Four hours left, and my brain is shutting down into break mode. So, before I get too lazy, let me just say that the new job is great:

  • I love this because my 8th graders are beautiful human beings. They are a diverse group—meaning every race and gender and a complete spectrum of disabilities—who have been together for three years and treat each other beautifully. They do what I say the first time, they move in step with my timing and directions, and they will be ready to hit the ground rolling the first day back. I have never had a group of kids like that, and I’m so excited for the things we will get to do and just the happy way I’ll get to start my day everyday.
  • I love this because my 7th graders are nuts. Like, said 64 inappropriate things per hour the first day, wasted 32 minutes per hour by carrying on blatant conversations while I was trying to teach, took two hours to do a thirty minute lesson/activity, had two fights, and had five kids walk out. That nuts. But, by the end of the week, they are only wasting (only..ha) 12 minutes and saying 20 inappropriate things and everyone but one kid is staying in class. They earned their before-break pizza party, and while I’m going to have to be super structured and reward-oriented, it is what I know. It’s what I’ve always done, I’m already good at it, and so now I’m kind of seeing how fast I can get them into shape. Behavior? Reward-Consequence sandwich. Bam.
  • I love this because it feels familiar enough to where I can get set up and really improve on my teaching and managing, instead of always figuring things out for the first time. 
  • I love this because I was at home, showering, and I found myself thinking, “How am I going to get so-and-so to stay in class tomorrow?” And I caught myself, because I haven’t allowed myself to think about school while I was at home all year. I have found it very, very hard to care that much. And now, again, I am excited to plan and figure things out and push myself. I know it’s because I’ve already seen progress. I feel bad for my other class, but I just wasn’t seeing progress—I don’t think I was the person to achieve it for them—and it took its toll on me. It was also very difficult to have every everything physically destroyed almost everyday.

Happy holidays!

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