Describe a Typical Day

I wake up at 5:30am. Give an hour to shower, dress, and walk my dogs. Catch the PATH around 7:15, transfer to MTA, arrive at school about 8:15am. Teach a full class first, then an elective, advisory period, then break for lunch. After lunch, about 12:00, teach one more full algebra class, then have common planning/prep time until about 3:20. Stay after school to help students mostly no later than 4:30pm. Get home about 6:30pm in lovely Jersey. Relax and eat dinner. Bed by 12:00am, repeat.

You get to school at 8:00am and put your things in your locker (yes, teachers and BETAs have lockers too!), and then you begin prepping your classroom for the arrival of students at 8:30am. You teach 2-3 content classes throughout the day, during the majority of which you spend your time working with your small groups on that day’s lesson. You also have a prep period and lunch period, when you either work on grading or preparing future lessons, or else tutor students individually to help them catch up. School ends at 3:20, and some days after school you stick around to continue tutoring students for 45minutes-an hour. Other days you participate in or help lead student clubs, or sometimes you even just play basketball with a group of kids after school for fun!

Typically I help teach four classes–two 80-minute English classes, one 37-minute remedial literacy elective, and advisory (homeroom). On occasion I will lead during Advisory if my co-advisor is busy working with repeating students helping them make up learning targets. During both the English classes and the literacy elective I work with a smaller group of students and take them from start to finish through the entire lesson time. In the English classes I deliver a roughly 20-minute lesson as well as get the students through the Do Now, Unison Reading, and Independent Reading. I have two prep periods, one that is roughly 40 minutes and one that is about 80, between classes during which I prep for the next class I’m teaching, grade old papers, or participate in 9th grade English dept meetings and help workshop lessons and curriculum maps.

There isn’t one (but I’ll do my best)! I wake up around 6:30 AM so I can arrive at school by 8AM for some last minute prepping and socializing with staff and students. School starts at 8:30AM and I’m pretty much on the go from then until the bell rings at 3:20. We have a rotating schedule so every day is different, but I teach three classes a day, as well as an advisory period. Free periods are spent lesson planning, grading, and in meetings. Lunch is usually spent with my students–either tutoring, supervising study hall, or just hanging out. Between clubs, sports games, lesson planning, department meetings and other responsibilities, I almost always have something to do after school. I normally leave school between 5PM and 6PM, which still gives me plenty of time to meet up with friends, go for a run, or prep for the next day.

I scramble to get all my stuff together and get out the door by 7 am, get to school by 8 am, school starts at 8:33, then I am in class straight through until lunch at 11:24. After a 45 minute working lunch, we have two more classes and then work until around 5 pm helping students, grading, and planning. The days are long, and the work is tough, but each period we get the joy and satisfaction of shepherding students toward understanding the material at a completely new level. The questions we get from the students and the amount of participation required of them in our small group discussions show us that our (BETAs’) presence in the classroom is invaluable. The days fly by because working with these kids is a blast!

I arrive at school, coffee in hand, at 8:15 and greet students in the atrium of the school building. After the first bell rings, I have an hour to prepare for the day. I use this time to print out handouts, create a detailed plan for teaching the material of the day, and make extra examples or visuals for my students. I spend the rest of the day teaching, with an hour-long break for lunch. I teach in four algebra classes and one college counseling course. During the algebra classes, the lead teacher in the classroom introduces the material for ten minutes, after which I work with my group of 4-6 students for about 45 minutes. I teach a supplemental lesson, guide my students through practice problems, and give one-on-one help. In the college help class, I guide a group of ten seniors through the college research and application process. During lunch, I am almost always working with a student – whether it’s extra tutoring, catching up students who were absent, or just chatting. School day ends at 3:15. I typically stay after school for at least an hour, helping students with homework or running after school programs. I started an informal “glee club” with a group of students at the beginning of the year, and we meet once a week to hang out and sing. I get home between 5 and 6, collapse, cook or meet up with friends for dinner, and watch too much TV. Grade homework and prep for the next day. Go to sleep around 11. Even though my weekly routine doesn’t change too much, every day is COMPLETELY different! Each lesson poses new challenges and sparks new reactions from students. I am never bored.

I usually get to school around 7:30 am and prep for my classes for the day. I teach three periods a day for about 60 minutes and I have two prep periods to grade and plan. School ends around 3 pm and I help with the musical after school. Some days I help students with homework or stay with them in detention. I’m usually out of school by around 5 pm, when I either go to the gym or go home to rest. I’m always tired at the end of the day, but I feel accomplished!

On a typical day, I usually wake up at 6am to get to school at or before 7:30 AM, depending on the amount of lesson prep I need to do. I teach three sections of Geometry during the day, each of which is 65 minutes, and I work with a shorter section of an additional course, which is around 40 minutes long. I have two planning periods, one of which is set aside for a team meeting, and the other of which is for me to plan, grade, or create our data systems. After school, it is usually a fairly hectic race to find any student that needs to make up lost work or get additional support for the class. After that, I usually spend an additional hour or sometimes more doing any other work that needs to be done. I leave school on average at around 5pm, depending again on how much needs to be done.

You get to the office around 7:15am. Do any last minute preparations like making copies or looking over the material once more. Heading to the classroom around 7:45am to put out copies for the class. When the students come in you’re greeting them, collecting any homework and handing back any graded materials. During the mini lesson, we grade homework and ensure that the students are paying attention. When we break into groups we clear up any misconceptions with the students and do a short guided practice. They go into independent practice and soon the class is over. We repeat the same process for other classes. During preps we grade and go over any materials. After school we do a math enrichment program for an hour, and on mondays I help to coach track.

I wake up at 6:30 am and get to school by 7:30 am. I spend a half hour prepping for the day. At 8 am, I have my first period of class. Each period is 55 minutes and involves a solid portion of small group work in which my main role is to ask guiding questions and help students move from problem to problem. Second period is prep for me. I spend the first half meeting with my team- 2 other BETA’s and our lead teacher. Third and fourth period I am back in the classroom. I then have another prep period to eat lunch and do some more work- grading, planning, etc. Seventh period is what we call mini-courses. I help with College Prep doing resume building. At the end of the day, I either continue to work for a while before going home to do a little more, eat dinner and go to sleep, or I head to track practice for two hours. But I have to warn a typical day for a BETA is one in which you’re not quite sure what’s going to happen.

Wake up early, stay up late. Students, students, students!

Always grading and preparing for lessons and joking about the kids in between. Every day presents a new challenge to overcome. It could be a student who just doesn’t care anymore, a classroom that doesn’t quiet down, or a lesson that just doesn’t work out the way you planned. Having endless energy and constantly reminding yourself that the kids are depending on you keeps you going. That, and being a coach on the track team.