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Safe Inside

  The state approved all my paperwork but I hadn’t finished all the trainings. The two other new hires were still waiting for their background checks.  So I was allowed into my classroom and on the hallway. I could see the students but still not talk with them. They didn’t look like scary monsters. They looked like kids.  I hadn’t taught full time for over ten years and the newborn I had as a teacher was now starting high school and the same age as these young ones. I listened to the radio I found in the room and organized the markers by colors. Later I realized that was stupid and bagged up 10 markers at a time so I could hand them out and easily count them once they returned.  However, I got to see all the supplies and stuff the previous teachers had purchased and get to know the room. The other teacher got thrown in and never did catch up on that front. As I happily prepped the room, the radio brought some terrifying news. A fugitive with a gun is on the run....
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ALMOST IN THE CLASSROOM

  My first few weeks were anxious and bliss.  Bliss because I didn’t actually have to teach for at least one month.  The state was driving 5 miles an hour to get our background checks done and I had to do all the training before they would let anyone near the kids.  The trainings were interesting – respecting LGBTQ students, suicide prevention,  informative  stats on where the kids come from and how they get to us through the courts.  The anxiety was from all the scenarios they told of how the kids had harmed people in the past. Mostly the guards but a few teachers too.  So we have a two day training on how to de-escalate and then how to get out of a physical attack without hurting the student (some patented training program that most states use). Since I couldn’t be near the kids until all the background checks came through and I had finished all the training, I had plenty of time to plan my classes.  At least 4 weeks of not being able to pr...
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All the Rules- In the Begining

  We had weeks of trainings but from the get go, I felt overwhelmed by all the rules. Of course that made em more nervous. Could I follow all these?  I made a document of the rules (after transcribing from my scribbles on the handouts) and kept adding as the years went on (and I found out from breaking an unknown rule what I had done wrong). Here are some: No more than 2 students can be standing up at one time (so I had to make sure everyone knew about my first week activity where they all stood up and walked around. The guard watching the cameras in the booth had to know - otherwise they assume there is going to be a fight). Whatever you give out, make sure you count it out and get it all back, even something like post-its If there is a fire drill, take the pencils (and count that you have them all) - so I could burn because I am counting pencils? If a student has been self harming, give them markers instead. Lock up all your materials at the end of the day, especially pencil...
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Teaching Behind Bars Begins

  I gave up on teaching. I said never but that word never lasts. I ended up working at a church and teaching their non-religion religion (other story).  Then I decided to finally get my English Second Language endorsement.  I went back teaching adults and loved it.  I also got a class teaching GED at the jail.  Then I decided the way to work is to be a school counselor. I went back to grad school and was almost endorsed when I filled out applications. I did at least 60 applications and only one interview for a school counselor. I thought I was sure to get a job offer being bilingual in Spanish, but nada.  I had no idea how competitive it was and how almost being endorsed is not as attractive as an actual license to counsel. So, I begrudgingly started applying for teacher jobs and got more interviews. I really really really really didn’t want to be a classroom teacher again even if I did enjoy teaching life skill lessons during my counseling internship....
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 Old posts You can read all my diaries as a teacher at another blog. Just go to the first months in the archives and you get my diary and struggle as a teacher before teaching behind bars.  (after that - that blog is about a different topic all together) https://wordpress.com/view/cohousingtruthblog.com
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 Welcome!  Here is my new blog.  Teaching Behind Bars - in a juvenile detention facility.
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