Monday, November 30, 2015

The Hardest Days of Teaching

There are many, but I think I can generalize them enough to fit the days before a break and the day that we come back from a break.

It's also picture day today so the kids are just...on.

I find the easiest ways to get through days like today are to give them time to talk. They love telling you all about the good, the bad and the ugly that happened to them while we were off. Yes, your kids tell us teachers all about the drunk uncle and the crazy fight that happened between your 2nd cousin and your mom. It happens every year and it's always so detailed, that we can even feel like we were there.

It's all part of teaching middle school. :0)

The days before a break are nice in that I have usually spent a month of bribing them with a holiday treat if they behave and get everything done that they need to. This year, I let them pick a movie and I popped popcorn for them. They wanted to stay even after the bell rang.

As for my school picture? Hate it. But, it could be worse.

Friday, May 29, 2015

Another Year in the Capital City

Here I am, another year older and another year more experienced. This year completes my sixth year of teaching and my second year of teaching in the Capital City.

I went through a lot this year and if I could encapsulate this year into one word it would be: tired.

I sort of set myself up for it though, really. I wrote my thesis this year and finished my masters. Over the summer, Phil and I backpacked through Europe and didn't arrive home until a day before school started. We did eleven countries in a month. I also moved and then realized how much I hated living in an apartment.

So, I began the process of buying a house. I almost closed on one and then it fell apart and then I looked at a lot of houses and if nothing happens within the next few days, the second house will be mine as of Tuesday.

I'll be returning next year to the Capital City and like the crazy lady that I am, I'll be working on my PhD.

However, I have some big ideas for how I'm going to create my classroom for next year and have already been compiling my lists of things to make and what to get from Lakeshore. I'm excited for a new year and though I am running summer programming this year, I know I'll be more on top of next year's start because I'll have the summer to prepare. And fix up my house. And work. And take a class...and and and....

Such is life, though, right?