Friday, August 17, 2012

Living the Dream… Puke, Blood, and Recess



Well, friends, I've officially survived my first week as a 3rd grade teacher.  You're all wondering, I'm sure, how it's going, and you'd probably rather read it from the comfort of your sweatpants and morning coffee than hear it from me (silly technoisolationist culture that we've built ourselves into…).

I am living my dream straight out of college (plus or minus a year in Australia).  That's unheard of with today's economy and the fight to out-resume the next guy.  In college, I represented the skinny piece of the pie who knew what they wanted to do with their lives.  I've always wanted to be a teacher.  Somehow, I just knew.  Of course, when I started looking at colleges, I went through a short nutritionist/journalist/Spanish phase, but teaching won out.  I wasn't exactly short on circumstantial evidence either.

  • I LOVE mornings.  The alarm goes off at 5:45, and I'm hungry for a new day to dance in.
  • I'm all about learning.  I don't care what it is… physics, Plato, pepperoni pizza making.
  • I love kids.  Gee whiz, they're funny and genuine and precious… sort of like dogs, but more fun because they can talk.
  • Volume is one of my spiritual gifts (or curses, depending on who you talk to).
  • My energy level is… above average.
  • Multitasking is interesting.
  • I'm really hard to gross out. (I've already had bloody noses and an upset stomach)
  • Small paychecks don't scare me.

So, I think being a teacher might be a good idea.

For now, I'll just give you a topical overview of the questions I know you want answered.

The School
The place I'm teaching is amazing.  There's a great teacher culture, lots of involved parents, plenty of demographics represented, and high standards.  I have a great mentor who saves my life at least once a day.  My classroom is spacious and well equipped.  I'm absolutely spoiled.

The Commute
My daily sing along/pray along time is about 20 minutes.  It's perfect for getting prepped for the day (and drinking 77% of my morning coffee).  If you ever drive up beside me, odds are I'll be drumming on the steering wheel and giving a mini concert. 

Living at Home
I know, people get a bad rap sometimes for living at home, but it's been great.  I wasn't so sure about it, coming off of a year in Australia and a year at school in my own apartment, but it's been easier than I thought.  The plan is to stay at least a semester and figure out what the heck I'm doing after Christmas.  And yes, Mom does cook dinner. 

Teaching
I love teaching.  I don't love all the transition time and management time that isn't active learning time.  In the big picture, that's on me because I need to plan awesome things and make my children behave so we can do them.  :)

Stamina
Yep, being with 23 third graders from 8:15-3:05 takes it out of you.  I'm still finding time to have a small life (dancing, church, all the good stuff in life) outside of school!  I sleep hard at night, but invariably I have dreams about school.  The first night, I found myself in my bathroom at home looking for a bandaid for a student.  Last night I dreamed all my children were in my bedroom and I kept thinking I couldn't send them out because they wouldn't have anyone to look after them.  Then I realized it was 3AM and they couldn't possibly really be in my room. 


Oh friends, pray for my kiddos!  I love them so much already and ache when they don't understand they're specially made or when they hurt each other without thinking.  Pray I model what I know and what I'm trying to teach them. 


Much love from the school front,

Little Miss Sunshine


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