If there is one thing that everyone knows about teachers, it is that there isn't a lot of money involved within the profession. But that's okay, we don't get into it to be rich. However, if we are being honest, money is always and will always be a large factor in our every day life. If there is one thing teaching has taught me, it is the need to be financially creative.
At my school there are two soda machines. One of the machines is for student use, while the other is for the faculty. The student soda machine is filled with diet soda that you couldn't give away to students let alone charge them $1.50. The faculty machine is filled with delicious products such as Dr. Pepper, Sprite, and my personal favorite Coke. The complete irony of this entire system is that our soda is only $0.75. So quick recap; student soda=gross and expensive, faculty soda=tasty and cheap.
I know what you might be thinking; why don't the students just use the faculty machine? Well, that machine is located in the teacher workroom in which no student is allowed to enter. If they are caught in the workroom they get an automatic 5 hours of detention. That is a pretty hefty price for $0.75 worth of soda. The administration really wants the students to steer clear of our work space, and they want the faculty to keep an eye out for any student entering without permission.
Here is where I come in. Wouldn't you know that my room is directly across from the faculty workroom and nobody else is even around. I've been put in charge of making sure there are no sneaky students trying to get discounted beverages. I personally find it a little ridiculous that our students have to pay more for worse drinks. I consider myself an equal opportunity person, I feel as if we teachers can enjoy a nice Coca-Cola than why can't the students?
So, I started an underground business!!! Seeing how my room is directly across from the soda machine and no other teachers are around, I have conjured up some customers that would like to only pay $0.75 for delicious beverages. So, what I do is I have them come to me before or after class and slip me a dollar, and in a sneaky voice they whisper what soda they want. I usually look around to make sure there aren't any faculty members around and I proceed to purchase the soda for them. But, as simple economics would state the middle man (me) should be able to get something in return right? So I make a reasonable trade, since I am putting my back on the line and buying soda for the students for $0.75 I simply just keep their quarter as a profit for my business. Needless to say I have saved enough for some free sodas of my own.
I like to consider myself the Steve Jobs of the education world, I saw a market and I took it. Sure, my main job is as an English teacher, but these kids have now learned a very important business lesson from me as well. I like to think I am preparing these young minds for the real world.
The job of a teacher never ends; a few extra dollars never hurt.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
My first life lesson
I am sure I am behind the times with the blog creation, but I thought I would give it a try. My name is Cameron Wood and I teach high school English. I love what I do, and being surrounded by so many kids all day is entertaining to say the least.
I try and teach them a little about grammar, MLA formatting, and whatever it is that Shakespeare tries to say within his poetry. But, in my first half year of teaching, I have found that I am learning new things as well. I have found out that most teenagers do not have an attention span that will last the entire class period. I have learned that high school isn't the same as it was 6 years ago when I was a senior. Most importantly, I have learned that the best way to teach a student is to be yourself, because the students somehow know the difference.
High school has changed since 2007. Students have no problem telling me that my class is boring, and then tweeting about it on twitter to all their loyal followers. When I first started this year I was a fresh faced newbie with a lot to prove. I had worked at my school for 2 years prior as a basketball coach, so now I had to transition from "fun coach" to "respected teacher." The transition was a lot harder than expected. I was told before the first day of school that I needed to be strict. "Don't smile before Christmas" "Put them in a seating chart immediately" "Don't accept any late work" "Don't be afraid to be tough." "Don't use informal language when talking to your students" With all this advice my head was spinning with confusion.
The first day of school eventually came, and the bell rang for my first class. I was calm and confident (at least that's what I wanted my students to think). The students started pouring in, and I greeted them while sitting at my desk. When the second bell rang and it was time to begin class, I walked to the front of the room and said, "What's up everybody? My name is Mr. Wood." Immediately I thought to myself, "Crap, I just broke one of the rules. Why would I say what's up?" Luckily, the class didn't erupt into complete chaos, so I thought maybe that wasn't too bad. I proceeded with the class period and it went great. As the bell was about to ring, I told the class to have a nice day and I would see them tomorrow. Then it happened, out of nowhere a student said, "You too bro!!"
It hit me like a ton of bricks, I felt like I lost all respect from the class, and it was only the first day. I didn't know what to do and my mind started racing. Do I get mad at the student for calling me bro? Do I let it slide? Should I just ignore the whole thing? Then I realized what happened, I was so worried about following all the advice from my experienced colleagues, and at the same time trying to figure out how to relate to the students, that I over-thought everything about being a teacher. The class didn't revolt, and I didn't burst into flames for not following the advice from my professors at college. I knew that in order to succeed at this wonderful job, I needed to be myself. Of course, I was still looking to build some respect, so I kindly told the class that my name was Mr. Wood or Coach Wood, and anything less would be unacceptable. To this day I have never had a problem with that student and we have a mutual respect for one another.
The point of this is that I was bombarded with advice from everyone under the sun. Although it was much appreciated, I quickly learned that in order to succeed I needed to find out what worked for me. I quickly trained myself to not say "What's up?" However, I always make it a point to be me when I am in front of the class. I am a strong believer that I have the best job in the world, I was so caught up on following rules and advice, and making a difference, that I forgot how to be myself. With anything we do in life, I feel it is important to just relax and enjoy the ride. Obviously, we want to do the best that we can, but let us not forget that we need to enjoy our experiences as well. Don't take life too seriously because you will miss the beauty that surrounds you. I just never thought I would have learned that lesson from a high school senior calling me bro!!
Cameron Wood
I try and teach them a little about grammar, MLA formatting, and whatever it is that Shakespeare tries to say within his poetry. But, in my first half year of teaching, I have found that I am learning new things as well. I have found out that most teenagers do not have an attention span that will last the entire class period. I have learned that high school isn't the same as it was 6 years ago when I was a senior. Most importantly, I have learned that the best way to teach a student is to be yourself, because the students somehow know the difference.
High school has changed since 2007. Students have no problem telling me that my class is boring, and then tweeting about it on twitter to all their loyal followers. When I first started this year I was a fresh faced newbie with a lot to prove. I had worked at my school for 2 years prior as a basketball coach, so now I had to transition from "fun coach" to "respected teacher." The transition was a lot harder than expected. I was told before the first day of school that I needed to be strict. "Don't smile before Christmas" "Put them in a seating chart immediately" "Don't accept any late work" "Don't be afraid to be tough." "Don't use informal language when talking to your students" With all this advice my head was spinning with confusion.
The first day of school eventually came, and the bell rang for my first class. I was calm and confident (at least that's what I wanted my students to think). The students started pouring in, and I greeted them while sitting at my desk. When the second bell rang and it was time to begin class, I walked to the front of the room and said, "What's up everybody? My name is Mr. Wood." Immediately I thought to myself, "Crap, I just broke one of the rules. Why would I say what's up?" Luckily, the class didn't erupt into complete chaos, so I thought maybe that wasn't too bad. I proceeded with the class period and it went great. As the bell was about to ring, I told the class to have a nice day and I would see them tomorrow. Then it happened, out of nowhere a student said, "You too bro!!"
It hit me like a ton of bricks, I felt like I lost all respect from the class, and it was only the first day. I didn't know what to do and my mind started racing. Do I get mad at the student for calling me bro? Do I let it slide? Should I just ignore the whole thing? Then I realized what happened, I was so worried about following all the advice from my experienced colleagues, and at the same time trying to figure out how to relate to the students, that I over-thought everything about being a teacher. The class didn't revolt, and I didn't burst into flames for not following the advice from my professors at college. I knew that in order to succeed at this wonderful job, I needed to be myself. Of course, I was still looking to build some respect, so I kindly told the class that my name was Mr. Wood or Coach Wood, and anything less would be unacceptable. To this day I have never had a problem with that student and we have a mutual respect for one another.
The point of this is that I was bombarded with advice from everyone under the sun. Although it was much appreciated, I quickly learned that in order to succeed I needed to find out what worked for me. I quickly trained myself to not say "What's up?" However, I always make it a point to be me when I am in front of the class. I am a strong believer that I have the best job in the world, I was so caught up on following rules and advice, and making a difference, that I forgot how to be myself. With anything we do in life, I feel it is important to just relax and enjoy the ride. Obviously, we want to do the best that we can, but let us not forget that we need to enjoy our experiences as well. Don't take life too seriously because you will miss the beauty that surrounds you. I just never thought I would have learned that lesson from a high school senior calling me bro!!
Cameron Wood
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