School Update

Children are interesting creatures. If you go into teaching, you'll never be bored.

This year, I have 7 different classes I teach. They are all different, though related, subjects. Last year I only taught five, and the year before 6. This is the biggest year I have had, and it is way more tiring than I expected, but not so much so that I can't do it!

The kids are good, and still so interesting. I love my kids from last year. I only have a couple of them in class this year, but the others still like to come visit me and get hugs. I miss them. Sometimes when we all have to be there after school (for a game or for parent conferences) they'll hang out in my room, draw on my board, and tell me their secrets. I love that.

This year's kids are good, too. They're very active, though, and occasionally loud, but they're kind when they want to be and oh so curious. They've got great potential for discovery because of that. My morning classes are super awesome because the kids in there want to learn. The afternoon classes can be awesome, too, because there are some kids in them who ask all the right questions and help guide the lessons and discussions into new places. And there are some kids in there who just need to be loved and I love doing that.

I teach a lot of middle school this year and the kids are just learning how to interact with the world. They don't yet realize the impact their decisions will have on their future, and I can show them what that's going to look like. I like being able to help them understand a bit of the world in a time when everything is so new and confusing for them. Hormones change everything, and new ways of socializing and interacting with peers are causing them to have to learn wisdom pretty quickly. I like that I can guide them in that, for while learning curriculum is important, character development is moreso.

I'm also grateful that Yahweh has graced me for this, for while I may lose patience when the kids are loud, I don't dismiss their feelings like so many adults did to me when I was that age. I wish someone had explained to me that sometimes, emotions are going to filter the way you see things, but that nothing has really changed and when the emotions die down, life still remains. I didn't learn that until my 20s and I hope my kids can learn it now so that they don't have to waste so much time in their teen years.

I have a fish tank now. The kids keep asking me when I'll get fish. Maybe I'll make that a bell ringer one day: predict when the fish will come. But we've been so busy that my coworker who gave me the fish tank hasn't had time to help me get fish.

Next week I'm taking kids on an overnight trip to a conference. I look forward to it because these are two of the best kids in their grade and I would not mind at all chaperoning them. I think it is a good inaugural trip; I've never taken kids anywhere overnight before, and there are some kids I wouldn't want to do it with, but these kids in particular will be great!

I've been so busy, and Yahweh has been really stretching me, but stretching is good. It's a big deal to be impacting so many young lives, and my purpose and calling is important. I'm learning to walk in confidence and surety in regards to myself and the decisions that I make in teaching and in my life. I'm excited to see what comes of it.