If you know me or follow my blog
As much as I love what I do, I'm also starting to understand how real being a teacher is. I didn't become a teacher to stand in front of the room and just talk. I like being interactive with my students. I want my classroom to be a big conversation. Well, the reality is that a lot of my students don't want to talk. Oooookay. The reality is that no matter what knowlege and resources I give my students, some will just not do the work. For example, we had an in-class assignment that the students were allowed to work with a partner and use a book. We also went over the responses as a class. I still graded papers with blank spaces and remarks such as "I don't know". This is the absolute least favorite part of my job. I hate having to give low grades. I want all of my students to be successful. At the end of the day, I'm forced to give them the grade that they earned. It's hard to not be somewhat emotionally involved.
I tried to finish my Prezi(similar to a powerpoint) this morning before class. I was not prepared because there was a basketball game last night and I didn't get home until 9pm after being gone since 6:30am. I spent 2 hours at the game grading papers. I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough to have the time to finish my Prezi this morning. It gets deleted from the computer at 7:52. Class starts at 7:55. I obviously had to bust into action and rearrange the lesson quite a bit.
Yesterday, I finished my lesson during 1st hour 20 minutes before the bell rang. I am soooo thankful that my cooperating teacher is so helpful and provided me with bellringers for the next 4 hours.
My first day of teaching, someone in one of my classes threw a wad of paper at me during a lecture.
Yeah, being a teacher is NOT easy by any means. I didn't think it would be. But I never truly thought about some of the struggles I would face. I want to see all of my students do well, but for some it does not matter what you say.
Some of my days are 15+ hours long. Some days I eat breakfast at 6:15 am and don't eat lunch until almost 1pm. Sometimes I have to wait to use the restroom until I am done teaching 5 straight classes for 5 straight hours. Some nights I'm barely getting 6 hours of sleep. Yuck.
I spend most of my time creating lessons and studying those lessons to make sure I can effectively teach the information to my students. Oh, when I'm not doing this I am trying to find time to work at my job so I can make money . Oh, I'm also creating cover letters, looking up jobs, filling out applications, and studying for my licensure test. Oh, I also have a 25 paper to write over an entire Unit to have my University ensure that I am prepared to be a successful teacher.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I truly cannot see myself doing anything else. I love what I do. But this is the reality of being a teacher.
I do have 11 scheduled interviews for teaching positions in Kansas and have applied to one district in Texas!
Graduation...sigh :)
