Return with a New Mission
So, I'm going to attempt to revive my journal-writing habits. We'll see how long this lasts.
I've been working hard at both school and work. With the school year almost at an end, I look back and realize that I'm not the same teacher I was in August. I was a little nervous. Not always sure I was doing the right thing as a teacher. But, as the year went on, I realized that I didn't need to be right all the time and that teachers are just as human as anyone else.
As of late, I've been a moral watchdog for my students. I have one whose mother decided he "wasn't college material," which obviously affected the kid greatly. I've been helping him get back on track with school and life in general. Another kid, who isn't my freshman, has been having trouble socially adjusting to high school (he's a freshman). He is being threatened and bullied, which tugs at my heartstrings. So, I've been asking a couple of my seniors to keep an eye out for him, because I understand the social repercussions of my hanging around him all the time.
All in all, I would call this year a success, even if it isn't finished yet. One thing is for sure, I've definitely learned a lot. Here are some of those lessons:
I have many more...perhaps I have enough axioms for a book. I guess you can always ask me if you want me to impart some more teacherly knowledge.
I've been working hard at both school and work. With the school year almost at an end, I look back and realize that I'm not the same teacher I was in August. I was a little nervous. Not always sure I was doing the right thing as a teacher. But, as the year went on, I realized that I didn't need to be right all the time and that teachers are just as human as anyone else.
As of late, I've been a moral watchdog for my students. I have one whose mother decided he "wasn't college material," which obviously affected the kid greatly. I've been helping him get back on track with school and life in general. Another kid, who isn't my freshman, has been having trouble socially adjusting to high school (he's a freshman). He is being threatened and bullied, which tugs at my heartstrings. So, I've been asking a couple of my seniors to keep an eye out for him, because I understand the social repercussions of my hanging around him all the time.
All in all, I would call this year a success, even if it isn't finished yet. One thing is for sure, I've definitely learned a lot. Here are some of those lessons:
- "Your mom" is not a good retort (some students are adopted or have lost their mothers)
- It's a whole lot better for your psyche if you just pretend not to listen to some of the things your students say
- As a new teacher, a whole lot of crap gets dumped on you (that whole "young and fresh" mentality)
- Sporks do not make good soup spoons (Wes told me this, but I found out the hard way, too)
- Teachers are a moral model for their students (I feel bad for my students)
- Office supply catalog = Bible
- If you ask them to write 15 lines in their journals, they'll write 5...and then wonder why they're failing
- Even if a student does absolutely nothing in class (e.g. sleeps all period, every day), he/she will have the unmitigated gall to ask you why he/she is failing
- Teachers' sense of humor is oftentimes worse than the students'
- Music in the classroom promotes silence (probably because most students can't sing)
- Students love finding teachers in public places (it's almost as if they don't believe we have a real life outside of school)
- Students have accepted you as "cool" when they spread rumors that make your life sound more interesting than it really is (personally, I was a kicker for the Oklahoma Sooners and Detroit Lions; I was also a member of the Latin Kings and have a tattoo sleeve on my right arm)
I have many more...perhaps I have enough axioms for a book. I guess you can always ask me if you want me to impart some more teacherly knowledge.