervous, but I know this stuff--I designed and taught my own SAT prep course for students with learning disabilities when I worked for a private alternative school. Whether I think standardized tests are worthwhile is another question (short answer: hell no), but they are part of society and our students will be judged by them--I might as well do my best to give them the tools they'll need to compete with rich kids from the suburbs in the future. I've been assigned the "Basic/Below Basic" group, which is actually good, because my class size is going to be half what everyone else's is. Also, I know alot of these kids from the library already, so it's not like I'll be going in cold with a group I've never met. I really should be in bed now, but I'm always nervous before any new venture like this, and the Vietnamese iced coffee I had with dinner didn't help matters. Wish me luck, y'all!