And so it begins...

My name is Christie Chew. (Sometimes Christi). My students know me as Ms. Chew. (Sometimes Chew-Chew or Chewy). I'm about to begin my first year full-time teaching (no student-teaching or mentor teacher strings attached) so I thought I might document the perils of my first year. Who am I blogging for? Perhaps for other teachers in the same spot. Maybe for people considering the profession of teaching. But honestly, mostly to keep my sanity and have something to laugh at (or commiserate with) years down the line.

I teach at a public high school deep in the bowels of San Francisco. I teach juniors and seniors. I teach physics. And guess what? I just found out last Thursday that I teach chemistry as well, even though I haven't touched chemistry since my freshman year of high school. Such is the life of a science teacher in an inner-city high school. My class sizes range from 22 to 39 students; I have a total of 164 students on my roster for the start of the school year. My classroom is graciously spacious, but not stocked with much. And as it is with public schools around the country, we're operating on a tight budget. This is going to be and adventure.

My first day of classes is tomorrow. I'm not quite sure what to expect. I try to hold on to the ideals that I had coming into teaching--remember why it is that I volunteered for this line of work. But so far it's been tough to keep my focus and drive with no kids in my classroom. It's been great getting to know the staff at my school, especially because there are many young (maybe not-so) bright-eyed, bushy-tailed teachers just like me who are looking to change this little corner of the world. I'm just anxious to see how much life will change once those 16-18 year olds start waltzing through my door.

This year will be test to see just how much I give in to my insecurities. I'm a small gal, so I fully expect every one of my students to be bigger, taller, and meaner than me. I accept that. I'm also young, so I don't really demand respect simply by my presence (I sometimes envy teachers who have that). I've heard that what young, beginning teachers lack in experience, they more than make up for in dedication and passion for the students. I'll let you know how that goes. Oh, and of course, if I wasn't already insecure in my ability to teach and my knowledge of physics, now I have the privilege and pleasure of teaching chemistry. Chemistry, the subject that I absolutely hated in high school. The subject that I avoided in college by majoring in physics (some strange decision by the powers that be at my university). Like I said, an adventure.

Did I mention I'm homeless? I've been crashing on my friend's couch in Palo Alto for almost 2 months now. Which means I commute at least 2 hours a day to and from work. I won't get started on the reasons why I'm still homeless, but you know if I'm still homeless in a month I might need to start another blog dedicated to the perils of apartment hunting in San Francisco.

Well. I think this is a good enough start for this thing. I'm going to try to be honest, and let's hope it doesn't turn out to be all negative whining. I'll blog my favorite stories about students too (names changed, of course), because, let's face it, that's what teaching is all about.

At the end of the day, there's still nothing else I would rather be doing with my life. Welcome to the profession.