Hi Honey, I'm Home

Whoa/Wow, it's just been so long.

I am sitting in a cafe waiting for my clothes to dry at the local laundry mat and wondering where Term 1 went. I knew that my daily life was flying by but forgot that my weekly and monthly life was also passing by at an alarming rate. Grades close tomorrow and I am celebrating my 2 month birthday as an educator.

Allow me to back up.

The First Day: I thought I was going to be extremely nervous my first day of school. Much to my surprise, I slept soundly the night before and arrived at school refreshed and ready for the first day of the rest of my life. The kids filed in, I went through my *first days of school* activities and that was that. I didn't have butterflies in my stomache and I didn't stutter over my words. The only downfall was that it was 112 degrees in my room and humid. When I went to the restroom for the only time each day that first week (never before noon), I saw a red-faced, frizzy-haired image of myself staring back at me in the mirror. I would laugh at myself and mutter that if I was teaching me, there would be no way that I would listen to me. (heh?) Anyhow, besides the excessive sweating, I was a confident, well-prepared, organized, funny and personable teacher. The rest of my first week continued like that and I marveled at how natural it all seemed. (What wasn't natural, and still isn't, is waking up before 5 a.m.)

I realized earlier today that I haven't been at all nervous about my teaching. I don't practice what I am going to say to my kids over and over again until it's perfect. I am comfortable around kids. The only time I am nervous (and perhaps a little awkward) is around my adult counterparts (by the way, I survived my first formal and informal observations). I think that's what I love about teaching. I can be my crazy, zaney self in front of my kids and they still listen to and respect me. This is the very joy in teaching- that kids like me as a teacher because of my eccentric nature.

The Kids: I cannot say enough about my students. They are funny, talented, intelligient, curious, and energetic. They are chatty, rude, disrespectful, obnoxious, and lazy. I mean, each 7th grader really has it all - rolled into one disheveled, disorganized awkward teen body in a Sean Jean sweathshirt. My classes are like the rusty roller coaster at the county fair that everyone is just a little unsure of. Period 1 is quietly inquisitive. Period 2 is always confused, lost in the lesson and yet, still talking when I am. Period 3 is full of the wicked smart kids and the wicked lazy ones. Period 5 has more absences than the local senior citizen center during a snow storm. By the time Period 7 rolls around, I am so exhausted that I am super laid back (and perhaps a little too much so). Every 47 minutes is a new adventure as the chemistry of the kids in the room (and those not in the room) continuously churns. Sure- I have "bad" kids that swear at teachers, that give me a hard time and that refuse to do work, but I try not to let it bother me. I am going to be faced with a new situation that requires my attention in about 7.8 seconds anyhow and cannot focus any more energy in the wrong direction.

My kids are from all of the globe and speak a variety of languages. I love talking to them one-on-one about where they came to the States from and what their life was like in their country of origin. I love talking to them about what moving to the U.S. was like for a nine-year-old who didn't speak a word of English. More on that later.

The Staff: The staff at my school is super supportive and I am so appreciate of my colleagues. We thoroughly enjoy our much-deserved Happy Hours on Fridays. Veiled under terms such as "Collaboration Meetings" and "Team Planning Time", the Happy Hours are our debrief from the long, arduous week of middle school drama. I have so much fun with my team teachers and only wish that we could have more structured time during the day to chat about student issues and curriculum connections.

The Disclaimer: (Regarding the positive tone of my post...) I have only been teaching, officially, for 2 months. Check in with me on June 27th when I am still in school, red-faced, sweating, and frizzy.

Ok- it's almost 9:30 and both of my alarms (hey, you never know) are set to go off at 4:30 a.m. That's okay though because tomorrow is Hawaiian Shirt Day.