I made it through the first month of teaching. There's been good days and not so good days.

The good: great colleagues, non lunch duty weeks, kids making an effort, pay days, kids being quiet, getting my copies made and leaving before 5pm, staying organized

The bad: kids with no respect, kids who don't try, lunch duty weeks, standing out in the hot sun during bus duty, having to wing a lesson plan, pointless meetings/training sessions, grading, progress reports, kids slamming books on the floor, kids throwing bottles at the trash can

The biggest problem is discipline, bar none. I'm going to have to elicit the help of some veterans in this area, especially for my 4th period. The only other real negative thing I feel sometimes is being too routine about teaching. I want to be more creative but I realize that will come with experience and time.

Here's to the county commissioners and hoping they get us that local supplement increase soon...every dollar counts when you are a first year teacher in NC.

Blog posted by September writer Charles Detmar, spanish teacher Glenn High School in Kernersville