Lent. The season of sacrifice. Forty days to give something up for God. As a girl who grew up Catholic and attended Catholic schools from kindergarten through high school, the purpose and meaning of Lent has been drilled into me for quite some time now. I kind of viewed it as a "Jesus suffered and now it's your turn" time of year. When I was a kid, I don't think I quite understood exactly what I was doing every Lent when I gave up candy or Cokes, knowing that in forty days I would binge on whatever it was I sacrificed the minute Easter rolled around. Then, as I got older, I started to view Lent as more of a "New Year's Resolution" opportunity. Give up something I know is bad for me and try to keep it up. Hence, I still gave up sweets or Diet Coke. One year I even gave up processed food (a MUCH harder, and more expensive, undertaking than one might imagine).
However, this year I was having a hard time deciding what I wanted to do for Lent. The idea of sacrifice is such a negative one. It denotes pain and suffering and unhappiness. I mean, come on, Jesus' sacrifice involved DYING. But this morning during my daily "browse the Internet for news/check Facebook" time I ran across this quote about sacrifice:
“The sacrifice which causes sorrow to the doer of the sacrifice is no sacrifice. Real sacrifice lightens the mind of the doer and gives him a sense of peace and joy. The Buddha gave up the pleasures of life because they had become painful to him.” Mahatma Gandhi
Smart guy, that Gandhi. For some reason, this little snippet gave me so much clarity on the meaning of Lent. Sacrifice is an opportunity to fine tune our lives. It opens up the door for a greater happiness. Jesus suffered and sacrificed a LOT, but then he got to spend eternity in Heaven and save humanity. I'd say that's a pretty awesome "peace and joy" payoff. I am almost positive I will not be saving humanity any time during the next forty days, but I think I can find a little peace and joy myself. When I started reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project in January, I discovered that she, too, saw the value in making sacrifices in the name of greater clarity. Whether it was a sacrifice of time, by adding something to her life, or a sacrifice of a longheld belief, her sacrifices brought her peace and joy. My little "happiness project" resolutions have fallen to the wayside recently, so that is definitely something I'll be picking back up this Lent. I still haven't decided exactly what I'm giving up, but I am happy to say that I now, for maybe the first time, feel like I have more of an understanding of exactly why I'm giving it up. And I would say that's a very positive first step.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Update on the "Give and Take"
In less than 24 hours, I have already found several ways to be a "giver." I am SUPER excited about this quick progress, and I promised to be a better blogger, hence a new entry MUCH sooner than normal. Granted, some of these things have started to become habit and routine, but I am thrilled to report that I gave myself all kinds of reasons to be happy this morning.
- I woke up at 7 am and visited the gym
- I had coffee with a long, lost friend, who I have missed dearly over the past few months
- I was nice to the rude person in the Starbucks line behind me
- I treated myself to a massage on the spur of the moment. Spontaneity is not my strong point and making time for frivolous treats like this isn't either, so I was proud of this snap decision
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Give and Take
My last post was titled "Patience is a Virtue." Congratulations to anyone who reads this blog. You are officially virtuous, seeing as you've had to wait an entire month for a new blog entry. However, I am promising (once again) that I will be more consistent. That is finally starting to look like more of a possibility with my life reaching a more even keel and a more normal pace. By normal, of course, I mean my version of normal, which includes having three jobs. I believe "normal" to be a sliding scale. Everybody's is just a little different. Anyway, in spite of my lack of commitment to the blog, I have made what I think are great strides toward grownup-hood in the past month.
So, this very small list of very mundane accomplishments is the beginning of my decision to be more of a giver. Yes, I will give myself time to go have coffee with a friend I've missed. Yes, I will give myself time to work out and feel good about myself. Yes, I will give myself time to improve my spirituality and my intellect by reading and thinking and praying. I have found that, as an adult, it is SO easy to fill every block of time with an activity, to block out the possibility of having to think about scary things like an unknown future. But you know what? I'm going to give myself time for that, too, because I think the unknown is starting to look less and less scary and more and more exciting.
- I attended a teacher's fair and filled out ten different district applications in hopes of finding my dream teaching position.
- I got my first interview (YAY!!)
- I bought cute, yet professional, teacher clothes for teacher's fair and interview mentioned above.
- I started waking up at 5:30 AM every single morning to make time for the gym.
- And last, and most definitely my favorite, I have started taking time to cook dinner. From scratch.
So, this very small list of very mundane accomplishments is the beginning of my decision to be more of a giver. Yes, I will give myself time to go have coffee with a friend I've missed. Yes, I will give myself time to work out and feel good about myself. Yes, I will give myself time to improve my spirituality and my intellect by reading and thinking and praying. I have found that, as an adult, it is SO easy to fill every block of time with an activity, to block out the possibility of having to think about scary things like an unknown future. But you know what? I'm going to give myself time for that, too, because I think the unknown is starting to look less and less scary and more and more exciting.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Patience is a Virtue
As a child I loved books. I started reading and couldn't stop, and even before I could read I loved being read to by others. At the risk of sounding like a complete and total nerd, my mother told me, when I got older, that unlike most children, I slept with my books and not stuffed animals. I don't remember this, but I've come to terms with this potentially embarrassing piece of information now. In fact, I still love to read. It is one of my favorite pastimes, and a huge stress reliever. One of the first books that I remember having read to me was a big book at my parents' house called The Children's Book of Virtues. The Book of Virtues is a collection of fables, fairy tales, and short stories that each teach a specific lesson or has a moral that is easily identifiable for children. I can remember sitting with my dad before bed and listening while he would read me a story, and we would talk about what I learned. (Sidenote: Typing this, for some reason, makes this whole scenario sound super cheesy and storybook-esque on its own, but I promise that this really did happen in my childhood. I had, and still have, awesome parents.)
Anyway, I couldn't tell you the names of any of those stories, or, for that matter, most of the morals that I was supposed to learn. I can, however, tell you the one phrase that this childhood memory has engrained in my mind forever: Patience is a virtue. I have always, and continue to be, a very impatient person. I'm that person who taps their foot in the bank teller line and the checkout at Target; I hate traffic. If I could teleport from place to place to make my arrival more immediate, I would. I know what I want, and I have never been able to come to terms with the idea that I can't always have it when I want. Keep in mind, that I am fully aware that the expectation for instant gratification is extremely childish. I feel like a grownup in a lot of areas, but I'm a work in progress, too, I guess. When I was a child, I was equally impatient. I can remember my dad reciting that line over and over and over in various situations: Patience is a virtue.
Recently, I have had lots of opportunities at work to be more virtuous and patient, and it has brought this little mantra to mind. At my day job, where I sell women's clothes, I work with a very wide variety of customers. We have women come in who immediately give the "back off and don't sell me things" vibe. They are perfectly capable of finding what they need, and that's fine with me. I'm there if they need me and am happy to help. However, we also have customers who come in and expect you to drop everything to pull every item that they might like, work with them for hours, and then buy nothing. Patience is a virtue. As a dance teacher, I get to exercise patience everyday, when girls would rather discuss their weekends and boyfriends and breakups than work on their dance technique or listen to anything I have to say. Patience is a virtue.
I think the Rolling Stones said it best: "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need." And most of the time, I am pretty sure what you need might just be what you least expect. So, as a new week starts, I'll continue to remind myself that patience really is a virtue. Since I'm working on the constantly improving, grownup version of myself, it'll be good for me to be more virtuous. I just can't wait 'til I finally get there....
Anyway, I couldn't tell you the names of any of those stories, or, for that matter, most of the morals that I was supposed to learn. I can, however, tell you the one phrase that this childhood memory has engrained in my mind forever: Patience is a virtue. I have always, and continue to be, a very impatient person. I'm that person who taps their foot in the bank teller line and the checkout at Target; I hate traffic. If I could teleport from place to place to make my arrival more immediate, I would. I know what I want, and I have never been able to come to terms with the idea that I can't always have it when I want. Keep in mind, that I am fully aware that the expectation for instant gratification is extremely childish. I feel like a grownup in a lot of areas, but I'm a work in progress, too, I guess. When I was a child, I was equally impatient. I can remember my dad reciting that line over and over and over in various situations: Patience is a virtue.
Recently, I have had lots of opportunities at work to be more virtuous and patient, and it has brought this little mantra to mind. At my day job, where I sell women's clothes, I work with a very wide variety of customers. We have women come in who immediately give the "back off and don't sell me things" vibe. They are perfectly capable of finding what they need, and that's fine with me. I'm there if they need me and am happy to help. However, we also have customers who come in and expect you to drop everything to pull every item that they might like, work with them for hours, and then buy nothing. Patience is a virtue. As a dance teacher, I get to exercise patience everyday, when girls would rather discuss their weekends and boyfriends and breakups than work on their dance technique or listen to anything I have to say. Patience is a virtue.
I think the Rolling Stones said it best: "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need." And most of the time, I am pretty sure what you need might just be what you least expect. So, as a new week starts, I'll continue to remind myself that patience really is a virtue. Since I'm working on the constantly improving, grownup version of myself, it'll be good for me to be more virtuous. I just can't wait 'til I finally get there....
Friday, February 4, 2011
Finding Happy
"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."
-Martha Washington
This has been one of my favorite quotes for a long time. My mom sent this to me my freshman year of college, and it has inhabited my "favorite quotes" on Facebook ever since. It's so hard for me to remember that happiness is a choice, not some mysterious feeling that just happens upon us based on our surroundings. I thought about this quote recently, because I began reading a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I was initially intrigued by the title. What could a happiness project entail? The premise of Rubin's book is that most of us are happy (and extremely blessed); we just aren't as happy as we could be, because we allow the clutter of life to drag us down into a less happy place. Her answer was to set attainable resolutions for each of the twelve months in a year that she felt would make her a happier person, or at least a person more able to recognize the reasons she should be happy.
In a lot of ways, I feel like Gretchen Rubin. I am fully aware of my many blessings. I have a wonderful, supportive, and loving circle of family and friends that I can always rely on. I have two jobs that I love. I am healthy and have my whole future ahead of me. But in the midst of all these blessings, I have found that it is so easy for me to slip into a state of discontent. I worry that I'm not good enough or that I'm not reaching my full potential. I get bogged down in the little things like cleaning my house and doing laundry and paying my bills, and then I start to focus on the negative rather than the positive. I have a friend who always used to say "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative." Well, that statement is WAY easier said than done. For example, I could focus on the fact that I have two great jobs that I love, that I get to work with people all day, and that I am lucky to have these two jobs when there are people who don't have any job at all. Instead, I constantly find myself complaining, both to myself and to others, about how overly busy I am and all the 700,456,259,483 things that I have to get done in a week, and how impossible it all is, and blah blah blah etc, etc.
So the first resolution in my "happiness project," and my wisdom for this week, is that we have to be "determined to be cheerful and happy," just like Martha Washington. A couple weeks ago, when I couldn't drag myself out of bed because I had put off going to the doctor for a month, a friend brought me Chinese food (because I was SO sick of chicken noodle soup). The fortune cookie I got that day is now taped on my bathroom mirror as a daily reminder. It says "happiness is a journey, not a destination." Everyday is filled with choices, and the first one we make when we wake up every morning is whether or not each day is going to be a good one. I am choosing to make every, single day a happy one. Complaining is a personal decision to clutter our lives with reasons to be less happy. And I just have to face the fact that I have hundreds of reasons to be blissfully happy everyday. In the words of my late grandpa, "Everyday I wake up is a good day." It's definitely about time I made it that way.
-Martha Washington
This has been one of my favorite quotes for a long time. My mom sent this to me my freshman year of college, and it has inhabited my "favorite quotes" on Facebook ever since. It's so hard for me to remember that happiness is a choice, not some mysterious feeling that just happens upon us based on our surroundings. I thought about this quote recently, because I began reading a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I was initially intrigued by the title. What could a happiness project entail? The premise of Rubin's book is that most of us are happy (and extremely blessed); we just aren't as happy as we could be, because we allow the clutter of life to drag us down into a less happy place. Her answer was to set attainable resolutions for each of the twelve months in a year that she felt would make her a happier person, or at least a person more able to recognize the reasons she should be happy.
In a lot of ways, I feel like Gretchen Rubin. I am fully aware of my many blessings. I have a wonderful, supportive, and loving circle of family and friends that I can always rely on. I have two jobs that I love. I am healthy and have my whole future ahead of me. But in the midst of all these blessings, I have found that it is so easy for me to slip into a state of discontent. I worry that I'm not good enough or that I'm not reaching my full potential. I get bogged down in the little things like cleaning my house and doing laundry and paying my bills, and then I start to focus on the negative rather than the positive. I have a friend who always used to say "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative." Well, that statement is WAY easier said than done. For example, I could focus on the fact that I have two great jobs that I love, that I get to work with people all day, and that I am lucky to have these two jobs when there are people who don't have any job at all. Instead, I constantly find myself complaining, both to myself and to others, about how overly busy I am and all the 700,456,259,483 things that I have to get done in a week, and how impossible it all is, and blah blah blah etc, etc.
So the first resolution in my "happiness project," and my wisdom for this week, is that we have to be "determined to be cheerful and happy," just like Martha Washington. A couple weeks ago, when I couldn't drag myself out of bed because I had put off going to the doctor for a month, a friend brought me Chinese food (because I was SO sick of chicken noodle soup). The fortune cookie I got that day is now taped on my bathroom mirror as a daily reminder. It says "happiness is a journey, not a destination." Everyday is filled with choices, and the first one we make when we wake up every morning is whether or not each day is going to be a good one. I am choosing to make every, single day a happy one. Complaining is a personal decision to clutter our lives with reasons to be less happy. And I just have to face the fact that I have hundreds of reasons to be blissfully happy everyday. In the words of my late grandpa, "Everyday I wake up is a good day." It's definitely about time I made it that way.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wisdom from a New "Middle Place"
Well, I have officially been a college graduate for a month, and I can tell you this: College graduation is underwhelming. When you graduate from high school, there's this huge sense of expectancy and looking at the future--making your own way and your own path. When you graduate from college, you go to work. In fact, I went to work the day after my college graduation (and the fourteen days straight after that). Talk about jumping into the "real world." But I'm not complaining. I didn't start a teaching job, obviously, because during those fourteen days that I was working every teacher in the country was kicking back and loving their winter break. I got a job at a great little boutique near my house, and I work with two other wonderful women, who I already love dearly, selling some pretty fabulous clothes that I am constantly tempted to spend my paycheck on. When I got this job in November, my mother's response was "Wow, Jess, way to use your degree!" Thanks, mom. While this job has nothing to do with my degree, I thought, after the hustle and chaos of my student teaching semester, that I wanted a breather--six months to catch my breath and apply for jobs for the fall.
But I cannot tell a lie, I miss being in the classroom so much. I love chaos and noise and the sound of middle school dramas in the hallways. I finally got my teaching license in the mail this week, and that's when it really hit me that I just could not wait to get into a classroom again. And so the search begins for a new classroom, new students, and another new experience for me, my first "real, big girl job." In the meantime, I plan to continue blogging, but from a new "middle place." I've been debating for the past month, since graduation, whether or not I would continue this blog. But I've learned a few things, even in the past month that I feel are important to throw out into the expansive blogging universe, and, technically, I'm still in the middle. Now I'm in what I like to think of as the "almost grown-up" middle--that place between graduating from school and finding my first "real job." I think we can all learn a lot from living in limbo. So for at least the next six months (hopefully that's all because I'll get a teaching job!) I'll be blogging about wisdom from a new "middle place."
While I've actually learned lots of little random lessons since I graduated into the "real world," I'll just share three with you for now.
1. When your dad tells you to always check that hose behind your washing machine before you do laundry, do it. That's right, I flooded my entire laundry room. Like not just a little bit. I'm talking about a semi-Noah's ark situation on my laundry room floor. Even when you think you're a grownup, your parents still know best. True story.
2. Don't put off until tomorrow what you could do today. Yes. I just used an extremely overused euphemism to provide wisdom. But it really is so applicable. For example, if you're sick today, go to the doctor today. Don't wait until you can barely function (I did this and was sick for a month). If your GRE is in a week, study today (not the night before for two hours-ish....oops!). I've found that this little saying has become very applicable in my life. For some reason, having a little less on my plate has increased my tendency toward procrastination. Go figure.
3. Most importantly, have a little faith. After I made it through the craziness of the holidays, I sat down and started to think about my future. It only took me about five minutes of thinking about that to have a mini panic attack that I would never get hired, never find a significant other, never go anywhere with my life, etc., etc. It's almost like graduating brings on a little quarter life crisis. However, I took a deep breath and realized that all those things weren't going to come on my timing. They'll come when the time is right. And that's a God thing, not a "me" thing. While I still occasionally have moments of "where am I going" thoughts, I have gotten comfortable with the idea of working my hardest and having a little faith. I know I'll end up right where I'm supposed to be. And right now I'm pretty positive I'm just supposed to be right here. Happy almost weekend!
But I cannot tell a lie, I miss being in the classroom so much. I love chaos and noise and the sound of middle school dramas in the hallways. I finally got my teaching license in the mail this week, and that's when it really hit me that I just could not wait to get into a classroom again. And so the search begins for a new classroom, new students, and another new experience for me, my first "real, big girl job." In the meantime, I plan to continue blogging, but from a new "middle place." I've been debating for the past month, since graduation, whether or not I would continue this blog. But I've learned a few things, even in the past month that I feel are important to throw out into the expansive blogging universe, and, technically, I'm still in the middle. Now I'm in what I like to think of as the "almost grown-up" middle--that place between graduating from school and finding my first "real job." I think we can all learn a lot from living in limbo. So for at least the next six months (hopefully that's all because I'll get a teaching job!) I'll be blogging about wisdom from a new "middle place."
While I've actually learned lots of little random lessons since I graduated into the "real world," I'll just share three with you for now.
1. When your dad tells you to always check that hose behind your washing machine before you do laundry, do it. That's right, I flooded my entire laundry room. Like not just a little bit. I'm talking about a semi-Noah's ark situation on my laundry room floor. Even when you think you're a grownup, your parents still know best. True story.
2. Don't put off until tomorrow what you could do today. Yes. I just used an extremely overused euphemism to provide wisdom. But it really is so applicable. For example, if you're sick today, go to the doctor today. Don't wait until you can barely function (I did this and was sick for a month). If your GRE is in a week, study today (not the night before for two hours-ish....oops!). I've found that this little saying has become very applicable in my life. For some reason, having a little less on my plate has increased my tendency toward procrastination. Go figure.
3. Most importantly, have a little faith. After I made it through the craziness of the holidays, I sat down and started to think about my future. It only took me about five minutes of thinking about that to have a mini panic attack that I would never get hired, never find a significant other, never go anywhere with my life, etc., etc. It's almost like graduating brings on a little quarter life crisis. However, I took a deep breath and realized that all those things weren't going to come on my timing. They'll come when the time is right. And that's a God thing, not a "me" thing. While I still occasionally have moments of "where am I going" thoughts, I have gotten comfortable with the idea of working my hardest and having a little faith. I know I'll end up right where I'm supposed to be. And right now I'm pretty positive I'm just supposed to be right here. Happy almost weekend!
Monday, December 13, 2010
Top Ten Lessons
Well, I said I was going to get better about blogging regularly, but obviously I accidentally told a lie. The past month has been like a tornado. I blew through so many activities and commitments and events that I simply didn't have time. All month I kept thinking, "This would be SO great to blog about!" But I just never got around to it. I guess that's part of being a teacher. You start to strip the nonessentials in favor of actually getting work done.
Anyway, here we are...the last week of school. All of my assignments and journals and assessments are turned in, and all that's left to do is look back. I've learned so much this semester. I honestly feel like I've learned how to be a "real" teacher, both from my mentor teacher (who happens to be a educational rock star) and from my students (who happen to be pretty awesome as well). I've experienced so many things, both funny and heartbreaking; I've gained insight into what it really means to teach middle school. And so, to close out the semester I've decided to compile a Top Ten of 2010: The real wisdom from the middle.
Here we go...
10. Never wear skinny jeans to school on Fridays. Actually, it might be better advice to not wear skinny jeans EVER, because middle school boys are awkward, and you may find out later that you were the topic of less than savory discussions in the hallway after the fact.
9. Never stop smiling. LOTS of teachers tell you "Now don't even think about smiling at ALL your first year, but this semester I've had so many reasons to smile. When it got hard to smile, because I was tired or overwhelmed, I always seemed to have a student who made me to get over it and smile anyway. Smiling truly is proof to me that it's the little things that count the most.
8. Never tell students they've broken your heart by talking when you're talking. You'll have some brave soul who responds, "So if I talk I get a piece of your heart? I'm never shutting up!" Yes. That happened.
7. Always find the common ground. I saw firsthand this semester how important it can be to find common interests with students. I talked about football and music and fashion--anything to try to get to know my students. I learned more than I ever thought I would.
6. Always be willing to be a secret-keeper. I think it is so important to gain students' trust. I had several students this semester that I'm pretty sure did not like me or were at least highly skeptical of me as this semester began. Building their trust and showing them that I was worthy of their trust made everything better.
5. Always know it's ok to look stupid in the name of education. Sometimes, you just have to make a fool of yourself to get students to snap out of it an pay attention. I can't tell you how many days I felt more like a performer than a teacher. You have to put on a show, and sometimes that means you can't look cool. I'm OK with that.
4. Never give up on a kid. I almost did that. I felt like I had tried absolutely everything, but then I sat and thought about how many other teachers tried absolutely everything and decided to give up. Middle school is when kids start to completely check out. I want to keep my kids checked in, but more importantly, I want them to have a reason to want to come to school. If knowing that one teacher refuses to give up is the only reason, then so be it.
3. Make new friends. I LOVE the middle school where I teach. I will miss our amazing media specialist and the English department teachers and, most of all, I'll miss my mentor teacher. When my university supervisor told me we were a match made in heaven, he was not joking. I'll miss working with her everyday, learning from her experience, and just talking. She truly has been a mentor and a great friend.
2. Don't be a coconut. A student told me this semester that she was like a coconut, hard on the outside and soft on the inside, where she could get hurt. I learned this semester that you can't be too hard on the outside. You have to show kids that you have a heart--that you care about their wellbeing and want to hear what they have to say. By being that kind of teacher, I learned how to communicate with students in a much more effective way.
1. ALWAYS monitor and adjust. Story of my life. This semester has almost killed me. I've taught school, worked three jobs, and made my very best attempt to be a good friend and sister and daughter. I honestly don't have any clue how I made everything fit this semester, but I do know that there was much monitoring and adjusting involved. Things change, our lives change and get upside down, and we can either get lost in the change or deal with it and fix things. I have definitely learned the importance of adjusting in so many aspects of my life this semester, and it's a skill that I will always carry with me.
So there you have it--my Top Ten of 2010. I learned so many lessons, but these are the ones that stick out in my mind. I'll try to fit in one more blog this week, but I hope my wisdom has added to your wisdom this semester. Until then, have a fantastic week!
Anyway, here we are...the last week of school. All of my assignments and journals and assessments are turned in, and all that's left to do is look back. I've learned so much this semester. I honestly feel like I've learned how to be a "real" teacher, both from my mentor teacher (who happens to be a educational rock star) and from my students (who happen to be pretty awesome as well). I've experienced so many things, both funny and heartbreaking; I've gained insight into what it really means to teach middle school. And so, to close out the semester I've decided to compile a Top Ten of 2010: The real wisdom from the middle.
Here we go...
10. Never wear skinny jeans to school on Fridays. Actually, it might be better advice to not wear skinny jeans EVER, because middle school boys are awkward, and you may find out later that you were the topic of less than savory discussions in the hallway after the fact.
9. Never stop smiling. LOTS of teachers tell you "Now don't even think about smiling at ALL your first year, but this semester I've had so many reasons to smile. When it got hard to smile, because I was tired or overwhelmed, I always seemed to have a student who made me to get over it and smile anyway. Smiling truly is proof to me that it's the little things that count the most.
8. Never tell students they've broken your heart by talking when you're talking. You'll have some brave soul who responds, "So if I talk I get a piece of your heart? I'm never shutting up!" Yes. That happened.
7. Always find the common ground. I saw firsthand this semester how important it can be to find common interests with students. I talked about football and music and fashion--anything to try to get to know my students. I learned more than I ever thought I would.
6. Always be willing to be a secret-keeper. I think it is so important to gain students' trust. I had several students this semester that I'm pretty sure did not like me or were at least highly skeptical of me as this semester began. Building their trust and showing them that I was worthy of their trust made everything better.
5. Always know it's ok to look stupid in the name of education. Sometimes, you just have to make a fool of yourself to get students to snap out of it an pay attention. I can't tell you how many days I felt more like a performer than a teacher. You have to put on a show, and sometimes that means you can't look cool. I'm OK with that.
4. Never give up on a kid. I almost did that. I felt like I had tried absolutely everything, but then I sat and thought about how many other teachers tried absolutely everything and decided to give up. Middle school is when kids start to completely check out. I want to keep my kids checked in, but more importantly, I want them to have a reason to want to come to school. If knowing that one teacher refuses to give up is the only reason, then so be it.
3. Make new friends. I LOVE the middle school where I teach. I will miss our amazing media specialist and the English department teachers and, most of all, I'll miss my mentor teacher. When my university supervisor told me we were a match made in heaven, he was not joking. I'll miss working with her everyday, learning from her experience, and just talking. She truly has been a mentor and a great friend.
2. Don't be a coconut. A student told me this semester that she was like a coconut, hard on the outside and soft on the inside, where she could get hurt. I learned this semester that you can't be too hard on the outside. You have to show kids that you have a heart--that you care about their wellbeing and want to hear what they have to say. By being that kind of teacher, I learned how to communicate with students in a much more effective way.
1. ALWAYS monitor and adjust. Story of my life. This semester has almost killed me. I've taught school, worked three jobs, and made my very best attempt to be a good friend and sister and daughter. I honestly don't have any clue how I made everything fit this semester, but I do know that there was much monitoring and adjusting involved. Things change, our lives change and get upside down, and we can either get lost in the change or deal with it and fix things. I have definitely learned the importance of adjusting in so many aspects of my life this semester, and it's a skill that I will always carry with me.
So there you have it--my Top Ten of 2010. I learned so many lessons, but these are the ones that stick out in my mind. I'll try to fit in one more blog this week, but I hope my wisdom has added to your wisdom this semester. Until then, have a fantastic week!
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