Four Weeks Does Not a Seasoned Teacher Make

Tomorrow marks the completion of my first month in Puerto Rico! How has that happened already?? We're already four weeks into the school year, but it feels like we just started a few days ago. Here's what's been going on in my classroom.

The Ups:
--Routine is sinking in. For example, I have my students in each of my classes read silently (anything they want) for the first 10 minutes of class. At first I had to remind them what to do, but now they are starting to sit down and begin reading-- before the bell even!
--I survived (and I think I made a good impression) on Parent Night. Essentially, I "taught" the parents of my 7th grade students about what we're doing in class this year for about 15 minutes.
--Students are coming into my classroom before school, during recess, during lunch (except now they know they're not supposed to), in between classes, and after school. It can be a bit frustrating at times because there are constantly kids around, but I'm glad they're not afraid to ask me questions.
--I brought quite a few popular adolescent books (Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, A Series of Unfortunate Events, etc-- thanks to my mother for purchasing most of them at Saver's!) and I allow students to borrow these books either for the day, or they can check them out and take them home. Most of my students have been taking advantage of this mini library and a few students appear in my room throughout the day to read me passages they really liked or to ask if they can borrow the next book in the series because they're hooked. This makes for one very happy English teacher!
--The first big writing project is now underway in each class. 7th graders are writing Flash Fiction stories, 8th graders are writing autobiographical narratives, and 9th graders are writing a comparison-contrast essay after selecting two of the three stories we've read and discussed in class.

The Downs:
--The school is "paperless" which means no printing or copies or handouts. This is taking some adjustment, especially for differentiated instruction and keeping students focused. Without something tangible in front of them, I have noticed students tend to get more distracted. (In case you're wondering, I do have a projector and students copy activities into their notebooks)
--A student in my 9th grade English class does not speak or understand much English. Getting around the language barrier and finding ways for her to get something out of the class is proving to be a challenge, but I'm working on some accommodations that won't over-step what my principal told me I'm allowed to do.
--My 9th grade class is troublesome. Until today, I assumed it was because of something I was doing wrong as a first year teacher. The students do not stop talking; some of them blatantly ignoring instruction. It turns out this particular group is like this for each of their other teachers. (Whew!) And so, a few detentions, and the realization that they won't respond to yelling but WILL respond to my silence, later, I think we are finally getting somewhere.

The new teacher gig is definitely challenging, but thus far I'm enjoying it. In the four short weeks we've been in school I feel like I've learned a lot about teaching--and noted that I need to re-learn some things too. I think the most helpful thing is just to keep trying new things until something works, because, even with the best of intentions, four weeks does not a seasoned teacher make.