Summer finished out with a bang! I had an amazing time getting to hang out with all my friends that I'd missed while I was at Disney... HOWEVER, I really began to miss Disney. More about that later...
I finally got my classroom at the end of July and the work began. I spent endless hours with my mom in that room getting it ready. After sorting and cleaning and painting it was all finally done! Here's what it looks like...
Of course I had to make it all cutsy! If I have to look at it for 7 hours every day it might as well look like something I want to look at!
I also got an apartment at the beginning of August! I moved into the Legacy Village with my friend Jerica that I met on our Memphis mission trip at the beginning of May. She got a job teaching at Krisle and needed a roommate. I saw it as a good opportunity to get out on my own and begin the whole real-world experience...
It's been ok so far. I am at my parents' house quite a bit. It is good to be able to come over to their house, but I love having my own place. Me and Jerica don't see each other a lot because we're usually at school or out and about. The times we have gotten to hang out have been good. We've watched movies and spent time grading papers together. I'm glad I'm getting to know her!!
So my school year started with lots of fun teacher orientation and inservices... it was a blast. NOT. So after all of that I finally got my list of students. That night I had open house. Being the teacher and talking with parents was pretty scary. Especially when I hadn't even had their kids in my class yet. The next day was my first half day with kids! I couldn't believe it! I was actually a teacher. I AM actually a teacher. It was weird and a rush and exhilarating! After that I had to get my curriculum ready for the next week. I got to know the math teacher next door to me really well. She has helped me out tremendously! So then my first week began. I was so scared. It went really well though!
I have had 2 full weeks of school now. I love it! It has its days where I come home completely discouraged, but I know that this is what I'm meant to be doing. This is what I was made for. I love getting to come to school every morning and spend time with my kids.
I will say, though, that I've found math to be a hard subject to teach. It's hard to explain things that I have such an easy time understanding. I'm getting better at it I think though.
I've had a couple of memorable moments with my kids even thus far. One of my favorites was this past Friday after the test. My 2nd block freshmen finished their test and were free to talk and hang out. Some of the girls asked what the things were on top of my cabinet. They happened to be asking about my inertia scooters for my physics class. I got them down and talked to them about using the scooters to teach force, momentum and other concepts in physics. I let them sit on them and pushed them around the room. They were all excited and said they were definitely taking physics!! It made me so happy to see them get excited about something I, myself am passionate about! Those are the moments I look forward to having more of. Those inspirational teaching moments!
On the flip side, I've already experienced a few frustrating students who just won't do their work. It's made me realize that I can't force anything on anyone. My students have to be the ones to make the decision to learn. I can only hope to be the motivation they need to take that step in the right direction.
All in all, I really love teaching! I love my kids and I love getting to come to work to spend time with them and teaching them! I am all ready for the coming week and ready to see what exciting stories and challenges it will bring! It's SO weird having a real job and being a real adult...
Truly content,
Katelyn
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