Now, I had some big plans for this blog post. I was going to talk about my adventures of Thursday. However, life got the best of me, and I haven't been able to write the post until now- Tuesday. I'm sitting here, trying to think what details I wanted to include in this amazing blog post, but I can only think the aftermath of the situation. When I am reflecting about Thursday, the events which come to mind are the ones in which I received support. I'm very thankful for my aid in the classroom; I would not survive that class without her extra support. She knows the kids from last year, and she takes a lot of the reigns for taking students out of the class for discipline. I am also extremely thankful for my principal. After school she helped calm my nerves about calling home- she even called some of the parents so I could see an example. Many teachers also encouraged me by helping me see that my lesson did not fail because of me. One of the most difficult things about teaching here is that sometimes I cannot get through the necessary material due to stopping every two minutes to tell my kids to stop talking. Lastly, I am thankful for how God reminds me that I am right where I am suppose to be. On Thursday night, I went to a Bible study where we talked about what the fear of the Lord was. In a previous study, they had talked about fearing the Lord as looking at an event with the perspective that God has. Proverbs 9:10 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so looking at a situation through God's perspective is the beginning of wisdom. During the conversations, I kept thinking about how I made my decision to teach here. We also talked about how sometimes fearing the Lord is not always knowing why, but trusting God that His wisdom is the right path. Sometimes I wonder why I chose to teach here. Many students don't even attempt to do homework. They are blatant about not caring about their education. Some students don't have the best home to go to. They have other things to worry about-- things that kids their age shouldn't have to deal with. I receive back talk every day. I correct inappropriate language everyday. I could have accepted a job where the majority of my students would have completed their homework. I could have accepted a job where the class sizes were small, and I wouldn't have to deal with the discipline as much. But I didn't; I chose Ogden. Although I sometimes wonder what I could have had, I know that I am in the right place. I made my decision knowing that God was in support of me. Sometimes I don't know why this is the right place, but I trust God.
Despite the horrible quality of Thursday's events, I am truly thankful for the support I received. I know I am suppose to be teaching at my school. I know that despite many discipline issues my students are -deep down there somewhere- good kids (some more deep down than others). I just hope that with time, my difficult class will realize that I do mean business, and that if they follow what I ask them to do, then we can have some fun.
On a different note, students can sometimes be deceiving. And I'm not talking about lying about why homework isn't done. I'm talking about students being confusing people. There is this one student who CAN NOT stop talking in one of my classes. I get on his case EVERY DAY! I thought he absolutely hated me for how much I talked to him about his behavior. But today in the hallway, he told me he wished he had my class next instead of the one he had. With a confused look on my face, I said, "Why? It thought you didn't like my class." In response, he told me that my class was the funnest (I'm just saying what he said) and his best class. This brightened my day.
On yet another note, check out the view from my door! When I took this picture, I was in awe of how beautiful the mountains were this day. The colors, the sky-I felt as if I were in a painting.
Humor of the week:
Scenario 1: Talking to a student who I find is difficult to get engaged in the lesson.
Student: "Look, Ms. DK, I'm doing the problems!"
Me: "That's what I like to see. You should do that more often."
Student: "It's because I'm a nerd."
Me: "What makes you a nerd?"
Student: "I'm wearing glasses." (He was wearing another student's glasses.)
Me: "So what is someone who wears contacts?"
Student: "A nerd in disguise."
Scenario 2: Beginning of class and about to tell them about a quiz later that hour.
Me: "The bell has rung. Before we start bell work, I need to tell you guys something."
Student: "Are you getting married?!"
Me: "What? No, Why do you say that?"
Student: "Mr. Tutt told us that."
Me: laughing "No. My announcement was our agenda. You have a quiz later today."
