(no subject)
I love my new job. Love it love it love it!!! I have always enjoyed teaching 1-1, with the challenge of interacting with someone, figuring out what they know and what they're missing and how they learn, and coming up with lessons/activities/explanations that will help them, and watching the lights turn on. I love seeing someone grasp something they've struggled with forever, and hearing them say that learning is fun again. At Roundup I learned to do some small-group and larger-group stuff as well, and enjoy the interaction of the group. With the GED classes, I get to do it all.
There are three of them. For my Monday/Wednesday class, I'm co-teaching with a guy named Shaun who taught constitutional law in Mexico for 10 years. So we can speak Spanish with each other and with some of our students. I wasn't sure how things were going to work out with us working together at first, but I've grown to be VERY appreciative of his ability to stay on top of details. The students are great--a lot of ESL students in there, and most of them are focused and work hard.
The second one is not as fun. Students tend to be less motivated, more disrespectful and disruptive, and some just flat out odd. And I always feel disorganized and behind the power curve there. My co-teacher and I don't see eye to eye on how to run the class either. But whatever. But there are still some great people to work with in that class.
My third one is my favorite. I teach it by myself. It's at an off-campus site, and the people there have all been working there together for a while. Most of them are pretty interactive and willing to speak up with questions, and all very encouraging to each other and to me.
Now if only sleep still weren't a problem . . . On the psychiatrist's recommendation, I've started taking sleep aids--he said "Dont' go more than 2-3 nights without good sleep." Well, for several months, I haven't been able to get good sleep at all until I was absolutely exhausted, and sometimes not even then. So I started taking sleep aids after 2-3 nights, but didn't want to get dependent on them. I'd quit after a night or two, but then still not sleep for 2-3 nights. Ben and Mom said it might help to just go ahead and take them consistently, to get my body used to sleeping again. I've done that for a while, but I'm groggy all day if I take them. Recently I tried sleeping without them--didn't work. So I'm still pretty much tired all the time, and have been going completely blank or making really stupid errors in class. My students mostly just grin at me, except for one or two of them in the rude class, but it's still concerning to me on a number of levels. My emotional state improved with the establishment of a schedule, but it and my mental state are going downhill again. I never thought it would be so difficult to find energy to work 22.5 hours a week . . .
There are three of them. For my Monday/Wednesday class, I'm co-teaching with a guy named Shaun who taught constitutional law in Mexico for 10 years. So we can speak Spanish with each other and with some of our students. I wasn't sure how things were going to work out with us working together at first, but I've grown to be VERY appreciative of his ability to stay on top of details. The students are great--a lot of ESL students in there, and most of them are focused and work hard.
The second one is not as fun. Students tend to be less motivated, more disrespectful and disruptive, and some just flat out odd. And I always feel disorganized and behind the power curve there. My co-teacher and I don't see eye to eye on how to run the class either. But whatever. But there are still some great people to work with in that class.
My third one is my favorite. I teach it by myself. It's at an off-campus site, and the people there have all been working there together for a while. Most of them are pretty interactive and willing to speak up with questions, and all very encouraging to each other and to me.
Now if only sleep still weren't a problem . . . On the psychiatrist's recommendation, I've started taking sleep aids--he said "Dont' go more than 2-3 nights without good sleep." Well, for several months, I haven't been able to get good sleep at all until I was absolutely exhausted, and sometimes not even then. So I started taking sleep aids after 2-3 nights, but didn't want to get dependent on them. I'd quit after a night or two, but then still not sleep for 2-3 nights. Ben and Mom said it might help to just go ahead and take them consistently, to get my body used to sleeping again. I've done that for a while, but I'm groggy all day if I take them. Recently I tried sleeping without them--didn't work. So I'm still pretty much tired all the time, and have been going completely blank or making really stupid errors in class. My students mostly just grin at me, except for one or two of them in the rude class, but it's still concerning to me on a number of levels. My emotional state improved with the establishment of a schedule, but it and my mental state are going downhill again. I never thought it would be so difficult to find energy to work 22.5 hours a week . . .