The End is Near

My first 9 weeks of teaching is drawing to a close.  I am approaching week 8 with 8th graders.  My first year of teaching is 1/4 of the way done.  Whew!  Lets look at the good and the bad.

The good:

• I absolutely love teaching!  It's actually exciting to see students' faces light up when they understand a topic.  Last week, one student said "Ms. Watson!  I actually get it.  I usually hate math, but I love this!"  I wanted to cry.  Not really, but I was genuinely happy.
• I have amazing coworkers.  Y'all, I would probably be miserable if I didn't have such an amazing support system to help me make it.  The math team at PMS consists of 6 teachers.  I'm the only brand-spanking new one.  They help me so much!  They share ideas, activities, triumphs and struggles.  They give me advice on what works and what doesn't.  This applies not only to the math team, but also the entire staff at PMS.  I absolutely love them.  I do not think I could have dreamed of a better staff to work with during my first year of teaching.
• Of course there are some students with whom your personalities don't mesh well together, but generally students look up to their teachers.  I never realized this.  I have began to try to let my students know that I have high, but attainable, goals for them, and I believe they can achieve them with hard work.  It's amazing how they will strive to reach those goals because they do not want to disappoint you.  Now, this is not true for all students (oh, how I wish it were true), but most want to do well in school.  I mean, who wants to get a test back and it has a big, fat, bold-faced 40/F written at the top?  Definitely not me!  
• I went to Taco Bell  with some friends.  They were jokingly saying they look up to me (I was slightly embarrassed), but it made me think!  I'm 23 with a Bachelor's, a full-time job, and working on a Master's.  I never thought I would say that in my life!  I strive to tell my students that education is obtainable, but it starts now!  They all want to be lawyers, doctors, pharmacists, football players, and such.  Their pathway to get to that goal, however, starts at this very moment.  What they do now shapes their futures.  (I love writing this blog because it makes me reflect on what teaching truly is.)

The bad:  

• I wish I only had 8 o'clock classes.  In undergrad, I always complained about 8 o'clock classes because I had to wake up at 7:00.  Now, if I am not out of bed by 5:30, I will most definitely be late to work.  That just can't happen. 
• Saturdays are my personal days.  This is when I go to Wal-Mart with no make-up on, rocking a t-shirt, blue jean skirt and Keds.  The last time I did this, I saw one of my student's parent.  I was embarrassed.  It hasn't happened again.
• I cannot tell you how many times I've been called Mrs. Watson (when students write my name as their teacher).  I always wondered how they figure I'm married.  Then one day - WHAM!  I wear a True Love Waits ring on my left hand ring finger.  It looks like a wedding band.  I let them continue to think I'm married.  That's a conversation I would not like to have.  And that's all I have to say about that (My Forrest Gump ending).

WHAM! It finally hit me!

Hey all,

Because we live in a world in which students can't attend school without taking tests (pros and cons), my Algebra 1 kids are taking a Common Core pre-test.  While they are testing, I pass out Smarties.  Didn't you just love getting Smarties in class during a test?  I did; it made me feel all good and bubbly inside.  Almost as if my teacher actually cared and wanted me to succeed.  Anywho, I gave out Smarties, and seconds later all I hear is rattling paper.  It was quite annoying for approximately 5 minutes.  Needless to say, the thing I thought would help them may have, in fact, hurt them.  Whoopsies.

Ok.  Back to the reason for this post.  I began thinking right after I gave out the loudest candy known to man.  Thinking.  Ha!  My kids say they're not accustomed to thinking.  Thinking?  What's that word?  Never heard of it.  Baaahhh!!!  As I'm writing, students are still rattling.  Ok.  Back to the story.  I began thinking (teehee).  I can't believe I actually have students in my classroom!  I'm a teacher.  Like, a for real teacher.  I'm no longer in school learning about classroom management or how to teach certain math concepts.  I'm putting all of those things to practice, or at least that's what I'm supposed to be doing.  I have parents' prize possessions sitting in my classroom.  That's an eye-opener.  Do students feel safe?  Do they feel loved?  Do they feel protected?  Do they feel important?  Do they feel belonged?  Am I mama?  Got ya!  But really!  I'm an important component of their Monday-Friday lives.  Am I really?  Whew!

I'm excited about next week!  All of my classes are starting on 1-step equations and ending with multi-step equations.  Also, Open House is next week.  Woohoo for parents!

That's my weekly update!  Back to your regularly scheduled lives.