It's funny how unmotivated you can become over something you love so much. The past 4 years have been a curious study of that evolution. 4 years ago I began my journey as a teacher. Well it actually started much earlier than that. When I was in the second grade I loved my teacher so much that I wanted to become a teacher when I grew up. Mrs. Eggbert was so nice and always had fun things for us to do. After that I had many other great teachers who influenced my desire to become a teacher. Then when I made it to college and had to decide what I wanted to do it felt natural to follow that path. I graduated and immediately was offered my dream job to teach speech and debate. I knew it would be hard, my student teaching wasn't a bowl of peaches, but I made it. My first year was survival and each year following had different challenges. I had some ups and downs but last year was particularly challenging. With the cutbacks and the overall devaluing of teachers I just wasn't sure I wanted to do it again. But being a dedicated person I made the commitment to teach another year.
Upon arriving at our annual district faculty meetings I was pleasantly surprised to feel something different. after a few days of meetings I had regained that lost inspiration. I don't know if it was watching a clip from The Freedom Writers, or standing in a circle with my colleagues to thank one another for being so great to work with and showing our gratitude for one another but I left feeling renewed and excited about the school year. Although I was still a little nervous about what the first day of school would bring I made a promise to myself to be more positive this year than last year. To say more positive things and not complain so much.
Walking into my classroom on Monday morning and meeting each new student as they came in was great. Each class has a unique dynamic and they seemed really engaged in my opening activities. Day one ended great and I was so excited to get to know all my kids. Day two went fairly well with only a few minor bumps but lead me to make some changes to my day three lesson. Today I made it through day three and it was a success!
All in all this week has been great. I have been re-inspired and I am as dedicated as ever to make the most out of this year. I want my curriculum to be engaging, exciting and most of all I want my kids to learn a-lot. I want them to have a-ha moments and become productive members of society. I want to be able to ask hard questions and get some good answers. I don't know if I will stay in education forever, but I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it!
Upon arriving at our annual district faculty meetings I was pleasantly surprised to feel something different. after a few days of meetings I had regained that lost inspiration. I don't know if it was watching a clip from The Freedom Writers, or standing in a circle with my colleagues to thank one another for being so great to work with and showing our gratitude for one another but I left feeling renewed and excited about the school year. Although I was still a little nervous about what the first day of school would bring I made a promise to myself to be more positive this year than last year. To say more positive things and not complain so much.
Walking into my classroom on Monday morning and meeting each new student as they came in was great. Each class has a unique dynamic and they seemed really engaged in my opening activities. Day one ended great and I was so excited to get to know all my kids. Day two went fairly well with only a few minor bumps but lead me to make some changes to my day three lesson. Today I made it through day three and it was a success!
All in all this week has been great. I have been re-inspired and I am as dedicated as ever to make the most out of this year. I want my curriculum to be engaging, exciting and most of all I want my kids to learn a-lot. I want them to have a-ha moments and become productive members of society. I want to be able to ask hard questions and get some good answers. I don't know if I will stay in education forever, but I'm here now and I'm going to make the most of it!
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